"Fufufu~ Darling is so nice," she cooed, her expression one of pure adoration.
"If it were me, I would just take everything from those lustful men. It is a waste to give them anything, let alone top-grade spirit stones. My Darling is so generous. I like it!" She beamed, trying her best to flatter him.
"I am not being nice. This is just being normal," Leyvi replied flatly. "Robbing people is not normal."
"It's the same to me," she said, her tone light.
"But be careful, Darling. Nice people like you usually get taken advantage of. I have seen it my whole life. Don't worry, though. With me here, nobody can take advantage of you. I will make sure you are safe." She leaned in slightly, a hopeful gleam in her pink eyes. "How is it, Darling? Do you like me a little more now? Fufufu~"
Leyvi rolled his eyes. I know exactly who that person is. It's you. You are the one trying to take advantage of me.
At that moment, Ava returned, pulling a tightly bound Lily and Liyan behind her, dragging their limp bodies across the ground. Both women were still a mess, stained with blood, but it was clear their most critical injuries had been stabilized and healed.
"Lily! Liyan! What happened to you both? Why are you two like this?" Rose cried out, trying to rush toward them.
Ava immediately stepped into her path, blocking her. "Hmph! Don't even think of coming near. Take one step closer, and I will kill them. I have sealed both of their meridians. They can't use any Qi to defend themselves."
The two maids were no longer in immediate danger, thanks to the healing elixirs Ava had forced into them, but their bodies remained weak and broken.
"Did... did you do this to them?" Rose asked Ava, her expression a conflict of pain and restraint. She knew Ava was Leyvi's wife, and she desperately did not want to offend her, afraid it would displease Leyvi. But seeing her closest companions in such a state stirred a natural, simmering anger.
Leyvi was speechless. Did you only notice what happened to them now? Just how much were you focused solely on me?
"I did that to them," Leyvi stated, stepping forward. He did not attempt to hide it. "My wife didn't do it. You can blame this on me."
Rose's head lowered the moment she understood. The mixed feelings disappeared, replaced by a wave of desperate sorrow. She turned her tear-filled eyes back to Leyvi, begging him to forgive them. She pleaded that her two maids were only loyal, that they had merely followed her orders. She promised, with trembling sincerity, that it would never happen again.
Seeing this, Ava could not help but curse inwardly.
What is wrong with this woman? Why is she acting like this now? What happened after I left? This isn't the same person. Her eyes look like she is deeply in love with this sex fiend. Don't tell me this husband of mine really has some fiendish grip that can make a woman fall head over heels for him?
She stared at Leyvi with a piercing, questioning gaze.
Leyvi sighed heavily. So many complications to deal with at once.
"Ava, let them go first," he instructed.
He only made the request because he now understood the truth of what had happened to the Pink Enchantress. Otherwise, he would never have considered it.
But Ava, not being privy to that knowledge, reacted very differently.
"What? Why?" she exclaimed, her voice sharp with disbelief.
"You... you sex fiend! She is just acting, begging for pity! If we release them, they will retaliate for sure! Hmph! You are just falling for her beauty trap! I am disappointed!" She stomped her foot, her anger at Leyvi plain to see.
To prevent her temper from escalating further, Leyvi quickly pulled her aside. Using sound transmission, he explained everything that had transpired with Rose, including the backfired spell. He shared all the information he had obtained from her and even had Lapin corroborate the story, knowing how absurd it all sounded.
In the end, Ava finally relented, though she remained deeply skeptical and refused to lower her guard. She unsealed the two maids' meridians and released them.
The Pink Enchantress rushed to their side, attending to them with far better healing and recovery products from her own stores, quickly restoring them to full health.
Now regaining their clarity, it was Lily and Liyan's turn to be utterly bewildered by their Holy Maiden's sudden, dramatic change in attitude toward Leyvi.
