Free Web NovelChapter 15: I am sorry
At that exact moment, resentment was eating away at Lucy’s mind. She felt utterly helpless, bound hand and foot in the face of these vile allegations. It would have been a simple task to slaughter Sylvia on the spot, but doing so before Cain’s eyes would serve as an irrefutable confirmation that she was a completely wicked tyrant—and worse, it would prove to herself first that she had never truly changed.
Furthermore, she was currently disguised as "Maxi," and Sylvia hadn’t even uttered her real name, making the situation incredibly tedious and complex to handle. Sylvia’s calculated words felt like a silent whisper crawling into her ear:
’I know your little game, and I can expose it at any given moment... Otherwise, why would I have brought it up out of nowhere?’
Yet, Lucy was no longer the type to instantly fly into a blind rage as she once did in the past. Far worse things had been declared against her, and a few empty words wouldn’t shake her unyielding iron will in the slightest.
"Thank you all for your presence today..."
Sylvia concluded her speech, raising her hands to perform the solemn national salute. The massive crowds beneath the balcony instantly erupted in a frenzy of wild cheers and patriotic fervor. With her breathtaking, radiant smile, cascading golden hair, and impeccably polished words, her aristocratic charisma was more than enough to easily sway the hearts of the common populace.
It was glaringly obvious that the capital’s printing presses would be working long into the night...
Sylvia stepped back, bathed in absolute self-satisfaction, closing her eyes to savor her hollow victory—only to immediately collide with Cain’s piercing, razor-sharp gaze, which had been fixed on her for some time.
"Do you have any idea what would happen if she ever found out you were speaking of her in this manner?" Cain addressed her, his voice low and deadpan, yet dripping with an unspoken, chilling threat. "Even I wouldn’t be able to protect you..."
The implication of his question was crystal clear, and she knew exactly who he was referring to, yet she responded with a layer of supreme indifference.
"I did nothing wrong, nor did I utter a single lie. Why must you scrutinize every single word that leaves my mouth? As a Princess, I simply need to motivate my people."
Internally, Cain curled his lips into a mocking scoff. She was acting as though she hadn’t just insulted an entity thousands of times stronger than her. Had this girl truly not grasped the concept of boundaries yet?
However, Cain was not an irrational man. He could easily withdraw his astronomical wealth and investments from the Kingdom, leaving them to wallow in absolute ruin, but he currently possessed no better cover than this realm to obscure the movements of the Transmigrator Organization.
Therefore, the best course of action was to leave the matter entirely to Lucy. It wasn’t due to an inability to act on his part, but rather because if he intervened now, Lucy would grow suspicious that he already knew her true identity. Everything would fall apart before he could ever succeed in making her fall in love with him.
As for Sylvia... playing games with Lucy was undoubtedly a cursed path to walk. Somehow, she seemed to possess the foolish bravery of a reckless gambler running headfirst toward her own demise; she knew Lucy was standing right there, yet she still dared to provoke her.
Ultimately, Cain dismissed the thought. ’Honestly, I can deal with this matter later. I have a thousand different ways to make her deeply regret this. But I must not let this distract me from the nice beach day I have planned with my family... Minor pests like her shouldn’t ruin my mood; she is nothing more than a disposable pawn.’
Nightfall finally descended, and the trio arrived at their destination: the Duke’s towering, magnificent manor, which stretched directly out over the edge of the sea.
The maintenance and restoration costs for this coastal manor were astronomically high; the structure eroded at an alarming rate every year due to the salt water, not to mention the times when the sea turned volatile, where the raging, tempestuous waves could escalate the level of destruction to a terrifying degree.
Stepping through the grand hallways, old memories began to resurface in Cain’s mind. He vividly recalled the old days when he had resided in this very manor, heavily wounded after a brutal battle, and how an assassin had tried to terminate him by launching a colossal water spell heavily charged with lightning... The raw electrical shock he endured that day had been powerful enough to illuminate five hundred streetlamps simultaneously!
The gathered servants bowed deeply in perfect reverence to welcome Cain, ensuring they also bowed with utmost respect toward Lucy and Amelia.
