Lina
Tiff opened her eyes and looked at her, listening quietly as Lily described the scene.
“Also, Hicks’s men have been tracking us since we left. Should we just…” Lily didn’t finish her sentence, but Tiff knew what she was thinking.
"It's him again." Tiff frowned impatiently.
Even before Tiffany returned, Dope had already told her that the two groups of people who returned to the Duke's mansion were arranged by Hicks and Duke Ferrand, respectively.
She could understand Duke Ferrand, after all, her family and his family had been at odds for a long time, and his desire to kill her was nothing new.
But Hicks found it strange that she had never met him, let alone been enemies with him.
A hint of murderous intent flashed in her eyes. "No need. Let them investigate first. If they slip up later, I'll see what they're up to. Besides, his strength is unpredictable. We probably won't get the better of him if we go up against him."
“He suddenly showed up today and blocked your attack, but he didn’t stop you when you attacked again.” Tiffany narrowed her eyes. “It’s as if he knew you would be here and came to track you down.”
"That's really strange."
As for Rixiu, it's best to deal with him as soon as possible. Although his purpose in letting Lily and the others appear tonight was only to announce their existence and provoke the emperor, killing Rixiu was just a side effect.
She would eliminate the emperor's bloodline one by one, Tiffany said with an innocent smile.
The next day, news came from the palace that the Fifth Prince, Rixiu, had died. Last night, before the barrier was repaired, Tiff had instructed Lily to kill Rixiu.
The birthday banquet last night had already caused widespread panic. Now that the Fifth Prince was able to die in the palace under the protection of knights, nobles have hired a bunch of mercenaries to guard him. Some have even gone to Samuel Academy to ask commoner students for protection, since most of those students are short of money and those who can enter Samuel Academy must be quite strong.
Tiff was unaware of Emperor Eilat's dissatisfaction and anger back in the palace; she was currently sitting in the courtyard having afternoon tea.
Next month, Tiff will be taking her college graduation exam. The students will be taking the exam at either Simonton Forest or Moray Abyss.
Neither of these places is simple. Simonton Forest is home to monsters, swamps, wizards, and mutated flora and fauna. The Abyss of Morai, on the other hand, is shrouded in miasma, werewolves, and fog.
The mists of the Abyss of Morai force people to confront their inner fears and desires; many who enter never emerge again.
Of course, even so, many people still think it's better to enter the Abyss of Morai, because Simonton and his group will have to face magical beasts and mutated plants and animals, and if they're unlucky, they might even encounter wizards, while the Abyss of Morai only has werewolves, and they might be lucky enough not to encounter the mist.
Tiffany was more inclined towards Simonton, after all, she had made so many deals with Margaret that she had become familiar with Simonton, while she had never been to the Abyss of Morais, so who knew if there might be something unknown to others inside.
Tiff sat in the chair, her fingertips unconsciously fiddling with the purple gemstone on her dress.
With a "snap," Tiff looked down and saw a sparkling purple gem lying in her palm.
Tiff blinked, tried to put the gem back in its place, but obviously it didn't work. She raised an eyebrow and placed the gem on the table.
Tiffany would go shopping towards the end of each month, and since she had nothing to do today, she decided to go out and casually browse Margaret's shop.
"How is it?" Tiff asked the two people standing beside her, looking at the rings on every finger she wore in the jewelry store.
“It looks good,” Dope said.
“The green one looks better,” Lisa said enthusiastically, pointing to the ring.
“I think it looks good too, but it doesn’t really match my outfit today.” Tiffany curled her lips and took off all the rings, leaving only the one on her right middle finger.
“I’ll take them all and send them to Duke Strych’s mansion.” With that, she lifted her skirt and walked out of the jewelry store, with Dopelisa following closely behind.
After walking a few steps, Lisa pointed to a cake shop next to her and said, "Miss, I want to eat cake."
Upon hearing this, Tiffany paused for a moment, then slowly nodded as if she had remembered something. "Okay."
"Miss is so kind to me!"
Tiff led the two into the cake shop and ordered a blueberry cake and a strawberry cake. Since Dope didn't like sweets, she ordered a matcha cake for her.
Soon, the cake arrived. Tiffany was carrying the blueberry cake and was eating slowly, taking small bites, when two more people came in.
The girl's hair was still tied up, and her clothes were simpler than yesterday's. She was still smiling, but it seemed a little forced.
The two had just sat down near Tiffany when the man next to the girl, wearing black-rimmed glasses, spoke up arrogantly: "Lina Ajek, is that right?"
“I think you understand your father’s thoughts better than I do, but you are not qualified to be my wife. Although your family was one of the most powerful families in the past, that is all in the past.”
“Of course, you don’t need to worry, because her looks still meet my standards, so…” the man laughed, his eyes brazenly scanning Lina, “Would you like to be my mistress?”
Tiffany wasn't one to meddle in other people's business, but she couldn't help but glance at him after hearing such disgusting remarks.
Lina was still smiling, but a sharp glint appeared in her eyes. "Excuse me, I didn't hear you clearly. Could you please repeat it?"
