V2: Chapter 9: The Truth Behind the Marquis's Death

Liang Lin reacted swiftly, grabbing the tiny tentacle on her stomach, lifting her clothes, and shoving it back in. She swore she'd never been so fast in her life.

Sylvester only felt a blur before his eyes; a small, tender red thing vanished in an instant.

"Uh, I think I just saw a segment of..." Sylvester hadn't finished speaking.

"No, Uncle, you didn't see anything." Liang Lin clutched her stomach, forcing a smile. "You were probably too excited, and your eyes were playing tricks on you, weren't they?"

Sylvester blinked, then looked down at Liang Lin's hand tightly pressed against her stomach. "Are you injured? Or what happened? Why are you holding that spot?"

"I, I... I ate something bad, my stomach's a little uncomfortable."

Liang Lin felt like all the quick thinking she'd ever displayed in her life had been used up today, whether it was lying or trying to figure out how to get out of it.

"Ah, quick, I'll take you to see a doctor."

"No, no, no, no, no need!" Liang Lin's mind raced. "Oh dear, Uncle, you know I'm a girl now, and girls have their moment of the months... It's nothing, it'll be fine tomorrow."

"Oh—!" Sylvester looked enlightened.

Liang Lin immediately changed the subject, "Uncle, let's get back to the important matter. I heard in the capital that the Heraze Empire has already occupied a third of the border. Is that true?"

"Hmm..."

Mentioning this, Sylvester's expression instantly became serious. He sighed heavily, crossing his hands and placing them on his knees.

"Sigh, I didn't dare to act rashly. After all... you were defeated back then, so I could only defend and not attack."

"Ah!"

Liang Lin clapped her hands. "Uncle, you don't know how I died, do you?"

"Ah, wasn't you stabbed through the chest by the enemy and died on the battlefield?" Sylvester was taken aback, then he keenly sensed that there was probably more to the story.

Liang Lin shook her head, her gaze intense.

“No, Uncle, there’s a traitor among us.” Liang Lin sneered. “And I know who the traitor is, but if I tell you, Uncle, you probably won’t believe me.”

“Didn’t you notice that the sword was plunged into my chest from behind? My real cause of death was poisoning.”

Yes.

How could, I, the invincible “god” on the battlefield be stabbed through the chest?

“Who… who?”

Sylvester’s voice trembled slightly.

“Irene Horace.” Liang Lin emphasized the name with undisguised hatred, each word clear and distinct.

“Your niece, my cousin, Irene Horace.”

Disbelief flashed in Sylvester’s eyes. He couldn’t understand his niece’s motive. What benefit would she gain from poisoning her cousin?

“This… maybe. She’s family, and we’re her family. She has no reason to do this. Your death won’t do her any good.”

Sylvester shook his head frantically. He couldn’t believe his niece would do something so heinous, murdering her own cousin.

Before Liang Lin said this, she knew her uncle would react this way. She smiled, a cold smile, a smile filled with deep hatred for Irene. “Uncle, I know why she wanted to kill me.”

“And after I died, did she disappear too?”

Sylvis thought for a moment. “Yes, she said she was too heartbroken by your death, that it was a huge blow. So, she left the border, saying she wanted to change her mood. I don’t know where she went, probably to a nearby city.”

“Haa~”

Liang Lin scoffed.

"I know where she went. It's easy to guess. She went to the Heraze Empire, to the arms of her beloved."

Liang Lin gritted her teeth, her eyes filled with unbearable sorrow. "To pursue her love, to make her lover more comfortable, to help him achieve great merit, she didn't hesitate to drug me, to let me die at his hands, as a stepping stone for his promotion!"

Upon hearing this, Sylvester was so shocked he couldn't speak.

The room fell silent instantly.

“Eli, how… how did you find out about this?”

“It’s probably a common lamentation after someone’s triumphs. It was Irene’s lover who told me this himself after he plunged the sword into my chest.”

“He said, ‘Oh~ my dear war god, my dear marquis, you probably don’t know, you’re probably quite shocked, aren’t you? Why did you suddenly vomit blood? The way you’re lying on the ground now, you look really pathetic, not at all like a war god. Aren’t you curious why you suddenly lost your strength?’”

The man laughed wildly as he said this, his face filled with anticipation for the future. He bent down, spat on Liang Lin’s face, and triumphantly pulled the sword from his chest.

"You're truly pathetic. Well then, I'll let you die knowing why."

"General Eli, it was your cousin, my mistress, who drugged you! Before you left, did she give you something to drink? You foolishly drank it without a single suspicion? Haha~ Eli, you're just as stupid as your cousin."

