Back at the Pokémon Center, Sieg slept soundly through the night. By early the morning of the next day, his door was plastered with a pile of notes.
"Damn, are these all contact numbers?"
Sieg frowned as he stared at the wall of scribbled papers. The entire doorframe had been covered, but among the clutter, he quickly spotted a contact from the Rustboro Gym.
After cleaning up the paper chaos, Sieg headed upstairs to the dining hall with his Pokémon in tow for breakfast.
"Hey, did you hear? That genius Breeder, Sieg, is actually staying right here in the Pokémon Center!"
"No way? They say he's only 17! If I could just find a way to get close to him…"
Sieg sat quietly in a corner, eating his meal while listening to the whispers around him. He let out a sigh of relief. Thankfully, no one seemed to recognize his face.
If they did, he'd probably be mobbed again, just like yesterday at the Breeders' Guild.
"Hello, Trainer Sieg, would you mind if I sit here?" came a gentle voice. It was Nurse Joy, dressed in her usual pristine uniform, smiling sweetly.
Sieg glanced around. Seeing that no one else was paying attention, he gave a small nod.
"Is there something you need, Miss Joy?" he asked, already having a hunch.
As expected, Nurse Joy responded softly, "No need to be so formal. We just saw each other yesterday, didn't we? Just call me Chloé."
Sieg gave a sheepish chuckle. "Ah, my bad. Forgot to congratulate you too, Chloé, for passing the Breeder exam!"
Joy Chloé rolled her eyes playfully and let out a light laugh. "Come on, I'm almost 25. I can't compare to a prodigy like you."
A flash of surprise flickered across Sieg's face. Nurse Joy's youthful features betrayed none of her age. Their appearances didn't seem to change much over time. Whether it was genetics or some kind of secret technique, they aged incredibly slowly.
"Sieg, have you ever considered joining the Joy family?"
The question dropped just as their conversation was hitting its stride. At last, she couldn't resist asking.
Sieg paused, chopsticks midair, his gaze drawn to the serious look in her eyes. His heart thudded a little faster.
The expression on her face was too lethal.
Any man seeing her like this, eyes sparkling with a trace of pleading, would struggle to say no.
"You mean, like, marriage?" Sieg asked tentatively.
"That's right. News of your achievement reached my family yesterday. They sent me to make contact with you. But I didn't feel right hiding the truth, so I wanted to be upfront."
Chloé looked genuinely sincere, her gaze honest and filled with anticipation. It made it difficult to dislike her.
Sieg took a deep breath to calm the ripple in his chest. A strategy of retreating to advance? How interesting.
Chloé's words made it clear: she was trying to put them on the same side, to bridge the gap. It was a classic soft tactic, not a betrayal of her family.
Still, even knowing that, he kept up his polite front.
"Well... I'll have to think about it. I mean, I'm only 17. It feels too early to be considering marriage. I still want to travel."
Sieg wore a hesitant expression as he spoke, then explained with gentle clarity.
Joy Chloé looked slightly puzzled but remained patient. "Sieg, with your talent in breeding, you have the potential to become a top-tier Breeder in the future. But that journey needs resources and knowledge to support it."
Her words rang true. Sieg couldn't deny it. Becoming an excellent Breeder required vast amounts of both.
Even so, he didn't respond right away, instead choosing to listen further.
She continued, "If you're willing to join the Joy family, we'll invest in you wholeheartedly, help you reach the very peak of the profession. And by then, even I could be…"
Her voice trailed off, a blush coloring her cheeks. Clearly, she was too shy to finish the sentence.
Sieg watched her closely. Seeing Nurse Joy, who was always distant and professional in front of outsiders and especially regular Trainers, act this bashful and even utter such bold words, it stirred something inside him.
There was a strange pleasure in it.
But his rationality quickly returned, drowning out the ripple of emotion. He took a deep breath and replied calmly, "I'm sorry, Miss Joy. While I am a Breeder, my true dream is to be a Trainer. I want to keep traveling and challenge the League's Gyms."
With those words, Sieg firmly declined the proposal. A flash of awkwardness crossed Joy Chloé's blushing cheeks.
Not wanting to give her the chance to press further, Sieg quickly finished his breakfast and returned to his room.
He left behind a flustered and slightly disoriented Miss Joy in the dining hall.
In the days that followed, Joy Chloé visited several more times, though this time, she was much more tactful and never brought up marriage again.
She came to visit Sieg purely under the guise of friendship, and the two exchanged thoughts on breeding techniques and related topics.
Though Sieg knew full well this was all part of her family's strategy, he still couldn't help but develop a faint sense of goodwill. After all, Nurse Joy's face was far too captivating.
With a beauty like her showing such warmth and interest, who could remain completely indifferent?
Even so, Sieg constantly reminded himself, This is nothing more than a honey trap, I won't fall for it.
So, although their interactions appeared warm and friendly, Sieg always maintained a careful distance.
Sure enough, by the fourth day, she finally ran out of patience and dropped all pretenses.
"Sieg, are you truly unwilling to marry into the Joy family?" she asked, her tone complex, eyes unreadable.
After spending the past few days together, she had come to see that Sieg was not only exceptionally talented, but also imaginative and witty. He often made her laugh with just a few words.
So long as he was willing to join the Joy family, she was even willing to humble herself, to break the traditional boundaries of a mainline heir marrying outside her status. She was ready to make that sacrifice.
But Sieg clearly had no such intention, and that left her feeling a twinge of regret.
"If you don't want to marry in, I won't force you. How about investment instead? Our Joy family is willing to invest in you," she said earnestly.
Her words were stunning, but she continued without missing a beat. "You've accepted funding from the Rustboro Gym, haven't you? In that case, accepting investment from the Joy family shouldn't be a problem either."
Her beautiful face carried a rare seriousness, making it clear that she wasn't joking.
Sieg froze slightly at her revelation. So the Joy family had investigated him. It wasn't entirely surprising, but it still caught him off guard for a moment.
After days of persistent effort and persuasion, She finally received a nod of agreement from Sieg.
The joy in her heart was real, but so was the exhaustion. As she stepped out of Sieg's room, she let out a long breath, her shoulders relaxing.
"It's finally over. I've completed the mission the family entrusted to me," she murmured to herself.
Yet despite the success, a faint sense of regret lingered in her chest.
"What a shame… I finally met someone who could make my heart flutter," she sighed softly.
Her fingers gently brushed against her own cheek, her eyes clouded with a mix of confusion and sorrow.
Has my charm begun to fade?
Or does Sieg simply think 25 is too old?