Chapter 51: Chapter 51: The Duke Has Come.
The path ahead was gloomy and chilling. Amidst the bamboo shadows, the faint chirping of insects could be heard.
Yu Zhizhi had scraped her knee, and a piercing pain shot through it with every step. She grit her teeth, limping as she hurried toward the study’s front courtyard.
However...
She was simply too slow.
Without having awakened her spiritual power, she couldn’t even outrun an ordinary Beastman.
She glanced back and saw a shadowy figure closing in on her, a blood-stained thin sword in hand. The young man’s smile was a strange, indistinct blur.
A sob escaped her.
’How did Count Gray become so terrifying? Was his usual demeanor just a disguise?’
’He deceived everyone!’
Yu Zhizhi’s thoughts were still on Ping’an, terrified that something had happened to him. Tears welled in her eyes, a few drops swept away by the wind as she ran.
The long path seemed to stretch on forever.
THUMP!
Yu Zhizhi tripped on a stone and collapsed to the ground.
Count Gray didn’t even need to use his spiritual power. He effortlessly caught up with the fragile little rabbit.
The blood on the sword in his hand had congealed in the wind.
He stood before the small female.
Seeing her disheveled state, the bloodlust in his heart grew increasingly uncontrollable—
Count Gray had killed many females.
But a noble S-Class? This would be his first.
’Perhaps the pleasure of savoring her corpse would be different from that of the common rabble.
How very exciting...’
Yu Zhizhi watched in terror as Count Gray came to stand before her, his amber, slitted pupils glinting with a sinister, malicious light.
"Don’t be afraid. I’ll be very gentle."
The young Snake Clan man smiled.
He slowly raised the silver thin sword in his hand, aiming for the small female’s heart.
"Right here."
Count Gray’s voice was incredibly gentle, just as it had been when they first met. "I promise, it will be a single, fatal blow."
’There’s no point in torture.’
’Only the corpses are interesting.’
’Those female fans who delivered themselves to my door... their rose-like bodies are all frozen deep in my ice cellar. Every time I visit them, I can inject them with new white pigment.’
—Who could believe that the noble and famous Count Gray would do something like this in secret?
Yu Zhizhi heard his inner voice, and a chill shot up her spine. Her legs were no longer under her control; she was completely unable to move.
She squeezed her eyes shut, her entire body trembling as tears streamed down her cheeks.
’I’m going to die...’
It was the only thought in her mind.
CLANG!
A sharp sound rang out.
A gust of wind swept past, and Yu Zhizhi caught the scent of blood.
The thin sword that had been aimed at her was knocked aside with great force, causing Count Gray to slash himself.
Sitting on the ground, Yu Zhizhi shakily opened her eyes. She saw Guard Captain Jieao, dressed in his black guard uniform, who had somehow appeared behind Count Gray.
The sound of many footsteps suddenly filled the once-secluded bamboo grove.
Guard Captain Jieao bowed. "My apologies, Ms. Zhi Zhi. I’m late."
It was his duty to protect Yu Zhizhi.
However, she had been confined to the study recently. On top of that, it was the night of the banquet, and relatives he hadn’t seen in ages had come to the Duke Mansion, so he’d had a bit too much to drink.
Fortunately, he’d made it in time to stop him—
’If it weren’t for the Duke’s reminder...’
The consequences would have been unthinkable.
A crowd of Beastmen slowly gathered around.
They had all come from the banquet—or more accurately, they had followed the Duke.
Most were dressed in evening wear. The wide, fluffy skirts of many of the females were so cumbersome that they required servants to hold up the hems from behind as they walked.
Yu Zhizhi stared blankly as a familiar figure walked through the crowd and stopped in front of her.
Tonight, the Duke wore deep purple robes, a black, python-embroidered sash tied at his waist. His golden, slitted eyes passed over Count Gray and landed on Yu Zhizhi.
The small female’s white gauze dress was covered in dust, and her cheeks were smudged with dirt. Her nose was red from crying, and her clear eyes stared blankly up at him. They were like pools of spring water, shimmering and threatening to spill over.
Tears dripped from her eyes, one after another.
’She must be terrified.’
Her face was as pale as paper, her eyelashes trembled, and she wept silently.
"What happened?"
"I’m not sure—"
The gathered guests didn’t dare get too close, standing at a distance and whispering amongst themselves.
The young Snake Clan girl, Mumu, stood in the crowd, her hands clutching the hem of her sky-blue dress as she stared at Yu Zhizhi in astonishment.
’I’d heard she’d fallen out of favor with Lord Bo Lan and was being kept in a remote courtyard.’
’She wasn’t even allowed to attend the banquet.’
’To think that the next time I saw her, she’d be in such a sorry state.’
’Her and Count Gray?’
’Is something going on between them?’
"Brother!" White Snake Nicole squeezed through the crowd to Count Gray’s side. "What... what’s going on?"
A gentle smile touched the young Snake Clan man’s lips. He put away his thin sword and spoke softly.
"Just a misunderstanding."
Guard Captain Jieao’s brows knitted together. He had arrived first, so he had seen everything with perfect clarity—
’Some misunderstanding!’
’Count Gray was clearly trying to assassinate Ms. Zhi Zhi!’
However, the onlookers had arrived late. All they could see was the gash on Count Gray’s arm, with blood streaming down like a crimson thread...
Count Gray was brazen, utterly confident in his position.
He simply smiled gently. Facing the Duke, he gave a composed bow. "Lord Bo Lan, I can explain what happened tonight. I came here in the dead of night because I received a letter from Ms. Zhi Zhi—"
"Oh?" The Duke eyed him with amusement. "And then?"
"As I was passing the utility room, I noticed a commotion. A male from the Dog Clan was attempting to force himself on Ms. Zhi Zhi."
Count Gray’s expression was solemn as he spoke, enunciating each word carefully:
"I grievously wounded that Wild Dog, and Ms. Zhi Zhi escaped in the chaos. I was worried for her safety, so I pursued her. However, Ms. Zhi Zhi misunderstood. Perhaps it was because she saw the blood on my sword, or perhaps she was simply terrified by the ordeal—"
He then turned to Yu Zhizhi, his face a mask of apology.
"I am truly sorry for frightening you, Ms. Zhi Zhi. I am willing to accept any punishment."
Count Gray was lying.
He knew that without evidence, no one could prove his guilt.
The Wild Dog was just a slave; no one would take a slave’s side.
Even if Guard Captain Jieao had seen him with the sword, it didn’t prove he was trying to kill Yu Zhizhi. After all, the little Rabbit Clan female was completely unharmed.
Except for the scrape on her knee from when she fell.
Furthermore—
This little rabbit female had already fallen from grace.
The Duke would never harm one of his own kin for her.
Even if he really was guilty...
Lord Bo Lan would cover for him.
Count Gray’s act was so sincere that Guard Captain Jieao almost wondered if he had imagined the whole thing.
The Duke listened silently until Count Gray had finished speaking.
He looked at the small female crying softly on the ground. She was covered in filth, her white gauze dress now gray with dirt. Her rabbit ears drooped forlornly, and tears like pearls rolled down her pale cheeks. She just kept crying.
"Ms. Zhi Zhi," he asked, "is there anything you wish to say?"
Duke Bolan’s voice betrayed no emotion. It was still slightly husky, with an ineffable, languid quality.
Yu Zhizhi was terrified.
Her eyes misty with tears, she raised a slender finger and pointed at the figure in white before her.
"He—"
The little rabbit female’s voice was soft and weak, choked with a sob, yet it held a resolve she had never shown before:
"...He’s lying!"
