Coiling Dragon

by welyjesch

  If it was all lost, who knew how many years it would be before the Debs clan would return to its former glory?

  Compared to the clan’s future, a little bit of mockery and humiliation wasn’t a big deal. After all, since when did the circle of nobles lack for embarrassing stories?

  “But this has to be of Alice’s own free will.” Nimitz was a bit worried. “I can’t forcibly deliver her to the Right Premier’s manor, after all.”

  Nimitz didn’t care at all about Alice’s purity. She was just a woman, after all!

  But Nimitz knew…

  “This Alice has a special relationship with Linley. If I were to force her, and then Linley found out…” Just thinking about it made Nimitz frightened. Linley had a very special status within the Kingdom of Fenlai.

  Although he had the rank of Marquis, in actuality, Linley belonged to the Radiant Church. In the past, when Clayde had invited Linley to join the ranks of the nobles in the Kingdom of Fenlai, he had even said that between the two of them, there was no need to observe the normal protocols between king and subject.

  Clearly, Clayde desired to pull Linley closer to him.

  And all of the nobles of the Kingdom of Fenlai knew that if Linley were willing, he could probably easily become a Vicar of the Radiant Church. In a few dozen years, it would be quite natural for Linley to become a Cardinal.

  The status of a Cardinal was even higher than that of the King!

  “Can’t force her.” Nimitz felt a headache coming. He was worried that Alice would refuse. He pondered things from Linley’s point of view.

  Alice was, after all, previously Linley’s first love! If he, Nimitz, were to force Alice to meet Merritt, and she were to lose her chastity, how could Linley not explode with rage?

  Within the Debs clan’s manor.

  The clan hall was filled with many members of the Debs clan. Alice and Rowling were there as well. All of them were awaiting the return of Nimitz.

  They were all worrying about the future of the Debs clan!

  “Second Uncle is back! Second Uncle is back!” A middle-aged man standing in the doorway saw Nimitz and began to call out.

  Instantly, all of the members of the Debs clan rushed out towards Nimitz en masse. Alice and Rowling exchanged glances, then rose and went to welcome him as well.

  “Second Uncle, what’s the situation?”

  Nimitz looked at the group of people in front of him. Squeezing out a smile, he said, “The situation isn’t too bad yet. Everyone, go back to your residences. Alice, stay. I need to talk to you.”

  Within the clan, Nimitz had a great deal of authority. Hearing his words, everyone departed.

  Alice was somewhat confused, confused as to what Nimitz wanted to talk to her about.

  “Big sister Alice, I’ll go back to my room now.” Rowling waved towards Alice and said in a quiet voice. A short period of time later, the person left in the hall was Alice.

  Nimitz stepped into the hall.

  “Second Granduncle, what’s wrong?” Alice stuttered.

  Nimitz looked at Alice. Suddenly, he smiled warmly towards her. “Alice, don’t be nervous. Sit down first. Let’s have a good talk.” As he spoke, Nimitz sat down as well.

  Why was Nimitz, who previously was so stern to her, who seemed to always look down on her, being so warm to her now?

  Alice couldn’t help but feel suspicious.

  “Come, sit.” Nimitz’s smile was so kind, so warm.

  Alice nervously sat down.

  Nimitz let out a long breath. Worry appeared between his brows. “Alice, we didn’t expect that this would happen so soon after you and Kalan got engaged. I don’t know who is secretly framing our Debs clan. If I did, I would kill him.” A baleful aura appeared on Nimitz’s face, but then it transformed into a look of helplessness. “But right now, the most important thing is to cleanse this stain from our name, and rescue Kalan and Bernard.”

  Alice nodded.

  But in her heart, Alice was suspicious. “Why is Second Granduncle saying these things to me?”

  Staring at Alice, Nimitz said with sincerity, “Alice, there is something I must beg of you.”

  “Beg me?” Alice was so startled, she rose to her feet.

  Such as Nimitz’s standing within the clan that even the clan leader would be respectful to him. But now, Nimitz was saying that he had to beg her to do something. How could Alice not be shocked?

