I don't want to conquer witches anymore.

But... how did she know their goal was to take the little prince away? Did Cecil tell her? No, Cecil shouldn't know about this either, right? He didn't even explain this purpose to Ziyuan in detail.

Duke raised an eyebrow, but he didn't say anything. He just continued to listen to Ida's smiling explanation of Eve's "world rules."

"According to our 'Dawn' intelligence sources, the Pandora family's world rules are related to gifts, but I don't know any more details."

“Alright.” Duke sighed, turned to Nona who was still in heat… still processing her feelings for Duke, then took Amber’s hand and said goodbye to Ida and Cecil, “Then let’s get going.”

"Alright, I wish you all good luck in your military endeavors."

Ida, who was holding little Cecil, clapped her hands.

But her words made Duke and Amber feel a little uncomfortable.

In the floating city, the witches preside over the witch games, always needing to bless the adventurers in their own ways. Cecil, for example, blesses with a knightly salute and holy light, while Eve, the Wish Witch, offers the adventurers her best wishes. Ida's words reminded them of this part of the witch games—especially since... those words were precisely Amber's usual blessing.

Is it just a coincidence? It must be just a coincidence, right?

Duke and Amber left Guns N' Roses with strange expressions on their faces.

Having confirmed their departure, Ida shook her head, finally releasing poor little Guangbao so she could run off to greet the other "Dawn" members in the bar. Then she picked up her whiskey glass again, swirling the amber liquid, and whispered to the person behind her, "Do you think they noticed, Alice?"

Alice came out of the bar's backstage lounge, stood behind Ida, massaged her shoulders, and said casually, "They couldn't possibly have found out, could they? How could they possibly guess that you're our lovely Goddess?"

"Am I still cute? You should at least tell me I'm feminine." Ida pouted, reached out and ruffled Alice's hair, then said with a smile, "But you're being a bit presumptuous, Alice. He's Duke, you know. I don't believe he really didn't notice anything."

……

Duke and his two companions arrived at the Pandora family's territory. As they gazed upon the magnificent buildings within, Duke suddenly spoke:

"That Ida is strange."

Chapter 372 Guangbao is like a second parent to the swindlers.

"That Ida is strange."

"What's wrong?" Amber asked curiously, "What's wrong?"

She hadn't spent enough time with Ida, while Duke had been forced into "close contact" with Ida for several days, gaining a much deeper understanding of her than Amber did. This made Duke feel somewhat uncomfortable.

However, a few scattered feelings of incongruity and some flimsy evidence are not enough to establish any facts. Duke also didn't get any clues from the mute being's dormant body within him or the mythical dagger in his hand—theoretically, without the mythical dagger, Ida shouldn't be able to act alone at all, but after the Little Mermaid Witch Game, with Alice as the apostle as the mute's anchor, the situation was different.

“Honestly, I’m inclined to continue cooperating with Ziyuan, even if she and her intelligence network overseeing the sheriffs are a little weaker. I really can’t figure out this Ida.” Duke sighed and looked at Nona, whom he had specially brought along. “Forget about Ida for now. The more important thing is to rescue Cecil. Nona, do you know this area? Which way should we go if we want to see Eve directly?”

Excited that Duke had spoken to her, Nona nodded, her face flushed, and stammered, "I...I know, I'll lead the way!"

After saying that, she walked ahead, and Duke and Amber followed behind her, talking in hushed tones as they walked.

Amber leaned close to Duke's ear and whispered, "What exactly is that cake? It's kind of scary."

Duke was also somewhat puzzled: "Logically speaking, the effect shouldn't be this good. I didn't have this brainwashing effect when I used it last time."

"?" Amber's eyes widened suddenly, and she said angrily, "Why are you so skilled at this? Just how many sisters have you fed cake and brainwashed?"

Duke glanced at her, and she immediately stuck out her tongue and chuckled when he glared at her. Duke quickly realized that Amber was just joking, but he still had to explain: "I used it on Saint Megan."

“Oh, back in Candy Castle…” But to his surprise, after Duke explained, Amber’s attitude suddenly turned cold. “Why are you explaining to me? We weren’t even together back then, were we? What you did back then has nothing to do with me.”

Having said that, she turned her gaze away and focused on continuing her journey.

Duke paused for a moment, then realized he had inadvertently stepped into Amber's minefield again. Back during the Candy Castle witch game, Duke had "abandoned Amber" and faced the dangerous Saint Megan alone, an act that was precisely the reason she had argued and given him the cold shoulder before.

He slapped himself hard across the face. Nona, who was leading the way, turned around abruptly, her rosy face turning deathly pale. Amber, who had looked away, instinctively turned back to Duke, glancing at him with concern before her expression hardening again: "What are you doing?"

"Let me calm down."

Duke slapped himself, then covered his face with both hands, slowly exhaled, and began to think calmly.

