“Little Luo Xiya, why do you look so troubled?”
Lady Catherine appeared silently at Luo Xiya’s side, startling her out of her thoughts.
“Can’t you at least knock?”
Luo Xiya grumbled.
Then she realized, the other woman hadn’t just failed to knock; she hadn’t even opened the door.
Transcendentals approaching the Saint Domain could really do whatever they pleased, sneaking in for a midnight ambush without so much as a sound.
Her mind veered strangely in that direction, and Luo Xiya quickly dismissed the ridiculous thought with a cough, forcing it from her head.
She stood up and smiled at Lady Catherine.
“Aunt, did you need something?”
“That girl came to see you, didn’t she?”
Lady Catherine suddenly asked an unrelated question.
Luo Xiya’s smile vanished like a doused flame, her lips pressed tight in silence.
“She said she could cure me?”
Lady Catherine pressed further.
For some reason, Luo Xiya felt that Lady Catherine’s expression tonight was unusually cold.
She had never been treated this way before, and for a moment, she didn’t know how to respond.
“…Yes,” she finally admitted.
“And you agreed to her terms?”
The continued questioning made Luo Xiya lower her head even more, her voice barely above a whisper.
“I haven’t agreed yet.”
Only then did Lady Catherine’s expression ease slightly.
She was such a gentle person, but when she got angry, even her calm questioning could be unbearably heavy.
Luo Xiya, proud as she was, felt that pressure even more when it came from her.
“You must not agree,” Lady Catherine said firmly in the end.
Luo Xiya furrowed her brow, wanting to argue, but under Lady Catherine’s gaze, she gave up.
Her mind flashed back to that final conversation with Tania, and another wave of headache struck her.
“I can cure Lady Catherine’s illness.”
“Why should I believe you?”
“Because the Magic Blossom originates near the Desmon family’s territory. We’ve studied it thoroughly for years. If you don’t trust me, I can even sign an agreement in Goddess Fara’s name.”
“…Then what do you want?”
“Heh…”
What Tania proposed next nearly made Luo Xiya draw her sword on the spot.
She had made her demand with utter seriousness, she wanted one night with Roman.
In exchange, she would not only detoxify Lady Catherine but also give up all the trade benefits previously discussed.
Luo Xiya stared at Tania for a long time, furious. In the end, she simply said, “Get out.”
That’s right, she hadn’t rejected her outright with clear condemnation.
She had only told her to leave.
The implication was obvious.
“How did you know?”
Faced with Lady Catherine’s near-interrogation, Luo Xiya felt oddly relieved.
At least now, she didn’t have to suffer in silence, trapped between two impossible choices.
“Do you really think you can hide something I want to know?”
Lady Catherine replied.
Luo Xiya nodded, acknowledging the truth in her words.
A moment later, Lady Catherine’s expression softened, filling with tenderness and pain.
She moved beside Luo Xiya, gently stroking the long hair at the back of her head.
“There was no need for you to even consider those terms. If Roman knew you hesitated, how heartbroken would he be?”
Lady Catherine sighed.
Luo Xiya lowered her head even more.
Turning over that last sentence in her mind, she still couldn’t help but say, “I absolutely won’t agree.”
But even as she said it, the words rang hollow, more to comfort herself than anyone else.
In this female-dominated world, noblewomen placed little value on a man’s “chastity.”
If a single night with their own man could be exchanged for the life of a beloved relative, ninety-nine out of a hundred would agree to the deal without hesitation, even if they had to do it a hundred times over.
Unfortunately for Tania, Luo Xiya happened to be that one rare exception.
She found the idea utterly unacceptable.
In fact, at the time, she had nearly lashed out and taught that delusional woman a painful lesson.
“I know you, child. If my condition worsens in the coming days, you’ll definitely agree,” Lady Catherine said bluntly, exposing Luo Xiya’s true thoughts.
No matter how painful it was, if one night with Roman could truly save her aunt, the woman who had loved her since childhood, she knew she would ultimately grit her teeth and say yes.
And afterward, she would spend the rest of her life treating Roman sincerely, doing everything she could to make up for the harm done.
But just imagining that possibility left her feeling breathless with anguish.
She didn’t answer, her expression simply grew more aggrieved, her demeanor a little more defeated.
In Lady Catherine’s memories, Luo Xiya had always been vibrant, confident and proud.
She had never seen her look so dejected.
And yet, she felt comforted by it.
To her, kindness was more precious than anything else in this world.
“Almost all nobles never see boys as people,” Lady Catherine said, her voice suddenly as sharp as a blade.
“I don’t know what your feelings for Roman truly are, if they’re within that same framework.”
Luo Xiya searched her heart… and realized she couldn’t answer immediately.
“Today, Roman and I discussed his Sacred Seal at length. He also helped me a great deal, look.”
Lady Catherine held out her arm.
The blood vessels that had once been nearly collapsed were now miraculously restored.
“This is…”
Luo Xiya stood up in shock, holding her aunt’s arm and staring in disbelief.
“You need to trust Roman more, just as you’ve always trusted yourself,” Lady Catherine said gently.
Those words filled Luo Xiya with shame, and something deeply rooted inside her finally began to shift.
Her last remaining hesitation shattered.
Luo Xiya completely abandoned the plan Tania had proposed.
At the same time, a deep resentment stirred in her heart, she was already thinking of how to properly make Tania pay.
Just then, a knock came from the door, and both women froze.
“Elise?” Luo Xiya asked.
“It’s me.”
Luo Xiya immediately recognized Roman’s voice.
On instinct, she glanced at her aunt.
Lady Catherine was momentarily puzzled, but then understanding dawned on her.
She nodded with a knowing smile, giving silent approval.
Luo Xiya clearly intended to ask her aunt not to reveal a word of what had just been discussed, fearing that even the slightest slip might drive a wedge between her and Roman.
With her aunt’s agreement, Luo Xiya regained her usual confident aura.
She walked to the door and opened it herself.
Night had already fallen.
Roman stood quietly in the corridor, his already breathtaking face lighting up with a genuine, instinctive smile the moment he saw her.
Faced with that smile, Luo Xiya didn’t feel her usual happiness.
Instead, a faint bitterness crept into her heart.
Not toward Roman, but toward herself.
With just one wrong thought, she had nearly handed Roman over to Tania for a night.
If he had been by her side then, she probably wouldn’t have hesitated so much.
“Why didn’t you come to the hall for dinner?”
Roman asked first.
“I wasn’t hungry. Why, did you eat your fill tonight?”
Luo Xiya replied, reaching out to press on Roman’s soft little belly with a teasing smile.
Even though her thoughts were heavy, her tone and manner remained as playful as always.
Roman blushed and grabbed her hand to stop her mischief.
He said seriously, “In the hall, I ran into that Lady Tania.”
Luo Xiya’s smile vanished instantly.