Chapter 642 --642
"So," Samuel murmured, his voice a low, lethal hum as he stared down at the man on the floor. "You said you are my wife’s plaything, huh?"
Kavien, still putting on his tragic act, sniffled indignantly and puffed out his chest. "I am her lover, not a plaything."
"Oh, really?"
In a single, terrifyingly swift motion, Samuel reached down, grabbed Kavien by the thick collar of his black stealth suit, and lifted the grown man entirely off the ground with one hand.
The entire room gasped. Even Kavien froze, his feet dangling uselessly in the air, his eyes bulging as he realized the "delicate scholar" possessed the physical strength of a seasoned Vanguard warlord.
Before anyone could even register what was happening, Samuel simply pivoted on his heel and violently hurled Kavien straight through the gaping, shattered window frame.
A high-pitched, terrified scream echoed through the night air, abruptly cut short by a heavy, bone-rattling CRASH as Kavien landed squarely in the dirt of the courtyard below.
Heena crossed her arms, a highly impressed, satisfied smirk touching her lips. ’Not bad, Mr. Son-in-law.’
Samuel calmly bent down and casually tossed his heavy broadsword aside, its loud clatter echoing in the stunned silence of the room. He didn’t even break a sweat. He smoothed down the lapels of his crimson silk robe, completely ignoring the horrified gasps of the civil officials.
With slow, elegant steps, Samuel walked over to the broken window frame and looked down at the groaning, writhing figure in the dirt.
He turned his head slightly, shooting a dark, devastatingly arrogant look over his shoulder at the paralyzed scholars.
"So, you guys want absolute proof, huh?" Samuel asked, his golden eyes flashing with a ruthless, brilliant calculation. "Give me exactly two minutes. He is about to prove to the entire capital whether he is actually my wife’s secret lover, or just a delusional rat."
Samuel leaned casually against the shattered wooden windowsill, looking down at the courtyard. The cold night wind whipped through his loose dark hair and crimson robes, making him look like a terrifying deity of judgment.
The civil scholars nervously crowded around the remaining intact windows, craning their necks to see how the young genius planned to prove his wild claim.
Down in the dirt, Kavien was groaning, clutching his bruised ribs.
"Alpha Squad," Samuel’s voice suddenly boomed across the courtyard, carrying the absolute, unquestionable authority of the Vanguard master.
Immediately, the shadows in the courtyard shifted. Dozens of heavily armored Vanguard archers, who had been guarding the perimeter of the wedding banquet, stepped forward in perfect synchronization. They raised their heavy military crossbows, aiming the lethal, iron-tipped bolts directly at Kavien’s head.
Kavien froze, his eyes widening in sheer, unadulterated terror as the mechanical click-clack of thirty crossbows being drawn echoed in the silent night.
"Now," Samuel began, his voice smooth, echoing with a dark, mocking elegance. "It is a well-known fact in literature that a true, devoted lover would gladly sacrifice his life to protect the honor and reputation of the woman he loves."
Samuel rested his chin on his hand, looking down with dead, golden eyes.
"So, here is your proof, esteemed officials," Samuel announced to the scholars, before projecting his voice back down. "If you are truly my wife’s secret lover, prove your devotion. Take these arrows in silence, die a tragic hero, and protect her name. But... if you are just a hired rat paid to ruin her wedding night... confess exactly who sent you right now, and I will let you crawl out of these gates with your life."
Samuel didn’t even bother to give a countdown. He just raised his hand, fully prepared to signal the archers to fire.
He didn’t even drop his hand an inch.
"I WAS PAID! I WAS PAID!" Kavien shrieked at the top of his lungs, violently throwing his hands over his head and pressing his face into the dirt. "DON’T SHOOT! I AM NOT HER LOVER! SHE HATES ME! I HATE HER! IT WAS ALL A SETUP!"
The collective gasp from the civil officials was so loud it rivaled the wedding firecrackers.
"I confess!" Kavien sobbed hysterically into the mud, absolutely terrified of the glowing metal arrowheads pointed at him. "A man in a white mask paid me three hundred gold taels to dress like an assassin, break through the roof, and cry about being her mistreated lover! He said it would destroy the Vanguard family’s reputation forever! Just don’t kill me!"
The courtyard was dead silent, save for Kavien’s pathetic weeping.
Up in the ruined bedroom, Samuel slowly turned around to face the petrified civil scholars. His beautiful, devastatingly arrogant smirk was back in full force. He casually brushed a speck of dust off his silk sleeve.