Nona's cautious behavior is quite interesting. The mixed berry cake seems to have worked, but a large part of her enthusiasm is still acting, so we must pay close attention to her actions and prevent her from leading them into an ambush. Amber's tantrum can't be resolved immediately; he can't change his personality overnight. This can only be addressed gradually through negotiation.

The more critical issue is Cecil.

How did Cecil get tricked into getting into the Witch Game?

Duke sees this problem as unsolvable—because there are too many possibilities. Lite-On could be tricked into a trap in a hundred different ways, and none of them are surprising. Zhao Benshan has to come up with a new trick every year to get Fan Wei to unload goods, but if it were Lite-On, Zhao wouldn't need to change his rhetoric at all; he could fool Cecil back and forth and sell 648 canes a year, heading straight for financial freedom.

The other question is even more baffling.

Why didn't Cecil, who was tricked into the witch's game, manage to fight her way out with her all-powerful "I want" gun?

It's important to understand that Cecil is no longer the hero-level witch she once was, who was easily defeated by the rules of the Casino Tower. She is now a top-tier near-legendary with a legendary destiny, and has almost completed the Great Oath (referring to destroying the order of the floating city's underground world). If she hadn't been suddenly teleported to a parallel world, Cecil would probably already be a legend.

Even today, Cecil is a formidable opponent, perhaps even for legendary figures.

Duke even suspected that her joining "Dawn" and causing trouble in the underground world of the floating city in a parallel universe was to complete the final piece of her puzzle to become a legend. Given the chaos Cecil had created for these four major families, she was probably only one step away from becoming a legend.

As we all know, no matter how domineering the rules of the Witch Game world are, they have to bow down in front of the legendary destiny. Back in the Babel Tower Turtle Soup Witch Game, Cecil killed her way through all the memory worlds with brute force. So how is she trapped now?

You see, in this parallel world, the world rules brought about by the Witch Game are like the "gold-devouring gate," naturally integrated into the real world, without any barriers between worlds. As long as Cecil shatters the world rules with "I want to," he will naturally be able to break free.

There is only one truth!

Duke drew his conclusion, clasped his hands together, and exclaimed loudly. His exaggerated behavior drew a sidelong glance from Amber: "What else have you learned?"

"Guangbao has probably been scammed again! The kind where she gets sold out and then helps the seller count the money."

"Oh, as long as you don't get emotionally deceived... A beautiful girl like Cecil, who is innocent, cute and kind, is probably only deceived emotionally once in her life. Good people should be rewarded."

"Who are you accusing Guangbao of deceiving your feelings?"

"I didn't say you were lying. If someone gets angry, I won't say who it is."

"Nonsense, do you think I don't know who has deceived Guangbao's feelings?"

Duke and Amber started playfully teasing each other, and the somewhat cold atmosphere between them became cheerful as they teased Guangbao.

Just as the two people behind her were laughing and showing affection, Nona suddenly stopped and pursed her lips in confusion—a few familiar people were approaching them. They were direct descendants of the Pandora family and knew Nona.

Duke was right; the mixed berry cake did work, increasing Nona's affection for him. However, she didn't become a love-struck fool after eating the cake. She was still capable of rational analysis, though she had a slight bias towards Duke. Her current behavior was purely an act—that bias didn't affect her judgment. Nona's primary goal was still to escape, but now that she had escaped, she most likely wouldn't call for reinforcements to hunt down Duke.

At this moment, Nona began to struggle with her decision.

Should we ask them for help? If we ask them, will Duke beat us to death?

Should we help Duke and the others cover for them? If we help them cover for them, I won't have a chance to escape either.

Just as Nona was struggling with her decision, Duke quickened his pace and took the initiative to go to meet those people.

Hi everyone.

Chapter 373 Elegance! Absolutely too elegant!

Hi everyone.

Duke quickened his pace, approaching the Pandora family members. He smiled kindly at them and began to speak, "My name is Duke, this is Amber, and you should all know Nona, right?"

With just a few words of introduction, he drew the young men and women of the Pandora family into his rhythm, making them subconsciously think that he and Amber were both Nona's friends, thus binding themselves to Nona, who hadn't even spoken yet.

The group of young people consisted of two men and one woman. The woman looked about 70% like Eve, almost like a younger version of Eve. The two young men also had some features that resembled Eve's, making it clear that they were all members of the Pandora family.

The young woman, in particular, seemed very familiar with Nona. She glanced at her friend and gave her a bright smile: "Nona, what brings you here? Weren't you supposed to be a guard earning points?"

“I’m on a shift break.” Nona glanced at Duke, subtly swallowed, and didn’t bother to talk to her three friends—after all, Duke could probably take them all down in five seconds. She went along with what Duke said and smiled at the young Pandora girl, “I just happened to bring some friends to see the territories of our four great families. These two…”

"I am the fourth princess of the Silverleaf Dynasty in the Elf Kingdom. My name is Amber Silverleaf. It's a pleasure to meet you all." Amber displayed a dignified and elegant expression, performed a graceful noble greeting to the three members of the Pandora family, and then took Duke's hand, continuing, "Duke is my husband."

