Chapter 53: Secrets Are Out!
Having incapacitated Egon with a swift blow, Tim strode towards a sturdy wooden table standing in the corner with purpose in his steps. His gaze fixated on the object concealed beneath a nondescript white blanket, the contours suggesting it was a figure of human form cocooned within its folds.
It was true what they said about death. It was simply unpredictable. Tim mulled over as he looked at the neatly covered body of Felix Denver. He pressed his mouth tightly after deliberating over the recent events. In hindsight, he should have known that someone or some mysterious force was throwing a monkey wrench into his plans.
He had sieved through the memories of Egon— making use of his hypnosis skills— before bringing him to the conscious state. After relentlessly looking through the memories, he couldn't find anything that would reveal the identity of the person who had killed his precious pawn.
There was nothing but a blank for a certain period of time when Egon was in the custody of Felix. He could vaguely guess what might be the reason for it.
Whoever killed Felix was a highly skilled individual, he could deduce that much when he found no clues around the destroyed Denver manor. But one thing was for sure, Felix was killed by poison, a highly corrosive one at that. If he could hazard a guess then it would have to be Cyril Denver's bastard daughter who might be responsible for this.
Tim shook his head in denial. That was almost impossible. She was practically a slave of Denvers, there was no way she could have gone against them and killed their young lord.
It was best for him to wait till Cyril Denver himself arrived here and get confirmation from him. He didn't want any mishaps again. That was why he decided to send a messenger talisman before he started brewing healing medicines from Egon's blood.
*******
"Hmph!"
"Mmph!"
Both Jasmine and Lyla glared at each other before closing their eyes to circulate mana through their sore waist to ease the pain. Lyla was angry at Jasmine for goading Raymond into fucking them senseless and Jasmine was angry at Lyla for lasting longer than her.
Due to the perks of her cultivation, Lyla had managed to stay awake for longer than Jasmine but she was also the one who was pounded till her brain turned into mush. But the culprit was lazily lying on the bed, reading a book as if it had nothing to do with him.
Raymond was really impressed with the book he was reading. He would have regretted it if he missed reading this masterpiece. The way the main character, who was a haughty young master, dealt with his naughty maids was really eye-opening for Raymond. He found a whole new world unveiling before his eyes as he read through the contents of the book ardently.
"Huuaam~"
Yawning loudly Raymond rolled around on the bed and rested his head in Lyla's lap who was just about finished with her mana circulation. She curiously looked at the book he was reading but soon her face took on a strange expression reading a few lines from it.
"Ray, my father will be coming after us if he finds out we are responsible for what happened yesterday," Lyla said softly after composing herself.
Closing the book and throwing it inside his pendant, Raymond asked in monotony:
"So? Want me to take care of him?"
Hearing his lazy yet confident tone, a sweet smile played on her lips. She lovingly caressed his cheeks before whispering with conviction:
"No! I want to be the one to kill him when he comes looking for me. I am asking for you to stay your hand when the time comes for me to take my revenge!"
Raymond grabbed her hand that was softly stroking his face and pulled her down until their noses were touching.
"Do what you want," He said, peering into her gorgeous violet eyes. "But you haven't told me why you were enslaved by your family. I am really curious, why would they do that when you are so talented and beautiful? Not to mention you're the daughter of that family head. Wouldn't it have been better for them if they had married you off to some prince from the Imperial Family? That way they could have gained even more influence in the court!"
Lyla was expecting that question but she didn't want to answer it. She didn't know how he would react to Heartsbane's existence. And more so if she revealed she could talk with it.
Taking a deep breath that tickled his nose in response, she spoke hesitatingly:
"I am a host to one of the 72 Innate Spirits."
"Eh?" Raymond furrowed his brows in confusion. "Then isn't it all the more reason to take good care of you?"
He couldn't understand why the Denvers decided to put a leash on her like that. It is said that an average cultivator would only come across someone bearing an Innate Spirit probably once in his life. It was that rare. And every one of them, who was born with it, was a heaven defying genius.
Lyla's heart shook looking at his face marred by a frown. She wouldn't be able to take it if he rejected her after hearing about Heartsbane.
[Hah! You're being ridiculous! Just tell him already…How long do you think you can hide me from him?]
