The Young Master in the Shadows

Chapter 434: Can’t Drink

“So if it were not for Theta’s luck we would have been in the dark?” Victor, or in better words, his soul fragment that resided in Lily’s necklace, pondered as he heard what his wife said. “I should really reward that girl!”

“Yeah… Both Mina and Margret communicated with me, telling me to ask for your opinion,” Lily replied as she lay in his embrace. During the last few weeks, they have discovered that their ‘intimate actions’ not only made their souls purer but also made them stronger! According to Victor, this seemed to be the effect of the Necklace itself.

“Your opinion and mine should be the same regarding this matter…” Victor said. She was as knowledgeable as him regarding the future.

“Yeah… if my guess was right, whoever was behind this might have been planning to use Mona to destroy the Von Zwei family!” Lily said.

“Hmm, this would only make sense if some of Mona’s friends were scapegoats who need to die and flare her anger!” Victor said.

“Yup, that guy Donald, and the girl, Opal. They seem to feel that they need to stick to Mona no matter what!” Lily nodded. 

“I bet they have a destiny to die a gruesome death!” Victor guessed.

“You would need to figure that out once you returned,” she sighed.  “I think it should be her, the one who helped the imperial family finish the von Zwei off in the other timeline, after their cooperation with the demons was revealed no one stepped in to help them.” she pondered. “Too bad I wasn’t there at that time, and the reports only mentioned that it was a ‘friend’ who wanted revenge!”

“You couldn’t have been everywhere at once… “ Victor said. “The question remains about the identity of the perpetrators behind this!”

“It could be anyone…” Victor sighed. He had long suspected that there were many fishy things around Mona. At first, he thought it was Von Zwei's doing, but it seemed like life was never that simple. “I think it has to be a power with extensive knowledge about Scions. Although this is not conclusive, this by itself would leave us with a lot of suspects, ranging from the fate sect to maybe the dark chamber or some other hidden power…” he frowned. 

“It is definitely the Fate sect!” Lily said.

“Why? Do you know something?” Victor asked. Those guys were his first suspects, but he didn’t want to jump to conclusions.

“Just a well-educated guess. But it is built on three reasons…. The first one is Mona’s fate you told me about… Revenge… It has to be someone who can read fates to figure that out and use it!”

Victor shook his head. “You don’t need to know a scion’s fate to unleash them against your enemies! You just need to give them a just cause!” he shrugged. “What is your second reason to suspect them?”

“In the future… Do you remember how a lot of Scions tended to listen to the Fate sect, some even working for them…” 

“Yeah… That’s what made them influential, I remember hearing that it had been investigated but nothing conclusive was found… The scions were doing it on their own accord,” Victor squinted his eyes. “Are you suggesting that they might have been preparing for that stage from way earlier?” he asked.

“Yeah, if it were you, and you had the power to identify scions…” she said as her slim finger drew circles on his chest.

“I can identify scions!” He raised one eyebrow.

“That’s the point… Wouldn’t you try to use them to your advantage, making friends with them, implanting your agents around them?”

“...” Victor nodded. That’s what he was planning to do, but those Scions seemed to be a little allergic to him lately. Going all defensive whenever he would be near. 

“SEE!” Lily chuckled as she read his mind.

“I understand…” Victor nodded. “What is your third reason?”

“It is about memory loss… The Fate sect had always been mysterious, with several incidents in the future where those connected to them forgot all about it… They definitely have a memory-altering artifact…”

“It could also be a skill…”

“Yeah…” Lily nodded. Too bad she couldn’t really investigate these people when she was a crow, as she discovered their existence too late, and even then, she couldn’t find where their base was as none of their known agents went there! It was as if they always got their commands via telepathy or something. “What do you think I should tell the girls to do?”

“Nothing, other than monitoring the situation from afar, they should play dumb…” Victor said. “Once I am back I will go take a look at them by myself… Mona should be told that the Von Zwei family are the ones behind the overseers. Tell the twins to encourage her to start plotting against them… If someone was monitoring her fate, this would assure them that their plan is still viable.”

