Host raises Leslie's favorability to 30, rewards 500 fate points Host raises Leslie's favorability to 40, rewards 1000 fate points Host raises Leslie's favorability to 50, rewards 2000 fate points and the god-tier skill [Absolute Copy]
Hint: Leslie's current favorability is 20. If the favorability drops to 0, Leslie will 100% eliminate the host.
Looking at the system tasks in front of him, especially the system's hint, Owen appeared calm, but his heart was pounding like a war drum, and his mind was racing, strategizing.
From the system's hint, it seemed that he was not yet a match for Leslie. If she decided to take action herself, he would be undoubtedly dead.
However, the fact that she had a favorability of 20 for him was somewhat surprising to Owen. It must be because Leslie had been observing his recent activities. Her favorability towards him could only be based on his outstanding talent and her curiosity about him.
This was a good thing, but at the same time, if he couldn't satisfy Leslie, this scarce favorability would definitely keep dropping!
"Owen, you don't need to be nervous. Although Leslie's personality is a bit strange, she is actually a very good person. The fact that she is willing to see you proactively is unprecedented; she has a very good impression of you!"
Seeing Owen's body tense up a bit, Duke Charles knew he might be nervous. After all, Leslie's reputation wasn't great, so he spoke warmly to reassure him.
Owen smiled at Duke Charles upon hearing this. If Leslie was really that easy to win over, she wouldn't be the hell queen who is patient, powerful, and cold as iron.
Currently, Duke Charles and many others who saw her as a chaotic demon king were all in the dark about her true nature.
Soon, led by a maid, Owen walked through luxurious pavilions and buildings, eventually arriving at a somewhat deserted independent courtyard in the back of the duke's mansion.
The maid stopped in front of the courtyard, made a gesture inviting Owen to enter, and said, "Mr. Owen, the lady is waiting for you in the courtyard."
Owen nodded, paused, and then slowly entered the courtyard.
Watching Owen's back as he entered the courtyard, a complex expression flashed in the maid's eyes.
She had been serving Miss Leslie for many years. Miss Leslie had a bad temper, and the marriage engagements the Duke had arranged for her were all disrupted by her and eventually came to nothing. Now, for Miss Leslie to take the initiative to see another man, especially in her private courtyard, was unprecedented.
Owen ignored the maid's gaze as he walked into the courtyard.
The first thing he saw was a towering tree in the middle of the yard.
This tree was very peculiar, with lush foliage and branches that stretched skyward like a celestial wooden structure. Standing before it made one feel quite small.
What struck Owen even more was that the dense leaves and branches of this tree were layered into nine distinct levels, making it look like a giant tower from afar.
Underneath this great tree stood a stunning woman with red hair and blue eyes. She seemed to have been standing there for a long time.
Her features were delicate and painted, and when the soft golden light filtered through the leaves, casting mottled shadows around her, it made her appear even more ethereal, like a flawless beauty in an oil painting.
At first glance at the woman, Leslie's name surfaced in Owen's mind. Cold, noble, an absolute earthly beauty! That was Owen's first impression of her.
Although Owen knew Leslie inside out, having participated in designing this character, seeing her in person still made his eyelids twitch, and his steps involuntarily halted.
While Owen was observing Leslie, her blue eyes also fell on him.
Seeing him stop a short distance in front of her, a faint glimmer of coldness flickered in her eyes, and the temperature of the air seemed to drop significantly.
Owen? Indeed, he was somewhat handsome, and his aura was exceptionally strong. She even sensed a faint, subtle feeling of danger from him.
Danger! It had been a long time since Leslie had experienced such a feeling.
For someone like this, if he could not be used for her purposes, then he must be utterly destroyed!
There was no third option!
"You wanted to see me?" Owen was the first to speak, breaking the silence between them.
"You are my fiancé, naturally I should meet you," Leslie said calmly, but she emphasized the word "fiancé."
Upon hearing this, Owen noticed that Leslie's favorability on the system panel dropped to 15.
It seemed she was very averse to the idea of him being her fiancé. Just meeting her didn't increase her favorability; instead, it decreased.
Owen's mouth twitched. Dealing with someone like Leslie, conventional methods wouldn't work. So, he seriously stared into Leslie's eyes and directly asked:
"Do you want to kill me?"
Leslie's slender eyebrows raised slightly. She had indeed felt a trace of killing intent towards Owen just now.
However, she had completely hidden that trace deep in her eyes. Owen had actually sensed it!
This man's perception was truly astonishing.
So, she slightly restrained her emotions and asked:
"Why do you say that?"
Owen smiled slightly and confidently said, "Because I understand you!"
"We've never had any interaction before, nor have we met. How could you understand me?" Leslie responded noncommittally.
"Understanding someone doesn't necessarily require close contact. Your infamous deeds, such as burning down the palace of the Third Prince who was engaged to you, training hunting dogs, and teasing tutors, are well-known. So, I do have some understanding of you," Owen said.
Leslie remained calm, "If that's all you know, then it's just the same old stories that everyone in the imperial capital knows..."
Before Leslie could finish, Owen continued:
"Yes, those things are well-known, but I also know that they are just your cover. You even deliberately arranged for your subordinates to spread these stories!"
Hearing this, Leslie squinted her eyes, which suddenly turned icy, and she chuckled lightly, saying, "Well said, continue."
Owen glanced at the system panel again, noticing that Leslie's favorability had dropped to 10.
Clearly, having her secrets exposed increased her hostility towards him.
However, Owen remained composed and continued, "After you turned fourteen, you became extremely low-key, almost as if you vanished, because you knew that deceiving others and making them belittle you, diverting their attention away from you, had already achieved its purpose. You could start your real plan!"
Owen smiled, being the person who understood Leslie the most besides herself. Seeing a flicker in Leslie's eyes, he continued, "During the time you were hiding, you unified the underground forces of the imperial capital through decapitation operations. To make your sister the leader of the Eagle Guard and further expand the influence of the duke's mansion, you caused the death of the former Eagle Guard leader."
"You also took advantage of the birthday banquet held by House Copper for their young master, ambushing House Copper's strongmen and secretly poisoning them, causing them all to fall unconscious. Then, you had people set a fire, burning the entire bloodline of House Copper to ashes. The fortress where House Copper resided burned for three days and three nights."
"After clearing out opposing factions, you used iron-fisted methods to integrate scattered forces, forming the current Chrysanthemum Hotel, the strongest intelligence network in the imperial capital."
Owen spoke confidently, as if these hidden, shadowy events had occurred right under his nose, witnessed by him personally.
As he continued speaking, Owen noticed Leslie's favorability towards him had dropped to 5.
With only a sliver of favorability left before she would personally take action against him, the atmosphere grew tenser.
As her favorability towards Owen decreased, cold light began to emanate from her body, the air temperature plummeted, and even frost could be seen forming.
At this moment, Leslie's mind was in turmoil, and her gaze towards Owen became sharper, like icy blades.
"How do you know this? Who else knows? You should be aware that I can kill you right now and have more than enough means to cover up your death here!"
As she spoke, Leslie mobilized the mana within the courtyard, surrounding Owen in what felt like an invisible prison of ice and snow, leaving him with no escape.
"You are a smart person. Since you know these secrets and dare to mention them in front of me, you must have enough confidence."
"I'll give you one chance to speak. If you can't satisfy me, you'll go to hell and keep my secrets well!"