ABFMV Chapter 11 Part 1

Miel forced himself to stay calm and said with a hint of provocation, “You know as well as I do that His Majesty only needs the Xu family for now. Once he no longer needs them, the Xus will become a thorn in his side.”

Of course, Xu Linlang knew that already. Since ancient times, rulers could never tolerate subordinates who overstepped their bounds and won the hearts of the people.

In fact, in the original game storyline, once Emperor Rong Chen had stabilized the realm, he began suppressing the Xu family at every turn.

Later, he even staged an “accident” that led to Marshal Xu’s death on the battlefield, and Rong Ruyue followed him in death out of grief.

From then on, the Xu family began to collapse.

Admiral Robert was framed by Rong Chen as the mastermind and sentenced to death.

The entire Peter family became his puppets, and the military fell completely under Rong Chen’s control.

As the protagonist grew in later arcs, Rong Chen tried more than once to sabotage him, but in the end, not even he could overcome the halo of the Empire’s chosen hero.

When Xu Linlang played through it, she had marveled at how vicious the emperor was—willing to discard even his sister and wife for the sake of power.

However, Xu Linlang only knew this because she had the advantage of hindsight.

Standing before her now, Miel knew nothing of what was to come.

His father would be executed, his aunt imprisoned for life, and eventually, unable to bear the repeated blows, he would lose his sanity.

Pretty tragic, really.

Thinking of this, Xu Linlang’s gaze toward Miel softened with a trace of pity. “When His Majesty no longer needs the Xu family, do you really think he’ll still need yours?”

Miel immediately shot back, “My aunt is the queen. She’s not the same in His Majesty’s eyes.”

Xu Linlang raised her brows. “And my mother is his sister. Put it this way—if one day he can cast aside his own beloved sister, what do you think a mere wife is worth?”

Miel bit his lip hard, stung but unable to come up with a rebuttal.

Leaning forward with both hands on the desk, Xu Linlang said, “Your family only exists because His Majesty needs someone to counterbalance the Xu family’s power. Once we fall, you’ll be useless.”

“We’re… just grasshoppers tied to the same rope.”

Miel’s face turned pale. As absurd as her words sounded, they still shook his confidence.

All this time, he had relied on his aunt’s status as queen to stay self-assured, convinced that when the Xu family fell, his own clan would rise.

But if the emperor could abandon even the Xu family, then to him, the Peters meant nothing at all…

The more he thought about it, the more unsettled he felt. Finally, he turned and headed toward the trial grounds. “I’ll help you this once.”

Xu Linlang wasn’t bothered. “I don’t need you to help me forever—just stop making trouble for me in the future.”

Miel’s throat tightened. The way she said it made him sound like a villain, which left him strangely uncomfortable.

Weird. They were supposed to be rivals—disliking each other was normal. So why did her opinion bother him so much?

He kicked at a pebble and muttered, “Rude. Can’t even say thank you.”

Suddenly, a heavy hand clapped his shoulder. He looked up to see Xu Linlang smiling at him. “I heard that.”

Miel: “…”

He had meant for her to hear it!

But Xu Linlang just folded her arms and walked on. “You’re in charge of the trial grounds and president of the Student Council. Serving students is your duty. You should learn to give sincerely without expecting anything in return.”

Miel: “…”

Soon, they arrived at the barrier. This time, Xu Linlang wasn’t repelled when she stepped forward.

She flicked her wrist terminal and said to Miel outside the barrier, “Leave me your contact info?”

Her sudden request nearly made him choke. His ears flushed red. “Don’t get the wrong idea. I only helped because I don’t want you spreading fake rumors. It’s not about helping you. Besides, our families are mortal enemies.”

Xu Linlang’s wide eyes blinked. “If you don’t leave me a way to reach you, then even if I find the kitten and you’re not here, I still won’t be able to take it out.”

She remembered clearly—this barrier allowed beasts out but not humans in.

Miel: “…”

His face darkened. “I’m not your servant to come running whenever you call.”

Xu Linlang spread her hands. “If something happens to me inside the trial grounds, wouldn’t the person in charge be responsible?”

Miel felt completely cornered by this infuriating girl. Clenching his teeth, he scanned her terminal. “Fine. Call me when you’re out.”

Then he stormed off angrily.

Watching him waddle away like a little penguin, Xu Linlang thought her rival really didn’t seem all that bright.

Maybe that was why Rong Chen later gutted the Peters’ influence—because he couldn’t stand such a dimwitted successor? she mused inwardly.

But she quickly turned her attention back to searching for the kitten.

The trial grounds were dense with vegetation. Even with C8’s wide-range scanning activated, she still had to search carefully to make out the kitten’s tiny paw prints.

Following the tracks led her to a winding creek.

And then—the paw prints vanished.

The trail had gone cold. No matter how hard Xu Linlang and C8 searched, they couldn’t find another trace of the kitten’s genetic markers.

Even when she called its name again and again, the surroundings stayed silent. No flash of white fur appeared.

Xu Linlang stared at the flowing water. “Could it have fallen in…?”

There was no sign of the kitten anywhere else, which meant the only possibility was that it had entered the river and never came back up.