Chapter 192 - 184: Fatal Temptation

Chapter 192: Chapter 184: Fatal Temptation

"I..."

Vili hesitated.

If Lady Anita hadn’t been there, he definitely would have agreed. But after seeing her, Vili found he just wasn’t interested in the girl anymore.

Just as Vili was trying to think of a tactful way to refuse the young woman in his arms, a mature and enchanting voice sounded by his ear. "I’m sorry, little one, but I believe he already has an appointment with me tonight."

Vili looked over, almost instinctively.

It was Lady Anita.

Lady Anita was watching him with a smile.

Vili was a little surprised. He hadn’t expected Lady Anita to approach him so discreetly.

"Lady Anita..."

The young woman had been annoyed at first, but upon realizing it was Lady Anita, her expression turned timid.

In Golden Flower City, Lady Anita’s status was exceptionally high. She was Count Lumbar’s own niece and had grown up by his side, making her like a daughter to the Count. With a status like that, few in Dawei Province could outrank her.

"I’m so sorry, but he’s my dance partner now."

Lady Anita almost domineeringly stole Vili away.

The young woman forced a smile, gave Lady Anita a curtsy, and quickly turned away.

She didn’t linger. Instead, she walked right out of the ballroom and left the party, clearly crestfallen.

"You’re quite the charmer..."

Lady Anita took Vili’s hand and naturally picked up the dance steps from before, moving to the soft, gentle rhythm of the music.

"Lady Anita, hello..."

Vili still couldn’t understand why Lady Anita had taken the initiative to be his dance partner.

’I don’t think I did anything to stand out earlier,’ he thought.

’Could it be true what Kirk said? That Lady Anita has a special fondness for handsome young men?’

At that thought, Vili felt a rush of heat. That, combined with Lady Anita’s perfume, suddenly made him feel the same way the young woman had felt toward him just moments before.

"Hello, Vili Ferren..."

Lady Anita and Vili continued their dance.

"You know my name?"

Vili was quite surprised.

"The hero who defeated the Wata Duchy’s cavalry—how could I not know your name?"

It seemed Lady Anita had long since figured out Vili’s identity.

Vili frowned slightly and didn’t press the matter.

"My lady, why did you seek me out for a dance?"

This was Lady Anita’s first dance of the evening. Vili could feel everyone’s eyes on him—the men’s full of envy, the women’s full of jealousy.

"Weren’t you the one who was trying to get my attention?"

Lady Anita tilted her head back to look at Vili, her crystal-clear, sapphire-blue eyes twinkling with amusement.

Vili leaned in a little closer. "Was I?"

"Just now, you were dancing with someone else, but your gaze never left me, did it?"

A faint smile touched Lady Anita’s lips.

Hearing this, Vili looked surprised.

He was sure he had been discreet, and Lady Anita hadn’t even glanced his way. How had she noticed?

"How did you know?"

Vili was genuinely curious.

Lady Anita chuckled. "Never underestimate the Perception Ability of a Star Speaker."

"A Star Speaker?"

Vili’s eyes widened in shock. He never would have imagined that Lady Anita was a Star Speaker.

The Star Speaker was one of the most mysterious of all Extraordinary Professions among Secret Masters.

Their Ability was similar to that of a Divination Master; it was said they communicated with the Power of Starlight to foresee the future.

To bring a degree of certainty to an uncertain future—it was a truly terrifying thought.

However, the abilities of most Star Speakers were generally suppressed by the Power of Natural Mystery, making them highly limited. They couldn’t directly see what would happen in the future, nor could they see too far ahead. They could only make rough predictions about near-future events, and even then, there was a chance of failure.

But even so, the Ability was still formidable.

"I never thought that you, Lady Anita, would be a Star Speaker..."

Vili felt that Lady Anita had just become even more mysteriously alluring.

"Frankly, I never would have guessed that you are a Hanged Man."

Lady Anita responded just as directly, her eyes filled with curiosity as she looked at Vili. "The Hanged Men I’ve known all had extremely strict codes of justice. When upholding justice and punishing evil, none of them showed any sign of personal desire. But you... you’re very different."

In truth, this was the very reason Lady Anita had approached Vili.

It was purely out of curiosity.

Generally speaking, the Hanged Men who could awaken the Heart of Justice were basically devoid of personal desires. Most of them wandered the world, making it their mission to end evil. It was extremely rare to find one like Vili, who considered protecting his own territory his greatest justice. And one who could do so while still harboring personal desires? They were simply nonexistent.

"Everyone’s code of justice is different."

Vili suddenly realized that his identity as a Hanged Man had already helped him immensely, in unseen ways.

’It seems the title of Hanged Man is a natural halo.’

"You are young, yet I can’t see through you."

Lady Anita’s gaze was aggressive.

"I can give you a chance to get to know me."

Vili met Lady Anita’s eyes directly.

The two stared at each other, as if each was trying to see through the other.

But neither succeeded.

Lady Anita was the first to laugh. "Come on, let’s go for a stroll outside."

"Where to?"

The corner of Vili’s mouth curved up.

"You’ll know when we get there."

With that, Lady Anita stopped dancing, took Vili’s arm, and the two of them walked out of the ballroom together.

In the distance, Kirk, who had been intimately joking with a noblewoman, suddenly saw Vili and Lady Anita leave the ballroom arm in arm.

"That kid Vili..."

A look of deep envy flashed in Kirk’s eyes.

Although he had long heard the rumors that Lady Anita fancied handsome young men, neither he nor anyone he knew had ever seen it with their own eyes.

Now, seeing Lady Anita walk out of the ballroom with Vili confirmed the rumors.

It wasn’t just Kirk; the other men all wore the same expression.

「Outside the ballroom.」

"Where are we going?"

Vili asked Lady Anita beside him.

Lady Anita hailed a carriage and replied to Vili, "To my residence in Golden Flower City."

"Is that a good idea? Viscountess Vivian, she..."

Vili knew Lady Anita had a daughter who was a viscountess.

If Vivian was there, it would be... inconvenient for the two of them.

"It’s fine. She’s not in Golden Flower City. She’s in her own fief."

It seemed Lady Anita had already made all the arrangements.

The two of them boarded the carriage together.

Ten-odd minutes later, they stopped at a small, loft-style manor.

"Let’s go up."

There were Guards in front of the manor, and servants inside were ready to receive them.

However, when the Guards and servants saw Vili, their eyes showed surprise, but they all did their best to hide it.

"To my bedroom. Perhaps I can probe for some interesting things there."

"Interesting things?"

Vili didn’t quite understand what Lady Anita meant.

"You’ll find out soon enough."

Lady Anita released Vili’s arm and walked ahead of him, ascending the stairs.

Vili pressed his lips together, paused for a moment, and then quickly followed.