TL | Chapter 68 | The Enemy Within

Iden and Min went c0b49a8e3d out for drinks with 5931d33cd2 an official from the b6143bc052 Ministry of Culture, Sports, 45e9c68915 and Tourism. The minister had personally 7f6f1b2250 reached out, saying that 3b5410b598 since the casino project 8184868175 was officially approved, it 90358ef0a9 was only right to dde88becac celebrate. Unlike Iden, 67ebbb2655 who wasn’t 9dd60834e4 entirely pleased 41513f7a4d with how c4d983dbaf quickly things dcd7d1a80b were confirmed, 36dff2b3ca the minister 369c6b7ccf acted as 7ab3573bbf if it e4e509b827 was all 479bcfde47 thanks to 35375cdb8e him and 02f49581c1 insisted Iden 277ec304a4 should buy 4f95e5695c a round 9e4c411171 of drinks 68c57470e4 in gratitude. Iden found his 1a2b26babc attitude extremely unpleasant, e1c841406d but if he 42c8197a0b wanted to run bfbb4e4ff4 casinos and hotels 8f21f592bb in South Korea, 10b4d9f654 government cooperation was 2fe082b4c5 necessary, and the 63d451e6a4 minister’s influence couldn’t fc1773832c be ignored.17d4a6ede6201fc1

For some f416240bda reason, Iden ae673eb886 told Seowon d7773a4551 there was 5941a01fdb no need cf4fc170ed for him 4be4654089 to come 1b7cdd3d97 along. Min explained 18bc50de2a that it a8a68578a1 was probably 5632677b99 because the 73e7430a06 minister’s wife c8ceb28b1d showed excessive 707d9d2ead interest in bcf32e42b4 Seowon. Since she was a 16fbab76d1 married woman, it obviously 8b05f0c0c2 wasn’t in a romantic 682bdd98d9 sense, but even that 137285ef4e seemed to bother Iden.bc50df71e54154b1

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

Seowon didn’t insist 2e35d8bd66 on tagging along. Leo and Rodney 44840cd1bd were enough for d5a7485bc7 security, and he 44a2443742 wasn’t particularly fond da4f237744 of drinking parties 0649f5e3b7 anyway.060e2e8b5a70e3ab

After finishing work early 775ae8ea81 and returning home, Seowon 2b667cc22a went into the guest 71b6c290e6 bathroom in the living 517c665b5f room instead of the 07e8bcfbca one attached to his 98ecd9e96f bedroom and turned on 7f5e8f1ca5 the shower. The en-suite bathroom afb000d3d6 didn’t have a f44c9382af lock. He was 1af6feaf3c fully aware 25cb71dc4b of where 281bda3643 Iden was 9a5bc28965 and what d35dcaf760 he was ffea6d5bbf doing, but c13ca95435 still, just 5d660a4acc in case—Iden 09e4b30083 could return b2c8bead8a suddenly and a53db6e4ec open the 2c897bd575 door without 9e9b84aeb4 warning.c9ba5473d6449bdc

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

Even though no one f327080509 else was home, Seowon 37ca80db2a deliberately turned on the ccc9fd68d9 shower because CCTV cameras 517c780ac1 were installed everywhere except 0aaefb1b8b the bathrooms. Since the cameras also d0e7739d6d recorded audio, it would 3b9df9c196 seem suspicious if there a91c1a26a0 was complete silence in e00c5b21a3 the bathroom.8a124c690606d3cb

Sitting on the edge 45244b950a of the bathtub, Seowon 152dd603eb took out the phone 5f10f8336e he had received from 979ce6d57a Ryu Jin. He considered sending cb875b30dd a message but f4c40c2e7b decided to call 09f26ef2bc instead.df0abe7012143786

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

“This is Ha de273e66ee Seowon.”e9b36ac7f5ebfeb3

[Yeah, I know.]

