Chapter 63: There’s going to be some fun tomorrow

“Walk two steps.”

Not daring to show the slightest negligence, afraid that one wrong step would incur the wrath of the esteemed大人 before him, the black-haired youth straightened his back and took two steps, his entire body tense.

The man’s gaze fixed upon him, scrutinizing him.

The prolonged silence was excruciating.

The black-haired youth felt as if he had been stuffed into a great cauldron, drowning in water, suffocating and burning up, step by step his will crumbling.

Just before he was about to break, Baron Leicester finally broke his silence, giving him a slight nod.

“Passable.”

The old steward stepped forward and said, “Sir, Belang has been confirmed dead. His body has been collected and is on its way back.”

“Mm.”

Baron Leicester’s expression was indifferent, showing no fluctuation over the death of his direct descendant, just as when Belang had killed his several older brothers—familial affection was utterly minimal.

If a child was worthless, it was merely a burden to the family.

Daughters could be used for marriage alliances to exchange benefits, while sons were a complete loss.

Belang was neither smart nor talented, not worth Baron Leicester’s effort, much like his brothers.

More than a dozen women had borne him direct bloodlines, yet only Emily possessed an exceptional gift.

Unfortunately, Emily was ultimately a woman.

Even if women could bear children with other women, they could only produce female offspring, which was extremely disadvantageous for the family.

If left unchecked, two females would produce two more females, increasing the number of females, and after a few generations, the entire family would be left with only females.

When the family collapsed, these women would become living resources, divided among other families.

Emily bringing back a woman with an exceptional gift to bear more outstanding blood for the family was not impossible, but there was no profit.

If there was enough profit, Baron Leicester would welcome it.

The old steward glanced at Baron Leicester’s profile.

He didn’t say everything, but having served Baron Leicester for so many years, he knew the baron’s thoughts well.

Baron Leicester had already guessed that Belang had gone to cause trouble for Liya (Shu Yue) and had been killed in retaliation.

This was his own stupidity; the family would not avenge him.

Once a man was dead, he was no longer a person, let alone a young master of the Leicester family.

So why seek revenge?

The baron left.

The old steward did not follow but remained, saying to the black-haired youth, “Remember, only what the master gives you is yours. What the master does not give you, you must not have even a trace of thought for. If you want to stay alive, understand?”

“I understand!”

The black-haired youth’s face turned pale, and he nodded quickly.

If Shu Yue were here, she would be very surprised, because this black-haired youth resembled her by sixty or seventy percent.

After some disguise, the likeness reached eighty percent.

In appearance, he was a fair, effeminate young man with red lips, white teeth, delicate features, and a hint of seductiveness between his brows.

There was still a big difference between him and Shu Yue.

Back then, Shu Yue had a similarly soft and beautiful appearance, but she was purely a “male body with a female face,” with a heroic aura, not this kind of seductiveness.

In short—he was more womanly than Shu Yue.

This was the substitute the old steward had found to take over the identity of Liya White and complete the wedding.

In their view, the real Liya had already left, and it would be difficult to find him.

But the wedding had to be carried out—it was an order from above, and they had to do it well.

Once the wedding was over tomorrow, Liya and Emily’s status as husband and wife would spread throughout the entire Grey Pine Mountain area.

After that, it was no longer the baron’s concern; it was the higher-ups’ own business.

The black-haired youth quietly followed the old steward, preparing to attend tonight’s banquet with Emily.

His face appeared calm, but his heart was wildly excited.

Just yesterday, he was waiting for clients in a pleasure house, and today he was the son-in-law of a baron’s family, marrying Miss Emily Lester, who was quite famous in Grey Pine City.

All this thanks to that guy named Liya, who actually dared to flee from the baron’s marriage.

And thanks to his own resemblance to Liya, he had such good luck to replace him.

Haha, your wife is mine now.

You gave up such a good life yourself!

The old steward didn’t need to look to know what this fake Liya behind him was thinking.

“Remember, you are now Liya White, Miss Emily’s fiancé, and nothing more. Do not covet what is not yours. Miss Emily is not someone you can touch.”

“Yes, Mr. Steward.”

The black-haired youth quickly replied, afraid that slowness would displease this great benefactor.

At that moment, in the maiden’s boudoir decorated in pink and white.

The girl standing before the vanity mirror was lost in thought.

Maids bustled around, adorning her with various jewelry and arranging her long hair.

Emily had been dressed up as a beautiful noblewoman.

Her red dress complemented her graceful figure, making her as gorgeous as a rose, sure to outshine all the other flowers at the banquet.

Yet she herself looked dazed, her mind completely elsewhere.

Baron Leicester had asked her again.

Liya had left, but the wedding still had to be held.

Emily agreed to marry the fake Liya.

She said she was a noble lady raised by the Leicester family, the daughter of Baron Leicester, and having received so much from the family, it was time to give back.

In truth, she didn’t want to.

