Chapter 391 184: Tricked

A towel was stuffed in his mouth. Seeing Carlos approach, his eyes filled with hatred.

Carlos feigned surprise. "Why, if it isn't Mr. Sean?"

"What are you doing here?"

"Tied to a chair, no less?"

Sean didn't answer.

"Hahahaha!" Carlos burst out laughing. "Sean, oh, Sean. You never expected this day would come, did you?"

Dorunla also observed the man on the chair.

'So this is Sean?'

'He's quite handsome…'

The director of the Royal Opera House had said Sean was a writer.

'He could have easily made a living off his looks, but he chose to rely on his talent instead.'

Dorunla couldn't help but feel a sense of camaraderie, a kinship born from a shared plight.

Looking at Sean's face, for a fleeting moment, she had the urge to help this man escape.

They could flee the pursuit of the Kovloki and Wolf Families together, relying on one another as fugitives on the run. In a way, it wouldn't be without romance.

Unfortunately, she could barely fend for herself at the moment.

It was uncertain if she could even escape Carlos's clutches. How could she possibly help Sean?

Carlos's voice reached her ears.

"Miss Dorunla, go play the piano."

"Something magnificent. A revenge theme, like *The Count of Monte Cristo*."

Only music like that could truly capture the elation of his vengeance being served, his wish finally fulfilled.

"Yes." Dorunla walked to the piano and exchanged a few words with the attendant. The attendant stopped what he was doing and cooperatively stepped aside, ceding the spot to her.

Heavy, low chords sounded.

Carlos closed his eyes, tilted his head back slightly, and spread his arms wide in ecstasy, as if to embrace the art-filled air.

'Ah, this is it. This is the feeling.'

Following the rhythm of the music, he slowly walked over to Sean and looked down on him.

"Allow me to introduce myself."

"My name is Carlos… Carlos Wolf."

"You may also call me 'the Artist'."

"As one of the renowned Wizards of Siracle State, Mr. Sean, you've surely heard my name?"

"No matter if you haven't."

Carlos smiled elegantly. "Now you know."

Sean stared at him coldly.

Carlos continued, "Don't be nervous, Mr. Sean."

"I'm here to pick you up."

His expression turned to one of pity. "Look at this haggard appearance of yours. You must have been through quite an ordeal these past few days, haven't you?"

"I hear Miss Bofunova enjoys whipping people, using props like shackles, and occasionally even steel wool… You've really had it rough."

"But then again, you didn't exactly lose out."

"After all, Miss Bofunova is a big shot to someone like you. Her looks and figure are no worse than any of those so-called Miss Worlds. In a way, getting to sleep with her is a win for you."

Carlos said with a grin, "Countless men would kill to get into Miss Bofunova's bed and can't."

Sean struggled, making muffled "Mmph, mmph" sounds, seemingly to express his fury.

Not every man thinks with his lower body.

Carlos quickly said, "Whoa now, I was just making a casual remark. Look at you, what's the rush?"

"How about this."

"Let's make a deal."

"Since you don't like being Bofunova's plaything, I'll take you away from here. Back to your Siracle State."

Carlos said, "But on one condition: you have to answer a few questions for me and do me a few favors."

Sean struggled even more fiercely, glaring at Carlos as if to say: 'In your dreams!'

But Carlos's smile only widened.

"I just love this defiant look of yours."

"The less you cooperate, the more excited I get."

"I'm not as busy as Bofunova. I have all the time in the world to wear you down."

"If I were you, I'd make the smarter choice."

"There's an old saying from the East: a wise man submits to the circumstances."

Carlos circled Sean, speaking as he walked. "I'm very interested in the relationship between you and Pulente. I'm also curious about what agreement you reached with him. If you're willing to tell me, I'll plead with Miss Bofunova on your behalf right now to let you go. How about it?"

This was clearly a lie.

Sean knew it, and Carlos knew it himself.

But he insisted on saying it anyway.

