“May I ask your name, sir? Your face seems rather familiar.”
In front of the castle gates.
The High Priest stood with hands behind his back, his gaze chilling as he stared at Mo Zhi.
His voice was so sinister and eerie that even the deathly aura in Windsor’s tone seemed less terrifying by comparison.
Just hearing a single sentence made Mo Zhi’s black hair stand on end.
“Hurry up, stop wasting time! Run!”
The witch beside her, seeing Mo Zhi frozen in place, shouted anxiously at her.
Mo Zhi wasted no more time. Ignoring the man behind her, she clutched Windsor’s corpse and ran toward the witch.
“Heh. Ignoring others’ words is quite impolite. Before you answer my question, please… stay for a moment.”
Click
A sound came from somewhere, crisp and clear. In the next moment, Mo Zhi felt a chill pierce her spine from behind.
She turned around and saw the world behind her being devoured by endless darkness, surging toward her like a tide.
There was almost nowhere to hide.
In a flash, she was swallowed up by it.
When she opened her eyes again, she found herself in a pitch-black place.
There was nothing—only an endless darkness shrouding the entire world.
And Windsor, whom she had been holding in her arms, had vanished without a trace.
She opened her mouth in shock to call out, but in this space, even sound seemed forbidden.
Her words dissolved into desolate blackness, swallowed up without a trace.
“Now, can you calm down and have a proper conversation with me?”
The man’s voice lingered by her ear, but his figure was nowhere to be seen, and his position was unclear.
She glared around in fury, still seeing not the slightest anomaly.
She opened her mouth; even though no sound came out, she knew this man could still understand her words.
‘Bastard! Give her back to me!!’
“Answer my question, and I’ll return the girl to you. How about it?”
She fell silent, then finally mouthed two words—Mo Zhi.
In the darkness, the man’s voice disappeared for a whole minute, as if pondering something.
“Incredible, truly incredible…”
A tone of slight astonishment sounded. He seemed to know her, but she had no impression of him at all.
‘You know me?’
“Of course. Of course I know you.”
After all, it was he who planned her murder back then.
He’d spent so long at the Princess’s side, and had indeed glimpsed her appearance on occasion, but she seemed somehow different now.
What was it… height? The tail? Or perhaps… a bit more childlike overall.
The High Priest figured it out in an instant.
So that’s it. It’s those ‘tails’…
He probed further, “Tell me, before this, how many times have you been to the royal capital? How many times have you met Her Highness the Princess?”
‘Not once. Even now, I haven’t met her.’
“I see…”
It appeared that memories did not carry over.
‘You done asking yet?! Let me out!’
He wanted to ask more, but after noticing the time, he could only sigh helplessly.
Click
Another inexplicable sound.
The darkness around her gradually dispersed, and the world returned to light.
She turned, about to search for Windsor’s figure, but as the darkness faded, a strong golden light burst from above her head, pinning Mo Zhi to the ground.
“What… is this?!”
She struggled to lift her head, seeing the witch also crushed to the floor by that strange golden light.
“Damn it…”
Click, click, click—
A series of crisp footsteps sounded in her ears, and the man’s hoarse voice returned.
“There is still much I wish to ask, so please, proceed to the Dungeon for now. Once things are settled, I’ll speak with you at length. Ah, by the way, I am a man of my word—your corpse friend will be sent to the Dungeon as well, so you can reminisce with her one last time.”
“You… bastard!!”
The man snorted coldly and turned to the knight beside him.
“Take them to the Dungeon. And… don’t let Her Majesty see.”
“Yes, High Priest, sir.”
The knight tied up the cursing Mo Zhi, locked her and the witch together in a cage, and thus the farce finally came to an end.
***
“Ha!!”
A sudden shout made the Saintess walking in the corridor turn around.
“Just now… it seemed like someone called out.”
“Perhaps it was just a stray cat. Stray cats often enter the castle,” Ge Si replied casually, then, fearing they’d think the castle’s defenses inadequate, added, “The guards will chase it out soon. Please don’t mind it, my lords.”
“Oh…”
The Saintess thought nothing of it and continued following Ge Si down the corridor.
The man who looked similar to her slowed his steps and asked quietly at her side, “You’ve seemed uneasy since we arrived at the castle. Did something happen?”
“Brother…”
She suddenly lowered her voice, saying softly to the man, “There’s an evil presence here…”
“Evil presence?”
The man’s eyes widened instantly.
He asked incredulously, “This is a human castle. How could there be evil spirits here?”
“But I can sense it clearly…”
The man fell silent, his hand already adjusting the longsword at his waist, ready to draw it at any moment.
“Brother, later I want to purify it…”
“…Just make sure you don’t get hurt.”
“Mm.”
Turning the corridor corner, the two arrived at a door.
Ge Si opened it for them. From the furnishings inside, it was clear this was a guest room.
To invite the groom-to-be for a conversation in the guest room—Her Highness’s intentions were self-evident.
The pair entered the room, where a graceful figure stood by the window.
She wore a pure white dress, her blue hair matching the color of the sky outside, and the crown atop her head made it clear this woman was the Princess they spoke of.
The man and Saintess exchanged a glance, then bowed deeply.
“Honored Princess, our clan has come as agreed.”
Only then did Yulith slowly turn around.
Her icy gaze contrasted starkly with the clear sky beyond the window.
It was the man’s first time seeing the Princess.
The marriage contract had been arranged entirely through correspondence with an envoy, and as he looked up, glimpsing her face for the first time, his expression visibly faltered.
Such peerless beauty—he hadn’t seen its equal in a hundred years of life.
He took only a single glance before hurriedly lowering his head, afraid the emotion in his eyes would be seen by those unfathomably deep pupils.
The Princess snorted coldly, obviously having noticed earlier.
She raised the golden scepter in her hand, lifted the man’s chin to look him over, then disdainfully withdrew the scepter.
“Raise your heads.”
At her words, the pair finally dared to look up.
They both knew that, though this visit was called a marriage alliance, it was nothing more than a transaction in essence.
Their clan’s status was what it was—when meeting a human king, they must show the humility and respect expected of commoners.
The Princess sat in her chair, crossing her legs and resting the scepter in her lap.
Her eyes revealed nothing, and in a tone as if commanding a servant, she spoke:
“Let us have a good talk—about our… transaction.”
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