Chapter 370: Identity Exposed

Perry Yates watched her grandfather being resuscitated inside the room. ‘This old man just can’t stay out of trouble,’ she thought.

Still, he was her own maternal grandfather. Even if only for her mother’s sake, she couldn’t just ignore him completely.

Of course, she wasn’t about to do something like produce a new physical body for him, which would blow her cover. Even if it wouldn’t expose her, she still wouldn’t do it. The most she would do was guarantee him a few more years of life.

With that in mind, Perry Yates pushed past the crowd and went right up to the outside of the room.

Through the window, two cards shimmering with white light appeared in her hand.

The next second, the two cards transformed into a streak of light, flew into the room, and merged into Mr. Alden’s body.

As the two cards integrated with him, Mr. Alden’s vital signs quickly returned to normal, and he regained consciousness.

When the other members of the Alden Family saw Perry Yates produce two cards without batting an eye, they all had pained expressions on their faces.

After all, every card from The Card Tavern was incredibly precious. For Perry Yates to use two of them at once on an old man at death’s door, without even blinking… It was a waste. An absolute waste.

Seeing that her grandfather was awake, Perry Yates walked straight inside.

“Ah, you’re here.”

Mr. Alden looked at his granddaughter, who greatly resembled his own daughter but was even more beautiful, a nostalgic look in his eyes.

Perry Yates felt nothing in response. The only reason she’d come in was to let Mr. Alden know she was the one who had saved him, lest someone else steal the credit and try to pin some blame on her.

“I already know what happened. You didn’t manage to buy it this time, so just wait for the next opportunity. It’s not worth getting so worked up that you ruin your health.”

Mr. Alden heard her words and shook his head helplessly. “If I miss this chance, I’m afraid I won’t get a second one.”

Perry Yates said nothing, because she truly had no intention of giving Mr. Alden a second chance.

“Perry, have you ever met the owner of The Card Tavern while you were there? What’s your relationship with them?”

“You’re tired. You should get some rest.” Perry Yates turned and walked out without looking back. No matter how Mr. Alden called after her from behind, or how the machine began beeping its alarm—BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!—she didn’t stop.

Stepping out of the gates of Alden Manor, Perry Yates took a deep breath.

“The air out here is much fresher, right?”

Xavier Alden’s voice suddenly sounded from behind her.

“You’re out here? Aren’t you afraid the others will bad-mouth you to the old man?”

Hearing this, Xavier Alden shrugged nonchalantly. “Let them. I don’t care.”

“True. You’re the only hope the entire Alden Family has right now. Even if they try to slander you, it probably won’t do much good.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m not the Alden Family’s hope. Me? I’m just a good-for-nothing who’ll never amount to anything.”

As he spoke, Xavier Alden suddenly leaned in and whispered in Perry Yates’s ear, “Am I right, B-O-S-S?”

Perry Yates’s eyes widened in astonishment as she stared at Xavier Alden. The next second, a barrier enveloped the two of them.

“How did you find out?” Perry Yates asked, curious.

Xavier Alden laced his hands behind his head. “I noticed some of your little habits. We did live together for a while, after all.”

“Honestly, it was just a guess at first. Then I watched you carefully for a long time and only recently confirmed it. Don’t worry, I won’t leak your identity.”

Looking at Xavier Alden’s “you can trust me” expression, Perry Yates suddenly broke into a brilliant smile. “Is that so? I don’t believe you!”

With that, a Space Gate opened, and the two of them vanished from the spot.

「Inside The Card Tavern.」

Xavier Alden was unceremoniously thrown out of the Space-Time Gate by Perry Yates.

His body slammed hard onto the floor of the private room. Xavier Alden was seeing stars from the fall. He looked up to see Perry Yates looking down on him, and behind her, the butler with a faint smile and a ferocious-looking white tiger.

“Y-Y-You, what are you trying to do?!”

At that moment, Xavier Alden was filled with regret. He had only wanted to get a little closer to Perry Yates and have her pull some strings for him! If he’d known she was this crazy, he would have taken the secret to his grave.

Xavier Alden shrank into a corner, looking small, pitiful, and helpless.

“Y-You’re not going to kill me to silence me, are you?” Xavier Alden’s voice trembled as he spoke.

“Guess.”

Perry Yates toyed with a dagger that had appeared in her hand at some point, her eyes narrowing slightly.

“C-Could you… could you let me choose how I die? I don’t want it to be too painful,” Xavier Alden said, closing his eyes in resignation.

Even if he had to die, he wanted to go with a little dignity.

Seeing this, Perry Yates rolled her eyes. The dagger in her hand vanished. “Alright, I was just messing with you. I brought you here to sign a contract.”

Xavier Alden’s eyes flew open. “What contract? An employment contract?”

He’d heard that the benefits of working at The Card Tavern were exceptionally generous.

“Dream on. A confidentiality agreement.”

The butler placed the contract in front of him. Its contents were very simple. Xavier Alden was forbidden from revealing Perry Yates’s identity in any direct or indirect manner, be it intentional or unintentional. This applied to any setting, whether people were present or not. Violation of this rule would result in immediate obliteration.

Xavier Alden looked at the contract, hesitated, and asked tentatively, “I promise I won’t say a word. Can I… not sign this?”

“You can.” Perry Yates nodded. “If you don’t sign the contract, then I’ll just have to ask you to wait inside its stomach.”

As she spoke, Perry Yates even patted the tiger’s head.

“I think I’ll sign it then.”

He quickly scribbled his full name on the contract, and only then did Xavier Alden let out a sigh of relief.

“By the way, I really never would have guessed you were the owner of The Card Tavern.”

“There’s nothing to be shocked about. I got lucky, it’s that simple. Now, you can leave.”

Faced with this unceremonious dismissal, Xavier Alden got up and walked out.

After Xavier Alden had left, the butler spoke. “Master, why not just kill him to silence him and be done with it? After all, only the dead can truly keep a secret.”

“There’s no need. I don’t plan on hiding my identity forever. It’ll get out sooner or later. Just not now.”

With that said, Perry Yates also left the private room and headed for the fifth floor to continue performing Ascension on her cards.

After half a month of peaceful life, a shrill alarm suddenly rang in Perry Yates’s ear in the middle of the night.

[A new round of the selection game will begin in three minutes. Please prepare, players. For this game, you are only permitted to bring two item cards. Skill Cards are temporarily locked and can only be unlocked after meeting specific conditions!]