After making several loops through the streets to ensure he wasn’t being followed, Luo Lan finally headed in the direction of the Ruffinias estate.
The outline of the mansion slept in the night, its form still and shadowed.
He pushed open the side door as quietly as he could; the hinges let out a faint creak, especially sharp in the silent night.
Holding his breath, the youth slipped into the corridor, keeping close to the wall.
Moonlight streamed through stained glass, scattering colored patches across the floor.
He carefully turned the handle of his own room, opening the door just a crack.
Twisting his body sideways, he squeezed through, closing the door behind him and finally letting out a relieved breath.
But before Luo Lan could even catch his breath, a silver-white figure lunged out from the shadows beside the door.
“Caught you.”
Chloe’s voice still carried a slight hint of drunkenness.
Before Luo Lan could react, she pushed him down onto the soft bed.
The girl straddled his waist, her silver hair tumbling like a waterfall, the ends lightly brushing against his cheek.
She was wearing a nightgown, the silky fabric shimmering with a faint pearly sheen in the moonlight.
Her slender legs gripped tightly at his sides, and he could feel her body heat through the thin clothes.
“Coming back so late, where exactly have you been?”
Chloe braced herself on either side of him, looking down from above, her eyes flashing dangerously in the dark.
Her breath, sweet and fragrant, lingered in the air.
“I… I just stopped by the Mercenary Guild.” Luo Lan tried to keep his voice natural. “I wanted to see if there was any information worth noting…”
“Really?”
Chloe cut him off, leaning even closer.
Her nose was nearly touching his face, her warm breath fanning across his skin in invisible ripples.
Like a kitten, she sniffed at his neck, then took a deep breath at the hollow of his shoulder.
The motion made Luo Lan freeze.
“You smell… different.” Chloe’s tone turned cold. “There’s a… not-so-clean scent on you.”
Luo Lan’s heart skipped a beat—of course he knew what that was.
“Maybe I picked up some scent on the way… haha…” He heard the dryness in his own voice. “I’ll go wash up, it’s nothing.”
He tried to sit up, but Chloe pressed him down again, holding his shoulders firmly against the bed.
With her fingertip, she pressed gently against his lips, stopping him from saying more.
She stared into his eyes for a few seconds, then suddenly lowered her head and tugged open his collar, biting down on his shoulder.
A sharp pain lanced through him, mixed with the warmth of her lips and teeth, and Luo Lan sucked in a breath.
He could feel her small canine teeth gently sinking into his skin.
She didn’t use much force, but she definitely left a clear mark there.
After a moment, she let go and admired her handiwork, a triumphant smile in her voice.
“That’s your punishment for coming home late. Remember it!”
With that, she finally climbed off him, and at the door, she glanced back, her eyes carrying both a warning and something more complicated.
The door clicked shut, leaving the room in silence once again.
Only Luo Lan lay on the bed, absentmindedly rubbing the bite mark on his shoulder, helpless.
The next morning, sunlight poured into the dining room as usual.
On the long table, Elia had carefully prepared breakfast.
The scent of toasted bread and sweet butter filled the air, keeping the winter chill outside the windows.
By the time Luo Lan arrived, Chloe was already seated at the head of the table, slowly cutting into her fried egg, as if the girl who had straddled and bitten him last night had only been a figment of his imagination.
Yuna, on the other hand, sat with no regard for manners in a nearby chair, gnawing on half a honey cake, crumbs all over her face.
Of everyone there, only Luo Lan seemed out of sorts.
His movements were stiff as he sat down, and the bite on his shoulder ached as the collar rubbed against it.
Reaching for the coffee pot, his fingertip bumped the rim of his cup, producing a crisp sound that rang sharp in the quiet dining room.
“Mr. Luo Lan.” Elia came over with a tray of freshly baked muffins, her gaze sweeping over his pale face. “Are you feeling unwell? You don’t look so good this morning.”
“It’s nothing.” Luo Lan avoided her gaze, his voice dry. “Maybe I just didn’t sleep well yesterday.”
“Really nothing?”
Elia placed the muffins by his hand.
Luo Lan brushed her off with vague answers, but from the corner of his eye, he couldn’t help glancing at Chloe across the table.
The girl was elegantly sipping her tea, long, slender fingers supporting the porcelain cup, her posture as graceful as a painting, seemingly unaware of what was going on around her.
But Luo Lan clearly saw her eyes flick briefly in his direction when she put her cup down.
“Come to think of it, tomorrow is the Holy Rite.” Yuna finally lifted her head from her cake, cream still on her lips. “Your Highness Chloe, are you nervous?”
“What’s there to be nervous about?” Chloe replied calmly, her gaze fixed on her tea.
“But I heard this time is different from before.” Yuna licked the cream from her mouth, her eyes darting between Luo Lan and Chloe. “After breakfast, I’ll explain all the details to Your Highness… And if someone plans to come along, it’s best to listen in too. After all, as Her Highness’s retainer, it would be a beating if you embarrass her in public.”
After breakfast, Chloe and Yuna’s voices could soon be heard from the parlor, while Luo Lan helped Elia tidy up the dishes.
Once the dining room was in order, Luo Lan walked through the corridor into the garden pavilion.
He closed his eyes; the small Iron Book surfaced in his consciousness.
On its pages, aside from the synchronization rate numbers for Slude and Elia flashing, there was now a new entry: Ophelia.
[Ophelia Blanchet, synchronization rate: fifty-four percent]
Her synchronization rate was actually already usable.
Last night’s skirmish had given him a good sense of Ophelia’s abilities; even if he used [Conceptual Fantasy], at most he could only reverse-engineer her thought process, which wasn’t of much use for now.
At the window of the parlor, Chloe appeared to be listening to Yuna’s explanation of the Holy Rite, but her gaze drifted out toward the figure in the garden.
“Your Highness?” Yuna followed her gaze, a sly smile curling at her lips. “Are you sneaking a look at Mr. Luo Lan?”
“You’re mistaken.” Chloe quickly looked away, her tone cold. “Continue with the Holy Rite.”
“Oh…” Yuna propped her chin on her hands, speaking with some resignation. “But, Your Highness, you haven’t turned a page in several minutes.”
A faint blush tinged Chloe’s cheeks. With a snap, she closed her booklet and lifted her eyes to Yuna. “Why don’t you talk about something else important? All these arrangements for dining and the guest list are giving me a headache.”
Yuna blinked, then simply opened another booklet.
“Then let’s discuss the entrance exam for the Altras Institute? I heard this year’s examiners are notoriously strict, but I still managed to snag a supervisor’s spot—amazing, right…”
Chloe didn’t respond, her gaze quietly drifting back out the window.