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Night was nearing its end. Yet Lauren was still buried in work.

At this critical moment, with Chief Inspector Adrian forced to rest and recover, the responsibility of coordinating the entire bureau had fallen onto her shoulders as the deputy chief inspector.

The pressure was overwhelming. No matter how much she handled, the work simply never ended. These past few days, she had practically moved into her office, even dragging her bed inside. And still, there was never enough time. She had been so busy that, even now, she still had not eaten dinner.

Especially after what happened at noon with those two little troublemakers earning Landon’s resentment, her blood pressure had nearly shot through the roof again. The Ye family holding a grudge would definitely affect the Inspection Bureau’s future operations.

“Tch… it’s all because of those two little brats.” The moment she thought about it, Lauren’s irritation surged again. Even now, she still could not figure out how those two little ancestors had managed to escape prison.

At the same time, though, she was also afraid.

If something happened to those two during such a critical period, the Inspection Bureau would truly be screwed beyond repair. Even if they jumped into the river, they still would not be able to wash themselves clean of the mess.

“And of all times, all these headaches just had to pile up now!” She picked up the cup of tea beside her, which had long since gone cold, and drained it in one gulp, barely managing to suppress the frustration boiling inside her.

But once the anger faded, hunger immediately surfaced in its place.

“Haven’t eaten yet?”
“Of course not. I’m busy.”
“Then here, this is for you.”

A fragrant piece of roasted meat suddenly appeared in front of Lauren.

Her eyes lit up instantly. It was like someone delivering a pillow right when she was about to fall asleep. Which considerate subordinate had suddenly become so thoughtful that they even bought her a late-night snack?

“Thanks.” Lauren accepted the roasted meat with obvious delight, then looked up, just about to praise whichever sharp-eyed subordinate had done this for her— Only to see the grinning face of Lilith standing in front of her.

“Ah, it’s nothing, really. Just a piece of roasted meat. No need to thank me.”

Lilith wore an unbearably smug expression that practically screamed *this is a reward from your benevolent boss*. Like a magnanimous boss caring for her employee, she even patted Lauren on the shoulder before saying: “Alright then, make sure you work hard after you finish eating. As for us, we’re going to sleep first.”

Then she grabbed Liana beside her and dove straight onto the bed Lauren had moved into the office. The two girls laughed and wrestled around as they quickly removed their outer clothes and slipped under the blanket.

After pulling the covers over herself, Lilith comfortably rolled over with a satisfied sigh. “Mmm… this place is way more comfortable. Those iron beds in the prison were hard as hell. How’s a delicate little girl like me supposed to sleep in a place like that?”

“……” Lauren stood there staring blankly at the scene before her. Her mouth stiffened. Her expression stiffened. Her entire body stiffened. She stared at the two little girls occupying her bed for a long, long moment, her brain completely unable to process what was happening.

Only after the girls, who had clearly exhausted themselves fooling around all day, closed their eyes comfortably, quickly falling asleep and even letting out faint little snores… Did she finally snap back to reality.

“Why the hell are you two here?!” Completely forgetting about the roasted meat, Lauren charged over immediately.

“That’s my bed! Get the hell off it!” She grabbed the blanket and yanked hard. It did not move. She pulled again… Still nothing. Lauren stared at the two of them in horror. ‘Are these two b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲s̲ made of iron or something? Why are they so damn heavy?!’

“Damn it! Give me back my bed already!” She shook the two girls violently, trying to wake them up. But neither of them stirred.

Liana merely rolled over, and with a soft smack, casually slapped her hand right across Lauren’s cheek. “Mmnh… nooo, Mountain Ghost… you can’t touch me there…”

Lauren: “……”

Watching the two of them enter dreamland at light speed, Lauren covered her cheek as her eyes instantly reddened. Grinding her teeth in fury.

‘These little b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲s̲… they only ever knew how to bully me. The two of them were definitely sent by the heavens specifically to torment me, weren’t they?!’

But… there was nothing she could do. Because she could never truly bring herself to do anything to these two girls. If anything, she should have been relieved they were safe and unharmed.

“Damn it…” Lauren picked up the roasted meat and bit down viciously. As though what she was biting into was not roasted meat at all, but the flesh of those two little troublemakers.

