Lily of the Valley Manor, a side door slowly opened.
An old man in neat black attire, with graying hair and beard, drove a simple carriage out of the manor gate.
This carriage first circled to the bustling district, then passed through the commoner streets, entered the industrial area, and after staying there for a while, slowly left the noisy place.
Parit drove the carriage leisurely, as if taking a stroll, roaming through various districts of Lakeside City.
After one transfer, Parit drove the carriage into a quiet street. The buildings here were relatively new, and the house styles were mainly classical with intricate patterns.
After traveling for a while, the carriage slowly stopped in front of a house.
Parit looked up at the house, then glanced around a few times.
After confirming that no one was following him, he did not enter the house but instead stepped into the alley between the buildings.
He turned left and right in the alley, taking some time.
Finally, he emerged from the narrow alleyway.
This was already another street. There were few pedestrians here because the residents were not dense.
Parit, familiar with the way, walked to a three-story house.
He stood at the door, deliberately adjusted his attire, then raised his hand and gently knocked.
After a short while, a soft female voice came from inside.
“Who is it?”
“It’s me.”
After Parit replied, the door opened.
Through the slightly opened door crack, the graceful figure of a lady could already be seen.
She had a plump figure, was a well-kept woman with delicate skin, and her beautiful face was fair and smooth.
“It’s me…”
Parit said again.
The woman took a deep look at him, pursed her thin lips, then opened the door. Parit stepped into the entrance.
The two entered the living room one after another.
Parit was about to ask the woman why he didn’t see the child at home, when he suddenly saw two familiar yet unfamiliar figures in the living room.
A mature woman in an exquisite maid outfit stood demurely behind a silver-haired woman, and the silver-haired woman with extraordinary temperament was sitting on the sofa, tasting tea.
Parit’s heart started racing. The healthy color on his wrinkled face faded rapidly, becoming pale as wax.
He had witnessed Enya’s methods and knew that such an existence was not someone he could defy. Despair immediately arose.
Clack. Enya put down the exquisitely crafted teacup in her hand, then shook the folding fan in her hand, opening it with a swish sound.
She turned her head to look at Parit, who stood there dumbfounded.
“What a coincidence, you’re here too.”
“……”
Hearing Enya’s voice, Parit felt his hair stand on end.
Seeing how frightened he looked, Enya couldn’t help shaking her head.
“You’re far inferior to Mrs. Mary.”
Mrs. Mary was the chestnut-haired woman standing beside Parit.
This beautiful lady was wearing a gorgeous blue long dress, and just standing there was already a fine view.
Seeing that Parit was still like a quail, Enya sighed and turned her gaze to Mrs. Mary beside her.
“Mrs. Mary, your tea has a nice flavor. Would you mind recommending it? By the way, where were we in our conversation?”
“We were just talking about how your daughter doesn’t want to go to school…”
Mary lowered her eyes, appearing extremely submissive and gentle.
She left Parit’s side and sat down beside Enya. At this moment, Katherine walked toward Parit.
Parit was taken to the yard outside, and Katherine stood guard at the door.
After that was a very long time, for Parit.
Under intense mental strain, Parit had lost his sense of time.
Every second was torture for him. He thought about saying something to Katherine, but Katherine closed her eyes, clearly refusing to communicate with him. Parit could only wait idly in the yard.
The hired servants had been sent away, and no outsiders came to the house.
The silence lasted a long time. The sound of the door opening startled Parit out of his wits; he nearly collapsed to the ground.
He was really nervous, and also quite old.
What Enya and Mary talked about was just the child-rearing experiences of two mothers.
They didn’t discuss the past, only some trivial and interesting topics.
Like ordinary ladies’ chats, they seemed quite cheerful.
So when Enya and Mary walked out the door, both were smiling. But the moment Mary saw Parit, the bright smile on her face froze.
Enya’s smile gradually faded.
She had left Parit waiting for so long, and after playing for nearly two hours, it was time to get down to business.
She glanced subtly at Mary beside her.
“Mrs. Mary, would you like to go back to your room first?”
“No, Ms. Enya.”
Mary shook her head. Her eyes were downcast, a strange light flickering in them, as if she was thinking about something.
Seeing her refusal, Enya did not insist.
Enya stepped forward and fixed her gaze directly on Parit.
“Do you have anything to say?”
“I…”
Parit’s throat stuck. That sentence was hard to utter in front of Enya. The pressure from facing Enya was too great.
He thought of the town that was prosperous when he arrived but empty when he left.
