Chapter 240

“Your previous invitation was way too dumb!”

After Leon’s exclusive interview invitation was outright rejected by the female journalist, he left with a face full of regret and boarded the public carriage back to the Clearing Bureau. As soon as they started moving, Black Goat couldn’t wait to squirm out from the carriage window glass, immediately chattering away with a few questions before delivering a face-full-of-pity evaluation: “If you wanted to set a trap for her, you should’ve just invited her over to your place or even the Lane Family estate. Then whether it’s Emma or Red-hair Bureau Director, catching her would’ve been way easier since she’d be caught off guard.

“But instead, you invited her to the Clearing Bureau where that woman—who’s part rebel group and under Aquarius’ command with serious injuries still healing—would be dodging you like crazy. Why would she dare go there for an interview?

“I tell you, I was watching from inside the chandelier’s glass. The moment you invited her to the Clearing Bureau, her expression completely changed. As soon as you looked away, she was already giving you suspicious side-eye glances. She clearly started doubting you!”

After jabbering on for a while and thoroughly critiquing Leon’s move as utterly foolish, Black Goat smacked its lips with lingering dissatisfaction: “Kid, this is when you realize how important I am, right? If I could’ve popped out earlier and given you a heads-up, you wouldn’t have tipped her off. Now after this, setting another trap for her will be tough. What a waste!”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re absolutely right!”

With a sidelong glance at Black Goat, Leon calmly jotted down the intelligence he had just gathered in his little notebook and coolly countered, “What if… there’s a possibility I didn’t actually intend to capture her?”

‘Huh??’

“A live spy whose identity has been exposed is far more useful than a dead one in hand.”

Without looking up, Leon continued writing as he responded, “If she’s still in contact with the Aquarius Director, we can pass some fake intelligence through her, and maybe even find the director’s location directly through her. Isn’t that more valuable than just capturing her?”

Well, that’s true…

After pondering for a bit, Black Goat couldn’t help but nod slightly, though still a bit miffed:

“Since you don’t plan to catch her, wasn’t it unnecessary to even mention the Clearing Bureau? You inviting her there made her suspect you were setting a trap, and now she’s definitely on high alert!”

“It’s better that she becomes alert.”

Recalling the intel he’d seen earlier, Leon furrowed his brows slightly, feeling the pressure as he paused his pen: “She’s a Level 1 Cleaner after all. According to the Bureau Director, elite cleaners like Senior Emma have the ability to destroy half the Capital in a day if need be. I’d probably die in just a single encounter with her.

“A person with such astonishing destructive power and unknown methods is simply too dangerous. Jerry’s friends can track her movements, but they can’t stop her from causing chaos. It’s probably only the Bureau Director herself who could subdue her instantly. But you know the Director’s situation—she absolutely can’t abandon her other duties just to keep tabs on one person. So making her cautious enough not to act recklessly but too hopeful to leave voluntarily is the safest course of action.”

“…”

In just that short time, you’ve thought so much about it?

After hearing Leon’s reasoning, Black Goat couldn’t help but smack its lips, suddenly feeling a bit estranged from the guy.

After slowly gaining some power and being “corrupted” by Emma and the Red-haired Woman for a while, Leon had changed drastically—he was no longer the angry fool he used to be.

This bastard’s heart has gotten darker than before. Not only has he started habitually laying traps for others, but he’s also becoming more and more like the scheming bunch at the Clearing Bureau, filled with twists and turns, and his poop probably comes out with threads.

“Alright.”

With malicious intent, Black Goat glanced at Leon’s butt and curiously asked:

“So what are you planning to do next? Go straight back to the bureau and wait for Emma and the red-haired woman to return?”

“As for next…”

Upon hearing this, Leon pondered for a moment, then circled something in his notebook with his homemade charcoal pencil, hesitating a bit before saying:

“First, I’ll head back to report the situation to Senior Jerry, then I’ll go see the princess to break our engagement.”

…

The sun set.

As the sunlight faded, the remnants of war swept through, leaving behind ashes and dust like streaks of dark gray paint, smearing the streets with patches of shadowy gloom.

After several brutal and grueling battles, the once prosperous city had been reduced to ruins. On the cracked streets, mechanical parts lay scattered here and there, while in the collapsed buildings, broken steam pipes spewed out weak white smoke, emitting a sharp stench.