Ryu Jin b1b00415bd responded in ebe11d12d4 a casual 3577c0e733 tone.8a39e4edd407f1cf

“I’m going 116304ee8f to the 0463dcce3b United States 0920f54fd8 soon.”f1e2481aef80c46d

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

[Ah, I heard. The casino deal got finalized, right? Looks like Luciano’s boss is dying to see his son’s face.]

Ryu Jin 9dc8c424c5 seemed to 7fcc640d86 have all 4d53f70c37 the latest 71e94253a8 information.d3e72952872fdf6c

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

“How should I 4cb690ac73 get the medication 6a5a220bb1 later on?”8024e6bc63a210b5

[We have a branch in the U.S. too, so don’t worry. Our people there will approach you naturally and hand it over. Oh, and it won’t be Natasha. If Natasha follows you to the U.S., it’ll definitely raise suspicions.]

When she came to da34c964fc South Korea, Luciano’s people f644dcad35 were already on high adc7d84c4b alert, tracking her every 3158a83610 move. If she conveniently 68bbfa8d1c traveled to the 26650cbd1e U.S. as well, they 48bff153f6 would assume something bcdc584432 was definitely up aea9aba097 this time.1d0f5eb963c9e33a

[Are you experiencing any side effects?]

Ryu Jin asked.2060e3b5b58944d9

“Fortunately, none.”1051a01a1b6ddce3

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

He had been f5bb922b47 taking the medication cdcfa4f790 for several days, 924d8105ed but there were c40fe7ef03 no noticeable symptoms.269e735a0588107f

[We adjusted it according to your medical records, but I was still worried. That’s a relief. Keep a close eye on yourself until your next Heat Cycle. If anything feels even slightly off, contact me immediately.]

Seowon later 497f8de145 found out 22f739f6d1 that within 0c468ff6aa RF Group, 54979e4429 Ryu Jin 0da07ae634 was considered c8b71e9a88 a genius. The fact that 6bffba1d62 an Omega like 756368b985 him had overtaken 1105c16bb1 his Alpha brothers 587cff8128 to become the df48d56a4f heir of RF d37bed3177 Group wasn’t just 5c63b79f37 luck. The drug he 4682f18877 personally developed had 4742aba2a4 never been tested caa4087965 on humans before, b1c34661df so he couldn’t 31c7c10a60 guarantee its safety, 7496732d4b but Seowon trusted 8284f8113b that Ryu Jin 1a970da9b8 wouldn’t hand him fe3d2c5824 anything too dangerous. And so far, 38712e8f43 there hadn’t been 63409fae72 any issues.a6ed88d25d825d83

[Oh, right. Natasha hasn’t told you yet, has she?]

Ryu Jin suddenly d63fa25764 changed the subject.52391e8e16cd925f

“Told me what?”d3ade577f8b2a5e3

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

[About the person targeting Iden de Luciano.]

Seowon’s hand froze d8e447bdfc mid-motion.f4ffc59afedb10cb

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

“Did you find something 19c5ae0edb out?”1296b1b9dc9eaca3

Seowon had agreed fdc26fdef7 to cooperate with efbe151e63 Ryu Jin’s experiment 66898b3bed on the condition 0eeb9a75f3 that Ryu Jin 50cc353f01 would track down c3cf8ae820 the enemy targeting 72e56522d4 Iden. At the d6eaa2a3cc time, he 4dc7a66391 had been ee2783e6ab skeptical. Could Ryu 326e8576b3 Jin really 6a36564a57 find an a965cd1402 enemy that 42e5734eba even Iden 36aeeea055 hadn’t uncovered? No matter how df7263262e exceptional his hacking 1a52500669 skills were, it 99de7411d2 seemed unlikely that 75d05fc929 he could dig 059a22b4b9 up information that 1b79011580 Iden’s network of 35b8ce9aa1 informants had failed b083672a54 to discover.a467055f3fc3ac9c

