Seeing Tessa frozen in his arms, clearly shocked, Raymond realized—maybe he had gone a bit too far.
To be fair, among the female core mbers of the club, Tessa wasn't the most striking in terms of looks.
Whether it was the elegant and cold White Queen or the bright and energetic dazzler, Dazzler—they were both more eye-catching at first glance.
But overall, Tessa's calm and refined grace actually suited Raymond's personal taste much more.
Perhaps it was due to her powers—there was sothing quiet and noble about her.
Even when she tried to seduce him earlier, she did it in a very reserved and subtle way.
Under normal circumstances, Raymond wouldn't have taken it this far even if he was annoyed. He didn't like being played, sure—but he wasn't the kind of guy to force anything just to prove a point.
And this was the Hellfire Club's core gathering. No matter how he felt, he couldn't actually do anything to her here.
So… why had he done it?
Even he wasn't sure.
He had pulled her in—but now what?
He didn't even have a plan.
Yes, he was annoyed that she tried to manipulate him. And yes, she did match his taste. But still—he wasn't so lowlife who needed to prove sothing by making a move on a woman.
Just then—
Poof—
A flash of red mist appeared.
Red Devil suddenly popped into existence. "Remy forgot his phone, so I ca ba—cough, cough, cough, I didn't see anything! You two go on!"
Halfway through speaking, he saw Tessa lying halfway in Raymond's arms.
After an awkward double cough, he instantly vanished again without a mont's pause.
The misunderstanding was complete.
"…Have you hugged enough?" Tessa asked coldly, now recovered from the initial shock.
Raymond was originally going to let go—but hearing that, he changed his mind and smirked.
"Not yet… feels pretty nice."
"You're such a shaless bastard!" Tessa laughed in frustration, her voice mixed with anger and amusent.
Raymond raised an eyebrow, then leaned in and whispered in her ear:
"Is it as shaless as being a spy?"
The mont those words left his mouth, Raymond could feel Tessa's whole body tense slightly in his arms.
It was subtle—but clear.
It was the kind of reaction that ca from a strong emotional jolt—sothing instinctive.
Tessa clearly hadn't expected to hear that line—especially not at this mont.
If she'd been ntally prepared, she could've hidden it.
But now, she'd slipped.
"What spy? I don't know what you're talking about." Tessa frowned slightly, putting on the look of soone annoyed by nonsense.
"Oh? Then why did you react so strongly just now?" Raymond chuckled softly and gave her waist a light pat.
"Did I?" she shot back.
Clearly, she wasn't going to admit anything. She was trying to play dumb and brush it off.
Raymond grinned.
"Let guess who sent you…"
Raymond continued whispering near her ear, ignoring her attempts to deflect.
"North Arican governnt? No… Brotherhood of Mutants? Doesn't feel like them either…"
"…Could it be the brother Cain hates the most?"
He paused deliberately, then smirked and added, "Tsk tsk, your heart rate just spiked, Miss Tessa… With that kind of ntal control, and the Professor still trusted you to go undercover? Bold move…"
This ti, Tessa didn't flinch or show any expression.
But, just as Raymond said—her heart rate had increased. Her hands and feet had gone cold.
These were automatic physical reactions—ones she simply couldn't suppress.
Raymond's words were like a bomb going off right in her ear, leaving her completely stunned.
He knows?
How?
Does Juggernaut know too?
Had all her careful efforts at hiding the truth… been for nothing?
In that mont, Tessa completely lost her composure.
She didn't try to run—because she knew with her non-combat ability, she had no chance. Any one of the core mbers—except Costa—could easily catch her.
Unless she sohow made it back to Professor X instantly and used his presence to protect herself, there was no way out. Even if she escaped for a while, Red Devil could just teleport her back.
"Scared now?" Raymond chuckled.
Tessa said nothing.
Because she didn't know what to say.
Once Raymond ntioned Professor X, she knew it was pointless to deny it.
White Queen hadn't discovered her because of the psychic failsafes left by Professor X. That was the only reason.
But even the Professor's powers had limits.
If Emma really dug deep, not only could she uncover Tessa's secret, she might also detect Charles's ntal tampering.
If that happened, no lie would save her.
"So why'd you have to co after , huh? Wouldn't it be better if we just got along?" Raymond said lightly, helping her sit up and moving his hand to her shoulder. Her head rested slightly against him now—it no longer looked romantic or suggestive.
But Tessa was too shaken to notice the shift in tone.
There was sothing in Raymond's words that didn't quite match what she had imagined.
Had she misunderstood his intentions?
"…What do you want from ?" she asked softly.
"Don't make it sound like I'm blackmailing you," Raymond replied with a faint laugh, gently patting her shoulder. "You're the one who ca to ss with , rember?"
"You're… not going to turn in?" she asked again, carefully.
"What would I even gain from that?" Raymond said, surprised.
"You could…" she started to say "win favor with Juggernaut", but stopped halfway.
Because she realized—Raymond didn't need to win anyone's favor.
Based on the strength he had shown, whether he could beat Juggernaut or not was debatable—but it was clear that no one else in the club could challenge him.
That kind of strength… was already top-tier, even in the whole superpowered world.
Would soone like that need to flatter anyone?
And after witnessing his power, many of the other core mbers were likely secretly wondering the sa thing: Why would soone like Raymond join the Hellfire Club in the first place—without showing even a hint of ambition?
With his strength, it wouldn't even be unreasonable for him to compete with Juggernaut for leadership. Don't forget—the seat of White King was still vacant.
But so far, Raymond hadn't shown any interest in taking that spot.
That alone… was suspicious.
Even with Tessa's mind, like a human supercomputer, she still couldn't calculate Raymond's motives.
She thought for a long ti but still couldn't figure it out.
Finally, she asked the only question that mattered:
"What is it that you're really after?"
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