Luo Wei stared intently at Ophelia before him.
He had once pored over many ancient texts, which vaguely recorded some legends about this ancient god.
According to legend, the "Dreamlands" was a mysterious space constructed from something akin to the subconscious or dreams. Its physical laws differed greatly from reality, with various evil races and even evil gods active within. Some "lucky" humans would accidentally stumble into it. In short, it was a bizarre and peculiar world, ruled by an ancient god named Nodens.
But he hadn't expected that Ophelia would also be able to wield similar abilities, creating a small but complete false world.
Should he attribute this to her talent as a servant of the ancient gods, or perhaps... had she actually had some communication with that great being...
But these weren't things he should be considering right now. Now that he knew her methods, Luo Wei had ways to counter them.
Blood magic erupted once again, and crimson mist immediately began to spread throughout the hall.
Luo Wei's figure disappeared into it, quickly vanishing from sight.
Seeing this situation, Ophelia narrowed her eyes slightly.
All the maids alertly moved to protect her.
"Unexpected..."
She muttered to herself in surprise: "After four years, you can still use vampire abilities..."
Ophelia fell into contemplation, wondering if it had something to do with that vampire woman in her mansion?
She had always known about Luo Wei's strange abilities, and knew some secrets about that old mansion.
That's why after returning, she didn't immediately go to the old mansion to find Luo Wei. She was wary of his ability to control others.
But now she wasn't afraid anymore, because to make Luo Wei obedient, she had to eliminate this ability of his.
And now, she was almost close to success...
At this moment, the blood mist began spreading toward the entrance hall, and Ophelia's lips curved slightly upward.
Trying to escape?
She clapped her hands lightly.
In an instant, five or six black shadows appeared in the great hall. No one saw how they appeared, like ghosts.
"Your Highness, we apologize for being late," the lead shadow guard said respectfully.
"It's fine," Ophelia nodded slightly. "Call all your people back, right now, this matter is most important."
The shadow guard immediately nodded.
Then, Ophelia gazed calmly at the blood mist.
Under her command.
Several shadow guards all rushed toward the blood mist. They seemed to have seen through Luo Wei's disguise, locking onto the figure wielding the power.
The battle ended in an instant.
For the first time, Luo Wei experienced what the top tier of human supernatural experts was like.
Before he could even engage in combat, he lost his ability to move, firmly restrained by those shadow guards, and then pinned down by the rushing maids.
Luo Wei struggled to raise his head.
Ophelia slowly walked over, crouched down, and looked at Luo Wei with a smile.
"You've lost, you know."
"Hehe, I haven't lost at all..." Luo Wei coldly smiled as he looked into those light-colored eyes.
She didn't know he could load saved states - losing a fight meant nothing, he could just start over.
However...
Ophelia was still smiling, that smile carrying a deeply meaningful emotion.
"No, you've lost."
Luo Wei suspiciously narrowed his eyes, not knowing where her confidence came from.
"Your Highness..."
At this moment, Caroline slowly approached, and Luo Wei noticed she was holding something.
Ophelia nodded slightly, then, looking at Luo Wei, her smile grew deeper and deeper.
Under her direction, Caroline crouched down and placed a pocket watch emanating a faint aura before Luo Wei's eyes.
The pocket watch swayed left and right, neither fast nor slow. Luo Wei instinctively tried to close his eyes.
However, the maids forcefully held them open, not allowing him to close them.
"You're very tired now, very sleepy..."
Caroline's voice was very gentle, like soft clouds.
"Quietly watch me."
"Rest a while, sleep a while..."
"Just sleep for a while..."
The swaying pocket watch, accompanying each of Luo Wei's heartbeats, became slower and slower, fainter and fainter.
...
After a while, looking at Luo Wei who had fallen asleep again, Caroline finally let out a relieved sigh.
"Your Highness, Mr. Luo Wei has fallen asleep."
"I know..." Ophelia slightly furrowed her brow, seeming to be pondering something.
"The night is long and full of dreams, we can't continue to be soft-hearted..." she caressed Luo Wei's face, muttering, as if talking to herself.
Then, she examined Luo Wei's body, taking out a stack of checkered cravats from his inner pocket.
She also saw the mysterious brooch wrapped in the cravat.
Ophelia's gaze gradually became indifferent, and she looked toward Caroline.
"Speed up the plan, I want to end this matter within days."
Caroline hurriedly said: "But Your Highness, your body..."
"No need to worry." Ophelia dismissed it with a wave of her hand.
Since she said so, the head maid could only silently nod.
...
Time passed.
It was a morning when hundreds of flowers were in bloom.