  “Alice, Lord Merritt is in charge of investigating this allegation that the Debs clan was engaged in the smuggling of water jade. Lord Merritt is very intrigued by you and wants to meet with you privately.”

  Nimitz said urgently to her, “Alice, this is a rare, wonderful opportunity to improve our relationship with him. Only by managing to have a good relationship with Lord Merritt would you be able to help our clan. Alice, you grew up alongside Kalan. You don’t want to see him in jail either, right?”

  Alice was stunned.

  A private meeting?

  Alice was someone who had lived in a noble clan as well, and knew all too well about the shameful things which occurred amongst the nobility. She instantly could guess that this meeting with Lord Merritt would be more than a simple meeting.

  “I…I…” Alice stuttered.

  Nimitz begged, “Alice, our entire Debs clan is relying on you. I can even guarantee that so long as you can pull Lord Merritt to our side, you will be Kalan’s principal wife.”

  Alice felt as though her mind was in shambles.

  Alice was still pure and chaste of body.

  She had refused to cross that last barrier with both Linley and Kalan. Even after getting engaged to Kalan, Alice still insisted on being married before she would enter the bridal bed with him.

  But now she had to go deal with Lord Merritt…

  “Alice, I’m begging you.” Nimitz gritted his teeth, leaving his chair and falling to his knees before her. “Alice, Kalan’s life is in your hands.”

  “Kalan’s life?” Alice trembled.

  Kalan had grown up alongside her. In recent days, in the face of ridicule and scorn from the other members of the Debs clan, it had been Kalan who protected her.

  “Alright. I agree.” Alice gritted her teeth.

  A look of surprised joy appeared on Nimitz’s face, then he hurriedly said, “Wonderful. How about this. Tomorrow at dusk, I’ll arrange for you to be brought to Lord Merritt’s manor.”

  But right now, Alice’s face was extremely pale. She didn’t respond at all.

  That next evening. Escorted by twelve knights, a carriage departed from the Debs clan’s manor, slowly rolling towards the manor of Lord Merritt. Within the carriage was only one person. Alice.

  Alice quietly sat within the carriage, chewing on her lips. Her nervous hands were tightly gripping her dress.

  The carriage continued to roll forward. Quite soon, it arrived at the main gate to Lord Merritt’s manor.

  “Miss Alice, we’re here.” The voice of the carriage driver rang out from outside.

  Hearing his words, Alice’s heart trembled. Her right hand drifted down to her waist. The firmness of the steel dagger by her side helped to slightly calm her mind down.

  Taking a deep breath, Alice pushed open the carriage to the door and stepped out.

  Within the welcoming hall of Lord Merritt’s manor.

  Wearing a jacket on top and a skirt beneath, Alice was dressed relatively conservatively. Step by step, Alice managed to enter the hall relatively calmly. Alice looked around her, but saw nobody there within the hall.

  “Hrm?” Alice couldn’t help but frown.

  Just at this moment, a female attendant ran over. Respectfully, she said, “Miss Alice, the Lord Duke is in his study and would like to invite you there as well.”

  “His study?” Alice shuddered slightly.

  But under the urging gaze of the attendant, Alice still began to walk forwards with her.

  The study was in a very quiet, secluded area. There were very few people
here. Arriving at the door to the study, Alice saw a seemingly middle-aged, golden-haired man standing in front of a study desk, staring at some papers.

  “This is Merritt?” Seeing Merritt, Alice’s first impression was that this was a very fierce person. Even when he sat down at his desk, his back was ramrod straight, and his eyes were sharp.

  “Lord Duke, Miss Alice has arrived.” That female attendant said respectfully.

  Only now did Merritt raise his head. Seeing Alice, he excitedly rose to his feet. “Haha, Miss Alice, you came? I’ve waited for quite a long time. Come, Miss Alice, please sit.” As he spoke, he left his seat and walked towards Alice.

  Alice stepped into the study.

  Alice looked around her. Towards the right side of the study, there were many bookshelves, covered with countless books. On the left side of the study, there was a bed.

  “Often, when I’m reading or taking care of government affairs, I’ll get tired and will rest there.” Duke Merritt said with a smile. At the same time, he walked towards the study door and shut it.

