In the Saint Callen Administrative District, a majestic royal palace stood proudly at the city's highest point.
The palace was brightly lit, with maids hurriedly traversing the ornate corridors adorned with sculptures and massive oil paintings.
Today marked the return of the Princess of the Fifth Rank after her long absence.
Her homecoming brought some liveliness to this typically quiet and vast architectural complex.
However, in contrast to the bustling atmosphere outside, the princess's chambers remained remarkably quiet.
"I told them not to make such a fuss."
"Does Father really need to add to my troubles..."
Even the usually reticent Princess of the Fifth Rank found herself growing impatient with the palace's elaborate protocols.
Ophelia furrowed her brow slightly, her gaze drifting to a corner of the room.
A black shadow materialized there instantly, bowing respectfully to her.
With a gentle wave of her hand, Ophelia dismissed everyone from her chambers except for her trusted attendant.
"Did you find anything?"
The figure shook their head slightly, speaking in a low voice, "We found no trace of the Third Prince purchasing magic crystals. The domestic mining records for recent years appear normal, and there have been no notable fluctuations in the energy market."
Seeing the princess's expressionless face watching him, the shadow guard quickly added:
"Although we haven't found any leads yet, we can't rule out the possibility that the Third Prince is making purchases abroad or has discovered secret overseas deposits. Please give us more time, Your Highness."
A glimmer appeared in Ophelia's light blue eyes.
"He's certainly being thorough about covering his tracks."
She gave her instructions softly, "Continue investigating the Third Prince's activities. You may go."
The figure nodded immediately.
But just as they were about to leave the chambers, they hesitated and looked back at the princess.
"Speak."
They immediately reported: "It's about the intelligence regarding that old mansion in the West District..."
Ophelia froze for a moment, her ice-cold expression finally showing some change.
The shadow guard slowly approached, producing a photograph.
Four years ago, her trusted shadow guards had been assigned an unusual task.
They were to monitor a mansion on Riverside Road in the West District twenty-four hours a day, a property belonging to the Edlin Family.
Over these four years, while people occasionally visited the mansion, their target – the family heir Rowe Edlin – had never appeared.
Yet as time passed, the princess's enthusiasm for this matter never diminished.
Though with her various schemes, the surveillance personnel and schedules had been reduced somewhat.
However.
A week ago, during a routine surveillance check, one of the shadow guards unexpectedly discovered something...
The guard carefully handed the photograph to Ophelia, and upon seeing its contents, her eyes changed instantly.
A deep crimson flash appeared and quickly vanished.
The shadow guard hastily lowered their head.
"Mr. Rowe has returned to the mansion. We discreetly investigated his activities and found that he has resumed his enrollment at Callen University, currently repeating his first year in magical studies. He's had some contact with his old friend, East District Police Chief Raymond, and is now involved in the Callen University student disappearance case. When you returned today..."
The guard spoke softly: "He was also dining at the Royal Bay Restaurant on Champagne Road in the East District."
"What?" Ophelia's gaze shot up from the photograph.
"That explosion... is he..."
Her typically cool voice trembled slightly.
The shadow guard quickly added: "Mr. Rowe is unharmed and has returned to the mansion, Your Highness need not worry..."
Ophelia drew a deep breath.
Then, a hint of displeasure flickered in her eyes.
"It's my fault... I should have explained everything at once..." The shadow guard bowed even more deeply.
Though maintaining their composure outwardly, the guard's mind was in turmoil.
When had the typically detached princess, who seemed interested in nothing and was as frigid as ice and snow, ever shown such emotional display?
Could the mere news of that "target's" return cause such a loss of composure?
But what shocked the guard even more was yet to come.
Because.
Ophelia smiled.
Like ice melting in early spring, that most exquisite face in the empire, when graced with a smile, seemed to make time stand still.
The shadow guard dared not look again, immediately turning to glance at the other attendants.
The maids had never witnessed such a scene either and stood momentarily stunned, but under the guard's meaningful glances...
"Your Highness, we'll take our leave now..."
The guard and the others practically fled from the chambers.
The magnificent doors slowly closed.
Ophelia's attention returned to the photograph.
Though taken secretly from a poor angle, the black and white photograph showed a blurry exterior wall of the old mansion and an open window.
Even so, it was clear enough to see what was inside the window.
Rowe was eating with a young woman slightly older than him, both wearing gentle smiles.
There was a subtle warmth between them, like that shared between family members or lovers.
Her hands holding the photograph began to tremble with excitement.
Her ice-blue pupils filled with a deep crimson glow that, this time, did not fade.
He's back...
He's back!
Ophelia's gaze seemed fixed on the handsome young man's face, silently staring.
She stared for a very long time.
Various indescribable emotions welled up inside her.
He hasn't changed at all...
It was as if everything had returned to that quiet countryside, to that afternoon when the mysterious young man had helped her sneak out.
That afternoon had blue skies, stretching clouds, cows in their barn, and so many things she'd never seen before in her life...
She still remembered the taste of the pear they'd stolen from the farmer's house.
