Chapter 180

This entry is part [part not set] of 157 in the series An understated dominance

An Understated Dominance

by Marina Vittori

Chapter 180

Everyone in the room was flabbergasted as they stared at Xavier, who’d been mercilessly battered and bruised.

No one had expected Dustin to be so bold as to slap Xavier. Everyone knew that the Horst family was among

the five most powerful families in the Southern province.

They were the top of the top! They were essentially untouchable!

As an immediate heir, he was the rising star of the Horst family.

So, no matter where he went, he’d have the stars laid out at his feet.

No one had ever dared to humiliate him in public like this, much less slap him like a maniac so many times.

Was this guy batshit crazy?

“Y–you dare hit me?” Xavier asked rhetorically. The corners of his eyes started twitching as he tried to put on a fierce expression.

“I’m not just going to beat you, I’m going to make sure you can never use your hands ever again!” Dustin snorted and proceeded to stomp on his wrist, breaking it.

“Argh!” Xavier wailed in pain as he broke out in a cold sweat, his expression twisted.

It was a pity that he couldn’t even move a muscle at the moment.

“Stop! Have you lost your mind, Rhys? Do you have any idea who Xavier is? How dare you hurt him?” Claudia

shouted angrily at Dustin.

“I don’t care who he is. Anyone who dares mess with me will get a beating from me,” Dustin replied flatly.

“Didn’t he just slap you, Ruth? Come here and give him ten slaps for me!”

“Okay!” Ruth exclaimed and started adjusting her shirtsleeves before going up to Xavier and slapping the shit out of him.

“How dare you hit me! How fucking dare you hit me! I’ll beat your ass up!” Ruth cursed with gritted teeth while venting her anger as she continued slapping him.

“Stop!” Claudia yelled in rage and immediately stepped in to put a stop to everything.

“Get lost!” Dustin sneered and slapped her after, sending her flying into the air.

“Y–you dare hit me too?” Claudia whimpered while covering her face as if she were in disbelief.

“Don’t you think you deserve it? Dustin let out a snort.

“I saved your life on more than one occasion, and this is how you repay me? You didn’t say a word when Xavier framed me, and you also acted as if nothing had happened when Ruth got slapped. So, why is it that you’re turning against us after seeing Xavier get beaten up? Are all of the families who practice martial arts always this vengeful? Dustin snapped at Claudia.

“I-“Claudia stuttered as her face turned bright red. She was stunned and speechless after being bombarded with a series of valid accusations.

This even caused Sheila to be at a loss for words, as she simply did not know what she should do now. On one hand, there was the savior of her life, and on the other, a long–time friend.

After getting caught up in the middle, she was at a loss for words.

“I’m done with him, Brother–in–law!” Ruth announced after she finally came to a stop. Her hands had become numb from all the brutal slapping.

As for Xavier, his face had long since swollen enough to resemble a pig’s head. He felt dizzy all over, as he

didn’t get any chance to catch his breath the whole time.

“I don’t care what you say. The fact that you laid a finger on Xavier means that you’re now an enemy of the Horst family. I’m afraid no one will be able to save your asses if you don’t state your case right now!” Claudia shrieked.

Despite everything, the Doyle family had been friends with the Horst family for generations, so she couldn’t possibly stand up for mere outsiders now.

“You want us to state our case, right? Fine, I’ll grant you your wish,” Dustin said and suddenly turned to face Sheila before continuing. “May I know if the sachet in front of your chest is a gift from Xavier, Miss Murray?”

“I–I’m not sure. All I know is that Claudia gave it to me.” Sheila said with her head lowered.

“What if I told you it was from Xavier?” Dustin continued to probe.

Claudia felt that she had nothing to hide, so she immediately shot back, “Xavier had to beg an expert to procure this sachet, and he had me deliver it to Sheila afterward. It was said to aid in one’s sleep and nourish the soul, so why are you finding fault in this?”

“It was said to aid in one’s sleep and nourish the soul? What a load of crap!” Dustin snickered before snatching the sachet off her chest and throwing it into a glass of wine.

“Gurgle gurgle.” The sound of bubbles could be heard as the sachet suddenly started expanding in size, as if hinting that there was something inside.

Immediately after, a thin, red–colored snake slithered out of the sachet and began thrashing about wildly in the wine.

“W–what is that?!“.

“It’s a snake! My goodness, it’s a snake!”

“How horrifying! How can there be a snake inside the sachet? What if it bites someone?”

A sea of horrified looks could be seen almost immediately from the crowd. More and more started to murmur among themselves at the sight before them as their hearts raced with fear.

“How could this be?” Claudia gasped and didn’t know how to react to this.

“Do you know what this is, Miss Murray?” Dustin probed while pointing at the small red snake.

Sheila remained frozen on the spot as she shook her head, still reeling from her shock.

“This is called a Serpent Love Charm and it can be used to confuse people’s minds. Once the snake enters one’s body, the charm will slowly take effect until the host completely falls head over heels for someone. The host’s heart could even stop beating after that!” Dustin explained plainly.

“That was a “Serpent Love Charm“?”

Everyone in the room was stunned after they heard this.

Even Claudia started feeling a little uneasy after hearing that. She did not expect that there would be a Serpent Love Charm inside the sachet.

“I’ve only heard stories about it before, but I didn’t know that such a thing even existed in our world!”

“Utterly ridiculous, right? To think that he put a Serpent Love Charm on her so that he could manipulate her feelings toward him. How shameless!”

“So, Miss Doyle, do you still think that this sachet can aid in one’s sleep and nourish their soul?” Dustin asked sarcastically.

“Well-..” Claudia frowned, and her gaze subconsciously shifted to Xavier. She couldn’t believe what was happening in front of her right now.

“Stop listening to his nonsense!” Xavier spoke in defense immediately after coming back to his senses.

“What the fuck is a Serpent Love Charm? I’ve never heard of this in my life! This sachet was gifted to me by someone else! I’m the victim too here!”

“That’s right! Even if there was a Serpent Love Charm in the sachet, that doesn’t prove that Xavier was the one who put it there. For all we know, some bigshot could’ve set him up!” Claudia roared.

“Yeah! Xavier’s always been an upright and honest person, so he would never stoop this low!” Nigel and the others also backed her up.

“Him? ‘Honest‘ and ‘upright‘? You’ve got to be kidding me!” Dustin snickered.

“The Serpent Love Charm only works if there is a pair of snakes, one female, and one male snake. Now that the female snake has appeared, we’re only missing the male snake. Since you all still don’t believe me, allow me to show you!” With that, he waved one hand and sent two needles flying toward the arca between Xavier’s chest and abdomen.

His body spasmed as a pained expression took over his face. Soon after, he spat out a dark, black liquid. And thrashing around inside the black liquid was a thicker, reddish snake.

The crowd was dumbfounded the moment they witnessed this!

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