  Seeing the door to the study shut, leaving behind only her and Merritt in the room, Alice grew nervous.

  “Lord Merritt, it’s better if we leave the door to the study open. I’m not accustomed to dark environments.” Alice hurriedly said.

  Book 6, The Road to Revenge – Chapter 16, Limits

  As he closed the door to the study, Merritt heard Alice’s words. He couldn’t help but turn to Alice with a smile. “Miss Alice, we’re going to discuss the affairs of the Debs clan. We can’t discuss those openly and publicly, can we? If his Majesty were to find out, then I would be in serious trouble. You should know that I’m taking on serious risks on behalf of your Debs clan. Best we leave the door closed.”

  Alice was stunned.

  In terms of wordplay, how could Alice match this Lord Merritt, who had engaged in the highest levels of court intrigue for so long?

  Smiling, Merritt walked past her. In front of the bookshelf, there were two chairs around a round table. Merritt would often chat with some of his friends here.

  Merritt first sat down, then looked at Alice. “Alice, you should sit.”

  “Thank you, Lord Merritt.” Alice secretly let out a sigh of relief, then sat down on the opposite chair. The thing which made Alice the most nervous in this study was that bed.

  “Please wait a moment.”

  Smiling, Merritt rose to his feet, then pulled out a bottle of red wine and two wine cups. He poured himself and Alice a cup of wine each.

  “Alice, this is the Bluerain red wine from the Yulan Empire, a sixty-year old vintage. The flavor isn’t bad. Have a taste.” Merritt smiled as he raised his glass to her.

  Alice was somewhat afraid that some sort of knockout drug had been mixed into the wine. But, under Merritt’s gaze, Alice was forced to raise her own glass as well. Only, she just barely touched the wine with her lips.

  Merritt didn’t force her. Changing the topic, he said, “Alice, you and Kalan have already become engaged. I expect you know quite a bit about the affairs of the Debs clan. Did you know they were engaged in smuggling?”

  “No, I didn’t. I think Kalan wouldn’t engage in smuggling.” Alice hurriedly said. “Lord Merritt, the Debs clan is quite powerful. I think they wouldn’t engage in this smuggling business.”

  With a smile that wasn’t a smile, Merritt looked at Alice. “Hard to say.”

  “Ah!”

  Merritt seemed to have seen something, and all of a sudden, he moved next to Alice, so close that his face was mere centimeters away from Alice’s face.

  Startled, Alice hurriedly retreated.

  “Don’t move.” Merritt’s shouted carried a hint of a command.

  Born from long years of being accustomed to power, Merritt’s commanding voice froze Alice in her tracks, as ill at ease as she was. Merritt carefully inspected Alice’s hair, then looked down at Alice.

  Upon lowering his head, his face was now only a few centimeters away from Alice’s. This made Alice hurriedly bend her head away from him.

  Seeing this, Merritt laughed, then returned to his original seat. He let out a helpless sigh. “Just then, I saw a single white hair on your head, but after you moved, I couldn’t see it anymore.”

  A strand of white hair?

  In her heart, Alice began to grow irritated. She lived together with Rowling now, and every morning, when they were bored, they would comb each other’s hair. Often, she would find some white hairs on Rowling’s head. But Rowling often expressed envy towards Alice, as she could never find white hair on Alice’s head.

  Rowling couldn’t find any white hair despite combing Alice’s hair every day. How could Merritt have found any?

  But Alice didn’t dare to say this.

  “Alice, you are still young. Don’t be too upset. If you are upset, you’ll age faster, and thus have white hair.” Merritt said solicitously.

  Alice only quietly listened to him as he spoke.

  Merritt nudged his chair in Alice’s direction, then fixed his gaze upon Alice. “Alice, you are quite beautiful, you know. Your charm and aura of refinement is really quite mesmerizing to behold.”

  Alice couldn’t help but feel shy and nervous.

  Merritt leaned forward slightly, staring intensely at Alice. “Alice. Those wives of mine, all they care about are superficial things like money and glory. They seem so vulgar, so low. But you are totally different. Truly, you are, you know. The very first time I saw you, I was stunned.”

