Chapter 51 - 2.12

"Good, then. Go take the carriage.. with your knight. If I didn't know what sort of person you are, I would've guessed that you wanted to bring him to act as a damsel in distress." Reginald did not respond much to his daughter's offensive words, he only knew that she was going to be gone in a flash and that there was no need to pander upon this for long.

"Oh? And what type of person exactly is this lady to the Esteemed Lord?" Xu Jiaqi asked, her eyes narrowing down softly. As if she still had a sliver of hope inside her. One that was about to be destroyed.

Of course, it was all acting, but to a bystander who couldn't see past Xu Jiaqi's perfect acting, it was as if the true Ariel Maine was still here. Aligned with her character, the only difference being that Xu Jiaqi tweaked it towards the negative side.

"A crazy daughter born from a crazy sow." Reginald coldly spat out.

Xu Jiaqi stayed silent for a few seconds, her head slightly lowered.

"...This lady understands. This lady had formerly hoped that the Esteemed Lord would have even a shred of humanity yet, but it seems like this lady has failed to remember that you are an utter piece of trash that shouldn't be allowed to be addressed as a human." Xu Jiaqi chuckled lowly, no longer sparing any glances towards the man and leaving for the door. "Come with me, Zenith Ahgren. You are now in this lady's hands." she added.

Zenith was pissed and immediately snapped his head towards Ariel, but what he saw was an unexpected sight. Xu Jiaqi had an even more frustrated expression on her face, as if she was going to break down if she was pushed just one step further. She was on the verge of breaking.

Suddenly, he was silenced and no longer said anything else. He slowly walked along Xu Jiaqi's lead. Although he still had anger in his mind, after seeing the state Xu Jiaqi was in, he suddenly couldn't speak as well as he planned to.

They walked together, separated by a one meter distance. Xu Jiaqi headed towards the carriage section of the mansion without stopping. However, she made sure that her message was fully conveyed to this future follower of hers.

Se made sure to stand tall, kept her head up high, and walked with pride. Like this departure was her freedom, her key to getting out of the poisonous ranches that the Dukedom had trapped her in for years.

This sight, combined with the bright sunlight that fell upon her body and increased her aesthetic ranges was firmly embedded inside Zenith Ahgren's mind.

He wanted to protest, but all his words were swallowed back in as he found himself unable to do anything else except for staring at the lady's confident walk from behind. She was very calm and collected despite having learned about what hellhole pit she had been pushed into.

But all of a sudden, this walk of hers stopped. She turned around to look at Zenith, to which Xu Jiaqi found that the man was still in a trance and did not respond right away. After mere seconds, he finally snapped out and looked at Xu Jiaqi in confusion.

They were already nearing the carriage section. For what reasons could the lady have stopped here? Could it be, she wanted to turn back, and that all the show that he had seen were pretenses, mere facades?

He was prepared to revive the full extent of his hostility once more, but he refrained from doing so. He wanted to see what the girl will do. No matter what, he had planned to abandon or kill her off and escape if he even felt a slight discomfort being with her. But because his interest was spiked up, he didn't do it right away.

He immediately got his answer in her words.

"Zenith Ahgren. Before we depart, this lady wishes to speak to you. This lady.. doesn't know what you have heard from the Esteemed Lord- my father, but this lady truly values you as a possible ally. This lady didn't think of this matter.. being sent off to Palla as a depressing thing. Well, it would be a lie if my thoughts were completely positive. However, this lady does think that this is not a dead end to both of us. To both of our lives." Xu Jiaqi spoke.

To Zenith, this was like a declaration of mockery. What 'not a dead end'? 'Not a depressing thing'?

Obviously, this matter was selfishly decided by the lady. Duke Reginald had spoken that it was her wish to crush him down because he had offended her, which he linked with the time he grabbed her arm tightly.

His anger levels began to slowly rise. His patience was being tested with each second the lady was staring at him with innocent eyes, like she did not do anything wrong.

"Zenith Ahgren. Although this lady might not seem to be much, this lady promises you that so long as you follow me, you will be granted a good life, and will soar to the heavens. It might take some time, but this lady does not make empty promises. Dedicate yourself to me, and you shall be risen from the ground." Xu Jiaqi spoke with a calm tone, as if there was nothing in the world that could bother her in the slightest.

With slow steps, light as a feather, she walked towards Zenith and reached for his hand. In reflex, Zenith swatted her touch away, but instead of backing off, Xu Jiaqi resolutely gripped his hands, which was bigger than hers by double the size.

Indeed, the cold, sheer energy poured in from the touch they shared and went into Xu Jiaqi's body without stop. The rush was very hard to control, and her knees almost gave out on her because of how strong the jolt was.

She let out a small moan of pleasure, but suppressed it as much as she could by muffling her sounds.

Xu Jiaqi: Gege, I'm weak~!