What malicious intent could NPCs possibly have? C32.2

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Chp32. part2

Since no one else was there, the sound was particularly noticeable.

Creak—

Near the study, a row of bookshelves on the wall was slowly sliding open.

Though Ning Ge knew she had been allowed to enter the Queen’s room alone, her instincts kicked in. She immediately pulled open the velvet floor-to-ceiling curtains beside her and hid behind them.

Seeing her action, Iris hesitated for a moment before obediently hiding behind the curtains on the other side.

Ning Ge peered through the gap in the curtains and watched as the bookshelves swung open.

It was a secret door.

A man tiptoed in.

He was lavishly dressed and handsome—the Queen’s male companion, the owner of the lily-shaped gold buttons—Mosh.

“Her Majesty the Queen?” he called softly.

Seeing no one answered, he grew bolder, his expression relaxing.

He strode to the desk, picked up a stack of documents centered on the surface, and pulled a sheet of paper from his pocket.

He flipped through the documents from beginning to end, bending down occasionally to jot notes on the paper.

After a long period of activity, he finally put the documents down, returning them to their original positions. He carefully examined everything, adjusting objects for a long time to ensure no trace of tampering remained.

Only then did he open a small crystal jar on the desk.

As soon as the lid was lifted, a peculiar, sweet, and refreshing fragrance filled the room.

Ning Ge strained to get a better look. Fortunately, she wasn’t too far away and could clearly see small, red berries inside, each coated in a thin layer of white frost.

Mosh took a small vial from his pocket, uncorked it, and gently tapped it above the jar.

A pinch of fine white powder drifted into the jar.

The powder settled on the berries, blending seamlessly with their original frost coating.

He looks like he’s poisoning something, Ning Ge thought.

She glanced at the countdown on her bracelet and mentally grumbled, If you’re going to poison something, hurry up. Just get it done and leave. Don’t waste other people’s time.

Mosh showed no sign of leaving. His attention was diverted by other documents on the table, and he began rummaging through them again. When he was finished, he carefully put everything back in its original place, dawdling.

A gentle breeze swirled in through the window. Beside Ning Ge, an unlatched windowpane swung slightly, emitting a soft click

Mosh’s head snapped up, his gaze sweeping in their direction.

It’s just the wind, Ning Ge thought. Can’t you tell the difference?

Mosh clearly couldn’t.

He swiftly tightened the cap on the small vial, slipped it into his pocket, resealed the crystal jar, and began walking toward them.

Ning Ge was speechless. Everyone else hears a sound and mistakenly thinks it’s the wind. Who else would hear the wind and assume someone’s hiding here? Is there something wrong with your brain?

Mosh kept approaching, as if intending to pull back the curtain.

Ning Ge didn’t want to cause trouble while on a mission, but she had no choice. If he caught her watching him poison the target, she’d have to confront him directly.

He was tall and muscular, towering over Ning Ge by more than a head, and exuded a palpable sense of threat. The physical disparity between them made her instinctively tense.

Ning Ge knew there was nothing to fear.

Because Puppet Servant Iris was there.

Wooden Puppets and humans were on completely different levels of strength. She had seen the previous Wooden Puppet effortlessly subdue a man, and there was an entire row of Wooden Puppet Guards outside the door—they would come running at a single call.

Though the Wooden Puppets weren’t human and their appearance could be unsettling, especially when poorly made, making them look like ghosts, their presence brought her immense reassurance.

Their existence eliminated the natural physical disparity between Ning Ge and Mosh. In the face of the Puppet Servants’ overwhelming strength, that small difference in physical strength meant nothing.

Once she learned to control them, they would become her most reliable friends.

Since Mosh had come over, there was no need to hide any longer. Ning Ge planned to step out from behind the curtains herself.

But someone was faster than her.

Iris suddenly threw aside the curtains and stepped out.

He stood there silently, staring at Mosh.

Mosh was startled at first, but when he recognized Iris, he calmed down.

“Sneaking around like this… so it was you. Where’s your Viscountess?”

“My Lady is resting. I came up to get a book for her.” So Iris could lie, and without even batting an eye.

