A Spoonful of Sugar: Don't Beg for Love

Hestia pursed her lips, turned Nathaniel's request into a text, and sent it.

Charles went silent for a moment, and Hestia could feel that he was thinking about it, which meant that the person they were looking for was in a certain sense determining the future of the Deschamps. Hestia was not like Elise, who knew nothing about what the Deschamps' did outside; she knew everything about it.

'Judging from how Father is reacting, if something were to come to light, we might have to forget about the Deschamps as a whole. Even Father himself will face certain difficulties, and some might even be lethal.'

'If what Father is running are just a few underground industries, it's understandable to not worry about anything, but he has too much on the line.'

"Okay, I agree with your proposal."

"Hesper!" Jessie tugged at Hestia's sleeve, but Hestia had already decided deep down and looked straight at Nathaniel. "You guys better know the answer to my questions."

Nathaniel seemed to have known that Hestia would agree to his terms, so he took out a stack of papers from his bag and placed it in front of Hestia. "This is a marriage agreement. We'll move on with the topic as soon as you leave your signature on it."

'He's even got the contracts all ready?'

Hestia took a glance at Nathaniel and then began to scan through the terms of the contract.

Nathaniel came prepared; the contract stated every single term and condition very clearly. It was just an agreement between the two to get married, and they would not have to perform any commitment or obligations as husband and wife. They were nothing but two business partners who shared profits and benefits.

Even so, Hestia still went through the whole document, from the first line up to the last, and signed it after confirming that there was no problem.

"Since when did you become this cautious?" Nathaniel put the contract away and chuckled. "You still don't believe me."

Hestia had always been very cautious, but for some reason, she was always more cautious than usual when signing a contract... It was as if she had been tricked by someone before this, so she had to go through every single line meticulously.

Before Jessie understood what was going on, Hestia had already signed the contract and sold herself. She could not comprehend what was going on for quite some time and could only watch as Nathaniel put the contract away.

"Now, can we proceed?" Hestia looked at Ehren.

Ehren did not expect Hestia to be this resolute and decisive. She had 20 minutes, but in the end, she agreed to the terms in less than two, knowing that Nathaniel was going to drag her down with him... 'Isn't she afraid?'

Nathaniel nodded and leaned back in the chair. He had already gotten what he wanted tonight, so it was only natural for him to give Hestia what she wanted.

"...The incident happened thirty years ago." Ehren lowered his gaze after being signaled. "At that time, technology was far less advanced than it is now, and a kind of miracle cure for all diseases appeared in a small town out of the blue. Before it made its way to a wider market, many less advanced townships and villages saw this drug as a lifesaver."

But of course, there was no such thing as a medicine that could cure all diseases in the world. The basic ingredient used to produce this medicine was extracted from a type of flower that could cause its consumers to hallucinate. The flower was a plant that had been cultivated after undergoing a series of artificial treatments, so instead of calling it medicine, a drug would be a more appropriate name. Many people felt that their disease was getting better only because their nerves had been numb or paralyzed and they no longer felt the pain.

"The Sulzbachs weren't like other families. Whether it was the Lanes or the Tuckers, which both created their own fortunes from scratch, the Sulzbachs were one of those wealthy families that passed their fortune down from generation to generation. Hence, when my ancestors, whose thoughts and ideologies were not so advanced, heard that this medicine could cure intractable diseases and maintain physical fitness, they bought a lot of them."

Ehren clenched his fists. "Anyone who ate them hallucinated to varying degrees. My father was working abroad at the time, so he was the only person who escaped the side effects."