novelraw Chapter 217: Coincidence
Chapter 217: Coincidence
After Nina entered, Zena caught sight of a familiar figure outside.
Wasn’t that the male from last night?
A faint smile curved her lips. So he hadn’t been as unmoved as he pretended.
Good. He was one of her targets too.
She walked over slowly. "Why are you standing out here watching? Want to come in?"
Setan hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
Zena shot him a flirtatious glance and led him inside.
He followed, expression unreadable.
Her residence was large. A spacious courtyard stretched out front, with several sizable buildings behind it.
Nina found it a little strange.
With a home like this, the female should have quite a few mates. Why had she been alone outside?
Yanai’s gaze sharpened slightly as he looked around.
This place...
Suddenly, memories flooded back. This was where he had landed the day he was teleported.
The scent in that room had been strange.
This female... was not simple.
He would need to find a chance to warn Nina.
The male who had opened the door guided them into the main hall to rest. Setan followed Zena in from behind.
When Nina saw him, she was slightly surprised.
Why was he here too?
Could this female be the one he cared about? Then why hadn’t he been with her earlier?
After entering, Setan glanced at Nina discreetly, then chose a seat far from her.
Zena instructed the male servant to bring fruit and food, then took a seat closer to Nina.
"I’m Zena," she said with a smile. "It’s nice to meet you."
"I’m Nina," she replied.
Zena nodded. "Nina, are you just visiting Barbarian City?"
"No," Nina said. "We’re here on business."
There was nothing here worth visiting.
Zena sighed lightly. "Then you should leave as soon as you’re done. This city is... chaotic."
Nina hesitated before asking, "Does what we saw today happen often?"
Zena’s eyes dimmed. "Almost every day."
"And the city lord does nothing? There’s no guard force to maintain order?" Nina asked.
"No."
A trace of mockery entered Zena’s voice. "The city lord is rarely seen. As for guards... there’s no such thing here. The only ones stationed are at the gates—to stop females like us from leaving."
There were no real protectors here.
Only pawns of Yosan and Sen.
Nina’s expression grew dark.
If that was true, then this city was nothing more than a cage for females.
But she had never heard that females weren’t allowed to leave.
Even those exiled here were only meant to survive in a harsh land—not be imprisoned.
Then again, the surrounding wilderness was dangerous. Most ordinary females wouldn’t dare wander far anyway.
"Has it always been forbidden for females to leave?" Nina asked.
"No," Zena replied. "Only after Sen became city lord. Since then, females can enter... but never leave."
Her gaze flicked briefly toward Sal and the others.
"But with males like yours, no one could stop you. Once the witch’s barrier is lifted, you’ll be able to leave."
"Given the size of your home, you should have quite a few mates. Why were you out alone just now?" Yanai asked suddenly, his gaze sharp with scrutiny as it settled on Zena.
Zena let out a self-mocking laugh. "I don’t have any mates. I didn’t before I came here, and I certainly won’t after. In Barbarian City, males rarely form bonds with exiled females."
Most of the females sent here were those who had committed some offense. Why would selfish males willingly take them as mates? Not to mention, having a shaman perform the bonding ritual required a considerable price, making it even less likely.
Though she now possessed an ability that could be used to beguile males into bonding with her, she had never once wanted to.
Because mates were all the same in the end.
"Then you must at least have males around you?" Yanai pressed.
"Yes," Zena replied lightly. "But they’re just lovers. When I’m not in the mood, I don’t see them. When they have their own matters, they go about their lives as well."
She glanced at him, then continued, "I haven’t been in Barbarian City for long. I’ve been searching for two males I could never forget. I thought... perhaps they wouldn’t despise me. Perhaps they’d be willing to bond with me."
A trace of regret surfaced in her expression. "It’s a pity we may never meet again. I was drugged back then and couldn’t remember what they looked like. By the time I woke up, they were already gone."
A faint sorrow colored her voice. "We spent that night together in a cave on the western side of Sin Beast City. It was... unforgettable. But I never had the chance to return and look for them. It’s been nearly half a year now. They’ve probably forgotten me."
Her ability was not limited to seduction. It could also guide her into the dreams of others, allowing her to glimpse their weaknesses. For males with stronger willpower, she simply used a different approach.
As long as traces of her power lingered on them, she could peer into fragments of their dreams before the aura faded completely.
What she said was drawn from what she had sensed the night before. She could not see clearly, only perceive scattered impressions.
As for the drugging, that part was fabricated. Otherwise, she would have no way to explain why she had not recognized them earlier.
She had never expected that both of those males would already be tied to another female.
Leaning lazily against the table, chin resting on one hand, Zena watched Yanai and Setan with quiet anticipation.
The moment she invited Nina inside, she had already made her decision.
She would not touch Nina’s mates. She did not want to harm her.
But she still had tasks to complete.
So she chose the other two males instead. They were targets all the same. She only hoped Nina would leave Barbarian City soon. That way, she could fulfill her mission without truly betraying her.
Yanai’s gaze darkened, his expression turning unreadable. So she was the female from that night?
Setan’s pupils contracted sharply as he froze in place. She was the one he had been searching for?
He looked at Zena, his thoughts thrown into chaos. Was it really her?
The time matched. The place matched. It should be her.
But why did she not stir that same feeling within him?
Instead, his thoughts drifted uncontrollably toward Nina.
Now that he had found that female, shouldn’t he feel relieved? Happy, even?
Yet there was no joy in his chest. Only confusion. And an unexplainable emptiness.
His gaze shifted toward Nina, a faint bitterness tugging at his lips.
During the time he had been away, he had begun to understand the changes within himself.
After losing sight of her, he found himself thinking of her again and again. Even in his dreams, the figure that once lingered there had gradually become hers.
Though he dared not admit it, he seemed to have fallen for Nina.
But he knew it was impossible.
He had to take responsibility for that night.
So he forced himself to bury every thought, every feeling.
Now that he had found that female, did that mean he should go to her?
Yet deep down, he resisted it. Completely. There was none of the anticipation he once believed he would feel.
Lowering his gaze, Setan slowly tried to sort through the bitterness in his heart.
Nina, meanwhile, was stunned.
Why did this sound so familiar?
A cave on the western side of Sin Beast City?
Wasn’t that the very same place she had been?
Were there multiple caves there? Or had Zena also been drugged and ended up there by coincidence?
Could such a coincidence really exist?