"During the years I was away from Ikerite, many dignitaries looked down on Hyperion. While some were willing to lend her a hand, far more directed their resentment toward me and their hostility toward the demon race straight at her without the slightest concealment."
A trace of reminiscence surfaced in Mikhail's eyes as he spoke softly.
"Since returning, I've already uncovered who wanted to harm her back then, and which nobles showed malice toward House Aransal."
His voice was calm and even, as though merely having the knowledge was enough.
"So what does the Duke intend?"
Lanqi had assumed Mikhail was not the type to hold a grudge, given that none of the families who had once made life difficult for Hyperion had faced retaliation after his return.
Of course, that might also be due to Mikhail's sense of duty as the Hutton Kingdom's sole pillar of support today.
Using violence to purge other nobles could easily spark panic within the kingdom.
Relatively speaking, however, Duke Mikhail taking no action was the most terrifying stance of all, for no one knew when the sword suspended above their heads would finally fall.
Everyone knew that Mikhail was no good-natured pushover like Loren.
"One of them is a viscount named Malcolm,"
Mikhail's tone remained gentle.
"He was one of the more flamboyant agitators back then. He also happens to enjoy spending his leisure hours in the VIP hall of the Crown Casino. Hans has already confirmed that he's at the Crown this morning."
He laid out the story to Lanqi.
"Wait a minute, does old man Hans work for your family or mine?"
Lanqi was beginning to suspect Hans was drawing a double salary.
The man was supposed to be the veteran butler who had served the Wilfort family for twenty years.
"Most of the time, he works for the Wilfort family," Mikhail answered succinctly. "In any case, would you like to visit the casino with me and meet this noble?"
"..."
Lanqi instantly understood the hidden implication behind "meeting" him.
Still, compared to being engulfed by all the noise and conflicting emotions under the summer sun at the Golden Bee Amusement Park, the quiet, luxurious indoor environment of Ikerite Crown would undoubtedly be much more comfortable.
On the other hand, when it came to helping Hyperion, he had never hesitated.
"Sure."
Lanqi nodded without hesitation.
"Before that, though, we need to visit the shopping arcade at the Crown to get into disguise."
Mikhail rose from the bench and crooked his finger, gesturing for Lanqi to head to the arcade first.
Lanqi tilted his head slightly in wonder.
...
Scene 1: Boss Cat Restaurant
Scene 2: Golden Bee Amusement Park
Scene 3: Lanqi and the Mysterious Black-Haired Woman <<
Scene 4: Love Obstacle Corridor Academy Season 2
...
Twelve noon.
Ikerite Crown.
A golden world entirely divorced from the outside.
Lively, mischievous music played with an unearned confidence, its winding, ascending melody whispering promises of a dramatic comeback from rock bottom.
Yet the tune looped endlessly, accompanied by the ceaseless rattle of dice tumbling across tables and a deep bass drumbeat pulsing like a racing heart, drawing patrons along the main cadence into the resplendent gambling hall.
Toying with chips, casting the dice, holding one's breath...
No matter the outcome, similar protagonists endlessly repeated the same motions.
And so the music played on in a ceaseless loop, oblivious to day or night, perpetually fueling sweet dreams of striking it rich overnight.
"No matter what, listening to this music makes one feel excited, even knowing the danger,"
someone remarked.
The instant they stepped into Ikerite Crown, the summer heat and clamor were shut away outside.
A wash of cool air carrying high-end fragrance and subtle hints of leather washed over them. Beneath their feet lay a deep crimson carpet woven with intricate golden patterns, so plush it seemed to swallow every footstep. The crystal chandeliers overhead illuminated the entire expanse as bright as day, yet without the slightest glare.
"So, why did things turn out like this?"
Lanqi glanced at the figure beside him, wanting to say something but not knowing where to begin.
Just moments ago, the Duke had taken him to purchase a suit so expensive it bordered on gaudy, while the Duke had transformed back into the guise he had assumed at the Ikerite Opera House.
Today, Minier had slipped into a simple yet elegant long black dress. Her smooth, dark hair accentuated skin as fair as snow. Standing beside Lanqi, the two looked like a noble couple out for an afternoon of diversion.
"Our target is Viscount Malcolm,"
Minier said to Lanqi.
"So let's play with him at the gambling tables—strictly legal and strictly moral."
"Is it really moral? You know Hyperion prays to the Goddess of Fate every day, aspiring to become a noble, virtuous priest,"
Lanqi could not help asking.
