Is it wrong to try to build a criminal Empire?

chapter 12

"I'll make you regret ever crossing my path."

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Liliruca Arde couldn’t quite understand how she’d ended up here.

The last thing she remembered was being double-crossed by her clients, moments away from death at their hands. And yet… she was alive.

Slowly, she pushed herself upright, taking in her surroundings. The room was modest, likely a basement judging by the narrow staircase leading upward. A bed, a small hearth, a closet, and the couch she lay on furnished the space.

Her mind churned with questions.

Had someone saved her…?

Bell-sama.

A chill ran down Lili’s spine. The last thing she remembered was him about to clash with her clients. The image of his cold, unflinching eyes burned into her memory.

What would he do to her after she’d betrayed him so cruelly?

Then guilt set in, heavier than the fear. If Bell-sama had saved her yet again, how could she ever face him after what she had done?

Before she could dwell further, the sound of footsteps echoed from the stairs. Her breath hitched.

It’s Bell-sama!

She wasn’t ready. She couldn’t face him.

Bell appeared at the bottom of the stairs, his face lighting up with relief as he rushed toward her, a gentle smile spreading across his features.

“Are you alright, Lili?” he asked, his voice calm and polite, as if nothing ever happened.

Shame weighed heavily on her, pressing her gaze to the floor. Words caught in her throat, unable to escape.

Bell crouched to her level, his smile softening further. “It’s alright, Lili,” he said, his voice cutting through the heavy silence. “Whatever happened is in the past. What matters now is that you’re safe.”

Carefully, he reached out and tilted her chin upward with a single finger, gently guiding her to meet his gaze.

Her breath hitched again, startled by the warmth in his expression. The cold, piercing red eyes she’d feared so much were gone—as if they had never been there at all. Instead, his gaze was kind, genuine.

“We can’t change what’s already happened,” he continued softly, “but we can still move forward from here.”

His words, so full of reassurance, sparked an unfamiliar flicker of hope in her chest. She found herself frozen by the sincerity in his gaze, the warmth of his smile.

He truly means it…

Tears blurred her vision, spilling down her cheeks as she whispered, her voice trembling, “Lili is… Lili is sorry, Bell-sama.”

Bell’s response was simple yet gentle. “It’s okay.”

The kindness in his words struck her harder than any punishment could have.

And in her raw moment of vulnerability, she failed to notice the faint, subtle smirk that tugged at the corners of All For One’s lips.

‘That was almost too easy,’ he thought, savoring the moment as he observed her fragile state.

Ah, Arde, what a beautiful little pawn-in-the-making you are.

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Asfi Al Andromeda was having a boring evening.

The sun was setting as she wandered through the grimy streets of Daedalus, following Hermes-sama’s latest "mission." She had been tasked with re-establishing contact with one of their informants who had gone silent.