“So the Lady is taking advantage of people’s fear of her.”
She widened her eyes as she looked at the Lady standing before her.
At this moment, it wasn’t just Mierpasi— even Amisa finally understood.
Originally, she and the Lady had thought that the Lady had only gradually become mature after the master and the other young masters left.
Looking at it this way, the Lady’s previous seemingly absurd, reputation-ruining behavior…
Was it actually… just protecting herself?
Thinking this, Amisa suddenly felt a pang of pity for the white-haired girl before her.
No one in the Marquis Castle had taught the Lady these things, yet she had figured them out on her own.
Was this a born ruler?
At that moment, all of Ileya’s past actions—walking her dog through the streets, bullying merchants—took on a reasonable explanation under Amisa’s new perspective!
And it made her feel…
Perhaps this young lady, more than the other openly well-regarded young masters of the Marquis Castle, was more suited to inherit the position of Marquis.
To become the “Uncrowned King of the East County”!
“Is indifference just a protective color?” Holly muttered to herself, then looked at her lady with full sympathy.
She didn’t know the details, but the lady’s childhood must have experienced something that made her so mature at such a young age.
After Ileya finished speaking, she turned her head to see the catgirl’s reaction, only to find that the three beside her were all looking at her with different expressions…
Amisa: Gratified (´▽`)
Holly: Sympathy (。O_0)
Mierpasi: Thoughtful, struggling (～～～)
In response to their imaginations, Ileya could only respond with a face that was three parts mockery, three parts cool detachment, and four parts nonchalance.
Of course, to sum it up, the Lady had no extra expression.
“Heh~ You can think about that slowly later. Now let me ask you: Do you feel that you can no longer stay here?”
Mierpasi opened her mouth, then nodded subconsciously. “I…”
The Lady had stepped in to save her, making the City Lord kill so many members of the Gravel Gang.
If she stayed in Gilliris City, and the Lady left, then based on her understanding of the organization, things like tonight would happen again—ten times, a hundred times.
Her life would be caught in this endless cycle of gratitude and vengeance, never peaceful.
“Then do you believe that if I just raise my hand, the so-called ‘Gravel Gang’ you fear will cease to exist by tomorrow morning?”
As the catgirl was in a daze, she slowly lifted her head and saw the Lady raise her hand and casually toss the tall glass she was holding out the window!
At the same time…
In the garden below the study, a sneaky black figure was crouching beside a bush, reaching out to pick a string of purple berries from the decorative shrub.
To make the garden look more lively and full of natural breath, nobles liked to plant these shrubs that grew small wild berries.
Some bored noble ladies would even compete over whose bush had the plumpest, prettiest berries as a point of pride.
Of course, this was also to show off their gardeners’ skill and, indirectly, their wealth and taste.
But these berries were like walnuts you roll in your hand—except for ignorant children, no one ate them.
However, it seemed that the Goddess Young Lady was quite interested in these sweet but slightly astringent fruits.
“Ehehe (·H·’) Berries…”
The next second, just after picking a string of purple berries, the Goddess Young Lady felt her head spin, her face instantly stiffened, and she silently tumbled into the bush before her.
“(>â–¡<)?”
“(X—X)”
Plop.
She fell headfirst into the bushes without a sound.
Meanwhile, a maid in the distance saw the cup flying down from the study window and her pupils shrank sharply.
After giving a few quick instructions, the maid hurriedly left the villa, passing by her colleagues and guards.
Ten minutes later, at the City Lord’s Mansion.
Gilliris’ City Lord, still full-faced and fierce-looking, was not asleep. Instead, he sat in his study like Ileya, rubbing his chin that had grown some stubble.
“You’re saying the Lady threw the cup out the window?”
He looked at the secret guard standing before him.
“Yes, my lord, I saw it with my own eyes.”
“So… did I ask you to keep watch over the Lady?” The City Lord raised an eyebrow slightly.
Plop!
The next second, the secret guard dropped to his knees, shoulders trembling.
“No… no, it was this subordinate… acting on my own.”
“Hmph. We’ll discuss your matter later. Go call Fukadi over. I have something to tell him.”
The City Lord waved his hand, and the secret guard, relieved, rose and withdrew from the study.
The flickering candlelight swayed, illuminating the City Lord’s face—even without expression, it was somewhat ferocious.
“The Gravel Gang picks this time to cause trouble. Then you won’t need to exist after tomorrow.”
Hopefully, this will calm the little lady’s anger.
Meanwhile, at 15 Jinsha Street, the Gravel Agency.
As the natives of Gilliris City knew, this so-called agency was the Gravel Gang’s lair. In the Jinsha District, even the City Guard wouldn’t dare search it.
But now, from inside the agency came a series of mournful cries.
“Boo hoo hoo…”
A beautiful woman knelt on the soft bed, her beautiful eyes overflowing with grief—enough to break any man’s heart just looking at her.
Though she said nothing about revenge, her mournful words were not just self-talk. They were meant for someone else in the room.
“Brother… Brother, you died so horribly… boo hoo hoo…”
And yet, the Gravel Gang’s leader, the “Sandstorm” Jisong Kandali, who always had the final say, remained silent.
He remained silent, brows deeply furrowed, lost in thought.
“Brother Jisong…” But he could be silent; the beautiful woman Maikala, who had lost her only brother, couldn’t hold back any longer.
She looked at the man before her with tearful eyes, a man who seemed to her to be all-powerful.
“I… I only had that one brother…”
“Haah… I know. We’re investigating now, and besides…” Jisong really wanted to slap this crying woman.
He, too, was on pins and needles right now.
Not just her useless brother—the Gravel Gang’s Third Master—his most valued third brother had been killed by the City Defense Army.
Since there were almost no survivors, Jisong, who wasn’t at the scene, couldn’t get information quickly.
He was still waiting for news.
He also wanted to know what trivial matter had caused such a huge disaster, enough for the City Lord’s Mansion to completely disregard the Gravel Gang’s face.
Didn’t the City Lord fear a black market uprising inside Gilliris City if things turned ugly?
“Damn it.”
Jisong picked up his teacup to drink, only to find the tea inside had long gone cold.
Dong, dong…
But just as he set down the cup, he paused.
Because he saw the tea inside the cup on the table— the previously still surface was now trembling slightly, as if an earthquake were happening.