"..."
Hearing that, Minier clasped her hands and closed her eyes for a moment, looking every bit the pious holy maiden.
"I asked the Goddess of Fate. She approved,"
she said, opening her eyes to look at Lanqi.
"..."
Lanqi fell silent.
He had no comment.
Perhaps there was a good reason certain people ended up locked away in the Blood Clan's homeland.
Lanqi and Minier strolled through this bizarre, glittering paradise.
There were no windows here, nor were there any clocks; the concept of time had been deliberately obscured.
As far as the eye could see stretched an endless expanse of a gaming hall. Hundreds upon hundreds of slot machines stood in neat rows, flashing in multicolored lights as the changing symbols across their screens merged into an electronic symphony.
Deeper inside was the table-game area draped in green velvet. Dealers dealt cards with practiced hands, the roulette wheels hummed with the pleasant rattle of ivory balls, and patrons conversed in hushed whispers.
"Do you have a plan?"
Lanqi asked the smiling Duchess.
"Come over here."
Minier simply offered him an enigmatic smile, then led him over to the slot machines.
Her gaze swept through dozens of machines,
pausing and moving on,
until she locked onto a machine whose jackpot pool had accumulated to nearly 3,000 pounds.
Triggering the special bonus would pay out the entire staggering sum.
Yet anyone knew that the odds of landing such a jackpot carried more decimal places of zeros than one could count.
"This one."
Minier pulled Lanqi along and pointed excitedly at the machine.
The casino's barrier dispelled most disguise magic while placing an anti-magic restriction on patrons.
Of course, guests could pay extra to apply a facial cognitive interference spell.
Typically, only VIPs opted for this; casual visitors would never waste the money.
Both Lanqi and Minier had chosen to conceal their features.
She casually sat upon a high stool and held out her hand to Lanqi.
"Chips."
"You aren't actually here to gamble, are you?"
Lanqi pulled out the highest-denomination chip from the ones he had just exchanged and handed it to her.
"Of course not."
With practiced ease, Minier dropped the chip into the slot and began the game.
Lanqi stood beside her,
his hands in his pockets, staring in bewilderment at the spinning reels.
Though the chimes and jingles sounded entertaining enough, Lady Luck did not appear to smile upon them.
The screen repeatedly spat out insignificant, petty payouts,
while the inserted credits dwindled through each spin,
leaving an ever-shrinking balance.
Just as Lanqi watched Minier lose with such consistency that he felt tempted to try a few spins himself, the machine abruptly triggered the special bonus round. The celebratory sounds grew louder and louder until, frame by frame, the screen froze on a full grid of identical golden crowns!
The entire machine erupted in blinding light and triumphant fanfare.
The word "JACKPOT" flashed frantically across the display.
Immediately after—
*Clatter-clatter-clink-clink-clink-clink-clink!* ♫!
A crisp, dense cascade rang out as high-denomination chips gushed from the chute below like a waterfall, piling into a miniature mountain in seconds.
Lanqi was completely stunned.
He could not tell whether this was sheer luck or something calculated.
Yet Minier beside him looked even more astonished than he was.
First, her eyes widened in disbelief, and then she clamped both hands over her mouth, letting out a perfectly pitched gasp of shock.
That wide-eyed, flustered expression was the flawless depiction of an innocent young maiden struck out of nowhere by a stroke of monumental fortune.
The commotion instantly drew the attention of the entire section.
The surrounding gamblers were dumbfounded. They stopped their own games and turned to stare in their direction,
their eyes brimming with envy, jealousy, and sheer disbelief.
Before long, they were encircled three layers deep by an eager crowd of spectators.
"Quick, gather the chips,"
Minier urged Lanqi, coming to her senses.
"Oh."
Lanqi hurriedly swept all the chips into a basket and walked out of the crowd with Minier.
Only after putting distance between themselves and that scene of commotion did Minier regain her customary composure.
Before Lanqi could even ask, she offered a nonchalant explanation:
"I can perceive every movement and energy flow inside magitech mechanisms. As far as I'm concerned, whenever I want to win, it will win."
"So you really were cheating."
"Besides, it doesn't strictly have to be a magitech machine."
Minier guided Lanqi toward the quieter, more luxurious high-stakes betting area.
They stopped before a table marked "Royal Sangong."
It was a fast-paced card game where players squared off against the dealer and could stake exorbitant sums in a single hand.