The thin man smiled confidently, "I said you want to be my mistress..."
Before he could finish speaking, the girl's hand landed on his face with a very loud thud.
"You dare hit me?" The man looked shocked.
“I’m very sorry, Mr. Edmond Cole, what you just said disgusted me, so I couldn’t help but hit you. It was really rude of me.” The girl stood up after saying that.
The man slammed his hand on the table, stood up, and raised his arm high, about to bring it down, when a hand grabbed his arm tightly from behind, preventing him from moving an inch.
"Who!" The man turned around angrily.
The woman in front of him was expressionless, her eyes fixed on him calmly. What shocked him was her face.
Dope, the knight of the Duke of Strych, was born into a commoner family and was once an outstanding graduate of Samuel. He had once thought about sending her to the Marquis's mansion, but it was just a thought. Such outstanding students would mostly choose the Royal Knights or the Duke's mansion unless they volunteered, so it would never be his turn.
Before I could react, a familiar voice rang out.
“Marquis Edmund Colley, this is not the behavior of a gentleman towards a girl.”
The sound came from a table not far away. A figure was turned to the side, and even though she was turned to the side, Edmund recognized her. Not to mention the maid sitting opposite her, whom he saw at every banquet, her distinctive blonde hair was enough to make him recognize her.
It's Tiffany.
That's right, Dope is her knight, how could she not be by his side?
Tiffany used her fork to feed herself bites of cake. "Emond, why bother arguing with a little girl?"
“Duke, you don’t know, this woman was given to me by her father to be my wife, so how I treat her is none of your business.”
“It has nothing to do with me.” Tiff put down her fork and wiped her mouth with a handkerchief. “But what you just said made me uncomfortable.”
“So…” Tiff stood up, turned around, and looked down at him, “I want to cut your tongue out.”
Upon hearing this, Edmund's eyes widened. Tiffany was a duchess praised by everyone for her gentleness and grace, and this was the first time he had ever seen her openly reveal her violent side.
“You can’t do this… I, I’m a marquis too.” Edmund’s tongue seemed to be tied in knots.
Tiffany burst out laughing. "Oh dear, Marquis Colley, I was just joking with you. Look how scared you are."
Marquis Corleone remained silent; after all, no matter how gentle Tiffany was, she was still a member of the Strych family.
Lisa said, "Marquis Colley, you must be tired after being out here for so long."
Edmund glanced at Tiffany, whose lips were still curved in a smile. "Isn't Marquis Corley going back?"
"Of course I'm going back. I'm tired. Goodbye, Duchess."
After saying that, he left in a hurry.
Tiff smiled and looked at Lina, who stepped forward. "Thank you, Duchess."
"You're welcome." Tiff looked at her but didn't say anything more.
Lina lifted her skirt slightly at Tiffany and said, "Goodbye." After Lina took a couple of steps, Tiffany suddenly spoke up, "I only want people who are valuable to me. If you want to follow me, then please demonstrate your value on the next hunting day."
Lina froze as Tiffany and her entourage bypassed her and boarded the carriage.
Lina admitted that she deliberately let Tiff see her. She knew that Tiff went shopping at the end of each month, so she had been dating Edmond in the area recently. Yes, that's right, dating. Although she and Edmond were not dating, given her father's character, it was practically a done deal.
Originally, her father intended for her to marry Marquis Corleone, who was ten years older than her, for the sake of his own future. But now it seems that he would agree to be her mistress.
She didn't want to live her life like this. She had to find someone, someone who could protect her. Even though Tiff said she didn't care as long as someone was valuable, otherwise why would Tiff help her for no reason?
Even dying while following Tiffany is better than a life controlled by others.
As Lina walked out of the cake shop, a gust of wind blew up her sleeve, revealing her fair arms covered in scars and bruises. She pulled the sleeve down and slowly walked back to her residence.
——————
"Oh, what brings you here?" Margaret lay on the recliner and watched Tiffany enter, putting down the book she was holding.
"I'm here to buy something."
"What should I buy?"
Tiff walked to the section selling amulets. "Amulets."
"What? Did I hear that right? You're actually buying amulets too? I thought you never used these things."
"How could that be?" Tiff didn't even look and grabbed a handful of amulets. "After all, I value my life very much."
Tiffany walked up to Margaret. "How much?"
Without even glancing at it, Margaret said, "One hundred million gold coins."
“Margaret, are you robbing me?” Tiff looked up at her.
“Don’t you dare slander me,” Margaret said with a smile. “You know its specific function, and what about last time…”
Black Magic Stone.
She didn't say those three words aloud, she just mouthed them.
If it were just a simple amulet, it wouldn't be worth this price, but if it's a black magic stone, then it's extremely valuable. After all, black magic stones are forbidden items in the Inoliel Empire, and anyone who touches even a tiny bit of them will be beheaded.
Whether in the eyes of nobles or commoners, this was not a good thing.
Tiff took out a check from her pocket, wrote down a number, and handed it to Margaret.
Margaret's eyes crinkled into a smile, and she quickly snatched the check away between her fingers. "Darling, the amulet is a free gift. Welcome to visit again!"
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