Forced to Sell Myself to the Female Lead After Killing the Male Lead

”Your Grace, I’ve been thinking about a very serious problem. Because of our negligence, the Child of Destiny—that girl—managed to slip right into Lady Yumo’s side and even raised Lady Yumo’s affection for her by so much. Even a girl managed that. If Lady Yumo meets the Child of Destiny in the future... do you think she might end up falling for him?”

—

Back at the Black Rose Duke’s residence, Zhong Xizhi had once asked Xiao that very question.

In truth,

it wasn’t only Zhong Xizhi who was worried.

Most members of the Black Rose Family, along with those little Demon King-class ancestors, shared the same concern.

Judging from Lady Yumo’s behavior, she had clearly been looking forward to meeting the Chosen Ones for a very long time. As a result, she naturally held a certain degree of goodwill toward those she had finally met.

And as for the Child of Destiny—Xue Tianao—

based on all current intelligence, he was absolutely a seasoned womanizer. He had long since wandered through countless romantic affairs and knew exactly how to deal with girls.

Combined with his handsome appearance, powerful physique, and refined manners, his appeal toward women was naturally extraordinary.

Lady Yumo might have lived for hundreds of years,

but she spent virtually every day shut away inside the Great Winter Forest, rarely interacting with the outside world.

In a sense...

her heart was surprisingly innocent.

Someone like Lady Yumo had a very real chance of being deceived by a stallion like Xue Tianao.

Whenever they imagined the day Lady Yumo finally met Xue Tianao, everyone in the Black Rose Family couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

That was why the Duke had ordered Karina to attack the imperial capital of the Snow Night Empire before deliberately feigning defeat.

One of the purposes of that operation

was to completely eliminate Xue Tianao’s chance of raising Lady Yumo’s affection.

As the Duke had said,

”That man injured Lady Yumo’s children. How could Lady Yumo possibly treat him kindly?”

As it turned out, Xiao’s judgment had been completely correct.

The instant Lady Yumo saw Xue Tianao appear in the banquet hall, her beautiful face visibly darkened.

The chill that surfaced within her sapphire-blue eyes was so cold that even Zhong Xizhi shivered involuntarily.

And while shivering, the dragon-horned girl secretly revealed a delighted little smile.

’Just as expected~ The Duke’s judgment is never wrong~’

—

Meanwhile,

amid thunderous applause and the cheers of countless young women, Xue Tianao entered the banquet hall with an elegant smile.

After perfunctorily dealing with the foreign dignitaries who crowded around him, he immediately fixed his gaze upon the silver-haired girl standing quietly beside the window in the corner.

The Child of Destiny whose value had been evaluated as ”Beyond Standard”—

she was the true reason he had come to the banquet hall.

Thus,

under the envious, jealous, and resentful gazes of countless young ladies, Xue Tianao, his hands folded behind his back, slowly walked toward Mengxi.

Naturally, the members of the Asumos Church had no desire to let Xue Tianao spend too much time with their future Saintess.

However, considering the dignity of their host, along with the importance of obtaining future weapon intelligence,

after a brief hesitation,

they still stepped aside.

White Yama originally intended to stop him,

but Archbishop Nick reached out first and stopped her.

”Tonight’s theme is the dance banquet. He’s the host, and if he invites Miss Mengxi to dance, it would be improper for us to interfere.”

”...Understood...”

Left with no choice, White Yama gave up the idea.

Without her blocking his way, Xue Tianao reached Mengxi without the slightest obstacle.

Although countless people originally stood between them, Xue Tianao’s overwhelming presence alone caused many to instinctively step aside before they even had the chance to speak.

Standing before Mengxi,

he revealed that smile capable of captivating countless young women.

”May I have the honor of a dance, Miss Mengxi?”

Meanwhile,

watching Xue Tianao walk toward Mengxi,

watching him extend his hand toward the silver-haired girl with an invitation,

Yumo couldn’t help knitting her brows as she unconsciously crushed the fork in her hand into a tiny iron ball.

A complicated emotion quietly surfaced within her sapphire-blue eyes.

Although she didn’t have any favorable impression of Xue Tianao...

she still had to admit it.

He was the most handsome man she had seen in hundreds of years.

Even the Elven Prince she had met before couldn’t compare.

His appearance was absolutely flawless.

When he smiled, his charm only became more dazzling.

Gold and silver.

One man and one woman.

Standing together...

they looked like a match made in heaven.

