But why... why was it so ominously hateful and loud?

She didn't know how much time pa.s.sed had pa.s.sed.

She didn't know that not much actually did, because currently, her mind had seemingly frozen, along with her own perception of time.

For her, so long had gone by... The sole reason for this was that he, Gio, who she tried so hard to locate suddenly disappear from her very sight...

It just felt so painful that it happened not even an hour after she finally found him.

Her body stiffened, s.h.i.+vering badly a second later.

Come again? He disappeared?

No. He was supposed to be here!

She was even wrapping her arms around his neck just a while ago!

The confusing thoughts and feelings mixed up with each other until she arrived at the conclusion that he was just nearby and couldn't truly disappear.

'No, someone's definitely playing a prank on me again! I don't believe he suddenly went missing right before my eyes! I, I refuse to believe it!'

As this thought invade her mind, clarity went back to her, little by little. After repeatedly blinking, the small amount of water acc.u.mulating in her eyes finally retreated, vanis.h.i.+ng back to where they came from. With shaking hands and knees, she stood up, slowly, wandering her sight all around her.

"G-Gio?" she called out. The voice traveling in the air was very soft and sweet, but clearly longing, looking for someone.

Every time she turned her head and found no one with even the least bit resemblance to his tall and masculine figure, the ice in her heart would increasingly spread out.

"W-where are you? Gio?" She took a deep breath and began walking, cutting through the crowd who eventually made way for her.

His name repeatedly came out of her lips.

For an unknown number of times.

The more time pa.s.sed by with no result coming out of her search, the more she could feel her mind going crazy. She was turning like a madwoman running to and fro, walking in circles, avoided by others. She kept saying the same name and lines, each time with her tone increasing in madness.

"Gio! I-I'm here!" she once again said, this time, with tears welling up from her eyes.

"Where are you!? I-I'm already scared?! S-stop hiding from me, please! Gio!" She madly and tearfully shouted to nowhere.

Glances of pity and sympathy began to mix with the confused looks the majority of the bystanders and onlookers were giving her. One of those who recognized her was a lucky guard who just got out of duty when the explosion happened. He was about to go and approach the beautiful, pale-faced rich miss when somebody more intimidating and up to the task beat him to it.

It was a man wearing black-rimmed eyegla.s.ses dressed in a neat, sharp looking black office suit.

It was Gio's a.s.sistant, George, who was supposed to rush after his Boss but was delayed for half an hour due to the Main House's Master's sudden call. The orders from the family head had taken a little more than twenty minutes to draft, the last ten minutes spent on waiting for the faxed doc.u.ment to be returned. Now that the a.s.sistant thought back to it, it was one weird request, which only made sense when he received notice of his real Boss' unfortunate pa.s.sing.

"Miss Sofony!"

The stern a.s.sistant shouted next to the girl. His voice was laced with a hint of melancholy and pity. To be honest, even he was still at a lost about Gio Albarez' sudden death. But after receiving orders from the main house's head, he forced himself not to wallow on grief as he still had a job to do.

He recollected himself and drove to where the young miss of the Silvers was since he received an order to make her sign a stack of doc.u.ments.

The capable former a.s.sistant of Gio Albarez stopped in front of the crying girl, a bit confused when he remembered Old Gil, another co-agent formerly working under Gio, saying that this young miss was already brought to the hospital due to fainting. Was the intelligence he received a hoax? That boastful but terrific colleague of his could mistake something basic like this?

A second later though, he shrugged off the random thoughts from his mind, unaware that once this night pa.s.sed, his memories of the whole event would be forcefully altered by a mysterious being's mental skills.

Slightly bowing, he said in a low voice only distinct to the both of them, "Miss Sofony, I would like for you to accompany me to sign some doc.u.ments the old master had tasked me to bring to you."

No reply came from the still bewildered woman, prompting him to repeat what he previously said.

"Miss Sofony, please come with me to a secure place, I have some doc.u.ments that you need to sign in place of our deceased young master."

Fortunately this time, a response came from the girl who immediately stiffened and went silent when she heard the third last word that the black wearing a.s.sistant uttered.

Slowly, and almost robotically, she turned to the direction where the voice came from, quietly and sorrowfully asking, "You said... deceased?"

George hesitated, but still nodded in the end, thinking in his mind that it could not be helped since it was the truth. After doing this, he expected to see the little woman fainting and losing consciousness, seeking to escape reality. But to his surprise, she only kept her silence for a fairly long time. Afterward, she opened her mouth again to ask.

"Sir George... Is everyone in the city... thinking the same as you? That he's already...dead?"

A sad and reluctant reply came, "...Young miss, it'll be publicly known. Some of the people who came over here are from the media. A few of them even captured pictures and videos of you." He didn't need to add the unsaid latter part. The girl might currently have a few loose screws in her head, but she was not stupid to not understand the underlying meaning behind his words.

However, his answer did awaken some reasons and rationals inside her mind, driving her to think thoroughly of what just happened and what was still happening all around her.

The attacks...

Gio's disappearance...

People's perception that he died...

Just whose moves were this? That b.a.s.t.a.r.d man from that dimension? Why then? For what reason?

Under the system's urging, she self-hypnotized herself to calm down, working her brain to the utmost to a.n.a.lyze the recent happenstances. It took her a long while before she wiped the tears from her eyes and stared at the silent man waiting for her response.

She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath first before opening them again.

'Sofony, he's at least not dead. That's the only piece of good news.'

It would take her a long time to accept that Gio was brought away from her, without warning at that. However, right now, what she could only do was recognize reality and move forward - to find him at all costs!

'They not only want him to disappear, they even want him to be forgotten...'

'How dare they!' She gritted her teeth at the thought that even now, the enemy was already starting to manipulate everyone's mind into believing that Gio had pa.s.sed away.

Just thinking of how the whole city would shortly be informed of his faked death, her heart was already aching so much that she wanted to die.

'No! I, at least, won't let this happen!'

'I won't let them think that he's already dead! I will surely find him! No matter how long it takes! I'll take care of everything he owns, and hands it back to him once he returns! Hence, I can't allow people to think that he's already dead and that his Ever Victorious would just be history.'

Resolving herself with this, she stared at George, nodding to see whatever papers had been arranged for her to be signed by Gio's uncle whom she had yet to ever meet.

However, before going with the a.s.sistant, she spent all her points, and even exchanged back some items, to upgrade her Hypnosis skill to S+, using the ability to instill to everyone's mind the truth that should be shared to the world.

Of course, not really everyone had been covered by her skill, but, it was already enough to influence a few hundred or so. They would help her spread the news that Gio only went missing! Not dead!

The scant points that remained in her were used to task the system to erase everything the media people had captured from this place.

She made a mental note to gather enough points as soon as possible for the grand quest that she would be doing.

And then after bowing to herself that she would commit herself into locating him, Sofony sadly left the place which had been her loving home for three months.

....

A/N:

Thanks for reading!!!! We've already completed Vol 3!

*me dancing happily*

Thank you so much for accompanying me here to this point. Words can't actually contain the happiness in my heart. Just know I'm very very very very very very very very very very grateful to everyone!

But! This book still has a long way to go! I hope each of you will be with me until the end! <3 see="" you="" next="" volume!="" xd="" ...="" if="" you="" are="" not="" at="" webnovel.com,="" then="" sorry,="" the="" content="" you're="" reading="" is="" stolen!="" please!="" say="" no="" to="" piracy!="" don't="" take="" part="" in="" a="" crime!="" don't="" patronize="" thieves!="" repent="" now="" and="" go="" here!="">Link to the original site: https:///book/12734433505930905/The-Sinners'-Queen