Chapter 269: Elder Mirabel Drops the Mask
Damian barely managed to stop himself from spraying tea across the entire table.
He quickly turned his head, coughed twice, and wiped the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. "What do you mean?"
Mirabel continued staring at him with that faint, elegant smile, looking almost perfectly innocent despite the question she had just dropped on him. "Don’t lie, kid."
Damian’s expression stiffened slightly.
"Kid?"
Mirabel calmly lowered her teacup onto the table, turning to him. "I already knew from your eyes."
Her gaze sharpened faintly, although her voice remained soft and polite. "The moment you looked at me earlier, something in your expression changed."
Damian remained silent.
Mirabel leaned forward slightly, resting one elbow against the table as her smile became increasingly amused. "It wasn’t the expression of a man admiring a beautiful woman."
She paused for a moment. "Especially not someone with your reputation."
Damian’s eyebrow twitched.
Mirabel continued, "It was the expression of someone who had suddenly discovered something he was never supposed to see."
Damian stared at her.
"Damn... this woman is fucking sharp."
He had thought his reaction was subtle enough.
Apparently not.
Mirabel’s eyes narrowed with genuine interest as they studied him more carefully. "Your eyes are really interesting, Damian."
For the first time, she dropped the casual "Senior Brother."
Her tone remained gentle.
However, the words that followed immediately sent a chill down Damian’s back.
"So interesting, in fact, that I almost can’t stop myself from wanting to gouge them out personally and study them."
Damian instantly shuddered. "Please don’t say something that terrifying so fucking casually."
Mirabel stared at his reaction before chuckling, covering her lips. "Hehehe, I’m only teasing you."
Damian did not look relaxed in the slightest.
"What kind of fucking joke is that?"
Mirabel’s eyes curved beautifully. "You’re Selvara’s disciple."
She leaned back in her seat again. "If I truly touched you, she would probably come marching into the Scripture Hall and cut me down before I finished examining your first eyeball."
Damian immediately imagined Selvara entering the hall with Executioner floating beside her.
His expression became strange as he slowly nodded. "Yeah... she might actually fucking do that."
Mirabel clicked her finger excitedly. "Exactly. I still like my books far too much to take that risk."
She glanced around the room filled with shelves, ancient manuals, and scattered scrolls.
"I certainly don’t want Selvara destroying half the Scripture Hall just because I became slightly too curious about her disciple."
Damian’s mouth twitched.
"Slightly too curious?"
The woman had just casually talked about ripping out his eyes.
However, knowing Selvara was apparently acting as an invisible life insurance policy made Damian relax, although it was only a fucking little.
He slowly placed his teacup down and looked at Mirabel again.
This time, the shameless playfulness in his expression faded slightly.
His gaze became far more serious.
This was genuinely the first time Damian had encountered a woman like her.
Mirabel was clearly one of the villainesses recognized by his system.
Yet unlike Violetta, Vulkara, or the others, she was not hiding behind tragedy, anger, pride, or some complicated misunderstanding.
She had practically shown him her dangerous side immediately from the very start.
"So this is what a villainess looks like when she already knows she’s dangerous and doesn’t give a fuck about hiding it."
Mirabel noticed the change in his expression and smiled. "What’s with that face? Did I finally scare you, Damian?"
Damian remained silent for a moment before he grinned too. "Scared...? Not really."
Mirabel raised an eyebrow.
Damian looked directly into her eyes. "I’m mostly thinking that you’re way more interesting than I originally expected."
He then picked up his tea again and took a sip. "After all... I’ve always met women who were either shy or elegant. Someone dangerous like you is a first... and pretty interesting."
For the first time since they had entered the room, Mirabel’s smile faltered, but only for a second before her grin widened. "Hehehe... You’re really interesting, Damian."
---
Damian placed his teacup down and leaned back slightly. "Alright, then, Elder Mirabel."
Mirabel’s eyes immediately curved with amusement. "Oh?"
She lightly tapped one finger against the side of her cup. "You’re finally calling me Elder?"
Damian shrugged without the slightest embarrassment. "Now that I know you’re definitely not some random librarian disciple, obviously."
Mirabel chuckled softly. "At least you know how to adapt quickly."
Damian proudly accepted that as praise before his usual shameless expression returned. "Anyway, I originally came here for the same reason I usually visit beautiful women."