A gentle breeze swept across the wheat field, and the ancient manor still stood quietly there, as beautiful as an oil painting.
Wearing a white dress and a sun hat, the white-haired girl slowly approached.
She wore a faint smile, looking toward the young man sitting quietly on the bench.
The young man watched the tulips swaying in the wind in the garden, just sitting there quietly, leaving a lonely silhouette.
He seemed to be waiting for something.
The white-haired girl smiled and covered his eyes from behind.
"Guess who?"
The handsome young man smiled helplessly, "Ophelia, stop teasing."
The girl released her hands, the young man turned around, and they smiled at each other.
A gentle warmth surrounded the two.
"Contemplating life again? Aren't you hungry?"
Ophelia sat down next to Luo Wei, leaning on his shoulder, together looking at that pale yellow sea of flowers.
Luo Wei shook his head slightly, "I don't know... I've been like this lately..."
Always sitting alone on the bench, looking at that garden, gazing for a very long time.
"Something on your mind?" Ophelia tilted her head.
Luo Wei fell silent.
Ophelia looked at Luo Wei's expression and showed a gentle smile, "You can tell me about it, maybe I can help."
"Maybe..." Luo Wei thoughtfully looked into those light-colored eyes, "Maybe I'm thinking about home..."
"This is your home." Ophelia showed a confused expression, "Besides here, where else would you go?"
"I don't know..."
Luo Wei lowered his head.
"Don't know, don't know..."
He covered his head, showing a confused and pained expression.
Why exactly?
Isn't this my home...
Here was everything he had known since childhood - the wheat fields, streams, pebbles, insects all over the hills, and...
A childhood friend who grew up with him.
Luo Wei silently raised his head, looking at that gentle smile so close to him.
Ophelia was an ostracized member of the royal family, while he was a descendant of fallen nobility. When they first met, he was still at the age of stealing pears from farmers' homes, still just a kid.
In this countryside far from urban prosperity, the tedious and boring life seemed to stretch endlessly ahead, so when that beautiful, pure girl first appeared before his eyes, Luo Wei's heart trembled a bit.
Perhaps because of loneliness, perhaps because of something else, both being fallen people, though the quiet girl and the introverted boy were meeting for the first time, they seemed as if they had known each other for a long time. They quickly became familiar with each other, playing together, teasing each other, lying on the grass looking at the starry sky, talking about everything...
Gradually, it was as if they became beings that could never be separated...
"Maybe you haven't rested well," Ophelia said.
Luo Wei sighed in distress, and seeing this, Ophelia gently patted her thigh.
Luo Wei's head gently rested on Ophelia's lap, and the white-haired girl gazed at him softly, "If you can't figure it out, don't think about it, just rest."
Looking up at those gentle, light-colored eyes gazing down at him, Luo Wei slowly closed his eyes.
The girl's lap pillow was always so soft, and in moments like these, he would find a long-lost peace.
Perhaps he could cast away those inexplicable thoughts...
But this time, things didn't go as he wished.
After closing his eyes, Luo Wei's thoughts became even more chaotic.
Inexplicably, an old-styled mansion kept appearing in his mind.
As if it were calling out to him...
Like a long-forgotten dream from ages past, or perhaps experiences from a previous life...
He always felt that in that old mansion, there was sadness, happiness, and many magical things that had happened...
Only by going to that place would he truly return home...
That place was home...
Luo Wei suddenly opened his eyes, not looking at Ophelia's startled expression as he painfully clutched his head.
Why would he have such thoughts?
Wasn't his home right here? How could that old mansion he'd never seen before be his home?
Here, he had a peaceful and quiet life. Though his family had declined, the remaining inheritance was enough for him, with his lack of bad habits, to live comfortably for the rest of his life.
He also had his childhood sweetheart, they were so close they were inseparable, and she always smiled so gently, as if she would never get angry or hurt him.
She was also beautiful, as beautiful as a fairy that would only appear in dreams.
Wasn't this enough...
Luo Wei couldn't help but clench his fists. He couldn't speak these thoughts aloud; Ophelia would be disappointed.
However, Luo Wei, lost in his inner struggle, failed to notice.
At this moment, the girl who always silently watched over him had a flash of darkness appear in her eyes.
But she quickly concealed it again.
Ophelia caringly stroked Luo Wei's forehead, "Let's go back and rest for a while, it's cold outside, you might have caught a chill."
Luo Wei remained silent and nodded.
"Caroline has already prepared breakfast, let's hurry back~"
Ophelia took his hand, and together, they slowly walked toward the manor.
The gentle breeze caressing the wheat field came to an abrupt stop.