Blushing deeply, Vanessa immediately yanked her ankle out of Ethan's hands and rolled off the shamefully long table.
Don't be fooled by how tipsy she looked—besides being a woman, she was also a Magic Knight, a proud member of the Black Bull squad.
Drinking didn't dull her awareness of her surroundings.
When Ethan first approached her, she'd already sensed him and was only pretending to be drunk—curious about what he planned to do.
She never expected him to bring her here, and do that in front of so many people…
Even if he had no bad intentions, this was way too… much.
"Ahem… hey, don't misunderstand! I'm not that kind of guy!" Ethan said seriously.
Wasn't she supposed to be drunk?
How did she go from blacked out to completely fine like some undercover agent from 007?
This was awkward!
"I know," Vanessa replied calmly, fixing her clothes. "Otherwise, I would've already…"
She had suspected Ethan might try something at first, but in the end… the guy just kept rocking the table.
She honestly felt like she was dealing with an idiot.
A beautiful woman like her right there, and he chooses to play with the table instead?
Was he… still a kid?
"Well, here's the deal…"
Ethan knew if he didn't explain himself, he wouldn't be walking out of that cell anytime soon.
Besides, the plan was done—no need to hide anything now.
"So that's what it was. And here I thought you were just another perv," Vanessa rolled her eyes at him.
A kid not even twenty, who could come up with such a twisted plan involving… ahem, staged "group activities" to trick someone.
Should she call him ruthless? Or just clever and adaptable?
"Alright, Vanessa, my lovely lady," Ethan chuckled nervously, "I'll bring you two bottles of top-quality wine to apologize another day. But for now—I've got somewhere to be!"
He rubbed his nose sheepishly and dashed away.
He'd enjoyed playing the part a little too much—no way he wanted to stick around and risk getting slapped.
The smile on his face faded quickly as he turned calm and cold.
With steady steps, Ethan walked toward the first level of the prison.
"Well, Rades, what did you think? Quite the show, huh? If you want, I can set up a session for you too," Ethan said as he arrived at Rades' cell, holding a small metal box and speaking in a devilish tone.
Even though Rades didn't respond, Ethan could tell from his face—he'd gotten through.
"Catherine has already confessed. Whether you do or not doesn't matter anymore," Ethan said quietly.
"I just think it's a shame. You're holding onto this secret so tightly… but it might just get you killed for it."
"What do you mean?" Rades frowned.
"Your boss wants to save you—but he can't. Think about it. If you were in his shoes, what would you do?"
If I were him…
What would I do…
Only the dead take secrets to the grave.
Licht… might be planning to kill him.
"Heh. I think you already know the answer," Ethan said, a cold smile curling on his lips.
"So how about a bet? Catherine already spilled everything. Whether you talk or not won't change much.
But if Licht really cares about you and tries to rescue you—even if he fails—I'll let you go, no questions asked.
But if he sends someone to kill you…"
Rades sneered. "And you'd just let me go? What if the Wizard King holds you accountable?"
"That's my problem, not yours," Ethan smirked. "Here, just to prove my sincerity—your grimoire."
He opened the metal box to reveal a grimoire with only a single page.
The owner wasn't dead, so the grimoire couldn't be destroyed—but it could be sealed.
Rades took the grimoire with disbelief still lingering in his eyes.
His thoughts raced—should he take the chance and break out now?
But seeing Ethan's amused yet watchful expression, he pushed that idea down.
Even if Ethan wasn't here, breaking out of the prison alone was nearly impossible.
At best, this would give him a slim fighting chance if something happened.
"Since you've accepted it, that means our bet is on," Ethan said.
"If I'm right, Licht will send someone to kill you in the next few days. Your grimoire is in your hands—when the time comes, will you die for him, or live to ask him why?"
"That choice… is yours."
With that, Ethan turned and walked away, hands behind his back, leaving Rades alone with his grimoire—his face a storm of conflicting thoughts and emotions.
Time passed.
Sunrises and sunsets came and went.
Three days flew by.
Given Rades' recovery, memory viewing was scheduled for tomorrow.
If his memories were exposed, everything Licht and the Eye of the Midnight Sun had planned would collapse.
That was something Vangeance—no, Licht—would never allow.
Sigh…
Vangeance had tried everything over the past few days, but the prison's security grew tighter each day.
If they missed their window or triggered an alarm, there would be no second chance.
Compared to trying to break him out alive—killing him inside was much easier.
"Langris, go to the prison again today," Vangeance said grimly. "Put this in his food. Make sure you see him eat it."
"Yes, sir," Langris replied in a daze, taking the small pouch of poison.
Poison.
Not the most elegant plan, but definitely the most effective.
Langris had the keys and could move freely within the prison.
Even if something went wrong, they could always frame Rades—after all, it wouldn't be strange for a terrorist to carry suicide tools.
Most importantly: dead men tell no tales.
Meanwhile, Ethan was removing the guards around the prison,
and had asked the Wizard King and the other squad captains to not intervene, no matter what they saw or heard.
From a high platform overlooking the capital, the Wizard King, Yami, and Ethan stood together.
"Watch closely," Ethan said with a cold smirk.
"The fox… is about to leave its den."
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