Chapter 170: The Lovefool Villain
Peruth walked to the balcony, then suddenly turned back.
Yu Mo sat at the edge of the bed, meeting his gaze, sensing that he seemed to have much left unsaid.
But Peruth only looked back for a moment, then bid farewell politely and gracefully, “I’ll be going now.”
“Eloren, don’t overexert yourself. I’ve reminded you many times.”
He disappeared onto the balcony. Yu Mo left the window open, lifted the covers, and lay down on the bed.
The ring on his finger emitted threads of magical energy, wrapping around his hand and soothing his weary body.
Yu Mo closed his eyes, slowly rotating the ring.
Suddenly, he felt the bed dip slightly beside him.
He kept his eyes closed as a faint breath hovered above him, and a cool strand of hair brushed against his cheek.
He opened his eyes, unsurprised to find the cardinal who had just left had returned.
The man sat on the edge of the bed, head lowered as he gazed at him—not at his face, but at the sapphire star necklace around his neck.
It was a gift, placed there by him before Yu Mo’s first visit to the Star Society, with a promise of protection.
He seemed to enjoy gifting him things to wear.
“You’ve kept it on.” Peruth wasn’t wearing gloves today; his long fingers tapped the sapphire necklace lightly.
“Yes,” Yu Mo replied. The cardinal had once told him that he hoped he would always wear it close to him.
Having received many favors and assistance from him, Yu Mo had agreed to this small request as an exchange.
“If you truly don’t want to leave, you can sleep here,” Yu Mo said to the returning visitor.
Peruth chuckled softly, “It’s hard to part, indeed.”
He braced one hand on the bed, and from somewhere produced a white rose, cool and fragrant with dew, placing it near Yu Mo’s cheek.
The giver of the flower drew closer, leaning in to kiss him.
The kiss, though brief, was filled with a strong sense of restraint.
Yu Mo could feel the tension within the cardinal, a pull as if something was drawing him in, urging him to fall; yet, there was also a force pushing him away, keeping him at a distance.
Sensing that he was about to leave, Yu Mo lifted his hand to touch Peruth’s cheek, tucking a stray lock of hair behind his ear.
Peruth’s thin ear grew warm under his fingers, and he seemed to freeze at the sudden gesture, lips hovering close.
Yu Mo held his long hair as it slipped down his back, fingers pressing lightly at the back of his neck, guiding him down.
The subtle motion seemed to relieve a heavy burden from the cardinal, drawing him back down for a deeper kiss.
His hesitation and yearning were equally palpable; the amber in his eyes seemed molten, almost ready to spill over.
But after a moment, he frowned, closed his eyes, and pulled back, sitting up with one hand over his face, hiding his expression.
“Your Excellency, your steadfastness as a clergyman is remarkable,” Yu Mo remarked.
Peruth lowered his hand, revealing a wry smile. “Are you deliberately toying with me?”
Yu Mo leaned back against the pillow, a faint smile on his face, genuinely amused by the cardinal’s struggle to contain himself.
He was a bit curious why Peruth held himself back so much, even wondering what might happen if he shattered his resolve completely.
But he didn’t want to court unnecessary trouble just for the sake of curiosity.
Yu Mo’s lips were still damp, and the rare warmth in his eyes faded in an instant, like a heap of snow that couldn’t catch fire.
He wore that familiar, weary expression once more and said quietly, “Your Excellency, you should go. I need to rest.”
This time, Peruth truly left.
…
Yu Mo had been busy for days, and even Charli noticed his unusual behavior. She asked him discreetly, “Brother, are you looking for the person who killed Marquis Morton?”
Yu Mo wasn’t interested in who killed Marquis Morton. He was merely using the incident as a pretext to assess the power he could control.
But Charli had misunderstood.
She whispered to her brother with a conspiratorial look, “I think I know who killed Marquis Morton.”
Yu Mo was surprised. He hadn’t made any serious effort to find the killer, yet Charli had discovered something—unexpectedly so.
Then again, she was the heroine, and perhaps she had stumbled upon some hidden encounter without him knowing.
“Is that so? Who do you think the culprit is?”
“I think it might be Lady Cecile,” Charli said, pressing her lips together.
It was yet another name Yu Mo hadn’t anticipated. The young stepmother who frequented parties and teas had left little impression on him.
“Why her?” Precisely because it was an unexpected guess, Yu Mo believed Charli must have solid reasoning.
“The night Marquis Morton died in the garden, the lady also went there. She claimed she was meeting a lover, but I thought I caught a faint scent of blood on her. Since I’ve been studying light magic, I’ve become more sensitive to such things.”
Charli clenched her hands. “At that time, it was only a suspicion, so I quietly kept an eye on her movements afterward.”
Charli had a natural advantage when it came to gathering information.
She also didn’t know why, but when faced with her, everyone seemed to view her as an ignorant little girl who understood nothing. They were unaware of how to hide things, and inadvertently revealed quite a few secrets.
