Chapter 9
Lucien's rhetorical question, like a final verdict, echoed in Serena's ears day and night, shattering the facade of calm she had tried to maintain. She dared not think about the true meaning hidden beneath that question.
She discovered that Lucien's influence had already permeated every aspect of the manor. The "old farmer" was merely a pawn on the surface; the real key figures were several seemingly insignificant but crucial tenant farmer leaders and workshop backbone members. They might have been bought off by Lucien with benefits, or perhaps he had some leverage over them, or perhaps they were simply captivated by his ruthlessness and cunning far beyond his years. They silently carried out his will, like puppets on strings.
Serena also attempted to secretly contact the outside world. Taking advantage of a trip to a nearby town to buy supplies, she secretly entrusted a letter addressed to her father, subtly requesting help, to a seemingly reliable courier. However, three days later, the unopened letter reappeared untouched on her desk, beneath a silvery-green leaf of "Moonlight Dust."
There were no warnings, no words. But this silent return was more chilling than any threat.
Despair, like an icy tide, slowly engulfed her heart. She began to hallucinate; sometimes she saw invisible shackles around her neck in her reflection on the water; sometimes, in the dead of night, she heard the faint sound of chains dragging in the distance. Her appetite dwindled, her already slender frame became even thinner, and the dark circles under her eyes lingered. Only her blue eyes, because of the suppressed fear and the relentless struggle that refused to be extinguished, appeared unusually bright, yet also unusually fragile.
Lucien took in her changes. He didn't restrict her movements, even allowing her to continue "managing" the estate. It was as if he were conducting a cruel domestication, enjoying the process of his prey struggling futilely in its cage, gradually exhausting itself. His gaze towards her became increasingly undisguised, a mixture of cold possessiveness, twisted satisfaction, and a complex emotion that...almost admired her tenacity, yet was destined to be futile.
That day, several true guests arrived at the manor—a baron from a neighboring province and his entourage, who had reportedly heard of the reputation of Sunset Manor's newly brewed wine and came to taste it and discuss cooperation. For Serena, who was in dire straits, this was undoubtedly a lifeline! This was external help, a possible opportunity to break Lucien's blockade!
Forcing herself to appear more composed, she changed into her most elegant attire, carefully concealing her haggard appearance, and received Baron Fisher in the drawing room. The baron was a typical minor nobleman, somewhat vain, and held the Wilde family's reputation in high esteem, praising Serena's beauty without reservation. After tasting the new wine, he indeed showed great interest, inquiring in detail about its production volume and price.
A long-lost hope rekindled in Serena's heart, and she tried her best to negotiate and finalize this crucial deal. However, just as the atmosphere was getting better, Lucien's figure appeared in the living room doorway like a ghost.
He walked in without announcing himself. He had changed into slightly worn hunting clothes, as if he had just returned from outside, still carrying the chill of the mountain forest. His appearance instantly froze the previously harmonious atmosphere.
Baron Fisher clearly didn't recognize him and looked at Serena with some confusion.
Serena's heart clenched suddenly, and her blood seemed to freeze instantly.
Lucien didn't even glance at the Baron; his gaze fell directly on Serena, his deep purple eyes like icy pools, carrying an undeniable air of control. He slightly curled his lips into a cold, distant smile.
“Serena,” he began, his voice steady yet carrying a strange intimacy and a sense of declaration, “Baron Fisher is probably unable to complete this deal with you.”
Serena's face turned deathly pale, and her fingers gripped the hem of her skirt tightly.
Baron Fisher frowned, somewhat displeased: "And who is this?"
Lucien then turned his gaze to the Baron, his eyes indifferent, as if looking at an insignificant object: "Who I am is unimportant. What is important is, Your Excellency, that shipment of 'smuggled goods' you had at the southern border has likely been seized by the Governor's Guard. What you need most right now is not fine wine, but rather how to respond to the Governor's questioning, isn't that right?"
Baron Fisher's expression changed drastically. He stood up abruptly, looking at Lucien with astonishment and suspicion: "You... how did you know?!"
Lucien did not answer, but instead turned his gaze back to Serena, his eyes seeming to say, "Look, the foreign aid you pinned your hopes on is so vulnerable."
He walked slowly to Serena's side, his demeanor as natural as if he were the master of the place. He reached out, not to touch her, but to pick up the wine glass on the table, which contained new wine, and gently swirled it, inhaling its aroma.
