Vol 3. Chapter 60: Investigation
No...
You! You lied to me!
Looking at the dragon-horned girl wearing such a gentle smile, Marquis Keweibote's eyes filled with shock and fury. The hatred and unwillingness in his gaze seemed sharp enough to become countless blades capable of tearing the girl apart.
Unfortunately, as blood and life steadily drained from his body, the Marquis had already lost all ability to fight back.
With his throat pierced by the dagger, the once-renowned noble had even been robbed of the ability to curse aloud.
Watching the purple-haired man struggle in silent hysteria, little Zhong Xizhi tilted her head playfully.
After confirming that Lady Yumo had already left the dungeon, the dragon-horned girl sincerely expressed her "gratitude" to the man before her.
"Thank you very much for your cooperation, Marquis Keweibote~"
That's right.
The one who had instructed Marquis Keweibote to say those things...
was Zhong Xizhi.
Even the one who had deliberately allowed Aide an opportunity to escape...
was Zhong Xizhi as well.
As for the reason~
It was very simple.
To further lower Lady Yumo's opinion of the Child of Destiny.
The more they could reduce the obstacles that Lady Yumo might present when they eventually made their move, the better.
Lady Yumo loved children.
Even when the Abyss Demons of the Great Winter Forest came into conflict with humans, they always tried their best to avoid involving children.
Since that was the case...
then they would simply have Xue Tianao's people repeatedly dance right along that red line.
To ensure that Lady Yumo believed everything Marquis Keweibote said and wouldn't notice anything suspicious from his expressions, Zhong Xizhi had first beaten him half to death, leaving his face completely swollen and unrecognizable.
That way...
Lady Yumo wouldn't be able to read his expressions even if she wanted to.
Hehe~
Thinking of this, Zhong Xizhi couldn't help smiling smugly.
Then,
the leader of the Nightingale Organization no longer paid any attention to the Marquis's furious yet powerless glare.
Very politely,
she left behind a wound on his neck no larger than the mouth of a bowl...
before turning and leaving the dungeon, following Lady Yumo's footsteps.
After Zhong Xizhi disappeared into the shadows, taking the children with her,
the Black Rose knights who remained behind no longer held back.
Drawing the swords from their waists,
they wordlessly swung them down upon the white-robed mages.
In an ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) instant,
blood splattered everywhere.
The heavy stench of blood completely filled the dungeon.
—
Outside the dungeon,
within Marquis Keweibote's estate,
countless estate guards were currently "sleeping" on the ground, peacefully enjoying the bright afternoon sunlight.
Standing anxiously outside the small building among the scattered bodies was a white-haired little boy, nervously waiting for news from the black-haired older sister.
As it turned out,
his earlier decision had been the correct one.
That black-haired older sister...
really was someone worthy of trust.
The next moment—
BOOM~
Accompanied by an overwhelming burst of azure battle aura,
the small building concealing the underground prison was instantly blown apart.
Under Aide's eager and excited gaze,
one imposing black-armored knight after another slowly emerged onto the surface with swords in hand.
Following behind them...
were countless children dressed in ragged clothing.
Stepping out from the swamp of despair,
the moment warm sunlight shone upon them once again after so many days,
the exhausted children could no longer stop tears of joy from flowing.
Among them,
one little white-haired girl with brown eyes immediately stood out.
Her exquisitely adorable appearance already made her impossible to overlook,
and she was currently being carried in the arms of one of the Black Rose knights.
The instant Aide saw her,
his eyes immediately filled with tears of joy.
Ignoring his own injuries,
he rushed toward her.
"Aixue! Thank goodness you're alright!"
"Brother?! Brother... Waaaah!"
The white-haired little girl—
Aixue—
was equally overwhelmed upon seeing her older brother after so many days apart.
Tears streamed continuously from her adorable eyes.
Although the burly knight carrying her looked fierce and intimidating,
he seemed to possess a surprisingly gentle heart.
Reading the situation perfectly,
he carefully set the little girl down.
As expected,
the siblings, who had nearly journeyed to the underworld together,
threw themselves into each other's arms.
For a moment,
the scene was incredibly heartwarming.
...
...
Walking out slowly behind them,
Miss Yumo naturally witnessed everything.
She said nothing.
Simply folding her arms,
she silently watched the siblings reunite.
At that moment,
the elderly butler Saiboke-Baniya, whose physical strength was rather lacking, finally managed to defeat the stairs with the help of his cane and arrived beside Miss Yumo.