Yumo wasn’t the only one who thought so.

The surrounding guests were saying much the same thing.

After all, in the eyes of most people, the Child of Destiny and the Child of Destiny truly were destined to be together.

At such a young age,

he had already become a Mid Seventh-Tier...

No.

A High Seventh-Tier powerhouse.

He was also the ruler of an empire.

Perhaps...

he really was worthy of Mengxi.

To be honest, in order to encourage the Child of Destiny and the Child of Destiny to unite and struggle together against fate, Yumo had thought many times about pairing Mengxi with Xue Tianao.

She had even planned to personally help bring them together.

Yet now...

seeing the two of them standing so close together,

a trace of bitterness quietly rose within her heart.

Perhaps she simply didn’t want a playboy like Xue Tianao to end up with such a pure child as Mengxi.

Or perhaps...

there was another reason.

In any case...

’It just... doesn’t feel good.’

The two of them dancing together?

A handsome man and a beautiful woman—it would probably be quite a pleasing sight.

But...

Yumo didn’t want them to dance together.

Thinking of that, Miss Yumo puffed out her cheeks as her gaze slowly drifted toward the cutlery resting on the nearby dining table.

However,

just as she was beginning to lose the urge to restrain herself and was considering doing something,

Mengxi’s voice suddenly reached her ears.

And what she said was completely unexpected.

A look of astonishment immediately appeared on Yumo’s face.

Hidden beneath that surprise...

was a faint trace of delight.

’Huh?!’

At that very moment,

right before everyone’s eyes,

facing Xue Tianao’s invitation,

Mengxi gave him an openly disdainful look.

Then, under the stunned gazes of everyone present,

she simply turned around and walked away,

completely ignoring his outstretched hand.

”Sorry, Emperor Xue Tianao. I ain’t got time~”

Leaving behind those astonishingly crude words,

Mengxi walked straight toward the food area nearby,

leaving Xue Tianao frozen where he stood with an awkward expression.

Seeing this, Toma, one of Xue Tianao’s trusted subordinates, instantly flew into a rage.

Without another word, he pointed angrily at Mengxi’s retreating figure.

”You! What is the meaning of this?! You—”

However,

just as Toma was about to teach the Child of Destiny a lesson,

Xue Tianao suddenly raised a hand to stop him.

”It’s fine.”

”But, Your Majesty! She—she’s—!”

”It’s alright. Calm down, Toma. Miss Mengxi is probably just hungry.”

As he spoke,

Xue Tianao forced out a slightly awkward smile before waving at everyone nearby.

”My apologies, everyone. It seems Miss Child of Destiny isn’t in a very good mood today. Please don’t mind it. Continue enjoying the ball.”

After successfully easing the awkward atmosphere,

Xue Tianao couldn’t help casting a displeased look toward the silver-haired girl happily eating desserts in the distance.

’You woman...’

I am now a High Seventh-Tier powerhouse.

The Emperor of the Snow Night Empire.

The hero who defeated the Demon King-class Abyss Demon, Flame Prison.

And yet...

you still dare look down on me?

Recalling the utter disdain that had filled the silver-haired girl’s eyes just moments ago,

Xue Tianao slowly clenched his fists.

Suppressing his anger,

he walked over to a nearby wine table,

picked up a glass of chilled strong liquor,

and drained it in one gulp, hoping to calm the fury burning inside him.

Fortunately, Xue Tianao’s self-control was quite impressive.

Before long, he had successfully suppressed his emotions.

At the same time,

his gaze swept across the banquet hall.

Representatives from every major faction had gathered for tonight’s welcoming banquet.

His other purpose in attending

was to use the System to identify individuals of great value,

and consider how best to recruit them into his service.

Then,

at that very instant,

his eyes landed upon another black-haired beauty.

A woman whose beauty was in no way inferior to Mengxi’s.

In an instant,

Xue Tianao’s pupils contracted violently.

His azure-blue eyes trembled uncontrollably.

It’s...

it’s her?!

’Her value...?!

It’s also... ”Beyond Standard”?!!’

After receiving the System’s evaluation,

Xue Tianao stood completely frozen in shock.

Meanwhile,

feeling Xue Tianao’s completely undisguised gaze,

Miss Yumo—still stunned by Mengxi’s unexpected behavior—finally came back to her senses.

Somewhat confused,

she looked toward Xue Tianao.

For the first time,

their eyes met.

Yumo: ???

What the hell is this guy staring at?