Bordeaux tea, as always, emitted a faint, refreshing fragrance that calmed the mind. Allen placed the porcelain cup into the warming dish, ensuring the tea in the teapot stayed warm.
Outside, the sky was overcast. A gentle breeze blew through the evergreen pine tree, bending it, making it snap back, and bending it again. It felt like a storm was brewing. The wind rustled through the open book, making a soft shushing sound.
Allen closed the window behind her.
She had stayed at the Grand Duke’s mansion for nearly two months now, yet she still couldn’t recall any memories. She thought with a hint of helplessness.
After turning the last page of "Lens Theory," she closed the book, stood up, and slid it into the third slot on the fourth shelf of row alpha.
She had gradually grown accustomed to everything in the library. In fact, no one else ever visited this library in the mansion, except Carliana and her little brother Alex.
For some reason, after learning about the adoption, Charlotte had started constantly hovering around her. Often, she’d approach under the guise of borrowing books, then spend the whole morning drinking tea here.
What a hassle…
See, just like this…
"Hey, little sister! I’m here to see you again! Guess what goodie I brought for you?!" Charlotte said without regard for seniority, not caring she was much older than Allen.
Charlotte knew her sworn sister’s traits well—Allen refused to leave the house, rarely even stepping out of the library. So, from her future sister-in-law Carliana, Charlotte had roughly figured out Allen’s preferences… or rather, guessed from embarrassing incidents.
No need to guess—that familiar scent, the scent that had embarrassed her… It was clearly pineapple buns from Xin Yue Zhai! That little girl Carliana still called her "big white rat" to this day. How could she forget such a thing?
She shot Charlotte a glare, said nothing, propped her forehead with one hand, lifted her head, and stared with a "kind" gaze.
"Uh… I was wondering if you’d be interested in drawing a family portrait…" Charlotte stammered, flustered and afraid. She avoided Allen’s piercing gaze, then glanced sideways. Seeing Allen still staring, she looked away again.
She didn’t know why she’d been acting like this lately; she hadn’t been like this before…
"This isn’t enough…" Allen said solemnly.
"I can give you some… pocket money… Hey, that’s settled!" she declared to herself.
Allen had been sneakily asking for pocket money for a while. Whenever she helped Charlotte, she’d ask for a little cash. Little by little, she’d accumulated quite a considerable savings. She didn’t plan to live here forever… She’d even planned to use this money to open a shop and support herself. She hadn’t decided what to sell yet, but it was better to have a plan first…
"Deal!" She gave Charlotte an unceremonious glance and casually pulled the large bag of pineapple buns toward herself.
Silly brother, I’ll squeeze back all the allowance you used to take from me… she thought silently.
"Don’t stay cooped up all the time. Later, go check the garden… those strange flowers… they’ll bloom tonight. They always bloom on this night," she reminded Allen.
Ah, the Tian Tan Hua. Allen immediately recalled.
She remembered the gardener in this mansion—a bald man with a memorable appearance. He was the one who specifically tended to those Tian Tan Hua plants…
"Alright, I’ll go see it tonight," Allen replied. She planned to draw the family portrait while she was at it. After all, when the Tian Tan Hua bloomed, everyone in the mansion would gather to see it—it was an annual tradition…
Charlotte suddenly remembered something, said goodbye, and left.
The wind outside seemed stronger now. The weather grew even gloomier…
Whoosh— whoosh— whoosh… The wind roared…
As expected, Allen dozed off on the desk in the afternoon. When she woke, the clock already showed evening. She sat up, wound the clock with a key, washed her face with water, and finally felt less listless. She stretched, grabbed her charcoal pencil, and headed out to draw the family portrait. Truth be told, an imprint scroll could have done the job instantly, but it lacked sincerity… What a hassle…
She hurried to the garden, afraid of missing the bloom. She also planned to sketch the Tian Tan Hua for her notebook.
As expected, the Tian Tan Hua bloomed at night.
Although the wind had been strong at noon, tonight was unusually calm. Only a gentle breeze brushed past, causing the Tian Tan Hua to tremble slightly. The flower emitted its own light—an elusive blue glow, deep and dark. In the night, it resembled a lighthouse in the netherworld, guiding the reincarnation of the dead…
Anyway, it was beautiful…
Allen shook her head, telling herself not to overthink it. Beautiful things didn’t have to evoke such feelings…
Soon, the garden was crowded with people…
Allen didn’t bother competing for a spot. She retreated to a bench in the distance, sitting far away, watching the faintly glowing Tian Tan Hua…
Time to start drawing. She picked up the drawing board beside her seat and began sketching based on her general impression…
In the darkness, by the outer wall in a corner of the mansion, several men in black gathered… They stood silently around a short tombstone.
