She turned around and looked up at his face with a sweet smile. “Cristofer, I’ll return your properties to you.”

“What?”

“Believe it or not, I’ve never wanted your properties, and I’m sorry about the death of your parents,” she explained. “Don’t worry, ’cause I’ll give you whatever you want.”

He interrupted, “You won’t.”

“What if I will?”

“I want to marry Gretchen right now.”

She nodded. “You can fulfill your dream in seven days, no, six days to be exact.”

He continued, “What if I want to ruin the reputation of your family? I want you to kneel and kowtow in front of my parents’ gravestones, too.”

Silent for...