Forced to Sell Myself to the Female Lead After Killing the Male Lead

Unable to accept reality, Benjamin quickly left the Duke Family cemetery in frustration.

However,

Since almost everyone's attention was focused on the pink-haired girl, no one noticed that anything was wrong with Benjamin.

Even Avnora was no exception.

After confirming that the pink-haired girl really was her granddaughter,

Avnora's heart overflowed with relief.

Although she still couldn't figure out Lei Jie's bizarre behavior earlier,

None of that seemed important anymore.

Right now, for the Duke Family,

The most important thing was to hold a celebration as soon as possible to welcome Xia'er's return.

Thus,

The Marchioness immediately summoned Audite and the other servants, beginning preparations without delay.

In Avnora's eyes,

Since this child carried the bloodline of the Duke Family, she absolutely couldn't be neglected.

A proper welcome banquet was indispensable.

At the same time, it would help wash away the child's fear and anxiety.

After all,

Lei Jie's sudden attack earlier had undoubtedly placed tremendous pressure upon her.

Avnora believed that a lively celebration was exactly what Xia'er needed—to soothe her emotions and help her grow closer to everyone in the Marquis's residence.

No matter what,

She didn't want Xia'er to remain as wary of the Duke Family as she had been before.

—

And so,

Time quickly passed,

Until evening arrived.

Thanks to Avnora's careful preparations, a grand welcome banquet was soon held inside the Marquis's residence.

Enmm,

Calling it "grand" wasn't entirely accurate.

Considering her granddaughter's timid personality, Avnora ultimately abandoned the idea of holding a formal noble banquet.

Not a single noble or prominent figure from Wind Facing City was invited.

Even those who wanted to attend were politely—but firmly—turned away.

She had no intention of letting those hypocritical people frighten her adorable granddaughter.

Thus,

The guests consisted only of those within the Marquis's residence, a portion of the Duke Family members, and several representatives from the Asumos Church, including Mengxi.

Of course,

The banquet wasn't particularly large.

Avnora had deliberately refrained from inviting many acquaintances and even close friends, putting Xia'er's feelings above everything else.

Furthermore,

Nearly half of the household staff were still outside searching for Yuan'er's whereabouts, leaving relatively few people present.

Even so,

The banquet hall remained lively.

To celebrate the young lady's return,

The residents of the Marquis's estate prepared an incredible variety of delicious food, numerous performances, and lined up one after another to greet the young lady and present their gifts.

—

Thus,

The banquet proceeded smoothly.

After receiving greetings from the elderly servants of the estate,

Miss Yumo already felt utterly exhausted.

Keeping up the act the entire time...

'This is seriously exhausting!!'

Yumo couldn't help complaining inwardly.

Taking advantage of the interval before the next performance,

Miss Yumo, dressed in a blue princess gown, quietly slipped out of the banquet hall to get some fresh air.

After staying secluded in the Great Winter Forest for over five hundred years,

She still wasn't accustomed to being watched by so many people.

Even if...

Those gazes were almost entirely filled with goodwill.

Once she escaped everyone's attention and stepped into the moonlit garden,

Miss Yumo let out a long sigh of relief.

At the same time, she gazed up at the night sky with mixed emotions.

Sigh...

'What am I supposed to do now?'

Originally,

She had intended to use that so-called guardian beast to prove that she wasn't the Marquis's granddaughter.

Afterward,

She could leave Wind Facing City openly and travel with Mengxi to the Asumos Church.

As for the slave identity,

Having the Black Rose Family lend a hand should solve that problem easily.

As for meeting the Child of Destiny,

There was no need to rely on this ridiculous "fiancée" identity.

Mengxi herself was the Daughter of Destiny.

If Yumo simply stayed by her side,

She would eventually meet Xue Tianao-Valedin sooner or later.

There was absolutely no need to rush.

However,

Reality had turned out completely different from what she had imagined.

Under normal circumstances,

As long as the guardian beast rejected her,

It would prove she wasn't the real "Xia'er."

But...

Who would have thought that stupid cat would actually hug her leg?!

And rub against her so affectionately?!

Damn it!

Now things were perfect.

After seeing the guardian beast's reaction,

The Marquis and his wife had become completely convinced that she was "Xia'er."

No matter how much she tried to explain now,

It would probably be useless.

Unless she directly released the Shadow of Silence Power.

But if she did that,

Her disguise in front of Mengxi would also be exposed.

She had only just managed to earn enough affection from Mengxi while using this pink-haired girl's identity.

Starting over with an entirely new disguise...

Would be an enormous hassle!

Thinking this,

Miss Yumo let out a troubled sigh.

Then,

Frowning, she looked down in disgust at the black cat clinging to her ankle—the culprit responsible for ruining her entire plan.

In an icy voice, she said,

"Hey. Have you hugged enough? Or do you want to be stewed into cat hotpot?"

Upon hearing that,

The black cat—

The Duke Family's great guardian beast, Lord Lei Jie—

Immediately shivered all over.

Apparently sensing the impatience in Yumo's tone,

And realizing that continuing to cling to her leg wouldn't earn Lady Yumo's forgiveness,

Lei Jie immediately let go.

Then he obediently sat in front of her with the best-behaved expression imaginable.

"I-I won't hug you anymore, Lady Yumo!"

For the sake of staying alive,

Lei Jie had truly thrown everything away.

In the big cat's eyes,

Although he had successfully redirected his attack earlier and avoided being slapped to death on the spot,

He had clearly noticed the displeasure in Lady Yumo's gaze.

It was obvious.

His intention to attack Lady Yumo had been seen through.

Of course.

She was the Lord of the Abyss Demons.