"The wine is good," he commented, then put down his glass and his gaze returned to Serena's pale face. "Unfortunately, leave the business to me from now on. You just need to... stay here and rest assured."
His words, like the final boulder, completely crushed the last remaining hope in Serena's heart. He not only easily shattered her chance of escape, but also openly declared his sovereignty in front of outsiders.
Baron Fisher glanced at Lucien, then at Serena, who was pale and trembling slightly. He seemed to understand something, and with an embarrassed and fearful expression on his face, he hastily made an excuse and practically fled.
Only Serena and Lucien remained in the living room.
In the silence, Serena could hear her teeth chattering. She looked at Lucien, at his handsome yet devilish face, and finally, overwhelming fear and humiliation broke through her defenses.
"Why..." Her voice was broken and filled with desperate sobs, "What do you want from me to let me go?!"
Lucien watched her collapse silently, a faint ripple seeming to flicker in the depths of his eyes, but it was quickly swallowed by the darkness. He took a step forward, closing the distance between them until they could feel each other's breath.
"Let you go?" he repeated softly, reaching out his hand, his cool fingertips gently brushing against her trembling eyelashes, wiping away the tears that were about to fall. The movement carried a chilling tenderness.
“Serena, don’t you understand?” His voice was hypnotic, carrying a deadly allure and despair. “It all started when you drove me out of the Duke’s mansion, only to throw that gold coin at me; it all started when you struggled desperately on this land; it all started when you mixed your blood into my potion for ‘Moonlight Dust’…”
His fingers slowly slid down, stroking her pale cheeks, and finally, he lifted her chin with his fingertips, forcing her to look directly into his unfathomable purple eyes, which churned with obsession and possessiveness.
"You will have nowhere to escape anymore."
“This manor is your prison, and also my collection.” His thumb gently caressed the skin of her chin, sending a shiver down her spine. “And you are the only thing I want to treasure forever…”
“Learn to get used to it,” he said finally, his voice low and firm, like a pronouncement of fate itself.
After saying that, he released her hand and turned to leave, just as he had come, leaving Serena alone, slumped on the cold ground, staring in the direction he had disappeared, the last glimmer of light in her eyes completely extinguished.
Outside the window, the setting sun painted the manor a blood-red hue.
Lucien's blunt words were like a final, resounding death knell, echoing and reverberating in Serena's empty heart, shattering even the last vestiges of hope and hesitation. To sit and wait for death? No! Even if there was only a one in ten thousand chance, she would break free of this cage!
The instinct for survival overwhelmed her fear, and a near-desperate calm enveloped her. She stopped crying, stopped trembling, and deep within her blue eyes, the frozen flame reignited—the indomitable spirit of a transmigrator, and the last pride of Serena Wilde.
Taking advantage of her usual practice of patrolling the estate, she surveyed the terrain more carefully, especially the relatively weakly defended areas around the perimeter. She noticed a section of the wall near the old oak grove in the northeast corner; due to years of disrepair and entanglement with vines, there was a relatively easy gap to climb, leading to dense woods that could provide initial cover. That was also where the night patrols were spaced further apart.
Next came the supplies. She dared not touch any resources on the estate that might be monitored. She carefully wrapped a few inconspicuous but warm old clothes, a small bag of dry rations that wouldn't spoil easily, and all the small amount of gold coins and jewelry she had secretly saved that Lucien hadn't discovered, in a dark, unassuming cotton bundle. She didn't bring anything bearing the Wilder family's insignia.
The most crucial element was timing. She needed a moment when Lucien might be preoccupied with other matters, or when the guards were most lax. She secretly observed and discovered that every few days, Lucien would receive messages from the outside world late at night through the tenant farmer chief he had bribed. At those times, his attention would be highly focused, and there might be a slight gap in the surveillance of the manor's interior.
Opportunity arrived on a cloudy, moonless night. The air was thick with the oppressive atmosphere of an impending storm, and even the chirping of insects had become sparse. Lucien's study was lit; the tenant farmer's foreman had just sneaked in furtively.
Now!