Over the next few rounds, the tables turned completely.
It was as if Minier had burned through all her earlier luck; her play was erratic and her bets decisive. In just a few quick hands, she lost every single chip she had just won.
After they stepped away,
Minier's expression showed not the slightest trace of regret.
"Did you just give back all the money you cheated to the house?"
Lanqi asked her.
When playing against the dealer, lost chips naturally went to the casino.
Of course, to bet so precisely and chaotically without winning a single hand like Minier had just done might also mean she had seen through something.
"Honestly, an eighth-tier mage coming here is inherently cheating. I can see through everything,"
Minier explained to him.
"Through your perception of magical power?"
"Yes."
"So this is a Grand Mage..."
The Duke was a Magic Crystal-rank card maker as well as an eighth-tier magic-path powerhouse.
Those two games had simply demonstrated a plain truth:
as long as she wanted to win, she could win however she pleased, and the same went for losing.
"Could Loren do that?"
Lanqi pondered and asked.
"If he wanted to, he could. After all, he's ninth-tier... though I think it would be faster for him to just rob the place directly."
"What about Toliado?"
"He'd steal the money even faster."
"How come I can't detect the flow of magic?"
Lanqi felt that even if he reached the eighth tier, he might not be able to manage it.
"That isn't something learned overnight. Relatively speaking, reaching the seventh tier without mastering much of the fundamentals of magic makes you quite an anomaly,"
Minier said, shaking her head.
"I only had two years to clear Blood Moon City, you know..."
Thinking back carefully, Lanqi genuinely felt it had been hell mode; an ordinary route could never have cleared it.
He had become a rush-job mage.
He had spent virtually no time studying spells, simply leveling up and leaning on magic items.
In truth, the gap between him and Lanclos of the Black Sun went far beyond tier, variant traits, offensive output, or spell repertoire; it lay in the myriad fundamentals a magic caster needed to master. By comparison, he was practically a novice.
"Now that I'm the Acting Dean of the School of Sages, should I consider brushing up on basic coursework there? After all, my benchmark is Dean Loren, and I'm supposed to be the next Grand Mage of the Hutton Kingdom,"
he mused.
"Don't bother. In Iphatia's words, damage dealers come and go, but supports are eternal. When it comes to picking a roster for high-end battles, people will still pick Lanqi every time,"
Minier reminded him.
"True enough. No matter how solid the basics are, an eighth-tier stat-stick Neanderthal is still useless."
Remembering an example close at hand, Lanqi felt better.
Professor Bolaao had also said that prioritizing magic-engineering skills was the right choice.
"Come on, let's head to the VIP hall."
Minier signaled for Lanqi to move forward toward the castle-like double doors ahead.
...
At a distant gambling table, a figure with gray-white hair and dark sunglasses suddenly paused.
He tilted his sunglasses down, scrutinizing the two figures with purple eyes.
Even though both wore spells obscuring their facial identity, he could sense from their aura that they were top-tier experts.
They appeared intimate, chatting and laughing easily.
Their attire made them look like wealthy aristocrats, yet not quite like local Hutton nobles.
In his experience, people like this didn't come to a casino to play peacefully; they almost always had an urge to stir up trouble.
He decided to wait and see.
So long as they didn't ruin his own game, it didn't matter.
Suddenly, his communicator buzzed.
He brought it to his ear.
"Hey, Frey, got any news for me?"
"No."
"I'll pay extra! A ton of money! From that distracted tone, you're definitely up to something!"
"...Maybe there is something."
Frey produced a portable camera, backed away from the gaming table, and sat down quietly in the lounge area.
His figure melted into the shadows, his presence erased along with it.
Foreign powerhouses stirring up trouble in the casino might make for a decent scoop.
Or, if this operation harbored some scandalous secret, Reporter Luweixier would surely spin it into a sensational headline.
...
VIP Hall.
The clatter of dice struck with the confident cadence of high heels, but before long, everyone's focus narrowed to the roulette wheels and ball-strikers. Many patrons appeared composed on the surface, yet a closer look betrayed their tension and longing.
Eyes darted left and right, hesitating over whether to place a bet. A young gentleman wearing gold-rimmed spectacles wore a faint, smug smile, pleased with the present outcome, while a rotund, wealthy merchant raised the stakes with growing frenzy. Just as the old saying went, no one who sat down at a gambling table ever planned on leaving empty-handed.
