Greg watched the rare look of bewilderment on Catherine's face and felt a slight urge to laugh, but he didn't intend to drag this out any longer.
He tapped the desk, reminding her: "Well, Miss Catherine? If you agree to my condition, we can sign the secrecy contract right now. You can draft the terms yourself, as long as they include the commitment to assist Victoria as I described and the penalties for breach. I'm more than happy to cooperate."
Catherine was pulled back to reality by his voice, her complex gaze refocusing on Greg's face.
Her Keen Mind talent told her clearly that Greg wasn't lying at this moment.
He was serious. He truly intended to trade a condition worth an astronomical sum for a promise that benefited Victoria.
This behavior, which defied all business logic, made Catherine feel extremely uncomfortable, even giving her a slight sense of... frustration.
However, looking at the outcome, Greg's revised condition clearly had a lower cost and more controllable risk for her, while achieving the same level of secrecy.
She had no reason to refuse a deal that was more favorable to her, even if the motivation behind it was completely beyond her understanding.
"...Fine."
Catherine fell silent for a few seconds before finally nodding slowly, her voice still carrying a trace of lingering confusion.
"I accept the change."
She needed time to process and re-analyze this matter.
But her negotiator's instinct told her to secure the transaction first.
"Then, let us draft the contract now."
From her leather document bag, Catherine pulled out a blank parchment contract scroll that shimmered with a faint magical luster, along with a specialized contract ink pen.
Her movements remained elegant and practiced, though they lacked some of the absolute composure of someone who felt everything was under her control.
Soon, a secrecy contract with clear terms, defined responsibilities, and magical binding force was drafted.
The core content stipulated that Greg must not leak any information regarding Screech in any form, while Catherine was required to provide Victoria with financial aid or equivalent conveniences not exceeding 100 gold coins whenever she faced difficulties, with the specific form to be negotiated by both parties.
The party that breached the contract would suffer a magical backlash and mental punishment.
Greg skimmed through it quickly, confirming the key terms were correct—especially the part regarding the aid for Victoria—and then readily signed his name at the bottom.
Magical patterns glowed faintly at the signature line, and the contract was established.
He then handed the signed scroll back to Catherine.
"Little gray-haired brat, consider this... a bit of compensation for you," Greg thought to himself.
After all, because of him, Victoria's path as a Hero was starting off much harder than it had in the original story.
After this series of interactions, Greg actually felt quite a bit of sympathy for Victoria.
He knew her situation was somewhat similar to his; she carried a very difficult task, and her road was destined to be filled with thorns.
In the original story, she at least had the momentum of the plot to help her obtain key opportunities and resources.
But now, due to his intervention, many plot points had veered off course, and Victoria's future growth would likely be even more arduous.
With this contract in place, at least if she encountered trouble in the future, a rich lady like Catherine would be there to give her a hand at a critical moment. That should make things much better.
This was Greg's small way of compensating for the plot disruptions he had caused, within the limits of his ability.
As for anything more... he couldn't be bothered. His own situation was already troublesome enough; everyone had their own path to walk.
Catherine took the contract scroll, carefully inspected the signature and magical seal, and tucked it away once she confirmed everything was in order.
With the matter settled, Greg didn't intend to stay any longer.
He stood up, stretched, and gave a casual wave to the still-pensive Catherine.
"Since we're done here, I'll be going. I think my next class is in a different room... Goodbye, rich lady... Er, I mean, Miss Catherine."
The nickname he used in his head almost slipped out. He quickly corrected himself, then turned and pushed open the classroom door, walking out with a light step.
Catherine was left alone in the empty classroom.
She remained in her seat, not leaving immediately.
Her fingers tapped the desk unconsciously as her gaze followed the direction where Greg had disappeared, then she looked down at the document bag containing the contract.
That face, which usually wore a smile of perfect calculation, was devoid of expression now, but a bright and complex light flickered deep within her teal-blue eyes.
"Greg Sass..."
"Just... what kind of person are you?"
Catherine felt an unprecedented curiosity toward this existence she couldn't understand.
Although she knew Greg seemed to be intentionally avoiding her, if Catherine Roman was interested in something, there was no reason she wouldn't investigate it.
She gently closed her document bag, stood up, and smoothed the wrinkles in her skirt.
The sunlight streaming through the window danced on her long golden hair, reflecting the intense interest that had been ignited in her eyes.
...
"Phew... finally dealt with another troublesome matter."
Greg let out a soft sigh as he stepped out of the empty classroom after his talk with Catherine.
The air flowing through the corridor again made him feel a bit more relaxed.
Though the negotiation with the future Business Empress had been sudden, the result had more or less achieved his goal.
"At least she shouldn't come pestering me anymore."
At that thought, Greg's mood improved considerably.
However, that fresh sense of relief didn't even last ten seconds after he stepped into the main corridor of the teaching building.
The moment he entered the crowded hallway, various hushed but clear whispers drifted into his ears like countless tiny needles from all directions.
The core of the conversation, unsurprisingly, was the scene that had unfolded on the tree-lined path that morning.
"Did you hear about what happened this morning?"
"Yeah, I heard it was about Greg Sass again. And this time, it was... scandalous."
"Right? I never would have thought he was such a... devoted person. Maybe the reason he agreed to break off the engagement with Her Highness Vivian wasn't because he didn't care, but because of his... inferiority complex? Like he felt he wasn't worthy of her and didn't want to hold her back?"
"When you put it that way, it actually makes sense... He had such a loser reputation back then. Isn't that just a tragic, desperate love? It's kind of... touching."
"I've really changed my mind about him!"
Although Greg had known people would talk when he acted, the content of the gossip was completely different from what he had expected.
He had thought that after that farce this morning, he would be labeled as a toad lusting after a swan's flesh, someone who didn't know his place, or a nuisance pestering his ex-fiancée. He had expected to face mockery, disdain, and even worse speculation.
He was already used to those things and could ignore them completely.
But the reality was that the gazes directed at him in the corridor were not the contempt and sarcasm he had anticipated.
Instead, they were complex looks filled with a mixture of sympathy, understanding, encouragement, and even a faint trace of respect.
Those eyes seemed to say: "Oh, poor Greg, so you've been silently enduring such a deep and hopeless affection all this time..."
"It's good that you were brave enough to say it, even if it's destined to lead nowhere..."
"At least you're brave enough to face your own heart..."
This unexpected sympathetic interpretation made Greg's skin crawl more than direct insults ever could; it was an agonizing ordeal.
It felt as if ten thousand ants were crawling on his back. He felt like a clown on a stage, forced to perform in a tragic unrequited love drama he never wanted to join, while the audience below was moved to tears.
Rate on N.U.
