Chapter 33: Ambush
In Yuri’s residence.
Ye Xing began to explain to him how she met Hughes.
To put it simply:
It was basically that another version of her was hanging around the noble lady Sharon, often interacting with Hughes and becoming friends with him.
After hearing this, Yuri sank into silence.
“Another you?”
“Mmm~ That’s right!”
Ye Xing quickly moved to a more open area.
“I’ll perform a magic trick for you.”
Ye Xing somehow produced a large piece of cloth from nowhere.
She grabbed the edges of the cloth and covered a portion of the surrounding area, blocking Yuri’s view.
“Urah!”
When Ye Xing removed the cloth, a petite figure appeared by her side, none other than the black-haired, blue-eyed Ye Lan!
“I’m Ye Lan! And I’m the same person as Ye Xing! Are you shocked yet?”
Yuri stared silently at the scene.
The two looked exactly alike.
If it weren’t for their different eye colors and hair tones, they could easily be mistaken for the same person.
No.
They seemed like one and the same person.
Is this an illusion or a puppet?
Or could they actually be just one person?
“Such a hassle.”
Seeing that Yuri had understood the situation, Ye Xing made Ye Lan disappear again.
After all, disappearing for too long would worry Sharon.
She hadn’t told anyone that she was leaving.
“Ye Xing and Ye Lan are the same person—they share the same consciousness, the same point of view and senses. I’m good at multitasking, so I can pretend they’re two different people. It’s pretty straightforward—Ye Xing knows Yuri, and Ye Lan knows Hughes, roughly like that.”
“Why do you do this?” Yuri couldn’t help but ask.
Ye Xing gave him a strange look.
“As I said before, just to make friends with you and help you in every way possible. After all, there’s a bad guy watching us.”
Yuri was quickly drawn to what Ye Xing called “the bad guy”.
“An enemy? Who is it?”
Noticing the hostility in Ye Xing’s tone, Yuri immediately paid more attention.
“Uh… about as tough as me. If you face him, you’d probably drop dead instantly.”
Yuri’s lips twitched involuntarily.
He even thought Ye Xing was mocking him.
Was he really that weak?
But seeing Ye Xing’s serious expression, Yuri quickly sank into deep thought.
What she said might be true.
“What does the bad guy want?”
“Mmm… probably wants to stop your plans for his amusement.”
“So being targeted by such an enemy means I only have a losing future?”
Yuri’s pressure mounted rapidly.
Ye Xing patted his back to comfort him.
“It’s not certain to fail. After all, I’m here to help you!”
“Can you stop him?”
“Uh… I’m not sure.”
Knowing even the Wish Princess had trouble interfering with the Ballad Conductor, Ye Xing lost a lot of confidence.
Seeing Ye Xing’s uncertain demeanor, Yuri sighed lightly.
“Don’t worry too much about it. It’s my problem anyway. If I fail, then so be it. It must be fate.”
“Mmm… I’ll help you.”
“Thanks.”
“You don’t need to thank me, we’re comrades!”
…
The Next Day.
The tea party between Sharon and Hughes resumed.
Yelan followed routine and continued to join them, mainly to eat pastries.
She also thought about something.
From Ye Xing and Yuri’s actions of yesterday, it was clear the War Merit Nobles seemed to harbor intense animosity towards Hughes, even wanting to k*ll him.
This was a bit excessive.
Could it be because they were humiliated at the gathering?
Or perhaps Hughes had somehow changed the nobility circle, making it unrecognizable for them?
Regardless.
It felt like Hughes would run into a lot of trouble soon.
Therefore, Yelan felt it was necessary to give a warning.
“Hughes, be careful of those War Merit Nobles. They may have dangerous intentions towards you.”
Hughes nodded in response.
“Thank you for your concern and warning. I will keep it in mind.”
Time passed.
Another week went by.
A dark and windy night.
Hughes was dealing with recent matters at home.
Ever since he displayed incredible talent, his father had begun grooming him.
Becoming head of the family was just a matter of time.
Now he had almost completely handed over power to his father.
Becoming the true head of the household was just half a step away.
Now he was handling all the family matters.
“Recently, a lot of business has been destroyed, causing major losses. The family enterprises have also been attacked by unknown forces. It looks like someone dislikes my opinions quite a bit.”
Hughes felt a tremendous amount of hostility directed at him.
“Could it be those War Merit Nobles?”
He suspected as much.
He wasn’t unaware that someone was responsible for the disruptions. On the surface, these individuals were considered societal outcasts, but in actuality, someone with more power was orchestrating everything behind the scenes.
Given the frequent disruptions lately, it could only be those powerful War Merit Nobles who harbored great hostility towards him.
All signs pointed to them.
Avoiding a confrontation was now unavoidable.
“This needs to be resolved.”
With his connections within the nobility, he believed many nobles would extend a helping hand.
It wasn’t arrogance; after all, those War Merit Nobles alone couldn’t stand against the combined force of most nobles.
Hughes knew that no one could fathom the extent of his own connections in the nobility circles.
He had contacts almost everywhere.
Using those connections, he could deal with whatever plots those War Merit Nobles might have.
Normally, such ruthlessness wouldn’t fit his moral principles.
But considering how uncouth those War Merit Nobles were, a clean sweep was necessary.
Hesitation wasn’t his style.
Just as Hughes began to write up a plan, an unexpected voice interrupted his thoughts.
Boom!!
The explosion shocked everyone nearby.
Only a massive fire erupted from his house.
“Fire!”
“That’s the residence of the noble gentleman Hughes!?”
“Quick, call for help to put out the fire!”
Meanwhile.
Hughes barely escaped the fire. His eyes were filled with disbelief.
“What… is going on?”
Before he could react, several figures quickly closed in and surrounded him.
“Your time is up, Hughes.”
Hughes stared seriously at them.
“Who are you?”
“Those hired to k*ll you. Your actions have enraged someone important.”
Hughes was not surprised by this.
He naturally knew his actions wouldn’t be accepted by everyone.
Making enemies was commonplace.
The question was how they managed to attack unnoticed.
He had placed several watchful eyes around and would know if anything unusual happened.
Many friendly noble factions were also monitoring the situation. If anything had gone wrong, they would have notified him immediately.
Then why had no alerts come through?
Betrayal?
Impossible!
The nobles he trusted had no reason to betray him.
Could a mysterious force be manipulating them from behind?
Thinking of this possibility, Hughes felt a heavy heart.
Surrounded by the fierce-looking crowd, Hughes decided to think fast and escape.
“A bunch of rude ruffians.”
Scared and confused, everyone in the vicinity screamed.
“Ahhh!”
Hughes took advantage of their momentary confusion to flee.