He loved seeing his enemies cornered with nowhere to run, forced to believe him. Then, he would go back on his word, lecturing them that an enemy's promise can't be trusted, completely extinguishing any lingering hope in their hearts. That feeling of having someone in the palm of his hand was truly exhilarating.

Sean still didn't answer.

"Yes or no, at least say something," Carlos said.

Then he deliberately let out an "Oh," putting on an apologetic expression.

"I almost forgot, your mouth is still stuffed with a towel. You can't speak."

Faced with this mockery that deliberately emphasized his predicament, the anger in Sean's eyes grew deeper.

This only pleased Carlos more.

A difficult enemy had finally fallen into his hands, and he had barely lifted a finger. It was a dual victory of both force and intellect. Watching Sean, resentful and humiliated, able only to endure his taunts and manipulations—to put it crudely, he was getting off on it.

Until, in a show of great mercy, he ripped the towel from Sean's mouth.

"Now you can speak."

Carlos's smile was profound. "I hope you'll give me the answer I want to hear. Otherwise, I don't mind stuffing this towel right back in."

In the next second,

the quartz watch on his wrist lit up.

This watch was extremely expensive, crafted with the finest techniques in Krim State. It was not only inlaid with numerous rare gems—a single one of which could allow a common person to live a life of wealth—but it was also infused with the feather essence of over a hundred Smell Crows. Therefore, aside from its beauty, status symbolism, and basic timekeeping, it had another very important function: it could discern if a person possessed Magic Power, and if that person had altered their appearance by taking a Witch Potion.

The faint light emitted by the quartz watch was not colored, but a hazy, grayish mist.

This meant the person he had just touched was not who he thought he was.

"Idiot."

"Sean" could finally speak, and immediately started cursing.

But Carlos, as if he hadn't heard, his face darkened. "Wait, you're not Sean!"

The piano music, just about to reach its crescendo, faltered for a moment.

Dorunla had been listening intently the whole time.

'Not Sean…?'

'Then who is he?'

"Where's Sean?!"

"Bofunova, you owe me an explanation!"

Carlos was furious.

He had just spent all that time gloating and monologuing in front of "Sean," only to find out this man wasn't Sean. Hadn't he said all that for nothing?

This made Carlos feel like a clown. His fury now was as immense as his elation had been moments before.

He thought Bofunova was playing him, trying to palm him off with a fake while hiding the real Sean for her own amusement.

'That damn woman!'

"Is Mr. Carlos looking for me?"

The butler, Ain, walked out from the liquor pantry holding a tray. On the tray was a glass of "Champagne."

He was still wearing the same black tuxedo, but the face was no longer that of the so-called "Ain"—it had become Sean's!

At the same time, the face of the "Sean" tied to the chair also began to change.

Wrinkles gradually crept across his features, and a hint of age appeared in his eyes and brow. Only his cold eyes remained as cold as ever. Finally, his face settled into one that Carlos knew all too well.

"Sopea??"

Carlos was stunned.

He instinctively took two steps back.

He knew of Sopea's ability. He couldn't get too close, or he might be pulled into a dream with the slightest lapse in attention.

Of the several people in the living room, the only ones who hadn't changed were the two Maids.

Because they were Maids to begin with.

One was Eleanor, and the other was Koni, who was temporarily filling in for Elise.

How could Carlos not understand by now? He had been tricked!

Sean, who should have been tied up, had become the villa's butler.

Sopea, who should have been injured and on the run, had appeared completely unharmed in the Kovloki Family's castle.

This was no longer just a matter of Sean setting a trap for him.

It was Bofunova, colluding with Sean, setting a trap for him together!

More than the fact that Sean and the others were fine, what enraged Carlos was Bofunova's betrayal.

She asked him for more money, and he paid it. She asked him to come pick up the person himself, and he came. As far as he knew, he had never offended Bofunova. Why would this woman switch sides and help a pack of prey turn against him?

Carlos was grinding his teeth so hard they might shatter.

"Bofunova, do you have any idea what you're doing!!"

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