Chapter 22: Jade Rabbit is also a god in reserve, and today she is a demon girl
Time seems to stand still at this moment.
After a long while, the man gently withdrew his hand, raised his eyes, and looked at the lady who was smiling expectantly.
"Miss Alice," Adrian Moran paused, taking a barely perceptible breath before continuing, "I long ago pledged my life to God and devoted the rest of my life to teaching. I simply... I simply cannot accept your kindness."
His voice held a deliberately subdued calm and resolve. But once he spoke, the truthfulness of his words surprised even him. This was the destiny he had chosen for himself in his youth, and no one could change it.
The man pursed his lips and squeezed his right hand, which he had just withdrawn, with his nails digging slightly into the flesh.
"Your clergy position doesn't conflict with my proposal." Alice withdrew her smile, puzzled as to why this man would reject her on the grounds of his clergy position. As far as she knew, Adrian Moran's Protestant faith allowed clergymen to marry, otherwise his mother wouldn't have searched all over London for a wealthy wife for him.
The most important point is that she can see clearly that the man has been moved, but he still wants to deceive himself and others by talking about converting to God.
"Miss Alice, that's not how it works. It's not that the doctrine doesn't allow it, but I promised God a long time ago that I would never marry and would only focus on preaching and helping the poor." This was his only way to achieve happiness and peace.
Adrian Moran repeated his will, not knowing whether he was telling it to the lady in front of him or to himself.
With these words, he stopped looking at Alice and glanced at the still dreamy spectacle on the wall. Fireflies alighted on the honeysuckle bulbs, their cold yellow-green glow hinting at warmth. He had never known his own deserted and boring mansion could be so vibrant and alive.
"What a hassle!" Alice cursed softly, looking at the young yet incredibly stubborn man in front of her. "He's so clueless, he's having trouble even eating!"
Adrian Moran seemed to be lost in his own emotions, staring blankly at the wall.
Unhappy with his inattention, Alice stepped forward and directly turned his face back.
The gentleman's face showed a look of sudden realization and then panic. His eyes subconsciously avoided, not knowing where to look.
She was amused by his behavior and leaned forward, deliberately rubbing her thumb hard on his smooth cheek. The man had long seen her strength and could not escape her grip. He was at a loss and closed his eyes, muttering "Master" softly.
"Why call me Lord or God?" Alice's eyes wandered over the skin she had rubbed red. "Why don't you just call me Good Master, and I'll consider letting you go."
She was clearly also a reserve god, but this man was always thinking of finding another refuge.
Since human rules are not as effective as imagined, she might as well use the fairy's method to avoid getting angry.
The man with his eyes closed couldn't see that a swirling demonic wind was rising around Alice, her hair was flying, her skirt was fluttering, and a hint of red flashed in her dark pupils, revealing her demonic nature that could not be ignored.
A demonic wind separated from it, wrapped around the man, and carried him up the stairs at a speed invisible to the naked eye, and instantly entered the mansion behind him.
The man suddenly felt something lift him up, and after a moment of weightlessness, he heard the sound of a door being broken open. When he opened his eyes, he was lying on the bed in the only neatly made bedroom on the second floor.
In his peripheral vision, he saw the familiar muslin sheets. What was unfamiliar was the hot breath beside his ear and the heartbeat in his chest, which was several times more intense than before. He felt as if his entire body was about to burn to death here.
His fingertips moved ambiguously on his cheek, his lips opened and closed slightly and trembled for a long time, but he couldn't say a word of no.
Warm fingers gently stroked the man's eyes, and he closed them again with trembling eyes, his eyelashes flickering, and he didn't even know what he was waiting for.
A hot breath was getting closer and closer, and the hair hanging down from above brushed against his hot cheek, unexpectedly bringing a hint of coolness.
Suddenly, the heat was gone, and he was tucked in. In the darkness, Adrian Moran finally dared to open his eyes, but he had no idea what was happening.
"Alyssa!" The person at the door seemed to be Miss Alice's sister.
"Sir! Are you okay?" It was John's voice, out of breath from running.
His face, covered in the quilt, turned red instantly.
"Ai..." Jane finally saw the scene inside the house clearly with the help of the gas lamp in John's hand, and the words she hadn't said remained in her mouth.
She suppressed her shyness and quickly glanced at her sister who was sitting in the middle of the bed. Seeing that her clothes were intact and tidy, she immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
Mr. Bingley, who had been late in instructing the coachman, discovered that the conversation was taking place at the house of the person he was proposing to marry. He simply assumed that the marriage was sealed. He saw the light from the upper floor from a distance, and before he even entered the house, he was already beaming with joy: "Congratulations, congratulations! Alyssa, Mr. Moran, happy engagement!"
However, Jane blocked him at the door and wouldn't let him in. Mr. Bingley looked at his fiancée with a puzzled expression.
"There's no engagement. A certain gentleman won't agree." Alice was still a little annoyed when she said this, and pushed the gentleman who was still avoiding her and refusing to change his mind across the quilt.
Bentley stood there stunned, chuckling awkwardly. He looked at the other two present, hoping to find an ally. Unfortunately, no one was bothered by him. He was left racking his brains to come up with a way to smooth things over.
Jane was instantly angry and a little worried upon hearing this answer. She had never expected Alice to be so... so bold, to fulfill her bold promise even if her proposal failed.
Fearing that her sister might be hurt by her careless actions, Jane put on a serious expression and said to Alice, "Come home with me."
