“It’s amusing how, even while injured, Lady Yu is still able to move,” Ryuk remarked, attempting to let her know that he was aware of her weaknesses as well.
“Why are you after that child?” Yu Shao Yan asked, glancing over at Jenny, who seemed lost in her thoughts and appeared oblivious to her surroundings.
“Isn’t it the other way around? Why did you place a bomb inside that man?” Ryuk replied, referring to the gardener, who had an explosive device embedded in his chest.
If he died, the explosion would threaten anyone nearby, suggesting that this woman was indeed aware of why he was pursuing Jenny.
“I may not be able to kill you, but—huh?” Yu Shao Yan began, intending to imply that while she couldn’t harm him directly, she could at least eliminate the woman behind him who was resting her hand on Jenny’s head.
However, her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a strange sensation, as if her mind had glitched.
She immediately recognized that someone had attempted a mental assault.
Due to her cultivation technique, which primarily focused on concentration and internal powers, her body sensed the intrusion in her mind, leading her to turn her gaze towards Ryuk.
Understanding that he was responsible, she challenged, “Do you really think mind illusions will work on me?”
“M-mother?” Jenny’s mother, standing behind the guards who were trying to protect her from Yao Lian, noticed her mother’s eyes changing color to match Jenny’s, indicating that she had fallen into some sort of illusion.
Her gaze moved between the man and her mother as he turned to face the golden-eyed woman, who had just moments ago been touching Jenny’s head. Now, she was rubbing her forehead in evident discomfort.
“So, you saw through her memories?” Ryuk asked, looking back at Esme, who was visibly overwhelmed. She nodded in response, still rubbing her forehead.
“How do you know?” Esme questioned, her expression confused as she focused on him.
Although she hadn’t extracted much information from Jenny’s memories—since they were messed up—the sheer volume of what she had processed was giving her a headache.
However, what puzzled her most was how he seemed to know that she had delved into Jenny’s memories at all.
“Because your head hurts?” Ryuk remarked, his tone suggesting it was a given, especially considering the way she rubbed her forehead.
He clearly assumed she must have attempted to sift through Jenny’s memories in a very literal sense.
For anyone with any sanity, even seeing those memories was definitely an inevitable headache.
[ At least it confirms she is sane enough, or I thought only the insane could love you. Hahaha. ]
‘….’
“…Ah, yes,” Esme responded, processing his words. She shifted her focus towards Yu Shao Yan.
Her eyes, glinting with golden hues, reflected her realization that the woman before her possessed immense mental strength.
Esme was aware of the toll this would take on her own mental capabilities; but in the end, comparing these two individuals was like weighing a trained mind, honed in focus and patience, against a person who, from birth, had constantly wielded an ability requiring significant mental fortitude.
It was only natural that, despite the woman’s training, she would struggle without the energy she seemed to have exhausted.
Presently, she had fallen into an illusion created by Esme, believing she could perceive reality through it, yet it was precisely the opposite of what she intended.
“What should we do with her?” Esme inquired, tilting her head toward Yao Lian.
Yao was holding off the guards, remaining composed against their professional prowess, proving herself to be a formidable individual.
But as Esme gazed at the woman, she noticed tears streaming down her face.
“Do you want your daughter to live?” Ryuk called out from a distance, glancing at Jenny’s mother.
Although he harbored intentions of eliminating everyone present, it would complicate matters since Jenny displayed no remorse, her defiance only reinforcing her stubborn belief that she was right and he was wrong.
She was an ignorant girl who would never recognize her mistakes, let alone beg for forgiveness.
Which is why he recalibrated his approach to handle the situation.
“Huh? M-my daughter, yes! Please, have mercy!” The woman pleaded, her self-respect abandoned in her desperation.
She realized all too well that even her mother, who was supposed to protect her, was once again proving useless.
It was a crushing realization that caused her to fall to the ground, with her head resting on the floor.
“Fine, first take her for treatment,” Ryuk finally relented, displaying a sliver of mercy. He offered the woman the chance to save Jenny, who had been bleeding for some time.
Without hesitation, the woman sprinted towards them, and even Yao Lian paused, the guards momentarily stunned by the sudden shift in dynamics, as they had prepared to fight to the death.
“Th-thank you, Jenny! Sob…my daughter!” The woman wailed as she reached Jenny, hugging her tightly, sobs racking her body as she absorbed the sight of blood pooling around them.
Her only thought was to save her child’s life.
“….” Esme broke the illusion enveloping Jenny, causing her body to collapse without support. Fortunately, the woman caught her just in time.
Now that Jenny’s mind was clear, she succumbed to unconsciousness, prompting the woman and the guards to rush to her aid.
Together, they moved swiftly towards the main palace, which, despite its damage, still stood in one piece amidst the chaos.
[Grimoire Applied to Targets]
The system registered the grimoire that had attached itself to both Jenny and her mother, without either of them being aware of it.
Disregarding them, Ryuk shifted his gaze toward Yu Shao Yan, who stood there with her jaw clenched, seemingly battling the effects of an illusion.
Given her mental resilience, it appeared that her mind was instinctively attempting to repel the influence of the ability.
“What should we do with her?” Esme arrived beside Yu, pointing at the woman.
She clutched a small jade stone in her hand, contemplating whether she might need it to strike the woman if ordered to eliminate her.
[Host, why is she still carrying that butt plug with her?(●´⌓`●)]
‘…that,’ Ryuk noticed the object in her hand and inquired, “Why do you still have that?”
“Hm, this? It has a good grip,” Esme explained, aware of his scrutiny on the jade stone she had taken from the woman she had slain in the lower town. Apparently, it was comfortable for her to hold.
[….]
“….I see,” Ryuk remarked, merely entertained by Esme’s candid response. He then turned his attention back to the malnourished woman, who was seated on the floor, coughing amidst the several bodies scattered around her in the inner pavilion.
Without hesitation, he leaped from his position directly into the inner pavilion.
—
“Haa… Haaa…” The woman gasped as she sat among the lifeless corpses, acutely aware of her weakness; she could hardly draw breath in the thickening smoke.
‘I need to recover soon,’ she thought, recalling the hidden orb she had concealed back in the main palace of the capital city, beneath the throne in her throne room.
This orb was intended for precisely this day—a safeguard for her strength.
In preparation for any potential demise, she had created this contingency so that if she were to fall, she could reclaim her full power.
That was why she felt an urgent need to reach the capital city.