Heartsbane's voice shook her awake. Yes! She was being ridiculous. She would not be able to hide it from him for longer, after all, she had already used it to kill Felix, he must have witnessed Heartsbane back then only.
"Uhm…well, my Innate spirit is Heartsbane. You know the poisonous one!"
-Gasp!
Jasmine, who was attentively listening to their conversation, gasped in fear. But that was soon replaced with confusion. With a puzzled look on her face, she asked:
"Huh? Isn't it an extremely protective spirit? It should have already poisoned us by now!" Jasmine scratched her chin thoughtfully. "Yeah! It should have at least tried to poison my master by now considering what he did with you yesterday."
As if coming to a realisation, Jasmine smacked her fist on her palm.
"Don't tell me, it doesn't consider him as a man!"
"Oy, oy, what are you talking about?" Raymond threw a pillow at her angrily. "Watch your words or else I will make you unable to walk for a week!"
In response, Jasmine struck out her tongue at him playfully. Usually, she would have been worried sick about her master getting poisoned but looking at him snugly rested on Lyla's lap without a care she felt at ease.
Lyla heaved a sigh of relief looking at their banter. Both of them were taking the news better than she thought they would. She was expecting to at the very least get a scolding from Raymond or especially Jasmine for hiding such a thing.
Raymond gave a stink eye to Jasmine. She was getting more and more out of hand these days.
'Looks like I need to make use of what I learned from that book.'
He thought inwardly but he was just as confused as Jasmine. Why wasn't he attacked by Heartsbane? Even if for formality's sake it should have tried to scratch him but that didn't happen, so he asked curiously:
"On a serious note, I really want to know why I was spared from Heartsbane's fury!"
"Err…that's bec—"
[Don't tell him! He will get an ego boost if you tell him.]
'But he needs to know!'
[I don't care, just don't tell him!]
"Well, I am waiting here…" Raymond raised his eyebrow at her lack of response. "Don't tell me, what Jasmine said was tru—"
"No! Definitely not!" Lyla cut him off quickly. He was her man now, how could she tolerate it if he made jokes about himself? She had forgiven Jasmine for talking like that before because Raymond himself didn't take her words seriously. But she didn't want her darling to think like that about himself.
"It's because Heartsbane is afraid of you, Ray."
[That's it! I am not talking to you.]
Poor Heartsbane's voice was completely ignored by Lyla whose gaze was fixed on Raymond's face.
"Really? Do I look like a big, scary dude for it to be afraid of me?" Raymond asked.
"Haha, nothing like that!" Her tinkling laugh echoed out in the room. "Apparently it says it's very scared of your powers and doesn't want to attack you!"
"Well, understandable." Raymond puffed his chest in pride. It was always good to hear that someone or something was afraid of him. "Hey, wait a minute! Why are you saying that as if you can talk to it?"
"Uhm…that's because I can."
[Ahh! Just great! Tell him everything, don't leave out any details, you lovesick fool!]
Again it was ignored by Lyla, who was worried Raymond might call her crazy.
"Eh? How can you talk with it? Aren't they like dumb animals without any intellect?"
[Who are you calling dumb, eh? You asshole, just wait, I will let you have a taste of my poison one of these days!]
It was the moment of truth for Lyla, if she passed this hurdle then there would be no more big secrets that she hid from him.
"How can I say this? It's really messed up…somehow it merged with my alter ego and formed a separate consciousness. And now I can talk with it!"
Raymond's lips twitched as he contemplated her words.
'Damn! She is crazy!'
But looking at Lyla's otherworldly face and curvy body, Raymond thought he could give her a pass on that.
-Slap!
'You idiot! Stop thinking with your little brother!'
Raymond slapped himself for thinking like that. Thankfully, he didn't say it out loud.
"Ah! What happened, Master? Why are you hitting yourself?"
"Nothing! Get back to your cultivation!"
Raymond barked at Jasmine, who quickly shut her eyes and started meditating.
Lyla had her head lowered in anticipation, clenching her trembling fists.
"Hmmm, it seems you lack mental fortitude. You should cultivate more and improve yourself. I am going to take a bath."
Raymond got up from her lap and walked towards the bathroom.
"Huh?"
Lyla was flabbergasted, that was not what she was expecting to hear.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone