But even so, she was very afraid that because of this, her {young master} would suffer blame from the {eldest young lady}.

  “Eldest Young Lady?” Edward Carter let out a cold laugh, then said, “So what about the {eldest young lady}? I told you, you don’t need to worry, just follow me.

  You have no family either—where could you go if you left? Wouldn’t you just end up being ruined by those bastards in the clan who covet your beauty? If you stay with me, your {young master}, you’ll have a good life.”

  Edward Carter spoke very directly; he wasn’t trying to scare Penny, but simply stating the facts.

  Penny clearly knew that everything her {young master} said was true. Hearing this, she immediately became a bit flustered, a little lost and at a loss for what to do.

  A maid, without any family, if she left her {young master}, no matter where she went, she would be especially lowly.

  Penny understood this principle, but she was even more afraid to go against the words of the Carter family’s number one genius, the {eldest young lady} Lillian Carter. She wasn’t afraid, just worried that because of this matter, her own {young master} would be implicated.

  “Young Master...”

  Edward Carter’s words moved Penny deeply, even making her feel an impulse to follow him with utter devotion, no matter what. But precisely because Edward Carter treated her so well, she was all the more afraid of making Lillian Carter, the {eldest young lady}, unhappy.

  “You’ve followed me for so many years—do you think I don’t understand you? I said, since we’re already leaving the Carter family, what does it have to do with her, Lillian Carter? If I, your {young master}, can’t even protect a maid like you, what face do I have to talk about anything else?”

  Edward Carter’s words carried a certain domineering air, and his attitude was a bit cold and resolute. Such words, attitude, and manner were something that Penny, as a maid, couldn’t get used to right away.

  But she quickly recovered, and on her young and pretty face appeared the emotion and exhaustion of a girl who had been deeply moved.

  This girl, it seemed, had suffered far more than he had imagined.

  Perhaps, in the past, he had been too ignorant, not understanding why this girl so often wanted to say something but held back—she had already suffered a lot.

  She was just a young girl with bright eyes and white teeth, still innocent and not very worldly. As the saying goes, even a dog is judged by its master, but these people wouldn’t even spare his maid. Did he ever have any real status in this family?

  At this moment, did Edward Carter not already know in his heart that it was because Sophie Carter, who had a good relationship with Lillian Carter, had said something in Lillian Carter’s ear, which led to her brother Charles Carter being able to seize Penny and use her as an object to vent his desires?

  As he thought this, the sound of steady, slightly heavy footsteps came from over there.

  Someone was coming.

  One of the people in this group was probably at the first level of Sword Initiation, because from his footsteps, it was still impossible to gauge the depth of his strength.

  Who could be coming at this time? The elder in charge of passing on skills wouldn’t be in such a hurry to see him off, so it could only be those from the third generation.

  Edward Carter simply ignored all this and didn’t want to bother with it.

  He realized that Penny had suffered a lot by following him. Now, seeing the girl’s tear-streaked face, looking so pitiful, he couldn’t help but feel a strange ache in his heart.

  People like this are truly his own. All this time, what had he been doing, letting those close to him suffer so much without even knowing?

  His gaze fell on the girl’s face—a young, fair, and stunningly beautiful face. Even under her plain attire, her pure and delicate, captivating temperament could not be hidden.

  Her flawless features were like a painting, giving off a serene and elegant beauty.

  His gaze lingered on Penny, and Penny could feel it. But being looked at like this by her own {young master} for the first time, she felt both happy and nervous, with a strange, fluttering feeling in her heart, as if a young girl’s first love was awakening.

  She felt her cheeks burning, her whole body growing inexplicably hot and restless.

  At this moment, Edward Carter’s gaze shifted from her face down to her already quite ample, full chest. Subconsciously, Edward Carter realized that the cute little maid who used to follow him around, always crying and shouting ‘Young Master is bullying Penny again,’ had, without him noticing, grown up so much.

  He couldn’t help but feel a strange heat in his heart.

  His throat moved, but he didn’t speak directly. Instead, he took a deep breath, inhaling the faint, elegant fragrance of the girl in the air, feeling an indescribable sense of intoxication.

  He took a few steps forward, came to the girl Penny, reached out and gently wiped away the tears on Penny’s pretty face, then softly pulled her into his embrace.

  Penny was a bit passive, her delicate body somewhat stiff, but she couldn’t help trembling, feeling as if she were in a dream.

  It seemed she still couldn’t believe that she, who had always thought her {young master} was only obsessed with cultivation and infatuated with the {eldest young lady}, was now being held in his arms—such a gentle, warm embrace.

Chapter 008: Draw the Sword!