  “I very much regret that I ended up marrying women such as them.” Merritt suddenly reached out and held Alice’s hand. Alice’s eyes suddenly widened. Merritt continued to look at Alice. “Alice, if I…if I were to tell you that I love you from the bottom of my heart, that I am smitten with you, would you believe me?”

  Alice hurriedly stood up…but Merritt maintained his tight grip on her hand.

  “Lord Merrit, Lord Merritt. I’m the fiancée of Kalan!” Alice struggled, and only after three attempts was she able to break free from Merritt’s grip.

  Merritt looked at Alice with a smile. “As you say, you are only a fiancée, which means you aren’t married yet. You totally can marry another. As for Kalan, what does a kid like him know about having fun?”

  As he spoke, Merritt once more moved nearer to Alice, while Alice continued to move back.

  But in her nervousness, Alice didn’t notice in the slightest that Merritt was pressuring her into the direction of the bed.

  “Alice. I really have fallen for you. I swear!” Merritt stared soulfully at Alice.

  Merritt wasn’t lying. Over the course of admiring the sculpture ‘Awakening From the Dream’, and then upon seeing Alice herself, he really did fall for Alice. But this sort of ‘falling for’ was only a desire to possess.

  “Lord Merritt!” Alice was growing frantic.

  Suddenly, Alice’s back legs collided with the bed. Knocked off balance, Alice fell backwards onto the mattress.

  A hint of a smile appeared on Merritt’s face. He immediately threw himself on top of Alice, all but pressing his body against hers. “Alice, my goddess, please satisfy the desires of this mortal who has been mesmerized by you. If you satisfy my desires, I’ll satisfy yours as well and clear the unjust stains from the Debs clan.”

  Clear the stains of the Debs clan?

  Staring at Merritt who was right on top of her, Alice couldn’t help but suddenly think back to a night she had been with Linley at a small hotel. The two of them had entangled themselves lustfully, but at the very end, she had stopped Linley.

  How could she give up her chastity to this man in front of her?

  “My goddess, come to me.” Merritt’s voice was very soft, as though he was trying to hypnotize her.

  “No. No!”

  Alice suddenly pulled the dagger from her waist and thrust it at Merritt. At the same time, the stones on the floor flew at Merritt.

  Alice was an earth-style magus, after all!
<
br />   But Merritt himself was a powerful warrior. His reflexes were very fast, and he quickly dodged to one side while at the same time slapping the dagger out of Alice’s hand.

  Alice instantly dodged towards the other side, running for the door.

  But with a flicker of his body, Merritt appeared between her and the door. With a smile that was not a smile on his face, he looked at Alice. “Alice. Do you still want to resist? Based on your prowess as a magus and that little knife, you want to resist me?”

  “Lord Merritt, let me leave.” By now, Alice was firm in her resolve.

  “You no longer wish to save the Debs clan? You don’t wish to save your fiancé, Kalan?” Merritt asked.

  Alice’s eyes were determined. Gritting her teeth, she said, “Although I do wish to save them, this is not the way to do it. You beast!”

  “Beast?” The expression on Merritt’s face changed. He coldly said, “Originally, I wanted for the mood to be a bit more romantic, but since you refuse to cooperate, then I’ll show you what a beast really looks like.”

  Alice’s face turned pale.

  “Merritt. Don’t go too far.” Frightened, Alice quickly retreated, grabbing the chair next to her and smashing it at Merritt.

  With a single fist, Merritt easily broke the chair apart.

  “Don’t resist. This place…is my manor.” Merritt said with a soft laugh.

  Watching Merritt draw step by step closer to her, Alice gritted her teeth and said wildly, “Merritt! You’d best not forget that I once was Linley’s woman!”

  These words halted Merritt in his tracks, stunning him.

  Alice really did not want to say these words. She knew that her actions of the past had wounded Linley very deeply, and she didn’t want to have anything more to do with him. But at this point in time, she could think of no other way.

  “Linley?” Standing there without moving, Merritt frowned.

  Biting her lips, Alice stared at Merritt. “Merritt, I can pretend that nothing at all happened today. But if you go too far, then don’t blame me when I also go all-out afterwards. I trust you know how influential Linley is now.”