Want to Come Along?

Returning to the lawn, Annan looked at the soaked Yaxiu and said with a touch of apology, "Thanks for your hard work. Qinna was tough to handle, wasn't she?" "Yeah," Yaxiu said, wiping his face. "I was almost sunk... Are we leaving now?" A hovercar was parked on the lawn—evidently a taxi hailed by Annan. Since Family Harmony Agency had met their downfall here, they didn't need to worry about modern transport suddenly exploding. Annan hummed in confirmation. "We need to leave first." "First?" "Igola said he wants to stay behind and keep these people pinned down to make sure no one pursues us." Annan glanced toward the distance at Evalin, who had the status of [Aloof, Sarcastic Retainer]. "Once we reach safety, he'll slip away alone and regroup with us. That minimizes the risk." Alice said, "Wait, didn't he work ridiculously hard to resurrect you?" "Setting aside the fact that it was just the result of swindling the Gospel, the bigger point is, I'm not dead right now," Yaxiu said with a shrug. "It's like if Lisi was in danger, I'd definitely risk my life to save her. But when Lisi asks me to play on a normal day, the most I'll do is make my Substitute play with her till it drops." Lisi kicked Yaxiu in deep indignation. "Daddy, how can you say that with a straight face?!" "It really is a bit strange," Annan said. "Igola seems to be deliberately avoiding us." Yaxiu came to a sudden realization. "Could it be..." Alice looked thoughtful. "He wouldn't be..." The Blood Moon escapees exchanged a glance, having already guessed their accomplice's petty thoughts. ...... ... *This way, they'll leave first.* Igola stopped watching the situation outside. Idly, he pulled a book from Evalin's bookshelf and took a closer look at the title: *The Teasing Maid*. He swapped it for another: *The Hemophobic Healer and the Self-Harming Ascetic Sorcerer*. He swapped for another: *When the Trophy Falls in Love*. Not only were they all romances, but... why were they all following the exact same dynamic of one side throwing fastballs while the other played hard-to-get? *Evalin, your expectations for romance seem terribly skewed. Even if your emotions hadn't been diluted by the mental sea, you'd probably still end up single for life...* "Aren't you going to regroup with your companions, Mr. Igola?" Anfiel asked, cradling her teacup. "They need to leave first," Igola said calmly. "I'll depart once they reach a safe location. That not only ensures no one can pursue them, but apart from you two sisters, no one else knows I'm at Berdette Manor. The risk when I leave will be minimal." "Mhm, mhm." Anfiel nodded. "Sounds very reasonable." "However... isn't the truth that you're just too embarrassed to face them right now, Mr. Igola?" *Snap.* Igola closed the book. "The only thing a swindler never needs is face." "When dealing with marks, of course you don't need face," Anfiel said with a smile. "Actually, it's quite understandable. You distanced and severed ties with Yaxiu and the others earlier to gain my sister's trust, which was already awkward enough. And while the Scheme Board revealed your true feelings, showing such a... sincere side makes you far too bashful, Mr. Igola." "Don't use such maiden-like adjectives," Igola said coldly. "And your guesses are entirely wrong. I only arranged this out of safety concerns." "Is that so? But didn't you say I was a mirror, Mr. Igola, capable only of reflecting everyone's truth?" Anfiel tilted her head. "Besides, I'm not merely guessing. I have evidence. For instance, when you lie, you love to mask it behind dignified considerations of practical interest—just like your reaction when I congratulated you earlier on winning first place on the Scheme Board..." "In any case." Igola rested a hand on Anfiel's shoulder, his expression calm, only his breathing slightly brisk. "You guessed wrong!" The red-haired girl gazed intently at the swindler, shrugged, and sipped her tea. "Maybe so~" *Vroom!* The roar of a sports car engine drifted in from outside. Igola seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, yet carried an indescribable exhaustion. "They're finally gone..." However, the roar of the engine grew from distant to near, coming closer and closer, and closer, until— *Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!