In a corner unnoticed by the VIPs, a woman in evening attire escorted a smartly dressed young man into the hall.
Armed with the Aransal ducal family's Crown VIP card, Lanqi and Minier bypassed any questioning. Guided by dedicated staff, they passed through a set of double doors into the VIP hall of Ikerite Crown.
The ambiance here was worlds apart from the clamor downstairs. The air was rich with the mingled scent of fine cigars and aged whiskey, and the lighting was dimmer and softer.
The patrons were impeccably dressed, many cloaked in subtle cognitive interference spells that veiled their true features.
Only the luxury timepieces on their wrists and their effortless poise revealed their immense wealth and noble standing.
"Let's go here."
Rather than revealing her noble identity, Minier played the part of a female companion brought along by Lanqi, pointing to a table up ahead.
"All right."
Lanqi had no idea what Minier had planned, but since she was essentially a living cheat code, he was content to follow her lead.
The two soon arrived before a table crafted of gold and ebony.
The stakes here were the highest in the entire casino.
Minier slipped effortlessly into the game.
Though the guests could not make out her face clearly, her peerless, breathtaking aura was impossible to hide.
Meanwhile, the young dandy beside her looked every bit like her bottomless financial backer.
*King of Hearts.*
Minier's luck in the first two rounds was astonishing.
In the first hand, she started with a pair of Kings.
After hitting three of a kind on the flop, she merely called with an air of nonchalance.
Her opponent continuously raised until hands were shown, and she breezily scooped up a respectable pot.
*Ace of Hearts.*
The second round was even more thrilling.
On the turn, she held four to a flush and decisively went all-in, gambling on the final card.
The veterans at the table assumed she was bluffing and called one after another.
When the river fell, the Ace of Hearts appeared, completing her monster hand.
Once again, she swept most of the chips on the table into her possession.
"..."
Lanqi remained silent behind her the entire time, quietly watching her play.
Only he, standing beside her as her companion, could clearly read Minier's expression.
She seemed to genuinely be having fun.
Perhaps she hadn't cheated in those two rounds and had simply won on pure luck.
Lanqi also keenly noticed that diagonally across the table sat the man they had discussed earlier at the Golden Bee Amusement Park—Viscount Malcolm.
His physique gave him away.
Right now, the viscount was studying this pair of newcomers with great amusement.
Just as Lanqi expected, luck never lasted, and the tide turned swiftly.
Minier held an Ace and Queen of the same suit and flopped a flush.
She boldly kept raising, driving the pot to an astounding height.
Just as she was eagerly anticipating victory, Viscount Malcolm revealed his hole cards—a pair of Jacks.
And two Jacks were already resting on the board.
Minier lost disastrously.
In a single hand, she handed back everything she had won earlier.
The atmosphere at the table instantly relaxed, and her opponents beamed with delight.
"Luck always balances out in the end,"
a wealthy merchant chuckled, dragging the chips toward himself.
"Honestly, young lady, betting wildly like that relies purely on luck; you can't beat seasoned veterans. Better tone down your bets before you lose all your money,"
another chimed in kindly.
"Beginner's luck never lasts,"
Viscount Malcolm said, rubbing his ring in satisfaction.
"Hmph!"
Minier's brows furrowed slightly, her face painted with indignant defiance.
She turned to look at Lanqi as if seeking his counsel.
"No objections from me,"
Lanqi shrugged.
He had no clue what Minier was orchestrating anyway, so what objection could he possibly have?
Minier then shoved out fresh chips without hesitation, preparing to bet again.
One thing Lanqi was certain of: Minier was feigning the novice.
The Duke had to be thoroughly familiar with the rules of every game.
Even if she wasn't, with her monstrous talent, she could master anything after interacting with it for a short while.
Watching Minier's Oscar-worthy performance, Lanqi decided to wait and see what medicine the Duke was really peddling.
Over ten minutes passed.
Minier lost several more hands.
After yet another crushing defeat, Minier let out a soft gasp of "Oh heavens..."
Watching the dealer impassively slide the towering stacks of chips over to her opponent, her eyes reddened as she stared at the fortune slipping away from her.
To any onlooker, she was the quintessential desperate gambler who had lost her head.
A new round began, yet Minier did not place a bet.
The felt in front of her was bare.
The other wealthy patrons at the table regarded this woman—who possessed nothing beyond her imagined beauty—with a mixture of pity and disdain.