"Operation begins…" Mude, the leader, said to the men behind him. In an instant, they vanished…
Because the night was deep, no one saw them nearby…
"Father, everything’s settled. She’ll come to see the bloom tonight," Charlotte said as she walked down the corridor with her brother and Old Mana. Under the dim lights, they were discussing something.
Alex didn’t want to talk. He’d felt something was off about Allen from the start, and today, that feeling grew heavier. The illusory sensation seemed to be materializing. He could almost feel drops of conspiracy condensing from the mist. He was deeply uneasy…
The air was truly fragrant… so fragrant it made one feel slightly drunk, Mana thought.
So it was the Tian Tan Hua after all…
"Thud!" Charlotte heard a dull thud and turned to look.
He jumped in fright—his father had suddenly collapsed. He immediately sensed something was wrong and activated the Frenzy within his body… But it was too late. He felt a drunken-like sensation and collapsed too…
"Who’s there! Show yourself!" Alex had a strange premonition earlier, and now his worst fear had come true…
He had already activated his Frenzy. Sure enough, within ten minutes, disaster struck…
So his intuition about the conspiracy was indeed accurate…
"Whoosh…" Three small throwing knives, gleaming silver, flew out from the bushes, aimed precisely at Alex.
Seeing the knives flying toward him, each aimed at a vital point, Alex realized that if he moved, his escape routes were completely blocked. There was no way to avoid them.
He didn’t panic. Extending his left hand toward the air, he shouted, "Clear Sky—Shatter!" Instantly, a burst of golden Frenzy energy knocked the knives away. Their trajectories were disrupted, and they flew aimlessly before embedding firmly into the stone pillars of the corridor.
"Show yourself!" he roared, his right hand gripping the hilt of his Bordeaux-style saber, his left hand firmly holding the scabbard.
"Clear Sky—Slash!" His tensed muscles instantly exerted force as he drew the saber and swung it toward the dark bushes. Suddenly, a powerful blue blade wind, like a hurricane, surged toward the bushes.
Instantly, the bushes were blown into the air by the force.
"Whoosh—" A dark figure, realizing the situation was bad, immediately jumped out of the shrubs. He leaped out and locked eyes with Alex.
The man wore a black ninja outfit and a pure black mask, leaving only a pair of deep-set eyes staring intently at Alex. Alex couldn’t help but feel uneasy—the man’s corpse-like gaze gave him a trace of discomfort.
He had a blowpipe strapped to his back. That fragrance must have been from this device. But what he never expected was that Alex had been on constant alert. Thanks to his Frenzy, he hadn’t collapsed like his father…
He drew the long sword at his waist and also erupted with Frenzy.
Azure battle aura—clearly inferior to his own.
An assassin doesn’t need to be strong; as long as they can kill, they’re good. These people who walk in darkness don’t abide by rules—they’d use anything, like poison. Their throwing knives and swords were probably coated with deadly poison…
"Who are you?!" Alex demanded angrily.
"The guide to your end," he replied in a voice rough as sandpaper.
Alex gripped his sword, silent.
Suddenly—
"Raaah!" Alex roared like an enraged lion, brandishing his saber and swinging it fiercely.
His saber techniques flowed like water, seemingly flawless. Enhanced by his awakened Frenzy state, the power behind his strikes reached an unimaginable level, even without the speed of a horse.
He didn’t use any special techniques—just a single downward slash. The black-clad man quickly gripped his sword with both hands, intending to block the slash and then slash Alex at close range. If he could create distance, Alex would collapse from the poison in minutes, becoming a fish on the chopping block—easy to carve up. But things don’t always go as planned…
"Clang—" A crisp sound rang out.
Both the saber and the long sword broke…
Monster…
Alex was like a monster, cleaving the long sword in half. The assassin immediately wanted to create distance. Channeling Frenzy to his feet, he backflipped and retreated over ten meters away.
"Hahaha! Trying to escape?!" Alex wouldn’t let him get away. He crouched down, gathered strength in his legs, and launched himself like a catapult…
He punched the black-clad man in the face, then tore his mask to shreds.
The sight before him surprised him…
He had no skin on his face—only eyeballs…
A dead man walking…