The ladies at the party were like this, as was her teacher, Cardinal Croft; sometimes, even her brother was the same.
Being forced to know many secrets often troubled Charli.
“The lady had many lovers before, but I learned at a party a couple of days ago that she didn’t have a fixed one. There used to be a viscount who liked her a lot and often pursued her, but that viscount was later accidentally killed by heretics. It’s said he lost a lot of blood when he died.”
“My teacher also told me that Marquis Morton died from a loss of blood.”
“With the tracking magic I recently learned from my teacher, I discovered that although the lady claimed to attend tea parties every afternoon, she actually went to different places twice instead of the tea parties; she went to an old neighborhood.”
“I secretly followed her and saw her meeting with some strange people. I suspect they are heretic believers!”
Yu Mo was speechless. While he was busy, Charli didn’t seem to be idle; she had done a lot.
After Charli finished speaking, she looked at him with anticipation and nervousness. “Brother, do you think the lady really has a problem?”
Yu Mo praised her, “Very good, Charli. You are very observant and noticed these details; you’ve been a great help to me.”
Charli immediately broke into a smile; she did all this mainly to relieve her brother’s worries.
“Brother, I’ll continue to pay attention to the lady and find more evidence.”
“No need.” Yu Mo wasn’t planning to turn the killer over to the temple or the palace guards, nor did he need any concrete evidence. “Just leave the rest to me.”
If it weren’t for Lady Cecile’s special identity, which might affect them, Yu Mo wouldn’t have bothered with her at all.
Compared to the moon worshipers who preferred to gather at night, Lady Cecile’s activities were held in the afternoon, using tea parties or shopping trips as excuses. It was both open and discreet.
Yu Mo got out of the carriage and looked toward an old villa hidden in the old neighborhood not far away.
As he walked down a deserted path, several shadows appeared on either side in the gloom.
The figures wore hats that obscured their faces and skin, avoiding the sun as they moved into the shadows, making them seem suspicious.
They caught up to Yu Mo, closing in on him with the sound of his footsteps echoing in the quiet.
The person approaching from behind complained in a low voice, “Boss, do we really have to catch people during the day?”
“Yeah, Boss. Can’t we just wait until night to catch them once we know where they are?”
The night magicians of the Star Society were all night owls.
Even if they didn’t get to the point where they would get allergies and diseases from sun exposure just like Eloren, they still mostly disliked the sun.
“Surround that villa; we can’t let anyone escape,” Yu Mo commanded.
One of the Star Society members he had brought for fieldwork piped up, “I remember a Goddess of Vengeance follower we caught yesterday mentioned that this place is one of their strongholds.”
Inside the old villa, Lady Cecile, dressed in a beautiful gown, frowned and asked, “Why hasn’t Andrew arrived yet?”
“He must have overslept,” one of her companions chuckled. “You’re still impressive, Adeline. That bunch of temple lackeys and palace pests have been searching for so many days, yet they can’t even catch a whiff of your trail.”
A young girl expressed her concerns, saying, “After all, a marquis has died; it’s not the same as those barons and viscounts. Adeline still needs to be careful lately.”
“What’s there to be afraid of? It was those crazy moon worshipers who did it. It has nothing to do with us; they won’t find us.”
Suddenly, there was a loud knock at the door.
“Must be Andrew finally arriving.”
Outside, it was very quiet.
“That doesn’t seem right,” Lady Cecile said suddenly, her voice tense. “Quick, hide! Everyone, get out of here!”
Her companions still hadn’t realized what was happening. “What’s wrong, Adeline? The warning magic outside hasn’t been triggered.”
“Less talking!” Lady Cecile didn’t waste any more words with him and urged the others to leave quickly.
Moments later, she adjusted her skirt and stepped out with her handbag.
A familiar, tall figure stood at the door.
“Ah, Eloren, what are you doing here?” Lady Cecile asked in surprise.
Yu Mo turned to look at her. “And what are you doing here, Lady?”
“I…”
“We’ve been discovered! What’s going on? Who are you?” A cursing man was caught from behind the house by the members of the Star Society who came with Yu Mo, interrupting Lady Cecile’s unfinished words.
Lady Cecile cursed under her breath, her expression flickering as she forced an awkward smile. “Eloren, I just came here to meet friends. You can understand that, right? After all, your father has been dead for so long.”
“Are you saying that you are here for a secret meeting with a lover?”
Yu Mo glanced to the side, where two ladies, one old and one young, had also been captured. “What about these two?”
Lady Cecile realized that pretending to be clueless was no longer an option.
But she didn’t understand how she had been exposed. She had disguised herself well in front of her stepson, who had never paid much attention to her.
…
“Let’s have a talk… What should I call you?”
Yu Mo tossed the other captured individuals into the first examination room and turned to sit opposite Lady Cecile.
