Chapter 46: The Cold Flower
It turned out that the reason for Noir's enquiry was related to the immigrants. Carrots and coconuts were both quite commonplace in their Green City, and CEO Alex really liked the idea of wooing the immigrants with a delicacy from their country. He immediately called his hotel's kitchen staff over to discuss the matter.
As for Solis, as soon as he realised that Noir had no intention of forcing him to eat any more of the awful vegetables he detested, he extended his full and enthusiastic support to Noir. If these immigrants ate up all the carrots and coconuts in their Green City, Solis would probably give each of them a generous reward!
Noir smiled to himself as he saw Solis's expression – he could guess exactly what Solis was thinking!
CEO Alex and Boss Gaia remained blissfully unaware of the two young men's strange thoughts as they spoke with the hotel staff and discussed the details of this particular dish.
And soon enough, it was decided that CEO Alex would supply meal packets with this dish for all the immigrants when Solis, Noir and Boss Gaia went to negotiate with them tomorrow.
"Don't make the portions too large," Noir said. "And pair it with something light and easily digestible."
"I'll have a nutritionist work with them," CEO Alex said, beckoning the chief of staff.
"You really do have a king's perspective," Boss Gaia praised Noir. "Have you considered taking up politics?"
Noir looked away, not knowing what to say. He had been an unwanted and illegitimate child – allowed to live merely because half his blood happened to come from his emperor father, and his survival bargained for by his lowly mother in exchange for her own life. No matter how brilliant he was…in the end he was never meant to have a claim to the throne; that was the condition of his life.
And Noir hadn't coveted the throne, either. He simply wanted his family to accept him. His big brother, Crown Prince Licht, had been kind to him, and so Noir had dedicated himself to help build up Licht's achievements. Noir never had any intention of making a claim for the emperor's position; he just wanted to have a respectable position and work with his half-siblings.
But he had been too extraordinary. It wasn't that Noir was unaware that he had gradually become the most popular prince among the citizens…and that there were people clamouring for his recognition. He knew that his emperor father was receiving lots and lots of petitions requesting that Noir be made a candidate for inheriting the throne.
And Noir knew that this was the most likely cause of his untimely demise. He chose to ignore his deductions, he chose to shove it to the back of his mind and forget about it. After all, he was not an idiot that he would fail to realise these things. He knew it was his own family – maybe even his emperor father or big brother Crown Prince Licht who had planned his death. He also understood that Solis had reached the same conclusion, but was reluctant to say anything because he thought it would upset Noir.
A gentle hand crept into his and Noir found himself looking into Solis's concerned face.
"Are you feeling unwell?" Solis asked anxiously. "Do you want to go home?"
Noir smiled and shook his head.
Boss Gaia was quite apologetic, too, even though she didn't understand why Noir was suddenly so upset. However, she had taken both Solis and Noir as her juniors in her heart, and she was a very sincere and generous woman when it came to those she cared for. This is why Dragon's Breath had flourished under her and her subordinates were unflinchingly loyal to her.
"I'm probably not cut out for politics," Noir said quietly.
"I'm sorry," Boss Gaia said. "I was admiring your talent, young Noir. You may be right – you're a good person, after all, and there aren't too many good people in politics. You stay with your Boss Solis and help him run his business – that way, we, too, can benefit from your talents!"
Solis flashed her a grateful smile.
Noir flushed. "You praise me too much, Boss Gaia," he murmured.
"Not at all," Boss Gaia said with a laugh. "I used to think Boss Solis is the most extraordinary young one around – so did most people. Did you know, there used to be a betting pool about Boss Solis's marriage? There was even one consultant who made millions by claiming that she could teach young girls and boys what would attract Boss Solis's attention!"
Noir's eyes widened in shock and he shot an accusing glance at Solis.
Solis sighed at the mention of his dark past, but didn't have the heart to glare at Boss Gaia, since she had successfully diverted Noir's attention from his melancholy.
"It was years ago," Solis murmured. "That consultant is in jail now. She had never even met me, how could she know my preferences?"
Noir furrowed his brows unhappily.
"It was quite a scandal at the time," Boss Gaia said with great relish. "It was after this incident that Boss Solis earned the nickname of 'the cold flower' and scared many people who wanted to court him." She took pity on Solis who was now looking at the displeased Noir with puppy dog eyes.
Noir brightened, sensing more gossip. "The cold flower?" he echoed.
Boss Gaia nodded. "Boss Solis wouldn't let anyone close to him – in fact, he didn't even show the slightest inclination to date anyone until he met you, you know. That's what convinced me in the first place that you must be an extraordinary young man to attract his attention. Before you came along, we all were fully convinced that Boss Solis would never even initiate a romantic relationship with anyone, let alone getting engaged or planning to get married! That's why so many people turned up at your engagement banquet – they all wanted to see for themselves which special person finally attained the cold flower!"
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone