Chapter 1507: Self Control

Lory could feel Zhao Li Xin’s mood sink, like a volcano threatening to erupt. He had always been protective of her, and after everything that happened in the past, that instinct had only grown stronger. Watching Lory being slapped and humiliated was, to him, far worse than being stabbed in the chest.

And Lory knew that. That’s why she felt grateful that Zhao Li Xin had learned greater self-control compared to the past. If it had been the old days, this whole place would’ve already turned to ashes.

Well, she wasn’t a saint; she didn’t pity the people who had kidnapped her. Nevertheless, she still had a plan. First, she needed to find out what Sean wanted from her, and then, where they were planning to take them.

Sean, for his part, racked his brain on how to persuade Lory. He had met Lory a handful of times and knew she was no ordinary captive; still, something about her steadied him in a way that made the task harder, not easier. He leaned forward, voice smooth as an interrogator’s blade.

"I know you played play role in Ethan Hamilton’s recovery," he said. "You, and your husband, together with Garrof and Lloyd, are somehow able to kill Maren; moreover, she is not just ordinary Maren..."

Lory tilted her head, not bothering to answer. Her eyes, though, shimmered with a lazy curiosity, the kind that asked whether he had anything worth saying.

Encouraged, Sean pressed on. "You had your first run-in with Bael—yet you survived. Then Luxembourg tried to erase the evidence by blowing half of Quiet Peak to scrap... and you survived that too."

He looked at her as if the facts themselves had offended his sense of reason.

"Are you sure it was my husband and me?" She played innocent, Lory knew all evidence about her involvement had been erased by Jack Quaid and Madelline, so Sean had no proof.

Sean knew is along shot and weather is true or not Lory wouldn’t give anything useful, "I don’t have proof, though" Sean admitted, "But it was clear, if not how could the Hamilton family let you leave in their manor for so long?"

Lory shrugged, "Because they are kind people, also Hugo likes my husband’s painting."

Sean’s smile grew wider as Lory make a good reason. "Maybe so and then there’s the infiltration at Elysium..." His voice trailed off deliberately as he turned to study her face. Every flicker of expression, every shift of breath, he wanted to see her slip.

But Lory didn’t blink. Not at all, her lashes lifted just enough for a faint frown to cross her face, her tone wrapped in mild confusion. "What do you mean?" she asked. "What makes you think it was me?"

Sean leaned back, silent. Across from them, Zhao Li Xin sat motionless, calm, composed, his gaze fixed on Lory with the quiet intensity of someone who already knew the truth but chose not to intervene. The stillness he radiated was unnerving, a calm that made everyone else feel unsteady.

Lory met Sean’s stare without flinching. "I think you should stop making random accusations about me and my husband," she said, her voice edged with annoyance.

Then her lips curved, and a faint crinkle touched the corner of her eyes. "Anyway, did someone really infiltrate Elysium? I thought it was supposed to be the most well-guarded holy place in the world. They say not even a fly could get in without a Paladin noticing." She gave a soft, mock-sympathetic sigh. "Guess it was all just talk, then."

The air shifted. Her casual words slid through the cabin like the edge of a blade. Then the air became heavy, almost suffocating the Paladins’ composure cracking as quiet fury rippled through them.

The hum of the engines seemed louder now, matching the low thrum of restrained violence that filled the cabin. Dozens of murderous eyes stared at Lory.

Yet Lory played innocent, "What?" she asked in a light tone. "Is it something I said?"

Lory’s blatant mockery enraged everyone there. Sean’s jaw tightened, his eyes flicking to her restraints, then to the Paladins whose hands were already inching toward their weapons.

A faint smile tugged on the corner of Zhao Li Xin’s lips. He remembered Girsha always said that when it comes to infuriated people, no one can match Lory.

From the back of the cabin, Lucia’s voice cut through the tension, thick with wine and arrogance. "Oh, please," she sneered, swirling her glass lazily. "Let me hit her again, Sean. She needs to be reminded who’s in charge."

Lory turned her head slightly, eyes glinting under the cabin light. "Feisty," she said dryly.

Sean didn’t look at Lucia. "She is," he said, tone even, though his jaw tightened. "And she’s far worse than you think. So watch your words, Raven. I can’t always protect you."

Lory tilted her head, mockery curling at her lips. "Oh, my hero~" she drawled, then sneered. "If you hadn’t kidnapped me, you wouldn’t have to protect me." Her words tore through Sean’s righteous fa?ade like a blade, stripping away the act.

