Chapter 193: Progress

Adrian looked at Irene. "Have you watched everything?"

"Yes." She nodded with a straight face.

"Now, do you trust me?"

She thought for a moment before nodding.

"Let's sleep." He lied down.

Irene went to the changing room and donned her nightie. She went to the bed. Bodily fluids from three persons- both sticky and dilute- made a mess on her side of the bedsheet. A weird smell permeated through her nostrils. But she nonchalantly got up and lied down facing him.

He wrapped his arm around her into a snuggle. His hard and wet cock which was still exposed poked her stomach, dirtying her night dress. His chest pressed against her soft bosom.

But her face remained expressionless as she closed her eyes. His eyes followed.

The tiring day came to an end.

******

Several days passed.

Both Adrian and and Irene were sitting on the sofas reserved for them in the meeting room.

A few people were standing with their heads down just ahead. Unlike before, not everyone were present. A few were absent- but none of them were women,

Adrian kept tapping on the wooden armrest, causing rhythmic notes to reverberate through the air. 

After a few moments, it stopped.

Adrian darted his eyes around before fixing them upon Samira Nedal, the woman with whom he shared a night before.

Feeling his gaze, she took a step forward and craned her neck up, looking into his eyes.

"Greetings, boss." She greeted with a charming and mature voice. "Everything's going well for the Pink Willows. We were able to hook a few big fishes. I took it upon my own hands to entertain them and gave them a night they would never be able to forget. They should already be running around singing our praises."

"Don't go overboard." Adrian advised. "Or the Pink Willows will not have any clients. The only one who would have them is you."

"I had already thought of that." She replied, her voice turned smug. "It was just a first time offer with a 90% discount. If they can bring out a hefty amount of magic crystals, I don't mind. After all, I am quite expensive."

"Oh yes, I can see that." He scanned through her body with a piercing gaze. Even a thick skinned prostitute like Samira blushed.

"But don't forget. Resources are nice and all, but the Pink Willows's goal is information."

"I understand." She bowed. "I was able to fish out something from their minds and had already relayed the information to Eustace."

"Good job." He waved his hand and gave the empty spot where the light blue eyed youth would usually stand.

The madam took a step back and returned to her previous position.

His eyes then slid to the young short lady who looked as if she were a teenager. Her skin was a bit tanned and she gave off an aura of solitude.

Ley the Thief stepped up and bowed. She had a small fibrous sack hanging from her shoulders.

"Greetings, boss." She briefly bowed before putting the sack on the wooden floor.

Just as it touched the ground, a heavy clank resounded through the room. 

She untied the mouth of the bag and carefully brought out a thick metallic chain. She stretched her arms wide open held the two ends of the iron rope. Hanging on them were seven cylindrical iron cages which were just a bit bigger than the size of fists.

The bars of the cages were spaced out apart from each other, making it easy for someone to look at the contents within. And inside the seven small cages were seven human hearts.

They looked fresh due to the bloody redness they were giving off, and they seemed to hover inside the cages, untouched by anything. Undoubtedly there were some magic circles in them doing the trick.

Ley looked at the human hearts with utter nonchalance. If her eyes were betraying anything, it would be regret and disappointed- as the hearts remained still, not making a beat.

But Adrian- he was not impressed.

"Only seven?" He raised his brows.

Colours seemed to drain from the poor girl's face. She could not keep up the cold blooded facade any longer. "I.. I can explain!" She lowered the chains a bit.

"Oh… they were already dead by the time you got there?" Adrian rubbed his chin. "Interesting."

The fact that the monster who defeated her brother with one hand could read her mind did not improve her condition at all. If anything, it made her miss her brother.

"Ye… yes!" She nodded like a pecking chicken. "By the time I got there, their heads were already gone. And I don't steal hearts that don't beat."

"Looks like her training is going well." He smirked as he muttered to himself, his fingertips still touching his chin.

Ley knitted her brows but stayed silent, waiting her judgment.

"Good job." Adrian commended. "It doesn't matter whether you killed them or not, why matters is the fact that are they dead or not. And you had a 100% completion on your first task."

"Thank you." The young tanned girl heaved a sigh of relief and smiled. The smiled matched her stature; it was that of a child's.

Adrian waved his hand, prompting her to return to her spot.

His eyes landed on the final occupant of the room, barring Irene of course.

Elise stepped forward and bowed, trying her best to hide the redness of her face. "Greetings boss." Unlike the others, she did not dare to directly look at his face.

Samira inwardly shook her head. "Youth." She sighed.

"When are we heading for the capital?" Elise meekly asked, her eyes still on the ground.

"Do you have any contract there?" 

"No."

"Then, we need a guide."

"I will try to search for one."

"Don't bother."

"Pardon?" She finally looked at him with raised brows.

"I recently got some wonderful news." He smiled. "Someone from the Imperial family is coming to visit Edenshield in a few days."

"What?!" Everyone except Irene cried out.

His smile turned into a grin- an evil one.

"And who can be a better guide for us than someone with imperial blood running through her veins?"