Maisy trembled, but when her eyes fell on Noan, she suddenly saw something that shocked her.
"Violette?"
"Hehehe..." Violette smirked mischievously: "Recognize me, Maisy? I should thank you for what you did for me, otherwise, how could I have met my master?"
As she finished speaking, Violette stuck out her small, wet tongue and lightly licked Noanâs neck.
Noan: "..."
Oy! Talking is enough, why do you have to lick me?
Seeing Noan and Violette so intimate, Maisy grew so terrified that her eyes began to tremble.
"You two... this is..." Maisy stammered, unease swelling inside her.
"Didnât you hear what my master said?" Violette pouted: "He said... you have five minutes to speak. Once five minutes pass, if heâs not pleased, youâll die."
Maisy frowned at Noan, and a wild thought suddenly emerged in her mind.
"Buffio!" she shouted.
But... nothing happened.
"Buffio!" Maisy shouted again, yet the space around remained silentâso silent she could hear her own breathing.
Violette rested her head against Noanâs chest, speaking softly: "You should take a look at your Hero right now before calling his name again."
Maisy froze, then slowly turned her head: "AGH!"
The sight before her startled her so badly that she screamed in horror.
Buffio, her Rank C Hero, was suspended midair, completely immobilized. Its wings had been spread apart and fixed in place.
At this moment, Buffio looked like an insect specimen pinned against an invisible wall.
Her Rank C Hero, the source of her pride and arrogance, had now been reduced to nothing more than a specimen.
She didnât even know when it had happened.
Maisy swallowed hard, slowly turning back to face Noan and Violette, waves of turmoil crashing in her heart.
"You are..."
"I am the one youâre looking for," Noan said softly, cutting her off.
Hearing this, Maisy immediately understood that Noan was one of the two people she sought. His appearance sparked a brief flicker of hope within her, yet... hesitation crept in.
Noan displayed a terrifying level of strength that caught her off guard, but Maisy still held firm to her decision.
She didnât know for certain which of the twoâthe young man before her, or the other oneâwas stronger.
If she chose wrong, she would surely die, or even if she didnât, the outcome would be disastrous.
"You... which of the two are you?"
"Both!" Noan replied calmly.
Maisy frowned, thinking he was joking, but what reason would he have to say such a thing?
"Can you prove it?" Maisy asked.
Noan shrugged and said: "Believe it or not, itâs up to you. But you have three minutes left."
He waved his hand, and instantly, the space around Maisy grew heavy, as if a great mountain had pressed down upon her back.
BAM!
Unable to endure it, Maisy immediately fell to her knees, her joints striking the ground so hard her skin tore open, fresh blood flowing out.
The pain sharpened her awarenessâshe had only a short time left to make a choice and convince this man not to kill her.
Forcing herself to think, Maisy said softly: "I... I can help you manage the group of Rank D lords."
Noan sighed, shaking his head: "If I kill them all, you wonât need to manage anyone."
"You..." Maisy gritted her teeth, desperately searching for another reason: "You should remember, with every passing period, a new group of lords will emerge to replace the dead."
"One person cannot do everything alone. You need to establish an organizationâno, a kingdom. You will be king, and I will help you govern that kingdom."
"You can kill everyone, but in the end, you will still fail. There are many System events that require multiple Lords to be alive in order to take place. Surely you donât want to miss those events, do you?"
"Besides, if you kill too many people, the World Government and the Empire will not let you go."
"After all, Lords are an extremely valuable and important resource to them. They wonât grant you the freedom to slaughter other Lords just because of your special power."
Hearing this, Noan frowned, thought for a moment, then said: "Still not enough!"
Maisy felt a spark of joy in her heart, realizing that Noan had opened a chance for her.
She cautiously thought for a long while, then said: "I... I can provide you with information that almost no one else can obtain from the government and the Empire."
Hearing this, Noan showed some interest and asked with a frown: "You are..."
"I am the granddaughter of the current Prime Minister of the EmpireâDorothy," Maisy said softly, but her voice carried deep pride.
Noan chuckled: "Hahaha... if you are the Prime Ministerâs granddaughter, then why should I let you live?"
"You could use the Prime Ministerâs power to hunt me down and kill me, so... I have even less reason to allow you to keep living."
Maisy took a deep breath, then said: "I would never do that because... my family intends to use my marriage to form an alliance with another family."
"Ah!" Noan found it even more amusing: "Youâd better come up with a more convincing reason. Youâre the Prime Ministerâs granddaughterâwhat family is so powerful that your clan has to sacrifice you for an alliance?"
Maisy nodded and said: "Of course there is. The Ancient Family of the former Emperorâthe Dragun family."
At that name, Noan frowned, his gaze locking onto Maisy as if trying to see whether she was lying.
The space around her is normal, her heartbeat and energy are steady. That proves sheâs telling the truth,
Noan thought to himself.
Violette was also deeply surprised. She had known Maisyâs family was powerful, but she never imagined their status would be this high.
In fact, in the future, Maisy was to be married into the Ancient Family of the former Emperorâthe Dragun family.
"Tell me why you chose not to marry according to your familyâs wishes. You must know there are countless girls willing to pay an enormous price just for the chance to step into that family," Noan said with a frown.
"Even though the Dragun family has declined, they are still the family of the former Emperor. Their lingering power within the Empire is immense."
Noan had heard of the Dragun family before, but most people paid little attention since the former Emperor had vanished years ago.
Nowadays, few remembered him, as his reign over the Empire hadnât lasted long.
Maisy let out a bitter laugh: "Hahaha... yes. Everyone says Iâm lucky to be able to enter the Dragun family, but they donât know that the man Iâm supposed to marry is a madman."
"A madman?" Noan asked with a frown.
"Yes." Maisy nodded: "He was once a genius, but later became insane. They want me to serve him as a maid, a machine for bearing children, to prolong the Dragun bloodline."
Hearing this, a bad premonition stirred in Noanâs heart:
Could it be... he is also a Fate Holder?
In his past life on Earth, he had read many novels with the same trope... where a character suddenly went mad.
No, they werenât truly madâtheir soul had transmigrated into another world.
Their body in this world was left soulless, becoming insane and despised by all.
Years later, that soul returned, bringing knowledge from the other world, and began exacting revenge on those who had wronged and scorned him.
A familiar plot. Perhaps... the man Maisy is supposed to marry is the same,
Noan thought to himself.
If he is a Fate Holder, then fate itself is pushing me into conflict with them.
Noan sighed, though now, he no longer felt fear.
He had the power to face Fate Holders, and more importantly, he had the aid of Carlotta and the previous Fate Hunter.
Noan frowned at Maisy, his hand gently caressing Violetteâs round face.
"Iâll give you a chance. Become my woman, my slave, just like Violette. If you refuse, then I can only kill you."
"I will not leave any potential threat alive. Even if you are the Prime Ministerâs granddaughter, you are no exception."
"In this world, the strong dictate the law. Even if I kill you here, the Prime Minister wonât know how you died."
"So, think carefully."
Maisy bit her lip, lifted her head to look at Noan, and slowly asked: "Can I know... which of the two you are?"
Noan understood what Maisy meant and softly replied: "Both of them are me. Believe it or not, itâs up to you."
Maisy let out a long sigh, her eyes gradually hardening with an unbelievable resolve. She lowered her head and softly said: "Master!"