“Why did I have to work overtime this late? Why was I working this late, only to end up sleeping on the sofa? Why do those two little b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲s̲ only know how to bully me?! And damn it… why is this roasted meat so freaking delicious?”

***

The night gradually deepened. Even Lauren, who had still been working overtime, had curled herself up pitifully on the reception sofa and drifted off to sleep.

“Those damn little brats… just wait until you see how scary I can be…” A smile hung at the corner of her lips. It seemed she was having a rather pleasant dream.

At that very moment, however, another office within the Inspection Bureau remained brightly lit. The highest-ranking officer of the Inspection Bureau, and one of the few 9th Stage experts in all of Maplefall Town, Chief Inspector Adrian, was still busy sorting through information.

Although Lauren had stubbornly taken all the bureau’s miscellaneous duties onto herself so he could preserve his strength and remain in peak condition, it only made it harder for him to relax.

Instead, organizing the Moon Demon’s past intelligence reports was the only thing that gave him any real peace of mind.

**Knock knock.**

A sudden knock sounded at the office door. Adrian raised his head. Lauren stood at the doorway with a gentle smile, holding a cup of hot tea.

“Still working?”

“So you caught me, huh?” Adrian paused for a moment before letting out a bitter smile. “Well… it’s the Moon Demon, after all. The more prepared we are, the better our chances.”

“If you want better chances, then you shouldn’t be exhausting yourself like this.” Lauren walked over to him. Lowering her head slightly, she looked at him seriously. A strand of long hair slipped down from her forehead and brushed lightly against his face, ticklish and soft. “Drink your tea and get some proper rest. We’ll handle the analysis of the intelligence.”

“You all have it rough too. Honestly, this is all because I’m such an incompetent chief inspector.” Adrian accepted the tea from Lauren and took a small sip. “The tea’s good.”

“Thank you for the compliment.” Lauren straightened up, clearly having no intention of staying any longer. “Then I won’t disturb you anymore. Make sure you rest properly.”

“Mm.” Adrian nodded. But as though he suddenly remembered something, he called out to Lauren just as she was about to leave. “Oh right, Laurie, wait a second.”

“What is it?” Lauren turned around in confusion.

“Come here. There’s something I need to give you.” Adrian beckoned to her while rummaging through his desk drawer. Without thinking too much about it, Lauren walked over. “You’re the deputy chief inspector. It’s about time this was entrusted to you.”

Adrian searched through the drawer for quite a while. Only after Lauren drew close did he finally pull the item out. And then… Suddenly… stabbed Lauren’s abdomen.

Lauren’s eyes widened like a startled goldfish. Then, in utter disbelief, she slowly lowered her head to look at Adrian, who had suddenly driven a dagger straight into her stomach.

“When did you figure it out?”

“Heh… from the very beginning, naturally.” Adrian let out a cold, disdainful sneer. “You looked convincing enough, but didn’t you know? Lauren actually values her sleep quite a bit. Even when working overtime, she would never stay up past midnight.”

“……”
“And she doesn’t know how to brew tea either!”
“……”
“And she also hates it when I call her Laurie!”
“……I see. I thought my disguise was flawless, but it turns out it was riddled with holes.”

Having her disguise exposed, *Lauren* did not show the furious embarrassment Adrian had expected. Instead, her lips curled into an amused smile. “However… did you really think the thing I poisoned was the tea?”

“What?” Adrian froze. If it was not the tea, then what was it? An ominous feeling instantly rose in his heart. But before he could react, the agonizing pain erupting from his abdomen instantly robbed him of all ability to move.

“This poison… has no cure below the Saint realm.” *Lauren* lowered her head and coldly stared at the struggling Adrian. A sinister, screeching laugh escaped her lips. Strands of long hair began falling from her head one after another, landing on the ground before melting into dark green liquid that hissed as it corroded the floor.

“Adrian, in the end, you’re still far too sentimental. The moment you became suspicious, you should have struck immediately instead of waiting until you were certain.”

“Ghh… Moon Demon…” Adrian’s eyes widened faintly. Reflected within his gradually dimming pupils was the face before him, its true appearance slowly shedding the disguise. “It was actually… you?”