Banjie's confusion was shared by everyone in the room.
Yaxiu nodded. "Yeah. After all, Harvey and I have both shown our faces on the Future Board, while Igola hasn't appeared even once so far... Why does Yifalin favor Igola so much? What on earth does she want from a male veela?"
At that point, everyone turned their eyes toward Annan.
Annan raised an eyebrow. "What are you looking at me for?"
"Because bringing us to Mengfeila was your decision, Eldest Miss," Yaxiu said. "Besides, you know Yifalin. If anyone among us understands Ms. Berdette best, it has to be you."
Banjie was somewhat curious as well. "I only learned after arriving here that you used to associate with Miss Yifalin, Miss."
Annan crossed her legs and reached up to toy with her earring, appearing to sauté and process the intelligence in her mind into a signature Funeral Agency dish. "Yifalin... My interactions with her were a long time ago. Ever since she took over as family head, we haven't contacted each other at all."
She seemingly had no intention of disclosing the secret guide to *How to Befriend an Ultra-Rich Beauty and Escape Poverty*, cutting straight to the point: "Yifalin's personality is actually relatively normal. After all, having grown up in such a privileged environment where everyone pampered her, even if she were an ice cream cone she wouldn't melt. Naturally, her character, moral qualities, and virtues aren't bad in any respect. Aside from being very self-conscious about her height, she's actually not much different from an ordinary girl.
"If I had to say anything, it's that she's *too* ordinary—so ordinary that she actually yearned for a sweet, simple, and sincere romance. She also knew the greatest obstacle to her romance was her status, which was why she once ran away from home, hoping for a thrilling and spectacular adventure."
"And the result?" Yaxiu asked.
"The result, naturally, was that the previous head of House Berdette spent money so she could enjoy the adventure of her dreams." Annan shrugged. "Later, when she learned the truth, she gave up on the idea and stopped pursuing that kind of commoner happiness, dutifully returning home to inherit a trillion-scale conglomerate."
"Speaking of which, Yifalin's bone age doesn't seem very advanced either. Why was she able to become the family head so young?" Harvey asked. "What about her parents?"
"Beyond knowing they've passed away, there isn't much information. However, the life or death of her parents has nothing to do with being family head—the heads of House Berdette are essentially celibate and unmarried, and their successors come from the offspring of their siblings. Therefore, Yifalin's parents were never family heads; her aunt was the previous head."
Annan continued, "And virtually every generation of Berdette family heads took over in their youth. Assuming the previous head didn't change her name and live out a retired life in secret, but rather died, then every head of House Berdette hasn't lived past forty."
"Wait!" Yaxiu raised a hand to ask. "What about the times of death for the biological parents of past heads?"
Annan's expression turned a bit subtle. "Unclear, but in past records, there has never been a case where a Berdette family head's parents were still alive. Statistically speaking, equating 'becoming family head' with 'both parents dead' is probably quite accurate."
"Then we have to hurry and tell Igola—"
"It's useless," Harvey said flatly.
Yaxiu looked at the necromancer in surprise. "How could it be useless? Sooner or later, he'll become a sacrificial offering for his own child!"
"Even if he does, so what? It takes over a decade for a child to grow into adulthood," Harvey said, shaking his head. "Do you think a swindler cares about long-term interests ten-plus years down the road? Do you think a swindler fears a risk that won't erupt until over a decade later?
"Besides, knowing his character, any loophole you can or can't think of has undoubtedly been thoroughly investigated by him already. However serious I am during an autopsy, he is just as meticulous when conducting an investigation. For you to actually attempt to advise him in his area of expertise... I can only assume you look down on Igola Bogin."
Yaxiu froze slightly and slowly closed the Book of Gospel.
"Could it be that Igola's appearance caught Miss Yifalin's attention?" Banjie guessed.
Annan shook her head and waved her hand, giving the butler a double denial. "Like I said, Yifalin is just an ordinary girl. She's not so love-struck that she'd become an infatuated fangirl. And even if she did swoon over someone, she'd go after him herself. Why would she have her younger sister marry Igola? Could anyone in this world possibly fancy an illicit love?"
Yaxiu blinked, subconsciously wiping non-existent blood from his face.
Annan added, "Betting the entire Berdette Conglomerate on one person—let alone Igola being handsome, even if he were the reincarnation of her angel ancestor, she would still have to consider it carefully."
"Actually, maybe it would be simpler if you looked at it the other way around."
Everyone looked at 'Lisi' in Yaxiu's arms. 'Lisi' said, "Why didn't Yifalin choose Harvey or Yaxiu? Could there be reasons she couldn't pick them?"
Banjie was struck by sudden realization. "Right! If I were Miss Yifalin, I certainly wouldn't choose Mr. Harvey. Leaving aside the fact that Mr. Harvey will steal her ancestor's inheritance in the future, more importantly, Mr. Harvey's reputation is already completely ruined. Backing Mr. Harvey would be making an enemy of the entire Gospel."
Harvey scratched behind his ear, feeling a bit bashful. "Thank you."
"He wasn't praising you," Annan snapped in exasperation. "Then not choosing Yaxiu is easy to understand, too. The empire is still putting out a bounty on Yaxiu right now. Tying Yaxiu onto Berdette's war chariot without thinking would simply be courting death..."
Yaxiu nodded, then shook his head. "Those are only reasons not to choose us, though. The conditions that dead midget offered Igola are just too generous. Igola definitely possesses something Berdette needs."
"Then that's beyond my knowledge," Annan said, spreading her hands.
The room lapsed into silence for a moment before Harvey suddenly spoke up: "So what are we going to do?
"If Igola wants to leave the darkness for the light and become Berdette's son-in-law, do we send two coffins as wedding congratulations, or do we rack our brains to sabotage this hard-won—or even once-in-a-lifetime—turnaround opportunity for Igola?"
Whether to roast 'leaving the darkness for the light' or 'sending two coffins' first... Because there were simply too many ridiculous points to call out at once, Annan felt her verbal output temporarily failing to keep up with the ever-growing demand for snark, and lapsed into silence instead.
"If Igola successfully falls in love with Anfiel," Yaxiu counted on his fingers, "not only will he be able to break free from the Funeral Agency, but he'll also control Berdette's trillions in assets, gain Berdette's backing to keep sweeping through the Weaving Ceremony, and even turn around to dominate us... Most importantly, he'll get a pure, kind, adorable, and beautiful wife.
"I think the answer is already blatantly obvious." Yaxiu spread his hands. "As a friend, as a comrade-in-arms, as a prison mate, I can't convince myself not to mess this up! How could I possibly stand by and watch Igola attain happiness?!"
Harvey reminded him, "Don't forget, though: if Igola can dominate Annan in turn, we can break free from the Funeral Agency too. For us, supporting Igola has its perks."
Annan glanced at the necromancer. She wasn't angry, however, because Banjie stepped in to dispel their treasonous mutiny: "Mr. Harvey, do you think Mr. Bogin would cancel your contract with the Miss, or use the Miss's contract to continue controlling you?"
Harvey came to a sudden realization. "Oh, right. How could I ever doubt Igola's character?"
"And another thing," Yaxiu said solemnly. "Don't you guys feel like throwing up whenever you see someone else find happiness?"
"Indeed," Harvey agreed with a nod.
"In more ways than one, it truly is unforgivable." Annan lightly flicked her earring.
Although Banjie stood on the Funeral Agency's side and naturally approved of disrupting Igola, looking at the three birds of a feather before him, the sixty-something butler couldn't help but feel a dull ache in his conscience...
Chapter 390