Nona: "?"

Nona was stunned, but Duke calmly stepped forward, blocking her somewhat bewildered expression, and shook hands with one of the three equally bewildered young men, saying with a grin, "Hello, hello, let me introduce myself, I am the son-in-law of the Elf Kingdom."

The three young members of the Pandora family were momentarily stunned, then realized how impolite they had been, and hurriedly and awkwardly returned the greeting to Amber, saying, "It is an honor to meet you, Your Highness Amber, Your Highness Duke."

Their aristocratic etiquette was a mess and utterly chaotic mess. In Amber's eyes, only ignorant children in noble families would behave in such a chaotic manner. However, Amber was the most unconventional princess in the current era of the Elf Kingdom, and she had always disdained aristocratic etiquette. Naturally, she would not frown at their rudeness.

Duke, on the contrary, raised an eyebrow.

It seems that the four major families of the floating city are not ancient noble families... in fact, they were originally nothing, just nouveau riche families who rose to prominence through a few individuals. The reason they can control one of the three powers of the floating city is only because of their outstanding personal strength and the isolated environment of the floating city itself.

As Duke sized them up, the three young people were also observing Amber and Duke. In their eyes, Amber's poise and elegance matched their concept of a "princess," and her striking pure-blooded elf features and unusual aura further confirmed her identity—as for whether there really was a Silverleaf Dynasty in a parallel world, that was beyond their knowledge.

The nouveau riche have been isolated and secluded in the floating city for too long; they have long been cut off from the world.

Duke, on the other hand, seemed out of place with the elegant elven princess beside him. He didn't have the "extreme elegance" of a nobleman; instead, he was joking and laughing, much like a commoner. He was more like a seasoned adventurer than the elven princess's husband.

However, after taking a closer look at Duke's appearance, the young people immediately understood everything—it's no wonder that someone as handsome as him became the son-in-law of the Elf Kingdom!

Sometimes, Duke's Charm 25 can not only personally charm, but also make many lies seem real.

When Amber chose to answer in this way, the order of importance of the three of them in the eyes of the younger members of the Pandora family changed from "Nona and two strangers" to "Princess Amber and her husband, and Nona." And for the younger members, Amber was naturally the most important.

“Your Highness Silverleaf, how about we take you to see the head of our Pandora family?”

Amber smiled gently, nodded to the girl who had made the suggestion, and then, under the gaze of everyone, maintained the composure befitting a princess of the kingdom, standing quietly and waiting for them to lead the way. Under the elegant elven princess's watchful gaze, the young people of Pandora, who already possessed a "nouveau riche" mentality and usually indulged in dubious aristocratic etiquette, all became eager to show off, vying to guide Amber.

"Thank you."

Amber said this to the girl who was leading the way, and then she took steps as if she were walking a fashion show. Her steps were fast, steady and elegant, and her whole person seemed to make the Pandora family's territory shine. Even when she was just walking, she was walking out of a beautiful landscape painting.

Not only were the members of the four families, who had never seen the world before, stunned, but even Duke was amazed by the demeanor Amber displayed.

Elegant! Absolutely so elegant!

Such comments popped into everyone's head, but Duke was probably the most surprised—after all, he was the only one present who knew what kind of person this perverted elf was usually, and Duke was the one most shocked by the contrast.

This lazybones who can teleport and never take a step, this pervert who would rather read doujinshi than socialize, this freak who would rather panic than remain calm and collected, actually has such an elegant side?

So everyone was so engrossed in Amber's incredibly elegant performance that they unknowingly traversed the Pandora family's territory for quite some time, until they arrived at an unremarkable bungalow. Then, the Pandora girl introduced it to Amber: "This is where our family head usually lives."

"Where does Ms. Eve Pandora live?"

Duke looked at the small house with a strange expression. It looked like a single apartment and didn't seem like the living environment a head of a household should have. Pandora, who was standing next to Duke, quickly denied it, saying, "You should call her Miss Eve."

"why?"

“Because Miss Eve is not married yet, we can’t call her ‘madam’,” the Pandora girl said earnestly. “If the head of the family hears this, she will be furious.”

Upon hearing this, Duke and Amber almost lost their composure, especially Amber, who, with her professional training, struggled to hold back her laughter and maintain the elegance of an elven princess.

In their world, Eve is an older single woman who has never had a romantic relationship with any man... So, in this parallel world, Eve is the head of a large family, yet she's still an older single woman?

Chapter 374: I Can't Keep Making This Up

Duke managed to hold back his laughter, while Amber, though in a more difficult position (because she had known Eve longer), maintained her elegant smile, thanks to her excellent upbringing as an elven princess.