However,
they eagerly anticipated her continuing.
Anyone could tell that someone who had reached this fever pitch would never calm down easily.
She would look for other means to fill the anxious, angry void inside.
And so,
under everyone's watchful eyes, Minier rose from her chair with feigned assertiveness, turned around, seized Lanqi's arm, and pressed herself against him.
"What should I do, darling? I lost again,"
she said, looking up at Lanqi in a tone bordering on a spoiled whine.
"Huh?"
Lanqi's brain buzzed.
Immediately after, Minier put on a pitiful, helpless gaze, her deep crimson eyes welling with tears as she looked up at him in complete vulnerability.
"Heh, running to her sugar daddy."
"Now we'll see how deep his pockets really are."
"That rich boy certainly looks loaded."
The other guests at the table had already been intensely curious about their relationship.
Seeing this scene, everything became glaringly obvious—
a wealthy heir and his kept woman.
"What can we do? Winning money isn't that easy, is it?"
Lanqi offered a polite response first.
Then, lowering his voice, he guided her two steps back and whispered into her ear at a volume only the two of them could hear:
*(Are you out of your mind?)*
Minier acted as though she hadn't heard a word.
"Waaah, darling, I'm so upset..."
With a weeping expression, she shook his arm in aggrieved distress.
This time, it was her turn to lean close to Lanqi's cheek and issue swift instructions in the same faint whisper:
*(What are you doing? Play along better.)*
*(You've lost your mind,)*
Lanqi shot back.
*(Just play your part as the foolish sugar daddy, and I'll play the brainless beauty. I won't let you lose money.)*
The two exchanged rapid murmurs.
Lanqi was beginning to suspect that bringing him here wasn't solely about settling Hyperion's affairs—there was another motive. She was getting revenge.
Revenge for the incident back at the Ikerite Opera House, where he had pulled her from the audience to serve as his shield.
And so this time, she was ensuring he got a full taste of what an actual date with Minier felt like.
"I promise I'll win your money back for you!"
Minier vowed earnestly to Lanqi.
"..."
From the amused expressions on the faces across the table, Lanqi knew her performance had been a smashing success.
Fine.
Since he was already here, he might as well treat it as helping the Duke collect a debt. There was no backing out now.
"Baby, do you still want to play?"
Lanqi took a deep breath, suppressing the intense awkwardness inside.
"Yes, darling!"
Minier immediately broke into an innocent, radiant smile, as though her tears from moments before had been nothing but an illusion.
"Then play as much as you like today. As long as you're happy, that's all that matters."
Lanqi's tone turned gentle and doting.
At the same time, he patted Minier's back affectionately to soothe her.
No matter how formidable the Duke was, could she really out-act Talia?
"Oh, really? Does darling have that much money?"
Minier took the cue, reaching up to wrap her arms affectionately around Lanqi's neck, practically hanging off him as she breathed softly against him.
"..."
Lanqi could barely hold his straight face.
Failing to discover the Duke's acting talent was truly Abigail's greatest loss as a director.
This person was the ultimate actress.
Minutes later.
Armed with fresh chips drawn from Lanqi's card, Minier returned to the table.
She began an even more reckless spending spree.
Minier's bets had no rhyme or reason, driven purely by whim.
At times she threw thousands at a terrible hand; at other times she folded a winning hand on a whim, acting as though the money weren't hers at all.
It truly wasn't hers.
Yet Lanqi didn't utter a single objection.
Lanqi played the fool who had completely lost his senses to a gorgeous woman.
Perhaps because he had finally met a truly top-tier actress to play against, his own acting ability was pushed to its absolute peak.
The performance was so nauseating that even he felt disgusted with himself.
Had he not known full well that this was the Duke himself, he would have genuinely dreaded his father back in the Wilfort family finding out about this spending spree—
flinging gold around at Ikerite Crown today with a mysterious dark-haired beauty just to win her a smile.
If word got out, his legs would probably be broken.
*Queen of Diamonds.*
Over the next few hands, Minier predictably lost again.
Each loss was more devastating than the last.
Her indignation grew ever more pronounced.
Eventually, she began slamming the table, grabbing the dealer's wrist, and accusing someone of cheating.
"Is someone at this table cheating?!"
Minier pointed at the others, demanding answers.
Her childish outburst instantly drew derisive chuckles from the wealthy patrons.
"Little girl, if you can't afford to lose, don't play at high-stakes tables."
