Chapter 718

A flicker of deep meaning passed through Li Chen’s eyes; he picked up Valentina and carried her into the inner chamber, their intimate exchange lasting until dawn.

The next day, when the sun was high, Valentina slowly woke up; the events of last night felt like a dream—a real dream.

Yet she felt ashamed—how could she have imagined doing such things with the Wizard Lord?

But when she suddenly saw Li Chen beside her, calm and composed, her face turned instantly pale, stunned.

“L-Lord Wizard! I… I drank too much yesterday and committed a grave mistake—this isn’t your fault, it’s all mine—”

She stammered out apologies, filled with panic and shame.

Li Chen, however, appeared remarkably generous, even tenderly resigned; he spoke softly: “Lady, don’t blame yourself. Last night was beyond control. This matter is known only to you and me—it will never reach a third party.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than a voice came from outside the courtyard—Mikhailovna, saying she had come to visit her daughter-in-law.

Valentina’s soul nearly fled her body; if her mother-in-law saw Li Chen in her room, and in this state, she would be utterly ruined!

She hastily replied through the door, her voice trembling with unmistakable panic and weakness: “Mother! Since returning from the mountains last time, I’ve caught a chill and am unwell—I fear I might pass the illness to you. Please go back for now; I’ll rest and be fine.”

But Mikhailovna was unusually “concerned” today; instead of leaving, her tone grew even more tender: “If you’re ill, you need care. Lie still—I’ll stay right here watching over you and brew your medicine myself.”

Valentina was nearly desperate; her mother-in-law guarded the door, and Li Chen couldn’t possibly leave!

She turned anxiously to Li Chen, only to see him smiling at her—a soothing, knowing smile, as if to say, “It’s fine.”

To Valentina’s astonishment, Li Chen didn’t try to hide—he drew even closer.

Thus, beneath the thin door, amid the muffled sounds of her mother-in-law pacing and ordering maids to brew medicine, the secret, intimate exchange resumed once more within the inner chamber—this time under unbearable tension.

After these repeated intimacies, Valentina’s body and soul had been utterly conquered by Li Chen.

Half-resistance while awake, full surrender in drunkenness—those false pretenses of modesty and moral chains crumbled before the reality already done.

She ceased struggling altogether; deep within, she even began to crave the intense sensations Li Chen brought.

Within the Shufsky family’s courtyard, Li Chen moved like a fish in water; with his mysterious identity as a Wizard and his superior skills, these noble, beautiful ladies all yielded to his every demand.

Tonight he slept in Valentina’s perfumed chamber; tomorrow night, perhaps, he’d be within another noblewoman’s silken curtains, savoring tenderness, reveling in pleasure—turning this aristocratic courtyard into his personal pleasure garden.

Yet far away in Shengdu, Grand Duke Ivan and General Romanov were trapped in a completely different state of anguish.

Their carefully devised scheme—the document that openly dumped the crisis at the front and the difficulty of the Ancestor Wizard’s missionary work onto the “Ancestor Wizard”—had been submitted to the palace for days, yet the Sacred Palace remained as still as a deep, ancient well, offering no ripple, no clear response.

Inside the command room, adorned with military maps, the atmosphere was heavy.