Chapter 718

A profound look flashed through Li Chen's eyes as he picked up Valentina and walked toward the inner chamber, where their deep exchange continued until dawn.

The next day, when the sun was already high, Valentina finally woke up slowly. She felt as if last night's events were a dream—a real, vivid dream.

She also felt that she shouldn't have done it; how could she have imagined herself doing those things with the Wizard Master?

But when she suddenly looked at Li Chen, who was sitting composedly beside her, her pretty face turned deathly pale in an instant, and she was dumbfounded.

"Wi—Wizard Master! I... I drank too much yesterday and committed a grave mistake. This—this is not your fault, it was all me—"

She spoke incoherently, apologizing in a panic, her heart filled with terror and shame.

Li Chen, however, appeared very magnanimous, even carrying a hint of considerate helplessness. He said softly, "My lady, there is no need to blame yourself. Last night, it was also a case of passion overcoming reason. This matter, you know and I know; it will absolutely not be known to a third person."

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

Valentina was scared out of her wits. If her mother-in-law saw Li Chen in her room, and in such a state, she would be completely finished!

She hurriedly responded through the door, her voice carrying undisguised panic and weakness: "Mother! Ever since I returned from the mountains last time, I have been feeling a cold and am unwell. I fear I might pass the illness to you. You should go back first; I will be fine after some rest."

Who would have thought that Mikhailovna was exceptionally "concerned" for her daughter-in-law today? Not only did she not leave, but her tone became even more affectionate: "If you are ill, you need someone to take care of you even more. Just lie down properly; Mother will watch over you right here and brew the medicine for you myself."

Valentina was almost in despair. With her mother-in-law guarding outside, Li Chen could not get out at all!

She looked at Li Chen nervously, only to see him reveal a reassuring smile that also carried a hint of profound meaning, as if to say, "It is no matter."

In Valentina's astonished gaze, Li Chen not only made no attempt to hide his figure, but instead moved closer again.

Thus, in this eerie atmosphere, separated by the thin door, listening to her mother-in-law occasionally walking about and ordering the maid to boil medicine outside, the secret and deep exchange within the inner chamber was staged once again amidst extreme tension.

After these several deep exchanges, Valentina's body and mind had long been completely conquered by Li Chen.

The half-reluctant compliance when sober, and the times it happened while drunk—that layer of hypocritical reserve and moral shackles appeared pale and powerless in the face of the accomplished fact.

She simply stopped struggling, and deep down, she even began to crave the intense impact Li Chen brought.

In the backyard of the Shufsky family, Li Chen was even more in his element. Relying on his mysterious and unfathomable identity as a Wizard and his superb methods, these noble and beautiful ladies were almost responsive to his every request.

Tonight he slept in Valentina's boudoir, and tomorrow night he might be behind the silk curtains of another noble lady, enjoying all the tenderness, living happily, and turning this noble courtyard into his own private garden for wanton picking.

However, far away in the Holy Capital, Grand Duke Ivan and General Romanov were completely plunged into another state of anxiety.

The overt plot they had meticulously planned—the document that nakedly threw the crisis at the front lines and the dilemma of the Wizard Ancestor's proselytizing to the "Wizard Ancestor"—had been submitted to the palace for many days, but the Holy Palace was like a deep, stagnant well, without a single ripple or any clear response coming forth.

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