Return of Black Lotus system:Taming Cheating Male Leads

Chapter 420: Chapter-420

The Grandfather, who had been quietly sipping his tea, choked slightly. He looked at Samuel, a slow, deeply impressed grin spreading across his scarred face. ’Ah, a kindred spirit,’ the old general thought.

The Grand Madam stared at Samuel for three full seconds before she violently slapped the mahogany table, completely thrilled.

"Excellent!" the grandmother declared, pointing at Samuel with absolute approval. "A perfect blend of ruthless elimination and absolute, terrifying devotion! Seera, this one is a keeper. I don’t know where you found him, but do not let him go. He has excellent foundations."

"I will keep that in mind, Grandma," Heena laughed softly, her heart fluttering slightly despite the heavy nausea still sitting in her stomach.

But the brief moment of absolute hilarity slowly faded as the Grand Madam’s gaze fell back onto Heena’s pale, exhausted face and her entirely untouched bowl of food. The grandmother’s smile vanished, replaced by the cold, hard reality of the situation they had returned to.

"Alright," the grandmother sighed, her tone shifting from playful mentor to the absolute matriarch of the Marquisate estate. She looked at her husband, her eyes turning as cold as ice. "We have laughed enough. It is time to take out the trash."

The Grandfather set his teacup down. The mild, blushing husband instantly vanished, replaced once again by the towering, bloodthirsty god of war. His aura flared, heavy and suffocating.

"Your son," the grandmother commanded softly, not even looking at her husband. "He has overstepped his bounds for the very last time. He dared to strike my granddaughter. He dared to let four stray dogs bleed this estate dry. And he had the absolute audacity to do it while sitting in a seat of power that ’I’ legally own."

The Grandfather stood up slowly. His massive frame seemed to cast a shadow over the entire courtyard.

"I will handle it, my love," the Old Marquis stated, his voice a low, terrifying rumble. He reached out, gently squeezing his wife’s shoulder before looking down at Heena. His eyes softened just a fraction. "Rest here with your grandmother, Seera. Do not worry your pretty head over those fools anymore. Grandfather is going to completely restructure the hierarchy of this house."

Heena looked up at him, her dark eyes flashing with a highly calculated, vindictive gleam.

"Grandfather," Heena called out softly just as he turned to leave.

The old man paused, looking back.

"The four grooms," Heena said, her voice completely smooth, yet entirely devoid of mercy. "Father wants to legally bind me to one of them. He wants to force a marriage so they can inherit half my power. Could you kindly ensure that the very concept of them touching my estate becomes a literal impossibility?"

The Grandfather’s scarred face twisted into a deeply feral, terrifying smile.

"Consider it done, little one," he promised.

With that, the Old Marquis turned and marched out of the pavilion, his heavy boots echoing like war drums against the stone path as he headed straight back to the main hall to completely annihilate his son’s lingering authority.

The Grand Madam also set her chopsticks down. She reached across the wide mahogany table, her wrinkled hand gently cuping the uninjured side of Heena’s face.

"Now, I need to go too, my baby," the grandmother said, her voice softening into a gentle, maternal hum. "You should rest. Don’t force yourself to eat if your stomach cannot take it."

She then shifted her sharp gaze to Samuel, her tone instantly hardening back into the authoritative matriarch. "Guard. Take absolute care of your master."

Samuel didn’t hesitate for a fraction of a second. He hurriedly bowed his head in a deep, deeply respectful nod.

Satisfied, the Grand Madam stood up, her luxurious robes rustling. Her eyes flashed with a dark, terrifying promise as she turned and marched out of the pavilion. That sister truly needed to go and teach her useless son exactly what the word ’respect’ meant.

Now, there were only the two of them left in the grand dining room, along with a few silent servants waiting by the walls.

"Please, go out," Heena ordered softly, waving her hand at the attendants. "I wish to rest alone for a while."

The servants immediately bowed in unison, silently stepping out of the pavilion and pulling the heavy wooden doors shut with a soft ’click’.

The very second the doors closed, the suffocating, heavy atmosphere of the estate vanished, leaving only an intimate, heavy silence between them.

Samuel instantly dropped his rigid, shadow-guard posture. He hurriedly pushed his own chair back and dropped to one knee right beside Heena’s chair. His massive, trembling hands reached up, and he swiftly pulled the wooden cat mask off his face, tossing it carelessly onto the table.

Without the mask, his face was fully exposed—and it was an absolute picture of raw, agonizing worry. His sharp, handsome features were tight with distress, his dark eyes frantically scanning her pale complexion.

He reached out, his massive hand hovering over her injured face before his warm fingers feather-lightly touched her jaw, deliberately avoiding the angry red swelling on her cheek.

"Ah..." Samuel breathed out, his voice cracking. It was a choked, desperate sound that carried a thousand unspoken words. ’Are you okay? Does it hurt? Why did you let him hit you?’

He looked up into her eyes, his thumb gently stroking the safe skin near her chin.

"Young Miss," Samuel whispered hoarsely, his eyes shining with an intense, heartbreaking mix of devotion and sheer panic over her failing body. "’’Please... tell me the truth. How much does it actually hurt?’’"

Seeing him look like a completely devastating, panic-stricken puppy, Heena suddenly felt a wicked urge to tease him. The heavy, suffocating atmosphere of the estate instantly melted away as a mischievous glint returned to her dark eyes.

She leaned in just a fraction, batting her eyelashes, and let out a soft, pitiful, entirely suggestive little whine.

"Hubby..." Heena cooed, her voice dripping with a cloying, helpless fragility. "It really hurts."

Samuel completely froze.

The blood rushed to his face so fast he looked like he might genuinely combust on the spot. His dark eyes widened, completely derailed by the sudden, highly inappropriate shift in her tone. He stared at her, his brain clearly short-circuiting as he tried to process the word ’’Hubby’’ falling from her lips.

"Stop joking," Samuel rasped, his voice dropping a full, highly strained octave. He cleared his throat, desperately trying to pull himself together as he heavily emphasized his next words. "’’My Lady.’’"

He stretched the formal title out, dragging the syllables to remind her exactly where they were and the highly dangerous reality of their current environment. In his mind, the walls of the Marquisate estate definitely had ears, and playing such a dangerous game in an open pavilion was a terrible idea.

But what the towering shadow guard completely failed to realize was that Heena was vastly smarter than him when it came to securing a perimeter.

Long before she had even asked the servants to step out, she had already put the System on maximum alert. Whenever she needed to drop her heavy aristocratic mask, act entirely normally, or speak without hiding behind double meanings, she always deployed the little holographic lion to run a complete surveillance sweep of the area.