NOVPUB
Chapter 218: New Friend
In one part of the city, a grand mansion stood surrounded by a vast garden. Guards and maids moved busily here and there, tending to their duties. Anyone passing by this mansion would immediately recognize its owner because of the symbol on top of it’s main gate, the Duke Lucard. This mansion served as his residence whenever he or any member of the Lucard family visited the capital.
Right now, inside one of the rooms in the mansion, a man sat on a sofa dressed in casual attire. He held a glass of wine in his hand, his expression relaxed as he gazed at the crimson liquid within. Slowly swirling the glass, he caught a glimpse of his own reflection in the wine. However, as memories of the humiliation he endured a few days ago resurfaced, his expression became twisted. 𝔫𝖔𝔳𝖕𝖚𝔟.𝔠𝔬𝖒
"That bitch! I’ll make sure you beg me to stop," he thought to himself.
This man was none other than Danius Lucard, the young master of the Lucard family. A few days ago, while he was with his group of noble friends, he had spotted two beautiful ladies visiting a restaurant. Among them was an elf, a sight that immediately caught his attention, as elves seldom ventured out of their own empire.
Desire ignited within him, and he believed that his status would allow him to have his way with her. After all, she was just an elf, one person. Surely the Ivory Empire wouldn’t bother paying attention to an individual like her, right?
However, she was truly stubborn, and when he tried to force her, she retaliated with strength beyond his expectations. Despite her cultivation being only at the High Viscount stage, she managed to overwhelm him, even though he was at the Peak Viscount stage. To make matters worse, her companion, a female demonic cultivator, defeated his guard, who was at the Middle Earl stage.
The onlookers were stunned, but before Danius or his other men could react, the two women vanished without a trace.
He had never felt such humiliation in his life. To think that those two women dared to make him, the young master of the Lucard family, look like a fool in front of his peers.
However, earlier, he received a report that the elf had been located. Without hesitation, he ordered his shadow guards to capture her. The thought of torturing that elf and making her beg for mercy filled him with anticipation.
Knock, knock.
Suddenly, the voice of a maid could be heard from outside the room. "Young master, they’ve returned."
Hearing this, Danius instantly stood up and strode to the door, opening it with haste. "Bring them here!" he ordered, his excitement barely contained.
Finally, he had her!
After waiting for a few moments, the masked men he had ordered to capture Sylphia entered the room. Danius grinned with victory, but as time passed, confusion began to settle in. He couldn’t see any elf among the group. Furrowing his brows, he turned his gaze toward the leader of the shadow group.
"Where is she?" he demanded, his voice tinged with irritation. "I thought she had already been found. You were just supposed to bring her back here." He set his glass down on the table, frustration evident as he realized these men hadn’t brought the woman he had imagined.
However, Danius was confused by their silence, as they seemed to be avoiding his question. Suddenly, a voice echoed from one of the masked men—a voice he had never heard before.
"All of you, go outside. Don’t let anyone enter while I’m speaking with the ’young master.’"
With that, all the masked men stepped outside and closed the door behind them, leaving Danius shouting angrily.
"What is the meaning of this?" Danius demanded, but then he froze as his eyes met the blue gaze of the last masked man.
Before he could ask any more questions, the man removed his mask, revealing a handsome young face—one far more striking than Danius’s own. It was then that Danius realized he had never seen him before!
Feeling that something was wrong, Danius immediately tried to activate an emergency talisman in his pocket. However, he was stunned to find that he couldn’t move his body! It was as though he had turned to stone. He wanted to scream, but no sound escaped his lips, he couldn’t even move his mouth!
Fear began to creep in as he realized he had no idea what the man’s intentions were. Did he want to kill him? The man seemed incredibly strong, and to his horror, even his shadow guards had betrayed him!
He then saw the man smile, his smile only enhancing his handsomeness. However, instead of feeling reassured, Danius had a bad premonition.
