Chapter 86: The Betrayal

“Did you write these laws? Let me see… ‘Prohibition of s*ave trading’?”

The coachman flipped through a notebook, a sneer plastered on his face.

“Caligula, did you just copy the Imperial Code verbatim?”

“My sincerest apologies.”

Alice hung her head like a schoolgirl being scolded by her teacher. The coachman snorted and continued reading.

“A vassal who betrays their lord shall be hanged? For a traitor like you to write that is quite rich.”

He slammed the notebook onto the wooden table with such force it seemed the table might splinter.

The air thickened like gelatin, pressing into Chloe’s lungs.

Who was this coachman? Not only did he order Alice around, but he also knew Chloe’s real name.

Lin Boshi’s memories flooded back into Chloe’s mind. He had been so worldly-wise, nothing like an ordinary coachman.

“Who exactly are you?”

Chloe fixed her beautiful eyes on the man. His face was weathered, a thick beard covering his entire chin. His lively eyes were deep and dark, his features flat—the face of an Easterner.

She felt she had seen him somewhere before, but that memory had sunk into a deep ocean, impossible to retrieve.

“Heh, you tell her.”

The coachman glanced at Alice. She nodded repeatedly, her usual pride now replaced by deference. She spoke slowly, “He is William Sirena… my adoptive father.”

Chloe stared in shock at this unremarkable middle-aged man.

William Sirena?

She vaguely remembered that name belonging to an ancestor of Xina, but that was three hundred years ago. Wasn’t he supposed to be long dead?

As if reading Chloe’s confusion, William picked up a sharp quill and stabbed it with full force into his own heart.

Chloe rushed forward to stop him, but his blood did not flow from the wound as expected.

A faint flame ignited from his chest, covering the small wound. Just like Elysia and Longinus—though old and frail, they had reshaped their bodies with fire.

“Are you a Progenitor?”

Chloe felt her voice tremble.

“No, to be precise, the Progenitors were my creation.”

William pulled the quill from his body, his face twisting in pain—clearly, the sensation was transmitted truthfully to his perception.

The quill clattered to the floor.

“Progenitors… no… what do you want?”

“We have many ideals. But the primary goal, after all, is to eliminate you first. Elysia failed, so I decided to take matters into my own hands.”

Suddenly, Chloe felt a tightness around her neck. She turned her head—Alice had restrained her.

“Caligula, are you trying to redeem yourself?”

William clasped his hands together, his long narrow eyes half-closed.

Heavy breaths reached Chloe’s ears, and she could smell fear and panic in them.

Alice was frightened too.

A bitter taste welled up in Chloe’s heart. So this is what it felt like to be betrayed by the one closest to you.

She wondered if Carloman had felt the same before his death.

“I can’t understand you. Why not just do this sooner? Always dragging your feet, just like with Alena.” William chuckled.

“Alice…”

Hearing Chloe’s mournful cry, Alice remained silent, her emerald eyes fixed on William.

“That’s my good daughter. You’re truly different from that b*tch Longinus. I was worrying for nothing.”

Alice’s grip tightened. Chloe could no longer breathe.

The suffocation unearthed long-buried memories.

Longinus… No wonder Alice hadn’t recognized Xiao Nuoqi. They were in cahoots all along.

So Elysia had written to Alice simply to urge her to hand Chloe over.

And Alice had come to Chloe’s side only to get close to her assassination target.

Disappointment and despair intertwined, drowning Chloe’s memories.

“Xia Ni, you should be from my era, right? Do you know what a gun is?”

William pulled a black, long-barreled object from his pants pocket and toyed with it.

Chloe stared at the pistol in disbelief. Such a thing shouldn’t exist in this world.

“Caligula, you should know how to use it. Pull the trigger. Piang!”

Alice took the pistol with her free hand and aimed it at Chloe’s temple.

“I specially loaded it with a silver bullet. One shot will make you disappear from this world.”

William licked his lips, a genuine smile spreading across his face.

“Give my regards to Caesar.”

As his words fell, Chloe heard the click of the trigger above her head.

Bang.

A thick smell of gunpowder invaded Chloe’s lungs, making her cough violently.

She opened her eyes. Alice was holding the pistol—but aimed at William.

William’s head was blown open. Flames rushed to fill the ghastly hole. Half his face was shattered; one remaining eye blinked.

The corners of his mouth curled slightly upward. Flames then consumed his body.

A wave of heat swept over. Chloe shielded her face. When she lowered her hand, William was gone, as if nothing had happened.

Alice dropped the pistol and fell to her knees with a thud, repeating over and over: “I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”

Chloe collapsed to the floor. She picked up the pistol, pressed it to her own temple, and firmly pulled the trigger.

Just as she thought—nothing happened.

Alice snatched the gun, her eyes wide with shock. “Are you insane?”

“There was only one bullet. Either you feed it to me, or you feed it to him. And you chose me.”

A fire ignited in Chloe’s heart. She lunged at Alice, pinning her onto the bed. Their bodies intertwined.

Alice let out a soft moan, her long, jade-like legs instinctively curling. Paralyzed by fear and guilt, she had no strength left to resist, surrendering herself to Chloe.

Chloe lifted her gaze and glanced at Alice’s face.

Two trails of tears, still fresh, lingered on Alice’s lovely face. For the first time, she showed Chloe a vulnerable side.

That stripped away Chloe’s last shred of sanity.

Like a newborn, she wildly sucked on Alice’s fair, snow-white neck, her hands roaming freely over Alice’s body.

She didn’t know what she craved, but instinct drove her forward until she broke through Alice’s defenses—both physical and mental.

Alice responded to Chloe’s every touch, wrapping her arms around her, allowing the silver-haired girl to ravage her at will.

Chloe unbuttoned the first button of Alice’s nightgown, revealing her tender skin.

“Li~l~Chloe~? Where’d you go? Don’t be mad!”

That familiar voice pulled Chloe back to her senses. She turned her head mechanically.

Xina stood at the door, staring blankly at the two on the bed.