Chapter 39: Planting a Spy
“So the result of this selection was decided from the start?!”
“Then we came all this way just to be part of your show!”
“This isn’t fair!”
The air in the chapel instantly froze.
Huaguang’s expression did not change, but her jaw tightened slightly.
Of the five people she had just chosen, besides Lina and one who caught her eye, the other three were all connected to important ministers and powerful nobles. This should have been a tacitly understood outcome, but some ignorant person had to stand up and interfere.
To talk about fairness with the one who makes the rules—from ancient times to the present, there has only been one path: death.
Yuan You’s eyes, under her mask, shifted slightly, always paying attention to Huaguang.
She was equally aware that the undercurrents beneath the calm surface were not honorable.
Yuan You rested her hand on her sword, already poised to strike.
The Grand Elder of the monastery’s face had already turned ashen. Cold sweat was about to soak her robes.
Besides the brainwashed believers, who among those who could climb to the top of the cult was not a shrewd person? The god in the distance was an illusion; the god right before them was the master.
Instead of praying for a vain eternal life, it was better to seize the gold and jewels before them and enjoy the moment.
The Grand Elder’s legs went weak. She could barely stand. Only one thought remained in her mind:
Fool! To bring this matter out into the open! Making it so that no one can back down! Damn it!
The three real connections quickly exchanged glances.
If there were to be a strict investigation, their backgrounds would not stand up to scrutiny either!
The one who had exposed them had not just torn off Lina’s fig leaf, but everyone’s!
After all, they were noble ladies. Although they were panicked for a moment, they had been educated and had seen their mothers and fathers navigate the world of fame and fortune with ease. They quickly calmed down.
Lina, at the center of the storm, lowered her eyelashes, her gaze calmly falling on the tips of her toes.
Adele had told her that a horse is an extremely sensitive animal that can sense its rider’s emotions. Therefore, a successful rider must remain calm to make the most rational judgments when facing obstacles.
Lina not only had to ride a horse, but she also had to ride her own life. When the storm came, she had already learned to discard useless emotions and begin to analyze calmly in the shortest amount of time.
Her heaven-sent sensitivity also came into play. With a turn of her mind, she saw the situation clearly.
If the shady dealings were compared to a hidden wound, now that it was torn open in public, the one who would feel the most pain would definitely not be her.
Huaguang, who was forming factions and plotting to usurp the throne; the Grand Elder, who was fawning over the powerful and frantically amassing wealth; the connections, who enjoyed their family’s protection but didn’t want to be gossiped about; and everyone who was in charge of this selection and had once profited from it—they were all in pain.
There were plenty of people who were more anxious than her.
As expected, Huaguang’s cool voice came from the second floor. “Is that so? Then take all the people involved down and investigate them thoroughly.”
Adele watched as Lina and the accuser were taken into a small room together. She frowned slightly, only able to lower her head to hide the worry in her eyes.
The sound of questioning soon came from the small room. Everyone was tacitly cooperating with the performance of this predetermined outcome.
A quarter of an hour later, a muffled thud came from inside the room.
The royal guards were the first to walk out, with Lina following closely behind.
Huaguang’s tense jaw finally relaxed. Yuan You also silently released the force on her sword.
The Grand Elder hurriedly stepped forward to smooth things over. The others all chimed in. Right and wrong were thus reversed.
Adele’s expression was complicated.
She suddenly felt a strong urge to have Lina give up this opportunity to enter the palace.
This was a world of fame and fortune, and also a world of life and death!
Beneath that magnificent palace were piles of white bones, layers of wronged souls.
She didn’t want to see her baby become someone else’s pawn, to disappear without a sound. She didn’t dare to think deeply, what if the bright and lively rabbit ball became a cold corpse…
At this moment, she selfishly wanted to keep Lina by her side, not to go any higher. They could live a simple life together.
But, would doing so also deprive Lina of the opportunity to grow? What if she could really make a name for herself?
Adele was also afraid that her worries would become a shackle on Lina’s soaring wings, that her protection would become a delay.
The two thoughts pulled her back and forth. She could only look at Lina.
And what about Lina herself?
She looked at the small, deathly silent room. A chill ran up her spine, causing a small shiver.
A person had died.
Died right in front of her.
But this shiver only lasted for a few seconds. The panic and pity were quickly replaced by a deeper desire.
Lina looked up at Huaguang. She also wanted to stand on high, to have power.
