Ivy lay on the ground, curled up in the corner, the ringing in her ears flooding her mind and tightening her nerves to the breaking point.
This mental tension was caused unconsciously.
It made Ivy recall a challenge she had seen in her past life—one where contestants simply had to stay in an absolutely silent, entertainment-free, sealed room for a certain period to win a prize.
Back then, Ivy scoffed at challengers who couldn’t even manage such a simple task, confident she could get through it with ease.
But now, having truly experienced it, Ivy realized how terrifying absolute silence was.
In the past, silence always came with some white noise that helped drown out tinnitus.
But now, without that white noise as a buffer, the ringing in her ears spread wildly as if freed from any restraint, and no matter how tightly she covered her ears, it did no good.
Ivy’s chest rose and fell, tormented by the unending ringing, her mood growing irritable.
She wanted to put an end to the tinnitus completely.
But she couldn’t. She guessed that Flossi had used magic to restrict her vision and hearing, leaving her blind to everything.
Yet Ivy was unable to break free.
During the time she was blinded and deafened, she had tried to use the most basic magic to open her attribute panel.
But Ivy found that even this most fundamental magical power was beyond her reach.
Let alone trying to lift the restrictions placed upon her.
Now, it seemed there was nothing Ivy could do besides lying on the ground and battling the ringing in her ears.
The helplessness of being unable to do anything, see anything, or hear anything was torturous.
Ivy had never felt time stretch so endlessly, as if a century had passed.
The ringing constantly disrupted her thoughts, making even zoning out impossible.
And since it was morning and she had just gotten up, there was no way she could be sleepy.
At this moment, she couldn’t even think about sleeping—she could only wait in the room.
Meanwhile, outside the room, Flossi sat face-to-face with Emilia.
Emilia took a small sip of tea and then watched the scene of Ivy with growing interest.
“Looks like the sun has risen in the west today—you actually came to find me on your own.”
Emilia didn’t mention Ivy but instead made casual conversation with Flossi.
But Flossi seemed to have little interest in chatting with Emilia.
So far, the only common topic between Flossi and Emilia was Ivy, which was also the main reason Flossi was willing to speak with her.
Otherwise, if this were before, Emilia showing up in front of her like this would have ended with Flossi cutting her down long ago.
Let alone voluntarily coming to find Emilia.
Seeing Flossi so uninterested in continuing the conversation, Emilia let out a bored sigh and said, “So, you came to see me again for this little one?”
“She’s usually pretty well-behaved in front of you. I thought you’d just give her a beating, but I didn’t expect you’d lock her up in a little black room.”
Emilia said casually.
“She’s indeed well-behaved—so much so that I can’t even tell it’s an act anymore.”
Flossi finally showed a trace of expression on her face, tinged with sarcasm.
“Oh?”
Emilia’s tone turned intrigued.
Though she had guessed that Ivy hid something beneath her fragile exterior, Emilia had little contact with her, mostly limited to transactional meetings.
Emilia recalled that Ivy, while appearing scared and terrified in front of her, seemed to lack something.
That fear looked genuine, but because it was too real, it created a strange dissonance. Emilia never knew exactly what caused this dissonance and had no desire to investigate it.
But hearing Flossi’s words made Emilia notice it.
Emilia thought back to the first time she saw Ivy—slumped on the ground as if soulless—and the Ivy who stunned everyone at the council meeting.
Later, when speaking with Emilia, Ivy showed loyalty but also a rebellious streak.
Emilia pondered for a moment and connected all these observations.
“So, what exactly are you trying to say?” Emilia asked, her purple eyes fixed on Flossi as she lightly tucked a strand of her purple hair behind her ear.
“Let’s make another bet—on how long my little pet can hold out.” Flossi stated her purpose in coming.
“A bet, huh.”
Emilia raised an eyebrow, her gaze seeming to say, “So the usually calm and cold Flossi has this kind of hobby.”
Emilia opened her mouth as if to tease, but after a cold glare from Flossi, she obediently swallowed her words.
Though as the older sister she had been shut down by her younger sister’s look, which was both awkward and humiliating, Emilia felt no resentment.
She was used to it.
Clearing her throat to break the strange atmosphere, Emilia asked, “What’s the wager?”
“You know I’m always reluctant about betting.” Emilia spread her hands helplessly, adjusting her purple hair.
“Then I’ll decide. If you lose, you’ll accompany me to investigate something.” Flossi picked up where Emilia left off.
“Investigate?”
Emilia frowned, looking at Flossi with a hint of doubt.
Then she began sorting through what Flossi might want to investigate.
Finally, she settled on something Flossi had recently brought up again at the council.
At that moment, Emilia abruptly stood up without setting down her teacup.
“The elders have already forbidden you from pursuing that investigation. Aren’t there enough Blood Clan members already completely corrupted by this?”
What Flossi spoke of was the Blood Clan rebellion incident.
The origins of this rebellion could be traced back to the day Ivy became a hero—three years ago.
At first, the council and elders believed the Blood Clan members who had turned rebelled only to escape the control of the Blood Clan council and elders.
After all, during the rule of the Blood Clan over the Blood Castle, such situations had occurred many times.
Most rebellions stemmed from Blood Clan members being unhappy with their confinement within Blood Clan territory, choosing to rebel and escape to the outside world.
But gradually, they realized something was wrong.
Because the number of rebellious Blood Clan members kept increasing—from just three at first to a full twenty later.
Most of these were Blood Clan members originally dispatched to suppress the rebellion.
That made the situation very strange, drawing the attention of the elders and council.
A prince-led force headed by Flossi was sent to quell the rebellion.
But it was this suppression that made them realize how serious the problem was.
Their usual approach to rebellious Blood Clan members was to kill them outright and imprison the weakened, resurrecting ones.
But this time, although they killed the rebels, those Blood Clan members never resurrected.
It was as if their souls had been devoured. Though their Blood Clan essence remained, their self-awareness was lost.
That night, a Blood Clan prince traveling with Flossi retrieved the essence of the rebellious Blood Clan members.
And that very night, the same Blood Clan prince also rebelled.