Dust, smoke, ash, rust, blood, wailing! A desolate yet fierce wind howled through the alleys, carrying the chaotic mixture of gunpowder and scorched earth into the survivors’ nostrils, forcing tears to stream down their eyes, as if the city itself, destroyed by war, was mourning its own demise.

This…

This is my dream… The shattered city before me is the former county seat of Leon County, the completely war-torn Cornwall City.

During the kingdom’s defensive war six years ago, the mechanical forces of the Eishto Kingdom and Frostland Country fought eleven rounds of fierce battles in Cornwall City, reducing the once prosperous Cornwall City to rubble. Even counting those who fled early, more than half of Cornwall City’s residents perished.

And what I’m seeing now is the morning after the sixth round of trench warfare, just before the Eishto Kingdom’s counterattack and the start of the seventh round of fierce fighting. The events of the next two hours will become my deepest nightmare ever.

Even though I resist moving forward, the princess in the dream cannot control her actions, following her past self with numerous guards and ten battlefield doctors rushing toward the ruined factory at the end of the alley.

It was a sugar refinery that had been bombed repeatedly. The rainbow candies produced in Cornwall were once found throughout the kingdom, embodying the dreams of countless children.

But after six rounds of fierce fighting, this factory, which once held countless sweet memories, had been almost completely demolished. The walls riddled with bullet holes leaked faint steam from the ruptured pipes, and shattered machine parts lay scattered everywhere.

In stark contrast to this desolate scene, the factory floor was flowing with brightly colored syrup. In the warehouse that once stored these syrups, dozens of citizens who hadn’t evacuated in time were hiding, waiting for rescue that seemed almost impossible.

The princess in the dream heard weak cries for help, anxiously commanding the guards to pry open the door, even personally bending the deformed doorframe and rushing in first.

The last rays of sunset streamed through the broken windows, casting mottled shadows in the half-destroyed room. A child covered in sticky syrup hugged a doll, timidly staring at her. Beside the child were over thirty survivors.

Seeing the goal of her journey, the princess in the dream let out a sigh of relief, smiling in satisfaction. However, the princess aware she was dreaming looked at the doll in the girl’s hands, its cheek shattered, its face appearing to smile sorrowfully, and tightly clenched her teeth.

“Boom!”

With a tearing whistle through the air, hundreds of bombs filled with alchemical fuel, trailing pale tail flames, tore through the crimson twilight and landed on the streets of Cornwall City. The half-collapsed sugar factory turned into complete ruins, and the pools of bright syrup transformed into a surging sea of orange-yellow flames.

“No!!!”

At the instant the bright flames were about to explode fully, the princess in her sleep abruptly opened her eyes and sat up abruptly from the bed.

However, even though she successfully escaped the nightmare before the most painful moment arrived, breaking free from the torment that had haunted her for six years, her thin nightgown was drenched in cold sweat, sticking tightly to her skin, making her shiver uncontrollably.

“Huff…”

Leaning against the headboard, the princess gasped for breath for a while. Once her heartbeat gradually calmed down, she didn’t try to fall asleep again. Instead, she got up, drank a cup of ice-cold water, then sat at the desk and picked up her hand-painted ticket to continue working on the documents piled on the table.

The curse of the Nightmare King.

Every direct descendant of the royal family is plagued by nightmares after adulthood, reliving their deepest regrets and pains in dreams that feel unbearably real.

But this is good.

After finishing the document in front of her, the princess turned around, looked at the iron doll smiling on the rack behind her, silently remained quiet for a moment, then picked up a new document.

Although the curse of the Nightmare King is painful, it constantly reminds her not to forget everything that happened, always remembering what she must do.

…

As the princess worked tirelessly, the mountain of documents on the table slowly decreased, but the oil in the lamp began to run out.

A soft crackling sound came as the light in the lamp flickered, and at the same time, the maid’s gentle call echoed from the doorway.

“Your Highness? Are you asleep?”

“Not yet.”

After adjusting the wick with tweezers and brightening the dimming lamp, the princess continued reviewing the documents while gently asking,

“What is it?”

“Princess Veronica… um… Mr. Leon is here. Would you like to see him now?”

(End of Chapter)