He thought of his experiences those days. He also thought of the alien body beneath this human face.
He thought of many past days…
All combined, Parit’s waist had been crushed by time, and now his legs were crushed too.
His knees lost strength and slammed directly onto the ground. Fortunately, it was a patch of grass.
Parit propped himself up with his hands on the ground—this was his last shred of dignity.
Enya looked down at the old butler and said.
“Are you trying to say that you are loyal to Gro, so you did this?”
“Ridiculous!”
“You are just coveting past glory and infatuation with a woman. Don’t pretend you have some lofty cause.”
Parit’s heart jumped.
He lowered his head, his face full of shame unseen by anyone.
When he looked up at Mary, he found that Mary had turned away and averted her gaze.
Parit’s head drooped to the ground.
“Ms. Enya, I am guilty. I attempted to mediate between you and Penrose, overestimating myself. I, Parit, am willing to die to atone for my sins, but I beg you, Ms. Enya, to show mercy and spare Mary and her child.”
As he spoke, Parit began to kowtow.
Having been left waiting for two hours, Parit had also been tense for two hours.
His mental defenses were already on the verge of collapse. With just a gentle push from Enya, a chain reaction occurred.
Enya watched him kowtow coldly.
As Parit had said, he knew Penrose wanted to use him, and he also wanted to use Penrose to mediate with Enya, using Mary and her child as a trump card to “take back” the ownership of Lily of the Valley Chamber of Commerce at the critical moment.
But Enya had nipped everything in the bud, even penetrating what Parit truly desired in his heart.
The craving for past glory referred to Parit’s former status as second only to Gro in the Lily of the Valley Chamber of Commerce.
Now he was just a marginal figure.
As an old man who had roamed with Gro for many years and later helped establish the Lily of the Valley Chamber of Commerce, he had a sense of honor.
Obviously, he did not want the Chamber of Commerce to be given to Enya like this. To him, Enya was just a usurping thief.
Parit firmly believed that bloodline determined legitimacy and did not acknowledge Gro’s deal. That was why he met with Penrose.
Enya gradually understood everything.
This might have been a setup, a chess game prepared for Gro and Parit.
Why assassinate Gro and also kill his daughter Kalian?
It was to pave the way for Mary and her child!
Ten years ago, Mary was arranged to have a connection with Gro, and then naturally had an illegitimate child. Killing Kalian was to support this illegitimate child to take over.
If so, it would explain why Parit and Lucia were unharmed.
However, this was just speculation.
Enya suddenly narrowed her eyes. She thought of a good way to peek into the past. She looked at Parit, who was still kowtowing, and said.
“Lift your head.”
Parit hesitated for a moment but eventually lifted his head.
Almost instantly, he felt something being stripped from him, and then saw a book appear in Enya’s hand.
Enya used the Black Engraving Knife to cut a piece of Parit’s soul and used 【Survival’s Creation】 to decipher it into a readable book.
She opened it and saw Parit and Gro ten years ago.
That was when they had just received funding from the Star Sea Chamber and had money to eat at a big hotel.
That day, both Gro and Parit drank too much.
A year later, a woman with a child came to the newly built Lily of the Valley Chamber of Commerce building, asking to see Gro.
Gro met her.
That woman was Mrs. Mary.
After that, Gro found Parit and had Parit handle the matter.
Parit saw Mary, who was young and beautiful, holding her child. It reminded him of his former wife and daughter.
He bought a house for Mary and her child to live in and gave them a large sum of money every month.
Thus, ten years passed…
Closing the brief book, Enya looked at Parit again.
“Parit, do you know what Gro meant that day when he came to you and asked you to handle Mary’s matter?”
Parit was at a loss.
Enya was very clear that at that time, Gro asked Parit to handle it, definitely meaning for him to find someone to erase Mary and that child from the world.
Gro had sensed the hidden danger.
Looking at the old butler, Enya smiled.
“Gro actually wanted you to find someone to make Mary and her child disappear from this world silently.”
“……”
Parit’s eyes widened.
Then, Enya snorted coldly and said.
“You fool, haven’t you realized yet that you’ve been deceived from start to finish?”
“Th-this…”
Parit couldn’t speak. He stiffly raised his head to look at Mary. Mary kept her head down, her lips tightly pressed together.
Enya covered her mouth with the folding fan and said mockingly.
“You’d better think about yourself. Mrs. Mary is a woman who knows how to live her life. She doesn’t need an old man with one foot in the grave to worry about her.”