A Scumbag Always Gets What He Deserves

8: Rege the Lion

Jian Qiao had returned to the hotel.

The rain outside was getting heavier and heavier, and the patter of raindrops was accompanied by the long and mellow bells of the church, converging into a hypnotic serenade.

Jian Qiao was sitting on a rocking chair on the balcony, resting his forehead on one hand, lightly tapping the rhythm of the bells with the other. His eyelids slightly opened, then slightly closed, as if he were about to fall asleep. He liked rainy nights, he even liked the bells that rang frequently and without warning late at night.

He needed some noise before he dared to fall asleep, because the sound of the outside world could guide him to wake from the terrible dream.

His servants knew his habits. While making the bed they chattered on and on about the secrets they'd learned from the coachman.

"Lord Rege is so infatuated. Did you know? In order to get engaged to Lady Mia, he even renounced his claim to inherit Grande. Although he's the second oldest son, the knights of Grande worship him and are more willing to follow him. He also has the support of Queen Moen, so he can actually compete with Hall Grande."

"The old Duke doesn't like Lady Mia, so he forbade them to marry and threatened to drive them out of the house. But they got engaged anyway. What a steadfast love!"

"However, Lord Rege also has quite a few lovers outside. They say he has a book called 【Chronicles of the Pursuit of Fragrance】, which records the secrets of the most beautiful women in Tortus. Every one of those women without exception have been his mistresses."

"He's so handsome, hearty, strong, and well born, no wonder all women are smitten with him. It's just a pity, once the old Duke passes away he certainly won't have a good outcome. His former enemies will join hands to tear him apart, and the first person to kill him will certainly be Hall."

"Hall's in love with Lady Mia, even a fool can see it in his eyes. He's so obsessed with that beauty, to get her he'll definitely make Lord Rege disappear forever. How terrible! I already foresee a tragedy! Lord Rege should have never gotten engaged to Lady Mia, much less given up his inheritance."

The manservant said worriedly, "He's taken so many missteps, and now he's falling into the abyss."

The other servant sighed. "No one can save him, including Queen Moen. Both of them, brother and sister, are almost finished."

While listening to the gossip Jian Qiao pushed his toes against the floor, making the rocking chair sway back and forth.

To give up everything for a beauty, that didn't seem at all like something Rege would do. Although they'd only spoken once, Jian Qiao had seen the burning flame in the man's eyes. That flame could be called ambition, but another name for it was protection.

Rege used every means possible to amass wealth and power, then used that wealth and power to realize his unfulfilled ambition to guard those he wanted to protect.

Compared to Hall's muddy eyes filled with greed and cruelty, Jian Qiao preferred Rege's eyes, pure and blue. All his feelings were written in his eyes, he was a simple man.

As he thought, those blue eyes appeared in Jian Qiao's mind. He shut his eyelids, imagined looking into those vivid irises, and before he knew it he fell asleep.

Meanwhile, Rege was standing in front of the faceless portrait of the 【Water Nymph】. He gazed at it for a long time.

Mia said teasingly, "When will your true love finally have a face? I hope you give her a present soon."

The fog in Rege's eyes slowly dispersed, and the strange idea he couldn't quite grasp disappeared with it.

He rubbed between his eyebrows, his tone full of confusion, "Just now, for a moment, I thought her hair should be black. The goddess born from the coldest spring of the deep forest ought to have black hair."