Chapter 24: A Glimmer of Hope Shattered

At the first hint of dawn, Chloe was unceremoniously dragged from her bed by Lucia.

Minutes later, Chloe sat bleary-eyed on the Count’s seat. Beside her, Xina slumped crookedly, a trail of transparent drool escaping the corner of her mouth as she mumbled in her sleep.

“Oh my, little Chloe, you’re back?” Xina’s eyes were too heavy to open. She reached out to touch Chloe, but the sensation was peculiar.

Today, Lucia wore an off-white dress, her slender, pale legs visible beneath it. Xina had mistaken them for Chloe’s arm.

“Lady Xina, please compose yourself.”

Lucia gently pushed away the hand resting on her thigh. Yet, no sooner had she deterred Xina than Chloe embraced her.

“Waaah, Lucia, why did you wake us up so early?”

Chloe had conversed with Lucia until around 2 AM last night. By that reckoning, she had slept for less than three hours, leaving her mind feeling weightless and muddled, as if she had consumed some ethereal elixir.

Lucia placed her hands on her hips. She addressed the two sleep-deprived individuals, “Today is the monthly Audience Day with the Lord. The common folk will arrive at the castle quite early. How can a lord make their people wait?”

“But… many of my classmates say their families have reduced the Audience Day to once a year, or even canceled it entirely,” Xina stated innocently.

‘Medieval lords truly are a bunch of lazy dogs,’ Chloe mused, ‘though she herself often skipped such public events in games due to their abundance and meager rewards.’

“…I would not wish for your title to become ‘Lazy King’ Xina.”

Xina yawned deeply, then drifted off to sleep, leaning heavily against Chloe’s shoulder.

“You must remember, your father always took the Audience Day seriously.”

Xina reluctantly straightened her posture, striving to assume the dignified pose befitting a lord. Though she still appeared exhausted, she was at least more earnest now. It seemed Lord Norlin had a profound influence on her.

Chloe’s drowsiness was understandable, given her late night. But why was Xina, who usually went to bed at eight, still so tired? Was eight hours of sleep truly insufficient for her?

Xina wore an expression that declared, ‘Only ten hours of sleep can satisfy me.’ Her eyelids began to droop slowly once more…

Chloe pinched her thigh, attempting to stay awake. Despite her efforts, drowsiness was inevitable. Yet, the sensation was unexpectedly pleasant—smooth and soft.

“Lady Chloe? May I ask why you are pinching my thigh?”

Lucia watched Chloe with a smile. Chloe hastily withdrew her hand and offered an explanation, “My apologies, it’s a habit.”

“Hehe, I want to pinch too.”

Xina’s fingers twitched nimbly, lunging towards Lucia. Lucia calmly retreated a few steps, distancing herself from these two regressive individuals.

“Lucia, why don’t you let us go back to sleep? I doubt anyone will arrive this early.” Chloe had already closed her eyes, drifting into a semi-conscious state. She longed to return to her warm bed at once.

No sooner had she spoken than the grand doors were flung open with a heavy thud. Xiao Nuoqi, supporting a tattered, ragged figure, slowly approached Chloe and her companions.

Chloe quickly sat upright. Upon discerning the man’s figure, she gasped.

His body was covered in blood, his hair a chaotic mess like a bird’s nest. His face was scorched beyond recognition, and his body was riddled with wounds, as if he had just escaped from hell.

She wanted to descend the steps for a closer look at what had befallen him, but Lucia blocked her path with an outstretched hand.

“A lord need only listen to the people’s grievances from here,” Lucia stated coldly.

Xina’s eyes widened, her drowsiness completely vanished. She gazed with concern at the wretched man.

Lucia gestured for Xiao Nuoqi to stop. She spoke loudly, “Tell us, is there something you wish Lady Chloe and Lady Xina to resolve?”

“Ah…” The man could barely articulate coherent words. He looked up, his clouded eyes gleaming as he caught sight of Xina.

