Wenlai
Hicks.
The man by the tree, wearing a cloak, seemed to hear Tiffany's soft murmur. He slowly raised his head and then suddenly threw off his hood, his blood-red eyes staring intently at Tiffany, shining brightly in the darkness.
It's raining now, but there's not a trace of water on him, as if there's an invisible layer separating him from the raindrops.
Without saying a word, he moved to sit sideways on the balcony railing in the blink of an eye, in just a few breaths.
Tiff had already taken two steps back the instant he moved.
A hint of wariness flickered in her eyes, and she said with displeasure, "It's so late, and it's raining so hard, yet the Tower Master is dressed like this when he comes to my place."
Tiffany glanced at his cloak and said with a hint of warning, "I thought he was an assassin and almost attacked him."
“But you recognized me, didn’t you?” Hicks tilted his head, turned his whole body around, and a hint of a smile appeared in his eyes.
Tiff raised an eyebrow. "So what brings the Tower Master here so late at night?" She then took a drag of her cigarette.
The smoke blurred her face. He was quite close, and he could almost smell the smoke. Hicks's gaze slowly moved from the cigarette in her hand to her face. Her face still had a youthful quality, but her behavior and expression were completely inconsistent with her appearance.
He looked at Tiffany's face and found that he could feel his heart slowly beating. He stared at Tiffany, even though there was a hint of disgust in her eyes.
A snowflake drifted in on the wind and landed right on her shoulder.
He couldn't help but think of the last time it snowed and the scene he spent with Tiffany. It was probably during this time in his previous life that she inherited the title of Duke, confirmed her relationship with Murray, and also had a cooperative relationship with him.
Late at night, she braved the snow to come to the Magic Tower for some business with him. Some snow had fallen on her cloak, and after pulling down her hood, a few snowflakes also fell into her braided and coiled hair.
He didn't know why, but he inexplicably went to her and brushed away the snowflakes.
No, he knew the reason. After being killed and reborn, he vaguely realized something, but he was unwilling to admit it.
I fell in love with this ruthless and hypocritical woman the first time I saw her in the conference hall.
It's ridiculous that someone would fall in love with the person who killed them.
Tiff...
Tiff...
The name lingered in my mind until it finally spilled from my lips.
“Tiff…”
"Is there something you need?" Tiff looked him over with hostility.
"Hmm?" she slowly finished speaking, "Lord of the Demon Tower."
Long ago, Hicks discovered that Tiffany either called him the Tower Master or by his first name, never his surname, even when she was angry. It wasn't that she couldn't call people by their full names, she just never called him.
Hicks Winley.
He was a commoner with no surname, which he acquired after becoming the master of the Demon Tower.
Wenlai, translated from ancient Chinese, means "all that is desired," implying that he wanted to obtain everything he desired.
“Why?” Hicks asked suddenly. “Why don’t you ever call me by my last name, Tiff?”
"To build rapport, to make you less wary," Tiff shrugged. "Of course, it doesn't work very well for you."
"I've answered your question, so when will you answer my question?"
“I miss you,” Hicks stated the reason directly.
In the instant Tiffany was stunned, he attacked her.
Tiff reacted nimbly and dodged the attack. "A sneak attack?"
"I learned it from you," Hicks chuckled softly. "Since there's nothing else to say, I'll be going now."
As soon as he finished speaking, he turned and disappeared into the darkness.
He did fall in love with Tiffany, but it wasn't just love; there was also hate.
——
It was only January, and Tiff couldn't wait to go to Margaret to get the container that held the soul's memories.
She opened the castle gates, but there was no one on the first floor. She went up to the second floor and knocked on the bedroom door. After a while, Margaret, dressed in her pajamas, opened the door with a resentful look on her face.
“Ha.” Margaret forced a smile through gritted teeth. “I knew it was you.”
She glanced at Tiffany, bypassed her, and went to the alchemy room next to the bedroom, which was specifically used for alchemy. Tiffany followed her.
Margaret took a wooden box from the top shelf at the back and handed it to Tiffany, saying, "Take a look."
Upon opening the box, two round-bottomed glass bottles were found inside.
“One will hold his soul, and the other his memories. I will destroy them later,” Margaret said as she watched her gently stroke the bottle.
“Margaret.” Tiffany smiled slightly, her gaze scanning the bottle as if she wouldn’t miss a single detail.
"Why don't you ask me why I need to use this stuff?" Her gaze finally left the bottle, a cold glint flashing in her eyes.
Aren't you curious?
“Curious.” Margaret calmly closed the box. “But one shouldn’t be too curious, especially a ‘monster’ like me.”
“A monster, huh…” Tiff looked at her meaningfully, then seemed to remember something.
"Do you take on murder cases...?"
“No.” Margaret refused decisively before she could finish speaking.
