Chapter 163: I’m Really Not a Cao Thief*
Norma’s cheeks flushed. She was afraid.
Although she was relatively tall, far from petite, she seemed to shrink into herself.
Perhaps it was due to her childhood experiences. When her father was alive, she was a noble lady. But after his death, their fortunes had reversed, their friends vanished, and even her father’s brother tried to seize their inheritance.
For the young Norma, it must have been a traumatic experience, shaping her timid personality, a timidity that persisted even after she gained considerable strength.
Seeing Norma nervously clutching her clothes, Qin Chu knew what she was thinking. He even felt a mischievous urge to tease her.
He removed his formal jacket, revealing the white shirt underneath.
Norma tensed, especially when she saw him walking towards her. Her face paled, her body trembled almost imperceptibly, and her green eyes filled with fear. What are you going to do? they seemed to ask.
Nothing.
Qin Chu walked right past her. Norma placed her hand on her chest, trying to calm her racing heart. She stuck out her tongue slightly and took a shallow breath.
But her relief was short-lived. Qin Chu’s footsteps approached again. He placed a plate of exquisitely made pastries in front of her. “Coffee or black tea?” he asked, his voice as gentle as ever.
“Bl…Black tea…” she stammered.
“My tea-making skills aren’t as good as Angelica’s. Please don’t mind, Miss Norma,” Qin Chu said with a smile. A moment later, a cup of black tea was placed before her.
He sat down opposite her, glancing at the tea in his hand with a hint of regret. If only this was an ice-cold cola, he thought. Unfortunately, such a thing didn’t exist in this world.
What a pity. Life was missing so much enjoyment.
“Please, Miss Norma. Although the tea isn’t very good, these pastries are made by Angelica herself. I can guarantee that they taste just as good as the ones at Katrina’s.”
“You seem nervous. Have some sweets to relax.”
Norma looked at Qin Chu suspiciously. After Loseweisse’s warning, she had formed an image of the Hero in her mind.
He would be holding a whip, looking down at her with a sinister grin. So you want me to save Karsus? he would sneer. Then you have to give me something in return. You understand, right?
Then, licking his lips, he would pounce on her, tearing at her clothes… That was the image in her mind.
This image terrified Norma.
But after meeting him, she found that the Hero was completely different from what she had imagined.
How should she put it… He was a gentleman?
Polite and courteous towards women, he was perceptive of her emotions and responded with perfect etiquette.
She picked up a small pastry with her fingers and nibbled on it. Just as Qin Chu had said, it was delicious.
She couldn’t help but take another one. As she reached for a third, she remembered her purpose for being here.
She shook her head and took a deep breath. “Hero…”
“Just call me Qin Chu. There’s no need to be so formal.”
“Qin… Mr. Qin, please, save Karsus…” Norma pleaded.
Then she peeked at his face, but his expression remained unchanged, as if he wasn’t surprised by her request at all.
That smile, however, made it impossible for Norma to discern his true thoughts, which made her even more nervous.
The strange, oppressive silence, punctuated by Qin Chu’s smile, lasted for almost half a minute before he finally sighed. “Miss Norma…may I ask, what is your relationship with Karsus?”
Norma blushed slightly. “We were…lovers, fiancés… But we broke up later, for certain reasons.”
“I see,” Qin Chu said noncommittally. “Then, Miss Norma, you should also know what Karsus did to me, right?”
Norma’s face paled.
“I don’t know why, but Karsus seems to hate me very much. He attacked me twice… Once, his spear was only a few centimeters from my heart.”
“If it weren’t for Miss Violet saving me, I would be dead now.”
“I hope you can give me a reason why I should save someone who tried to kill me twice. What benefit would I gain? So he can try to kill me again after I save him?”
“Sorry, I’m not that stupid!”
“Besides, it was me who suggested his public execution! They were originally planning to execute him in secret! Now you want me to save him? That would be a slap in my face!”
Norma’s face turned even paler. Just as Qin Chu said, he had no reason to help save Karsus. Anyone with a functioning brain wouldn’t do that.
On her way here, she had thought of many reasons, such as Karsus being very strong and able to help fight the Demon Beasts, but now she realized that these reasons were useless to Qin Chu.
The stronger Karsus was, the less likely Qin Chu would be to save him. It would be more dangerous for him.
She bit her lip, and finally, with a trembling voice, she said, “Mr. Qin, if… if you’re willing to save Karsus, Norma is willing to do anything.”
But as soon as she said these words, she felt that she was being too presumptuous.
The two women who had just appeared in the hall, the one in the maid outfit was charming and gentle, and the other was graceful and noble.
Compared to those two, she had no appeal at all.
Even saying such words was just humiliating herself.
Qin Chu wasn’t surprised by Norma’s decision. This girl’s personality was stronger than her fragile appearance. He sighed, “Miss Norma, a girl must learn to cherish herself.”
“You know, for a gentle and beautiful lady like you to say such words is easily misunderstood. If you hadn’t met a gentleman like me today, you might have paid a heavy price.”
Qin Chu’s attitude was clearly different from when he faced Ekaterina and Athena.
He didn’t resent Norma.
He even felt a little pity for her. This girl clearly had better choices, yet she was fixated on Karsus.
“For Karsus to have a fiancée like you, it’s a blessing he cultivated for eight lifetimes,” Qin Chu added, “Oh, no, an ex-fiancée. He’s a bastard who doesn’t know how to cherish what he has.”
Norma didn’t expect such a response and was momentarily at a loss.
“By the way, Miss Norma, can you tell me something about Jie Luo? You’ve met him, right?” Qin Chu suddenly changed the subject, tilting his head.
