Time flows by...
Luo Wei spent an entire day learning horseback riding, practicing almost non-stop except for meals. This full day was even more exhausting than attending classes...
By evening, he collapsed onto the sofa, drenched in sweat.
Ophelia wrinkled her nose, glancing at him with distaste, "Go take a shower quickly, then get to bed. Don't be this filthy in the future, I don't like it."
"Yes, my lady..." Luo Wei's gaze fell on her, noticing she wasn't wearing her nightgown.
"I'm going to handle some official business. See you tomorrow."
"Wait." Luo Wei caught her hand.
"What is it..." She twisted her hand slightly in reluctance, seemingly disgusted by his sweat-soaked state.
But she still stopped, silently looking at him, wanting to know what he had to say.
"You leave every night, making me feel quite lonely..." Luo Wei chuckled, "Why not stay tonight~"
"Stay? For what?"
She frowned slightly, then seeing Luo Wei's lecherous expression, immediately rolled her eyes.
"I leave because I have important matters to attend to. Just stay obediently in the manor and wait for me..."
As she said this, she suddenly seemed to realize something.
Ophelia crossed her arms, looking at Luo Wei with an ambiguous smile, "What exactly do you want to ask?"
Luo Wei looked at her innocently, "Huh? I just want you to stay and keep me company, don't you want that too?"
"Want to, yes..." She hesitated for a moment but didn't say anything more.
Luo Wei's expression remained unchanged, but in his heart, he had confirmed something.
Indeed, she had been lying before.
She wasn't staying in the manor working at night as she claimed - she was definitely leaving!
A moment of carelessness had made her slip up.
"It's not dark yet, and you probably don't have anything too urgent, right?" Luo Wei pulled her to the sofa and said with a smile: "Why not chat with me for a while?"
Looking into those puzzled light-colored eyes, Luo Wei silently opened something in his interface.
[Negotiation/Pacification (Master Level)]
"You really are impossible..."
Whether she had let her guard down or not, she shifted her body away from Luo Wei slightly, but indeed was willing to sit on the sofa and chat with him for a while.
Luo Wei talked about his experiences when he returned to Saint Callen after four years.
In these few short weeks, his experiences had been intricate and dramatic - enough to write a novel if possible...
Sure enough, Ophelia was also very curious about these experiences.
Although she had already investigated through her shadow guards, it wasn't as interesting as hearing it directly from Luo Wei himself.
Of course, Luo Wei carefully avoided talking too much about Helena and Evelyn, quickly shifting the topic to the airship explosion case.
"I really didn't expect we were so close at that time, thinking about it now..." she said softly, "It's still quite frightening..."
"I have many lives, I won't die so easily." Luo Wei joked with a grin.
"Are you a cat? Do you have nine lives?" She glared at Luo Wei in annoyance, "Stay away from such things in the future, don't investigate those cases anymore."
"What's there to fear? I have divine protection, I'm blessed with great fortune." Luo Wei continued to display a carefree attitude.
"Divine protection..." Ophelia laughed mockingly.
"What? Don't you believe in deities?" Luo Wei widened his eyes slightly, "How else could I have survived until now? And look at you - you're quite resilient too, surviving such an explosion. That must be your ancestors protecting you..."
As he spoke, he seemingly casually glanced at an object in the spacious hall.
It was in the center of two giant galleries, where such layouts typically display sculptures, oil paintings, or similar decorations.
Ophelia's manor was no exception - in the center of the gallery stood a magnificent sculpture of a massive black dragon.
Although her character information was still incomplete, Luo Wei remembered what was written in the [Race] column when he had contained her in his first playthrough.
[Ancient God's Chosen]
The Wegner royal family were all chosen of some ancient god, and Ophelia was naturally no exception.
The imperial family had always claimed to the public that they were descendants of the "Dragon God" from ancient mythology, that they were sacred dragon-kin, the most noble and distinguished divine incarnations in the world.
Legend had it that the empire's founding monarch possessed mysterious and powerful abilities, his massive black wings soaring through the sky, breathing flames that purified all filth against evil enemies, saving the endangered human territories and making all people rejoice...
So logically, that ancient god should be the "Dragon God" from mythology, a majestic and sacred black dragon.
However...
Luo Wei didn't believe this explanation.
Setting aside the fact that he had read many mystical and historical texts, and that the so-called ancient mythology was full of holes - it was just propaganda created by the Wegner royal family to establish their divine status...
Most importantly, there weren't any dragons in this world at all!
No elves, dwarves, dragon races, or orcs existed - this wasn't a traditional fantasy world, but rather a bizarre world filled with indescribable entities. Even magic wasn't about wizards throwing fireballs at each other, but rather cursing opponents to die the next day with rotting skin, flowing pus, and exploding internal organs...
Even if there were "dragons" or a "Dragon God," they would be evil gods - the kind that would drive you mad just by looking at them.
So the ancient god worshipped by Ophelia's family remained a mystery, probably to be revealed much later.
But if he could probe out which ancient god's chosen she was, Luo Wei would be able to understand the source of her abilities and figure out what she was up to.
"Deities..." Ophelia murmured, repeating the word.
She seemed to be remembering something, her eyes flickering between bright and dark.
"Deities... hehe, deities..."
"How ridiculous... that someone would worship such deities..."
Luo Wei quietly watched her.
Suddenly, Ophelia's expression turned ice-cold as she looked at Luo Wei with a sneer.
"Are you trying to probe me?"
Luo Wei widened his eyes, feeling somewhat startled inside.
The [Negotiation/Pacification] time hadn't expired yet, had the skill failed?
[Ophelia]
[Corruption +20]
The corruption level suddenly jumped significantly!
She stood up with a cold laugh, her gaze now full of killing intent.
"Don't ask what you shouldn't."
"This is my final warning."
At this moment, Luo Wei seemed to hear strange writhing sounds coming from deep within the manor again.
Ophelia closed her eyes tightly, her entire body trembling uncontrollably.
Luo Wei stared intently at her until, after a long while, she finally calmed down from her previous agitated state. At the same time, the writhing sounds in the manor finally stopped.
She opened her eyes again, looking at Luo Wei indifferently.
"Did you hear anything?"
Luo Wei looked at her without answering.
He had thought that with the corruption level rising so high, and after he had discovered some of her secrets, she would take some action.
But contrary to expectations, Ophelia gave Luo Wei one more deep look before quickly leaving the manor hall.
Her figure soon disappeared into the night.
Seeing her leave, Luo Wei let out a relieved sigh.
Only then did all his previous thoughts begin to surface uncontrollably.
Had [Negotiation/Pacification] failed?
No! That's definitely not the case - this was the game's setting, and game settings would never malfunction!
The [Negotiation/Pacification] simply hadn't activated at all! It hadn't activated, which was why this situation occurred!
After sorting through his thoughts, Luo Wei almost immediately caught something unusual.
His heart suddenly became ecstatic - he seemed to have realized something!
If his guess was correct, this would be his only hope of escaping this bizarre manor.
However, for now, he still needed a small verification.