[BL] Seducing Male Leads To Survive As A Villain In A Novel-Chapter 345: Speculation

"Hey..." the guard called, walking up to Eden and Helen from behind, his eyes fixed on them. "Turn around... Show us your faces..."

They didn’t. For a minute, the two of them stood there, staring ahead. Eden slowly clenched his fist, building up some power around him. He was preparing reinforcements for himself in case they caught him. He had to protect himself.

But Helen held his hand to stop him from using his powers. She cast him a stare before she turned and smiled at the guard before her.

"How may we help you, sir?" She raised an eyebrow.

The man stared at her. "Take off your mask," he insisted. She hesitated but removed it. He didn’t recognize her anyway.

"We’re in a hurry to get somewhere... So I don’t know why you’re stopping us here... I don’t think it’s very appropriate. Is there a reason?" Helen asked with a smile.

The guard didn’t reply. He wasn’t looking in her direction, but was staring Eden’s way. "And who’s that? Hey... Turn around too..."

Eden didn’t.

"Well, he has a disfigured face so he doesn’t feel very comfortable doing that... I’d appreciate it if you respected his decision..." She smiled.

But the guard didn’t seem to care. "Hey, this is an Imperial order. Turn around now if you don’t want to be taken down," he threatened.

Helen tried talking him out of it, but the guard was already making his way toward Eden.

Eden, on the other hand, clenched his fist, fully ready to strike him down if he touched him—even if it meant using his powers in public. Masking his real face with an illusion hadn’t crossed his mind in that brief moment.

"I wonder what’s happening here," someone said from behind, automatically stopping everything.

The guard and Helen turned to see who it was. Eden didn’t need to turn; he could already tell who it was from the voice.

The guards recognized Adrian, the Grand Marquis of Valencrest. Even though he was just a marquis of another kingdom, he was still a popular and respected figure in the capital city for his achievements.

"Greetings," the guards said.

Adrian was on his horse as he stared at Eden’s back. He asked the guards again, "What’s happening here?"

The guard explained, then added, "So we’re checking everyone here."

"Don’t worry about him. He’s with me." That was all Adrian needed to say.

The guards didn’t argue. They simply agreed and left to continue their search.

Eden slowly turned and stared up at Adrian, his mask still on. Their eyes met as he smiled. "Nice to meet you again."

****

Adrian, Helen, and Eden had gotten into Adrian’s carriage. They sat on opposite sides as they quietly moved through the bustling streets of the night.

"I saw the show you put on. It was quite a show. So I knew I had to come save your ass, because I could tell what comes after," Adrian smiled. "And I was right when I saw some guards going around."

Eden sighed, folding his arms. "Who would have thought the Emperor would be quick enough to dispatch guards to find me? It’s as though they predicted I’d intervene tonight."

Adrian smiled. "He’s been meaning to kill you for ages—of course he’s more than prepared every second." He stared at him. "Did you have to use your powers now? Because now he’ll be actively out to get you. And he’ll probably have more information by tomorrow."

Eden sighed. "At least I knew I had to stop whatever was happening. It was either that or let someone steal the souls of innocent people," he explained. "Besides, I can take them down even if they come. I am a wizard, after all."

Adrian smiled, stretched out his hand, and tapped him on the head. "You should at least be careful. You can’t underestimate what the Emperor is capable of. He seems pretty calculative."

Helen stared at them. "Don’t get all lovey-dovey here. We’re probably being tracked by the Emperor. So we have to find a way out of the mess we’re already in." 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Eden ran a hand over his chin. "The real question here... should actually be why someone is using dark magic to steal souls. Specifically, the Emperor..."

Helen and Adrian stared at him.

"What do you mean by that?" Adrian asked.

"The Emperor?" Helen confirmed.

Eden slowly nodded. "While I was clearing the air, I tried tracking where the spell was coming from and caught a glimpse of its source. It was at the temple, where the Emperor was."

The two of them sat quietly, staring as Eden explained.

Eden added, "The Emperor was the only one who didn’t need cleansing... From the looks of things, he was aware of what was happening... along with the priest."

Silence fell between them as they stared at each other.

"Are you sure about what you’re saying?" Adrian confirmed.

"Yes, I am. I had to cross-check a couple of times. Which brings me to the conclusion that the Emperor has a hand in all this spirit-snatching."

Helen gasped. "Him again..."

Eden nodded. "Yes. That’s the theory I told you about. You said you suspect the Emperor for what happened to your people years ago... And I think you’re right. Because what happened today sounds similar to what you described."

Eden tilted his head as he said, "Strangely, the Emperor is collaborating with the priest and using some black magic to steal souls or kill people..."

Helen ran a hand through her hair. Terrible memories from her past rushed through her head. She couldn’t help but recall how she lost her parents and her people in a similar situation years back.

It brought back traumatic memories. "I said... that bastard... he should be taken down... he should..."

"But I don’t understand... why would he want to steal the souls of everyone there? Wouldn’t that mean killing everyone in an instant? That would be too obvious, so why would he do that?"