After Li En led Man En to wash up, the two walked one after the other in tacit silence.
Finally, Man En was the first to break the silence.
“If I’m not mistaken, Lord Li En, you only entered Campbell Castle in the last few years, correct?”
“Oh? What makes you say that?”
“Age. You look no more than twenty, and you weren’t around when I first met Miss Laila.”
“Then again, it’s just my guess.”
“Heh, you really are an interesting man.”
Li En chuckled softly, his demeanor perfectly composed. It made Man En think of his own butler—the gap seemed far too wide.
But Li En didn’t answer. He led Man En out of the castle, where Laila was already waiting in a pavilion to the side.
Li En gave Laila a deep bow, then turned and left.
“Lord Li En.”
Man En called out softly, stopping Li En as he was about to leave.
“Your orders?”
“Do you really want to keep going like this?”
“Pardon? I don’t understand your meaning. Please excuse me.”
Watching Li En’s retreating back, Man En felt that this man was inscrutable. And he probably wouldn’t get any useful information from him.
‘Well, if I’m not mistaken, as long as he’s still human, his composure will break if I keep pushing. For now, I’ll just watch and wait.’
But right now, his main focus had to be on dealing with Laila in front of him.
She walked over lightly, her expression charming.
‘If she were a normal girl, I’d probably have surrendered by now.’
Man En thought to himself as he stepped forward to meet her.
“Good morning, Miss Laila.”
Laila didn’t answer. Instead, she gently caressed Man En’s face.
“Brother Man En, why so haggard?”
The sudden move startled Man En, and he instinctively dodged her.
Then he realized his reaction might have been inappropriate.
“Sorry, I’ve been too tired lately. A bit sensitive.”
Pfft… Hehehe, you’re still as shy as when we were kids, brother.
Laila withdrew her hand, half-covering her mouth. Her laugh was so lively.
‘Damn, she’s good!’
Even Man En had to admit that just meeting her gaze made his heart race. His cheeks flushed, and his thoughts began to wander.
‘If we had children… what would we name them…’
Dong…
A sudden bell clap exploded in Man En’s mind, snapping him back to his senses.
‘What… was that?’
A strange sensation filled his thoughts. He had already forgotten most of what just happened, as if his mind had been roughly blocked.
But oddly enough, he was extremely sensitive to magical fluctuations—he shouldn’t have missed it.
“Ugh… my head!”
Man En’s head throbbed violently. He stumbled, nearly falling.
‘Hmph, pathetic fool!’
Was that Helgort? Had he finally had enough? Either way, it was a huge help.
“Oh? Not bad. If you couldn’t handle that, then you’d be nothing special.”
Man En looked at Laila again, but she seemed like a different person.
Her gaze turned cold and merciless, scrutinizing him as if she could see through everything.
Perhaps this was the real Laila Campbell. The greatest antagonist of the original novel.
“Come on. We need to go for a walk.”
What she called a “walk” was actually leading Man En straight to a dense forest outside the city.
Man En took the opportunity to quietly activate his Communication Artifact.
“You’re quite confident, Miss Laila.”
Man En stopped first, too tired to keep up the pretense.
“Did you bring me here specifically to make it convenient for me to act?”
“Oh? Do you dare?”
Laila slowly turned around, looking at Man En with contempt.
“If something happens to me, who do you think will be the first suspect?”
“…”
She was right. Acting rashly would only make things worse. The most direct consequence would be a bloody conflict between Campbell and Matthews, allowing the Heretic God Sect to take advantage. The mercenary corps would be caught in a three-front war.
And his reliance on his status to protect himself had now become a noose around his neck.
“What do you want?”
“Abandon the Griffin Mercenary Corps and cooperate with me. How about it, Brother Man En? I promise you won’t leave empty-handed. And if you’re interested, I could be your wife.”
Her eyes softened again, even her voice grew gentler.
But Man En’s expression remained grim, unmoved.
“Don’t use the same trick twice.”
“Hmph, boring man.”
Laila spread her hands, her expression full of disdain.
“Forget it. Tomorrow. Give me your answer tomorrow. But don’t forget, your two companions are still in my hands. Think it over.”
Laila turned and left without another word. Man En stood frozen in place.
He lowered his head, his fists clenched so tight they turned purple.
He had only planned to gather some information, but now he was being controlled at every turn.
From here on, not only investigation but even just protecting himself would take effort.
He guessed that the prophecy in the Divine Revelation was likely about what would happen if he refused Laila.
“Only one day left…”
“Lord Man En.”
Dulufu’s voice came through the Communication Artifact.
“You heard all of that?”
A long silence.
“What are you going to do?”
“To protect Mei and Dan Luo… it seems I have to do what she says. I never thought she’d be so blatant… I’m sorry.”
Another long silence.
“That heretic god puppet earlier had a letter signed by you, Lord Man En. Care to explain?”
“A letter?”
Man En immediately thought of the letter he had asked the butler Carlson to send to his father.
His legs gave way, and he collapsed to the ground.
“So… Carlson is…”
The word “dead” he couldn’t bring himself to say.
Not only that, but from Dulufu’s tone, Sophien had probably already begun to suspect him.
“My apologies, Lord Man En, but I must ask you to return the emblem granted by the captain.”
“Lord Man En? Are you listening? Come to the Ailar Grand Cathedral tonight. I’m just following orders. Sorry.”
The Communication Artifact went silent.
Man En sat on the ground, his whole body feeling weak.
He was alone again, just like that.
“Alright, what are you going to do now?”
Helgort’s voice echoed in his mind.
“The mercenaries suspect you, your territory doesn’t care about you, the Campbells have you tied down, and the Heretic God Sect is lurking in the shadows…”
“Shut up, Helgort!”
Man En struggled to his feet, trying to contact Dulufu again.
“Lord Man En?”
Dulufu’s voice came through the artifact once more.
“Do you… still trust me?”
“…”
“I have a plan.”