How could his tiny little trick possibly escape her notice?

Although Lady Yumo hadn't settled accounts with him yet,

There was no guarantee she wouldn't do so later.

Even if she didn't personally take action,

As long as ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) she told those other little ancestors what he had done today...

He would probably end up becoming roasted cat skewers.

Thus,

For the sake of his life,

Lei Jie completely abandoned his dignity and began desperately acting cute while begging for forgiveness.

He kept it up for quite a while.

However,

For some reason,

His cuteness offensive seemed to have the opposite effect.

Why was Lady Yumo looking at him with even more disgust?!

For a moment,

Lei Jie felt like crying without tears.

Still,

Perhaps persistence really did pay off.

His relentless attempts to act cute finally achieved a tiny bit of success.

After learning that the black cat before her had once been the young chief of the Thunder Beast Clan in the Great Winter Forest,

Yumo couldn't help sighing as she rubbed her forehead.

After all,

She had never expected the guardian beast to recognize her.

Then,

Considering that Lei Jie was still an incredibly powerful Eighth-Tier guardian beast and would make a valuable combat asset,

Yumo gave up on holding a grudge.

"Forget it. I won't take revenge on you. Just hurry up and crawl back to your den."

?!!

Hearing that the murderous intent in Yumo's voice was no longer as terrifying as before...

And hearing that she wasn't planning to pursue the matter...

Lei Jie was instantly overjoyed.

"Meow! Meow meow!!" (Lady Yumo, thank you so much!!)

In excitement,

Lei Jie suddenly leaped into the air.

Landing directly against Miss Yumo's chest.

Judging by how practiced the movement was,

This cat had probably pounced onto plenty of girls' chests before...

Seeing the black cat lying against her chest,

Feeling the overwhelming relief radiating from him after surviving a catastrophe,

Yumo shook her head with mixed emotions.

Seriously...

Did he really have to be this afraid of her?

She had always treated major magical beast clans very kindly while living in the Great Winter Forest.

She had even frequently sent members of the Black Rose Family to deliver gifts to them.

Miss Yumo quietly grumbled inwardly.

However,

She wasn't particularly bothered by the black cat taking advantage of her.

After all,

In Yumo's eyes...

Wasn't it just a cat?

However,

Yumo didn't mind.

That didn't mean everyone else felt the same.

The next moment,

A familiar female voice, cold as ice, suddenly sounded from behind her.

"Oh? Where did this filthy cat come from? Quite the little pervert, isn't it?"

As the crisp young voice rang out,

A slender jade-like hand slowly reached out from behind Yumo,

Grabbing the loose skin on the back of Lei Jie's neck,

And effortlessly lifting the bewildered little black cat into the air.

"Hm?"

Hearing the voice,

Yumo hurriedly turned around.

However,

The instant she did,

Surprise filled her azure-blue eyes.

Of course,

She had already sensed Mengxi's arrival.

The reason she was surprised...

Was Mengxi's appearance.

For the private banquet that evening,

Mengxi had changed into a white off-the-shoulder evening dress specially prepared by the Marchioness.

Its broad lace shoulder straps beautifully accentuated her elegant collarbones.

The simple neckline revealed a large expanse of smooth, snow-white skin across her chest.

As she walked,

Her long white gown occasionally revealed her delicate feet wrapped in white thigh-high stockings beneath the hem.

Her overall appearance resembled that of an elegant bridesmaid at a wedding.

An exquisite sapphire hairpin adorned her beautiful silver hair,

Which had been gathered neatly behind her back,

Completely exposing the graceful curve of her slender neck.

Combined with the light makeup on her face,

The already breathtaking girl appeared even more radiant than before.

Even Miss Yumo couldn't help staring blankly for a moment.

Ennmm...

It seemed...

Attending the banquet wasn't entirely a bad thing after all~

Looking at the incredibly pleasing silver-haired girl,

Yumo unconsciously smiled in satisfaction.

She had to admit,

Mengxi, now overflowing with elegant ladylike charm,

Was simply too perfect.

However,

The only flaw...

Was probably the expression in her eyes.

At this moment,

The usual gentleness had disappeared from the beautiful pale-violet eyes of the silver-haired girl.

In its place...

Lurked a dark, ominous gloom.

And after noticing a certain part beneath the black cat's body,

The darkness in Mengxi's eyes became even heavier.

"Oh? So it's a male, too? Come to think of it... Xiaomo, would you like me to help neuter your pet?"

?!!

Neuter?!

She wants to me?!

Before Yumo could say anything,

Lei Jie immediately bared his fangs viciously upon hearing those words.

He glared fiercely at the silver-haired girl.

The hell?!

Lady Yumo kneading me is one thing!

But who the hell are you?!

You're just a Mid Sixth-Tier little girl!

How dare you speak to me like that?!

Looking for death?!

At that moment,

To defend the dignity of a guardian beast,

A dangerous light gradually emerged in Lei Jie's eyes.

Lightning slowly gathered around his claws.

As an Eighth-Tier existence,

If he attacked the girl before him,

Her fate was obvious.

However,

Before Lei Jie could make a move,

An indescribable chill suddenly spread upward from the base of his tail,

Instantly engulfing his entire body.

?!

Eh?

L-L-Lady Yumo?!

At that instant,

Lei Jie drew a sharp breath.

Because he had already noticed the expression on the pink-haired girl's face behind him.

That icy expression seemed to be telling him only one thing.

—If you dare move... I'll chop you up.—

In an instant,

Driven by his overwhelming survival instinct,

The pitiful kitty flattened his ears.

He could only look at Miss Mengxi with pleading, puppy-like eyes.

As for the dignity of a guardian beast...

Was it really more important than staying alive???