A hint of a smile played in her eyes as she said with a straight face, "I am a follower of the goddess Winks, how could I do such a thing?"
“Oh…” Tiffany suddenly realized, “It can be done indirectly.”
"No, you killed him, and I know nothing about it."
Tiff raised an eyebrow, fastened the clasp, took out a check from her pocket with the amount already written on, stuffed it into Margaret's arms, and hurriedly left.
——
January this year was anything but peaceful. Tiff had just finished her research on the bottle when she learned from Lisa that Rosser had returned.
Thinking back to when we went to Morai Forest, Rother said to wait, it turns out he meant waiting until Rory was just one step away from inheriting the title, which is quite in line with his personality.
If she were Rory, she would have killed Rother long ago and would never have left herself with such a huge hidden danger.
With a "let's watch the show" mentality, she put on her cloak and headed to the Duke of Belanovich's mansion.
This happened in her past life, but for some reason, she didn't go to the scene. In this life, however, she has the leisure to watch the show.
"Oh my God!" Mrs. Belanovich hugged Rosser tightly, her heart aching. "He's finally back... Rosser."
She looked at Rother's gaunt face and pale complexion, tears streaming down her cheeks. She wanted to touch his face but then hesitated. "How did you get so thin, my child..."
She choked back tears, looking at Rother with a face full of heartache, "Have they tortured you? You've become like this."
As she spoke, she buried her face in Duke Belanovich's arms and wept.
The Duke patted her back reassuringly, looking at Rose and feeling a little sorry for her, but he still asked Rose if she was injured.
In stark contrast to all this was Lorry. They were discussing the inheritance of the title when the steward came running over, both surprised and delighted, followed by Rother, whom he had imprisoned in Morai Forest.
Rosser answered each of the Belanovichs' questions one by one, but his gaze intentionally or unintentionally swept over Lorry, whose face had turned slightly pale.
When Duke Belanovich asked who had kidnapped him, he gave a sarcastic smile and stared straight at Rory.
Seeing Rother's expression and Rory's pale lips, they understood everything.
"Lorry!" she roared angrily, the Duchess who was crying just a second ago now rushing to Lori's side.
With a sharp "smack!", Luo Rui's face was turned to the side, leaving a clear finger mark on his cheek.
"I knew it! I knew it!" she screamed, slapping Rory wildly.
She was panting and crying when the Duke pulled her away. Rother was beside her trying to calm her down, but her anger did not diminish in the slightest.
"You bitch, did you plan this all along? I was wondering why the Red Tower people kidnapped Rosser, so it was you."
"You wretch! Are you just hoping Rother dies so you can hand over the title and inherit it?"
"I'm telling you! Dream on!" She swept everything off the table.
She pointed at Luo Rui and cursed, "Even so, I'll find a child from another branch of the family to adopt."
"What kind of thing are you? If I had known you had such thoughts, I shouldn't have given birth to you."
After being slapped across the face, Luo Ruiben remained silent in that position, but when he heard these words, he suddenly raised his head.
The three stood before him. His mother's face was contorted with rage as she berated him. His father, though silent until now, made no attempt to conceal the disgust in his eyes. Rother, of course, looked at him coldly.
He could no longer hear the sounds around him; he only felt that this was how they truly became a family.
He also regretted why he was so stupid not to kill Rother and still clinging to their blood ties.
Lady Belanovic rushed in front of him again, raising her hand high, but she couldn't bring it down. Rory grabbed her wrist and shook her off, and she stumbled back a few steps, but the Duke caught her.
At this moment, the Duke, who had been observing coldly, spoke up, "Lorry! What kind of behavior is this! Not only did you harm your brother, but you even treated your mother like this!"
“Am I your and Mother’s child? Do you and Mother love me?” he asked calmly. “I was only born to prevent the family from having no heir if Rother died young.”
"Why do you all favor my elder brother? Why am I not given a chance to inherit the title? Why?"
“Because you’re not as good as Rosser!” Mrs. Belanovic said cruelly with a smile. “Isn’t that right? You work so hard, yet you’re still not as good as Rosser. Doesn’t that prove something?”
"Even if the successor is chosen based solely on ability, you can't take the position openly and honestly; you can only rely on some tricks."
"Yes, but even if I used some tricks, it's still my ability. The king has already approved the application to change the heir. Even if he returns, I will inherit the title unless he takes me to court."
"The king decreed that he could reclaim his title."
"You are bringing shame upon the family!" the Duke glared angrily.
"Yes, so let's decide quickly." He leaned back on the sofa as if he didn't care.
The Duke's face turned ashen, and the Duchess trembled with rage. "Do you think I wouldn't dare?"
“I know you dare, that’s my goal. No matter what, it’s only good for me.” Rory laughed like a madman.
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