Mosh nodded, studying him from head to toe.

“You’ve been hiding behind the curtains the whole time?” Mosh asked.

“I was looking for a book,” Iris replied calmly, his long lashes fluttering. “Even if I wasn’t, what could you do to me for seeing what you were up to?”

He showed no fear of Mosh. Even as a delicate wooden puppet, his strength far surpassed Mosh’s.

Iris took a quiet step forward.

Mosh instinctively retreated a step.

But Mosh wasn’t alarmed. Instead, he smiled.

His face twisted into a sneer as he ground out the words between his teeth.

“You disgusting wooden things think you can do everything over us,” he snarled. “Do you really believe no man in the Empire can control a puppet?”

He closed his eyes slightly.

Ning Ge immediately sensed it.

She felt countless invisible strands of Thought Silk emanating from Mosh, all converging on Iris. The strands tightened abruptly as a surge of spiritual power shot through them.

Iris shuddered violently, struggling desperately.

Iris could also use Thought Silk and spiritual power. He had used them once before when lighting the torch, but it wasn’t enough to break free from Mosh’s control.

To Mosh’s surprise, Iris hadn’t blocked his Thought Silk.

Mosh chuckled. “Didn’t expect I could control you, did you? Her Majesty the Queen didn’t just teach me how to control a puppet, she even taught me how to break through a Viscountess’s puppet’s Thought Silk shielding when she was in a good mood.”

Mosh opened his eyes.

“Just like that headless little brat last time. After I leave, forget everything that happened in this room and jump out that window yourself.”

With that, he abruptly withdrew his Thought Silk.

Iris collapsed to his knees as if all strength had drained from him.

Mosh gave him a cold glance, turned to the bookshelf, pressed a switch, and disappeared through the hidden door.

The bookshelf rotated back into place, restoring its original appearance.

But Iris was clearly not right.

After Mosh left, he rose like a lost soul and walked blankly toward the open window.

Mosh’s command had worked; Iris was genuinely about to jump.

Ning Ge swiftly emerged from behind the curtains.

Countless strands of Thought Silk shot out, latching onto Iris, causing him to freeze abruptly.

“Come back, you silly child,” Ning Ge said softly.

Only then did Iris turn around, his eyes filled with confusion. “my Lady? What are you doing here?”

Mosh had indeed erased that recent memory with his spiritual power.

“You forgot? You came up with me to look for something,” Ning Ge replied.

He had only lost the memories from after they entered the room. Iris immediately recalled, “Right! I came in with you to look for the Gold Medal.”

Seeing he was alright, Ning Ge nodded. “Yes, let’s keep looking for the Gold Medal.”

Mosh had caused quite a commotion and wasted a lot of time. Ning Ge hurried to another open window.

This window, like the one the Viscountess often sat by, protruded slightly outward. Peering down from it, one could see the vast expanse of blooming violet flowers below.

It was the spot Little Husky had once said felt like “stepping on the grave of a past life.”

Before Mosh entered, Ning Ge had already noticed that Little Husky seemed to have fallen from this very window.

After Mosh’s words, Ning Ge became even more certain.

It was highly likely that Little Husky had mischievously snuck in, stumbled upon Mosh doing something suspicious, been controlled by the Puppet Manipulation Technique, forced to jump down, and had his memory erased.

That explained everything.

This window, from which Little Husky had jumped, was a special location crucial to the mission’s guidance for Ning Ge. The Gold Medal might be nearby.

Ning Ge searched the area around the window thoroughly for a long time.

Nothing.

She leaned out to look again and suddenly noticed something small glinting in the sunlight in a crevice on the narrow, foot-wide ledge just outside the window.

Ning Ge leaned out, but couldn’t reach it.

Just then, the door opened again.

This time, it wasn’t the secret door behind the bookshelf, but the main entrance.

The Queen, wearing her crown and a simple, elegant robe, entered the room.

Ning Ge had no choice but to turn around, first bowing to the Queen and then silently glancing at her bracelet.

Six minutes remained on the countdown.