A genius!
Absolutely a genius!
The girls in this world, the noblewomen too, they’re all freaking geniuses!
Lo Ye took a deep breath, his expression grave.
“Madam, your suggestion is very thoughtful. Let’s not bring it up next time.”
Victoria stared at Lo Ye without blinking, as if trying to read his expression.
Those dazzling eyes seemed to want to see right through his heart.
After a long moment, Victoria seemed to give up, shrugging regretfully. She relaxed and elegantly took a sip from her glass.
“Is that so? What a pity.”
Pity my ass.
You really want me to marry in and become your daughter’s stepfather just to devour me, the tender young grass?
Sis, you’re truly desperate and twisted!
Lo Ye remained calm on the surface, though inwardly he was silently roasting the noblewoman before him who was so seriously trying to scheme to woo her younger “little brother.”
This genius noblewoman definitely had no good intentions!
One moment she was using that luscious figure and her “noblewoman in public, libertine in private” status to seduce him, tricking him into marrying in to be her daughter’s stepfather, and the next she was putting on a face like she was just waiting to see him fail.
Does she think I’m stupid?
Yet outwardly, Lo Ye maintained a noble, slightly melancholic composure.
He lowered his eyelashes, voice low and firm, performing flawlessly:
“Lady Victoria, I appreciate your kindness, but you underestimate my feelings for Alicia…”
“Ah… such a pity, Lo Ye.”
Victoria interrupted, watching his textbook-level “deeply affectionate performance” with playful golden eyes that sparkled even more.
She gracefully lifted her glass, swirling the golden liquid inside, which reflected an ambiguous glow.
Setting the glass down, her fingers idly traced circles on the smooth table, her tone tinged with regret, as if saying, “You’re so stubborn to take the narrow path when there’s a broad road right here.”
“I had thought, if you could ‘marry’ into our family and fully tie yourself to our ship, the Cannoner family could rightfully mobilize all its resources. Together with you, the ‘ex-fiancé’ who knows Alicia best…”
She deliberately paused, raising her gaze to meet Lo Ye’s eyes. Her red lips parted, and she enunciated clearly, word by word: “…to thoroughly investigate the truth behind Princess Alicia’s death.”
“Sis!”
The word slipped out naturally and smoothly from Lo Ye’s mouth, no trace of awkwardness or resistance. “Why didn’t you say something this important earlier? We’re family, no need to keep secrets!”
His smile was dazzling enough to blind, his tone sincere as if the earlier unyielding, passionate gentleman was someone else entirely.
“As for cooperation and the investigation, I think we have a very solid foundation and promising prospects!”
“Whatever ideas you have or need me to do, just say it!”
The speed of the turnaround and the smoothness of the tone shift made even Victoria, an award-winning actress, blink her lashes involuntarily.
The curve of her rosy lips deepened, full of sly satisfaction, as if to say, “Look, the fish has taken the bait.”
Tsk, all that ‘deep love’ act—finally dropping the pretense, huh, brat?
A smile flickered in Victoria’s eyes.
But Lo Ye had his own thoughts as well.
Tsk, the fox spirit really was waiting for me here!
No matter if it’s a trap or not, I’m grabbing this ‘investigation’ banner first!
Victoria stared at Lo Ye for a while longer before lowering her guard, laughing lightly.
“Since Mr. Lo Ye is willing to cooperate, in a few days I will have my daughter meet with you.”
“I do hope, Mr. Lo Ye… that you can survive these few days safely~”
Victoria smiled, revealing the clear marks inside her coffee cup where the drink had been finished. The message to see him off was unmistakable.
Lo Ye keenly caught several pieces of information from her words.
“Thank you, Madam, for your generous support. When the time is right, I will surely come to express my gratitude.” Lo Ye rose sincerely and placed a hand over his chest in a respectful salute.
Of course, these words were just polite formalities.
Victoria narrowed her eyes.
As the empire’s best actress, she could clearly see that Lo Ye was guarding against her.
Nor did she expect him to actually visit her.
More than wondering if Lo Ye would pay a visit, Victoria was more curious about when exactly he had become so scheming.
Was it Alicia’s death that awakened him?
Or had he been hiding his true strength all along these three years?
Victoria looked at Lo Ye’s inscrutable face with increasing curiosity.
Of course, it didn’t matter if she couldn’t see through him right away.
To uncover the truth, she had even sent her most talented daughter, Lilith, out on the front lines.
After all, if she herself got involved, Lo Ye would surely be wary because of their age difference — something even she, the best actress, had to admit.
But Lilith was different.
Same age as Lo Ye, Alicia’s closest “half,” her public “best friend,” even if her expression at the funeral was something like “meow,” she was the key to uncovering the truth behind Alicia’s death—apart from Anna.
Plus, with her flawless inheritance of appearance and acting talent that might even surpass her mother’s—
Surely, Lilith could easily get to Lo Ye’s secrets?
Maybe even hook him so well he’d willingly fall under her daughter’s spell.
Victoria didn’t believe Lilith would be the one to fall for Lo Ye in return, so she was confident she held the upper hand.
When Lo Ye left the “Moment of Respite” tavern, he walked home while pondering the clues Victoria had dropped.
First, she was probing him just as much as he was probing her, not fully trusting he would actually heed her.
That was true; Lo Ye planned to catch any loopholes in her words and note them carefully.
With lessons learned from simulations, he wasn’t foolish enough to trust Victoria completely.
Second, she hinted he should make contact with Lilith.
No matter what, Lilith was Alicia’s “other half,” publicly her “best friend.” Even if her expression at the funeral was “cat-like,” if he wanted to uncover the truth behind Alicia’s death, aside from Anna, Lilith was the most crucial person.
Third, she warned him that the royal city wasn’t safe these days, especially for him.
He needed to be cautious, especially of the “noble faction.”
The empire was split between two parties: the “royal faction” and the “noble faction.”
For the nobles, the ever-growing royal faction was a direct threat, and the deaths of the Sage and the Princess were good news to them.
And he, Lo Ye—the Sage’s son and the widower of the princess—was an irritating thorn in their side.
He could even be called a “shit-stirrer.”
Though Lo Ye thought calling himself a “shit-stirrer” was a bit abstract, that was just the miserable identity he got when he transmigrated.
If only he’d landed three years earlier.
Right when his engagement to Alicia was announced.
Then he could proudly show the whole royal city what it meant to have a Sage as a father and a King as a father-in-law, swaggering through the imperial city as if even the emperor wasn’t a match.
But there was no “if.”
Lo Ye felt a bit weary but was glad to have returned to his little courtyard.
After several exhausting days, hopefully no one would bother him during his rest.
Lo Ye pushed open the crooked fence gate of his courtyard.
As soon as he opened the front door, he spotted Anna in the open kitchen, wearing an apron and cooking.
Her pale shoulders glowed with a faint mist of steam, her cheeks rosy, and her golden hair damply draped over her snow-white shoulders.
Sensing his return, she turned and looked at him, those starry purple eyes meeting his gaze, her hand still gripping a sharp kitchen knife.
Lo Ye: …
???