Global Lord in the Apocalypse: I Begin with a Greenhouse

Chapter 13 - The Secret She Had Kept Hidden All This Time

“Now that you’ve seen what I really look like, you must find me disgusting too, don’t you?”

Despite the firmness in her voice, Darla sat on the ground with her head lowered.

She hadn’t expected Adrian to pull her up to help her stand, leaving her with no choice but to face him.

Now, all she could do was endure the embarrassment.

“Darla, you…”

Adrian trailed off, unsure whether he should say anything at that moment.

At the same time, he tried to suppress the shock on his face.

He finally understood why the woman had never taken off the helmet covering her face.

The area from Darla’s upper lip down to her chin was indeed beautiful, as though her face had been sculpted by the heavens themselves. But everything from her nose upward was completely different.

From her forehead to the tip of her nose, Darla’s skin was wrinkled and blackened, resembling skin that had only recently recovered from severe burns.

Even her eyes could barely open properly.

If she hadn’t possessed a Legendary Talent that allowed her to see how many Stones were contained inside a monster’s body, she would have stood almost no chance against them.

“You don’t need to say anything. I’ll leave now. I’m used to this.”

Darla tried to get up from the ground, but excruciating pain shot through both her legs. She couldn’t even stand upright.

“Don’t move. Let me carry you.”

Adrian reached out with both arms and wrapped them around her waist.

“No! Don’t do that!”

Darla pushed him away, but her efforts were futile.

The man was much stronger than she was, so he could easily lift her into his arms.

“Stop complaining. You need treatment.”

After laying her down on the bed, Adrian handed her a hand-sized glass bottle containing a green liquid.

“This will restore your strength.”

It was a stamina-restoring elixir that Adrian had obtained from the healing altar.

“I told you, you don’t have to do this!”

Although Darla’s voice still sounded sharp, she took the bottle and gulped down its contents until nothing remained.

She truly didn’t know what to do. All she knew was that Adrian’s attitude made her feel considerably more at ease.

“If only I hadn’t gone to that place back then, none of this would have happened.”

Looking somewhat better, Darla let out a sigh before finally revealing what she had kept buried deep in her heart all this time.

A month after the red mist had covered the Earth, Darla received an invitation from the wealthiest man in the city to discuss business. She knew the man and had always ignored his invitations.

However, with food supplies running low, she had no choice but to accept his invitation this time.

Unfortunately, what should have been nothing more than a formal meeting descended into chaos when the man tried to persuade her to do something indecent.

“You bastard! You filthy scoundrel! I’m leaving! I don’t need your help!”

Darla shouted furiously and rose to her feet, intending to leave.

But two burly bodyguards immediately grabbed her by the arms.

“Just because you’re the most beautiful woman in this city, you think you can treat me like that? How naive! I’ve never tolerated insults from anyone! I’ll make you regret this!”

“He shouted those disgusting words while pouring a bottle of acid over my face,” Darla continued. “I will never forget what he did to me.”

“So that’s why you’ve been collecting Attribute Stones?” Adrian asked.

“Hmph.”

Darla nodded.

“You know every Lord has a different shop interface, right? Mine contains a list of magical abilities that can be purchased with Attribute Stones. The more Attribute Stones I have, the more high-level items become unlocked. I just want to settle this once and for all. That’s why I have to collect as many Stones as possible.”

The previous night, when she heard Adrian snoring, Darla had left the room to remove her helmet and wash her face. She had then entered all the Attribute Stones she possessed into her system.

She had hoped that one or two new items would become available, something she could use to restore her face.

However, after scrolling all the way to the bottom, she hadn’t found a single item related to what she needed.

“Are these Stones still not enough?”

Disappointed, she had barely been able to sleep throughout the night. Then, when she heard the commotion outside and saw the Abominations appear, her hopes had been rekindled.

“Maybe with this many Attribute Stones, there’s an ability I can purchase to heal my face.”

She had indeed managed to loot an enormous number of Stones from the three Abominations. Yet even after entering all those Stones into her system, she still couldn’t find what she was looking for.

“I don’t want to hope for any more miracles. But I’ll never give up,” Darla said.

So that’s why she’s been covering her face all this time. She’s ashamed of how she looks.

Although Adrian said nothing aloud, he had been listening to Darla’s story the entire time.

However, the moment he heard her mention the word miracle, something immediately came to mind.

Wait! Could it be…