28. The Queen of the Night
Wherever her gaze fell, the oversized “scissors” in the head of the household’s hand, with its two gleaming blades, shimmered under the blood-red moonlight, radiating a sharp, blinding brilliance. For a moment, Lin Ke was so tense that even her words got stuck in her throat.
“Ah… Master of the house…”
Because Lin Ke had seen the head of the household use these scissors—no, it should be called this “instrument of punishment”—to punish those who had offended her! Just like now, with a certain emerging family from one of the four great families of the Meili United Kingdom. The previous head of that new family hadn’t gone missing; he had clearly fallen into the hands of her master!
Lin Ke had witnessed that man being “gutted” by the head of the household, his still-beating heart ripped out, and then… ugh… it was something that made Lin Ke want to vomit just thinking about it. After that, the man hadn’t even died completely; he had roared “food, food” while flailing around like a headless fly, before finally collapsing to the ground, utterly still.
Just like… those people she had encountered that night! That was why Lin Ke dared not speak of their situation to anyone else; who would dare to voice such things?
“Can… can you put that… down?”
After a long while, Lin Ke finally managed to squeeze out those words.
“Hmph, scared? Then tell me seriously.”
“Y-yes…”
Lin Ke lowered her head.
Although the head of the household wouldn’t really “show up” for various reasons, she still had her ways of quietly staying informed about everything in the Meili United Kingdom. During the day, her “surface head of the household” would bring her all sorts of internal affairs, while at night, Lin Ke could guarantee that in every “shop” and “store” throughout the kingdom, there were people loyal to the head of the household. The other three families thought they were invincible, unaware that when night fell, only her master was the true queen of the Meili United Kingdom.
Lin Ke had made such reports many times before, and while they weren’t without embellishments, they had also been discovered at times. So… as long as this report was as calm as the previous ones, she could surely gloss over the recent blunders!
“Master, recently…”
The recent matters were nothing more than a few incidents.
The relic was stolen, and in order to retrieve it, she had to seek help from Mr. Oujilide, and then had to sell the relic at a loss. The head of the household didn’t care much for money, but she was very concerned about what “requests for help” Lin Ke had made, which was why Lin Ke hoped Mr. Oujilide would keep it confidential. Now, she just needed to find some excuse like “I got it back, but the relic was damaged quite a bit, so I had to sell it cheaply” to deceive the head of the household.
Then there was the matter of the bounty hunters chasing her. For this, Lin Ke didn’t want to, nor could she think of any way to lie, so she just spoke the truth.
“That’s about it, the ‘daytime’ matters are these… Master.”
After her speech, Lin Ke, feeling a bit nervous since she had mixed in some “personal content,” quietly raised her head to gauge the head of the household’s reaction. As long as the head of the household laughed heartily and then let her go, there wouldn’t be any more trouble. Everything recent could be considered “acceptable”!
However, in the next moment, Lin Ke realized that she might have overthought things.
“Come here, Lin Ke.”
The head of the family raised her pale arm, which was almost… sickly, and beckoned Lin Ke with a gesture.
Who would dare not to go over? Those who dared to defy the head of the family knew all too well the fate that awaited them, especially the few wolves raised in the family courtyard!
As Lin Ke cautiously approached the head of the family, she gradually got a clearer view of her appearance: at least on the surface, she looked like a little girl who hadn’t even fully grown up, with silver hair cascading like silk, her hands and feet casually draped over the chair as if it were a bed. Yet…
In stark contrast to her lazy demeanor, the coldness emanating from her blood-red eyes seemed to be seriously scrutinizing the truth and falsehood in Lin Ke’s words.
Then…
“Get down on your knees, extend your hand.”
Lin Ke had no choice but to comply! All she could see was the red carpet illuminated by the blood-red moonlight, and then a sharp pain shot through her outstretched hand, followed by an overwhelming sense of emptiness, as if her entire being—body and soul—was being drained away, leaving only the instinct to “survive” in her mind!
“Ha… ha…”
Fortunately, it was just a fleeting moment. In a daze, when Lin Ke, already drenched in cold sweat, lifted her head, she found that the head of the family was now sitting upright in her chair, the handkerchief in her hand having wiped away a trace of dark red from the corner of her mouth.
What had just happened, Lin Ke certainly knew, but… unless she was out of her mind, she wouldn’t dare to speak up!
“You lied, Lin Ke.”
“!”
In the blink of an eye, the girl before her kicked Lin Ke down to the ground, the heel of her high-heeled shoe digging painfully into her cheek.
Yet, in that moment, Lin Ke felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave, unable to react to the pain!
Could it be that the head of the family had discovered the lie she told about Mr. Oujili De!?
“The bounty hunter you encountered isn’t as pathetic as you described.”
“……”
So that was it!
Although she breathed a sigh of relief, Lin Ke, who was now being stepped on, had no response to give.
“You know what level of opponent you can handle better than I do. This time, you encountered a ‘Necromancer.’ My people say you only managed to drive her away with the help of three others, am I right?”
“……”
“I hope you understand one thing, Lin Ke. If it weren’t for your slightly superior bloodline and status compared to other insignificant ants, your current position would not be that of the kingdom’s supreme leader, but rather a wild chicken worth less than a gold coin for a night in a suburban brothel.”
The heel of the high-heeled shoe pressed against Lin Ke’s cheek, “Don’t lie out of fear; don’t you care about your ‘kingdom’?”
“……”
“Get up, come here.”
Grabbing Lin Ke, the girl pulled her closer and then… licked the bloodied cheek that had just been trampled. In just a few seconds, the scars on Lin Ke’s face miraculously vanished.
“You don’t need to worry about that ‘bounty hunter.’ I’ll have someone deal with those who recklessly create ‘servants’ in the city. More importantly, Lin Ke, three outsiders saved you, right? What are their identities?”
“……”
A shock ran through her, but Lin Ke quickly regained her composure, “One man and two women, wealthy individuals from the Rodema Empire. An ordinary man, along with his… wife and a concubine.”
Once… once again, she lied! And the moment she thought of it, the concealment of Mr. Oujilide’s identity slipped out. This was the first time Lin Ke felt her hasty lies were seamless, even the head of the family couldn’t detect them.
Because Lin Ke could somewhat sense the head of the family’s thoughts.
“Hmm? Ah~ that’s right, in the outside kingdoms, polygamy is indeed allowed. That man seems to be living quite well off his wife’s wealth.”
The girl let out a cold laugh and suddenly stood up, “Lin Ke, prepare for me. I want to see if there’s anything worth taking from this man. He’s obstructed my plans and taken away the ‘servant’ I wanted from the Necromancer; I must collect some ‘handling fees’~”
The black cloak wrapped around her body as the girl stepped forward.
It took Lin Ke a while to react, and she hurriedly followed after her.
Sorry, Mr. Oujilide, the cover I can provide for your identity can only go this far! The head of the family’s whims cannot be easily dissuaded!