Although the tone was still not harsh, Alice still climbed out of bed obediently, adjusted her skirt, and followed Jane downstairs.
The man waited until the footsteps faded away before he lifted the quilt, looked directly at the ceiling above his head, and breathed greedily.
"Sir." John called cautiously.
No response at all.
He tried to explain: "I'm sorry, sir. I know you allowed me to go home to visit my family, but you didn't go to Camden Palace and planned to spend Christmas alone, so I came back to see you. I happened to meet Miss Bennett and her fiancé Mr. Bingley who came to pick up her sister. They said you were going through a romantic proposal, and I thought... But then the door fell to the ground, and Miss Bennett and I misunderstood that something had happened to you two... So we..."
The more John spoke, the more he didn't know what to say, and he slowly closed his mouth.
"Are you done? Go downstairs." There was finally some movement on the bed. John had no choice but to hang the gas lamp on the wall and prepare to go downstairs as ordered.
"Take the lamp down." The man gave the order for the second time.
John did as he was told, but sensing his master's bad mood, he didn't dare say a word.
The room returned to its previous darkness.
The man lay on the bed, his deep blue eyes filled with confusion and relief.
He lay there quietly for a while. When he tried to sit up, he realized that he had been holding something in his left hand. It was the little gift from the lady.
He held it in front of his eyes and could see clearly in the moonlight and the fireflies outside the window: a rabbit, a wicker rabbit.
Unlike the usual cute rabbit-shaped objects, this wicker rabbit looks very majestic.
Although I can't see the specific facial features clearly, I always feel that the expression is inexplicably similar to that of a certain young lady.
He reached out and pressed the upright ear until it touched the rabbit's chubby cheek. As soon as he let go, it bounced back to its original upright position.
The man just touched the wicker rabbit, lost in thought.
Despite being born into the aristocratic family of the Earl of Camden, he was told from a young age by his father and the butlers and servants that nothing from the family would be given to him. The manor where he grew up was only a temporary residence. Adrian Moran, the second son of the Earl of Camden, was an undesirable backup. Even the nobles who were close to the family didn't have playmates of his own age. Even a handmade gift like this seemed novel.
After watching it for a while, he put the rabbit on the bedside table, sat up, walked to the window, took off the cloak he was still wearing, and hung it on the back of the chair.
Adrian Moran took the silver cross that had been hanging around his neck from his chest and held it tightly in his palm.
"Merciful Lord, I beg for your forgiveness. Your believer just rejected a young lady's affections." The man closed his eyes and prayed softly, "I failed her invitation to marry and start a family. This is my first sin."
"Your followers, the things they possess in this world are so few that they can be counted on one hand. Without titles, without wealth, and without the care and affection of an ordinary husband, I cannot offer a young lady worldly happiness. This is my second sin."
"I have long since given myself to you, and I dare not break my promise to you. Even a moment's hesitation would be disrespectful to you. This is my third sin."
"That young lady is reckless in her words and actions, and may blame you for all her dissatisfaction with the believers. If she has been disrespectful to you, please let me bear the responsibility and atone for it. All the sins are caused by me. As a clergyman, I should also help your people equally." The man added.
"Lord, have mercy on me, as a sincere believer, I sincerely wish for you." He put his hands together and held the cross in his palms.
On the other hand, as he expected, the rejected lady cursed God in her heart, blaming him for turning believers into stubborn people.
But he didn't stay angry for too long. As soon as he arrived at the apartment by carriage, Jane took him home to receive education.
“Alyssa…” Jane frowned, hesitating to speak.
Thinking that Alice only had her sister to rely on in London, she tried to organize her words and tried to restore what she had wanted to say to her sister along the way: "Alyssa, I know you have a good impression of Mr. Moran, and he doesn't seem to be completely heartless towards you. Otherwise, how could he, a tall gentleman, let you do what you want?"
"But, it shouldn't be like this. Whatever the reason, he didn't accept your proposal, and he probably didn't accept your... uh... proposal either." Seeing Alice nod, Jane forgot what she was going to say next. The only thing left in her mind was that Alice was really reckless.
“Alyssa! You can’t do things that hurt others and yourself.” Jane said seriously.
"Jane, but I have my reasons for wanting to sleep with that gentleman," Alice grumbled unconvincedly. "It's all because he's so duplicious and stubborn. He was on the verge of agreeing to my proposal, but then he slipped away. If I miss tonight, it will be even harder for him to say yes to my proposal."
"Then you can't...you can't force it." Jane was puzzled by her sister's reason, but she knew from the look in her eyes that she was telling the truth, so she stammered, "To do something like that, you must legally obtain the other person's consent. At least he needs to give his verbal consent, and there must be mutual understanding."
Thinking of something, Jian Surong said, "If for some reason you can't get married, I can still protect you. Please, please, don't abandon your family and elope. Mom, Dad, me, and the other sisters will all be sad that we won't see you again."
Alice was puzzled. She just wanted to sleep with him, so why would she run away with him? Besides, he seemed willing, but he was just stubborn and clueless. He promised his sister honestly, "Okay, okay, I'll get his permission before we do anything like that."
"Okay, okay, it's just a little troublesome. That man is troublesome enough as it is, so he doesn't need this little trouble." Besides, she also gets a little pleasure from the process. Alice had a playful smile on her lips.
That is, how to lure him into the trap again and get him to agree? It’s really a headache.
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The author has something to say: Here comes the plundering that Rabbit is good at, but unfortunately...
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