Chapter 14 Phoenix Unmasked
+8 Pearls
A sleek Rolls–Royce came to a smooth stop before a hillside villa. The villa was located far from the city center, nestled in a quiet and elegant setting. The overall style mirrored Hubert himself; on the surface, it was all elegant pavilions and flowing water, but it was cold and unapproachable beneath it.
“All the household staff hired for Ashbourne live in the secondary building. They won’t usually come over to the main house unless needed,” Hubert explained to Azalea as he gave her a quick rundown of the estate. As he spoke, he pointed toward a middle–aged couple waiting respectfully at the door, having heard their employer was coming home.
“This is Langdon and Carla. They’re married. Unlike the rest of the hired staff, they’re considered part of the Lennox. Langdon is the butler, and Carla cares for everything in the main house.”
Azalea nodded, indicating that she understood.
Clearly, Hubert had already explained everything to them beforehand. Neither of the two seemed surprised to see her; they simply greeted her politely as “Ms. Yarrow.”
It was pretty standard for rich families, they tended to trust only the people they had raised themselves.
In Draywick, any notable family did the same. The Larks, for instance, their butler and the housekeeper who managed the owner’s affairs, were also ‘insiders, handpicked and trained by the family.
Azalea had also heard that these families kept their own ‘private guards‘ too, nominally from security companies, but in reality, those companies existed only to serve one client..
Are the two bodyguards always at Hubert’s side? Probably part of that exact setup.
“If you need anything, just go to Carla. Hubert looked down at her, smiling with a faint curve of his brow. Noticing she was zoning out, he reached out and gave her already messy hair a proper tousle, making it look even more tragic before chuckling, “Alright then, good night.”
Her first night in the Ashbourne Villa was surprisingly peaceful. Everything she needed was ready and waiting, and Carla only showed up when needed–never nosy, never intrusive.
Crestmere Estate.
Fresh from a meeting with his team, Wylie had just gotten home when he heard that Hubert was staying at his place that night. The only thing that crossed his mind was. This old man hus seriously lost it.
Especially after he had overheard the conversation happening inside the study.
“William’s tight–lipped. Couldn’t get anything out of him. I restored the data on his phone and found only this chat history.”
sald Hex.
Hex was one of the nine people working under Hubert. All of them were handpicked by Hubert and were ranked from one to nine by number.
Standing outside the door with one hand in his pocket, Wylie leaned against the wall and listened quietly, gradually piecing the situation together.
The cheating incident with Azalea had caused quite a stir at school. He’d heard about it too. But he couldn’t wrap his head around this: Why would his uncle, who was supposed to be out of town on a business trip, drop everything and rush back just because of that girl?
And that wasn’t even the end of it. Did he even have Hex mess with a high school student?
Putting everything together, Wylie reached a single conclusion. Hubert’s finally lost it in the creepiest way possible.
The moment Hex left. Wylie strolled into the study with his usual bored expression. “Hubert, just a heads–up, Azalea isn’t even 18 yet
Hubert looked at Wylie in confusion. “What?”
“She’s a minor. That’s illegal. Wylie deadpanned.
Hubert finally got what Wylie was implying, and his expression instantly darkened with a long, frustrated sigh. “Wylie, I never
Chapter 14 Phoenix Unmasked
imagined you’d think I’m that kind of monster.”
Wylie looked unconvinced. “You’re not exactly innocent either,”
+8 Pearls
While at the Ashbourne Villa, Azalea was driven to and from school daily by a designated driver arranged by Langdon.
Back at the Larks, Cassius was still waiting for Azalea to come crawling back. Bastian wanted to see her in person, but the fall championship finals were right around the corner, and their opponent was no joke. With team matters keeping him busy, all he could do for now was have his assistant try to contact Azalea,
Things were peaceful for a few days; soon, it was the weekend.
“Azalea, why not sleep in a bit on the weekend?” Carla asked cheerfully as she saw Azalea coming downstairs.
By now, after getting familiar with Langdon and Carla, Azalea had asked them to just call her by name.
“Got plans today,” she replied. Even though they didn’t know whether she’d be up early or not, breakfast was already prepared, just in case.
The mushroom soup was thick and creamy, and the bread tasted good.
After eating her fill, Azalea touched her now visibly rounder face and sighed. Carla’s cooking was dangerously addictive.
She wondered if she got rich one day and asked Hubert to “loan her‘ Carla. Would he agree?
By the time Azalea arrived at Crestmere Estate, it was just about the time she and Wylie had agreed on. She had just exited the car when her phone buzzed with his messages.
