Pulling a Fast One

Charles spotted Qiaosuo, and as his eyes darted, a plan formed in his mind.

Whether Qiaosuo had done it deliberately or by accident...

This guy could not be allowed to stay!

The previous Charles had been killed by him. As a good brother, he ought to go down and keep him company!

Besides, Qiaosuo was a danger himself. He knew all about the materials Charles had needed yesterday, all sorts of miscellaneous things, and he had handled quite a few of them himself.

If Qiaosuo did not die, Charles would have to sleep with one eye open.

Charles strode over and greeted him first. "Morning, Qiaosuo!"

Qiaosuo, lost in thought, jumped at the sight of Charles. Then he pretended to act normally. "Huh? M-Morning."

Charles led Qiaosuo toward the dining hall, making small talk along the way as he prepared to bait him.

Sure enough, once they began eating baked beans and bread, Qiaosuo could no longer hold back.

Qiaosuo lowered his head and asked softly, "You... didn't do that last night?"

Charles was wolfing down his bread. After a whole night of work, fierce fighting, and cleaning, he was starving.

He swallowed his bread, glanced around, and only then said, "Didn't you hear anything last night?"

Qiaosuo froze for a moment, then hurriedly shook his head. "N-No, I didn't."

Charles felt a little more at ease at that. "Last night truly was a wonderful night!"

"Do you know why Doris is ignoring me today? Doris likes me the most, you know."

At his words, Qiaosuo's hand beneath the table clenched involuntarily, digging into the flesh of his thigh.

His eyes brimmed with venom, but fortunately, he lowered his head in time and did not reveal it.

Qiaosuo calmed himself and said quietly, "Yes, Doris really does... like you. But why today?"

Looking at Qiaosuo, whom he had already cuckolded right in front of him, Charles smiled faintly.

The old Charles had not been able to see Qiaosuo's feelings for Doris, but he had spotted them easily.

He tossed the last bite of bread into his mouth and said, "Want to know? Come to my room later, and I'll tell you!"

"You're my good brother! My dearest friend! I'd only share something this good with you!"

"But don't worry about Doris. She'll stop being angry soon enough. Maybe she'll even end up living with me by then!"

Listening to Charles, Qiaosuo pinched his thigh so hard that it bruised, barely holding himself back from grabbing his tray and smashing it over Charles's head.

When Charles got up, Qiaosuo had not even finished his beans and bread before hurrying after him.

He was so furious that he was full already and had no need to eat another bite.

With his hands behind his back, Charles strolled leisurely back to his room and casually sat on the bed. A dagger was still tucked discreetly at his waist, just in case.

Qiaosuo came in right behind him and impatiently asked, "Charles, what exactly happened last night? Did you perform the ritual?"

Seeing how anxious Qiaosuo was, Charles pointed at the floor, where faint blood-red lines still remained. "Look. What is that?"

Qiaosuo looked down. Having seen the parchment, he quickly guessed the answer and cried out, "That's the magic circle!?"

Charles smiled. "That's right. I performed the ritual last night!"

Qiaosuo's mouth hung open. His mind churned, and he was too shocked to contain himself.

So nervous that he stuttered, he asked, "Then... you... did you succeed!?"

Seeing this, Charles decided to move up the time for dealing with Qiaosuo.

He smiled. "You want to know?"

Qiaosuo nodded frantically.

But Charles was in no hurry. Pointing at the floor, he said, "After performing the ritual last night, I was half dead from exhaustion. I still haven't even cleaned this place up."

"As my good brother, can you help me out?"

There were still some stubborn bloodstains on the floor, and Charles was too exhausted to deal with them.

Qiaosuo looked at the floor, gritted his teeth, and said, "I'll help you! Right now!"

As he spoke, he fetched water and began cleaning up for Charles. For some markings that were especially hard to remove, he even scraped them away with a small knife.

After working for at least two hours, Qiaosuo was so tired he could barely straighten his back. Only then had he cleaned away all the blood.

Supporting his aching waist and wiping away sweat, Qiaosuo asked Charles, "Now... can you tell me what happened last night?"

Charles took the small knife from Qiaosuo's hand, helped him sit in a chair, then said, "Of course I can!"

"Last night, I performed the ritual. After I sacrificed the goat and the Magic Stone, the ritual succeeded!"

Qiaosuo asked nervously, "And then?"

Charles smiled. "The one who answered my summons was a Succubus. Do you know what a Succubus is?"

"She was truly exquisite. Compared to this Succubus, Doris was like an old crone beside a princess!"

"Her skin was fair, her face beautiful, her figure fiery, and she was barely wearing anything..."

"Faced with my request, she fulfilled my wish and even invited me to spend a wonderful night with her!"

Rubbing his waist with a hint of pride, Charles said, "Qiaosuo, you must have slept with maids before, right?"

Qiaosuo nodded. He was already engrossed in the story, his heart racing as he vaguely guessed what had happened.

Charles smiled. "Spending a night with a Succubus—the pleasure of it was a hundred times, a thousand times greater than being with a maid!"

"It was... absolutely heavenly!"

Qiaosuo recalled the times he had played with maids before boarding the ship and could not help swallowing.

Since boarding the ship, for nearly a year now, he had only been able to take care of things with his own hands every night.

Qiaosuo asked, "Then has your wizard aptitude really been fixed?"

Charles raised his chin slightly and said smugly, "Haven't you noticed that I've become more handsome?"

"Huh!?"

Charles said, "After I finished having fun last night, the Succubus told me that my aptitude had changed. As long as I keep cultivating, I can become a Third-Rank Wizard Apprentice within a week at most!"

"When I arrive on the Wizard Continent, I can become a wizard genius too!"

Qiaosuo looked carefully and felt his heart jolt. Charles really had become more handsome. Could it be true?!

Standing behind Qiaosuo, Charles spoke as if bewitching him. "Do you know why Doris is angry today?"

Any news about Doris interested him. Qiaosuo had already forgotten to think and hurriedly asked, "Why?"

Charles patted Qiaosuo on the shoulder. "It's simple. Last night, when the Succubus and I were going at it, she was a little too loud."

Charles put on a helpless expression. "You know the soundproofing in these rooms is terrible. Doris must have heard the Succubus crying out."

"Women are always so easily jealous. Doris likes me very much, but she still doesn't want to hear me with another woman. You understand."

"But I think she'll calm down soon. Once I break through to Third-Rank Wizard Apprentice, she'll return to my arms."

"Maybe when I reach the Wizard Continent and become a wizard genius, I'll give Doris the position of a maid. What do you think, my good brother?!"

Hearing all this, Qiaosuo sat in the chair with his fists clenched tight without even realizing it.