A secret is only a secret because its value lies in remaining unknown.
If Velis’s threat had been directed at a shameless person, they might have turned it around and used it to accuse her before the whole world.
But clearly, Ophelia was not such a shameless person.
On the contrary, raised with noble education, she valued her reputation greatly.
Yet that is how the world works—the more you cherish something, the more others want to tear it to shreds.
Sitting in Velis’s carriage, though it had very comfortable cushions and all sorts of pastries and incense, the entire carriage filled with pleasant fragrance…
As well as the faint scent of perfume wafting from Velis across from her.
But…
Ophelia felt as if needles were piercing her entire body, as though she were trapped in hell.
“Did you say goodbye to the Lyons Family Matriarch?” Velis asked calmly.
The so-called [Lyons Family Matriarch] was Ophelia’s mother.
Clenching her fists, the golden-haired girl, helpless and despairing yet furious enough to gnash her teeth, said, “I… I said goodbye.”
“What did you say?”
Velis! Don’t push me too far!
The golden-haired girl trembled all over, but in the end, she stammered, “I told my mother I wanted to visit the Third Princess.”
“That excuse works. Don’t worry, with me here, no one will know you’re staying at my Douque Palace tonight.”
Velis’s predatory gaze nearly made Ophelia leap up and fight her, but in the end, she held back.
“Speaking of which, why were you there? What was your mother doing there?”
Facing Velis’s questioning, Ophelia didn’t want to say anything at all, but under Velis’s gradually approaching body, she finally relented.
“Matchmaking… the Lyons Family needs… needs to rely on my reputation and qualifications to… to secure a steadfast and powerful ally for the family…”
By the end, the girl was so heartbroken she closed her eyes, yet there was also a resigned acceptance in her expression.
Being born into a great family and treated as a tool for political marriage was perfectly normal.
Ophelia had prepared herself for it.
But when the moment truly arrived, no one could remain Calm, and most importantly…
“Oh? A political marriage? But I recall that estate belongs to General Taber, doesn’t it? He’s spent his life campaigning with no children. Though he commands the army, who are you to marry?”
Facing Velis’s question, Ophelia lowered her head and bit her lips without speaking, and Velis revealed an expression of disbelief.
Then, she smiled with amusement.
“That’s quite the heavy taste. Is she really your mother?” Velis clicked her tongue in appraisal.
At this moment, the girl’s shame, helplessness, despair, and fragile demeanor before her were a hundred times more beautiful than the scenery outside the carriage.
“You don’t understand anything!” Ophelia’s teeth ground audibly. “For my family, I’m willing to sacrifice myself!”
“Is that so?”
Unlike the deliberately feigned righteousness of the girl before her, Velis was utterly dismissive.
At the end of the day, she was still roaring and screaming inside.
But Ophelia chose to endure passively.
Yet that didn’t mean she was truly resigned… her abandonment of herself in leaving with Velis was proof enough.
It was hard to say there wasn’t a self-destructive thought hidden within: [Compared to that old man, Velis might be better.]
“Well, since it’s a sacrifice anyway, might as well let me benefit from it.”
Velis said seriously.
“Ophelia Lyons, you listen to me. You are my woman. Yesterday, today, and forever!”
“If you dare let anyone else touch you, I will destroy the entire Lyons Family. I mean what I say!”
The moment Velis finished speaking, Ophelia was momentarily stunned, a complex expression flickering across her face.
Then, she cursed in anger and swung a slap.
“Get lost! Even if I die, I will never be coerced by you!”
Smack!
Velis easily caught her small hand and sneered, “That’s not up to you.”
“I’ve been in a foul mood these past two days. There are people I won’t let off easy. Do you want the Lyons Family to suffer my revenge too?”
“You!”
Ophelia was so furious her chest heaved, her face flushed with rage, her fair skin turning red.
Looking at the stunning golden-haired, blue-eyed beauty before her, Velis found no way to dispel the frustration in her heart.
When the carriage entered the Douque Imperial Palace, Velis ordered the guards that no one was allowed to leave, covered Ophelia’s face with a veil, and forcibly dragged her into the room.
Ten thousand words omitted here for paid content…
By the time the sun was high in the sky the next day, Velis sat up from the bed completely at ease.
Naked, she looked toward the vanity in the room.
Morning sunlight snuck in through the window, illuminating the girl’s golden hair brilliantly.
She seemed to have bathed, and now, full of energy and with a rosy complexion, she looked even more enticing and crisp than last night.
But sensing the movement, if only the hatred threatening to overflow from Ophelia’s eyes as she turned back weren’t there, it would have been even better.
“Velis, I’ll kill you!” Ophelia tied her hair tight with a ribbon, then spoke low and fiercely.
“Is that so?” Why does that phrase sound familiar?
“Why didn’t you kill me last night while I was asleep?”
Seeing the smug, amused smile at the corner of Velis’s lips made her furious, and Ophelia grabbed things from the vanity and hurled them all over.
Of course, it couldn’t cause any real harm to Velis.
“I hate you! I’ll kill you, I swear!”
Ophelia ground her teeth and emphasized again, but to Velis’s ears, there seemed to be another target hidden in those words.
“If it weren’t for my family and my reputation, I’d have chopped you into pieces and fed you to the dogs!”
Hearing this, Velis couldn’t help but snicker.
“You really dare, huh? This is my territory, my room… and you still dare threaten me like this?”
Velis stood up and slowly closed in, while Ophelia retreated step by step in fear.
“It seems last night’s lesson wasn’t enough for you!”
Ten thousand words omitted again here.
In the evening…
This was already the seventh time the maids had heated water, yet they didn’t dare complain at all.
When Grand Princess Xi’eryou entered through the main gate, Velis, fully dressed, stopped her outside the room.
In the hall, Xi’eryou looked at Velis with displeasure.
“Velis, you tell me, is that little girl from the Lyons Family here with you?”
When Xi’eryou got angry, she liked to call herself “old lady,” and that heroic aura was quite imposing.
Of course, it had its own charm.
“Why would you say that, sister?” At this moment, Velis felt refreshed all over—no back pain, no leg soreness, no headache either.
Facing Xi’eryou’s pressure, she appeared quite composed.
“What do you mean why! Her mother came all the way to Kelis’s palace gates, but her daughter isn’t there!”
“So after thinking it over, you believe I’ve kidnapped her daughter?” Velis countered.
“Isn’t that so?” Xi’eryou pressed.
“Then I’m truly hurt.” Velis said flatly.
Then she led Xi’eryou to her room.
Clean and tidy, pure white as new, fragrant and fresh—also clear at a glance.
“Sister, do you see? There’s no one here.”
With Confidence written all over Velis’s face, Xi’eryou immediately went to the open window and gazed into the distance…
Beneath the lush trees, a figure had already become a black dot fading away.