Cerberus wrote, “Where are we meeting?
You’re not bailing, are you?”
The messages came one after another. Clearly, he was anxious,
And no wonder the finals were next Saturday. If she didn’t sign with COD in time, Wylie’s team might be unable to play.
In her previous life, she remembered Wylie starting this esports team. The Lennox didn’t object to it, but they sure didn’t help either.
Even the so–called COD base was just one of Wylie’s villas that had been renovated.
If it weren’t for Wylie being a rich second–gen, the team probably wouldn’t have gotten off the ground.
Azalea arched an eyebrow but didn’t reply. She walked straight into the house and spotted Wylie on the sofa, frowning at his phone.
“I don’t need tutoring. You’ll still get paid as agreed. As for what you do while you’re here, do whatever,” he muttered without looking up.
Azalea let out a soft chuckle and walked up to him.
Wylie, already irritated from Phoenix ghosting his messages, looked up and was annoyed. “Didn’t we say t
He didn’t finish the sentence. Azalea held up her phone and waved it in front of his face. “We’re meeting right here, Dog God.”
Wylie’s usual poker face cracked. He stared Azalea up and down, completely dumbfounded. There was no way this frail- looking girl was the same Phoenix who pulled off those flashy, god–tier plays.
More accurately, he had assumed Phoenix was a guy from the start.
It’s not his fault, though; the esports world was still a boys‘ club.
“You’re really Phoenix?”
“Wanna test it?”
One sentence was all it took to light a fire in Wylie’s eyes. “Let’s go. Gaming room’s on the second floor.
224 PM ď ď
Chapter 14 Phoenix Unmasked
Wylie’s setup put most gaming cafés to shame. Once inside, Azalea pulled him into a 3v3 map.
“I usually play jungle. You’ll be at a disadvantage on this map.”
“No worries. If you can get the upper hand, you deserve it”
“First blood wins?”
+8 Pearls
Once in the game, Azalea locked in Chronomind, a mobile mage with high burst potential. As one of the fastest jungle- clearers among mid–laners, his multiple dash skills made him a strong pick on the 3v3 map. Letting jungle resources go uncontested wasn’t an option. It would only leave the team vulnerable.
It wasn’t that she couldn’t play jungler. But if she was serious about going pro as a mid–laner, now was the time to prove it.
Wylie wasn’t surprised by her pick.
The match started out normally, with both sides clearing jungle camps and minion waves. After the first wave, Wylie dropped a fake ward and ducked into a bush.
His nickname wasn’t for nothing. In tournaments, he was known for striking from the shadows, always appearing from unexpected angles, and catching enemies completely off guard.
Azalea spotted it. A slight smirk tugged at her lips. She mentally measured the distance to the brush Wylie was likely hiding in and slowly edged her hero toward it
Wylie, thinking the timing was perfect, made his move.
A flash of gold burst from the bushes, shattering the silence with a crisp glass–breaking sound as his hero lunged straight at Azalea. She didn’t panic. A quick sidestep with her second skill, clean dodge.
Perfect read.
Wylie’s combo landed in the air. The hem of Azalea’s hero’s cloak fluttered, untouched,
Her timing and positioning? Flawless.
Still thinking it was a lucky dodge, Wylie didn’t overthink it. But after taking a chunk of damage in return and burning a cooldown to retreat, his confidence wavered.
And it didn’t stop there. Every clash went the same way, always eading his ambushes by a hair’s breadth. A flicker of déjà vu hit Wylie, reminding him of their last match. This wasn’t luck. She was doing it on purpose.
How the hell was she pulling this off?
He’d watched her highlight reels a dozen times. The last–minute escapes. The insane turnarounds with 1 HP. He used to think it was just raw mechanics.
He’d always chalked it up to her raw skills. But what if every move was premeditated? Cold, calculated precision?
The thought alone senta chill down his spine.
The more he thought about it, the more insane it sounded. No way a normal person could pull that off.
Wylie clenched his jaw as his screen dimmed once more, and the scoreboard showed a brutal gold gap.
One kill, that’s all she had over him. And yet, the gold gap was massive. In a ava map? That shouldn’t be possible,
“You dodged every one of my setups,” he mustered. “How are you even doing that?”
Azalea tilted her head with a grin. “Easy. I just know your range.”
Wylie’s throat tightened. There’s no way he would’ve struck unless he was sure Azalea was in range. This was a game map, for crying out loud–how could she read distances so perfectly? Was she an Al or something?
He took a deep breath, eyes burning as he stared at Azalea. “Come with me. Join my team.”
