Chapter 185: Annie: "It must have been tough last night.

His performance convinced Alex Pool, as well as the servants secretly spying on them.

Alex Pool believed Lian had nothing to do with the matter, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

“As long as it wasn’t you, that’s what matters. Otherwise, we’d be in a very dangerous position. I don’t want Sting Litt’s death to be the catalyst for war. We would lose the moral high ground and find ourselves in a perilous situation.”

Lian caught a glimpse of the manor’s original servants out of the corner of his eye. He hadn’t screened any of them. While none of them were Heartless, Mary’s spies weren’t limited to just the Heartless. These petty people, driven by personal gain—the Yusofa People who were still alive—were almost all Mary’s eyes and ears.

He kept them around for the express purpose of reporting his circumstances back to Mary.

‘Since even Alex believes me, these servants will certainly think I’m innocent.’

‘Besides, they witnessed me spending the entire night in the same room as Nancy.’

“I was angry yesterday, but it had nothing to do with Sting Litt. I was angry because my mistress had the audacity to seduce another man behind my back. That is something I will not tolerate. I punished her last night, and from now on, I won’t allow her to leave my side. She will be wherever I am.”

Lian behaved like an extremely possessive man. ‘Even if this story gets back to Mary,’ he thought, ‘it will hold up.’

“Alex, is there anything else?”

“My Lord, this letter came from Blue Moon Territory. It arrived this morning as well.”

Alex Pool carefully retrieved the letter from inside his coat and handed it to Lian.

Lian gave a slight nod and opened the letter. After a moment, his brow began to furrow.

Then, he furiously tore the letter to shreds.

“That woman, Catherine! She wants to break off our engagement because of Nancy? And she drove all of Green Shade Territory’s stationed troops out, replacing them with a new army of her own! What a conceited woman! Does she really think she can defend Blue Moon Territory without me? Utterly foolish. I’ll make her realize that without me, she is nothing. What can the last surviving orphan of the Jackson Family possibly do on her own?”

This was the first time the servants and maids of Blueberry Manor had ever seen Lian truly angry.

Though he usually appeared rakish and unruly, his nature was gentle; he would even greet the lowliest servant with a smile. Today, however, he was like an enraged wolf, the look in his eyes ready to tear everything apart.

The air itself seemed to drop by several degrees. An invisible pressure bore down on them, making it hard to breathe, and they felt a shudder deep in their souls.

It was the innate fear an inferior holds for a Superior.

It was no wonder they were terrified. Lian’s performance was so convincing that his anger had begun to draw out a sliver of the Evil God’s Status, making everyone around him feel as if they were staring into the Abyss.

Even Alex Pool felt his legs tremble, fighting the urge to fall to his knees.

He could feel that Lian was genuinely enraged.

Though he hadn’t read the letter, Alex Pool could understand Catherine’s anger.

After all, they had only just gotten engaged when rumors started spreading about him and another woman. No high-ranking noble lady would tolerate such a thing. And that wasn’t all—while in Yusofa, Lian had been entangled with more than one mistress and had absurdly bought the indentures of all the pastry shop girls, turning them into maids at Blueberry Manor to serve him alone.

Mary certainly wouldn’t suppress such news; in fact, she would be delighted to pass it on to Blue Moon Territory and drive Catherine insane.

Alex Pool had advised Lian against this before, but his counsel had been ignored.

He had guessed Lian must have his own plans, but now, it seemed Lian had simply inherited the Moria Clan’s tradition of lechery.

Lian hadn’t told anyone his plan, not even Catherine. Their coordination was a product of pure, unspoken understanding. Catherine was an incredibly intelligent woman, and her complete trust in Lian allowed her to react to his every arrangement with purpose, providing the perfect cooperation and response.

Therefore, it was likely that only Lian and Catherine knew the whole affair was an elaborate trap being set for Mary.

This was why Alex Pool and the other key figures from Green Shade Territory were unable to see the full picture.

But they were fiercely loyal. No matter what decision Lian made, they would support him—even if his private life was a mess and his character was less than sterling.

“Lord Lian, Lady Catherine must simply be blinded by rage. Should we send someone back to explain? Your engagement to her is a political marriage that the Moria Clan considers very important.”

Alex Pool said, his voice laced with concern.

“There’s no need. From the start, I was only reluctantly marrying that woman for the Blue Moon Ore. Since she’s the one breaking her promise and calling off the engagement, then I have no need to save her any face. We will go see Lady Mary now. I intend to discuss a joint attack on Blue Moon Territory with her.”

Lian turned to the nearest servant.

“And bring Miss Nancy.”

“Yes, Lord Lian.”

The servant hurried to Nancy Stuart’s room to fetch her.

A short while later, Lian entered Black Rose Castle, accompanied by Nancy Stuart, Annie, and his trusted minister, Alex Pool.

Inside Black Rose Castle, Mary had just finished her breakfast, attended by her maids.

She was listening to a servant’s report, which recounted in minute detail everything that had just transpired at Blueberry Manor.