Redo of a Romanceless Author’s Life Devoid of Love; Another Chance at Youth

Chapter 475.

Chapter 475. Reunion. (2/4)

Ah. I really went and said all that to her. Since my first attempt to rile her up had failed miserably, I’d resorted to extreme measures to keep her here.

Holy shit, I’m actually scared. Where did I get the balls to go and spit out all that to Dawn’s mother?

I was sweating like crazy.

Compared to the city I lived in, just about anyone could be carrying around a gun here too. Am I about to be shot by Dawn’s mother?

Calm down. There’s no way. That would definitely be a last resort. Surely I can get her to talk to Dawn by making use of her rage toward me.

“I said… exactly what you think I said. What are you so mad about? It’s not like you’re her mother or anything.”

“Anyone would be furious if they heard a girl was being taken advantage of in such a manner.”

“Oh? You’re mad? Then what are you going to do about it then?”

“Keep your hands off of her.”

“Keep my hands off of her? And why should I? You have no say in what I do with her.”

“If you promise to keep your hands off of her… I’ll take her place and you can fool around with me however you like.”

She didn’t sound like she was joking at all. She’d decomposed herself and said that calmly.

“Oh? You will?”

“Yes.”

It seems she really did love her daughter dearly after all, even now that hadn’t changed in the slightest. She was able to go this far for her daughter yet she was too afraid to even face her daughter. 

Haaaah. Like mother, like daughter. Dawn was willing to sell her soul if it meant getting her parents back together, yet she was too afraid to even face her mother.

“But why would you go so far for a complete stranger who has nothing to do with you?”

“That’s none of your business.”

“But it is my business since I’m currently her boyfriend.” A pretend one.

“It’s because…”

“Because what?”

“I am…”

“You are? Spit it out woman, I don’t have all day.”

She bit her lower lip in frustration. Shutting her eyes tight and scrunching her face up it looked like her heart was about to break. She took in a deep breath before she finally spat it out with shoulders trembling, arms stiffened, hanging straight down with her fists clenched tightly, and lips forming a quivering frown, “Her… failure of a mother.”

“I didn’t hear that. You’re her, what?”

“Don’t... make me say it again.”

Remorseful tears had welled up at the corner of her eyes threatening to fall at any moment as she positioned her left hand over her chest and clutched at her heart.

“Hmm… I see. I see. So you are that failure of a mother. But sorry to tell you this, I’m not particularly interested in your body.”

“Then what do you want? Money?”

“No.”

A perfect opportunity had presented itself to me. As a devil, there was naturally no way I could not jump at it and take advantage of her moment of weakness.

“Name your price! What will it take for you to leave my daughter alone?”

“I’m not sure you’d be willing to part with it.”

She fully opened her eyes and looked directly into my eyes with resolution as she repeated herself, “I said, name your price.” 

I grinned and asked in a devilish fashion, “Then, would you sell me your soul?”

She frowned and rebuked, “Don’t mess around and say what you really want.”

“I’m not messing around. Sell me your soul and I’ll consider breaking up with your daughter. It’s that simple. All you need to do is sign a contract.”

“Are you trying to play pretend devil? How childish.”

“You’re free to think what you want, but if we sign a contract and you get it in writing, I will surely be forced to do as I say, will I not?”

“Certainly…”

“Alright, then let me write one up.”

I looked around for something to write on but the closest thing was the wall of the hospital building. I grabbed her hand to drag her closer to the side of it, but she shook my hand off with a disgusted look on her face and said without a shred of warmth in her voice, “Don’t touch me.”

“Oh? Should you really be saying and looking at me like that? If you act like that, I might change my mind and want not just your soul, but your body as well.”

“If you touch me again, I’ll scream for help. If I press charges and you’re locked up behind bars you won’t be able to do as you please with my daughter.”

“Oh, I might not be able to if I’m locked up, but what’s stopping me from getting others to?”

“Tsk. If you’d go that far, how can I trust that you won’t use that as a loophole after I sign the contract? The contract would be valid for you, but it would have no ability to restrain the actions of others.”

“Indeed. Well, I suppose you’ll have to believe that I’m a man of my word. Either way, you don’t have much of a choice here since I have a hold of your weakness.”

“You’re such an unpleasant person. You must not have any friends.”

“Haha, well, you’re not wrong at least.”

“How could my daughter be blind enough to even have the slightest interest in a scumbag like you? Why couldn’t she find a good man like her father?”

“Who knows? She must be blind. Let’s get closer to the side of the building, I need to write the terms of the contract out.”

I started walking and Dawn’s mother turned to follow me.

Seriously though, just what is that girl doing right now? It’s either the longest pee of her life or she’s too nervous and got cold feet.

I retrieved a pen and piece of paper from my pocket then held the paper up against the wall and started to write out the terms of the agreement. When I finished writing it out and signed it, I handed it over to her and said, “Just sign on the dotted line.”

“Your writing looks like chicken scratch, how did your teachers in school read this?” Aurelia didn’t miss the chance to take a petty jab at me out of helplessness and frustration.

I couldn’t really argue, my writing hadn’t ever been the neatest thing in the world since I prioritized speed. But writing it out on the bumpy wall wasn’t exactly doing me any favors either.

“Aren’t you going to sign it?”

“Shut up, I’m reading it over.”

“You sure are cranky today.”

“Who do you think’s gotten me so agitated and has put me in such a foul mood immediately after I finished a long shift on a Sunday?”

“Haha, good point.”

“What‘s with these other random clauses in the contract? We didn’t discuss this.”

“Which one?”

“This unaging rubbish?”

“...”

Haaaaah. I was hoping she would gloss over it and not pay attention to it. I’d included it as a revocable clause. I’d never tried it before so it was another little experiment. Clauses in which I could end when I choose to without having to void the entire contract and return her soul. The intent here was pretty simple, it was to give her back the 18 years' worth of time she missed out on with her daughter.

“Well? You aren’t going to say anything?”

“If you have a problem with it being in the contract, I suppose we can just forget about this little contract. Take it or leave it. I will not amend any of the clauses in this contract.” I didn’t want to explain or bother trying to convince her. I also wouldn’t give her the upper hand to have it removed either. It was an all-or-nothing gamble. After those 18 years, I could revoke it.

“This clause is obviously nonsense and isn’t something you can fulfill. It would make the entire contract void. Isn’t this just a convenient loophole for you to go back on your word?”

“It isn’t because the clause is revocable and for an indefinite period of time. So let’s say you were made unaging for a minute and I revoked it afterward, you’d have no way to tell. Thus the clause would have been fulfilled and the entire contract would not be void.”

“Why even include something so absurd? Oh, wait, I see. So you are just an immature kid after all. Pfft, how cute. Trying to act like you’re a real devil.”

Man, she really hates me. I guess it really is my own fault for touching a mother’s reverse scale, her child.