“My name is Robert, I live in Pearbrook Village…” He gasped for breath, as Xiao Nuoqi gently patted his back to help him breathe.

“Pearbrook Village?”

Chloe had never heard of this village. She looked at Xina, whose face had turned ashen.

Xina urgently questioned, “You’re from Pearbrook Village? What happened to Miko, and Jack?”

“Dead! They’re all dead!”

Robert’s face was incapable of expression. He cried out emotionally, “Burned, all burned away! Our village, only I am left alive…”

Xina’s expression froze. She gritted her teeth, and tears seemed on the verge of spilling from her eyes.

“Who did this?” Lucia asked.

“Bandits, a band of bandits! No, wait, knights, noble knights! Many knights on horseback, they came together!” Robert stammered disjointedly. “They burned all our houses, then killed all the men and abducted the women and children. They would have killed me too, but luckily, I, I caught fire and jumped into the river. They thought I was dead.”

“What beasts,” Lucia commented succinctly.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Nuoqi’s face flushed crimson. He cursed, “Those people deserve to rot in hell!”

Those individuals were indeed utterly depraved. However, Chloe found herself intrigued by certain details in Robert’s account.

“You said there were knights among them?”

“Yes! I saw them with my own eyes; the horses they rode were clearly fine steeds!”

Most knights possessed land, and with stable sources of income, it was highly unlikely they would resort to plundering villages. Moreover, according to his account, there were quite a few knights involved. This left only one possibility: they were acting under orders.

Chloe looked towards Lucia. Lucia nodded subtly, then asked Robert, “Did you clearly see the crests on their shields or armor?”

Typical bandit knights would conceal their crests. However, if this was a scheme to frame someone, the crests would likely be displayed even more prominently.

“I saw them clearly, oh my, such big eyes! They stared at me, it was terrifying. I saw them so clearly from the river!”

“Big eyes?” Chloe felt a sense of foreboding. She pointed to the family banner behind them. “Are they big eyes like these?”

Robert’s unburned eyes widened like copper bells. He nodded frantically.

“Do you know whose emblem this is?” Lucia questioned Robert. “Are you certain you didn’t mistake it?”

“I, I remember! This is Lord Norlin’s family banner! No wonder it felt so familiar. Could it be, Lord Norlin himself…!” Robert shook violently, attempting to break free from Xiao Nuoqi and run outside.

“My father has passed away; I am now the one in charge.” Xina, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke, her gaze chilling, just as it had been in the carriage.

“I assure you, it certainly wasn’t at our behest.” Chloe quickly tried to smooth things over, attempting to signal Lucia with her eyes. However, Lucia’s attention was entirely focused on Robert.

“I, I don’t believe it! I heard Nor—Lord Norlin likes to kill! It, it must have been him!” Robert had lost all reason. He wept uncontrollably, his voice echoing through the council hall.

“Silence!”

Xina’s shout completely drowned out Robert, who instantly stopped crying, his eyes fixed on Xina. Lucia immediately turned, only then realizing Xina’s unusual state.

“Miko and Jack were my childhood friends; I would never harm them.” Xina placed her legs on the chair, hugging them to herself, and mumbled.

“I will make those wretches who dared to use my banner pay. I will break their bones, tear out their hearts from their chests, pull out the sinews, and then place their fibrous hearts back into their mouths, forcing them to eat their own black hearts. Then, I will hang their heads from the ceiling of the council hall for all to see their ugliness, and finally, feed their bodies to the dogs.”

Xina continued to utter terrifying words. Chloe tried to cover Xina’s mouth, but Xina glared at her fiercely. Her eyes were bloodshot, yet a hint of pleasure curved her lips.

Lucia began chanting a spell, seemingly intending to calm Xina with mind control magic. However, Xina stood up, lightly lifted Lucia’s chin with her finger, and pressed their foreheads together.

“Be quiet.”

Xina collapsed immediately. Behind her, Alice stood in silk pajamas, shaking her head helplessly.

“Honestly, what’s all this noise so early in the morning?”