Chapter 15: Aren’t You Two a Couple? Sharing a Room Shouldn’t Be a Problem

Splash!

Ice-cold water splashed onto the man’s face, jolting him awake instantly. His eyes widened in shock.

“Huff! Huff!”

The man gasped for breath, trying to move his body, only to find himself in excruciating pain. His limbs were bound tightly to a rack, rendering him completely immobile.

In front of him, a masked figure placed the empty water basin on the ground and leaned against the wall with arms crossed.

She was still dressed the same, a cloak enveloping her entire body, revealing only her emerald green eyes—terrifyingly piercing.

He still remembered clearly how this woman had taken down all his comrades with her swift and agile combat skills.

“You’re awake? Good. Then let’s have a little chat.”

The man glanced around, searching for the source of the voice.

The room was a dimly lit, damp underground chamber. Soon, he spotted a woman sitting on a chair, idly playing with her nails. The table in front of her was lined with a variety of sinister-looking torture instruments.

Through his blurry vision, he also noticed an unusual glove on her hand, embedded with several gemstones—he wasn’t sure how many.

“There’s an old saying: A wise man adapts to circumstances.”

“With all these fine tools before me, I’m sure one of them will loosen your tongue.”

Cold sweat drenched the man’s entire body in an instant. He desperately twisted and thrashed, trying to break free, but it was futile.

He hurriedly shouted, “I’ll talk! I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything!”

Smack!

The masked figure suddenly slapped him across the face.

“I haven’t even asked anything yet. What exactly do you want to confess?”

Liya chuckled, twirling a pair of pliers in her hand as she observed him with amusement.

That sharp slap had completely snapped the man out of his daze, but it also filled him with rage.

“Do you even know what you’re doing?!”

“Kidnapping! Torture! You… You’ll be arrested for this!”

“So what?” Liya stood up, her gaze icy cold. She looked as if she had done this countless times before. “When you die like a stray dog on the streets, do you think anyone will care who killed you?”

The man struggled even more violently.

“Damn it! Damn it! How dare you do this? What gives you the right?!”

Liya looked at him like he was an idiot. “Because I have money.”

“…”

That single sentence shut him up completely.

“You think money makes you all-powerful? That just because you’re rich, you can—”

“My brother is Victor. He’s a noble. A third-tier mage.”

“…”

The man fell silent again.

Liya tapped the pliers against the table and continued, “Since you know you’ve crossed the Clavenna family, you should’ve been prepared for this.”

“Now, tell me. Who ordered you?”

“It was the Duke! The Duke hired us!”

He didn’t change his story. To convince Liya, he even gave her an address.

“That’s our base. You can go there and see for yourself!”

“The Duke paid us a huge sum to destroy your family’s shop yesterday! I’m not lying, you have to believe me!”

Watching the man’s frantic state, the masked figure leaned toward Liya and whispered, “He said the same thing earlier. Could it really have been the Duke?”

Liya scoffed, entirely unconvinced. “A clumsy attempt to frame someone.”

“If you hadn’t insisted so adamantly, I might have actually suspected the Duke. But your eagerness to pin the blame on him only makes him seem less likely to be involved.”

The man’s face froze. In just a few seconds, Liya had seen right through him.

Seeing his reaction, she couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

As her laughter gradually faded, she covered her stomach, raising her seductive eyes with a smirk.

“You really believed me? I was just baiting you.”

“But judging by your reaction, it seems the Duke wasn’t involved after all. I figured as much—why would a Duke resort to such crude tactics?”

The man opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to say something, but Liya simply waved her hand dismissively.

“That’s enough. Finish him, Leon.”

“Oh, and don’t forget to strip his body for valuable organs. They’ll fetch a good price. Also, get rid of all his comrades—leave no one alive.”

Liya patted the man’s face, smiling like a demon.

The man trembled uncontrollably, desperately writhing as if trying to say something.

But in the next moment, Liya casually flipped her palm, revealing a vial of potion.

The deep blue liquid shimmered under the dim light, gleaming brilliantly.

“What a pity. Even if we sold every organ in your body, you wouldn’t be worth as much as a single product from my family.”

She dangled the potion before his eyes with a bright, almost innocent smile.

“Of course, in my eyes, this thousand-geo potion is about as valuable as you are.”

“Completely worthless.”

Smash!

The potion bottle shattered against his face with a sharp crack.

He could feel liquid streaming down his numb skin.

Red and blue intertwined, making it impossible to tell whether it was blood or potion.

“You… you’re insane! A complete lunatic! Let me go! Let me go!”

The man’s voice trembled with terror, his bloodshot eyes filled with despair.

Liya glanced at his expression and couldn’t help but chuckle again.

A beautiful smile, yet one that sent chills down the spine like that of a true demon.

She yawned, turned away indifferently, and ordered, “Finish it quickly.”

“Yes.”

—

Hours later, Leon had completed the cleanup.

Liya sneaked into Victor’s study. With him away, she sat at his desk, reviewing their recent financial records.

The room was empty. Leon removed her hood, revealing short, pale-gold hair and long, pointed ears.

Just by those ears alone, her identity was clear.

An elf.

“Miss, everything has been taken care of.”

Liya didn’t even look up but smiled. “You worked hard.”

“It is my honor, Lady Liya.”

Leon continued, “I found quite a bit of money on those men, and I also raided their base. They recently received a hefty sum—about ten thousand geo.”

Liya weighed the pouch of coins before setting it aside. “Quite a fortune. Seems he wasn’t lying.”

Leon hesitated before asking, “Are we certain the Duke wasn’t behind this?”

Liya’s hands paused before she let out another chuckle, closing the ledger and smiling at her. “You believe it too?”

—

Meanwhile, far away in Sarnell Town, Vega sneezed.

Victor glanced at him. Could a crow even catch a cold?

But he didn’t have time to worry about a sneezing crow.

They had arrived at a town near Mount Vesuvius. The town was small, with only one inn.

The knights didn’t care much about accommodations. They could sleep in the stables if necessary.

However, Gwen was a woman and their esteemed Knight Commander, so they insisted she stay in the inn to rest properly.

Similarly, Victor, as a mage, needed a good sleeping environment to recover his mental energy.

Thus, the two ended up going to the inn together.

They originally planned to book two rooms, but…

“Innkeeper, are you sure there’s only one room left?”

Gwen looked anxious, which amused Victor. It was the first time he had seen her so flustered.

The innkeeper sighed helplessly. “My lady, I wouldn’t dare deceive a knight. We truly have only one room left—a single large bed.”

“Besides, judging by how you two arrived together, aren’t you a couple? Sharing a room shouldn’t be an issue.”

Gwen looked like she wanted to protest further, but Victor cut her off.

“This room will do.”

Hearing Victor’s words, Gwen’s eyes widened in disbelief.