The chill in her heart gradually dissipated. A hotter, and also darker, flame began to burn in her body.
She had to go up!
Adele saw the change in Lina’s expression clearly.
She knew that she really couldn’t stop Lina anymore.
And, to destroy this story, she had to get close to Huaguang and Yuan You.
In the unseen, everything was guiding Lina into the world of fame and fortune.
But…
Adele always felt uneasy.
If Lina got lost in the vortex of power, what should she do?
The strong unease stimulated a strong desire for control. Adele silently clenched her hands. She only wanted to:
Grab Lina.
Hold Lina.
Lock her up…
The moment Lina returned to her single dormitory, Adele followed.
“Do you have to enter the palace to be an official?”
Adele sat down on the edge of the bed.
Lina’s motion of packing her luggage paused. “You don’t want me to go?”
“It’s very dangerous.” Adele took the clothes from her hand and naturally helped her tidy them. “You just saw it. The slightest carelessness…”
“I know.” Lina crossed her arms, inadvertently revealing a hint of aggression.
Adele glanced at her and said again, “You’re going even though it’s dangerous?”
Lina’s gaze was calm, as if she had already calculated it a thousand times in her heart.
“Huaguang may not simply appreciate me. The businesses I inherited are more valuable. She saved my life. I already owe her. If she needs the commercial network in my hands, can I not help? She can crush Herte, and she can also crush me. In any case, I’m destined to be entangled with her.”
Adele was stunned. The usually submissive and obedient little rabbit had suddenly shown her fangs. She was a little unaccustomed to this sudden change.
Lina raised an eyebrow and softened her tone, but no longer hid her thoughts. “Instead of not even having a legitimate official position, it’s better to enter the palace openly and make a name for myself. When I have power in my hands, what are the current businesses? In at most three years, I can make them ten times larger. At that time, you can just lie at home and count money. Isn’t that good?”
Adele shook her head. “I don’t care about money.”
I care about you.
Lina, I only care about you.
But Lina was already a little drunk on the wine of power. She said directly, “But I want more.”
The atmosphere instantly became a little strange.
Adele looked at Lina, a nameless fire burning in her heart.
Not strong, but scorching.
She was surprised at her own strong desire for control and was silent for a moment.
Lina didn’t want to give in on this matter either. In any case, she had to be an official!
Neither of them spoke. The next second, a knock sounded on the door.
“She really has nowhere else to go.” The Grand Elder pushed a pale, wounded little girl in front of Adele. “Just take care of her. You like it anyway.”
Adele suddenly felt an extremely cold gaze sweep up and down her from behind.
The kind that could kill.
Her invisible wolf ears trembled. If it weren’t for the outsider, she would have wanted to curl up in her own tail.
Every single wolf hair on her was standing on end.
The temperature in the room instantly dropped to zero.
“I said, I’m not taking in any new people for now.” Adele forced a calm demeanor.
She was a proud white wolf. Would she be afraid of a little lop-eared rabbit?!
…She would.
“Raising one is raising, raising two is also raising.” The Grand Elder said again, “I can’t raise her here anymore. If you don’t take her, I can only throw her out on the street.”
Adele couldn’t bear it, but she was also afraid that Lina would overthink it. She was choked for a moment.
A hint of suspicion flashed in the Grand Elder’s eyes.
She clearly remembered that this person would take in anyone. Once she had raised them well, she would either personally break them and then save them, or just throw them away. She had never been monogamous…
Lina fell to her knees with a thud. “Master… you don’t want me anymore?”
Adele: ?
Lina’s tears came as she pleased. She crawled forward two steps on her knees and carefully grabbed the cuff of Adele’s trousers. “You can break me again. Although you’ve already taken out six of my ribs, I still have other parts on my body you can play with… please don’t throw me away… I’ll be very obedient…”
The suspicion in the Grand Elder’s eyes was gradually replaced by shock.
What!
Removed ribs! No wonder there were no visible wounds…
Playing so perversely!?
Lina pretended to cough twice, clutched her chest, and trembled as she nuzzled Adele’s calf.
“Please…”
The two of them met eyes. Adele knew she was helping her solidify her identity.
“I want you. How could I not want you? Other people break after being played with for a bit. Only you…” Adele raised a hand and pinched her face. “Only you are so durable.”
Lina’s throat moved. She thought of her ten-second record and couldn’t help but feel the tips of her ears turn red.
