One fairly known writer and philosopher from Selena"s world said that every man is a d.a.m.n fool for at least five minutes every day, wisdom consists in not exceeding the limit.Adam was not aware of this quote, but if he was, he would definitely admit that it was true. It was what he had just experienced for himself.
"Milady." In between bouts of consciousness after the rounds of torture suffered from Andre Grey"s hands, the man called out to Marian. The woman was actually not in the vicinity as the duke didn"t want his beloved wife to see blood. Adam didn"t know that he was merely hallucinating. And as he looked at her hazy image that was before him, there was confusion and sadness in his eyes since he knew he only ended up in his current situation due to her. Yet there were still had hints of affection and tenderness too.
Every man was really a d.a.m.n fool for at least five minutes every day.
Adam had long been in love with Marian, and it was what powered the plot to let him recognize her even though she was wearing a different face. Unfortunately, it was also this forbidden and one-sided feeling that made him lose control and cool for a second, leading him to be at an utter disadvantage as he confronted Andre.
Andre was furious. And n.o.body knew what kind of bad ending he was concocting for the knight in his head.
Right now, stifled sobs were filling the Manor above ground while the bas.e.m.e.nt was full of hair-raising sounds from the body of the knight who was keeping his mouth shut despite the pain.
One thing was sure. It would be a long and excruciating night for the latter.
…
That same night, around midnight in Jiang Li and Margarette"s house, the girl suddenly awoke from her sleep and slowly opened her eyes.
There was no moonlight seeping into the room since it was the first week of the month. Outside, the night sky was blanketed by several cl.u.s.ters of clouds. Darkness greeted her sight and it was accompanied by the silence that was sometimes broken by the gentle breathing of the man beside her. Sometimes the crackling of the fire and the singing of the night birds and insects would do the job.
Slowly rising from her spot, the girl carefully peeled off the thick blanket from her, uncovering a delicate but developed body of an eighteen-year-old woman that was clad in a white nightgown. Thankfully, the fabric of her garment was quite thick, apart from being smooth and breathable for the skin. Of course, there were still parts exposed, like her arms and legs. Those were getting chilled by the night breeze, so in order to not freeze up, she fetched herself a long furry cloak and draped it over her.
Warmth instantly enveloped her body, brought by the thick fabric made her sigh with emotions, albeit soundlessly.
After giving the sleeping guy one last look, she silently headed towards the door with light footsteps. When she slid the wooden bar lock to the side using her right hand, she made sure her action was silent and careful enough to not rouse Jiang Li from his sleep. However, she didn"t turn to check on him one last time, but simply stepped out and closed the door slowly.
"My carefulness might seem unnecessary after casting silencing magic," she laughingly said to herself after exiting the house. A corner of her lips rose as she gave a glance to the closed window to that particular chamber.
After shaking her head, she started walking down the road to her left, her feet no longer paused for her after, bringing her away there. Her figure seemed to have blended seamlessly with the darkness and shadows in the road ahead. Her steps made no sound, as if they were made by a cat and not by a pretty human. It did not take long for her to vanish from that area completely.
Inside the room that she just left, a mechanical voice suddenly rang in the head of the guy who should have been sleeping.
"Anomaly detected…"
"Reason for the drastic change in the plot before your takeover uncovered."
"Reason for getting wrong coordinates last transfer also detected…"
"Host is recommended to…"
The youth was suddenly could be seen sitting on the edge of the bed. The girl had been wrong to a.s.sume that all her carefulness would be enough to ensure he wouldn"t be alerted from his slumber because, from the moment she made the tiniest movement, he was aware of it. Right now, no trace of sleepiness could be made out on his face now. For a long while, he was staring at the vacated s.p.a.ce next to him with no emotion.
He was carefully listening to the announcements playing in his mind, especially since it was the mechanical, emotionless voice speaking. He knew, if there was no important announcement, this voice wouldn"t suddenly pop up. The child-like voice that frequently spoke nonsense to him couldn"t bypa.s.s the muting after all.
A couple of moments later, the announcement finally ended. Jiang Li kept staring into the void, lost in his thoughts.
"So my stupid system did not really make a mistake in the transfer procedure before," he pensively said to himself, referring to the child version of the system. In his mind, ever since he knew about the mechanical side, he treated the system like Aliyah, with a split personality.
According to the robot-like voice, there was an unexpected interference from an outsider. All the big changes in the plot before he came into the scene was directly or indirectly triggered by this person. Who were they? He had no idea.
Nonetheless, it was good to be informed of what sparked the changes. He wouldn"t deny it helped clear up some confusion… However, the past was already the past, simply not as important as the matter at hand that was making more concerned now - his wife"s strange behavior.
Why would a delicate princess like Margarette go out in the middle of the night? What was it that she didn"t want to alert her husband with? Questions popped up in his mind one after another.
If he said though that he had no idea, he"d be lying to himself… or admitting that every trip he made in and outside the city was useless. But what are the odds that the announcements had some connections to Margarette"s sudden and secret trip outside?
The guy sunk into contemplation without the usual curiosity or amus.e.m.e.nt swirling inside his head. He was not amused, and was barely controlling emotions in his heart.
This was not the first time Margarette went out at night without informing any soul, including him.
Even if he removed his suspicions of her about the announcement, it was still a fact that was quite concerning considering they had yet to be together for more than a month… He was okay reporting to her where he would go every day, but it seemed she was not yet ready to do the same to him.
"The number of lifetimes has made me complacent. I"ve become too relaxed," he chuckled and stood up before grabbing a hooded cloak for himself.
Jiang Li collected his thoughts and headed downstairs.
To his surprise, a group of people was waiting to ambush him outside of the mansion, stopping him from his plan to chase Margarette.
Looking at the armors of the soldiers that surrounded him without a gap, he squinted his eyes. Even though the illumination at the place was quite poor, he could clearly make out the exquisiteness of the armors and the weapons of the bunch. Their auras too showed they were among the best of the best knights.
A pang of regret for not going invisible earlier a.s.saulted Jiang Li, making his mood foul again.
He asked in his mind, "What the heck is with this palace dogs?"
His thoughts immediately drifted to Agatha and grunted in annoyance.
"By the order of whom did I manage to get the royal knights after me?" A cold voice escaped his mouth as he swept his gaze around.
None could meet his eyes though, and to his irritation, it was not because the people encircling him were guys with no backbone. The knights were hanging their head low so of course, n.o.body would be able to see him eye to eye. Their actions made him both curious and alert since he had a hunch the one from the palace who wanted to see him was with them.
Who was it, he wondered. Did Agatha become so brave to do this? Or was it somebody else"s manipulation or orders? Honestly, his guesses were making him unhappy.
Not long after, the answer showed to him.
A part of the encirclement parted for the entry of a single person which somehow surprised Jiang Li. "Francis IV?"
After a squint of his eyes, he confirmed that it was indeed the most distinguished man in the kingdom. His father-in-law, the "foolish" King of Holon.