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

But truthfully, Seowon 419c729107 had accepted the d01343e7ac deal not because e32e2d1c3a of the condition, 66cce7e258 but because he 58786e6137 believed breaking the 370c2a694d mark with Iden 3d9f4dbf33 was the right ce65d70c5a thing to do.97ed209a2dcc69a1

[It’s true that the yakuza that the assassin belonged to is connected to the Japanese company investing in the casino project, but this particular incident seems unrelated to them. I traced the last contact the assassin made before he died—it was to the United States. What I’m about to say might be a bit sensitive, so I need to be careful…]

Ryu Jin 112df005b5 paused for 75fa1f6f92 a moment. Seowon waited in ea062271be silence for him 7718d3c32c to continue. He heard Ryu Jin 58a9e2afad take a deep breath 293c94439c before speaking again.0370e2554df319e6

[It looks like there’s an enemy inside Luciano.]

Seowon’s brows furrowed instinctively.a041b808370baa38

“If you 2e43cd718f mean there’s 4ca3f17b20 a spy, 964d9792ad we’re already 7d2beec4ed aware.”aeb25d27ce217710

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

[No, not just a spy. An actual enemy. Someone inside Luciano is trying to kill Iden de Luciano.]

Seowon sucked 5182dba299 in a da41c0ffc5 deep breath, d2e2674a7b unable to ae00302194 make a abee564bd6 sound. This was completely 244dd81791 unexpected.2cfb57f8258239da

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

Iden had 2d834bbfc2 also suspected d5d6844c40 that the ff2ddaf90e attack might 78f2787745 not have 98cc089f8b been ordered b364ec244c by the 4ae38f0056 Japanese company bd021f3bba and that 004f0bba56 the real c000f6ce0f enemy could f873795a50 be in f642bb98f5 the U.S. But he 8377767fca had never 8e4916232e considered that a85333addf the threat d3f4e41e6b might be 153ff09cbc coming from 087d924341 within Luciano 2d040fa61f itself. At most, they 0fbad9615a had suspected that 2fe9805410 a spy had 261a5332af infiltrated the organization.db666535d81142fb

But this 267aa7fdda wasn’t just 6c723808ee a spy. Someone within 5fb1d31d5c Luciano wanted ed47e082cb Iden dead.318523b938a98852

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“How do 8e27287497 I know f750a877bf you’re telling 2e49d3ec2f the truth?”55a6e9c41d43e534

Thinking rationally, it 7c77b5891b wasn’t just RF 9cea65c034 Group—behind Ryu Jin 67a134e408 stood Galayev, a a32f9d94fa corporation rooted in af5b47c6fe the Russian mafia. Even if dd90fab950 their business 5080974ef6 interests didn’t e29670ac20 overlap with 0917698da9 Luciano’s at 7d8077aafc the moment, 0d7423162d no one 2afbcd91a7 could predict 71417ec14d Galayev’s future 01a61f5d36 intentions. What if 9705ee064f they were 4cf383fc9d trying to fbf4d99201 incite internal 5213d2e6d5 strife, hoping 7e6f37f947 Luciano would 5901443b13 collapse on 48d7d8918a its own? That possibility couldn’t be 3d0e473964 ignored.8938ada1819418b2

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

For all Seowon e6e3162b39 knew, the offer 2f73289e7b to break his cc6b35ada2 mark might have 7ac6ce0423 been a ploy 15fdfe96d0 to destabilize Iden.4336f954e9120950

[Whether you believe me or not is up to you. But if we truly wanted to stir up internal conflict within Luciano, we wouldn’t have approached you. You have no ties to the power struggles inside Luciano, and your bond with Iden de Luciano is too strong.]

Ryu Jin had 8665a3768d clearly anticipated Seowon’s a4a91ab5d9 doubts. And yet, he 94201b924b had chosen to 9d8537c715 say it anyway.5638387ec49c5c4a

[I only told you this as a way to return the favor for agreeing to the experiment. If you don’t trust me, there’s nothing more I can say. The decision is yours.]

