Chapter 91 - 18: An Unexpected Encounter

Chapter 91: Chapter 18: An Unexpected Encounter

Chris handed Lilia a note with a specific time and address written on it.

As if afraid of being rejected, he shoved the note into Lilia’s hand, dropped the line, "I’ll be waiting for you there," and ran off. Throughout the entire exchange, Lilia didn’t even have a chance to say a single word.

If someone didn’t know his true personality and saw the boy’s timid, drenched-puppy eyes, along with his shy, ostrich-like retreating figure fleeing because he didn’t dare face the truth, they would probably think this child was absolutely adorable. They would be seized by a radiant maternal instinct, involuntarily indulging his every whim.

But Lilia was different. She not only knew exactly what kind of person Chris was, but she also loathed being treated as someone’s plaything.

Committing the time and location to memory, Lilia rubbed her fingers together, and the flimsy note was instantly engulfed in flames.

She returned to her bedchamber and summoned Rebecca, who was preparing dinner. The fact that this girl could gather a massive amount of information about the princes and princesses even while being ostracized was enough to show her outstanding talent in this area. Now, as her personal maid, Rebecca’s status was far beyond what it used to be, so doing this kind of thing should be even easier for her.

"Oh?" Hearing Lilia’s question, Rebecca asked curiously, "His Highness Chris’s servants? I know of them, but we aren’t very close..."

"It doesn’t matter. Just knowing them is enough," Lilia said. "I need you to help me spread a rumor to them. Remember, do it quietly. Don’t let them know the source of the information is us."

Rebecca nodded vigorously. She understood this. It simply meant spreading second-hand information through an intermediary instead of telling them directly; it wasn’t hard to grasp. She didn’t know what Lilia was planning, but that didn’t stop her from faithfully executing Lilia’s orders.

She asked with a serious expression, "What do you need them to know?"

"It’s very simple," Lilia smiled. "Just say that the Princess His Majesty recently acknowledged stood near the attic for a whole night for some unknown reason. Who knows if she was waiting for someone..."

Lilia had always felt at ease letting Rebecca handle things. She might look a bit immature, but judging from the detailed roster she had provided before, this girl was actually meticulous and serious. Any task Lilia assigned her would be completed quickly and excellently.

Now that the public opinion was in place, Lilia only had one thing left to do.

After dinner, she dismissed all her servants and went alone to the location written on the note. She knew there was a ninety-nine percent chance Chris wouldn’t show up, but anything was possible. If he suddenly grew a conscience and fell into that one percent probability by actually appearing, then Lilia’s ruse of playing the victim wouldn’t just fail—it would make her look like an untrustworthy clown for breaking the appointment.

Of course, Lilia wouldn’t leave such a glaring loophole in her plan.

The place Chris had asked her to meet was a small garden. Even though it was already late autumn, the foliage was still lush and green. Lilia suspected that even if it snowed tomorrow, the flowers here would still bloom as usual under the care of the court magicians.

After strolling around the area until the appointed time had passed, Lilia still hadn’t seen Chris.

Just as she expected. What a completely unsurprising date.

Lilia curled her lips. She was just about to leave when she spotted a familiar silhouette at the end of the path.

Beside the garden was a network of crisscrossing paths, and further ahead was the "attic" Lilia had mentioned to Rebecca. The attic was completely black, rendering it inconspicuous in the late-night lighting. Instead, it looked like a tombstone standing in a dark abyss. Unlike the other brightly lit buildings, there wasn’t a single lamp near this attic. It looked as if it had been abandoned long ago, which was partly why Lilia hadn’t noticed it before.

Why would Victor be here this late at night?

Out of curiosity, Lilia silently followed for a couple of steps, but then she realized something.

The reason Chris had invited her wasn’t just to stand her up and make her take a trip for nothing. He probably already knew that Victor would come here in the middle of the night, so he wanted her to "accidentally" stumble upon Victor’s secret. Activities conducted in the dead of night were mostly shady. Who knew what kind of fate would await Lilia after she witnessed this with her own eyes? As a completely independent High-level Mage, Victor wouldn’t care about her status as a Princess. He could do anything to her.

This was Chris’s true intention and plan.

Unfortunately for him, he had miscalculated one crucial detail. That was the fact that Victor had a "Permanent Label" for her. With his built-in Favorability, even if the two crossed paths, Lilia didn’t think he would do anything to her.

She was truly a bit curious. Why exactly did Victor agree to the King’s request to stay in the Royal Court and teach these princes and princesses? And... was what he was doing right now related to unlocking his personal main storyline?

Watching Victor’s figure disappear at the end of the path, Lilia stepped out from her hiding spot. Just as she was about to follow him, her footsteps paused for a moment.

Just to be safe, she saved her game.

With this safeguard in place, Lilia acted with even less hesitation. After he went inside, she arrived at the door of the attic.

Waiting at the door for about ten seconds, she reached out and tried pushing it.

CREAK—

The heavy door was pushed open a crack. It wasn’t locked.

Lilia raised an eyebrow and slipped inside.

As soon as she entered, the rich scent of paper and ink wafted into her nose. There were no windows in the attic. Once Lilia closed the door, the only light source was cut off, making the surrounding darkness feel even denser and more viscous.

Lilia tried to lighten her footsteps as much as possible, slowly groping her way forward. This was clearly a library; she could feel rows of towering wooden bookshelves and the dense clusters of books on them. Passing through the shelves, a sliver of light peeked through from the corner leading to the second floor on the other side.

Victor was clearly up there.

Without any hesitation, Lilia marched upstairs. When she stepped onto the final step, Lilia had already braced herself for an attack, but to her surprise, the second floor remained as quiet as before. It was as if Victor hadn’t noticed the intruder at all.

She followed the light into the reading room on the second floor.

Victor stood right in the center of the room, quietly gazing at her, his expression as calm and indifferent as ever.

Lilia blinked. "...You knew I was coming?"

Victor nodded slightly. "I saw you outside just now. Your stealth skills are not very impressive."

Lilia was speechless.

Alright then. It turned out he didn’t care at all whether she stumbled upon his secret. She felt deeply apologetic for maliciously judging Victor and saving her game.

"Class is over right now, you know." Lilia relaxed a bit and walked over to Victor with light steps. She tilted her head. "Do we have to maintain a teacher-student dynamic in a place like this?"

This was her response to his comment about her stealth skills not being impressive.

Victor lowered his eyes, not directly answering her.

Lilia didn’t mind. She looked curiously at the books around Victor. "What are these?"