Return of Black Lotus system:Taming Cheating Male Leads

Chapter 419: Chapter-419

"But the problem was," the grandmother continued, casually fluffing her own hair, completely unbothered by her own vanity, "I was incredibly beautiful. I was thin, elegant... essentially, I was a flawless piece of cake dropped directly from the heavens. How could anyone possibly leave me alone?"

Heena forced herself not to laugh at her grandmother’s absolute lack of humility.

"So, you see," the Grand Madam went on, "one day, I was out shopping in the capital when a nobleman—he was wealthy, but of a slightly lower rank, I don’t really remember his post—approached me. He completely ignored the fact that I was married. He asked for my address, told me he really liked me, and boldly stated that he wanted to make me his wife. And... well... this old fool happened to overhear it."

Heena slowly turned her head toward her grandfather, her eyes wide. "Wait. It can’t be right, Grandpa. Please tell me I am misunderstanding this."

The Grandfather knew exactly what she was thinking. He just nonchalantly shrugged his massive, muscular shoulders.

"Wait," Heena gasped, her voice practically squeaking. "’’You became a legendary military Marquis and a god of war... just because a lower-ranked noble hit on your wife and you got jealous?!’’"

"Of course," the Grandfather stated, his tone entirely serious. "A man should never, ever let his opponents stand above him."

"But... but you were incredibly handsome!" Heena argued, completely flabbergasted. "You already had her! Why did you even need to worry about some random noble?!"

The old man looked at her as if stating the most obvious fact in the universe. "Of course I needed to worry! Her family was incredibly powerful, and she was flawless. I kept thinking, ’’What if I grow older and become ugly? What if she leaves me for someone with more money and status?’’ So, I thought about it very hard, went to the battlefield, and became a Marquis."

Heena took a deep breath, trying to steady her racing heart. ’Okay, okay,’ she thought. ’So the epic love story ends here. They made it to the top together.’

"Right," Heena nodded. "So, you guys made it. You conquered the world for her."

The grandmother immediately scoffed, shrugging her shoulders.

"You know, child," the grandmother said, her voice dropping into a serious, deeply educational tone. "I have always believed that the absolute most important thing for a woman to do is to be entirely, legally, and financially independent."

Heena blinked. "Okay...?"

"So," the grandmother smiled a terrifyingly brilliant smile, "the moment we got successfull, I made this old man sign a legally binding document. It stated that if he were to die, every single coin, every piece of land, and all of his military pensions would go directly to ’me’, and absolutely nothing would go to his children. And not only that! I made him sign a clause stating that as long as I am alive—whether he is dead or alive—the entire Marquisate property officially belongs to me."

Heena’s jaw unhinged.

’Oh my God,’ Heena thought, completely dumbfounded. ’This explains everything! This explains why my father has absolutely zero real power! This woman literally owns the entire estate on paper! She is too crafty!’

"Oh, and don’t worry," the grandmother added cheerfully, waving her hand. "I also made him sign a clause stating that if he were to die in battle, I had his full legal blessing to immediately marry someone younger and more handsome."

Heena stared at her. "You... what?"

"Yes! Whenever he went off on his military campaigns, he would be crying at the gates, saying, ’’Don’t worry, wife! I will win! I will come back to you!’’ And I would just pat his cheek and tell him, ’’If you die, I will just marry seven beautiful male models. So don’t worry, just die easily if you have to.’’"

A sudden, earth-shattering realization hit Heena like a runaway carriage.

"Wait..." Heena gasped, pointing a shaking finger at her grandmother. "When I was a little girl, I used to stand at the gates and watch Grandfather ride off to war! You would always lean in and whisper something in his ear before he rode away! I always thought it was a sweet, romantic good luck charm!"

The grandmother looked at her as if she were utterly foolish.

"Of course it was a good luck charm, dear!" the Grand Madam declared proudly. "Listen to the logic: If he comes back alive, then it is good! But if he doesn’t fight hard enough and dies, then I will just marry seven other men! The sheer terror of me replacing him was the only thing keeping him alive on the battlefield!"

Behind Heena, Samuel was standing so perfectly still he looked like a statue, but his mind was furiously taking notes. ’Absolute absolute genius,’ the shadow guard thought. ’This family’s romantic tactics are utterly terrifying.’

Heena slowly slid out of her chair, dropping down onto one knee right beside her grandmother.

"Grandma," Heena said, her voice filled with absolute, unwavering reverence. "I need you to officially take me in as your student. I need to get some teachings from you immediately."

The Grand Madam let out a loud, triumphant cackle that echoed through the entire pavilion. She reached down, practically glowing with pride, and affectionately patted Heena’s cheek.

"Get up, get up, my clever girl!" the grandmother laughed, her eyes crinkling with sheer delight. "You don’t need to ask! Who else would I pass my ultimate legacy down to? Your useless father? Bah! I will teach you everything. By the time I am done with you, you will know exactly how to hold the entire world—and your husband—in the palm of your hand."

The grandmother’s sharp, calculating eyes suddenly drifted over Heena’s shoulder, locking directly onto the towering, silent figure of Samuel.

"In fact," the Grand Madam purred, resting her chin on her knuckles as she gave the shadow guard a highly critical, top-to-bottom assessment. "We can start your first lesson right now. Let us use this giant of yours as an example."

Samuel instantly stiffened, his broad shoulders squaring up. Under the terrifying scrutiny of the estate’s true master, he felt like a raw recruit standing inspection.

"Tell me, guard," the grandmother demanded, her voice echoing with undeniable authority. "If my granddaughter were to officially marry you tomorrow... and then the very next day, a younger, much more handsome prince offered her a mountain of gold to run away with him... what exactly would you do?"

Heena blinked, turning around to look at Samuel. She was genuinely curious to see how he would handle her grandmother’s lethal questioning.

Samuel didn’t even hesitate. His deep, gravelly voice rumbled from behind his wooden mask, utterly devoid of doubt.

"I would meticulously assassinate the prince, burn the mountain of gold to the ground, and then completely submit myself to the Young Miss’s punishment for acting without her direct orders," Samuel stated, his tone as casual as if he were discussing the weather. "And then, I would work three times as hard to ensure she never found another man remotely interesting again."

’Dead silence.’

Heena’s eyes went slightly wide. ’Well,’ she thought, a dark thrill shooting down her spine. ’That is certainly one way to answer a hypothetical question.’