Chapter 26: The Hartbell Family (Ⅱ)

“Miss… Miss Yilena…”

Edwin forced the words out of his mouth with difficulty.

Yilena blinked, her smile growing even brighter.

“Oh my~ Little Edwin, long time no see~ Did you miss me~?”

Edwin’s expression, which had been barely holding onto a smile, completely collapsed.

It was as if all the strength had been drained from him. He collapsed back into the chair behind him.

At this moment, the local tyrant of Huyili was complaining powerlessly like a child facing a difficult situation.

“…So what are you here for this time?”

He muttered softly.

“Hmm~ Why aren’t you happy to see me as soon as I arrive? I came to help, you know~”

Yiruo followed behind Yilena, but his eyes were fixed on the man standing behind the little princess.

Yilena completely ignored his attitude and walked into the study on her own, followed by that little tail.

Little Edwin?

He was obviously an adult.

Looking at Edwin’s face, Yiruo felt a strange sense of familiarity, as if he had felt the same way about someone before.

Yilena walked to the center of the study, looked around, and nodded with satisfaction.

She pointed at an ancient vase by the wall, her tone carrying a hint of nostalgia.

“Hmm~ Just like old times, not a single thing has changed~ Even that vase is still in its original spot~”

Edwin followed behind her, looking utterly defeated.

“…That vase was left to me by my grandmother. Do I dare move it?”

“That’s true~ Little Edwin was always afraid of Grandma since he was little~”

Edwin decided not to respond.

His gaze landed on the small figure behind Yilena, and he paused slightly.

“And this is…”

Yiruo noticed that the other party was looking at him and instinctively hid behind Yilena.

Yilena turned around, pulled Yiruo to her side, and introduced him with a smile.

“Let me introduce you, Edwin. This is my family~ His name is Yiruo.”

“Your… family?”

Edwin’s expression froze abruptly, as if he couldn’t believe it.

His heart suddenly began to pound violently.

He looked at the little one who only reached his waist, then at Yilena’s smiling face, which was slightly different from the one in his memory. In the end, he just sighed and waved his hand tiredly.

“Forget it. That’s not the main point.”

“I thought Anna would come with you. I’ve already prepared tea and snacks in the lounge. If there’s something to discuss, let’s go over there.”

Yilena blinked, and a hint of deeper meaning crept into the smile at the corner of her mouth.

“Alright~ Coincidentally, I have a lot of things I want to discuss with Little Edwin~ Like… about Vanessa.”

Edwin’s heart skipped a beat.

Vanessa—that name was completely unexpected.

An indescribable emotion surged into his heart.

He almost immediately wanted to open his mouth and ask for more information, but the witch had already turned around and walked toward the lounge.

Along with that little girl who was secretly watching him.

***

Inside the lounge, the atmosphere was now a little awkward.

Edwin slumped onto the sofa, looking as if all his strength had been drained. He bent over, almost sinking into the soft cushion behind him.

One hand propped up his forehead, while the other rested on the armrest, his fingers unconsciously tapping against the wooden frame, making a light thump, thump sound.

Across from him, Yilena was elegantly holding a teacup, taking small sips of black tea, her face still carrying that elusive smile.

Occasionally, she would reach out, pick up a fruit candy from the dish on the table, and casually feed it to the greedy child beside her.

Yiruo sat next to her, sucking on the candy in small bites, his cheeks puffing out like a little hamster eating.

He occasionally stole glances at Edwin across from him, his eyes filled with curiosity and scrutiny.

So…

Edwin finally spoke, his voice hoarse and tired.

“What exactly happened?”

Yilena put down her teacup and nodded.

She flipped her wrist, and a transparent crystal ball appeared in her palm.

The crystal ball was about the size of a fist, with a smooth surface, but something seemed to flow inside—some kind of magical energy.

She extended her slender finger and gently tapped the crystal ball.

Hum—

A light screen popped out from the ball and floated in midair.

Inside the light screen was the scene of Vanessa releasing her magic.

Black magic surged out from behind her, twisting and expanding like a living creature, eventually forming a huge vortex.

And in the center of the scene, that woman was wearing a half-mask, her flame-colored eyes gleaming with a cold light.

Edwin’s brows knitted tightly.

Under the impact of this magical force, the surrounding walls cracked and peeled, the ground trembled, and the very space seemed to warp.

The light was dazzling and eerie, devouring even the light itself wherever it passed.

“This is…”

Before he could finish, Yilena tapped the crystal ball again.

The image switched.

This time, it was the scene of Vanessa attempting to ambush Aurora.

In the small room, that golden-haired little elf was standing in front of a mirror, proudly trying on new clothes.

Behind her, Vanessa raised her hand, gathering black magic in her palm.

The magic condensed and compressed at her fingertips, eventually forming a slender, pitch-black needle.

The needle was so thin it was almost invisible, yet it exuded a chilling aura.

If it were to pierce someone, death would be certain.

Edwin’s pupils contracted sharply.

“This is…”

Yilena said softly.

“A spell that can render the target defenseless without them even noticing. It’s a special magic used only by core members of Medusa.”

She paused, then turned to Edwin.

“That unique black needle also proves her identity—the ‘Black Pearl’ of Medusa.”

Edwin’s breath caught for a moment.

Black Pearl.

Within the Medusa organization, there were six seats second only to the leader.

Each of them had a different title.

Each person with this title meant they possessed extraordinary abilities in a certain area—assassination, infiltration, intelligence, combat…

And the woman in that image just now was one of the executors.

Edwin slowly recalled a report from ten years ago.

A certain royal noble had died unnaturally at the Grand Banquet, and the cause of death could not be determined by any physician’s investigation.

In the end, a professor from the Royal Academy who had left no name concluded that the victim had been killed by a black needle that was almost invisible to the naked eye and could only be detected through a magical field of vision.

Edwin was still processing this information.

But Yilena rummaged through her bag again and pulled out a pink potion.

“This is…”

Edwin took the potion and examined it closely.

Yilena waved her hand, and the image switched again.

This time, it was the scene of Yiruo fighting with the frenzied mercenary.

In the image, the beastman had undergone a mutation the moment he was exposed to the potion. His magic went out of control, unleashing an unprecedented level of aggression.

But after the battle ended, that beastman lay half-dead on the ground, barely breathing.

And the culprit behind it all was that seemingly ordinary pink potion.

“A few days ago, I secretly collected a sample from the liquid left at the scene.”

Edwin’s expression suddenly changed.

From the footage just now, this kind of thing was all too familiar to him.

“Truth’s Blood.”

This was a forbidden potion strictly banned throughout the underground market of the continent.

His thoughts instantly drifted back several years.