Serena's heart pounded, almost bursting out of her chest. She changed into a dark, coarse cloth dress, tightly coiled her long golden hair into an old hat, and smeared some soot from the fireplace on her face. With her small bundle on her back, she slipped silently out of her bedroom like a nimble cat, avoiding the servants' quarters, and crept along the shadows toward the northeast corner of the wall.
The night wind, damp and cool, brushed against her face. Each step resonated with the pounding of her heart. She could hear her own heavy breathing, exceptionally clear in the still night. A few barks in the distance made her freeze, holding her breath until she was sure no one was paying attention, before continuing on her way.
The darkness and the familiar layout of the manor served as her cover. She successfully evaded two patrols of guards, their conversations and the flickering glow of lanterns in the distance sending chills down her spine each time.
Finally, the dilapidated wall covered in vines came into view. This is it!
She took a deep breath, tossed the bundle over the wall, and heard a soft "plop" as it landed in the grass outside. Then, she grabbed the rough, damp vines and the cracks between the bricks and began to climb. Her fingers were cut, her skirt was torn, but she didn't care. Freedom was just outside the wall!
Just as she was about to climb over the wall—
"It seems that my dear Miss Serena still can't learn to be well-behaved."
A cold, calm voice, yet carrying a faint sigh, echoed not far behind her, like a ghost.
Serena's blood froze instantly! She turned her head stiffly.
Lucien stood less than ten steps away from her, dressed in a dark, practical uniform, as if he had been waiting for some time. Behind him stood two silent, towering guards with sharp eyes. A sliver of cloud had parted, and the pale moonlight outlined his sharply defined profile and his unfathomable purple eyes, which were now silently gazing at her.
There was no anger, no surprise, only a sense of... "I knew it was true," and a hint of displeasure at having one's will violated.
He slowly walked forward, his footsteps striking Serena's already fragile nerves in the silence.
"Have I given you too much 'freedom,' Serena?" He stopped at the foot of the wall, looking up at her disheveled figure hanging on the vines. His tone was even "gentle," yet it was more chilling than any rebuke. "Or do you really think that this clumsy disguise and this broken wall can really help you escape?"
Serena looked at him in despair, into his all-seeing eyes. All her plans, all her careful maneuvering, had been nothing but a farcical performance in his eyes! He had known all along! He had been watching her struggle in vain like a clown!
"Why..." her voice was hoarse, trembling with sobs, "Why won't you let me go..."
Lucien did not answer. He raised his hand slightly in a gesture.
A guard immediately stepped forward, moving with the speed of a leopard, and easily "plucked" Serena, who was exhausted and could no longer hold onto the vines, from the top of the wall, as if plucking a powerless leaf.
Serena fell to the cold ground, dust staining her disheveled clothes. She didn't even have the strength to stand up.
Lucien walked up to her, knelt down, and looked her in the eye. In the moonlight, his eyes were complex and unreadable, containing an all-encompassing indifference, a hint of melancholy stirred by her attempt to escape, and a deeper, dark emotion that Serena could not comprehend.
He reached out, but instead of touching her, he picked up the bundle that had fallen to the side—the bundle that held all his hopes. He held it between two fingers as if it were something filthy.
"You really want to leave me? Leave...our home?" he asked softly, his voice carrying a dangerous calm.
Serena closed her eyes, refusing to answer and refusing to look into his despairing eyes again.
Lucien stood up and calmly instructed the guards, "Take the young lady back. Keep a close eye on her."
Then, carrying the small bundle, he turned and walked ahead towards the main building. His figure stood tall and solitary in the moonlight, like the true master of the manor, while Serena was merely prey he had captured on a whim, a creature that tried to resist but would ultimately be tamed.
The guards stepped forward and unceremoniously lifted Serena up from the ground.
This time, she didn't struggle.
All their strength and all their hope were completely drained the moment Lucien appeared.
She lost.
They suffered a crushing defeat.
Her escape attempt failed, meaning her last resort was also blocked. She would now face even tighter surveillance from Lucien.
She was half-dragged, half-carried back to the white house. As she passed Lucien's study, she saw him casually toss the bundle into the fireplace, and the leaping flames instantly devoured her faint hope and last shred of dignity.
The door was closed behind me, and the sound of the lock clicking shut was clearly audible.
Serena slumped onto the cold floor, staring at the dark night sky outside the window, now shrouded in clouds, her eyes lifeless.
In the end, she was unable to escape the magnificent prison called "Sunset Manor".
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