"Ughhh!"

The sword pierced Liang Lin's chest once more. He coughed up blood, her large, bright blue eyes staring at the sky, the same blue as his pupils, before dying with resentment.

Before he died, he heard Irene's lover saying:

"You're so pitiful. You weren't killed honorably, but by your own family, by your sister. If I were you, I wouldn't die in peace, hahahahahaha~"

Liang Lin couldn't hear the rest.

However, she remembered those words clearly, etched into her very soul. They were the words she heard in the final moments of her life!

"Sister Irene is the mistress of a count in the Heraze Empire. After that count killed me, he's probably a duke now, right? Haha~ Sister Irene will have a good life with him."

Liang Lin spoke sarcastically, unconsciously tightening her grip on the hilt of her sword. The murderous intent in her eyes grew stronger; she wanted nothing more than to rush to Irene and her lover right now, to tear them to pieces, to torture them to a agonizing death.

"This kind of person! Doesn't deserve to be my family!"

How could someone be so foolish as to abandon their own family for love? And Irene was someone's mistress.

Liang Lin suspected that this man must have said something like, "If you help me kill Eli, I'll abandon my current wife and marry you," something like that, that made Irene kill her.

"Heh, foolish woman."

Sylvester remained silent for a long time, his mind filled with the overwhelming amount of information. He truly couldn't accept the fact that his niece had murdered his nephew.

"Are you... are you sure? Did you really hear it right? Is it really not a misunderstanding?" Sylvester's voice was filled with utter despair as he spoke.

Liang Lin understood his feelings. His beloved niece had suddenly become the murderer of his nephew; no one could accept that.

"Uncle, I'm sure I didn't hear wrong," Liang Lin said firmly. "Besides, before I went to the battlefield that day, Irene did bring me a glass of juice. I didn't want to drink it; I don't like juice. But she insisted, saying she had gone through so much trouble to squeeze it. If I didn't drink it, she would make a scene. I had no choice but to drink it."

Liang Lin sighed.

"That was just so weird, wasn't it? It's just a glass of juice, how hard could it be to make? And we have maids at home, why not let them make the juice? Why did she has to make it herself? Why did she has to give it to me before I went to war? Why couldn't she wait until I came back to make it for me? Most importantly, why did she has to make me drink it, crying and throwing a tantrum?"

"Uncle, don't you think all of this is too weird?"

Sylvester fell silent again.

For a long time.

This man, nearing fifty, silently shed tears. He reached up and covered his eyes, tilting his head back, trying desperately to hold them back.

He didn't know what he had done wrong, why fate was treating him this way.

His younger siblings were all dead, his only remaining nephew was dead, his niece was missing, and that niece, still alive, was told by his surviving nephew that she was his murderer.

Sylvester felt his world crumbling.

God, what had I done wrong? Why was I being treated this way? Why did everything have to fall on my shoulders?

"So… Irene, she really killed you, she really gave you that poisoned juice…"

Liang Lin felt a pang of sorrow seeing her uncle cry.

"Well, at the time, I just thought the juice tasted weird. I thought she was deliberately messing with me, adding something to it. I was in a hurry to get to the battlefield, so I didn't say anything or think much about it. After all... she's my cousin. But I never expected..."

These things are truly unavoidable.

Liang Lin could fight a hundred men on the battlefield, but she couldn't withstand her frail cousin giving her a cup of poisoned juice.

"I never thought my life would end like this. Fortunately, heaven gave me another chance to live in this world. So, I won't let Irene get away with it. She must pay for her mistakes!"

Sylvester shed tears for a while. Finally, he forced a smile that was more like a grimace, and patted Liang Lin's head.

"Okay, Uncle believes in you. I will definitely give you justice, I will definitely avenge you. Alright, you must have had a long journey from the capital to here, and you haven't had much rest."

"Yes, you said you brought a group of people. These are all your subordinates, right? I'll have the soldiers arrange rooms for you. Go and rest for a bit. I know you want to go to the battlefield immediately, but there's no rush. You should rest and recuperate first."

Liang Lin knew that while Sylvester was saying she should rest, he actually wanted some peace and quiet for himself. He hadn't fully processed the information he'd just received and still couldn't accept the fact that his niece had killed her nephew.

It would take a long time to accept this, and Liang Lin understood. So, she nodded, stood up, and, pretending to be wise old man, patted Sylvester on the shoulder. "Ah, Uncle, don't worry. Now that I'm here, the borders of our Soteland Empire are saved! Don't forget, I was once called a 'god-like' being!"

Sylvester continued to force a bitter smile. "Alright, alright, Uncle believes you. You and your men should go and rest."