Lucy gazed out at the surrounding scenery, nervously swallowing her saliva. The atmosphere felt heavy and dim. There was no classic, vibrant sunset; instead, it was merely the final, fleeting trace of daylight before collapsing entirely into the absolute darkness of night.
Amelia silently contemplated the departing sun, recalling an ancient myth whispered to her during her early childhood within the orphanage of the Star Temple in her past life: that the sun was unlike any other star... It didn’t simply fade away; rather, with every single dawn, an entirely new sun was born, while the old one perished into the night... Because of this cycle, it was said that the sun had existed since the dawn of eternity.
Yet, deep within her soul, she questioned: ’Is the sun truly a star? Or is it something else entirely?’
As Amelia immersed herself into the profound concepts of cultivating "Starry Mana," she felt as though she were crossing the threshold into a brand-new stage of spiritual enlightenment. Lost in thought, she walked closer to Cain, who stood silently watching the collapse of the sun from the grand window.
Lucy broke the heavy silence, her voice soft.
"Thank you, Lord Duke, for your immense hospitality... This is truly grand. Everything you do is always so magnificent."
Cain turned toward her, a warm smile gracing his features. Internally, however, his thoughts were far simpler: ’Watching Lucy’s face is infinitely better than staring at the sea.’
"It is nothing major, you are my guests," he responded, his voice dripping with a comforting warmth. "Besides, I am incredibly fond of Amelia." ƒгeewebnovёl.com
In that exact split second, Lucy felt as though a thousand butterflies had suddenly taken flight within the depths of her heart. She desperately wished he had replaced the word "guests" with "family." She thought to herself that if he had only uttered the word "family" just now, she wouldn’t have been able to restrain herself—she would have pulled him into a deep, passionate, and scorching kiss, even if it were right in front of their daughter!
In fact, her wild imagination drifted even further into the abyss of her desires. A sudden, possessive urge washed over her; she wanted to forcefully drag him away to the highest, most isolated peak in this world, construct an absolute temporal barrier, and live alone with him for a thousand years, while not a single moment passed in the outside world.
Frankly, her mind became an utterly chaotic mess, and her facial expressions began to shift with alarming clarity. One moment her face would flush a deep crimson out of pure embarrassment, the next it would flare with an intense, burning rage, only to snap right back to a blushing mess!
She would think about the numerous enemies standing in their way, preventing them from being together, which instantly filled her veins with boiling wrath... then she would think about kissing him just to extract the names of those enemies, which immediately blanketed her in sheer shyness... then she would fantasize further, realizing she didn’t want just a single kiss, but countless more... only to remember the enemies who dared to oppose her Cain, making her blood boil all over again.
she continued to spin endlessly within this infinite,
"Lady Maxi... are you writing to Lady Lucy? Are you in constant contact with her?"
Lucy was taken aback by his sudden question. Her joints stiffened, and she questioned internally why he was suddenly interested in her real self at this exact moment. Trying to keep her cool, she answered, "Yes, I am in constant contact with her. I am young Miss Amelia’s escort, after all."
Cain shifted his gaze toward the horizon through the window, as if trying to look deep. He stared at the stretching sea, but in his mind, he was putting Lucy’s face in place of that boring water. To him, her face was way more interesting and attractive than the whole ocean; in fact, it was an honor for the sea itself to make room for her features in his imagination. It was a highly dangerous kind of logic.
Cain continued, asking with a tone that carried a bit of a plea: "Can I communicate with her? Is there a way for me to say something to her right now, and she hears it?"
Lucy nodded, still suspicious. Of course she could hear him—she was the exact Lucy standing right in front of him!
"Yes, I can. Do you want to tell her something?"
Cain nodded, his face turning completely serious. In a deep voice, he said:
"Tell her... not to search too much anymore. Cain has found that bastard who ran away after doing his vile deed."
At that exact moment, Lucy received a violent shock that made her disguised aura fluctuate and distort for a few seconds.
Cain finished his words with absolute confidence and steadiness: "Tell her... that Cain has already taught him a harsh lesson and beat some manners into him. He is now deeply regretful and sorry."
