They all call me Great Master

Seeing Marinda's smile, Arthur smiled as well.

He raised his right hand, holding up three fingers—

"I swear, Drake is slandering me.

I was taken to the club by him without my knowledge.

And as for you..."

Arthur took a deep breath and stepped forward.

His deep eyes were full of sincerity.

He spoke each word clearly.

"I love you."

The sound was clear.

Marinda was stunned at once.

At this moment, the Lady of the Long Night felt as if she was only doing a normal attack, but Arthur directly unleashed his ultimate move.

Arthur, however, became more sincere.

He softly said,

"Marinda, you know, from the first moment I saw you, I was completely enchanted by you. Your uniqueness is so captivating, the pride and sharpness in your eyes made my heart skip a beat, and your openness later on amazed me even more.

From that moment, I knew I was done for.

I fell into the grave of love.

Wise men avoid falling in love.

But at the sight of you, my reason fled from me."

Arthur's favorite tactic was crushing his opponents mercilessly when they played a three of hearts.

Of course, Marinda was definitely not an opponent.

Marinda was a partner in his life.

But one thing remained the same.

And that was—

Never admit to a mistake.

Back in his hometown, Arthur knew this very well.

Or rather, the reason he managed to escape that wretched place called the "club" was purely due to his way of thinking: "Never admit anything, deny all responsibilities, and stop at nothing to achieve the desired outcome."

A bit complicated?

Simply put, don't look at the rules; look at the ones who set them.

Still complicated?

Even simpler—

Rules are dead, but people are alive.

As long as you eliminate the person, the rule becomes alive.

In short, back then, Arthur disregarded right and wrong, denied the truth, and had no morals, becoming a pure and cruel beast.

At that time...

'What kind of life was that!

No 24-hour hot water, the food was bland nutrient solutions, and he constantly had to watch out for backstabbing daggers.

It's nothing like now!'

Thinking of these things, the sincerity in Arthur's eyes didn't fade in the slightest.

Meanwhile, the Lady of the Long Night blushed slightly.

Marinda certainly didn't run off shyly like a little girl.

But Arthur's words made her happy.

"I'm going to meet Anna later, shall we go together?"

This had been mentioned before.

However, at this moment, Marinda proactively brought it up again.

Marinda was offering Arthur a reassurance in her own way.

"Of course.

But wait a moment."

Arthur said as he took Marinda's hand.

The two jumped down from the bow of the ship and went directly towards the alley nearby.

There, a figure stood upright.

Just now, the other party had proactively "greeted" Arthur—a slightly released aura allowed Arthur to immediately notice them.

Of course, even if the person hadn't done so, their presence was still in Arthur's line of sight.

Nothing close to Arthur could escape the eyes in the sky and the shadows.

"Nice to meet you, Arthur Kredos.

If possible, I would hope to add Hamlet to your surname."

At this point, the person paused and issued a self-deprecating laugh.

Then, continued—

"Fate is so fickle.

I didn't expect that our first meeting would be under such circumstances."

As they spoke, the person removed their hood.

"Old Lion?!"

Marinda blurted out the moment she saw the old man opposite.

Her entire being shifted to a state of full alertness.

Old Lion, Severus Hamlet.

The strongest acknowledged in South County.

Even aging.

Even old.

No one could calmly face this Old Lion.

If Arthur weren't still at her side, Marinda would have run the moment she saw him.

However, Arthur's expression was a bit peculiar.

The Old Lion's presence at the Inner Bay wasn't strange.

But the Old Lion appearing at the Inner Bay at this moment was strange.

Moreover, the Old Lion should be in South Los right now; with so many eyes watching, it would've been impossible for him to leave without a trace.

After all, the Mother Tigress doesn't eat greens.

If they managed to silently let the Old Lion leave under full alert, then tomorrow's battle needn't be fought; they might as well surrender directly.

The distance was too great.

But, if the distance really was too great, the Old Lion wouldn't be so refined.

He would certainly push straight through.

So—

The Old Lion in front of them was a fake.

But the appearance, demeanor was so lifelike.

Human Puppet!

In an instant, Arthur had a guess.

However, this guess did not alleviate the peculiarity on Arthur's face.

On the contrary, Arthur's expression grew increasingly bizarre.

As a faithful user of the "Human Puppet," Arthur knew too well how convenient the existence of the "Human Puppet" was if utilized a bit, they could work wonders.

And the Human Puppet in the likeness of the Old Lion was surely meant to play a role similar to a "shadow" at some crucial moment.

Simply put, under no excuse, should they have appeared before him.

At this moment, he had already gained absolute control of the Inner Bay with the power of the [Bloodline Seal. Lionheart King], unless the Old Lion himself came back.