Chapter 56: Chapter 56: Ayane would have to prove who deserved to have Noah.
When Reina stopped laughing, Ayane opened the folder again.
"Both of you attend different high schools, so that should make investigating various areas easier."
Reina raised her hand again.
"My high school has way too many rules."
Misaki replied.
"Mine has cameras everywhere."
"That doesn’t stop them from watching."
"Watching is boring."
Ayane wrote down a line and Reina leaned her body over to try to read it.
"What did you write?"
"That neither of you provided useful information."
"That’s going to make us look bad!"
"It’s the truth."
Misaki crossed her arms.
"You can add that Reina got kicked out of a café for arguing with the manager."
Reina stood up.
"She started it!"
"You told her her coffee tasted like dirty water."
"It was a valid criticism."
Ayane continued writing and Reina moved closer.
"Don’t put that."
"I already did."
"Ayane!"
A little girl playing nearby looked at them, but the boy’s mother took him by the hand and moved away.
Misaki observed the scene.
"We’re drawing attention."
Ayane put the folder away.
"The meeting is over."
Reina frowned.
"It lasted less than ten minutes."
"It’s enough for the report."
"What are we going to do now?"
"Go back to our houses."
Misaki picked up her rifle, which took on the appearance of a long case.
"Finally a good order."
Reina pointed at a nearby food stall.
"We can buy something first."
Ayane shook her head.
"I’d rather have dinner at home."
Reina looked at her in disbelief.
"You always do the same thing."
"It’s my routine."
"You have no life."
Ayane adjusted her glasses.
"I have activities."
"Reading romance novels doesn’t count as an activity."
Ayane tensed up and Misaki looked at Reina.
"How do you know she reads romance novels?"
Reina smiled.
"I saw one sticking out of her bag."
Ayane grabbed her bag and pressed it against her body.
"Don’t go through my things!"
"I didn’t go through them, but the cover had a shirtless guy."
Ayane felt her face heat up.
"He wasn’t shirtless."
Reina smiled wider.
"Then you know exactly which one I mean."
Ayane turned around.
"The meeting is over!"
She walked away while Reina laughed behind her.
Ayane got home before seven.
She prepared dinner and sat in front of the television.
Normally she watched the news while eating, and that day they were airing an investigative program.
A journalist appeared in front of a large mansion.
"This property belongs to a businesswoman linked to the energy sector. According to the complaint, her daughter allegedly forced a young man into an engagement by threatening his family..."
Ayane stopped moving her utensils.
The journalist continued.
"The case adds to other similar ones involving daughters of influential women. The method is repeated: first they identify a male, then they pressure him into accepting the engagement and, after the marriage, they move him to a remote property."
Images of several mansions appeared.
"The complainants claim that the husbands live in isolation and are forbidden from interacting with other women."
A specialist spoke from a studio.
"The goal of these families is to ensure that the male remains exclusively with their daughters."
Ayane stared at the screen.
’What would happen if they tried to do that to Noah?’
She imagined Noah inside a mansion.
He was locked in an elegant room and an unknown young woman held the key.
"Now you’re mine."
Noah pounded on the door.
"Ayane, help me."
Ayane gripped the utensils tighter.
The scene changed inside her mind.
She appeared in front of the mansion and the doors burst open with an explosion.
Several guards tried to stop her, but Ayane advanced without slowing down.
They fell one after another and then the young woman’s mother appeared.
"You can’t come in here!"
Ayane extended a hand and the woman was sent flying into a wall.
The daughter tried to escape, but Ayane grabbed her by the neck.
"He doesn’t belong to you."
The young woman begged, but Ayane didn’t listen and shortly after, the mansion fell silent.
Ayane opened the room to find Noah sitting on the bed.
Upon seeing her, his eyes filled with relief.
"Ayane."
He ran toward her and hugged her.
"I knew you’d come."
Ayane held him tightly.
"You’re safe now."
Noah lifted his face.
"I love you."
Ayane dropped the utensils again and returned to reality.
The program continued, but Ayane looked at her food.
’I would eliminate the problem.’
She picked up the utensils.
’I wouldn’t let any family lock him away.’
She paused.
’Except if he wanted to live with me.’
Ayane shook her head.
"I shouldn’t think like that yet!"
She finished eating, washed the dishes, and went to her room.
She took out a romance novel from her bag, whose cover showed a noblewoman embracing a young man in front of a castle.
Ayane sat on the bed and began to read.
The story was about a duchess feared by everyone who protected a young man pursued by several noble families.
It didn’t take Ayane long to imagine herself as the protagonist.
The duchess had her face and the young man had Noah’s.
In the novel, the protagonist entered a room and found the young man asleep on a sofa.
"You shouldn’t work so late."
She said as the young man opened his eyes.
"I wanted to wait for you."
Ayane stopped reading, since she imagined Noah saying those words and her heart began to beat faster.
She continued.
The duchess sat next to the young man and he rested his head on her lap.
"I don’t need anything else as long as you’re with me."
Ayane closed the book, since she couldn’t continue, so she lay down and hugged a pillow.
’Noah could live here.’
She looked at the small apartment.
’I would need a bigger house.’
She thought of a kitchen and two bedrooms, but then corrected the thought.
’One bedroom is enough.’
Her face heated up again.
She turned off the light.
Ayane always went to sleep early and that night it took her longer than usual.
The next morning, her alarm went off at the same time.
Ayane turned off the device and sat up, but before getting out of bed, her phone vibrated.
She had received an encrypted message and the organization’s symbol appeared on the screen.
Ayane opened it.
[Direct order from the Great Mother.]
Ayane became serious and the message continued.
[All active units must locate and capture Noah Reed.]
Ayane stopped breathing.
She read the name again and confirmed it was her prince.
A second part of the message appeared.
[The target has absolute priority.]
[Any method is permitted, as long as he is delivered alive.]
Ayane gripped the phone.
’Why is the Great Mother so interested in him?’
The last line appeared.
[The unit that completes the capture will receive a special reward.]
Ayane continued reading.
[Noah Reed will be delivered to the winning team as personal property.]
Ayane remained motionless.
She read it several times, but the meaning didn’t change.
Whoever captured Noah could keep him.
Ayane felt an intense emotion, but she hid it immediately.
’This is a mission.’
She had to stay calm, since she needed to think like a leader.
Reina and Misaki would also receive the message along with the other units.
All of them would start looking for him.
Ayane got out of bed.
Her routine had just changed.
She could no longer go to high school as if it were a normal day, so she opened her team’s communication channel and Reina responded first.
"I hope it’s important, because I’m still sleeping."
Misaki connected afterward.
"I already saw the order."
Ayane adjusted her glasses.
"We’ll meet immediately."
Reina took a few seconds to respond.
"Is the reward thing real?"
"Yes."
"We can keep the guy!?"
Ayane gripped the phone.
"That’s what the order says."
Misaki spoke.
"All units will go after him."
"That’s why we need to move first."
Reina replied.
"Finally an interesting mission."
Ayane closed her eyes for a moment and imagined Noah locked away by another unit and unknown women taking him.
Her expression hardened.
"I won’t allow another group to capture him."
Misaki remained silent and Reina replied in an amused tone.
"That sounded pretty personal."
Ayane opened her eyes.
"I-It’s an order!"
"Sure."
"Meet in thirty minutes!"
She ended the communication.
Ayane looked at the photograph of Noah on her phone.
From that moment on, he was the top priority target of the entire Great Mother organization.
Every unit would search for him and Ayane had no intention of letting any of them keep him.
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