Mirabel raised an eyebrow.
Damian placed one hand over his chest. "To flirt with you and give you something nice."
Mirabel stared at him for several seconds before laughing quietly. "How straightforward."
Damian chuckled, spreading his hands. "Why hide it? I like beautiful women, and I’m generous. Those are basically two of my greatest virtues."
Mirabel’s mouth curved faintly. "I’m not sure everyone would call the first one a virtue."
Damian rolled his eyes. "They’re just jealous of my virtue and my looks."
He immediately raised one finger before she could continue. "Setting that aside, now that I know you’re actually an elder, there’s something I want to ask first."
Mirabel calmly lifted her teacup. "Go ahead."
The playfulness in Damian’s expression faded slightly. "Do you know much about King Grade arts?"
Mirabel paused.
Damian continued before she could answer. "And more importantly... do you know how someone reaches the King Realm?"
For a brief moment, Mirabel simply looked at him. A second later, her smile deepened. "Of course I do."
Damian’s eyes immediately brightened. "Seriously?"
He almost leaned across the table.
Mirabel watched his reaction with amusement.
However, before Damian could start firing questions at her, she raised one finger. "Aren’t you being slightly too impatient?"
Damian stopped. "Impatient?"
Mirabel pointed directly at him. "You’re still only in the Golden Core Realm."
Her eyes slowly moved over him as though inspecting his cultivation all over again.
"You haven’t even reached the Nascent Soul Realm yet, and you’re already asking me about King Grade arts and how to break into the King Realm?"
She leaned forward, resting her chin comfortably against one hand. "Don’t you think you’re skipping quite a few steps, kid?"
Damian clicked his tongue. "I’m preparing ahead of time."
Mirabel’s eyebrow rose. "That far ahead?"
Damian’s expression became noticeably more serious. "You know Nolan, right?"
The amusement in Mirabel’s eyes faded slightly. "The Sect Master’s direct disciple?"
Damian nodded, "Yeah. That bastard."
He leaned forward and rested his arms against the table. "He entered the Sword Tomb and somehow came out with a King Grade sword."
Mirabel remained quiet.
Damian continued, "Worse, he also obtained a King Grade sword art from it."
Her fingers stopped moving around the rim of her teacup.
Damian noticed. "So you’ve heard about it?"
Mirabel did not answer directly.
Damian leaned closer. "You should also know Nolan fucking hates me."
Mirabel slowly swirled the tea inside her cup.
Small ripples spread across its surface.
She remained silent for several breaths, seemingly thinking through everything Damian had just told her.
Eventually, her gaze returned to him. "I see."
Her smile returned, although this time there was less teasing behind it. "So that’s why you’re suddenly so impatient."
Damian sighed and leaned back. "Of course."
He spread his hands helplessly. "I’m just a normal person, you know."
Mirabel stared at him. "A normal person?"
Damian nodded shamelessly. "Yes, a completely normal, handsome, generous, innocent young cultivator who happens to enjoy beautiful women."
Mirabel’s expression immediately became doubtful.
Damian ignored it. "And normal people are afraid of dying."
He pointed toward himself. "Especially when some bastard walking around with a King Grade sword already nearly killed me once."
That finally made Mirabel’s gaze sharpen. "You fought Nolan?"
Damian gave a dry laugh. "Calling it a fight would be insulting to actual fights."
His mouth twitched slightly. "That bastard basically beat the shit out of me."
Mirabel silently studied him.
Damian continued, "I survived because of a few tricks, but I’m not stupid enough to assume I’ll get that lucky every time."
He lightly tapped the table. "That’s why I want information. Anything that helps me understand what kind of monsters I’ll eventually be dealing with."
For several moments, Mirabel said nothing.
Her gaze lingered on Damian with noticeably more interest than before.
Eventually, she rested her cheek lightly against one hand. "Fair enough."
Damian’s eyes brightened. "You’ll tell me?"
Mirabel nodded calmly. "I can, however, this is going to be quite a long one."
Damian’s shameless grin immediately returned. "Don’t worry. For a beautiful woman, I always have time."
Mirabel stared at him for several seconds and laughed. "Hehehe... you really don’t know when to stop flirting, do you?"
Damian answered instantly. "Of course."