“Everyone, attack together!”
“But the whip is too fast.”
“It’s difficult to dodge.”
“No matter how fast the whip is, if all of us attack together, we have a chance of winning.”
“Understood.”
As the assassin who seemed to be the leader spoke, the knights and assassins present all attacked Adolf at once. Adolf calmly swung his whip.
Just as Adolf sensed the danger from the assassins getting closer while dodging the whip, a gust of wind blew from somewhere, knocking down all the approaching assassins.
“What is this?”
The fallen assassins and knights were bewildered. This was a room with no place for wind to enter, and there was no wizard who could knock down men in an instant.
“Ines. I told you to only use the scrolls to protect yourself, but what if you use them to save me?”
“I only used the lightest spell. Your Majesty.”
“Thank you for saving me. Ines.”
Seeing Ines pull out a bundle of magic scrolls and Adolf whipping with ease, one knight dropped the sword he was holding.
“We can’t kill him. How are we supposed to kill him!”
The frightened knight collapsed after being hit by a dagger thrown by someone right after saying those words. The person who threw the dagger seemed to be the assassin leader. The assassin was annoyed by the current situation.
He clearly thought that Yuria would have poisoned Adolf and Ines. The plan was to confirm the two people dead from the poison, then deal with Yuria and set a fire, but now the plan had gone awry, so the annoyance was mounting, and the whining voice of the scared knight added to it, making him sigh involuntarily.
“Damn it.”
Adolf’s whip flew at anyone who even took a step back. It was a situation where they couldn’t even run away. Ines was even staring fiercely with wide eyes, ready to tear the magic scrolls at any moment.
It was impossible to approach them or retreat.
“I don’t want to fight with those who are not even prepared to die, but I have no choice.”
Adolf continued to swing his whip. The whip cracked loudly, striking the floor at high speed before disappearing. The floor where the whip struck had deep holes. Seeing that, the assassins and knights’ faces stiffened. The hole-ridden floor seemed to reflect their own fate.
“Since you targeted the life of the imperial family, it’s only right for everyone here to die.”
[This is the timeline separator]As the stars and moon became clear in the darkening night sky, Adrian and Karlien arrived near the white villa.
Karlien glanced sideways at Adrian. When Adrian appeared with Teishar after being thought dead, she screamed thinking he was a ghost.
After screaming, she was relieved to find out it was all an act to deceive Ruans and Daniel.
“The secret passage was somewhere around here, but where was it? Coming back after a long time, my memory is hazy.”
“Please don’t search playfully and look for it seriously. Prince Adrian.”
“I’m sure it was here, but I can’t remember.”
Adrian was looking for the secret passage to infiltrate the white villa.
“Found it. The passage was hidden by the overgrown bushes.”
Sighing deeply, Adrian smiled and looked at Karlien.
“Sir Karlien.”
“Yes. Prince Adrian.”
“Don’t die.”
“Even if by chance I die, it will only be an honorable death as a loyal noble.”
Karlien said with a low laugh.
“I understand how you feel, but please don’t die.”
Standing in front of the secret passage, Adrian thought of Lorencia once more. She looked very different from her old appearance when he saw her again after a long time. He heard from Charlotte that she had awakened as the child of Goddess Ella, but who would have thought she would grow so much!
Her appearance was like being reborn from a cocoon into a butterfly. She had become very beautiful and elegant. What would happen if Ruans saw Lorencia now? He couldn’t help but smile.
After meeting Lorencia, Teishar had completely changed. The man who inherently disliked speaking had completely disappeared. He had become a chatterbox busy bragging about his beloved woman’s good points. But Adrian didn’t dislike that changed appearance. It was nice to see.
And what was even more surprising than that was Lorencia’s powerful ability.
Thinking about it again, the power of Lorencia who had awakened as the child of Goddess Ella was truly amazing.
Adrian was relieved that Lorencia, with her power and abilities as the child of Goddess Ella, was on his side.
Lorencia told him about the secret passage of the white villa that even he had forgotten. Honestly, it gave him goosebumps. And he thanked Goddess Ella in prayer for the fact that the child of Goddess Ella with her violet eyes that seemed to see through everything was on his side.
“Prince Adrian. Let’s go.”
Adrian looked at the secret passage with his heart pounding. If by chance something went wrong, they might all be killed. So everything had to be carried out perfectly, and Ines and Adolf had to be rescued. Failure was absolutely not an option. Steeling his resolve for what was to come, he recalled the plan one last time.
Taking a deep breath, Adrian stepped into the dark secret passage, praying to Goddess Ella that he could do well.
Entering the secret passage, Adrian began to move his feet while holding a torch.
“I will go first. Your Highness.”
“No. I’ll lead here. It’s dark, so follow close behind me. Sir Karlien.”
“Understood. Prince Adrian.”
