What’s this idiot up to?

Baiyi watched Lian Ye, who’d burst into tears after shooting marbles at someone’s chest. Thick black lines of exasperation seemed to appear on his forehead. He looked utterly helpless.

“Dad… Dad!”

“It hurts… hurts.”

Teary-eyed and pitiful, Lian Ye covered the red bump on her head with both hands. She stared at Baiyi with deep grievance.

“Sigh, you fool. Don’t make my interrogation harder…”

Seriously, could she stop causing trouble?

I couldn’t even use a slightly harsh method to question this girl’s motives—not with her clinging to me.

Tch. Should I send this idiot away first?

“Pervert…”

Huh?

Baiyi looked up. The girl’s fair, delicate face flushed faintly. Her gaze shifted from hatred to disgust.

Her slender hands clutched her chest. Her legs pressed tightly together as she curled into a ball.

Her eyes stared at him like he was a creep.

Did she think he’d ordered the idiot to shoot marbles at her?

Tch. Overthinking it.

“What if I’m a pervert? Tell me your name. Your identity. Why you’re here. Or don’t blame me for getting rough!”

Baiyi had lost patience. He wouldn’t waste more time on her.

Now, he wanted to force the truth out himself.

But if he got fierce… blood might spill.

Ahem—not that kind of bloodstain.

He just feared his violence might scare the idiot. So he tried to shoo Lian Ye away.

“Idiot, go play somewhere else for a bit, okay?”

“No… way!”

Dad… Dad.

Can’t… watch… her!

Fine. Lian Ye refused to cooperate, determined to cause trouble.

He’d have to coax her.

“Idiot, if you listen, I’ll take you for delicious food tomorrow.”

“Food…!”

At the word “food,” Lian Ye’s eyes instantly sparkled like tiny stars. It was as if the world’s greatest treasure appeared before her.

Eat…

Yummy…

Mmm…

So… much milk!

“Dad… Dad best!”

Sure enough, mentioning food made Lian Ye nod eagerly. She promised to behave.

“Tch. Fine. Go sit in that corner. Play with your stuffed toy alone. I’ll find you after questioning her.”

Sigh. This fool.

Bribed away by a little food.

Truly clueless.

I’ll need to watch her closely.

“…”

Once Baiyi sent Lian Ye to a corner to play, the girl on the bed tensed. She cautiously shuffled backward.

She sensed her enemy intended something.

“Running? Where to?”

Baiyi cast a small silencing magic on Lian Ye in the corner.

Then he turned to the girl in tattered prison clothes.

His eyes turned icy. He gripped his curved saber.

“What scheme do you people have against that fool?”

“…”

Under Baiyi’s crushing pressure, she trembled uncontrollably.

Yet she kept her lips sealed, refusing to speak.

“So you force my hand…”

Baiyi lost patience. He stepped forward abruptly, standing before her.

Before she could react, he snatched the half white rose mask from her face.

“Let me see who you really are…”

The words died on his lips as the mask fell away.

Beneath it lay a bewitching, seductive face.

Heart-shaped pink pupils. A faintly upturned crimson lip.

A single pink teardrop-shaped mole beneath her right eye.

“Now do you know me?”

The girl lifted her head. Her eyes burned with hatred and fury, locked on Baiyi.

She bit her lower lip hard. Her fists clenched. Her soft body shook violently.

Warm, scalding tears streamed down her chin, leaving two faint trails.

“You… you’re… that Succubus girl from Bernel City…”

“Correct. How kind of you to spare my life… Founding Father of the Great Empire. Grand General Baiyi…”