“Pfft! Cough, cough!”
Victoria couldn’t help but choke a few times.
Although Luoye’s words sounded like a threat, for some reason, Victoria subconsciously pictured a rather wicked scene, and even her body responded, making her instinctively clamp her thighs and shift them slightly.
It was just a threat, so why did she react like this?
Was it because Luoye’s tone and expression sparked her imagination?
Interesting.
It seemed Luoye’s talent for acting was not inferior to hers.
If she could pull him into the Earl’s family, surely whether it was to take care of Lilith, help her improve her acting skills, or become the next head of the Earl’s house and guide Lilith when necessary, both options would be extremely beneficial.
Victoria regained her elegant posture, set down her wine glass, flipped the hair behind her neck, and with graceful poise said:
“Mr. Luoye, would you be interested in becoming the heir of the Earl’s family? Though you may not hold the status of the Princess’s prince consort, you would have access to all the resources of the Earl’s estate. I wonder what you think of this, Mr. Luoye?”
When she said this, Victoria’s voice was laced with teasing and temptation, her eyes clouded with a dreamy look, as if hinting at something.
If she weren’t married, one might even imagine her speaking those words while hooking a heel, flashing a coquettish smile, then slipping off the high heels to let her translucent jade feet tease the calves of the person before her like scorching, tingling firelines that stirred the heartstrings.
Luoye took a deep breath.
“Ms. Victoria, please don’t try to drive a wedge between me and Alicia. My feelings for Alicia run far deeper than what you see on the surface. I will never betray her. Besides, I’m counting to three—if you don’t come clean, I will stand up and leave.”
“Wait!”
Victoria hurriedly called out, “I came to discuss cooperation with you. If you’re considering breaking off the engagement, you can always talk to me~”
Discuss with you, not with the Earl’s estate?
Luoye picked up his wine glass, sipped lightly, and silently studied Victoria.
What a meticulous woman—approaching in her personal capacity rather than on behalf of the Earl’s house.
Even if he had photos or recordings, Victoria could just claim she was an actress hired by the royal family to test him and get off the hook. Both her advance and retreat routes were tightly arranged.
On the other side, Victoria was under considerable pressure, maintaining the mysterious smile she had worn earlier, but behind her luxurious clothes, cold sweat was quietly dripping.
She hadn’t expected a mere fifteen-year-old boy to be so resolute. Compared to him, even the outstanding young talents of the capital were too naive—just walking away without even a hint of hesitation.
The most troublesome thing was that her intelligence was flawed.
Since when had Luoye gotten close to Alicia?
Weren’t those two completely unconnected back in their first year?
What Victoria didn’t know was that if this proposal had been made to the Sage’s illegitimate son himself, he might have agreed—after all, he had no ties to Alicia, and anything involving the royal family would be a huge headache.
But Luoye came from the future through “transmigration,” fully aware of how he survived in this timeline.
From a survival standpoint, he could betray anyone—even his own adoptive father, the Sage—but not Alicia.
If he betrayed Alicia, that would be game over.
He knew perfectly well who the big and little kings were.
“I’m sorry, but I will absolutely not break off my engagement to Alicia,” Luoye said solemnly.
Suddenly, he felt a cold magical energy surge from outside the private room, then vanish in an instant.
What was that? An illusion?
Luoye frowned slightly. The magic felt familiar, but he couldn’t recall where he had seen it before.
Victoria’s cherry lips parted, her eyes wide in disbelief as she stared at Luoye.
This was no act, but a genuine expression—the first time she’d seen true emotion from him during their meeting today.
Luoye’s bond with Princess Alicia exceeded her expectations, and she couldn’t uncover the reason why.
“Is His Majesty the King sending you to test me?” Luoye asked abruptly.
?!!
Victoria’s beautiful eyes widened, her deepest secret pierced without warning by Luoye. Even the most renowned actress, capable of delivering the most dramatic lines on the spot, couldn’t instantly fabricate a perfect cover in a conversation involving the royal family and political stances.
And that was exactly what Luoye wanted.
“Deliberately luring me out of the academy, boldly announcing that you have infiltrated internal academy forces, even using the outrageous method of conspiring to break off the princess’s engagement by targeting her prince consort to drag me down with you.”
“From your methods of currying favor with the dorm supervisor, to our mutual probing during casual chat, and your personal attempt to recruit me under such a sensitive political position—I admit you’ve done well. I can’t find any angle to hurt you in retaliation.”
“But—”
Luoye curled his lips into a cold sneer. Beneath his solemn expression, his eyes declared his answer:
“All of this is still not enough for you to hope to win me over and walk away unscathed if you fail.”
“I’m afraid the only one who can test my engagement to Alicia is the King himself.”
“Don’t you agree, Lady Ambassador?”
Victoria suddenly smiled, a blossom of delight.
“Are you really only fifteen?”
Now Victoria had completely switched to a probing tone suitable for speaking with a peer, setting aside her earlier playful intentions.
Because Luoye was right—no one would be reckless enough to risk decapitation to approach him to stop this engagement so soon after it was announced.
That would be an insult not to Alicia, but to the King.
Even with a thousand guts, Victoria wouldn’t dare approach Luoye before His Majesty gave the order.
No matter what she really thought inside.
“This is my name, along with the address of my residence and theater. You can find me at either place if you need anything in the future.”
Victoria rose and gracefully tossed down a business card, as if offering a final instruction before taking her leave.
Luoye took the black card offered, glanced at the exquisite wording and elegant signature, then slipped it into his pocket.
“No need to see me out. Make yourself at home,” Luoye said.
“How heartless. Little Luoye, if you act like this, no girl will like you, you know?” Victoria laughed softly, covering her mouth.
Luoye shook his head, ignoring her.
Seeing this, Victoria didn’t press further and strode out of the private room.
However, just after pushing open the door and seeing who stood outside, she was taken aback, her mouth parting slightly, then she glanced back at Luoye with a sly smile before turning and walking away quickly, leaving an intriguing mystery for Luoye to uncover on his own.
“What the hell? Who’s out there?”
Luoye muttered, finishing his wine before standing and heading toward the door.
But just as he stepped outside and caught sight of the figure before him, he was startled.
Leaning against the wall was a girl dressed in the Empire Magic Academy uniform, wearing the student council badge on her chest. Her waist-length hair was a sky-blue cascade, and her bright amber eyes gleamed beneath the fringe that shadowed her face, making her expression hard to read. Yet her posture was graceful, her flawless features perfect—none could find fault.
She was also the person Luoye knew best—Princess Alicia.
“What are you doing here?” Luoye blinked, instinctively asking.
For a moment, Alicia looked slightly flustered as she raised her head, but quickly suppressed it and returned to her usual calm demeanor.
“I heard you left the academy without reporting, so I came looking for you.”
“You followed me?” Luoye frowned.
Alicia chuckled lightly.
“Don’t be silly. Your uniform is so conspicuous, I just asked some passersby where you went.”
“……”
Alright then, seems I was overthinking.
Luoye wasn’t worried about whether Alicia heard their earlier conversation either—this room was completely soundproof in his understanding, sealed by a magic barrier. No sound could escape.
What he didn’t know was that the reason Alicia looked so strange was that this tavern… was actually run by the royal family.
The soundproofing didn’t work on royal members.
Alicia’s cheeks flushed: Does Luoye really like me this much?