“Good!” Lily nodded. “Ah… Something just occurred to me… What if the Fate sect also had scions being instigated against the other families?” she asked.

“Oh…” this made Victor pause. “Are you suggesting that the Young light lord’s attack was orchestrated by someone?” he asked.

“Could be… Or why would your family have this much trouble getting rid of this guy?” Lily said. “If you had told me the truth before the blood awakening ritual, I could have investigated it back then…” she said, pinching his arm.

“...I thought we agreed not to mention that again…” he said.

“I am just saying… You must learn to be more honest!”

“Can’t you use that skill again? He asked.

“No… Every second in the past required me to spend a ton of energy, the first activation was free, so I could take all the time in the world, but if I were to use and try to access the other timeline now, my soul would probably disintegrate after getting lost in the time loop!” she explained.

“I see…” he sighed. “If your guess is right, we better start to investigate and keep an eye on people around scions, they might be the way those in the Fate sect are working!”

“I will tell Alpha…” Lily nodded.

“When are you planning to return to your family?” he asked, changing the subject.

“I was planning to wait for a few months to enter the Jade Ruin with you, but now that the tournament has been delayed, I think it would be a good thing if I went there early…”

“The tournament was delayed?” Victor asked.

“Ah… I forgot to tell you… Yeah, thanks to all the trouble in your family and the Von Rosen family base that had turned into a dungeon thanks to someone.…” she said poking at him. “They said it will happen in a month, but I bet it might take two or even three…Those guys tend to always underestimate things!” 

“Oh… You want to participate in the Tournament?” Victor asked.

“Yes! The reason my family was able to become the imperial family was not only their hidden power but something that they found in the Jade Ruin!”

“Really? You never told me that!” he exclaimed.

“You were going there anyway… And this is the hunch I got after reading their logs. “ she hesitated for a moment. “You know how my family had a policy for staying hidden, but somehow, in the other timeline, right after the Jade Ruin exploration ended they seemed to have reversed gear and started focusing all their attention on expanding their influence and preparing for war!!”

“Oh…” Victor frowned. He always knew that that ruin held some of the world's best Artifacts; most of the scions got their signature weapons there after all. But he had no idea that even the Von Krone family’s rise had something to do with it.

“I was planning to use Yulian to keep an eye on them, but now that there is enough time for me to get a position in the expedition, I want to go with them!”

“Your uncle might not agree…”

“He will have no say in it, The positions are decided by the tournament’s ranking!” she said. 

“...” Victor sighed. “Then we will meet at the tournament…” he said.

“Yup!” she nodded as her face parched his and they kissed.

…

In a lavish corridor, outside a lavish hospital room, three men stood.

“So… He is absolutely my son?” Theodore asked with a frown. 

“Yes, the DNA matches!” the doctor, who was an old friend of Theodore, said. “It also 100% matches the one you gave me… There is no doubt about it, this guy is Victor!” the doctor said.

“I see…” Theodore sighed.

“Master… I don’t know why you are going to this length…” Olaf seemed a little relieved as he heard what the doctor said.

“You have seen how much intrigue there is in the family Olaf…I just don’t want to be taken advantage of again!” Theodore signed, remembering what happened with Iris and Aria. “You can go back to the island and make your report now…” he said.

“Oh… I understand…” Olad, although a little reluctant quickly nodded.

“What the amnesia?” Theodore asked the doctor.

“I can’t help you there…We already gave him all the experimental medicines we had!” The doctor shook his head. “But from what I noticed, Victor’s brain activity has been getting better since last night, so if I had to guess, I think he is healing… But like everything in life, it might take some time.”

“Oh…” Theodore sighed as he turned, opened the room’s door, and entered.

‘Victor’ was sitting there on a hospital bed, inquiring from Alice about his family.

“I guess we are done here!” Theodore said.

“How was it?” Alice turned to him and asked.

“He is getting better!” Theodore said. “How about we get you home?” he turned to his son and asked.

“Um…” Axel nodded, then looked at Olaf and smiled. His memory was back! It was time for him to get back all the things he had lost! 

He couldn't wait to get his hands on his supposed wives! Especially Mira!