* Gunshots blasted countless fractures across the office wall, and a flash of Sword Light slashed wildly over it! *Boom!* The hovercar smashed through the riddled wall, drifting into a donut across the study. It sent sofas, chairs, tea tables, and display cabinets flying before coming to a steady halt right beside Igola and Anfiel. "You guys..." The gull-wing doors swung upward. Before the shock could fade from Igola's face, Yaxiu grabbed him and yanked him straight into the vehicle. Alice promptly locked her arms around the swindler to keep him from fleeing, looking for all the world like underworld hoodlums abducting an innocent Veela. "We heard you were too ashamed to face us, Igola, so we rushed right over to watch you make a fool of yourself!" Yaxiu laughed boisterously. "How could I possibly— Harvey, let go of me!" "Harvey's in the coffin. I'm Alice," Alice giggled. "Who would've thought your conscience would prick you so deeply for deceiving us, Igola? On Harvey's behalf, I forgive you." From the front seat, Lisi chimed in, "I forgive Aunt Bogin too! Aunt Bogin, Daddy's braiding skills are awful—I'm so glad you're back!" "Who cares about your forgiveness?!" "Then whose forgiveness do you care about?" Alice suddenly turned to Annan. "Wait, won't we owe money after wrecking Berdette's building like this?" "Did you forget we still have the 6,000 Bei points that were meant for ransom?" Annan replied. "Since we don't have to pay a ransom anyway, we might as well squander it here." Yaxiu turned toward Anfiel, reached out a hand to her, and said quite naturally, "Want to come along?" Anfiel gazed at the rowdy scene inside the hovercar: the Purple Moth looking after the little butler, the white-haired girl beaming with smiles, the necromancer roughhousing with the swindler. And... The red-haired girl looked at the cult leader and smiled faintly. "Truly a sparkling person." "Hmm?" "I'm sorry, but I am Mr. Igola's fiancée," Anfiel said, clasping her hands together apologetically. "If Mr. Igola is still willing to say those words the next time he visits Mengfeila, I will gladly accept." "Harvey, open the coffin and stuff Igola inside! I don't want to look at this guy who has women falling for him everywhere he goes... Waaah..." "Daddy, don't cry! I'm in no rush for a stepmom anyway—I won't mind even if no women like you!" "Lisi, thank! you! very! much!" The hovercar roared out through the breach, speeding away into Mengfeila's night sky as Anfiel waved goodbye. Before long, Evalin ran into the office through the breach. A quick glance around showed no one else, and knowing what had happened, she asked Anfiel directly, "What should we do next?" Berdette's decision-making had always operated on two tiers: the Thoughtless One, responsible for planning, and the Heartless One, responsible for execution. The plot that trapped the eight great clans had originated from Anfiel's hands. Able to hear countless inner voices, she had long since unraveled every nuance of human nature, allowing her to design traps that preyed on people's endless desires. In the past, Anfiel would not have hesitated in the slightest. But now, she paused. Because the optimal decision required pursuing Yaxiu and his companions—and that conflicted with her own interests. The point of conflict was not Igola or Yaxiu, but Harvey. If they wished to break free of Berdette's fate, they had to deal with the Angel of Necromancy. Yet across thousands of years, generations of Berdette members had failed to accomplish this, and Anfiel and Evalin were naturally no exception. Yet the one capable of subduing the Angel of Necromancy had now appeared in the Gospel's future. Previously, they had been heartless, thoughtless tools to perpetuate the family, indifferent to Harvey's future accomplishments. But now, Anfiel had finally reclaimed a spark of self-awareness. That faint selfishness was beginning to resist the chains of her bloodline! *Stoke their desires, grant what they need.* Touching the gold coin in her hand, Anfiel couldn't help but chuckle. "Anfiel?" Evalin looked puzzled. "It's nothing," Anfiel smiled. "I think we should have a cup of tea and rest first." "Alright."