After about ten minutes with her conversation with the men, a commotion erupted at the entrance. Ivana watched as her targets finally arrived at the venue. She looked at the familiar faces and she became determined to end their lives this night
She glanced at the men accompanying them and she tilted her head in confusion
'Where are the vice heads?'
Ivana looked around and she didn't see them
"Strange"
Ivana muttered to herself. Then, Sora proudly said to her
"Look there Lady Arieta. The man in the white suit is my father. He had so many businesses in our country and many more overseas. Maybe our parents can have partnership if they saw us getting along"
Ivana almost rolled her eyes at his words, like the other men from his blatant attempt at courting her. She couldn't help but retort in her mind
'Partnership? More like a funeral. I plan on ending your father and your life, and you want partnership? Do you want me to visit your grave to put flowers or something? This is crazy'
Ivana smiled and said to him
"I see him. So that's your father. I see that you've got his looks. If you didn't said it, I might have mistaken him for your brother"
'My point is; since you've got his looks, I will kill you too. Hmm… maybe I will stab him and say "I've got the wrong guy"? That will certainly maximize his regret to the limit… and maybe break the limit. I will certainly break that ceiling if that happened to me'
Ivana started to think silly thoughts to distract herself from the pressure of the mission. Even if she was an experienced killer, she still felt nervous from time to time. Especially about this mission where the stakes were all in. Her arms trembled slightly but she forcefully held it
Then, one of the men said to her
"Don't mind him, Lady Arieta. Sora always liked to tell jokes. They certainly have businesses here in Japan. But they've no business overseas. That's his problem sometimes, so just forgave him for it"
Sora was shocked at his betrayal. He almost shouted at him
'That's too much!'
As Sora was trembling from embarrassment and outrage, Ivana rode the flow and said teasingly to Sora
"I see that you're a prankster Sora. I almost believed you"
Sora smiled stiffly and forced a laugh. He soon said
"Well, I've noticed that you're so serious so I wanted to lighten the mood. Pardon me if I offended you"
After he said that, Sora glared at the man who exposed him. The man pretended not to see him as he talked to Ivana
"Lady Arieta, if I may be so bold to ask, do you have a boyfriend?"
As he said that, the people around them started to look at the four with amusement in their eyes. They all had the same thought
'You're certainly a bold one aren't you?'
Of course, the two men had their mouths hanging from shock. They certainly didn't expect that he'd be so direct. The man didn't pay attention to the glances at him and continued to look at Ivana. He had a simple philosophy that he believes
'Fortune favours the bold'
Meanwhile, Ivana was starting to doubt her planning ability. She glanced around and saw people staring at them
'This… I did not expect that my plan would come to this'
She didn't anticipate that she'd get this much attention from her plan. The people around them were anticipating her answer from the man's bold question. She sighed and said
"No, I don't have one. All the men I like left me after dating once"
Then, she teasingly said to him
"Why do you ask?"
The people around them started feeling hopeful from her answer. They felt that the birth of a new love story was unfolding. Some men whistled and the women covered their mouths. Ivana was starting to regret using the honeytrap and wished that she had opted for a more direct infiltration instead
Of course, not all of them were celebrating the unfolding scene. The other man beside Sora hesitated for a bit as he looked at Ivana. Then, he steeled his will. Meanwhile, as the man heard Ivana's question. He answered
"Can I take you for a da-"
"He has a girlfriend!"
Only to be cut by the other man beside Sora who resigned to fate. The people around them had their eyes widened from shock. Even Ivana was dumbfounded that she couldn't control herself as she let out a sound
"Huh?"
The man then, under the shocked glances of the people, stepped up in front of her and said while looking in her eyes. He said seriously
"Lady Arieta. This man's name is Julian and he had a girlfriend. I beg you to consider his girlfriend who was waiting for him"
The man, Julian, froze on the spot. He couldn't believe that his friend would break the taboo like that! He's starting to regret trying to court her as he noticed the people's gaze turned cold when they looked at him. He felt that he had become a piece of trash
Then, he heard murmurs around him
"He already has a girlfriend and he's still looking for one? What a piece of trash"
Said the woman behind Ivana
"Maybe he tricked the poor woman. I started to think of him as a bold one and admired him for it, but I didn't know that his boldness is just pure shamelessness. What a trash"
Said the man behind Julian
"But I can't believe that other man. He actually broke the taboo! What a piece of… goodness. I'm glad that another couple didn't form in front of me"
Said a man who's clearly struggling to find lovelife. A forever single. The people gave the man who said that a pitying look. However, Julian was now sweating from the pressure and he said to Ivana
"I'm sorry Lady Arieta, I'll have to excuse myself"
Then, without hesitation, he exited the competition and left them. The people gave way to him but the look that they gave him as farewell was disgust and scorn. Julian soon vanished and they all looked at the man who saved both Ivana and the unfortunate girlfriend
By then, Ivana had almost given up and just wanted to stormed the place, but then, she heard the man said to her
"I'll reintroduce myself again. I'm Takeo Haru"
Then, he pulled something from his breast pocket inside his coat as he handed her a name card. He soon said
"I'm currently working in a pastry shop that I own. If you have anything you want, whether it be just chatting or needing help, you can contact me. Of course, that's your choice. Then, I'll be leaving now. It's nice to meet you Lady Arieta"
The man then bowed slightly to her and started walking away. The people around them gave him a silent salute and looked as the hero left the mansion. Ivana stared at his back and she smiled
'What a strange man. Are you insinuating that I call you? To pursue you? Aren't you too full of yourself? If you know that I'm a ruthless murderer and even planning a massacre here in this place? Can you handle it?'
Ivana smirked and looked at Sora who's dumbfounded from all that happened. Sora meanwhile was couldn't processed what just happened
'How did this come to this? My casual invitation of a pretty woman caused a telenovela scene to appear in real life! And my friends… no, I even lost my friends!'
As Sora was in deep confusion, Ivana said to him
"Sora. Since your friend had all left. Can you be my escort just for tonight?
As Sora heard that, he immediately forgot his friend and smiled. He said
"It'll be my pleasure, Lady Arieta"
Then, as the people around them secretly cheered. They all heard the sound of metal hitting a glass and they all looked towards the stairs. As they saw the sight, they immediately paid attention to the host and his speech. The party had officially begun