…

At the same time in a lavish Mansion where a dozen young girls worked as maids while singing happy young master themed songs!

“That’s all… Take care!” Margret said, then put down the phone after explaining Lily’s plan to Alpha.

“Done?” Elise asked.

“Yeah…” Margret said as she looked at her phone which rang again. This time it was a message from Alice. “The fake will be here by tomorrow morning!” she said.

“Is everything ready for him?” Elise asked.

“Yeah…The room had been sterilized, I got the surgical knife, and the ironing rod….”

“I don’t need the details!” Elise spat angrily.

“Just saying, In case he turned out to be a pervert…” Margret didn't continue as the door was pushed open.

“Bad news!” Lin said as she barged into the office.

“What?” Elise asked.

“The parasite I put in Abe, it has returned to its original world!” she said.

“Then…” Margret asked.

“Abe is dead, and the body must have been cremated!… My condolences…” she told Margret.

“No need,” Margret said dismissively. She thought she would feel something hearing about her cousin’s death, but all she felt was a sense of pity that his pitiful life ended quickly. “Can you re-summon the parasite anytime soon?” she asked, getting right into business. The parasite held the memories of Abe’s last moment, and it would definitely allow them to find his captors!

“Not yet… We have to wait for a moonless night that follows a cold day… About two weeks from now would be a good date for the ritual,” Lin sighed. “And I need to prepare some sacrificial rats…” she added with disgust.

“Tell Hilda to send the girls to sleep early that night,” Margret said. “And let the chicks help you,”

“I always do…”

“Now…” Margret paused as her phone began ringing, what’s wrong with it today?

Looking at the number, it was Susan from the company. “What?” Margret answered with a frown. 

“Madam… Big trouble!” 

“Didn’t I tell you to report to Aria…”

“It is about Abe, Crimson Pearl… He came a moment ago and requested that we cancel the last agreement with him!” Susan interrupted. “He said that he was willing to pay the contract termination fee and that we shall no longer have the rights to any of his novels!”

“...” Margaret stood up and looked at Elise as she activated the Phone’s speaker. “Are you sure it is Abe?”

“Yeah! It is him… I am looking at him at the moment, he is in the waiting room!” Susan said.

“Absolutely sure?”

“...Ah… Yeah… He is even talking the same arrogant way, and right now is feeling up the trainee who came to give him a cup of coffee!”

“Tell him to wait… I will send someone to talk to him and convince him!” she said as she hung up.

“What now?” Lin asked. “He should definitely be dead!” she said nervously. 

“Is there any other way to get the parasite out of him without destroying his body?” Elise asked.

“I… I am not sure…" Lin frowned. “But there should not be, as it exists in his soul realm after all…Can only be removed if the head was damaged beyond repair!”

“What if the target was possessed?” Elise asked again.

“If the possessor noticed the parasite, he would definitely kill it and not allow it to return to its world…” Lin answered. “He would have no reason to release it…Once it is out of this world, only me, the original summoner, can find it!” she frowned.

“Oh…” Elise frowned. “It could be either a fake, a possession, or some unknown technique…” she pondered.

“I guess we can only check by ourselves…Whoever is behind this would want to test if we know something, so we only have to play dumb!” Margret said. “Are Monica or Mira here?” she asked. Lately, all the girls have been very busy!

“Mira is here, but she seems to have a lot going on…” Lin said. “I can go instead!”

“No…You are a summoner, if they were to have discovered the parasite and released it by themselves as bait, this would be dangerous!” Elise quickly said. “Why don’t you go yourself?” she asked Margret.

“Absolutely not! What if they had a way to hypnotize me… It should be someone who has nothing to do with the plan!”

“Good point…” Elise nodded.

“There is another reason too…” Margret said. She seemed hesitant.

“What?” Elise frowned.

“Whoever goes, would need to drink some soul wine with the target to ask a few questions…” Margret sighed. “And I can’t drink…”

“And why not?”

“Ah… Well… I am pregnant!” she declared with a sigh. It was time to drop the bomb.

“YOU ARE WHAT!” Both Lin and Elise jumped from their seats and looked at Margret who was smiling smugly in shock.

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