The manor here is rather shabby, completely lacking the grandeur one would expect from a marquis. Inside the manor's main hall, a number of people are gathered, anxiously awaiting the results, with magic lamps lit throughout.
They already knew reinforcements had arrived, but by then it was getting dark, so they didn't send anyone out to greet them.
"My lord, the adventurers have arrived and are setting up camp outside. The head of the family and a woman are by the lake, talking about something."
"Oh, right, that woman also had a black slime on her shoulder."
"Haha, so Ellie is here after all. You all better be polite to her. She's rich now. Once she returns to the family, everything she has will be ours."
"If anyone causes trouble at this time, don't blame me for being ruthless!" the old man warned.
Several people around nodded and nodded in agreement.
Luo Fan didn't stay there long, immediately searching for the study and any possible secret rooms. The highest level among those gathered was only a high-level mage, and it seemed that the patriarch was their core figure.
Isn't the title supposed to be held by that guy?
By the lake, Ellie remained silent for a while before continuing to ask questions. Luo Fan's multi-tasking hadn't had much of an impact.
"Then why do you hate my mother so much? If it's really as you say, shouldn't my mother be a hero in the family?"
“She always leaves without a word, and it’s become even more frequent since you were born. I suspect she’s having an affair, and Liz is her child with someone else!” Claire said matter-of-factly.
"And what about your father? Where did he go afterward, and why did he pass the title to you? Wasn't your elder brother more capable than you back then?"
"I... I don't know why the old man arranged things this way back then, anyway, he disappeared in the end!" Claire was a little nervous, afraid that if he continued, he would really be exposed.
That's all I know; I really don't know anything else.
“You’re lying and slandering my mother. Liz was adopted by her, and that’s what she said the day she came back. Besides, my mother has never been well-liked here, do you think I don’t remember?”
"I...I'm not lying, everything I said is true." Claire was genuinely panicked; she hadn't expected her daughter to become so wary during this time apart.
"I know the royal family has records. If you don't tell me the truth, I'll go to the capital to investigate myself, no matter the cost!"
“You! They won’t let you investigate unless they don’t care about the royal family’s reputation at all!” Claire couldn’t help but finally reveal a bit of information.
"Heh, so you were indeed slandering her. If you continue to hide it, I'll send someone to the manor to investigate in a bit. I'm sure there are other people who know the truth, like your older brother." Under Luo Fan's guidance, Ellie's thoughts were quite clear.
"Ellie, are you still my daughter Ellie? How did you become like this? I'm still your father, please don't force me."
"Isn't it because you forced me to? If you don't tell me, I'll investigate myself, even if it makes it public knowledge, I'll bear the consequences myself!"
At this moment, Ellie exuded an aura of suicidal determination.
Luo Fan is right. We're about to go to the capital, and we need to investigate the past thoroughly. Continuing to dwell on it will only become a thorn in our side. It's time to cut open the festering past.
"You! Ellie, don't push me. I've always known that that bitch doesn't like me, but so what? I'm engaged to her. Even if she wants to resist, she still has to marry me!" Claire was driven to the brink of madness by Ellie.
"Even if she's incredibly talented, so what! You don't know, I drugged her to get her. I never imagined she'd end up with a thing like you. If I'd known it would turn out like this, I should have strangled you back then!"
"And that bitch! If she had just cooperated with my damned father and obediently practiced dual cultivation with him, would things have turned out like this? I just don't like her, I just hate her, but who told her to look down on me? How dare she resist, you damned filthy woman!"
"Did you know that a scoundrel from the royal family got involved, trying to use that woman's body to comprehend magic and break through to the level of a mage? In the end, he was killed by her."
"Hahaha, you have no idea how horribly that guy died. It's ridiculous that the royal family had to cover it up in the end." Claire became increasingly frantic, revealing more and more explosive information.
"Haha, if she had cooperated back then, would the family have ended up like this! Why doesn't she understand how important a Grand Magister is to the family!"
