Chapter 38: The Divine Messenger

Speak of the devil and the devil appears.

Seeing the person in question arrive, Lin Yue’s heart skipped a beat.

What he’d just said was only to dispel Yuan’s doubts—hopefully she didn’t overhear…

Just picturing her catching him using her as bait to hook Yuan like a fat fish, Lin Yue couldn’t help but feel a chill run down his spine.

Standing before him, Isabella was as cool and aloof as ever, her gaze laced with scrutiny.

Looking more closely, her ever-present red earring was nowhere to be seen.

He glanced at the formidable woman before him, then at Yuan, who seemed to freeze up entirely upon seeing the person he liked.

Lin Yue instantly felt a headache coming on.

I’m giving you a chance and you’re blowing it… Don’t tell me I’ll have to step in again.

Just as Lin Yue was helplessly about to speak up, Isabella strode straight up to him and stopped, her voice void of emotion: “So that’s how you see me, huh…”

“Isabella?”

What’s with her, suddenly acting all mysterious?

“What you said to me that day in the council hall, and what you did during the exam—was all of it just to keep me from bothering you?”

Crap.

She really did hear it.

“No, it’s not… How should I put it, I just wanted to help you at the time, I didn’t think too much about it.”

“And now? You don’t want to help anymore? You plan to cut ties with me?”

“I…”

Lin Yue stammered, trying to explain, but it seemed there was no room left to maneuver.

Seeing Lin Yue completely flummoxed, and recalling what she’d said to Bella last night, Isabella suddenly felt like a complete fool.

Of course.

It was because Bella asked him that he tried so hard to persuade me.

A woman like me… he’s never even looked me in the eye…

Whether it was the engagement, or the council hall, it was always because of Bella…

Emotions surged within Isabella.

Her face was filled with hurt as she said, “So after you enjoyed the satisfaction of helping others, you can just casually toss me to someone else…”

Gulp.

Lin Yue swallowed hard, realizing things were getting out of his control.

Why was Isabella acting like a jilted lover, speaking in riddles he didn’t understand?

Yuan, who’d never seen such a heavy aura of resentment—let alone from the normally icy Isabella—was completely dumbfounded.

He wanted to say something to help Lin Yue, but had no idea where to start.

“Say something… Cat got your tongue?”

“Or do you think a cold woman like me isn’t even worth Young Master Hawk’s serious attention?”

Lin Yue’s throat suddenly felt unbearably dry and itchy.

For a moment, he wondered if he really had done something terrible.

She definitely heard everything from start to finish!

This is bad, really bad.

Am I about to get roasted to ashes…?

“I…”

He hesitated for ages, but couldn’t get any words out.

If he had to speak at length in front of strong opponents, eloquence came easy, but facing an angry woman—he had no experience whatsoever.

It seemed Isabella had reached her limit with his indecision.

Gritting her teeth, she steeled herself…

She raised her head and glared fiercely at Lin Yue.

Her hair fluttered with the motion.

A single teardrop slid down her face, which was strained with both grievance and stubborn pride, as if she could no longer contain her emotions.

“I don’t need your pity…”

Her mood had already been shaken by Isabella’s words, and she’d come to talk to Lin Yue—hoping to hand over her earring in exchange for her sister’s.

But Yuan had shown up first and interrupted her, and Lin Yue then said things that made it clear he didn’t care about her at all.

In that instant, Isabella felt as if her heart had been squeezed.

She wanted to yell at him, but couldn’t get a word out.

Nothing came out at all…

It was an indescribable stab of pain, as if the world before her eyes suddenly turned black and white.

She’d once thought that Lin Yue’s acceptance of the duel was, in some small way, for her sake.

Now it seemed that was all just her own wishful thinking.

She remembered Lin Yue’s indifferent face as he claimed there was nothing between them, and her tangled, aggrieved feelings hit their peak.

Nothing between us, he says… So eager to cut ties with me!

Her pride was shattered by Lin Yue, the hardest shield in her heart easily broken.

She couldn’t accept that this was how Lin Yue saw her.

“Lin Yue Hawk… I never want to see you again!”

With that, she wiped away her tears with the back of her hand and fled.

All that remained at the scene were the small wooden box lying not far away, a completely bewildered Lin Yue, and Yuan—who, after seeing his goddess cry, was at a total loss for what to do.

“It’s over…”

…

Isabella stood on the stone bridge in the park, gazing at the blue sky in the distance, the tear stains on her face not yet gone.

When she’d found Lin Yue earlier, she’d just happened to overhear them talking about her.

[I’m not really into girls like Isabella—cold and self-reliant.]

[What she thinks has nothing to do with me. There’s nothing between us anyway. As long as she doesn’t give me trouble, I’ll be grateful.]

I should have realized sooner…

Isabella gripped the railing tightly, emotions named unwillingness and pain tearing at her heart.

She wanted to distance herself from him, yet was always influenced by him in spite of herself.

She wanted to hate him, but could never bring herself to say anything hurtful.

She wanted to get closer, yet always got pierced in the heart by him.

In the end, I’m just a disposable pawn in everyone’s eyes.

A guy like him—there must be countless people depending on him.

I know that.

No matter how much I deny it, curse him, belittle him, or hate him, it won’t change one thing.

He is even more irreplaceable than I am.

She thought of Aira and Lia’s easy rapport with him at camp, Alan and Gus forging bonds with him in times of crisis, even Charles had been changed by him.

Not to mention Bella’s trust…

Isabella felt like an outsider swept up by his influence.

Ever since coming to Avilina, she’d been unable to stop herself from wanting to get close, but what status did she have to approach him with?

Noble?

She’d already been cast out.

Fiancée?

He was no longer that.

Friend?

That was out of the question.

They’d always been caught in the same whirlpool, yet felt like people from two separate worlds—she hadn’t even had a proper chance to talk with him.

The earring she’d meant to give away…

Right, my earring…

In a daze, Isabella suddenly remembered the treasure that had accompanied her for nearly nineteen years.

“I have to go get it back.”

She dried her tears and prepared to head back.

“Isabella…”

Suddenly, a chill ran up her spine, that same bewitching sensation from the exam welling up once more.

“Who’s there!”

Isabella gathered her magic, flames of a dragon twining around her, taking up a defensive stance.

“Disciple Isabella… please accept the will of the God.”

Isabella’s pupils contracted—she had no idea how this person had gotten into Avilina.

“A Messenger of God?”