After glancing at Aide, Aixue, and the numerous homeless children nearby,
he deliberately put on a puzzled expression as he looked toward the black-haired girl.
"Lady Yumo, what do you intend to do with these children?"
The reason he only pretended to be puzzled...
was because he had already guessed Lady Yumo's answer.
Whenever it came to children—
especially orphaned children with no one to care for them—
Lady Yumo simply couldn't leave them alone.
Otherwise,
back in the Great Winter Forest,
there never would have been that rather extraordinary sight of more than thirty children curled up together inside the Hall of Ten Thousand Demons overnight.
As expected,
after remaining silent for a while,
Miss Yumo slowly spoke.
"Please... just like before..."
"Take these children back to the Black Rose Family and look after them."
"Understood, Lady Yumo."
"We'll take good care of them."
Saiboke-Baniya respectfully replied.
"Mhm."
After responding softly,
Miss Yumo turned toward the staircase leading back into the dungeon,
then toward the Marquis's estate in the distance, now riddled with destruction thanks to Qiu Mingtong.
"Little Sai."
"Yes, Lady Yumo. Is there anything else?"
"How are you planning to deal with all this?"
"The Black Rose Family attacked a Marquis's residence..."
"Wouldn't that cause diplomatic problems?"
"I... think... I may have acted a little recklessly..."
There was unmistakable guilt in Yumo's voice.
Hearing that,
Saiboke-Baniya hurriedly shook his head.
"No, no, no, Lady Yumo. Please don't say that. We were the ones who suggested taking action in the first place."
"As for diplomatic issues..."
"You don't need to worry about them at all."
"Hm?"
Seeing how confident he looked,
Yumo raised an eyebrow curiously.
"Not worry at all?"
"That's right, Lady Yumo~"
Before Saiboke-Baniya could answer,
an adorable dragon-horned girl happily flapped her wings and flew over to Yumo.
Almost everyone in the Black Rose Family shared the same peculiar trait—
their personalities around Lady Yumo and away from her were practically those of two completely different people.
Normally,
Zhong Xizhi was extremely withdrawn around others.
But the moment she stood before Yumo,
she instantly transformed into a lively little girl eager to act spoiled.
Looking at this "child" who was already over forty years old yet still behaved like a little girl,
Yumo smiled helplessly with affectionate indulgence.
"And why are you so confident?"
"Because we've practiced this kind of thing lots of times!"
Zhong Xizhi proudly declared.
"Hm? Lots of times?"
Hearing that,
Zhong Xizhi immediately began shaking her head.
"N-No! No, no!"
"I mean... we've practiced it lots of times during drills!"
"So the real operation is definitely going to be okay!"
The instant she finished speaking,
before everyone's astonished eyes,
a terrifying pillar of fire suddenly erupted into the sky not far behind Zhong Xizhi.
BOOOOM—
Accompanied by an earth-shaking explosion,
a scorching shockwave swept in every direction,
instantly driving away the chill of winter.
Under the raging flames,
everything inside the underground prison was reduced to nothing.
Standing with her back to the inferno,
Zhong Xizhi clasped her hands together with a cheerful smile,
tilted her head,
and looked toward Miss Yumo as though asking for praise.
"Hehe~ Lady Yumo, now nobody will know what happened here~"
"This underground prison has been destroyed because the people inside accidentally caused a magical energy leak~"
"No one will know we were involved~"
"So don't worry anymore, Lady Yumo~"
"Mhm."
"Well done."
Smiling,
Yumo gently patted Zhong Xizhi on the head.
The dragon-horned girl happily closed her eyes,
thoroughly enjoying Yumo's touch.
"Hehe~"
After satisfying the little girl's desire for head pats,
Yumo turned back toward the old butler.
"Little Sai."
"Yes, Lady Yumo."
"Earlier..."
"Xue Tianao sent me an invitation, didn't he?"
"Yes, Lady Yumo..."
"Have... have you made your decision?"
"Mhm."
"I'll accept the invitation."
"I just happen to want to meet that man again."
As she spoke,
Miss Yumo thoughtfully gazed toward the direction of the Imperial Capital.
"Oh, right."
"Little Sai."
"Is there another order, Lady Yumo?"
"Help me investigate him thoroughly."
"I want to know..."
"what this Child of Destiny has been doing behind everyone's backs."
Hearing those words,
the corners of Saiboke-Baniya's mouth rose almost imperceptibly.
"Understood, Lady Yumo."
"We'll make sure every last detail is uncovered."