Seeing Sylvester's unpleasant expression, Liang Lin decided not to stay any longer.

"Well, Uncle, see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow."

Liang Lin pushed open the door and walked out of the room, only then realizing that she hadn't yet told her subordinates the real cause of her death.

"Damn it, I can't let these guys think I was really defeated on the battlefield!" Liang Lin clenched her small fists, as if to encourage herself, "I'm the strongest swordsman ever!"

Well, even though she's a mother now, she's still acting like a chuunibyou (a person with delusions of grandeur).

After the soldiers led them to their respective rooms, Liang Lin gathered everyone together again and eagerly told them the real cause of her death. Instantly, the soldiers erupted in excitement.

Blaze, indignant, put his feet on a nearby chair, "Damn it, I knew it! That woman wasn't a good person! I knew it the first time I saw her! Definitely not a good person, and she really wasn't!"

"Oh, come on, you're just spouting hindsight again. When you first met Irene, why didn't you say anything? You were even saying how pretty she was, and that if you had a daughter, you wanted one like her too." Ulysses rolled his eyes, exposing Blaze's lie.

Blaze awkwardly scratched his head. "What kind of talk is that! What kind of talk is that?! She's the boss's cousin, after all! Even if I were to criticize her, I'd do it secretly in my heart. How could I say bad things about her in front of boss? Wouldn't the boss beat me to death?"

Liang Lin: "So, you think it's my fault?"

Blaze immediately shut his mouth.

"Of course not, I was blind."

"....."

Liang Lin's mind flashed with her cousin's gentle and kind face, and a pang of bitterness welled up inside her.

They were such good friends as children, practically growing up together, so why would she poison her beloved cousin for another man?

"Love-struck people are truly terrifying..." Sylvia sighed.

Robin immediately interjected, "So, daughter, you must never date a bad man. Before you date anyone, tell Dad who it is, and Dad will kill him for you... no, Dad will vet him for you. After all, I have more experience than you, and I'm better at judging people. You can trust me."

Sylvia: "....."

She didn't seem entirely at ease.

"I knew it! Our boss is so strong, how could she be so easily stabbed through the chest?"

"Phew~ Sure enough, our boss is still the invincible 'god'!"

Liang Lin, basking in the adulation, felt quite pleased with herself.

Just then, she felt a slip on her stomach, her face instantly changing color. This time, she reacted quickly, grabbing the front of her clothes to catch it.

Damn it!

Why is this little guy always so restless! I just pushed it back in, and it's coming out again? No, it can't fall out; it'll be hard to explain if it does in front of everyone.

She had no choice but to continue making up that lie.

"Ouch! My stomach hurts a bit. I'm going back to my room. If you want to chat, you can chat here!" Liang Lin turned and dashed back to her room.

The others watched Liang Lin's hurried departure, somewhat bewildered.

"It seems... Boss's behavior lately has been quite strange."

Bang!

The door to her room slammed shut.

As soon as she returned to her room, Liang Lin pulled the little guy out of her clothes, displeased with its behavior.

"Hey, you, why are you so restless?"

"I'm not saying anything more, you better stay safely inside my clothes, okay? You almost gave us away!"

Although the little guy couldn't understand what the other was saying, she could sense that the other was yelling at her, so she shrank back, her little tentacles trembling, and let out a particularly aggrieved cry.

"Uh..."

Liang Lin's anger instantly subsided by half, and she lost her confidence. She had been so assertive before, but she still stubbornly continued, "Hey, you're the one who did something wrong, and you won't even let me say anything? You're acting all aggrieved, and you're still whining? What right do you have...? Hey, hey, hey, don't cry, don't cry! I won't say anything more, okay!"

The little one started to sob, wiping away tears with its tiny tentacles.

"Oh dear..."

This was the first time Liang Lin had seen her child cry. She was completely at a loss, unsure how to comfort or hold the child. After a flurry of activity, she finally gave in.

"My dear child, I was wrong. I won't scold you anymore. It's all my fault. I shouldn't have kept you tucked inside my clothes. I should have played with you. Now, please stop crying, okay? I'll play with you, alright?"

Liang Lin was on the verge of tears. She wanted to cover the little creature's mouth, but was afraid of suffocating it. The little one was making strange noises, louder than usual, and Liang Lin was terrified of attracting her subordinates next door.

What to do when the baby keeps crying? I need help urgently!

How can I stop it from suffocating by plugging its mouth?

Liang Lin looked around, racking her brains. Finally, she slowly lowered her head.

She seemed to have thought of a somewhat imperfect method.