When Blake Morrison heard it was a friend of hers, he hesitated for a moment but still agreed. Over the time they had spent together, his trust in her had grown. He knew she wasn’t the reckless type and wouldn’t bring anyone troublesome with her.

Paige Summers hung up the phone and patted the large hand Marcus Monroe still had clamped around her arm. "Did you hear that? Let’s go together, then."

Marcus Monroe snatched his hand back as if he’d been burned, even clenching it into a tight fist. He hastily tossed out an, "I’ll be right over," then spun around and hurried away.

Paige Summers froze for a moment, then suddenly clapped a hand over her mouth. She didn’t let herself double over in silent laughter until she was back in her room.

’Who would have thought!’

If she hadn’t happened to see how red his ears were, she would never have believed that Marcus Monroe was such an innocent man!

’He blushes just from grabbing a girl’s arm...?’ Paige Summers couldn’t help but smile.

Marcus Monroe had been in Central City for some time now, and he’d spent most of it by her side, watching over and helping her. Even someone as dense as Paige Summers could have figured out his feelings by now.

To be honest, in a world like this, after seeing so much of the bleak side of human nature, it was touching to have a man treat her with such devotion.

But to be sentimental about it, she didn’t think this was love.

She had no experience in this area, nor did she have many examples to draw from.

’However, if a man could make me feel the way Artifact Making does—like something I never want to give up for the rest of my life—then that would probably, no, *definitely*, be true love...’

After changing her clothes, she looked at her reflection in the round mirror. She stared at her young face for a moment, then suddenly wrinkled her nose.

’Forget all this talk about love. Now is not the time to be thinking about that! I have a mountain of problems to deal with. I must have too much time on my hands!’

Back in the living room, both she and Marcus Monroe were acting normal again. The two of them soon headed out the door.

The Mercer Family didn’t allow outside vehicles to drive directly onto their property, unless they belonged to someone truly exceptional. Paige Summers obviously hadn’t reached that Level yet, so they could only park outside. Of course, the area in front of the gate was also Mercer Family territory, so there were no loiterers around.

She made a point of explaining this to Marcus Monroe, and then the two of them got out of the car to meet Blake Morrison, who was waiting at the entrance to greet them.

Unexpectedly, however, there was another person with him today: Zephyr Mercer.

Paige Summers hadn’t seen him for so many days that she’d assumed he had probably given up on the foolish idea of fulfilling their marriage contract. But here Zephyr Mercer was, and the moment his eyes landed on Marcus Monroe, his entire body went on high alert, as if he were preparing for battle.

As she continued walking forward, Paige Summers’s expression slowly darkened.

’Today, I’m here as a guest of the Mercer Family. What’s the difference between Zephyr Mercer being so hostile to my friend and him slapping me in the face?’

When they were still some distance away from the Mercer uncle and nephew, Paige Summers suddenly stopped. She turned to Marcus Monroe with a frown and said, "My stomach... I don’t think it feels very well."

Marcus Monroe had to stop himself from laughing.

’Faking an illness so blatantly, and in such a deadpan voice... is that really okay?’

But knowing she was doing it to stand up for him, he also found her incredibly endearing.

Not that he was particularly concerned about Zephyr Mercer, though.

He couldn’t resist reaching out and affectionately ruffling her hair. "Don’t worry about little things like this. You love talking about Artifact Making with Mr. Mercer, don’t you? So just go. I’m only here to protect you, not to ruin things."

He wasn’t saying it as a provocation, so he spoke at a normal volume, but the Mercer uncle and nephew had sharp hearing and still faintly caught his words.

Zephyr Mercer’s face flushed crimson, while Blake Morrison shot his nephew a sympathetic glance. ’So this must be the legendary love rival... Oh, no, maybe "rival" isn’t even the right word,’ he thought. ’They’re not even in the same league.’

For the first time, he found his nephew’s emotional intelligence truly exasperating. ’He clearly likes her, yet he always tries to come out on top, regardless of the time or place.’

’The other man, on the other hand, was far more seasoned.’

’Whether it was an act or not...’

’...those magnanimous and considerate words sounded completely reasonable even to him, let alone to Paige Summers, the one they were meant for.’

’In that one exchange, the difference between them was stark.’

He shook his head inwardly. On one hand, he felt it would be for the best if his nephew didn’t get in any deeper. On the other, he felt the boy was being utterly foolish, failing to leverage his own advantages and instead just making the situation worse.

With that thought, he stepped forward with a smile, pretending to be oblivious. "Sue, is this your friend? Why not make an introduction?"

The minor disturbance dissipated into thin air, but it left a faint mark on everyone’s mind.

Paige Summers had assumed that with Blake Morrison stepping in, Zephyr Mercer wouldn’t be so relentless... but she was wrong. In certain respects, Zephyr Mercer was blunt and obstinate. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from what he liked, but he would never, ever come around to what he disliked.

For instance, her. And for instance, Marcus Monroe.

So when she and Blake Morrison moved from the showroom to the fabrication room in The Mercer Workshop, Zephyr Mercer and Marcus Monroe were nowhere in sight.

Blake Morrison’s heart sank. ’This is bad,’ he thought. But he had to put on a brave face for Paige Summers. "Finn was just startled earlier, that’s why he acted that way," he said. "He’s actually a very sensible kid; he won’t do anything. He probably just took your friend on a tour of the rest of the Mercer estate!"

Paige Summers made no attempt to hide her contempt. "Brother Abe, do you even believe that yourself?"

Blake Morrison was speechless.

Paige Summers took a deep breath, but she didn’t storm out to find them as he’d expected. Instead, she sat back down at the workstation. "Didn’t you say there was a new sword that needs an edge? Are you coming or not?"

Blake Morrison sat down as she instructed, feeling that he couldn’t quite see through her.

’Wasn’t she just upset about Zephyr Mercer’s attitude a moment ago? How can she be so calm now?’

’Even *he* could guess that the two of them had likely gone outside to face off. Surely she must have realized that too!’

’Does she have that much confidence in that Marcus Monroe fellow?’

’Or is there more to it than meets the eye?’