The dark passage was instantly illuminated by the torch. Karlien followed close behind Adrian. He kept walking behind him. The passage was longer than expected. Adrian shone the torch in all directions. It was so dark that even with the torch, he couldn’t see well what was ahead.
Walking along the path, Adrian soon stopped.
“Why is there a rock?”
A huge rock was blocking the way. Karlien tilted his head. Why on earth was there a rock?
“The path is blocked by a rock. Prince Adrian.”
“It’s okay. It’s not actually blocked.”
Adrian placed his hand on the huge rock and closed his eyes.
“Adrian von Isuter.”
Then the huge rock disappeared like a haze, and another passage appeared.
“I’ve undone the illusion magic placed on it, so Sir Karlien should be able to pass through as well.”
“Understood.”
Passing by the rock, a door immediately came into view.
“That door should lead into the villa.”
As Adrian touched the door and said his name again, the door disappeared.
As Adrian and Karlien carefully stepped inside the white villa and entered the dark, quiet hall, Karlien wrinkled his nose at the acrid smell. It was the smell of blood.
“This is…”
“They’re all dead.”
Seeing the corpses of the servants sprawled in the hall, Adrian bit his lower lip and closed his eyes tightly. He wished he could collect their bodies one by one, bury them in the ground, and apologize to their families. The thought of having to burn them all like this for evidence filled him with anger and sadness rising to his throat.
“Prince Adrian.”
“I know. We have to pass by pretending not to see them.”
“Even if it’s painful, you must move forward.”
“I know.”
They carefully passed through the dark corridor. As they approached the vicinity of Adolf’s room, they immediately confronted the assassins.
“Everyone, drop your weapons! If you do, I will spare your lives.”
Adrian shouted at the assassins.
“There were still people alive in the villa.”
Faced with the unexpected situation, the assassins had to think about how to deal with it. They were already having a headache due to Adolf swinging his whip and Ines tearing magic scrolls with a triumphant look on her face, and now another unexpected development appeared and began to subdue the knights who were protecting them.
It felt like being driven into a corner. If they ran away like this, the operation would fail. Failure of an assassination is a disgrace for an assassin. It was better to fight to the death in this situation.
There was no way out, forward or back.
“Leader. We must report the failed assassination.”
“Right. We have to quickly inform the lord of the failed assassination.”
Rather than the shame of a failed assassination, they had to inform the subordinates outside of this fact and quickly let Daniel know about the failed assassination. Only then could they move on to the next plan.
“Arthur is already outside. There are other subordinates on standby as well. So let’s all get out.”
“If it’s Arthur.”
He was one of the subordinates in charge of communication.
“Yes. For now, everyone goes outside.”
The assassins’ swords turned from Adolf to Adrian and Karlien.
The duel had begun.
The Male lead Always Seduces Her with His Beauty (Matriarchy)
Xin Jiao Zhou is the leader of the world’s premier sect. She has just experienced betrayal from all sides, was poisoned in an assassination attempt, and faced death squad attacks while the poison was taking effect. After finally clearing out the scum from her sect, she was drugged again while trying to detoxify.
After waking up from a night of unconsciousness, she gained a “beautiful and kind-hearted” husband.
Xin Jiao Zhou: “???”
He fell ill.
She came to see him, bringing breakfast.
As she put down the breakfast and was about to leave, his hand slipped while holding the spoon. “Clank!”
She turned around upon hearing the noise.
He looked up at her, his eyebrows drooping: “My hand… has no strength.”
“Shall I… feed you?” she asked tentatively.
He opened his mouth cheerfully: “Ah—”
Thinking she was drowning, he jumped in without hesitation to save her, but nearly drowned himself. In the end, it was she who swam over to rescue him, giving him air underwater.
After emerging from the water, his ear tips turned red. He lightly brushed his cheek, tucking his sideburns behind his ear, revealing delicate, pink-tinged ear tips. He lowered his gaze, too embarrassed to look at her.
Xin Jiao Zhou: He’s truly beautiful, kind-hearted, and adorable.
A certain someone when disciplining subordinates behind the scenes: “If they don’t obey, just kill them.”
What’s that? She might already have someone she cares about in her heart? A certain someone: Find out who it is, kill them, and then there won’t be anyone.
What? She met a man by the riverside? What? That man even hurt her? A certain someone: Whichever hand hurt her, chop off his entire arm.
Love at first sight without realizing it, gradually falling in love, slowly getting closer…
Family and national grudges, schemes and desires, good and evil, crime and punishment, she and he face the future together, seeking justice with passion!
A naturally dark female lead who could accidentally destroy the world but is actually an honest person VS a weak, pitiful, and helpless but skilled fighter, beautiful white-cut black male lead
My heart is not of stone, how steadfast is your love? — Tao Yuanming “Imitating the Ancients (No. 3)”
— Reading Guide —
Cold female lead & dramatic black lotus with hidden yandere traits male lead
