I had long been curious about Amelia's family's background. She seemed to possess considerable wealth, yet carried herself with a remarkable modesty. Nevertheless, I couldn't help but be awestruck at the sight of the elongated luxury vehicle before me.
"Ms. Martinez, is this your friend?" A man with a kindly countenance, dressed like a butler working for a wealthy family, stood respectfully by the side of the black car, gazing at us with a warm, pleasant smile.
Amelia nodded. "Her name is Karena. Preston, I need to see Grandpa."
Preston frowned slightly and asked, "Ms. Martinez, is your friend in some kind of trouble?"
"Yes." Amelia replied briefly.
"Alright, please get in the car." Preston said.
Sensing my unease, Amelia smiled at me, which calmed my chaotic emotions a bit.
Curious about Amelia's family's background, I couldn't help but ask, "Amelia, what does your family do for a living?"
Amelia thought for a moment, seemingly considering how to explain it to me. "To put it simply, my family specializes in exorcisms."
"A ghost-hunting family?"
"Yes."
In the 22nd century, such a family sounded mysterious and eerie. I had never encountered anything like this before, and in the past, I certainly wouldn't have believed in such things. But after meeting Howard, it seemed that everything wasn't as fantastical as it once seemed.
As the car arrived in front of a luxurious villa, Preston invited us out of the car and led us to a lavishly decorated living room before heading upstairs.
After a while, an elderly man with white hair and a serious expression came downstairs.
Seeing him, Amelia stood up immediately, "Grandpa."
I also stood up, curiously observing this energetic and imposing elder, feeling a sense of respect, and politely greeted him, "Mr. Martinez."
Aiden Martinez scrutinized me, his serious face tense. Before Amelia could speak, he raised his hand to interrupt her. "I know why you're here, but I can't help with it."
Both Amelia and I were stunned by his words. Thinking that if Aiden, who appeared to be a reclusive master, was unable to handle Howard, I was surely doomed, I looked at Amelia for help with red eyes.
Amelia patted me and said in a deep voice, "Grandpa, Karena is my friend, so please help her."
"Mr. Martinez, please." I pulled down my collar, revealing the tattoo on my chest, and said tearfully, "This was tattooed on me as a prank, and I don't know how I ended up in a contract with him."
With Sophia's death, I couldn't even find someone to ask for the reason.
"This tattoo is a medium for a contract with a demon. Seeing the red in his eyes, I assume you two have already..." Aiden stopped mid-sentence, but I understood his meaning, and my cheeks flushed.
He continued, "Not just that, you must have verbally agreed to something with him."
I tried to recall, and said, "I was so scared when I first saw him, so I verbally promised to agree to anything he said." In my desperate bid for survival, this reluctance also became the very reason I entered into an agreement with Howard.
Aiden nodded slightly. "Now I understand."
I looked at him with hope. "Mr. Martinez, you've exorcised so many ghosts, so you must be able to help me too."
Although I didn't know the difference between exorcising ghosts and demons, there must be some similarities.
After thinking for a moment, Aiden sighed. "I can help you communicate with him, but it won't be very effective."
I quickly nodded. At least I would know why Howard was attached to me, and maybe I could find a way to resolve it.
"Follow me." Aiden said, leading the way upstairs.
"Let's go." Amelia reminded me to follow.
Upon stepping through the door, I found the room shrouded in darkness, with the curtains tightly drawn. Only two candles on the altar provided any illumination. The shelves around were lined with various mystical instruments, the likes of which I had neither seen nor heard of before.
Amelia seemed to be in this room for the first time as well, curiously looking around like me. Seeing me look at her, she smiled slightly and whispered in my ear, "Grandpa never let me come to this room before. This time, it's thanks to you that I got the chance."
Aiden closed his eyes and chanted something I couldn't understand. When he opened his eyes again, he frowned at me. "You should call him out."
I was stunned, looking at him helplessly. "I don't know how to call him."
Howard always appeared and disappeared as he pleased, so I didn't know how to summon him.
As I was feeling troubled, Howard appeared. This was the first time I saw him in broad daylight. He stood in a cloud of black smoke, his deep blue eyes and perfectly sculpted features were impeccable, and his 6-foot-3-inch height made him tower over everyone present.
His gaze locked onto me first, a slight smile on his lips, his head tilted slightly, his exquisite face looking a bit lazy. "You called for me."
Hearing this, I couldn't help but wonder if he had indeed heard my call, or if he was always by my side. Facing such a handsome face, I had no mood to admire it for the first time, and quickly hid behind Amelia. "It's him."
Aiden cleared his throat, looking at me, then said respectfully to Howard, "May I know how to address you?"
"Howard Smith." Howard's face darkened slightly as he spoke, showing some displeasure.
I was even more certain of his unpredictable character, wishing to get rid of him immediately.
Aiden smiled. "Mr. Smith, please don't blame her. Could we have a private conversation?"
"Sure."
With that, Amelia and I were asked to leave the room.
I hoped that Aiden could explain things to Howard and hopefully dissolve that ridiculous contract; I was just an ordinary college girl, wanting to live a peaceful life.
Amelia saw my thoughts and patted my shoulder to comfort me. "Don't worry, my grandpa is the 25th generation heir of the Martinez family. He will definitely help you."
It sounded like Aiden was a remarkable exorcist. I wondered if he could handle Howard.
After a long time, the door finally opened and Aiden came out alone.
I looked at him eagerly.
Aiden looked at me, cleared his throat, and directly told me the result. "Mr. Smith refuses to dissolve the contract."
I had already expected this result, so I wasn't surprised. "Then... what should I do?" I couldn't possibly be entangled with him for the rest of my life.
"I don't know why he chose you, but there must be a reason. The problem can only be solved by you. If you want to stay alive and keep your family safe, you should go along with him," Aiden said helplessly.
His intention was that, at the very least, until I understood Howard's reasons for choosing me, I should avoid offending him.