Upon arriving at the Star Society’s stronghold, the lighthearted smile had vanished from Lady Cecile’s face.
“You can call me Adeline,” she said, her expression not looking too good. “Or you can call me mother; I wouldn’t mind. After all, our relationship is close, and we share the same secrets.”
Yu Mo didn’t engage with her provocation or testing: “I suspect you’ve known about Baron Cecile’s identity as a heretic for a long time and have been using him to conceal yourself. You’re a magician too.”
“Just a low-tier magician, nothing useful,” Adeline shrugged, leaning back in her chair.
Using magic required a considerable amount of blood to replenish, which was quite troublesome.
“What surprises me is that after your father died, you became stronger. It seems that now the magicians of the Star Society listen to you?”
Yu Mo didn’t answer her question and instead asked, “Which god do you believe in?”
“……”
“Of course, you can choose not to answer, but your companions will tell me,” Yu Mo stated.
“I never said I wouldn’t talk. I’m a follower of the Goddess of Vengeance,” Adeline replied indifferently. “However, I have changed my beliefs many times; you could consider me a person without faith.”
So, she was indeed a follower of the Goddess of Vengeance. The Star Society had captured one of their members just the night before.
“So, did you kill Marquis Morton for revenge?” Yu Mo asked as he pointed to the ring on his finger, emanating faint magical fluctuations.
Adeline pulled at the corners of her mouth, her gaze slightly vacant.
“Yes, revenge. I was born in the north, in a seaside town where the people once worshiped the Goddess of Desire.”
“But later, that place became part of the Glory Empire, turning into the territory of Marquis Morton.”
“Years passed, and I heard that a plague of death spread over there. Do you know what a death plague is?”
“Some say it’s a bizarre disease that causes people to feel hollow and commit suicide due to the collapse of faith and the loss of divine protection.”
“It’s terrifying, incurable, and causes countless people to commit mass suicide in the north.”
“This lord, Marquis Morton, in his fear, sealed off all the cities near the death plague and quietly burned many people who had not yet fallen ill, including those from my hometown.”
“Shouldn’t such a person die?”
Yu Mo listened quietly and asked calmly, “How many times have you done such a thing?”
“I can’t remember; it was just a few nobles, and no one is innocent.”
“All killed in the name of the moon worshipers?”
Adeline’s eyes flickered. “I did used to be a moon worshiper, but I found that they were all crazy, so I changed my identity and withdrew.”
Yu Mo: “…”
After asking a few more questions, he nodded again at the ring on his finger.
The smoke that had inexplicably filled the room dissipated.
Adeline suddenly came to her senses, recalling her excessive honesty from earlier, and stared wide-eyed. “What magic did you use?”
She hadn’t even noticed when she fell into the trap!
“Thank you for enlightening me; just stay here for now.” Yu Mo stood up without answering.
…
The Star Society was suddenly overcrowded, filled with rogue magicians from the royal city—most of whom were dark magicians labeled as heretics by the Holy Temple.
In this context, where the mainstream belief of the God of Light dominated the continent, the Moon Goddess that once stood alongside the God of Light in the olden days was nearing extinction.
The “death plague” that spread across the continent began hundreds of years ago when other faiths were ruthlessly eradicated.
The gods had fallen; even the consciousness of the God of Light had long dissipated, leaving only its power to swell, causing everything to spiral out of control.
In this unbalanced world, the Pope seized the authority left by the God of Light. To fully control that primal power, he pushed for the unification of the Light faith across the continent.
As for Peruth, he was much younger than the Pope, his origins shrouded in mystery. No one knew what he had experienced to gain the power of the Moon’s essence.
In the original plot, he had clashed with the Pope, defeating him and “inheriting” the Pope’s ambition to become a new god, thus becoming the greatest villain in this story.
Not long after, he would likely kill the Pope. And with the powers of both the Moon and the Sun, it could be said that Peruth was not merely defeated by the protagonist but ultimately consumed by that very power.
Yu Mo waited.
He awaited the news of the Pope’s return.
According to the plot, the Pope did not return; instead, he had fallen. So what happened?
[So, what happened, Mr. Yu Mo?!]
The system cried in his mind.
[Why is it that after just taking a look at another world, I received the notification that the villain Peruth is about to die?! He shouldn’t be dying at this moment!]
“……” Yu Mo replied, “I also want to know why.”
The system cried as it went back to investigate, and soon weakly informed him: [The villain Peruth failed in his confrontation with the Pope because he placed the essence of the Moon in a sapphire necklace and gave it to Mr. Yu Mo. Therefore, he is now on the verge of death.]
Yu Mo: “……”
He looked down at the sapphire necklace around his neck.
Peruth had never told him that the power of the Moon’s essence was contained within it.
Although he had felt that Peruth seemed a bit love-fool before, he now realized just how deep that love-fool state really was.