"The rules here aren't child's play. Nobody's going to go easy on you."
"When you head home tonight, make sure you placate your sugar daddy properly."
Viscount Malcolm had won the lion's share of her chips earlier, so her accusations seemed somewhat directed at him.
Yet everyone knew she was simply throwing a baseless tantrum.
Minier's clamor even drew a floor supervisor from the VIP hall, who patiently and politely explained the dealing procedures and surveillance oversight, proving the game was entirely fair.
Still, she pouted, stubbornly continuing to place bets.
Until a new hand began.
When three high cards landed on the flop, Minier seemed to lose all semblance of reason. Ignoring her sugar daddy's opinion entirely, she shoveled the small mountain of chips before her straight into the center.
"I'm all-in!"
That desperate gamble made Lanqi's vision go momentarily dark.
He had never engaged in such reckless squandering in his life.
Fortunately, though he could not feel the flow of magical energy, looking at it through psychology, Lanqi could guess—
from this moment on, every card was under Minier's control.
Sure enough,
greed flared in Viscount Malcolm's eyes.
To him, the brainless beauty had gone completely insane, while his own hand was exceptionally, absurdly strong.
It was the perfect opportunity to swallow her whole.
Perhaps her sugar daddy would be so enraged he would abandon her on the spot.
Viscount Malcolm glanced at the three Aces in his hand and confidently pushed all his chips forward, calling the all-in.
"Whoa, going that big this time!"
The onlookers gasped.
Everyone was convinced that this foolish beauty was about to lose everything right here.
The dealer proceeded through the motions, dealing the final two community cards.
The time had come for the showdown.
The Viscount was the first to proudly reveal his hand—three Aces. It was already a monstrously powerful holding.
Then Minier slowly turned over her hole cards.
A Ten of Spades, and a Jack of Spades.
And resting upon the board were the Queen of Spades, the King of Spades, and the Ace of Spades.
A Royal Flush.
The smile on Viscount Malcolm's face froze in an instant.
His complexion drained to a ghostly pale, as though all strength had been siphoned from his body. His eyes were blank, unable to utter a single word.
When the dealer flipped that Ace of Spades, dead silence gripped the entire VIP hall, instantly shattered by an eruption of chaotic clamor.
"A Royal Flush...!"
"Three Aces ran into a Royal Flush?! A board like that...?!"
"What kind of luck does this girl have? No, is she the favored daughter of the Goddess of Fate?!"
Unlike the jubilant crowd,
Viscount Malcolm stared fixedly at the five spades on the table. Only now did he snap awake from an absurd nightmare, realizing that the sum he had just lost had surpassed the liquid capital he could casually squander.
"Darling, look how much money I made for you!"
Minier acted as if she had no idea what had just occurred. She cupped both hands over her mouth in wide-eyed innocence, letting out a delighted, trembling squeal, looking as though she were the one most astonished by it all.
"...You really are the greatest."
Lanqi watched Minier's acting in speechless awe.
He couldn't help thinking: if Minier had been his co-star during the Cinderella Arc or the Half-Witch Arc, everything would have been so effortless and smooth.
Acting was never supposed to be exhausting, nor was it meant to inflict trauma; all his past misery had simply been because the leading actress had issues.
Chatter bubbled up around them, resembling the curtain call after a stage performance.
Lanqi did a quick mental calculation: setting aside his initial stake, the net profit was astronomical—enough to purchase a premier luxury mansion in Ikerite.
Amidst the clamor, Minier leaned close to Lanqi and whispered smugly in a voice barely audible to the human ear:
*(You're rich.)*
*(This is practically levying a 'Demon Princess Tax' on Viscount Malcolm.)*
*(Fun, isn't it?)*
*(It really is much more fun than the Golden Bee Amusement Park.)*
Looking at the mountain of chips before him, and then at the smiling culprit beside him, Lanqi couldn't help reflecting that hanging out with the Duke truly offered a path to early retirement.
His original instinct had been right all along.
*(Still, Lanqi,)*
Minier's voice murmured again.
*(What?)*
*(Why did you act so well? It's genuinely infuriating,)*
she complained.
*(You're the one who needs to rein it in. It was utterly nauseating,)*
Lanqi shot back.
The two kept their fake smiles plastered on, exchanging hushed whispers from time to time.
Yet the curve of their pressed lips could not conceal their true mood—both were having the time of their lives.
-----
Mysterious black-haired woman:
Chapter 894