'...hope she doesn't go hard on him,' Avendial stepped outside the hospital, tugging his shirt out of his pants as he did so. Loosening the fabric around him brought a wave of comfort, allowing him to relax.
Unbuttoning the upper button of his shirt, with the sleeves rolled up and a nonchalant look, his one hand resting in his pocket, he clearly appeared eye-catching.
Evidence from a few of the nurses and women around showed that they were glancing at him, which he was definitely aware of, but he needed to use all the available strength he had to influence their minds.
Naturally, he was just above the hierarchy in the present world, sitting at the highest point of the food chain, at least for a few more months—making him seem most likable for now.
Ignoring those things, he focused his eyes around as the reason he acted this way—unbuttoning his shirt, ruffling his hair, with the sleeves folded and a hand resting in his pocket.
His clear aim was to observe the reactions of nearby women to distinguish who among them were from the Sertsul family.
He was definitely not a narcissist, but having gone through the tower and seen how many women, he at least knew that for an average person, he was quite attractive and could definitely make women keep looking at him or at least show some kind of reaction.
However, this wasn't the case for professionals who were not average at all, like well-trained individuals from Sertsul family.
'24?' Due to the presence of hospital staff and patients evacuating the place, there were enough people among whom Avendial was able to count a total of 24 women who seemed unfazed or were at least trying to look unfazed, prompting him to ascertain their origin.
Even after knowing that he was surrounded by members of the Sertsul family, which he had anticipated, since they were the noble family with the most control in the free cities, he kept a composed demeanor, not feeling threatened by them.
In his past life, everyone from the Croceaus family was massacred at the hands of an Empyreal sent by the royal family, except for Avendial, who, by chance, was able to kill him.
At that time, he was cornered to devise a strategy without any backup. After being denied help from Princess Katheria Arinphiam, one of the servants named Sam revealed his identity as a spy from the Sertsul family.
While it was not surprising for Avendial to discover that there was a spy from the Sertsul family, given that he had already been betrayed by many former members of the family who had allied with different factions or had revealed themselves as spies, it was confusing that Sam himself had come to him, revealing his identity instead of just backstabbing or betraying him like others.
Sam offered to assist Avendial by informing him about the Empyreal's attack and bringing the members of the Sertsul family for reinforcement.
At that time, Avendial, having no method to survive, had ordered him to do that, but of course, Sam never returned.
.net
After entering the tower, when everything was scattered around, Avendial didn't bother to establish contact with the Sertsul family, given his prejudice against their behavior regarding businesses related to prostitution.
Even though it was completely hypocritical of him, as he invested in their business but didn't want to associate with them.
.
.
Inside the hospital's hallroom,
Aecilia's eyes went through the information displayed on her phone screen, which had already been gathered by the members of the Sertsul family who were keeping an eye on her movements and had collected all these details in case their boss asked for it.
As Aecilia did, she got the information within a few seconds, further adding "...didn't have money to even provide treatment for her mother, took debts from his colleague, and to escape it, tried to commit suicide, tch, how pathetic."
"NO!" Leo instinctively yelled, not accepting the nonsense this woman was spouting. Earlier he had been surprised, but that quickly turned into anger the moment he heard her condemning him for running away from his life and trying to commit suicide. "IT WAS AN ACCIDENT, DAMN IT!!"
He tried to control himself and remain composed, but as soon as he heard her call out his father's name and reveal secrets he wanted to bury, he felt his mind snap.
"Oh, was it?" Aecilia, seeing how Avendial had already left the place, remained alone with Leo. She acted out of character, adopting a cold gaze as she turned toward the sofa, folding her legs with her arms crossed. With a smirk, she looked at Leo in an effort to put him in his place. In a sharp and mocking tone, she added, "I heard your father left your mother because he found a hooker for himself.
Doesn't that make a hooker better than your mom—"
"DAMN YOU!!!" With a roar and clenched fists, Leo didn't care about the world; his anger had taken over. He dashed toward Aecilia, and due to his advanced physique, he covered the short distance of ten steps in seconds, arriving just one hand away from her as he was about to swing his fist.
In that fleeting moment, mid-air, his eyes noticed Aecilia's lips muttering something while her head casually leaned on her hand, looking at him mockingly with an impassive gaze.
The words she said were: "Pathetic."
Within mid-air, seven shadows suddenly arrived behind Leo.
BANG!
THUD!
"Kyaaarrghhhh!" Leo's body slammed into the ground as if some force had struck him, flattening him against the surface as if gravity had increased ten to twelve times. He broke the tiles beneath him as his body collided so intensely that all the bones in his body fractured again from the force, which felt as if it came from several individuals.
"Should we kill him, my lady?" Seven womanly figures in black robes, their bodies completely covered, placed their legs on Leo's body, pressing him down with all their might, revealing their identity as assassins from the Nightcrawlers.
"Nah, leave him. He is too weak to do anything," Aecilia said, glancing toward the door as Avendial appeared to be returning after a conversation with Mathew. In a calm tone, she ordered, "Clean this place and send this man to the hotel after a thorough interrogation in an hour."