Ranran said this somewhat shyly.
But the Second Prince Gibran—no, it should be said, Miss Fei Bi—she indeed had great confidence in her skills of seducing men.
Since childhood, she had enjoyed manipulating people.
She toyed with her younger brother Feng, deceived her elder brother Kaisa, pretended to be her little sister’s caring second brother, while secretly tasting forbidden fruit with the woman her sister hated the most—playing both sides.
She was addicted to the thrilling feeling of walking on a tightrope.
The three brothers grew up in turn.
Kaisa unhesitatingly chose the War Sequence and the Dominion Sequence.
He wanted to become an invincible warrior like the King, guarding and expanding the Empire’s territory.
When it came to her turn, she was lost—what exactly was the path she longed for?
The path of magic cultivation was long and distant.
Learning magic was a matter of high sunk cost.
Especially in this era, even the Banquet Magic used for entertainment had over a dozen different branches.
A person’s life was so short; a few detours were enough to waste half a lifetime.
Just then, the King, who always sat high on the throne and rarely showed her closeness or hugs, hit the nail on the head about her thoughts.
“You like scheming and manipulating people? I have a good place for you.”
Then, the King introduced her to the Supreme Commander of the Thousand-Eye Shadow Guard.
The Thousand-Eye Shadow Guard was a legendary royal secret service agency.
No one knew their form of existence; all that was known was that they were composed of orphaned refugees and had served the Emperor for generations.
No one had seen them, and no one knew their identities, but they were always able to gather firsthand intelligence for the Emperor and handle enemies that the Emperor did not want to personally dirty his hands with.
Fei Bi underwent training that could be described as inhumane in the Thousand-Eye Shadow Guard.
But at the same time, she mastered that forbidden and evil “Blood Puppet Art.”
Blood Puppet—this was the secret of the Thousand-Eye Shadow Guard’s silent surveillance of the Empire Capital.
They refined living people into Magic Puppets, making them indistinguishable from the real thing, scattered throughout the streets of the Empire Capital.
Some puppets controlled by highly skilled individuals were so realistic that even close relatives could not tell if they were real or fake.
Perhaps because of long-term multi-identity role-playing, the personalities of these Shadow Guards had become somewhat twisted.
For example, they especially liked using “sex workers” to make puppets.
At first, Fei Bi thought it was due to objective reasons like sex workers’ social alienation, unpredictable whereabouts, and ease of concealment.
But her master simply said indifferently:
“A life that has not been to sea is not a complete life.”
Fei Bi: “……”
It really didn’t need to be that “complete.”
At first, she strictly resisted this bizarre ideology that went against dignity.
But the Thousand-Eye Shadow Guard was full of that same attitude from top to bottom.
Over time, she was also led astray, even forging two Blood Puppets that lurked beside her brother Kaisa and younger brother Feng, waiting for opportunities to gather intelligence.
However, both Kaisa and Feng were power-obsessed men.
Their view of women was nothing more than “political allies” or “tools to vent lust.”
There wasn’t much fun in playing with them.
Fei Bi still preferred to toy with innocent little people like the so-called “Heroes.”
When a scheming mind meets an unsuspecting one, naturally the conversation goes well.
Fei Bi was well-versed in the technique of “playing pitiful and weak.”
She didn’t deliberately complain, but pretended to be strong and optimistic, sharing with Joen her daily life as a “poor orphan girl” finding joy in misery.
“In two days, the White Baby Flowers will bloom. We can pick the petals and cook them with leftover rice. It’s as sweet as Honey Water.”
Fei Bi carried a bamboo basket, her clothes fluttering, with a pure and sweet smile.
No one would ever imagine that this seemingly delicate girl was actually the Empire’s powerful Second Prince and Minister of Finance.
“This habit was taught to you by your mother, right?” Joen listened quietly, with a warmth of meeting an old friend in a foreign land.
“Mm, why do you ask?” Fei Bi turned around, feigning surprise.
“Cooking White Baby Flowers in autumn is a custom in our Tulip Territory.”
Joen scratched the tip of his nose sheepishly.
“The land there is not good for farming. We barely have enough grain, let alone sugar. The White Baby Flowers by the roadside have a bit of sweetness. When kids crave sweets, we pick a handful and cook flower porridge.”
Fei Bi had actually investigated this before, but she only knew the fact, not the reason behind it.
As Joen explained, she quickly coughed to cover her embarrassment and glossed over the topic.
“Yes… When I was little and craved sugar, my mother would always cook flower porridge to coax me.”
Joen sighed softly, his gaze inadvertently falling on Fei Bi, but his mind flashed with a certain figure from last night’s dream.
A dream was just a dream.
Even the girl’s waist was so perfect—not too thin, not too plump, just right for an armful.
“Alright, I’m home.”
Fei Bi stopped in front of a dilapidated building that looked like an abandoned shrine, revealing an innocent and carefree smile.
“Thank you, guest. My humble home is too shabby to invite you in.”
Joen indeed felt pity for her.
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
Fei Bi laughed to herself, joyful like a hooked prey, but she shook her head on the surface, her expression gentle and earnest.
“No need, Brave One. Everyone has it hard in this world, especially you. You should treat yourself better.”
The words were extremely well said.
Joen took out his money pouch, ready to leave a few Gold Coins.
But Fei Bi firmly refused.
“I heard you are raising relief funds for Dry River Territory. Please keep these for the disaster victims. Although my life is hard, it’s not to the point where I can’t survive. Besides, I can’t keep this money. It will be…”
She paused, then added shyly:
“If you truly want to help me, why not let me follow you?”
Before she could finish, a figure suddenly rushed out.
“—No!”
“Absolutely not!”
Liya stood in the middle like a bristling cat.
“It was me who came first… kissing or anything else… This track can only have me alone!”
Fei Bi looked up, paused slightly, then responded calmly.
“I have already received too many favors from the Second Prince. I don’t want to trouble him further.”
“Then we can arrange for you to become a nun at the Chapel.”
Liya immediately blocked her path.
“My temperament is too wild. I’m afraid I won’t adapt to nun life.”
“You’re quite picky.”
Liya sneered.
Fei Bi smoothly changed the subject: “Actually, I’m very good at singing. If your manor is short of a songstress—”
“Got one!”
Liya jumped in.
“Me!”
“?”
“I sing amazingly well. Absolutely heavenly!”
Joen blushed, inexplicably recalling the melody from his dream, and unconsciously nodded.
“Indeed…”
Fei Bi gritted her teeth: “Then what about a dancer?”
“She can do that too.”
Liya immediately puffed out her chest.
“I’m also very good at dancing!”
Joen fell into thought again.
Liya: “What are you missing?”
Joen finally spoke: “I have a better idea.”
Fei Bi’s eyes lit up, and Liya pricked up her ears.
Joen said seriously: “Security guard.”
“…Security guard?” Fei Bi was stunned.
“It means a doorkeeper,” Liya followed up casually.
“Whoever comes, you open the door for them.”
Fei Bi was silent for a moment.
“Then… is the position of security guard still available?”