“Be good. I still have matters to discuss, go find something to do for now. I’ll have Elise call you when it’s time for lunch.”
With her arm around Roman’s shoulders, Luo Xiya gazed at the face right before her eyes, so delicate and fragile like fine porcelain, and couldn’t help but lean down to kiss his cheek.
Roman squinted his left eye and gave a soft “Mm.”
Luo Xiya had wanted to reach out and tease the white flower in his right eye, but thinking of the current setting, she held herself back.
She’d save that for tonight, when it would be just the two of them.
Freed from Luo Xiya’s embrace, Roman finally noticed the guest she had brought to the estate.
Tania and Roman locked eyes, curiosity mirrored in their gazes.
Tania then gave him an ambiguous smile and waved.
Roman didn’t recognize Tania; he’d only heard her name but had never known what she looked like.
So when she greeted him kindly, he simply smiled back and gave a polite bow in return.
But before he could make the gesture, Luo Xiya grabbed his hand.
Roman looked up in mild confusion.
Luo Xiya’s face clearly showed displeasure, and she even positioned herself to block his line of sight to Tania.
He didn’t say anything more.
Since she didn’t want him doing that, he simply gave her a parting word and turned to leave.
Tania watched Roman’s graceful figure disappear into the distance with an appreciative gaze, and couldn’t help but let out a low whistle.
“He’s not just cute, he’s well-behaved too, isn’t he?” she said to Luo Xiya after Roman left, tone full of admiration.
Luo Xiya’s previously tender expression darkened instantly.
She found it especially irritating to hear such words coming from Tania, though truthfully, she felt the same way herself.
“I suppose. But his charms go far beyond that,” Luo Xiya finally replied, a flirtatious smile forming on her lips to match Tania’s.
Tania’s expression faltered for a moment.
Annoyance flashed across her face before she slowly composed herself again.
“Let’s go. Didn’t you come here to discuss something?”
Luo Xiya seized the upper hand and continued.
Tania gave a dismissive hum and followed Luo Xiya toward the meeting room.
As the two of them stepped inside, Tania suddenly turned and stopped Elise from following.
“I’m speaking with your mistress. Go tend to something else.”
Elise remained expressionless as always.
She nodded and walked away.
Turning back, Tania saw that Luo Xiya had already circled behind the desk, sitting comfortably in her chair.
She casually picked up a teapot and poured herself a cup of tea.
“If you’re thirsty, don’t be shy,” Luo Xiya said with legs crossed, lounging at ease.
In this moment, she looked more like a roguish wastrel than Tania ever could.
Tania’s lips twitched as she pulled out a chair and sat down across from her.
“I heard you wanted to talk business with me. Since I’m already here, let’s get down to it,” Luo Xiya said directly, eager to know what Tania’s real intentions were in coming.
Tania finally smiled, speaking slowly, “You should know how our Desmon family rose to power, right?”
“Weren’t your ancestors just a bunch of bandits?”
Luo Xiya said with a puzzled look.
That nearly made Tania spit blood.
But Luo Xiya wasn’t wrong.
Before the Desmon family was granted nobility, they really had been bandits, claiming territory near the Shadowed Mountains, surviving by playing both sides between the Aingloran Empire and the Dark Realm.
Later, after receiving a noble title from the emperor of Aingloran, they formally joined the empire.
Their exclusive spice trade from the Shadowed Mountains brought them sudden wealth, enough to make many aristocratic families green with envy.
“Of course I didn’t mean that. I came here this time to discuss trade matters with the Countess.”
Tania nearly bit out every word as she spoke.
“Trade?”
Luo Xiya stirred the spoon in her cup, glanced down at it, and asked casually.
“That’s right. I hope the Lily Territory and the Desmon Territory can reach an agreement, regarding passage rights and spice supplies.”
Luo Xiya immediately lost interest.
She shook her head and took a sip of tea before replying flatly, “The things your family sells are only needed by nobles who indulge in pleasure. I have no use for them.”
Tania had deliberately dismissed the maid just now, because people like Luo Xiya had no head for profit.
She had no idea where Luo Xiya’s wealth even came from.
As Tania kept prattling on in her ear, Luo Xiya remained calm, gazing into the surface of her tea.
Back in the study, Roman had just returned when Lady Catherine called out to him.
Their chairs were set side by side, and Roman sat down.
“Luo Xiya’s back?”
“Mm. She brought a guest with her.”
Lady Catherine showed no interest in this so-called guest.
What truly intrigued her was the research before her.
She was about to share some recent insights with Roman when he suddenly interrupted.
“Could you wait a moment?”
Roman said.
The excitement on Lady Catherine’s face paused for a few seconds before she replied, “Of course.”
Roman placed a hand gently on Lady Catherine’s arm.
Under her puzzled gaze, he slowly began to circulate the mana circuits within his body.
Lady Catherine was always protected by a barrier, covering every part of her body.
But seeing Roman’s movement, she didn’t hesitate to lower her defenses.
“This is…”
A few seconds passed, and her expression shifted to one of astonishment.
What made curses so terrifying was that they couldn’t be broken by conventional means.
In most cases, breaking a curse required locating the caster and extracting the method from them.
Curses of a slightly higher tier left even Church bishops helpless, and Lady Catherine was no exception.
Once cursed, a person’s life entered a limited countdown.
That knowledge alone was terrifying.
Many didn’t die from the curse itself, but from the madness it inflicted.
Lady Catherine didn’t have many attachments in this world.
Her journey down the path of transcendence had nearly reached its end.
The gates of the Sanctuary still refused to open.
Aside from Luo Xiya and a few others, there wasn’t much left in the world worth clinging to.
If anything, she did harbor a few regrets, like never having children.
That was why, over the past few days, she’d held such passion in researching Roman’s Sacred Seal.
Knowing her time was short, she hoped to give this boy, who hadn’t been in her life for long, yet had left such a deep impression, a clear future and path forward.
While Roman had been away, Lady Catherine had finally written her thoughts on life inversion on the last page of her notes.
Now, it seemed… perhaps she’d written it too early?
A warm current flowed through her body.
Lady Catherine could feel it deep within her.
The monster that had long entrenched itself there was growing weaker and weaker.