She Belongs To The Devil

"And that is why I think you are every bit deserving."

For a moment, Edwin was stunned by that statement from Adeline. He had believed that Adeline was a kind and pure-hearted girl. He had thought that by being loyal to her and following her, he could have his salvation.

However, from that statement, it sounded as though he had gone from following one criminal mastermind to another.

But before he could doubt Adeline's intention any further, Adeline spoke a bit sternly, "You are perfect for the title of my Personal Advisor because you know every loophole that criminals like you and your mother use to evade the law."

Though she had said nothing wrong by calling him a criminal, Edwin's heart shrank a little when he heard her calling that.

Adeline got up from her chair and began walking towards the shelf while explaining why he would fit the role, "I bet you know how to get rid of even the smallest evidence of such heinous crimes. And I bet you also know all the corrupt accomplices inside the Palace who help criminals like you get away with everything."

Edwin could not protest even when Adeline was outrightly calling him out. It was true that he had seen his mother get rid of the dead bodies of his maids as if that was what she would usually do.

She took out a file from the shelf and walked back towards her chair. "Brother Edwin, I need you to enlighten me about such loopholes and help me find pieces of evidence against such crimes. And I need you to help me get rid of all the corrupt people inside and outside the Palace who helped your mother to cover up all the murders that she has committed."

"All the murders?" Edwin frowned and kept on staring at Adeline as she settled back on her chair.

Adeline looked Edwin in the eyes with all seriousness and questioned him, "Edwin, can I trust you completely?"

Edwin's brows knitted in tune with this sudden question. But he had already decided that he would be loyal to Adeline, or rather, he had already promised the Deity that he would be loyal to her. So there was no point in having hidden agenda unless he wanted to throw away his stolen life.

"Yes, you can trust me completely," Edwin replied resolutely.

Adeline was not satisfied with that answer though. So she asked more clearly again, "Following me might mean that you might have to go against your mother someday. I don't know if you are aware of the countless crimes that your mother has committed, but what I know is that I plan to punish her for her actions. Will you be able to stay loyal to me even when I try to punish your mother?"

Two words, in particular, resounded inside Edwin's head – Countless crimes. He, of course, had seen his mother murdering those two maids right in front of him. But other than that, he wasn't that aware of his mother's activities.

So he asked, "What crimes did my mother commit other than what I mentioned earlier?"

Adeline put the file in front of Edwin and turned the pages. "These are the list of crimes that I know about. And there might be others which I am not aware of."

Edwin's eyes widened in disbelief as Adeline flipped through the pages. There were three whole pages of the crimes under Lillian's name.

"And most of them are murders," Adeline emphasized while a hint of rage ran through her eyes.

That was not the end of crimes of Lillian. She turned another page and said after exhaling loudly, "And these are the crimes that she committed against me, directly or indirectly."

Edwin felt a sting in his heart when his eyes fell on the first line of that page. It was written, "Killed Auvera, my mother, by giving her slow poison."

"She killed your mother?" Edwin muttered under his breath. He was aware of his mother's hatred towards both Auvera and Adeline. He vaguely remembered that his mother used to be agitated by Auvera's presence. But he had never thought that his mother had gone as far as killing one of the concubines.

He still could not believe it so he asked Adeline with doubts looming over his eyes, "How do you know about all these crimes when even I don't know about them?"

Adeline's pupils dilated as she remembered the memories of Lillian that Theodore had shown him. And she simply said, "Let's just say that I have a very reliable informant. I don't want to expose his identity."

She looked into Edwin's eyes that were still full of doubts and made an attempt to clear them, "But let me tell you this. Even I had doubted the authenticity of this information. So I dug up any clues that I could find. They all pointed that Lillian had indeed committed these crimes. If you don't believe me, I guess you can directly ask your mother. I doubt that she would lie to you."

Edwin was analyzing Adeline's every little movement and facial expression. They all told him that Adeline was being truthful with him.

His eyes then fell on the open page again. He didn't even want to go through all the other lines. He did not want to feel guilty for the crimes that his mother committed against Adeline. If he read through all the lines, he was sure that he would not even be able to make eye contact with Adeline for the rest of his life.

So he quickly lowered his gaze and apologized to Adeline, "I know that my apology will mean nothing now and it will not bring your mother back, but still, I would like to apologize to you in my mother's stead."

Adeline was being very calculative all this while. She was going to bring out the topic related to Lillian's crime some other time. But since Edwin himself started that topic, it was easier for her to play along and pit the mother and son against each other.

Edwin willingly came to be her ally, so she was going to use him to the fullest.

Seeing that Edwin was getting emotional and apologetic, Adeline instantly took this opportunity to inconspicuously plant the seed of war between the mother and son.

She touched her mother's name that was written on the page and said in a melancholic tone, "If you want to apologize to me, then nothing would be better than bringing justice to all the victims of your mother's crime."

Adeline looked at Edwin with sorrowful eyes and asked him, "You said you wanted salvation, right? Then let this be your salvation."