“Jie Luo? The First Hero?” Norma thought for a moment. She didn’t understand why Qin Chu suddenly brought up Jie Luo, but she still answered honestly, “I’ve only met him three times.”
“He’s a very charismatic person.”
This was Norma’s evaluation of Jie Luo, seemingly no different from others.
Very charismatic?
This charm was even a bit eerie. It could greatly increase others’ favorable impression of him without affecting their minds.
It was different from bewitching charm, different from hypnosis, and different from soul domination…
Qin Chu thought that this was Norma’s complete evaluation, but to his surprise, Norma frowned, as if hesitating whether to speak.
After a few seconds, she said softly, “But he makes me a little afraid.”
This was the first time Qin Chu had heard such an evaluation from someone who had met Jie Luo.
Even Augustus and Wadsworth hadn’t said anything like that.
Afraid?
Norma was afraid of Jie Luo?
“Why?”
“I… I don’t know. He’s clearly a charismatic person, popular wherever he goes, and he could even suppress Karsus’s dark power, but I instinctively want to stay away from him. It’s as if a voice in my ear is telling me not to approach him, that it would be dangerous,” Norma said carefully, choosing her words. It was purely her subjective feeling.
Interesting.
It seemed that this timid girl was a bit more mysterious than he had imagined.
She was the only one who could resist Jie Luo’s charm. Perhaps he should observe her more closely!
Qin Chu was curious.
After a pause, Norma said, “Hero, about Karsus…”
“Sigh, that guy tried to kill me twice for no reason. I didn’t want to help him, but seeing how devoted you are, I’ll help you,” Qin Chu added in his heart, Yes, I’ll help him die even more miserably.
“But please don’t get your hopes up. My words might not be effective. After all, although I’m the Hero, my strength hasn’t fully developed yet. Most importantly, because of the recent Evil God disaster caused by the Grand Prince, people have an instinctive fear of dark and sinister powers. Augustus and the others might still insist on their original decision.”
Qin Chu didn’t directly agree.
But this was enough to make Norma overjoyed. This was an answer beyond her expectations. Unlike Loseweisse’s feigned concern, this truly innocent girl’s face flushed red, and she nodded repeatedly.
“Then let’s go now, to the Holy See. Karsus is imprisoned in their dungeon,” Qin Chu stood up, put on his black silk top hat and black suit, and said to Norma.
Night had fallen, and the moon hung in the sky.
Qin Chu didn’t hire a carriage, not because he didn’t want to, but because he couldn’t.
Because the roads in the noble district had been severely damaged, carriages couldn’t pass through. They were currently under repair.
When they arrived at the gate of the Holy See, they saw Augustus, holding a staff, about to leave.
Seeing Qin Chu, a glint flashed in his cloudy eyes, and then a benevolent smile appeared on his wrinkled face as he walked towards them.
Qin Chu gestured for Norma to wait and went to greet him alone.
“Your Holiness Augustus, what a beautiful moonlit night. Are you going out?” Qin Chu took off his top hat and smiled.
“I have some business to attend to. You didn’t come to the Holy See to see me, did you, Hero? Could it be that you’ve taken a liking to one of our nuns?” Augustus said with a chuckle, “I believe no woman would refuse you, Hero. Your strength and talent have already conquered many…”
These didn’t seem like words a Pope should say.
But this world was very open-minded, even the Pope wasn’t so rigid.
Qin Chu chuckled, “Your Holiness, you know I’m not that kind of person.”
“I just wanted to ask about Karsus’s situation.”
“Karsus? He’s in the dungeon now. You know, the dungeon is a bit stuffy, so we added some water to cool him down, so he can take a bath.”
“And the dungeon is a bit too dark, so we have twelve priests taking turns to give him the warmth of the Holy Light.”
“Because it’s too boring inside, we even arranged some little companions for him, like rats, cockroaches, and maggots.”
“We even arranged six executioners to chat with him twenty-four hours a day. He’s having a great time now.”
Augustus rambled on, and Qin Chu imagined that environment. Yes, Karsus must be very happy now.
As expected of the Holy See, so merciful to their prisoners.
Augustus suddenly thought of something, “You wouldn’t be thinking of saving Karsus, would you?”
“Hero, it was your speech that convinced us to publicly execute Karsus!”
“Besides, it was thanks to the information you gave me last time that I knew…”
“Shh, Your Holiness, please be careful with your words. It was your wisdom and keen insight that led to the discovery that Karsus was the one who slaughtered the Holy Knights. It has nothing to do with me. I can’t steal your credit,” Qin Chu interrupted Augustus with a smile.
“Besides, although I’m magnanimous and never hold grudges, I’m not a saint. Why would I save someone who tried to kill me twice?”
After a pause, Qin Chu continued, “But, as you can see, Karsus’s fiancée came to me. I couldn’t refuse…”
Augustus’s expression turned strange, and he said seemingly subconsciously, “Hero, why do you always like other people’s fiancées?”
“Let me give you some advice, this is not a good habit.”
“No matter how beautiful someone else’s fiancée is, she’s still someone else’s. Making a move on someone else’s fiancée is immoral. You’ll go to hell for this.”
It sounded like he was calling him a “Cao thief*”…
Was he that kind of person?
Qin Chu spread his hands, “There’s nothing I can do, I don’t have one of my own.”
“But, Your Holiness, can you take me to see Karsus? Don’t misunderstand, I’m not trying to rescue him.”
“You know, Karsus loves his fiancée deeply. He might be worried about her in the dungeon, so I’m going to reassure him!”
“I’ll tell him, ‘Your fiancée is in my hands, don’t worry’?”
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*Cao thief (曹操) is a Chinese historical figure often associated with taking other men’s wives. It’s used as a slang term for someone who does this.
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