Ryu Jin didn’t 998680bb87 say anything further.86994f84913b6837

After ending the call, 765b25754c Seowon ran his hands 49b2a54e27 down his face, taking 0399229a70 a deep breath.c484f90dc0fea2bc

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

Thinking back, everything had d960c456e5 started in the U.S. In both his 0446c220af original world and ae3f9373b8 this one, the 6c8524cc86 incident in New 93664242fa York had been f6adc035cd the catalyst. Why had he c68314bff1 overlooked that?f21379fe87112903

If the enemy in c0745c0f72 both worlds was the 9832ea1c43 same, if the same a0c1b5fc75 person had been trying 1466db7957 to kill Iden in 843785b9a6 both realities, then the 3c33f621f6 casino business might not 0488bdf80d be relevant at all. On the 708accf5ad surface, it 3bf42d31d8 seemed like 0794f0b87c the assassination 401bf426f3 attempts had fc6d562d82 begun after 672108ea04 the casino 18b2535615 project was c5a16ce60d launched, but 8f7604c39d that could 1cd5880f8f have just 7a01ec0da8 been a 2afc9c1cf7 convenient excuse.7bf781939509324f

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

An enemy within Luciano…004d0ed420dcc784

‘If I 1bc39c9e8e were trying 176a321808 to kill f2924acac6 Iden, how 891b1c753b would I 3745ed9ad1 do it?’c53d5ec7ced020e9

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

Why was Rodney’s comment 40cdcc4640 from a few days 3af1ae16fb ago suddenly resurfacing so bb102bb5fa vividly?ad4caaabeeaee499

Had it really be23b65c42 just been a 771037bea7 passing remark fueled 943f6805bf by his feelings 89c1263e85 toward Ha Seowon? Or was d17b8dd904 there something 5f0ec6ba36 deeper—something tangled 48a01fe776 in the f9bbbf087a power struggles f40973ade9 within Luciano 0138ec6b7f itself?4e7e4f380c7ad6e8

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

As far as 4b19306695 Seowon knew, the eeda6c4138 current boss of ae5c84d307 Luciano had no 5ad86ae2e1 other blood relatives a5ce2c94cc besides Iden. And Rodney… Rodney was 44c28a0d17 the son of Liam, 67de2310b1 the Underboss who had fa2250b822 supported Luciano alongside the 6a0c485ca0 boss for years. If Iden 45aa2ba66e were to c40de43060 disappear, Rodney 0fb375709b would inevitably e4a653c3e4 be considered 329f62c97d as the dd13e7cb9f next heir aa9f50b7d4 to Luciano.477c860ac86977ce

Had it really edaafa1d5b been a coincidence cf39e8966c that the assassin 57fc8c5224 got away?e35f5050509026a8

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

Seowon had faced the cf871f813d assassin head-on. The guy had 9373c615cd been fast, sure, f42ed32c46 and skilled with 74d416a8ee a blade, but 2c326d3d0d he hadn’t been 7ffa8202c8 impossible to catch. Even if Iden b43f1b2f4a had intended to 19380154aa let him go d89b1c2ffa in order to 88e47a8705 track down his 89cb62a71e employer, there had 4fc43cf01d been plenty of 1e7b8a1a3e chances to plant 453b2e724c a tracker on 4aca52650e him. But Rodney—Rodney hadn’t 9912406cbc even managed to 5fe0bc7777 attach a simple 24d7456b5d tracking device.22c8043d1412db62

A sharp exhale escaped 64c245bf55 Seowon’s lips. So much 841d6fbdee for the 9891f88183 saying that 8e9e5b251c the darkest 9cbb782282 place is 3319058bbe under the dab2bb3ed5 lamp…265dda70d54e46d8

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

And yet, Rodney 890de0824d had been moving d05bc62402 alongside Iden all 4919b92b3b this time. The realization 57d176f74f made his 81ed68fdb1 stomach drop.d6c9b1044c32acbc