Compared to this fake Liya, she would rather the real Liya marry her.

Although the real Liya (Shu Yue) had a terrible personality, if it were him, it wouldn’t be too hard to accept.

But since it was her father’s request, as his daughter, she naturally couldn’t disobey.

Even though she had already disobeyed once…

‘I suppose I’ve given up on myself, self-destructed?’

Emily smiled bitterly.

In the mirror, this bright red “rose” was tinged with sadness.

“Miss, please sit down and wait.”

The banquet was still some time away, and it wasn’t yet her time to appear.

She had to wait a little longer.

She sat upright on the bed, trying not to move to avoid messing up her carefully prepared attire.

The maids did not speak, and no one comforted her.

These maids were not the ones who had served her before; the previous ones had been transferred.

The new ones were not familiar with her, and they were more obedient to Baron Leicester’s orders, responsible for monitoring Emily.

Emily swept her gaze over them, finally landing on the window, looking at the sky through the glass.

‘Is this how my life ends? How unwilling I am…’

She suddenly thought of that incredibly beautiful face.

The image of the Silver Dragon Princess, transcendent and otherworldly, appeared in her mind, briefly easing the pain in her heart.

But when the fantasy was crushed by the heavy weight of reality, all the luxury before her was so glaring, the red dress on her body like blood.

Clear tears traced down the girl’s face.

She wasn’t as strong as she thought she was.

If only that day she had chosen not to pretend to be asleep, but to cling to the Silver Dragon Princess and follow her, even if she died on the road from a magic beast’s attack…

It was all that damned rationality!

Emily lowered her head and clenched her hands.

On the other side, Shu Yue left the inn and headed for the meeting point agreed upon with Vanessa.

After finishing that training session, she did not continue. Instead, she chose to meditate to restore her spirituality.

Opening the mana circuits had consumed most of her spirituality, and she needed to replenish it.

If she encountered an accident outside and didn’t have enough spirituality, wouldn’t that be troublesome?

Shu Yue didn’t want to waste the one year of 【Mirror Flower, Water Moon】 for nothing.

It only lasted five years total.

As long as she had it, Shu Yue could develop in peace for five years.

She believed that after five years, she would be very strong, and no one could bully her, so she wouldn’t need it anymore.

She renamed the mirror’s disguised form to 【Mirror Flower, Water Moon】, which was convenient for differentiation and very fitting.

The illusion of Shu Yue in the mirror—wasn’t that exactly mirror flowers and water moon?

Shu Yue wore a gray robe with sleeves, and the buttons on her chest were fastened.

If she also wore a wide-brimmed pointed wizard hat, she would really look like a mage…

And it seemed she actually was one?

The Wind Whisper Art had been retrieved from Anna.

It wasn’t too difficult to master, but it still took a full hour.

Probably because of her poor talent, it took so much time.

Those geniuses surely learned it in a few minutes, right?

“Sigh~”

Scabby-headed Master always said her talent was terrible, and the only reason she could be his assistant was because of her special physique.

Shu Yue also thought her talent was quite poor.

Fortunately, the Dragon Blood helped improve it.

‘Now my talent should be average, right?’

‘Hmph hmph~’

Shu Yue felt a little happy inside.

When she reached the meeting point, a carriage was waiting there, exactly Miss Vanessa’s personal ride.

“A big lady with a private car is really different, huh. Going out with a private car, unlike Shu Yue, who can only rely on her own two legs.”

But Shu Yue wasn’t jealous.

She knew very well that the life of a big lady was far from comfortable.

From a young age, etiquette classes, constantly maintaining a lady’s elegance, and the tone of speech, always tense.

If you really compared, Shu Yue was practically a wild child.

The maid opened the carriage door for Shu Yue.

Shu Yue entered the carriage and met Vanessa’s eyes.

Vanessa’s dark, beautiful eyes looked her up and down, revealing a strange expression as she asked Shu Yue, “Mr. Liya, you’re wearing this?”

“Yeah.”

Shu Yue subconsciously nodded, but quickly realized something was wrong.

She probably needed to dress better.

Right, it wasn’t just a meal.

Noble banquets were social occasions; one had to dress formally.

Vanessa smiled and said, “It’s fine. Let’s just go to a clothing store first.”

Shu Yue scratched her head with an embarrassed smile.

She had never experienced this; her mind was full of training and getting stronger, so she hadn’t paid attention to these things.

Vanessa continued with a smile, “By the way, Mr. Liya, you also need to disguise yourself a bit.”

Shu Yue was puzzled.

“Huh?”

Vanessa looked at her dazed expression and sighed.

“Mr. Liya, don’t you find it strange?”

“What’s strange?”

“On the day before your wedding, you meet with your fiancée Emily’s best friend alone, and in the evening, you even attend the banquet together as her plus-one…”

“Then who will marry Emily?”

Shu Yue, reminded by this, also saw the problem.

Right.

She, the fake Liya, could the wedding still proceed as scheduled?

