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.
end. Thus one must continue to cultivate, and become a saint or great emperor, in order to prolong one's life. Chen Xia, however, completely reversed this. Since his transmigration, he has gained immortality, and also a system that awards him with attribute points for every year he lives. Thus between the myriad worlds, the legend of an unparalleled senior appeared. "A gentleman takes revenge; it is never too late even after ten thousand years." "When you were at your peak I yielded, now in your old age I shall trample on you." - Chen Xia
ng, and even slandered me for harassing the waitress. You all need to stand up for me, your boss! @everyone!" Special Forces King Lin Chen: "No useless messages in the main group! Message retracted!" An Yi: "Damn it! Poker face, give me the group admin rights!" Martial Arts Emperor Fang Jueming: "Master, what happened? I'm coming to save you!" Disowned Young Master Bai Xiu: "I finally got three months of sleep, and you woke me up with that @. What did you retract?" Reincarnator Chen Bing: "Can't even handle such a trivial matter? Boss, don't blame me for looking down on you (pushes glasses up)." Reborn Shangguan Qianqian: "Oh, harassing a waitress? Does Mu Xuan know about this?" An Yi: "No, it's not like that, Qianqian, let me explain!" Poison Doctor Zhang Fan: "Ahem, need some sterilization drugs? I just learned a new recipe, works pretty well." Sword Saint Xiao Ye: "A sword will do the trick, guaranteed not a drop of blood." Fire God Ye Tian: "Let's think about how to save An Yi. Is he in danger? I'm not too familiar with the rules of your world." Son-in-law Dragon Long Aoyun: "Already gathered 100,000 troops, on the way." An Yi: "..." An Yi: "@Son-in-law Dragon Long Aoyun, bro, no, don't be impulsive, just transfer some money!"
lities. One day, Qi Yuan was buying groceries when he unfortunately came face-to-face with a monster. Just when he thought he was going to die on the spot, he suddenly heard the monster's thoughts... "This aura, he's definitely not an ordinary master!" "So terrifying, so terrifying." "A fight with my back against the wall, I can't take it anymore." Qi Yuan: Ah, no one told me that my awakened ability isn't telepathy, but rather the stronger my enemies imagine me to be, the stronger I truly become. PS: Zhou Hai in the first chapter is not the protagonist.
d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!