Chapter 2: As Expected of My Dear Sister

The dungeon was filled with swirling smoke and dust.

At the gap torn open in the wall, Ophelia stood tall, her icy blue eyes sweeping through the cell’s gloom, instantly locking onto Camilla, who sat collapsed on the ground, shackled with Adamant Shackles.

“Sorry, little sister. I came too late.”

Ophelia spoke with remorse.

She had just returned from the Mystra Magic Academy, originally planning to surprise her beloved sister at home—only to hear from a neighbor that her sister had been kidnapped.

Fortunately, she’d placed a tracking spell on Camilla, which allowed her to find this place.

But seeing Camilla’s current “sorry state,” Ophelia’s heart ached bitterly.

When she looked at Elina, her eyes burned with hatred.

“You damn Babar!”

“Who are you?”

Elina clearly hadn’t expected anyone to interrupt her moment.

She leaped to her feet, gripping her Chain Lightning Whip tighter, a flash of shock crossing her face as she failed to understand how the intruder had made it in.

But soon, that confusion was replaced by the pride and anger befitting the Bardia family’s heiress.

“Breaking into the Bardia family’s private dungeon—you’re bold indeed!”

Ophelia ignored the question, not even sparing Elina another glance, as if she were nothing but an eyesore in the room.

She walked directly toward Camilla, each step steady, the aura around her growing so oppressive it made the very air seem viscous.

“Let her go.”

Ophelia’s voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable command.

“Hmph! You think I’ll just let her go because you say so? She’s my ‘invited guest!’”

Elina snapped, cracking her whip, a blinding bolt of lightning lashing toward Ophelia like a venomous snake, so fast it left only a blue-white afterimage.

It was the Lightning Fivefold Whip!

The famed early-game skill, Lightning Fivefold Whip—Elina’s signature move. In the game, this attack ignored resistance and level, dealing fixed damage—a godly move in the early stages before stats inflated.

Yet, Ophelia didn’t even draw her sword.

She merely lifted her left hand with seeming nonchalance, and in an instant, an Ice Crystal Shield formed before her.

Crackle! Crackle! Crackle!

The lightning whip struck hard against the ice shield, bursting into dazzling sparks and shards of ice, but the shield didn’t budge.

Not even a hairline crack appeared.

Elina’s pupils contracted.

She had great confidence in her own power; even if this whip couldn’t seriously injure an opponent, there was no way it should be brushed aside so easily.

While Elina was distracted for a heartbeat, Ophelia moved.

Her figure vanished like a ghost, reappearing at Elina’s side in the blink of an eye.

With a simple, precise karate chop delivered at inescapable speed, she struck Elina’s wrist—the one holding the whip.

Elina cried out in pain, gritting her teeth.

The Chain Lightning Whip slipped from her hand, bouncing on the floor and fading into dullness.

She staggered back, clutching her numb wrist, staring at Ophelia in utter disbelief.

“You… you…!”

Ignoring Elina’s furious glare, Ophelia turned to Camilla, reaching out and tearing the Adamant Shackles apart with a single effortless motion.

As expected of the Phoenix Protagonist.

With stats like that, how could anyone else even compete?

Camilla sighed inwardly, feeling the weight vanish from her wrists and ankles as the unpleasant sense of restraint disappeared.

But before she could even stretch her sore arms and legs, Ophelia pulled her up, holding her protectively behind her.

“Thank you… Sister…”

Camilla called softly, feeling deeply moved.

If Ophelia hadn’t come, she really might have ended up thrown into the Little Black Room, doomed to write ten chapters a day just to earn her meals.

Yet, as Ophelia started to check her body, that gratitude quickly faded.

Stripping clothes, lifting her skirt—fine, that could be understood.

But taking off her underwear?

Isn’t that going a bit too far?

There are people watching here, you know!

“Stop it, Sister~!”

Seeing that Ophelia was about to carry Camilla away, Elina couldn’t hold back anymore.

She grit her teeth and blocked their path.

“Give her back! I haven’t even seen the happy end yet!”

Finally, a trace of impatience flickered across Ophelia’s expression.

Her right hand, still empty, came to rest on the hilt at her waist—a simple, unadorned long sword radiating a biting cold.

“Out of my way!”

A Sword Aura Crescent Slash howled forth—not at Elina, but striking the floor precisely between her and the sisters.

The sword aura plowed a deep gash into the ground, icy cold sweeping outward to freeze the surrounding moisture into glittering ice crystals.

The sheer power made Elina gulp unconsciously.

This woman is no pushover.

Ophelia sheathed her sword as if she’d done nothing remarkable, pulled Camilla along, and turned to walk out through the shattered dungeon door.

“Wait! Rice Gobbler!”

Elina yelled, unashamed, her violet eyes locked on Camilla’s back.

“Remember! The ending! I want a happy end! If I don’t get it, I’ll never let you go! The Bardia family always keeps its word!”

“Haha, next time for sure.”

Dragged along by her sister, Camilla staggered out of the dungeon, Elina’s villainous heiress voice echoing after them.

Outside, night had fallen. It was clear Ophelia had muscled her way in—the route out was scattered with frozen statues and guards knocked unconscious.

Without slowing, Ophelia slipped an arm around Camilla’s waist.

Wind Element Flight gathered around them, and in a blink, the two soared into the sky, leaving behind the Bardia family’s secluded country manor.

In the chill wind, Camilla sneaked a glance at her sister’s cold profile, and cautiously asked,

“Sister… how did you find me?”

Ophelia gazed ahead, her voice muffled by the wind.

“It’s a bond only sisters share.”

Really?

Camilla blinked in disbelief.

Before long, the sisters arrived at their Royal Capital residence—a modest but exquisitely comfortable two-story house with a courtyard full of hardy flowers.

No sooner had they stepped inside than Ophelia closed the door behind them and set up a Soundproof Barrier.

She turned, watching Camilla try to sneak back to her room, and issued a command that brooked no argument.

“Go to the bathroom.”

“Huh? Sis, I’m fine, really…”

Camilla tried to protest.

Ophelia said nothing.

She just looked at her with those icy blue eyes.

Even though the two weren’t related by blood, the pressure of Ophelia’s “sister” status was overwhelming.

Camilla gave up at once. She knew that at times like this, any resistance was futile.

If she didn’t behave, Ophelia would cry.

The residence’s bathroom was quite spacious, with a central bath of white marble, big enough for three or four people.

Ophelia skillfully activated the Heating Magic Array.

Warm water slowly filled the pool, sending up clouds of steam.

“Take off your clothes.”

Ophelia commanded.