Chapter 53: Chapter 53: His Treasure
Count Gray knelt on one knee, a trace of confusion hidden in his downcast eyes—
’What kind of evidence could this little female rabbit possibly have?’
Most importantly, he had never imagined the Duke would directly use his spiritual power to investigate on her behalf. This blue Ghost Lotus could link to another location in real time, which had left him with no time to prepare!
The young Snake Clan man glanced nervously at Yu Zhizhi.
Under the crowd’s watchful eyes, he didn’t dare to make any unnecessary movements.
’So close...’
’In the storage room, I was so close to just killing her.’
’If it hadn’t been for that mutt getting in the way—’
"Hm?" The Duke watched the Ghost Lotus bloom in midair, his golden, slitted pupils flashing with an unreadable emotion.
All the Beastmen looked up as well.
In the night sky, the blue Ghost Lotus slowly spun, a clear projection gradually materializing upon it!
When Nicole made out the image, she murmured, "The Count’s Mansion?"
’Is the Duke using his spiritual power to investigate the Count’s Mansion?’
’But why?’
’If, as the Rabbit Clan female claims, my brother wanted to harm her, why would the evidence be in our home?’
A Snake Clan guard appeared in the projection.
He knelt on one knee, saluting the Duke.
After rising, he moved swiftly through the darkness. An invisible camera seemed to follow him, projecting everything around him onto the Ghost Lotus for all the Beastmen present to see.
Yu Zhizhi nervously clutched her skirt. ’If they can just find that ice cellar, everyone will know he’s a murderous Demon!’
’All his usual gentleness and humility are just an act!’
The image gradually came into focus—
Following the Duke’s instructions, the Snake Clan guard found an old building on the grounds of the Count’s Mansion.
It looked just like a post-war ruin.
Servants rarely came here.
The Snake Clan guard descended and came to a stone door. He placed the key in his hand against the stone wall, and the three-meter-tall stone door slowly slid open.
A cloud of icy mist billowed out. The Snake Clan guard vigilantly put on a black mask and, holding a lamp, walked into the depths.
The farther in he went, the colder it became.
The ground underfoot seemed frozen solid. There was nothing to see along the path until he reached the very end, where there was an ice cellar.
He pushed open a frozen door decorated with a butterfly specimen. The first thing that met his eyes were upright, frozen coffins that looked like glass display cases—
There were a dozen or so of them, and inside each, a young female could be seen clearly. Their eyes were gently closed, their cheeks rosy, their lips crimson, as if they were merely asleep.
The image on the blue Ghost Lotus was like a high-definition documentary film.
All the Beastmen stared blankly at the scene.
The Snake Clan guard stopped before one of the icy glass cases. He raised his lamp to illuminate the Deer Clan female inside. Her antlers looked withered. On her rosy face, there were still mottled, filthy stains.
The guard turned and knelt on one knee.
"Reporting to the Duke. As per your instructions, I have found the bodies hidden in the ice cellar. There are thirteen in total."
Nicole stared dazedly at the image on the Ghost Lotus. That place was a forbidden area in the Count’s Mansion. It was rumored to be under a vicious curse that no one was allowed to approach.
’But... there’s an ice cellar here?’
’And it’s hiding the bodies of so many young females??’
The smile on Count Gray’s face froze. The hand hanging at his side began to tremble slowly. But his mind was still racing—
’They’ve only found the bodies.’
’If I deny it to my death, who can prove I killed these females?’
’I’ll just have to find a scapegoat from my territory later...’
Listening to the guard’s report, the Duke spoke in a chilling tone, "Examine the stains on the body."
"Yes, Duke."
Count Gray’s face instantly turned deathly pale.
He never thought the ice cellar would be discovered. The traces he had so recklessly left behind had now become incriminating evidence tonight.
When the Beastmen looked at Count Gray again, their expressions had become complex.
No testimony could ever be as shocking as seeing it with their own eyes.
Some of the more timid females were already covering their mouths with their sleeves, trembling all over.
Then, the results came in. The Snake Clan guard announced, word by word, "It is bodily fluid left by Count Gray."
That single sentence sealed his fate.
Nicole stared in shock at her brother kneeling on one knee before her. She couldn’t believe that her always polite and refined brother had secretly murdered so many females!
’Then tonight...’
’Recalling what Ms. Zhi Zhi said... was my brother really so deranged that he wanted to kill the Empire’s S-Class female?!’
—’Has he gone mad?!’
All the surrounding Beastmen understood now!
Some female Beastmen clutched their chests, on the verge of throwing up.
Everyone had seen the stains left on the corpses.
They weren’t even old stains; they were recent. Otherwise, they couldn’t have been collected for testing.
During the banquet, many females had gathered around Count Gray, asking him to sign copies of the book he had written.
They had adored this incredibly talented Snake Clan Count.
So much so that when Yu Zhizhi accused him, many Beastmen had thought it was a misunderstanding, or even that this Rabbit Clan female simply had a personal grudge against Count Gray.
In any case—
Count Gray had to be innocent!
But the truth was always this unbelievable!
Count Gray’s face was ashen.
The moment the Snake Clan guard spoke those words, he knew it was all over.
No one would believe his excuses any longer.
This was his secret perversion.
He had always hidden it so well.
’But this Rabbit Clan female—how did she know??’
Many of the male Beastmen in the crowd wore furious expressions—
In the Valoran Empire, fertile females were incredibly precious, to say nothing of an S-Class female like Ms. Zhi Zhi!
And Count Gray had actually tried to harm her!
Unforgivable!
Guard Captain Jieao tightened his grip on his sword and knelt.
"Duke, according to the laws of the Empire, harming an S-Class female means he will be stripped of his title, permanently denied political rights, and sentenced to life imprisonment!"
As a fellow member of the Snake Clan, Jieao felt utterly disgraced!
’He didn’t even dare to imagine what would have happened if he’d been half a step slower—’
’What would have been Ms. Zhi Zhi’s fate?!’
In the crowd, a Crane Clan female angrily threw her copy of Mountain and River Mist to the ground.
It even had Count Gray’s autograph on it...
It was an incredibly ironic sight.
Mumu of the Snake Clan gripped her long whip, her brown, slitted pupils dark. She gritted her teeth. "What a disgrace to the Snake Clan...!"
She thought of the corpses in the ice cellar, looking as if they were only sleeping.
She thought of what they had suffered.
She thought of the Rabbit Clan female being hunted down tonight—
Mumu was so furious she wanted to give him a vicious whipping!
Everyone was waiting for the Duke’s punishment.
The whole truth had come to light.
Yu Zhizhi pressed her lips together. The tear tracks on her face had vanished. At this moment, she looked stronger than ever.
She tried to stand up.
A piercing pain from her knee made her fall right back to the ground.
The Duke’s gaze shifted to the little female’s knee. The skin was scraped, and it had bled quite a lot.
He thought—
’Usually, I don’t even dare to hold her too tightly, afraid I might accidentally break her soft waist.’
’I hold her in my arms and feed her, spoonful by spoonful.’
’Hoping she’ll gain a little more weight.’
’Even when punishing her, I don’t dare use any force. I just bite her delicate skin gently, not even drawing a single drop of blood.’
’But tonight, my precious little rabbit was targeted by an Evil Ghost.’
"Guard Captain Jieao, you are correct."
The Duke’s golden, slitted pupils darkened. His tone was chilling, devoid of its usual laziness and amusement.
"According to the laws of the Empire, he should be permanently confined."
"However, today—"
"I would prefer to follow the rules of the Snake Clan."
