As evening approached.
Matthew had hired several carriages for everyone, and the entire troupe of Magic Feather Fantasy would travel together to Shadowmoon Manor.
This time, not only the performers of Magic Feather Fantasy were invited to the banquet, but also the maids and guards.
Naturally, as the captain of the guard, Chu Tian was also among them.
At the moment, he was riding a tall horse, leading and protecting the convoy.
For Chu Tian, this banquet at Shadowmoon Manor was indeed aimed at Su Nian, but he also wanted to strengthen ties with his partners.
Previously, Chu Tian had pondered for a long time about how to deal with Su Nian in the future.
On one hand, though he had been deceived by this girl several times, he had to admit that he was genuinely drawn to this mysterious and beautiful young woman.
On the other hand, due to her uniqueness, as long as he could provoke feelings of “humiliation” in her, he could gain far more “anger points” from her than from ordinary people.
Though he didn’t know why…
This extraordinary method of obtaining anger points was crucial for enhancing his strength and preparing for the impending demon invasion.
Therefore, Chu Tian’s feelings toward Su Nian were somewhat complicated.
He wanted to humiliate her severely to gain enough anger points, but he also feared that if he went too far, she might resent him forever.
Of course, Su Nian currently had no idea that Chu Tian was the “bastard horned demon” she often cursed.
But if she ever found out… it wasn’t hard to imagine how furious she would be.
Would he have to keep deceiving her with his Chu Tian identity forever?
Never mind, no point overthinking it now.
Aside from concerns about his identity, he had also considered-after his demonic transformation using more extreme and ruthless methods to imprison Su Nian in Shadowmoon Manor and torment her day and night…
That would undoubtedly cause his anger points to skyrocket.
But… he couldn’t do it.
No matter what, the girl sitting in the carriage behind him was someone he loved.
Even if his actions were meant to prepare for the demon invasion three years later, doing so would strip Su Nian of three years of her vibrant life… and that simply wasn’t fair to her.
So, Chu Tian chose a gradual approach to humiliation.
During the day, he would let Su Nian pursue whatever she desired-whether it was becoming an idol, a magic academy instructor, or anything else.
But at night, she would have to return to Shadowmoon Manor, obey his commands, and endure his torment so he could gather enough anger points to counter the demon threat.
This way, though the impact on Su Nian would still be significant, at least she could still live a fulfilling life.
She could be an idol, a teacher… while he could still extract the anger points he needed from her at night.
Hmm…
Thinking about it carefully-this peerlessly beautiful girl, revered as a noble magic instructor by day and adored as a dazzling idol by thousands, would have to submit to him as his little slave at night, enduring his humiliation, teasing, and training…
Perfect!
Of course, he was well aware that this plan carried enormous risks.
Su Nian’s strength was growing rapidly, and she could pose a threat to him at any moment.
To play it safe, he should imprison her outright, then use the system to purchase various suppression methods to completely cripple her power and eliminate any chance of her turning the tables.
However, through their recent interactions, he had come to realize something.
That girl, though rapidly growing in strength and harboring secrets even he couldn’t fathom, behaved entirely like an inexperienced young maiden, the type who’d probably shout about bonds, friendship, and courage before picking a fight with him.
A foolish girl through and through.
So…
Of course he knew Su Nian hadn’t surrendered.
She was undoubtedly searching for a way to turn the tables in secret.
Probably even plotting how to kill him.
But he didn’t care!
If he couldn’t handle a naive fool like Su Nian, how could he possibly face the demon invasion three years from now?
Might as well let her kill him now and spare himself the future humiliation.
He considered this silly girl’s threats as nothing more than training for himself.
Had Su Nian heard Chu Tian’s thoughts at this moment, she would have bristled like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, cursing up a storm.
The Magic Feather Fantasy troupe’s caravan swayed leisurely along the road.
Along the way, many passersby stopped to greet them, some even offering flowers.
Clearly, the success of their debut performance had already earned Magic Feather Fantasy considerable fame, especially for the magical girl idol Su Nian.
Many in the crowd were calling out her name.
At this moment.
Su Nian listened to the cheers of the onlookers, occasionally waving back from inside the carriage.
Of course she wanted more people to like her.
Being an idol brought both fame and wealth-what wasn’t there to love?
Except… whenever she imagined those very supporters seeing the photos that bastard horned demon might release, her heart grew unbearably heavy.
Hmph!
This trip to Shadowmoon Manor was about gathering information and finding that crystal ball camera!
Half an hour later.
***
Shadowmoon Manor.
The Magic Feather Fantasy caravan arrived at the manor gates.
As the carriage slowly came to a stop, Su Nian took a deep breath, steadying the turmoil in her heart while psyching herself up.
Don’t panic…
She had to face this eventually.
Perhaps she could be like the spies from movies she’d watched, finding clues within Shadowmoon Manor to locate that crystal ball.
Her mind conjured images of herself in a sleek spy bodysuit, accentuating her perfect figure, sneaking in, climbing through windows, picking locks with effortless grace before finally retrieving the crystal ball…
Only for the fantasy to veer off script, with the horned demon catching her red-handed during the theft.
And then what followed…
Su Nian shook her head violently.
What was she thinking?
Pathetic!
Beside her, Chu Tian dismounted with handsome poise, standing tall at the manor gates as his eyes scanned the crowd for Su Nian.
Since he appeared in his demonized form both before his subordinates at the monster forest base and the Shadowmoon Manor staff, none here would recognize him now.
Meanwhile, Su Nian stepped gracefully from the carriage, dressed in a simple yet elegant white sundress.
Her slender legs, clad in white stockings, gleamed porcelain-pale, while her golden hair shimmered in the sunset like an angel descended to earth.
Chu Tian’s gaze was instantly drawn to the most radiant girl in the crowd.
A single thought echoed through his mind: White stockings… he could get behind that.
As the gates of Shadowmoon Manor slowly creaked open.
Twenty to thirty maids stood in two rows at the manor entrance, welcoming the guests attending the banquet.
Aside from a few core subordinates brought from the Monster Forest who were aware of Chu Tian’s influence, most of the maids had been hired from Academy City.
Given the generous wages offered, recruiting the necessary staff had been effortless after all, such a vast estate required proper maintenance.
Su Nian stared at the scene before her, momentarily stunned.
When she had visited the night before, Shadowmoon Manor had seemed eerie and foreboding.
But now, after being fully decorated, it was brilliantly lit and breathtakingly beautiful.
“Wow~! So this is Shadowmoon Manor? It’s gorgeous!”
“It’s huge! Amazing!… What a manor!”
“So many maids, and all these flowers-even the main residence looks stunning!” Amy and the other entertainers marveled.
“What a beautiful place. If only I could live somewhere like this in the future… though that’s probably impossible,” one of the entertainers mused wistfully.
“If I ever quit being an entertainer, I’ll come work as a maid at Shadowmoon Manor. That way, I could still live here.”
“A place this big could house so many people, right?”
“Feels like it could fit hundreds. Even Magic Feather Fantasy is tiny, yet it managed to squeeze all of us in.”
“Eh? Since the master of Shadowmoon Manor is Miss Su Nian’s cousin, does that mean she could live here?” another entertainer asked.
The moment Su Nian heard those words, it felt as if she had been struck by lightning.
‘Live in Shadowmoon Manor?’
‘Wh-what kind of joke is that?!’
At the same time, Chu Tian stood nearby, eagerly awaiting Su Nian’s response.