“I hope you can trust me, but before that, I have to ask you a question to confirm your determination.”
“Alicia, are you willing to entrust the rest of your life to me?”
“……”
Alicia blushed slightly, falling silent.
How could this man say something so easily misunderstood, and with such a straight face?
“I trust you, but…” Alicia took a deep breath, gradually regaining her composure, “You need to show me what you plan to do next, and how you plan to do it?”
Seeing Alicia fall into his trap and be bound by his words, Luo Ye secretly let out a sigh of relief.
Thankfully, the Princess is rather simple.
If it were the Luo Ye of his youth, facing a future where both his father and wife were dead, and the whole world was his enemy, he would definitely have spouted something like, “Thirty years on the east bank, thirty years on the west bank, don’t look down on a poor youth!”
Then he would have been beaten back to reality by the sinister adults.
From bold words at the start, to nonsense in the middle, and finally, silent resignation.
Luo Ye admits he doesn’t have strong teeth—he can only eat soft rice.
But this soft rice, he’s determined to eat.
Still, there’s a prerequisite for eating soft rice.
Alicia must not die.
Back in reality, Luo Ye had always been curious about the truth behind Alicia’s death.
Who was it, exactly, that could silently bypass all the defenses inside and outside the Royal City, ignore Anna, deceive everyone in the Palace, and then assassinate Alicia in broad daylight without leaving a single trace—forcing the Palace to swallow this bitter pill, and leaving him to bear the storm of public opinion alone?
Surely, the truth wasn’t that Alicia had actually committed suicide, and everyone was just overthinking things.
Therefore, from now on, Luo Ye needed to join the Student Council, to get close to everyone around Alicia.
According to his memory, there were currently only three people in the Student Council.
Student Council President Alicia, Secretary Lilith, and the newly joined Accountant Anna.
Originally, the Student Council had more than just these three, but considering Alicia’s status as the First Princess, nobody wanted to make things difficult for themselves by clinging to their seniority, so they simply gave up their positions without hesitation.
The two who stayed were, naturally, Anna, the Princess’s Guard who was closely connected to Alicia, and Lilith, her so-called “plastic” best friend.
Of course, there was another person Luo Ye needed to approach.
But just thinking about that person’s relationship with Alicia gave Luo Ye a headache.
That person was none other than the Duke’s Daughter, Hisinei, who had been mercilessly rejected and cast aside by Alicia this very morning.
In some ways, compared to Alicia, this suddenly appointed fiancée—whose status in the real world would be described as a “deceased wife”—it was actually Hisinei, the “widow,” who caused him more trouble.
Every time he saw Hisinei, Luo Ye felt like he wasn’t a widower who had lost his wife, but rather a third party, while the real protagonist was this silver-haired girl whose alluring figure could win over anyone.
Going to Hisinei to ask questions was out of the question.
After all, starting tomorrow, the entire Royal City would know about his engagement to Alicia—there was no need to seek out Hisinei and make his presence known to her at this time.
Luo Ye feared that even in this world, he might experience what it felt like to be stabbed through the heart by a jealous girl.
Dying was painful. He didn’t want to try it again.
Of course, directly asking Alicia was also not an option.
Or rather, he needed to ask in a roundabout way.
Words needed to be artful—he couldn’t just walk up and ask Alicia about the truth of this morning, or whether she had some conflict with Hisinei.
That would only cause the hard-won negotiation with Alicia to collapse.
He had to proceed step by step, leaving her with no reason to refuse.
“What am I going to do, and how will I do it?” Luo Ye interlaced his fingers and rested his chin on them, his face solemn and serious. “It’s simple. As long as you and I can agree on these two points.”
“First, I want to join the Student Council. That way, after the Sage—my father—passes away, and we discuss breaking off the engagement, outsiders will see that we worked together for more than three years. They won’t criticize us as much, and the impact will be minimized. It’s much better than us being strangers, and you suddenly seeking me out to break off the engagement after his death.”
“Second, I’ll need you to be honest with me about your past relationships. Of course, there’s no need to tell me right now—just let me know how to handle certain people who cling to you when the time comes… including some noble ladies.”
Alicia’s hand, holding her teacup, paused for a moment. She frowned slightly, but quickly understood Luo Ye’s meaning.
The first point was easy to understand—he was worried that the royal family would one day bear the infamy of “breaking off an engagement because the groom’s family had fallen on hard times,” and he also didn’t want her to be seen as “opportunistic.”
Alicia appreciated Luo Ye’s way of thinking on this point.
The second point left Alicia silent, unable to respond immediately.
He had seen through the fact that her entanglement with Hisinei was extremely complicated—certainly not something that could be explained in a few words.
At the same time, she understood that, as her nominal fiancée, Luo Ye was very likely to be entangled by Hisinei.
If Luo Ye ended up getting caught up with Hisinei because of her, then both emotionally and logically, she should tell Luo Ye the truth.
But…
Alicia lowered her gaze, pursing her lips. For the first time, her elegant and refined face showed a hint of difficulty.
She slowly closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. After a moment, she opened her bright amber eyes again, looked up at Luo Ye, as if making up her mind.
“I trust you, but please give me some time… Let me figure out how to tell you, all right?”
Luo Ye noticed the struggle in Alicia’s expression—even though she had already made up her mind, this was her limit. He knew very well that this was the greatest concession Alicia could make.
This was the bottom line her mental defenses could accept right now. If he pressed her any further, the results of their negotiation could easily unravel.
“Of course, no problem. I’m glad you trust me, Alicia.”
“Mm.” Alicia nodded gently. “Is there anything else you need to tell me? If not, I’ll get started on preparing your admission to the Student Council.”
“There is, actually.”
“Hmm? What is it?”
Alicia tilted her head, a little curious.
Luo Ye smiled slightly, got up, and walked to the door. He opened it forcefully, and a golden figure suddenly tumbled in from the shadow outside the doorway.
“Waahhh!”
The one who fell to the floor was none other than Anna, who had been eavesdropping outside the door.
“Huh, Anna, what are you doing here?”
Realizing it was her bodyguard who had been eavesdropping, Alicia’s usually icy expression instantly took on a trace of embarrassment.
She hadn’t expected her own Princess’s Guard to be secretly listening in on their conversation.
And she definitely hadn’t expected Luo Ye to catch her in the act.
For a moment, she had no idea what to do.