23. You’re awake; you’re mine now

Although Kephiel still had the energy to throw some flirtatious remarks at me, she was definitely exhausted mentally. As it turned out, even though we were lying close together, we spent the night peacefully, with nothing happening. The next morning, there was no classic scene of “we’re disheveled, and Kephiel is sitting nearby smoking,” nor were there any lines like “You’re awake; now you’re mine~”

Having preserved our chastity and lives, the next thing I worried about was the actions of that big boss, Louis IV. After all, I hadn’t forgotten the threat she made when she suddenly changed her mind and let us go: “What happens next is not guaranteed.” If it were the old me, I would have probably run off somewhere far away by now. But Kephiel thought: even if we ran, our whereabouts would definitely be discovered and pursued. So rather than abandoning our original power to escape, it would be better to stay honestly in Kephiel’s family, using her identity as cover. This was much safer than running away mindlessly.

Of course, I had to cling to Kephiel, and the following days went just as Kephiel said; the queen really didn’t do anything excessive, until one day when Kephiel’s father, Uncle Zerola, called us over.

This unserious man first studied the situation between me and Kephiel seriously. If he was expecting to see “me looking listless and Kephiel radiant,” he would be sorely disappointed.

Sure enough, Uncle revealed a look of disappointment.

“Let’s go back.”

Kephiel pulled me away, and there was no helping it; our identities were still quite special. Although Kephiel’s father didn’t say anything, he probably had heard some rumors, as he had deliberately avoided seeing Kephiel for several days.

“Hey—wait, isn’t this just a check from Father?”

“Hmph, old man, now you’re going to oppose it because of his identity?”

“August snow, Dou E’s grievance, oh my dear daughter!” Uncle wailed, “Isn’t what I’m thinking completely the opposite? If something really were to happen, wouldn’t it be much easier to resolve the recent matters! “

Your daughter is a proud daughter of heaven, a big shot who dominates the world, not some tool to be used.

Just as I was about to say this, Uncle cleared his throat.

“Ahem, actually, the reason I called you here today is that the Great Ying Empire has officially issued a black wanted notice.”

Immediately after, Uncle spread out a scroll with a portrait printed on it.

【Ou Qi Li De has been officially listed as a black wanted criminal by the Great Ying Empire.】

Although the script had already alerted me to this content that I had long anticipated would eventually happen, I couldn’t help but feel strange when I actually looked at it.

Could it be that everyone around Louis IV is a soul artist? The wanted notice indeed states the infamous con artist Ou Qi Li De, but it’s clear that Louis IV, who has met me, is being rather careless; this portrait bears at most a 50% resemblance to me, just enough for someone to say I’m a “wanted criminal,” but when it comes to actually recognizing me, it’s “almost there” at best.

“Ou Qi Li De, although you were already a wanted criminal, that was only to the extent of ‘word of mouth,’ but this time it’s different; the Queen is serious.”

Uncle spoke, “A black wanted notice is the highest level of wanted status in the Great Ying Empire. In addition to a reward so high that even the nobility would take notice, if you can capture him alive, you could even gain honor and power . The Great Ying Empire has been established for many years, and those who have been subjected to such a wanted notice can be counted on one hand, and now you…”

Then I really have to thank Louis IV; I know: that queen has begun to take action. As for why the portrait on the wanted notice looks so much like a “soul artist,” that’s definitely intentional on Louis IV’s part. She’s certainly not waiting for others to capture me, but rather waiting for us to surrender out of impatience.

I, Ou Qi Li De, am originally the great villain, accustomed to not fearing the heat of boiling water, so at this moment, I care more about something else.

“What about Ke Fei Er? Is she okay!?”

Uncle gave me an approving glance.

Look at your sister! I’m worried about whether Ke Fei Er’s future protagonist upgrade path will be affected!

“Our family has no issues; perhaps the Queen isn’t ready to target Ke Fei Er yet. Everyone is just tacitly keeping silent. But this way…”

Uncle sighed deeply, “We’re powerless, our duties and identities are difficult to balance, and all we can do is pretend we didn’t see anything. Ke Fei Er, do you understand?”

Ke Fei Er nodded; Uncle’s meaning was clear: we can’t help you, but we can pretend nothing happened.

Before the great battle, the top-level external aid must inevitably leave, which is a normal operation in the script; otherwise, how can the protagonist even perform?

But this way…

“Then I won’t be able to go out?”

Ke Fei Er immediately shot me a glance: “What time is it, and you still want to go out? If you’re worried about Wang Jie, I can go back and negotiate if necessary.”

This won’t do; although it’s a critical time, I can’t just stay cooped up at home, wasting food and keeping you warm, that behavior…

“Isn’t that just like being a kept boy?”

Even hugging a thigh needs to be done professionally; at least I can’t just sit idly by like a turtle during this time.

However, Ke Fei Er was not satisfied with my response and shot back without thinking, “Being a kept boy is fine!”

Then, she finally realized there was something wrong with that statement, and for a moment, neither of us could say a word, the atmosphere thick with a certain tension that even the shameless Zerola Uncle found hard to endure.

“Ahem… the occasion, the occasion.”

He looked around and then let out a long sigh, “Fortunately, there’s no one here. We have guests coming later, so if you two have any nonsense to say, save it for tonight.”

“Guests? But Father, you hardly ever meet guests…”

“It’s that kind of ‘guest’ in a sense. To put it simply, it’s about bringing someone back to investigate any violations.”

As he spoke, my uncle sighed, “This has been an old problem during the period of parliamentary restructuring. There are always those who will stop at nothing for votes, but this time, the noble who may have violated the rules is someone I didn ‘t expect, which is why we need to bring him back for a detailed inquiry.”

“That Earl of Glamorgan, he previously confiscated the estate of Louis the Twenty-Third. He wouldn’t dare to embezzle even a little; he must have received quite a bonus. Originally, as an established member of the nobility, he shouldn’ t need to resort to any petty tricks to get re-elected, but this time, he’s been a bit dishonest.”

Noticing my expression change, my uncle looked over.

“If you find it strange, try to disguise it a bit. You two can come over and listen in if you’d like.”

Of course, even if my uncle hadn’t said anything, I would still want to be there because the script…

Had already appeared, and it was too coincidental with the recent actions of the queen towards me.

【Strange occurrences in parliamentary restructuring.】