It was hard and sour, with a worm that had nearly frightened her.
It had made him laugh at her.
But since then, she had never tasted a pear quite like that again.
She would never forget that day.
She had learned what kind of blue sky free birds should soar in.
"Rowe..."
Ophelia's fair fingertips gently caressed the young man's face in the photograph.
Suddenly, she felt regretful.
She shouldn't have let those unimportant matters... divert attention from the mansion.
Countless days and nights, no one knew how much effort she had devoted, all for just a vague hope...
She had even schemed to financially ruin a wealthy merchant who had coveted that mansion...
Because it was a place filled with memories, containing all the beauty of her brief life.
It could not be desecrated.
Unfortunately...
Just a moment of negligence meant she hadn't discovered his return immediately...
This was all the Third Prince's fault, her so-called "brother."
Ophelia let out a cold laugh.
She shouldn't think about such meaningless things; they only brought more troubles. Her gaze returned to the figure in the photograph.
However.
From beginning to end, her eyes never lingered for even a moment on the unfamiliar woman.
Because she had always known that the old mansion had only one mistress.
Herself.
Explosive Plot Song Gua crossed over into another world, bringing along a whole crew of his doppelgangers—all of them mischief-makers. This was a world where everyone could choose a class. Song Gua became a "Bondweaver," capable of borrowing power, while his doppelgangers took on a wide variety of classes, covering just about everything. The number of doppelgangers grew day by day, each one a talented individual with a charming way of speaking. Under Song Gua's brilliant leadership, they would "greet" each other daily and engage in friendly "sparring," pulling off one major scheme after another on Earth. Sometimes they were bandits—stealing bosses, plundering mines, snatching resources. Sometimes they were saviors—descending like divine warriors to face world bosses threatening to massacre cities. Sometimes they even went undercover, infiltrating various major factions to stir up trouble from within, keeping their enemies constantly on edge. To prevent their doppelganger abilities from being exposed, Song Gua made them wear masks with mahjong tile patterns and don Taoist robes in various colors. "Remember, in front of outsiders, call me 'The Dice.'" "Got it! Boss!" "Not 'Boss'—it's 'The Dice.' Think about the vibe, pay attention to the vibe." "Yes! Boss!" "For crying out loud..." From then on, whenever they appeared, they would have their own theme song playing: ~Hey~ paying respects at the mountain stronghold at night~ whose arm is draped over whose shoulder~ gather your courage and follow along...
Heart] Chen Yi traversed the cultivation world for eight hundred years, charging his way to the Tribulation Transcendence stage. Just as he was outwitting his 81st Heavenly Tribulation to ascend to immortality, he was suddenly pulled into a chat group called the "Multiverse Transmigrators Support Group." To his surprise, the group was filled with nothing but fresh-faced newbies who had just transmigrated. [Help! I transmigrated into a disgraced concubine in the cold palace, and the tyrant emperor is about to execute me!] [I ended up as a cannon-fodder villain, and the protagonist is still chasing me—WTF!] [I woke up as the protagonist’s father, but I’m about to be sacrificed in a ritual! What do I do? Urgent!!!] Chen Yi stared at the chaotic flood of desperate pleas in the group and fell into deep thought. "Seriously? You drag me into a newbie transmigrator chat group… only after I’m one step away from becoming an immortal?"
u Chenyuan transmigrated into a female-oriented novel about a real and fake heiress, becoming the CEO elder brother of both. Unfortunately, the entire Lu family—including himself, the CEO—were mere cannon fodder in the story. Determined to save himself, Lu Chenyuan took action. The spoiled, attention-seeking fake heiress? Thrown into the harsh realities of the working class to learn humility. The love-struck real heiress? Pushed toward academic excellence, so lofty goals would blind her to trivial romances. As for the betrayed, vengeful arranged marriage wife… the plot hadn’t even begun yet. There was still time—if he couldn’t handle her, he could at least avoid her. "CEO Lu, are you avoiding me?" Mo Qingli fixed her gaze on Lu Chenyuan. For the first time, the shrewd and calculating Lu Chenyuan felt a flicker of unease.
close your eyes and open them again, only to find yourself transmigrated into the role of a villainous male supporting character. Readers familiar with urban wish-fulfillment novels know that it is only through the relentless antics of the villainous male supporting character that the plot between the male and female leads can progress. As the villainous male supporting character, Long Aotian not only has to bully the female lead, harass the second female lead, and flirt with the third female lead, but he also has to go all out to antagonize the male lead. In the end, when his body is discovered, he is still clutching half a moldy fried dough stick in his hand. Fully aware of the plot, Long Aotian is determined to change his fate, starting with the female lead! In the beginning, the female lead lacks confidence: "Big brother, I hope I didn't scare you?" In the middle, the female lead treads carefully: "Brother Long, please don't hit me, okay?" Later on, the female lead becomes coquettishly clingy: "Aotian, it's time to pay the 'public grain' tonight." Long Aotian's legs go weak, and he feels like crying: "I taught you to be thick-skinned, not shameless!"
