Chapter 61: The Iron Cross

"Vincent's life, I must have it."

"Sob, sob... I'm not blaming you, in fact, I should thank you... Vincent, Vincent was never a good person to begin with. When he was pursuing me, he tried to use underhanded tactics on me many times. If it weren't for you, I might have already fallen victim to him..."

Robin thought to himself that according to the system, she was designated as Vincent's mistress, and yet she had been with him countless times.

Perhaps it would be better not to call her Jennifer, but rather Chacha.

As it turned out, Zhang Wuji's mother was right: the prettier a woman is, the better she is at lying.

One must admit that Jennifer's mental fortitude made her even more suitable to be an agent than Agnes.

Vincent had arrested Jennifer's parents, shattering their relationship, and yet Jennifer had adjusted instantly, found her bearings, and sought out a new backer. That was no small feat.

Upon seeing Vincent commit murder in the prison, Robin's anger had been palpable, whereas Jennifer had been able to keep her emotions completely under control.

"However, when he... when he was pursuing me, all the others were watching. I didn't dare to offend him, so I had to maintain a correspondence with him, and I didn't dare refuse the gifts he sent... Because of that, none of them dared to mess with me, and they never made me do any of the dirty or heavy work."

Robin indicated that he understood.

Accept the gifts, but keep your heart out of it.

No, wait—Jennifer was not like those modern entitled princesses; at least she actually put out.

"When that bearded man brought me here today, they even reported me, claiming I was Vincent's mistress. I told them Vincent had already published in the newspaper that I belonged to the Grand Duke, that I was your friend and Agnes's friend, and that Vincent had even arrested my own parents."

"That bearded man didn't say much else; he just told me to stay and help out, to keep the people at the hospital from causing trouble, and then he left me alone..."

"I wanted to return to the café, but the soldiers at the hospital wouldn't let me go back... They rounded up all the off-duty medical staff and brought them to the hospital too. A lot of wounded soldiers arrived shortly after, so I went to help care for them."

When Jennifer reached this point, a trace of genuine emotion slipped through, because she truly had never done so much grueling, dirty work before.

In the past, the only people she cared for were the wealthy and powerful; she didn't even like nursing elderly people, let alone blood-soaked soldiers.

Still, with so many soldiers being wheeled in, it would have been inexcusable for her not to lend a hand.

"Then, I saw you being carried in here. I told them I was the nurse who had been taking care of you all along, and that's how I managed to get into your ward."

"Just now, I wanted to find a doctor to ask what medication you still needed, but no one would pay any attention to me..."

"Wuwuwu... I was so scared..."

Jennifer buried her face in Robin's chest and wept, the faint, delicate fragrance of her skin drifting bit by bit into his nostrils.

Robin could easily imagine that she must have thoroughly cleaned herself up in the ward's washroom and applied some kind of perfume as well.

"There, there, don't be scared... Are there soldiers outside my door?"

Robin patted her back.

"Mm..." Jennifer nodded hurriedly.

"Have them come in. I'll ask them to go find Agnes."

"Alright..."

***

After leaving the room, Jennifer instantly shed her fragile demeanor, lifted her chin high, and cast a haughty, arrogant glance at the doctors and nurses bustling busily around the hospital.

"Hey, you, come here." Jennifer beckoned, and a nurse reluctantly walked over to her side.

"Don't forget, you're Vincent's mistress, and Vincent is already dead. It's just that no one has had the time to deal with you yet, otherwise you'd have been thrown into a dungeon long ago," the nurse sneered when she reached Jennifer's side.

An agent of the Grand Duke? Regardless of whether anyone else believed it, this little nurse certainly didn't.

In the nurse's eyes, if Jennifer's status were genuine, her tail would have been wagging up in the clouds long ago.

"Vincent stated clearly in the newspaper that I belong to the Grand Duke! Now Robin has woken up, and he holds the Silver Wing Medal, the hero who gunned down Vincent! Our relationship is far from ordinary!" Jennifer narrowed her eyes. "He wants to find Agnes. Go bring two soldiers inside right now. If you're slow, you'd better watch out or I'll report you as a remnant of Marquis Heath."

"Vile bitch..."

The young nurse muttered under her breath, "Enjoy lording it over people for a couple more days."

A flash of cold light crossed Jennifer's eyes.

If I were still Vincent's mistress, I would have slapped her across the face long ago.

Pity that while Robin was a hero, he was not a nobleman after all, and she had no idea if he possessed any formidable backing.

"Hmph, we'll see about that."

Jennifer didn't argue further with the young girl, nor did she resort to physical action.

The head nurse was not far away and had overheard their conversation, casting an extra glance in Jennifer's direction.

She was somewhat surprised. If it had been the old days, Jennifer would have struck the girl instantly.

So, she actually knew how to restrain herself now?

***

At the same time.

Kingdom of Anzio, a small town, Bob's Tavern.

Wade sat in silence, drinking his alcohol and staring at the small snacks on the table.

At this hour, Wade was the sole patron in the tavern.

Or rather, it seemed the tavern catered exclusively to this single guest.

Right now, the intelligence department in Vulsini had suffered a devastating blow, and Wade was completely powerless to do anything there anymore.

Fortunately, given Wade's martial prowess, leaving Vulsini had not been too difficult.

The moment he confirmed Robin had won, Wade had departed.

He sat in a corner, drinking alone for a while until, shortly after, a middle-aged man sat down across from him.

"Officer, long time no see." Wade silently gazed at the man who had seated himself before him.

He was dressed in a suit and bow tie, wearing a black fedora and holding a metal cane, looking every bit the gentleman.

"Long time no see, Wade. You're looking well. Have you finally tasted the black tea you've been dreaming of?" The middle-aged man sat opposite Wade.

"I have." Wade's gaze locked onto the man. "I'm with the Devouring Demon Wolf Cult now. As a core figure of the 'Iron Cross' Cult, isn't it a bit inappropriate for you to be taking risks to meet me?"

"The Devouring Demon Wolf?" A hint of disdain crossed the middle-aged man's expression. "Planting spies in Vulsini, causing the deaths of our own citizens, and using the deaths of civilians to bargain for diplomatic leverage—I didn't know about it beforehand, or I would have stopped it with everything I had!"

"Right now, the Devouring Demon Wolf is in complete chaos, trying to figure out how to clean up this diplomatic mess."

"No, not just the Devouring Demon Wolf. The Parliament is discussing it too; this is no longer just their cult's private affair."

"A mess started by the Devouring Demon Wolf, and yet everyone else is forced to brainstorm a way to bail them out."

"This upcoming general election probably won't have anything to do with the Devouring Demon Wolf anymore."

"So, they transferred you back from your posting in the Luce Federation?" Wade smiled faintly. "Are you planning to kick a man while he's down?"

"No, no, no. Their stupidity is their own affair, but problems that need solving still must be solved. When it comes to major matters, we must present a united front against outsiders. My goal is to unite Delos and make it strong. Using foreign forces to strike at political rivals is merely an internal consumption of our own strength," the middle-aged man said earnestly.

"It has to be you—you actually have vision, unlike those other clowns." Wade let out a long breath. "So, how do you plan to resolve this, Mr. Edward von Bismarck?"