17

“ True but……When it comes to Daphne , my loyalty lies with my love . “ said Daphne .

Daria looked at him surprised when she saw how serious he was .

“ Do you love her ? “ asked Daria .

“ I do ! And I will never give up on her . I will never allow anyone to use Daphne for their amusement , especially your brother . “ said Lion .

Daria clenched her fists when seeing how determined he was to go against them just for Daphne .

‘ I wish I could just tell Damon to kick his ass but I can’t have problems with the clans .  If only you weren’t the brother of the head of the Morningstar clan….and if only I wasn’t trying to gather the four clans in a hurry . ‘ thought Daria to herself as she tried her best to keep her composure .

“ You don’t have to worry . I am planning on gathering all the clans’ leaders . “ said Daria .

Lion opened his eyes wide in surprise .

“ The time for the Golden Moon ceremony hasn’t arrived yet . “ said Lion .

“ Well , I think this is a good opportunity for my brother to get to know the candidates for his future bride to be….and for you to make Daphne fall for you .“ said Daria .

She wanted to settle the matter soon and realised that she could actually use Lion’s affection for Daphne to cut the invisible thread that connected her with her brother . Lion looked at her surprised as he nodded his head smirking .

“ Even if you don’t say it , I will never allow the two of them to step into a romantic relationship no matter how much they may like one another . “ said Daria .

“ It makes me glad to hear that , your highness . “ said Lion with a smirk reassured that there would be no obstacle between him and Daphne cause Daria wasn’t an easy opponent to deal with , not even for Damon .

Meanwhile Daphne was following Arnold on the corridor .

“ What did you call me for ? “ asked Daphne .

Arnold smiled politely .

“ Pardon ? “ asked Arnold .

“ It was clear that you came to call me because of something else but didn’t want to say it in front of my friends . “ said Daphne .

“ Your girl friend is quick to catch on stuff . “ said Arnold with a light smile on his face .

Daphne thought his smile was strange for a second .

“ So , what did you really call me for ? “ asked Daphne .

“ You really are a smart girl , lady Daphne…….We concluded the debt issue with our people back at your country . The duke told me to inform you as soon as the matter is solved .  Also , to video chat with your family and check for yourself . “ said Arnold .

“ Really ? “ asked Daphne surprised how everything was able to be solved so fast .

The worried voice of her mom and the statistics of the debt her father and uncle owed . Daphne wouldn’t miss a chance to talk with her family on video chat . She immediately hurried to talk with them , not wanting to miss any other minute . Arnold opened the door and entered inside Damon’s office .  He opened the tv and connected it to the video call .  When the monitor showed her mother , father and brother standing there smiling , Daphne sighed relieved .  

“ Daphne , the debt is cleared . Thank you my dear daughter . “ said mr Bernard .  

“ My sweet , intelligent and strong daughter saved us . “ said madam Catherine with tears in her eyes . 

“ My sister is the best . “ said Daniel .  

“ You really like to scare the hell out of me and make me so emotional at the same time . “ said Daphne laughing . 

She felt delighted to see the smiles and relief on their fasces . A warm feeling all around her chest , lifting all the worry she had inside her . 

“ How are you now ? Is everything alright ? “ asked Daphne .  

“ Everything is much better Daphne ! I have a room filled with all the latest gadgets now . We have new furniture in the house . We have a whole new set of washing machine , drying machine , dishwasher , vacuums and a five huge tv-s , the latest model .Don’t get me started on the softness of the couches and new beds . “ said Daniel .

Seeing his excitement , Daphne realised that it couldn’t be a lie . 

“ What ? “ said Daphne confused . 

“ Two men in black suits with black sunglasses , wearing black gloves came in showing us the documents that cleared us from the debt and brought all this new furniture . “ said Catherine .  

“ Daphne , these two men said that you had done the duke a huge favour by catching a hacker and he is rewarding by doing all this . Is it true my daughter ? “ asked mr Bernard .  

Daphne knew nothing about this additional reward as she glanced over at Arnold .  

“ The duke said that this is the additional bonus for dealing with the hacker . “ said Arnold .  

Daphne looked at him surprised , wondering if that guy could really be that nice . Their happy faces just filed her heart with joy .  

“ Mom , dad , Daniel…..the duke is indeed a good man . You know how I am keen on not owing anyone anything and I will be working as his personal assistant for the upcoming two years . So , I…..won’t be coming home the day after tomorrow . “ said Daphne .  

“ What ?!! No ! You can’t . You have to come back . I want to try the new game with you . “ said Daniel sad . 

Bernard and Catherine looked at each other realising that there was more to what met the eye . They kinda knew that this would happen the moment they said their goodbyes .  

“ Don’t worry Daniel . I will be visiting on vacations . “ said Daphne .  

Daniel was still sad but he understood that it couldn’t be helped . 

“ We understand dear .  Don’t forget ! We love you very much Daphne . “ said both Bernard and Catherine along with Daniel popping out between the two of them making Daphne smile touched . 

“ I love you all very much as well . “ said Daphne .  

After the phone call closed Arnold showed Daphne the new desk added at the office . 

“ This will be your seat . “ said Arnold .

Daphne looked at the table with a frozen expression on her face . He expected her to smile but the smile had completely vanished from her face .

“ Is everything alright ? “ asked Arnold .

“ I think I am in the wrong seat . Are you sure this is my seat ?! “ asked Daphne .

“ Yes , this is your seat . “ said Arnold .

“ There's no way this can be my seat .  It’s only my first day and the table is filled with mountain of papers .  “ said Daphne pointing at the mountains of paper lying calmly on the table , waiting for her .

“ Well….I can say that this is definitely your seat . This amount of work is usually normal on busy days . Because of the hacker , there are more papers than normally . “ said Arnold .

“ Damn hacker ! Even now , he is making things hard for me . “ said Daphne .

Daphne remembered the excited face of her parents and little brother that made her laugh helplessly . She rolled her sleeves and sat down the chair .

“ A debt is a debt and needs to be repaid . I would hate to owe anyone anything. Especially that annoying guy . “ said Daphne sitting down .

“ I was gonna say this before but….you really got guts to call the duke that annoying guy . “ said Arnold with a smile .

“ Please , bring me some desserts . With all these , I need a serious dossage of premium delicious desserts . “ said Daphne .

Daphne smirked as she got to work . For the rest of the day , Daphne worked intensively like a machine on full power force . When she finished the last paper , she realised hours had passed and it was already nighttime . She got up and stretched her arms , legs and back .  

‘ I feel soo sore . ‘ thought Daphen to herself . 

“ So , how was your first day today ? “ asked Damon .

Daphne flinch when he appeared behind her out of nowhere .

“ Seriously ! Stop with this unexpected out of nowhere appearance of yours . “ said Daphne .

“ I like seeing you all startled by me . “ said Damon .