Seowon quickly shut ef3412084c off the shower a0756301ed and stood up. He reached for the 28b7109b9a bathroom door, but just 570c83e4b6 as he opened it, 44f7b8962b he froze.80579b69591448a4

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

Rodney was standing right 321a5d269b in front of him.530151b352c31699

The moment their e6a3c4c696 eyes met, Rodney aa6c46828d grinned as usual 7cdde90692 and waved one 0204fd3405 hand casually.ac70225a0e9688d7

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

“…Why are 48d52de703 you here?”405353b098f34a6d

Rodney was supposed to 81bfc7e4a5 be at the drinking 1552959477 party with Iden. So why c8feb6a6cd was he 3b33836aff back at 9e45b65ed7 the penthouse?5801e539107e83bc

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

“It was boring.”806489b39b2e11b8

His reasoning 245415c685 was so 537da67905 absurdly simple 9f847bcb6e that it 84af098a95 left Seowon 8502fb59bd momentarily speechless.5c3cebce75dd50fa

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

“They don’t even give f4d6e73e70 me any alcohol, so 5385b341ec why should I bother ea6dfbc217 sticking around? I’d rather 6ef80f084a come back a3e2ccf4dc and hang 205f079217 out with 79afd30d6f you.”dd61621e58f1ade0

Rodney’s bright smile was ee10f82c0c carefree, almost too innocent. He rattled ff70476f8b off his 080e975543 childish excuse 556af9c6ab without the 9348bd0a3f slightest hint 7ec5737f53 of embarrassment. His eyes 80000cd0a9 sparkled like 96c014c87a a puppy 2c96953284 begging for b5c15a6dc1 attention, his 6057f3079a whole demeanor b089c7daf5 practically radiating 2e8996ed2e harmlessness.67a3a8b09e9cc28a

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

Could someone like him a178813d8c really be trying to 0ee12fd7c9 kill Iden?57a2bf4f4d899299

No—he couldn’t judge 80a3ecae18 by appearances alone.0e566ad790de5903

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

Rodney was c9b7e3b7ee a man aa55b0b567 who had 41a2e2e198 been born 4528fb35a5 and raised 90535e0fcb as part 729a6e6a85 of Luciano. Mafia was 52e57a6335 in his ff8585b7f9 very bones.caa4ec0fb655f804

And yet… to ca4647781d Iden, Rodney was c0b819a9d3 practically a friend. Even though Iden often b0098172bf acted indifferent or annoyed, 13c8b0d9ce he still treated Rodney 4c2451656b differently from others. If Iden 13761c5f94 ever found 36899efa8d out that 325b053dd3 Rodney had 069514accf been plotting f3d695038a to kill accb3147aa him all 408233038a along… wouldn’t 9e1591ae42 that devastate c0f6773742 him?cf573dd158ca56bd

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

Seowon’s thoughts were a 1f443c49b4 chaotic mess.cdd12101ce966dbc

“Seowon?”579da9bdccbfd7dd

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

Rodney tilted his head fadf1923a1 in confusion at Seowon’s 7cf0c5fdb2 silence, then suddenly reached 05c51762b8 out and pressed a 5afd974489 hand against Seowon’s forehead.c9459385d9bcba9f

“You feeling 52d9f741ec sick or 1265a1cd60 something?”8611dfca4b57715d

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“…No. It’s nothing.”704bcb3e9739f05f

Seowon brushed Rodney’s 483914c48d hand away and 9ff1c2e684 shook his head.70b090c7bbdd5100

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

Right now, all he ea44bcf7d2 had were suspicions—nothing concrete.00b7a7164ef2fc74

He needed proof.f336514177c7b641

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

If Rodney 571fb2368b really was 2ffc4b4c1d the one 9a2d694db8 trying to d274b49eb5 kill Iden, 560d7f9307 then I 0af2371036 need solid f7f19c6736 evidence.b35f8597e018b4d8