Outrageous Control Freak

Luo Wei stared at Ophelia, who wore a faint smile on her face.

His heart was filled with terror.

If she could truly see through his inner thoughts, wouldn't that mean she would know every scheme and negative thought he harbored about her?

Wouldn't that make him completely transparent?

Luo Wei had never considered the possibility of defeating her through strength; his only chance was through conversation...

If this was true, his greatest advantage would be completely lost...

As he pondered this, several expressionless maids entered, carrying various dinner platters.

As the exquisite dishes were placed on the dining table, Ophelia smiled gently and began introducing them to Luo Wei.

"Luo Wei, I recommend you try this foie gras first."

"Oh?" Luo Wei raised an eyebrow, displaying an expression of anticipation.

"This dish has quite a long history in the Empire," she said, moving her gaze toward him while using her fork to transfer some food onto his plate.

"The source of ingredients, the complex preparation process, and the finest matsutake mushrooms as accompaniments are all key to its rich flavor. Give it a try."

Hearing her recommendation, Luo Wei nodded with a smile and eagerly put the foie gras in his mouth.

"This is my favorite dish. How is it?"

Under Ophelia's somewhat expectant gaze, Luo Wei furrowed his brow as he savored it.

"Hmm..."

"It's quite good."

In truth, it wasn't good at all - it was fatty, greasy, and had an unpleasant fishy taste.

Not as good as braised pork intestines.

But faced with that gaze, Luo Wei could only give her an insincere answer.

However, right after he spoke.

Ophelia's smile remained unchanged, but the character information above her head suddenly changed.

[Ophelia]

[Corruption +5]

[Corruption: 23↑]

Luo Wei became even more confused - could she really read minds?

When they first met, she had expressed her dislike for his lying, so if she was angry now because she discovered his lie, that would make sense.

But then...

Luo Wei quickly corrected himself: "Actually, it's not that good... it's a bit greasy."

[Corruption +10]

[Corruption: 33↑]

Luo Wei's eyes widened as he watched the corruption level jump up again!

What was going on with her?

He wasn't lying this time - saying it was good wasn't right, saying it wasn't good wasn't right either. How was it that everything he said seemed to displease her?

"If you don't like it, then let's have it removed."

Ophelia's face still showed no obvious emotional change. She glanced outside, and the maid bowed her head and took away the foie gras.

This increasingly bizarre candlelit dinner continued.

Looking at her breathtakingly beautiful face so close to him, Luo Wei's heart pounded...

The corruption level had risen so high in just this short time - what would happen if it reached maximum?

What was even more bizarre was—

Ophelia's behavior was too normal, maintaining that proper expression throughout, with only occasional ripples of emotion showing in her gentle smile when facing him.

Yet it was precisely this "normalcy" that made him feel a hint of fear...

His body unconsciously tensed up.

As a result...

"Luo Wei, why are you sitting so far from me? Are you afraid of me?"

Ophelia said with a smile as she quietly poured him a glass of red wine.

This time Luo Wei remained silent.

[Corruption +5]

Luo Wei was completely dumbfounded...

He suddenly realized that Ophelia wasn't simply displeased with him lying to her...

She disliked any thoughts that went against her wishes!

Even when eating something, it had to be completely according to her preferences, and his feelings had to be genuinely sincere...

This level of controlling behavior was absurd!

"Cheers... to our reunion..." Luo Wei forced a big smile.

He looked at Ophelia, who had moved her seat almost right next to him and was observing his every move.

With a death-wish mentality, Luo Wei secretly cursed in his mind:

Fool.

After cursing, he quickly glanced at Ophelia's character information.

The corruption level hadn't changed.

His heart immediately relaxed, and he gulped down the red wine in his glass.

It wasn't mind reading.

Rather, it was some ability to detect the subtle emotions expressed through his words and actions.

The counter-strategy was simple.

Keep quiet, speak less.

It made sense - although this world was strange, an ability as outrageous as mind reading couldn't possibly belong to her. Such abilities would at least belong to deities or Old Ones, beings who could easily dominate minds...

During dinner, Ophelia talked about the past.

"Back then, I was probably the most pitiful member of the royal family. Father King abandoned me outside from childhood, and we might not see each other even once a year..."

"I heard they were all quite afraid of me, which makes sense..."

Ophelia rarely opened up about her feelings like this, but upon seeing the person she had been longing for, she couldn't stop talking.

"I caused my mother's death, and whenever I had an episode, I would become like that, and they were all afraid of me..."

"The servants and my brothers and sisters were one thing, but Father King was so cold to me too..."

She gently leaned closer, her silver-white hair falling onto Luo Wei's shoulder.

"If you hadn't appeared, I might have been locked up in that manor forever, like a bird without wings..."

Ophelia quietly rested against Luo Wei's shoulder, speaking intermittently.

Luo Wei listened attentively.

When he had played through the character storyline before, he knew that Ophelia was never truly a 'emotionless white-haired girl.' She was actually quite lively.

At least, that afternoon when he picked the lock and helped her sneak out, she revealed her true nature.

She pretended to be a commoner girl, curious about everything around her, asking about this and that, and even wanted to help in the muddy fields like real farmers.

She ended up covered in mud, rolling around happily in it, impossible to stop...

As they talked about this, Ophelia's smile gradually broadened, "Later, Father King found out about our sneaking out, and he was extremely angry."

"But what I didn't expect was that he actually asked me about it seriously, which was quite rare."

From then on, Ophelia finally gained a rare bit of freedom, able to follow Luo Wei to that old house and investigate strange cases with him.

It was a precious and beautiful time.

Until...

"Why did you leave four years ago... Do you know how upset I was then..."

Her moon-like silver-white hair lifted slightly, and her normally light blue eyes gazed seriously at Luo Wei.

Luo Wei had been listening to her speak, occasionally nodding in agreement.

However, now it was finally his turn to speak about this topic...