She suspected that Adele was getting revenge on her.
“Is her background clean?” Adele let go of Lina. “What if I kill her?”
She hadn’t used much force in her hand, but Lina pretended to fall to the side and even pretended to gasp in pain. Large teardrops fell, making it look as if she had been pushed away by Adele.
The Grand Elder glanced at the person curled up on the floor and couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath.
She took half a step back and shoved the person into Adele’s hands.
“Her background is clean! You can play with her slowly. If you kill her, just throw her away… I’ll be leaving now.”
She oiled her feet and disappeared down the corridor in a flash.
Adele looked down at the little girl and said, “You can get up first. Go wait for me in the carriage outside.”
“Yes.”
After the door was closed again, Adele sat back on the edge of the bed. “What do you think?”
“Master.” Lina blinked her blue eyes and said, “I haven’t gotten up yet…”
“Why do I feel like you get a little excited when you call me Master?” Adele leaned forward slightly. “Tell me the truth. Do you have any bad intentions?”
When Lina felt guilty, her ears would pop out.
She shook her head. “No, no. I definitely don’t want to be your…”
The word “dog” almost came out.
She covered her mouth, a narrow escape.
Adele’s expression was subtle. She braced herself on her hands behind her and looked down at Lina. “You don’t want to be my rabbit. Then what do you want to be?”
“Baby.”
“Oh—” Adele quickly picked up her words. “But how can I treat you like a baby and like a dog at the same time?”
Lina froze in place, her scalp tingling from Adele’s stare.
Her thoughts had been seen through!?
“Good child.” Adele stood up and walked in front of her. “If you want something, you have to tell me. If you don’t say it, how will I know?”
She retracted the smile in her eyes. A hint of danger was hidden in the light end of her words.
“Or should I say, no matter how I treat you, you’ll like it?”
Lina looked at her, her whole body trembling uncontrollably. She couldn’t help but tell the truth.
“Yes, yes… anything you do to me is fine.”
Lina braced herself on the floor with both hands, a twisted sense of satisfaction welling up in her heart.
Was she really going to be absolutely and completely possessed by Adele?
I like it so much.
“Lina?” Adele looked at the person sitting on the floor, smiling foolishly, a circle of question marks spinning above her head. “Hey!”
Lina abruptly came to her senses. “Ah?! Master.”
“The person has already left.” Adele pulled her up directly. “The floor is cold. What Master? You’re not my maid.”
Lina took the opportunity to sit on her lap. “The girl the Grand Elder sent, her fingers are pale and slender, her palms have no calluses, her calves are smooth and delicate, and even her ear piercings are very exquisite. A poor family probably can’t raise such a child. Her origins are probably not simple.”
Lina, “with ulterior motives,” said, “She’s very likely a spy sent to our side. So, we have to keep acting at home…”
Adele nodded. “That makes sense.”
Lina pressed her advantage and said, “So, from today on, I’m your maid!”
“Please, dispose of me as you wish!”
Adele: ???
/
“Many people have asked me why I had to enter the palace to be an official back then. To let my teacher live a good life? To have the ability to control her? These are all secondary. The real reason is that I was really tired of the hard life, the days of not having enough to eat, not enough to wear, the days when my soul was trampled on, and my dignity was worthless. I was really tired of it.”
“Feelings are vague and fleeting. The fate between people is more fragile than a cicada’s wing. But power and money are heavy. They can be held in your hand and will never betray you. I need power. To be more blunt, I need the power to trample on others. Only then can I feel safe. I want everyone to not dare to bully me anymore!”
“Will Adele always love me? I only know that she has always loved me very much. But I can’t guarantee that she will still love me in the future. It’s not that I have no confidence in her; I just have no confidence in human nature.”
“So I can only make plans early. I can kneel and beg her to dote on me, but kneeling will certainly not keep someone who wants to leave. Pretending to be pitiful, winning sympathy—that is not a long-term solution.”
“Only power can. Just like today, as I write these words, my people have already told me everything about Adele’s location, what color clothes she’s wearing, and how many dishes she had for lunch.”
“She can’t escape my grasp at all, and don’t even think about leaving!”
“This feeling of controlling everything is too wonderful.”
“But if I could do it all over again, I wouldn’t want power. I would want to live a simple life with her, not to be separated from her for a single moment. I would only want her embrace, for her to call me ‘baby’ again.”
