Thud!
Blue Crow’s headless body collapsed, and silence returned to the surroundings once again.
Everyone instinctively took two steps back, their eyes filled with terror.
Rustle rustle…
At that moment, the crowd noticed shadows flickering in the nearby woods, and a faint stench of decay seemed to drift from within.
“Eh~ seriously, how could you be so careless?”
Ileya looked down at the spreading blood on the ground with a dismissive gaze, taking a reluctant step back…then lifting her head, her crimson eyes swept across the others in the camp.
“Now, is there anyone else who wants to come get it? It’s fine~ Everyone…has a chance.”
Whoosh!!
Immediately, everyone instinctively avoided meeting the gaze of this red-eyed girl.
Because at this moment, they all felt a pressure composed of pure fear and trembling…
It was like sinking beneath a lake filled with floating corpses—suffocating…neither up nor down was safe.
Clap clap clap~
During this deadly silence, Miss Jenny standing beside Ileya slowly smiled and began to applaud.
“Hehe~ Truly deserving of the Lady’s title~ So clean and beautiful! Admirable~”
Uh…
The crowd was silent at first, then someone started it, causing thunderous applause to erupt throughout the camp!
Clatter clatter!!
“She really doesn’t know when to die! Daring to snatch even Miss Dingzhen’s things!”
“Serves her right! That guy abandoned us and ran off—he’s not fit to be the captain!”
“So satisfying! So satisfying!”
Almost everyone raised their thumbs toward Ileya, eager to curry favor with this mysterious Miss Dingzhen…
And Blue Crow, who had once made grand promises and earned their trust, had now become the most disgraceful dust in the dirt.
No one could even muster a word of protest.
“No…Nolan! Calm down! Calm down a little!”
At that moment, at the back of the crowd, Loki was holding tightly onto Nolan’s waist, preventing him from moving a step!
His guards, under the young master’s orders, restrained the Viscount’s Fifth Son as well.
“Loki! Let me go!”
Though Blue Crow had clashed with him before and even betrayed him at a critical moment, the two had been friends for years.
To see the other die right before his eyes was something Nolan simply couldn’t accept!
He was definitely fired up, wanting to confront Miss Dingzhen for answers, but…thinking carefully, even if he rushed out, what could he say?
“You…hey! Nolan, calm down! I…I have something to tell you!”
Speaking urgently, Loki leaned close to Nolan’s ear, disregarding whether he wanted to hear or not, whispering in a voice only they could hear!
“That Miss Dingzhen…is actually Ileya Bateos! The Bloodblossom Demon! She’s…your cousin!”
Nolan was stunned, his eyes cloudy as he looked at Loki beside him.
Impossible…
No…it’s definitely…possible.
Given her reckless personality, the extraordinary strength of her guards, and Miss Jenny’s respectful attitude toward her…
This was indeed a possibility!
Why hadn’t I guessed it before?!
She really is Ileya!?
With this premise in mind, looking back at Blue Crow’s previous actions and careful planning…
It was like watching a clown on stage, naked, face smeared with multicolored paint, shouting at the top of his lungs…
“You…why didn’t you say this earlier…”
Nolan glared angrily at Loki.
If they had known from the start, perhaps Blue Crow wouldn’t have died.
“Nolan…do you think I dared to say it? You know better than I what kind of person she is, right? If it weren’t to stop you…I absolutely wouldn’t have told you…”
Loki’s face showed distress, his heart heavy with grievance.
Indeed…
This matter was influenced by emotions; it wasn’t Loki’s fault—it was mine for being too naive.
Sigh…
Nolan lowered his head in resignation.
He wasn’t afraid of Ileya’s power.
But his father had strictly forbidden any contact with his aunt’s family, and his eldest brother had told him this was the Kingdom’s decree.
Women who married out of the Seredon Family could no longer have any contact with their birth family.
If discovered, the entire family could be implicated.
Now, with so many noble youths present, there might be few who could guess Ileya’s identity, but some probably could.
I absolutely cannot go out…
Taking a few deep breaths, Nolan finally stood up slowly.
“We won’t join the main group. After they leave, I will retrieve Blue Crow’s body.”
“Th-then I’ll go with you! Nolan!”
[“I’m not! I’m not! You guys, let go of me!!”]
On the platform, a disheveled girl looked utterly miserable…
[“I…I’m innocent…why…why treat me like this!!”]
In those crimson eyes behind the tangled white hair, all arrogance and pride had vanished.
In their place was deep fear and despair.
Below the stage, countless angry and twisted faces glared at this still underage girl, as if wanting to dump all their negative emotions on her at once!
Occasionally, stones flew up from below, hitting the girl’s head, drawing blood…
This seemed to be a public execution.
And it was…the scene Ileya saw after killing Blue Crow.
Exactly like the moment she touched the Silver Dragon Egg—only this vision was brief and unclear.
Clearly…
Blue Crow’s role in the future “plot” involving her was far less significant than the Silver Dragon Egg’s.
He seemed…just a passerby in a few scenes.
“Public execution…is this the way [I] die?”
On the carriage, Ileya slowly raised her hand, her temple still dull and aching from stones thrown.
The fear surging in her heart was just as vivid.
This emotion was beyond Ileya’s control, as if copied and pasted directly from another version of herself in a different time and space.
What a headache…
But maybe it wasn’t certain…only public execution was shown, not actual death…
What did my future self do to deserve this treatment?
Was it treason or something like that?
What about Mother…
Rubbing her temple, Ileya’s urgency to improve her strength intensified once more.
But increasing her raw power wasn’t something done overnight.
Still, there was at least one thing she could research a little now…
Thinking this, Ileya glanced sideways at Veil beside her, who was munching on Fruit Dried.
Crunch crunch~
These delicious dried fruits were a gift from Miss Jenny to Veil.
Who knew why these two had suddenly become so close…
“Hmm ? Wha…what’s wrong?”
Noticing Ileya’s gaze, the goddess with dark eyes and a mouth full of food blinked, instinctively hiding her Fruit Dried behind her back.
“Nothing~ Just wondering, Veil, are you sleepy?”
Eh?
What’s with this question…
But after eating sweets, there was indeed a bit of drowsiness~
“A little bit?”
“Hmm…really? Then I command you to sleep right now!”
Ileya gave a rather bossy and unreasonable order.
Eh?
Huh?
This wicked woman, what’s gotten into her this time!?
Is she planning to steal my Fruit Dried while I’m asleep?