"Wow, does this have to be so melodramatic? No wonder everyone who knows even a little bit about it is so tight-lipped." Luo Fan muttered to himself as he continued searching through the documents, but there were no relevant records in the study.
"Oh, there really is a secret room?" Finally, one of his clones found an old secret room, and Luo Fan slipped in through a crack in the wall.
"Sharing magical insights in dual cultivation? Divine sense and fusion? What kind of theories are these?" Luo Fan glanced through them and finally understood some of the meaning behind Claire's words.
"That old witch is probably incredibly talented. She's also probably quite beautiful, otherwise she wouldn't have attracted the covetous eyes of certain people, and Ellie wouldn't be so pretty."
Continuing their search of the secret room, they discovered a locked corpse in a corner of another room; the shriveled body bore traces of dark magic burning.
"Huh, a monster research diary?" In a corner, Luo Fan flipped through a dusty notebook. Seeing the familiar words, Luo Fan put it away.
After a thorough search, nothing was found except for some tattered books. Looking at the location of the body, Luo Fan began his search.
"Holy crap, such a huge Mind Control Pill, and instructions on how to use the Death Curse. They're even colluding with that Temple of Gods and Demons! They're trying to completely control the old witch."
"Never mind, she's a pitiful person too. Let's change how we address her from now on." Luo Fan roughly outlined the whole story.
Why would the royal family tolerate their existence? Could it be that only that old guy is colluding with the Temple of Gods and Demons, or that he is also related to those two old lechers?
Otherwise, it's hard to explain why Old Lady Pi went to the Demon Sealing Tower on her own, unless she eventually reached some kind of deal with the royal family, and even the Claire family was preserved.
I guess that old woman did all this for Ellie! That makes sense, and it also explains why the royal family hates the Temple of Gods and Demons so much, but is unwilling to mention Ellie's mother.
It's estimated that the enraged old woman unleashed her fury and utterly crushed the old bastard who had designs on her. Considering that Liz was still imprisoned in the manor at that time, the battlefield was changed.
This makes much more sense. The Marquis of Claire is quite ruthless; he even wants to give his wife away. Is he perhaps being cuckolded?
Those people probably took a chance and wanted to completely control Old Lady Skin, but they used dark magic potions. Weren't they just asking for death?
That old woman is really something else! Recalling the traces of that battlefield, Luo Fan felt a little scared. Could it be that what happened in Ai Li's illusion would really happen again?
My current frail body can't withstand that kind of ordeal. But why did Ellie have such nightmares before?
Discarding the idea, Luo Fan searched again but found nothing else useful before slipping away.
When Ellie learned the truth, she was devastated, never expecting that her mother had such a hard life.
Forced to marry someone she doesn't love, and constantly schemed against by her so-called family. Is it only when facing herself that she can show that warm smile from her memories?
Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably. Her mother could have just left; it was all for her sake!
"Hahaha, it doesn't taste good to know the truth, does it! That old man gave me the title to compensate me. But he left me with such a mess. Do you know how hard I've worked all these years?"
"What a result! It's not even as good as what you've achieved in less than a year! Hahaha, fate is cruel!" Claire laughed wildly.
"Ugh, he's a fucking scumbag, father and son are both scumbags. Ellie, that old bastard is probably dead already!" As he spoke, Luo Fan revealed some of the facts he had discovered, including the delusions of those people in the manor.
"How about I use some tricks to take out this group? I guarantee no one will know."
"Never mind, since my mother didn't lay a hand on me, she must have her reasons." Ellie slowly recovered and looked at her father again, who suddenly seemed like a stranger.
"Does this area still need cleaning?"
"Since we've accepted the mission, let's complete it. After all, we've already signed a mission contract with the guild."
"Just scrap it, Anna won't care too much anyway." Luo Fan didn't care, but he hated this kind of family and wished he could take action immediately.
He was quite confident in killing these things, after all, he had done it once before.
"If they live, their mother will have a chance to vent when she comes back."
Wow, my Ellie has become so cunning! I love it!
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