It definitely wasn’t the real Liya coming.

The real Liya was dead, not even ashes left, burned by Shu Yue’s own hands.

She was very sure she had burned him completely.

Eustia even said herself that she had killed Liya White.

The real Liya was indeed dead!

So, Baron Leicester found a fake to replace the fake Liya White that Shu Yue had played, continuing the wedding with Emily.

That was really…

Interesting, huh!

After a brief shock, Shu Yue’s inner meme-lover gene was activated, and she almost laughed.

“Ahem, I understand.”

“Then Mr. Liya, are you going to attend your own wedding tomorrow?”

Vanessa covered her mouth with a smile.

“Of course I’ll go!”

Shu Yue shouted excitedly.

This stunned Vanessa.

She didn’t expect Shu Yue to be completely unconcerned about her identity being replaced, or maybe there was something else interesting that she didn’t know about?

Vanessa looked at Shu Yue, whose face showed inexplicable excitement, and her own interest was piqued.

“Doesn’t Mr. Liya care about Emily?”

“Miss Vanessa is Emily’s best friend, right? After so many years together, you must be more like sisters, caring about Emily more than I do.”

Shu Yue didn’t take the bait.

She wasn’t stupid, easily swayed by a pretty girl’s soft words into doing all the work.

But when she said this, Vanessa not only wasn’t annoyed but stared at her with even more intense eyes.

“Mr. Liya is truly an interesting person. Talking with you brings me great pleasure.”

“Tax evasion is a crime.”

“A saying from my hometown. Don’t mind it.”

Shu Yue smiled and waved her hand, telling Vanessa to forget what she just said and continue the previous topic.

Vanessa asked if she was still going to the banquet.

“Is the food abundant? Is it delicious?”

“The chef at Baron Leicester’s manor is quite skilled. I recommend Mr. Liya try it.”

“I’ll go.”

“Ha, you like good food?”

“No, I like free stuff.”

Their conversation always veered off in strange directions, but neither of them bothered to correct it.

The carriage was inscribed with a barrier to prevent sound from leaking out, so no one would know what they talked about.

Vanessa took Shu Yue to pick out decent attire and did a simple disguise.

The banquet was about to start.

They arrived at Baron Leicester’s manor by carriage, late, but not too late—the party had just begun.

The venue was naturally at the baron’s manor.

There was a building dedicated to banquets.

Young men and women invited would seek marriage opportunities here.

Near the entrance of the banquet hall, a girl in a blue dress held a goblet, occasionally glancing at the door, her expression shifting several times.

She had been lingering here for a while, as if waiting for someone, but none of the suitors who approached could find out who.

This noble girl was the one who had brought Shu Yue into the city, the culprit responsible for no one knowing that Shu Yue had returned.

She was, of course, waiting for Shu Yue.

But seeing no sign of Shu Yue, and most of the guests having arrived, the girl’s expression fell, and she murmured to herself, “Did he… deceive me?”

Earlier, she had heard Shu Yue say he would come, and she wanted to wait here to create a chance encounter to start a conversation.

Yet Shu Yue hadn’t arrived, making her reject many suitors, including some from influential noble families who wanted to invite her for a dance.

All of it was on the condition that her wait wasn’t in vain.

The girl felt Shu Yue was worth waiting for, worth rejecting these people.

But waiting so long also bred resentment.

She bit her thin lip lightly and decided to stop waiting.

‘Liar. I misjudged him…’

“Sister Rita, you’re still here.”

A young girl approached.

Her egg-shaped little face was full of childishness, and she looked young.

This was her first time at such an event, and she couldn’t find many girls her age to talk to.

She was the younger sister of that noble brother-sister pair, somewhat acquainted with Rita, both from the same town.

Rita looked at her and forced a smile.

“Lucy, you didn’t find any playmates?”

“Yeah… they’re kind of strange. I can’t get along with them.”

Lucy made a cute, bitter face.

The noble girls in the city were all strange, talking about topics she didn’t understand.

She couldn’t join in, so she had to leave dejectedly.

She could talk much better with friends from the town.

Rita took Lucy’s little hand.

She herself didn’t fit into the noble girls’ circle here.

If you can’t fit in, don’t force it—create your own circle.

That was also a way.

Lucy’s brother walked over.

Seeing Rita, he greeted her politely.

Suddenly, the light dimmed.

A soft spotlight fell on the entrance.

A beautiful girl in a red dress walked out with Baron Leicester, accepting the gazes and scrutiny.

Emily remained expressionless, her eyes cold and without ripples, very different from her usual image.

She raised her eyes and swept the room, a fleeting, self-mocking smile appearing on her face.

As Baron Leicester reached the center of the hall, he made a standard speech, formally announcing tomorrow’s wedding.

Everyone raised their glasses to congratulate the baron.

The banquet officially began at that moment.

Only then did Vanessa arrive, arm in arm with Shu Yue, fashionably late.