"So, young master Danius, it seems you’ve been waiting for something here? Oh, waiting for those men to bring you a woman, perhaps?" the young man said, walking toward him. "I wonder what you’ll do to her, hm?"
This young man was, of course, Aldrian. His blue eyes locked with Danius’s, as if staring directly into his soul. There were no secrets, no thoughts, no intentions hidden from him. Those eyes seemed to read every single thing about Danius.
Aldrian casually embraced Danius’s shoulders, as if they were close friends.
"Oh, you can’t talk or move?" Aldrian said with a grin. "I’m sorry for that. The moment you looked into my eyes, it was enough for me to paralyze you. All I had to do was combine karma and illusion to make you immobile. What you’re seeing now is an illusion—the me standing before you is not real."
Aldrian paused for a moment, as if toying with Danius.
"Well, whatever, it’ll be hard to explain in such a short time, so let’s move on, shall we?"
Aldrian then stepped in front of Danius, his height matching his, their gazes locking on the same level.
Danius was so terrified that he felt like he might piss himself, but he couldn’t! He didn’t understand how this illusion worked. Everything seemed so real, and he felt no disturbance in his surroundings. He was still in reality—that’s what he wanted to believe.
"You’re targeting my friend," Aldrian said. "I have to say, you’re bold enough to disturb someone without even knowing who she is or what her background is. It seems your arrogance comes from your family, huh? I wonder if they’ve spoiled you so much that you’ve developed such a reckless personality."
Aldrian then sat down on the sofa beside him.
"Anyway, I’ll let you talk so we can have a civilized conversation. It wouldn’t be fair if it’s just me doing all the talking, right?"
After that, Danius found he could finally move his mouth and even turn his head. However, he didn’t dare meet Aldrian’s gaze. Still, as the young master of a Lucard family, his arrogance lingered within him.
"Do you understand what you’ve done? I’m the young master of—"
Suddenly, an intense pain seared through his soul, and he screamed at the top of his lungs.
"Aaargghh!"
He tried to touch his head to ease the pain, but all he could do was move his head and mouth.
"You know, young master, that’s not very good, I don’t like it when someone boasts about their family’s name in my face, so I’d appreciate it if you didn’t do that." Aldrian said still with his smile.
After two seconds, the pain stopped, but Danius’s eyes had already rolled back. He fainted from the intense agony. However, Aldrian didn’t waste any time. He sent another surge of pain to wake him up.
Danius gasped, his breath becoming erratic. He felt like he might die.
"Now, young master," Aldrian said casually from his seat, "I came here with only one purpose: to meet you. I want to know more about you, young master. Perhaps we could become friends."
"We’ll be the kind of friends who tell each other secrets, yes? You’ll share your family’s secrets, and I’ll share mine. How does that sound?"
Danius finally understood what Aldrian meant by his words.
"He wants me to be his spy!" Danius thought, shocked.
"Yes, young master, you are correct, you will become my spy within the Lucard family. I want you to provide me with any information about your family’s movements, even the hidden ones, or anything related to it."
Danius was stunned. He tried to glance at Aldrian, realizing with a jolt that he could read his mind.
"Do you want to feel more pain?" Aldrian asked again, his voice calm.
"No... no," Danius responded, his voice trembling.
"That’s good, young master. I don’t want you to be in pain either. We’re friends now, right? And what kind of friend would want their buddy in pain?" Aldrian said, standing up and casually embracing Danius’s shoulders.
"Now, I will give you a slave seal called the Everlasting Demonic Follower, it will provide an easy way for us to communicate. If you want to contact me, all you need to do is think of me and use voice transmission, and I will immediately hear your voice. Is that clear?"
Danius simply nodded. Aldrian smiled, then gave a light tap to his back.
"But I must warn you, young master. This seal will inflict pain on you if you even think about betraying me or even attempting suicide."
Danius felt as though his mind was on the verge of breaking. After the pain he had just endured, there was no way he wanted to experience it again. In that moment, he knew his life was now firmly in the grasp of this young man!
