Damien was a member of a noble family and had no prior dealings or grudges with Julian. Naturally, when news spread that Julian had severely injured him, it caused a stir among the noble families.
Although the Walker family was one of the top families in the nation, Julian's actions—severely injuring Damien seemingly over a woman—were seen as excessive.
Many families were eagerly waiting to see how the Deans would retaliate, wondering if they should lend some support to the Dean family to cause some trouble for the Walkers.
While they knew the Dean family couldn't overthrow the Walker family, they could still attempt to disgust them.
However, before the Dean family could confront the Walkers—though they had their suspicions about the reason—the Walker family made the first move.
It was Elite John who personally stepped in, gathering a mountain of evidence against the Dean family, including charges of treason. John then beheaded three of the Dean family's Elite-level Trainers.
The Walker Group also launched a comprehensive attack on the Dean family's businesses.
The three Elite trainers were the Dean family's pillars of strength, and their deaths caused the entire structure to collapse.
As for the evidence against the Dean family, some of it was true, while other parts were more ambiguous.
With the loss of its strongest members, the Dean family became easy prey. Other families were eager to swoop in and claim a share of the spoils. But without the Walker family's permission, no one dared to make a move.
At the same time, they were speculating about what the Dean family might have done to provoke the Walker family. It was clear that Julian beating up Damien was not enough to warrant such a complete obliteration of the Dean family.
There had to be other reasons they didn't know.
Soon, a rumor surfaced.
It was said that the Deans, along with a few other Steel-Type families dissatisfied with the Walkers, had secretly hired Alex to infiltrate a secret realm and assassinate Julian.
However, Alex was killed by Julian instead. Not only that, but Julian had also uncovered evidence that the Dean family was one of the masterminds in this attempt. This was the real reason the Walker family moved to destroy the Dean family.
If this rumor was true, then the Dean family's downfall was well-deserved.
Assassinating the heir of a noble family was a violation of the most sacred rule among noble families. Such an act could destabilize the entire system.
While one could break the rules, doing so required the strength to withstand the consequences. Without such strength, being exposed would lead to swift and severe punishment, and no one would come to your aid.
If the Dean family could target Julian, what was to stop other families from targeting the heirs and talented young members of their families?
Such chaos would bring about the collapse of the structure they had build.
Because of this, no other family was willing to stand with the Dean family. To make matters worse, the Walker family was their opponent.
Even the few families allied with the Dean family were now in a state of panic, fearing that John Walker might suspect them of being accomplice in the assassination plot against Julian.
John was known as the "Executioner of Drakoria," with countless foreign Trainers falling at his hands, and naturally a fair number of domestic ones as well.
And yet, they f***ing dared to send someone to assassinate his one and only grandson—an exceptional grandson at that. If anyone was to die for such audacity, it had to be them.
In less than three days, the once-prominent Dean family was completely wiped out. Apart from a few uninvolved distant relatives, all direct family members were either killed or imprisoned.
As for Damien, while recovering in the hospital, he tragically choked on a fishbone during a meal. Due to delayed medical intervention, he ultimately died.
This incident serves as a stark reminder: always be cautious when eating fish. A single careless moment could cost you your life.
Damien's bizarre death even made the news, and videos about it went viral on platforms like TikTok.
Hannah put her phone down with a complicated expression. The screen displayed the news report about Damien's death.
He was dead. Damien was truly gone. The nightmare that had haunted her for so long had come to an end just like that.
Leaning back on the sofa, she stared blankly at the ceiling. Memories of the past three years flooded her mind—years spent walking a tightrope among various noble families, using their influence to keep Damien at bay.
Scenes of his impatience, his threats, and her moments of despair and forced compromise played vividly in her head. And then, Julian appeared, like a ray of light in the darkness.
Not only had he resolved her immediate crisis, but the entire Dean family had also vanished.
The fall of the Dean family was a secret that ordinary people would never know. But Hannah had heard about it from her friend, whose own family, though native to the capital, was nowhere near as powerful as the Dean family.
"Impressive, Miss Hannah. Spill it—what's the real story between you and Young Master Julian? Don't tell me you've already—"
"There's nothing between us," Hannah replied with a bitter smile, shaking her head. "The fall of the Dean family must have been for some other reason."
"No, no, no. The rumor among the noble heirs is that the Dean family's destruction was entirely because of you. In their eyes, you're now the textbook definition of a femme fatale."
(T/N: Femme fatale: French for 'fatal female' or maneater)
"Well, maybe it's a good thing," her friend said with a hint of envy. "No more pests buzzing around to bother you. In fact, they'll probably try to curry favor with you now."
Her friend actually knew there was genuinely nothing between Hannah and Julian. But the timing was uncanny. When Damien tried to forcibly take her away, Julian had appeared and left him seriously injured.
And just days later, the entire Dean family was gone.
It was absurd, almost unbelievable.
While the rumors about the Dean family hiring Alex to assassinate Julian in the secret realm had already spread, and it seemed likely the Dean family's fall had little to do with Hannah personally, who would dare bet on that?
Would anyone really gamble on the chance that Julian and Hannah had no connection at all?
Winning the bet might mean gaining one of the top ten beauties at Imperial University. But losing? It could mean that their family might be the next Dean family.
Risking an entire family for the sake of a woman?
Only someone with an empty space for a brain would make such a gamble.
Because of this, many young heirs attending Imperial University received a clear warning from their family elders:
Stay away from Hannah.
Stay away from Hannah.
Stay away from Hannah.
Important things must be said three times.
Previously, she was just a beautiful woman with no powerful background among the noble families—someone they could casually flirt with. But now, in their eyes, she was a untouchable woman.
To dare pursue her, your family would need to rival the Walker family in power, and you'd also need to hold a status within your family equivalent to Julian's. If you failed to meet even one of those criteria, you were courting disaster.
"Sister, do you think I should go thank Julian?" Hannah asked hesitantly.
Julian had resolved her greatest trouble. Although it was unintentional, with Damien dead, not expressing her gratitude felt wrong. Yet, recalling Julian's previous attitude toward her, she felt he might reject her.
She found herself in a dilemma.
"Of course, you should!"
"But what if he refuses?"
"Then deal with it when he does. And when you do thank him, dress a little sexier—personally thank Young Master Julian in style."
"Don't be fooled by his cold and aloof demeanor. As long as he's a normal man, the chances of him turning down a stunning beauty are practically zero."
"Oh, and remember to wear stockings, the black silk ones."
"They tear with such a... delightful sound."
Hannah: ⊙▃⊙
*****
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