"Well," Samuel mused, his golden eyes sweeping over their pale faces. "That took exactly forty-two seconds. You civil officials really overestimate the loyalty of the trash you hire."
The Head Censor’s face turned a violent shade of purple. He opened his mouth, desperately trying to salvage the situation, but absolutely no words came out. Their grand, scandalous master plan to ruin Heena’s wedding and strip the Vanguard family of their moral standing had just been flawlessly dismantled by a scholar with a crossbow squad.
Standing by the vanity table, Heena watched her husband with genuine, profound appreciation.
’He didn’t just beat them,’ Heena thought, a cold, satisfied smile touching her lips. ’He completely humiliated them.’
"Kael," Heena ordered, pushing off the table. "Drag that piece of garbage to the dungeons. Extract a full description of the man who paid him. If he holds anything back, start pulling his fingernails."
"With pleasure, Madam," Kael grinned fiercely, signaling the guards below to haul the screaming, crying Kavien away.
Heena walked over to Samuel, completely ignoring the horrified scholars still standing awkwardly in her doorway. She reached up, lightly tapping his chest. "Not a bad performance, Mr. Son-in-law."
Samuel’s eyes darkened as he looked down at her, the political theater instantly melting away. "Now, get these pests out of my house, Wife. I believe we have a heavily interrupted wedding night to finish."
The remaining civil scholars stood frozen in the doorway, staring at the terrifying couple in absolute, mortified silence.
Samuel turned his head, his golden eyes narrowing at the audience. "What? Do you esteemed officials wish to stay and observe the whole night’s scene? Or are you going to get lost?"
The sheer scandal of the threat finally snapped them out of their stupor. Remembering exactly what happened on a wedding night, the elderly scholars’ faces flushed bright red. They hurriedly lowered their heads, muttering panicked apologies as they scrambled out of the corridor, nearly tripping over their own silk robes to escape the Vanguard estate.
Once the corridor was completely empty, Samuel turned his attention back to the bridal chamber.
It was an absolute disaster zone. The heavy mahogany bed frame was cracked, the expensive red silk sheets were covered in dirt and splintered wood, and a massive, freezing wind was howling through the gaping hole in the roof.
Samuel stared at the ruined room. The vein in his jaw ticked. The raw, unfiltered anger in his golden eyes was so incredibly prominent that the air around him seemed to visibly distort. If Heena had not ordered Kavien to be dragged away to the dungeons, Samuel absolutely would have chopped the man into a hundred pieces right there on the floor. His perfect, meticulously planned wedding night had been hijacked by the most useless man in the capital.
"Right," Heena suddenly spoke up, crossing her arms as she looked at the rubble. "Do you remember this scene?"
Samuel tore his murderous gaze away from the ruined bed and looked at her, his brow furrowing.
"Oh yeah," Heena smirked, a teasing glint in her dark eyes. "I think the hole I made in your house back then was much more prominent than this one."
Samuel let out a sharp, exasperated breath, though the killing intent slowly began to fade from his shoulders. "At least no one fell from the sky and landed on my bed, Wife."
Heena chuckled softly, walking over to him. "How about you stop all this nonsense and let’s just proceed?"
Samuel paused, his brilliant, hyper-analytical brain completely unable to let the tactical error go. He looked back up at the roof. "But how did he even enter? The Alpha Squad was patrolling the perimeter. The stealth arrays I set up around this courtyard should have triggered the moment he stepped on a single tile—"
He didn’t get to finish his tactical breakdown.
Heena stepped firmly into his space, reached up, and grabbed the lapels of his crimson robe, pulling him down forcefully. "Have you gone old or something? Stop thinking."
She wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her face into his chest and letting out a long, deep breath. The scent of sandalwood and wine instantly grounded her, washing away the chaos of the night.
As she hugged him, a profound sense of satisfaction washed over her. ’God,’ Heena thought to herself, a genuine smile finally gracing her lips. ’If I had not met this man, my life in this timeline would have been a massive headache. He is such a smart, damn villain.
Samuel completely froze at her sudden, willing embrace. The tactical analysis of the roof breach instantly evaporated from his mind. He let out a low, rough sigh, wrapping his powerful arms tightly around her and burying his face into her dark hair.
"You are a terrible influence on my focus, Wife," Samuel murmured against her skin. Without another word, he swept her off her feet into his arms, entirely ignoring the ruined bed as he carried her toward the untouched, silk-draped fainting couch in the corner of the room.