"She's a lovely girl.Pretty, well-mannered, from a good family.Her father's textile business is very successful."His mother served vegetables with determined cheerfulness."You could do much worse."
"I'm not interested in Lian."
"You haven't given her a chance.One dinner, that's all I'm asking."
"I've met her half a dozen times.She's nice.She's boring."
"Boring is stable," his mother said."Boring is reliable.Boring means you won't have drama and scandal."
"Like plant magic girls living on cursed farms?"Mei-Lin asked innocently.
Their mother's chopsticks clicked sharply against her bowl."I didn't say that!"
"You were thinking it."
"Mei-Lin!"
"I like the plant magic girl," Mei-Lin announced."Sara says she's funny and kind and doesn't put on airs.And her silk is apparently incredible; Madame Lin is obsessed."
"Silk trees," their mother said skeptically."Trees that grow finished garments.It's unnatural."
"It's profitable," their father pointed out mildly."Madame Lin told me she's never seen quality like it.The girl could make a fortune."
"If the cursed land doesn't kill her first," his mother countered."That property has been death for everyone who tried to work it.She's been there what, a week?Give it a month and she'll either give up or—" She stopped herself.
"Or die," Mei-Lin finished."You were going to say die."
"I'm being realistic.That land is dangerous.Everyone knows it."
Jin ate his soup, staying quiet.His mother wasn't wrong—the cursed farm was dangerous.The shield damage, the monster attacks, the complete isolation.
But Wren was handling it.Better than anyone expected.She'd organized her property, established trade relationships, and solved practical problems.She asked smart questions and showed genuine interest in how things worked instead of just expecting help.
And she'd been curious about his ability—not afraid of it, not wanting to exploit it.Just...interested.
"Jin?"
He looked up.His mother was watching him with that too-perceptive expression mothers had."You're thinking about her."
"I'm thinking about work."
"You're thinking about the cursed farm girl."
"Her name is Wren," Mei-Lin supplied helpfully.
"I don't care what her name is!She's not suitable."
"You haven't even met her," Jin said mildly.
"I don't need to meet her.I know the type—arrives from nowhere, uses unusual magic, lives on cursed land, and already has Viktor Andersen sniffing around.That's trouble, Jin.Nothing but trouble."
His father cleared his throat."Perhaps we should let Jin make his own decisions about who he spends time with."
"He can make decisions once he's met Lian properly.One dinner.That's all I'm asking."
Jin set down his chopsticks."I'll think about it."
It was the best she was going to get and she knew it.His mother sighed."You're as stubborn as your father."