She could see right through him. This man was playing the good guy to soften her heart. How ridiculous! If only he knew she’d been playing mind games since she was six years old, against two of the most cunning men in the world, Stephan and Fredhardt Knoxville.

Sean’s expression stiffened, then suddenly Lucia slammed her glass onto the floor, wine sloshing onto her dress. "What a Bit*h! Let me hit her again, Sean!"

Sean takes a tired, heavy breath. "Can you be quiet, Raven?" his calm was almost breaking

"But..." Lory pursed her lips. "If you want me quiet, how am I supposed to answer your questions?"

All of a sudden, A glint of steel cut through the air and then stabbed into the leather headrest just a few inches from Lory’s cheek. A strand of her hair fluttered, followed by a small drip of blood rolling from her cheek.

Lory froze for a moment, her breath stilling as the echo of the knife’s impact vibrated through the cabin wall. Then, slowly, she turned her head, eyes drifting toward the back of the plane where Lucia sat lounging in her seat, lips curled into a smug, cruel smile.

"You feel better now?" Lory asked softly, her voice smooth and coaxing, as though speaking to a misbehaving child rather than a woman drunk on her own arrogance.

The tone landed like a slap.

Lucia’s gloating expression wavered, the satisfaction draining from her face. Color flooded her cheeks from anger and humiliation. The molten rush of anger rose in her chest, hot and uncontainable. She had wanted to frighten Lory, to remind her who held the power here. But instead, Lory’s calm, patronizing words made her feel like a fool.

Her fingers tightened around the stem of her wine glass until a faint crack split the air. A thin fracture ran along the crystal, glinting beneath the cabin lights.

Sean’s eyes flicked toward her, then to the knife still quivering in the leather near Lory’s head. A second later, a thin line of blood rolled down her cheek, showing how close she was to being stabbed in the face.

Across from them, Zhao Li Xin sat unmoving. The soft golden lights of the cabin carved sharp lines across his face; meanwhile, his eyes fixed on the thin red streak along Lory’s cheek, at that moment, the intensity in his eyes grew darker with every passing second.

The temperature in the plane seemed to drop. The quiet hum of the engines faded into the background, replaced by the heavy stillness of something about to snap.

’This was the second time Lucia had made Lory bleed.’ Zhao Li Xin thought.

Zhao Li Xin’s jaw flexed, the muscle in his cheek twitching once before his voice cut through the silence, low, restrained, and dangerous.

[Wife,] he said in a deceptive calm tone, like the still air before a storm. [This is too much.]

Watching Lory being hurt and shouted at like a common peasant in the street tested the very edge of Zhao Li Xin’s composure. He had never tolerated anyone speaking ill of her, let alone laying a hand on her, and this was already the second time in less than ten minutes.

The quiet around him grew heavier, stretched thin, as if the air itself braced for what he might do next. Lory might have accepted the humiliation with quiet tolerance, in the sake of valuable information, but he could not.

No one could lay their hand on his woman, not even a Demigod. Lory’s lips curved into a coaxing smile, fragile and pleading. [ I know, but please... wait a little longer, honey,] she plead,[I need to know where they’re taking us.]

The smile she offered was foolish, desperate, an attempt to ease Zhao Li Xin’s anger. Even bound, threatened, and surrounded by enemies, she felt no fear.

But watching him restrain his fury for her sake, allowing himself to be tied like livestock, make her chest ache. When had he ever let himself be treated this way before? The last time was when he’d wiped out his birth father’s family, but that had been personal, a blood debt long owed to his mother. 𝚏𝗋ℯⅇ

But now... this was different; it was because of her.

Zhao Li Xin caught the flicker of regret in Lory’s eyes, and his boiling rage instantly eased by almost half of it. Because more than anything, what he hated the most was Lory’s sa,d face, thus he clenched his teeth, then drew a slow, deliberate breath through his nose.

[Five more minutes,] he hissed.

[Don’t worry, honey. I’ll make sure to reward you for this,] Lory said with a wide grin. She made a mental note to give Zhao Li Xin a hefty reward for his great sacrifice.

Zhao Li Xin’s lips curved. [Good,] he said, his voice low and smooth. [I already have something in mind.] A mischievous smile ghosted across his face.

[Oh?] Lory blinked, caught off guard, and a hint of curiosity flickered in her eyes.

Sean’s chest tightened a bit with something foreign; perhaps this was what they called jealousy. Or maybe envy. Envy of the tacit understanding between them, and the gentleness she reserved only for her husband.ℯ