"I have fallen in love with Darling," Rose announced to them, her face glowing with infatuation. "Now I deeply, deeply regret everything I did to him. I still can't believe I acted so horribly. What was I even thinking? Thankfully, Darling is big-hearted and has forgiven my sins. From now on, you two will join me and be just as devoted to him, okay? Fufufu~"
What the heck? When did I forgive you? Don't invent a fake reality, Leyvi retorted silently, a fresh wave of exasperation washing over him.
Lily and Liyan stared at each other with their mouths agape, utterly baffled from the bottom of their hearts. This was not like their Holy Maiden at all. It had never crossed their minds that she would ever fall in love with someone, and certainly not this quickly or completely. She was supposed to be the ultimate charmer, the one who ensnared hearts, not the one whose heart was captured. Nothing about the situation made any sense.
Then, as one, their gazes shifted to Leyvi, the man who had nearly ended their lives. He had single-handedly dismantled all their traps with his mysterious, inexplicable abilities, which had led directly to this bizarre outcome.
Could this be the reason? Could their Holy Maiden have fallen in love with him precisely because he was the first man to ever overcome her completely? It was the only logical explanation they could conjure, even though it felt flimsy and far from convincing.
Still, no matter how strange or unsettling the situation, it was their sworn duty as her personal maids to obey any decision she made without hesitation or question. Their only silent, shared disappointment was that the man their mistress had chosen was not a little more... handsome.
Leyvi's face twitched slightly. Ladies, why do you have that disappointed look? I apologize for being average.
"Holy Maiden Rose," he said, pointedly ignoring their stares, "can you bring me to that tree? I want to see it for myself."
With her in this state, it was his best chance to go there directly through her territory without needing to sneak around or avoid detection. What had initially seemed like a difficult, dangerous task had suddenly become straightforward, all because a faction leader had inexplicably fallen deeply in love with him.
Leyvi could not help but sigh inwardly at the absurd twist of fate.
"Ah... I am so happy! Darling is relying on me again!" Rose replied, her entire face lighting up. She began to circle around him excitedly. "Let's go! I will show you around. We will go sightseeing in my territory first, and then I will bring you to the trunk. The past civilization left behind many interesting things, you know. I will show you all of them!"
Lily and Liyan were dumbfounded, their mouths falling open once again.
Who is this happy-go-lucky lady? Where did Pink Enchantress Rose go?
Their Holy Maiden's behavior had changed so drastically that they could scarcely believe their own eyes. She had always been sultry and deliberate, every gesture exuding calculated charm. Now she seemed like a completely different person, a woman freshly in love, and her affection appeared almost innocent in its exuberance.
The two maids turned their wide eyes back to Leyvi, their silent stares demanding an answer. What did you do to our mistress?
Leyvi ignored their bewildered gaze and simply nodded to Rose. "Sure. But don't act like this in front of other people. I don't want to attract any unnecessary attention. Attention just means trouble. Just act as if I am a new member joining your faction. You must behave like your usual self when others are watching. Do you understand?"
"Ah... it will be hard to fake my feelings for Darling," she said, pouting for a moment before her expression brightened with determination. "But I will try my best! Please praise me when I do well, okay?" She ended with a playful, cute wink.
Leyvi blinked. Your love is fake in the first place, he thought inwardly, but he kept the remark to himself.
He then turned to Lily and Liyan. "You two..."
The two maids were startled, their bodies tensing with a mini heart attack from the sudden attention. A deep-seated trauma had already taken root, born from the sheer terror of nearly being killed by this man.
"Go clean yourselves and change your outfits," Leyvi stated matter-of-factly. "You both look terrible. It will attract everyone's attention if you walk around like that."
"Ahhh!" They both shrieked in unison, finally realizing just how horrifying they must appear with their torn dresses and bloodstained clothes. They were, after all, the type who placed immense importance on their appearance and cleanliness.
Without another word, they scrambled to pull out a portable mini house from a space ring and practically dove inside to scrub away the grime and change into fresh, pristine outfits.
Once they were done and had emerged looking presentable once more, the new group of five set out, heading toward the territory of the Pink Enchantress Rose, located to the south of the colossal tree.