"He...wants to sleep with you?"

"Wouldn't that have some impact on his reputation?"

Michael's jaw almost stopped chewing the cake, shocked.

But Oedipus just shook his head lightly.

"Well...he's a foreigner. It's understandable for foreign men to be more open-minded."

Michael hesitated, placing the spoon near her glistening lips.

Her eyes lowered, seemingly contemplating something profound and complicated.

"But...I heard that when Acadia people mate with foreigners, they give birth to monsters."

"I certainly have no intention of breaking up any happy couples. But as your close friend, I just wanted to give you a little reminder..."

Michael looked at Oedipus's eyes, flowing with shades of the sea, and decided to stop talking.

"I understand. I also know we have no future together. I'm just...playing around, hehe..."

Oedipus spoke, then glanced away, one hand fidgeting with the table edge, looking a bit desolate.

But then, she took a deep breath, adjusting her mindset.

Thinking back on the moments with Prometheus, a smile spread across her lips.

"Oh, speaking of foreigners, I have something to share."

"There are many foreigners in the laboratory here, their food, activities, items, attire, everything is different from ours."

"Prometheus is also a foreigner, and he taught me many foreign dishes!"

"Oh, I forgot to introduce properly, Prometheus is my boyfriend. He's knowledgeable, becoming a doctor at a young age."

"And he cooks deliciously, with a variety of dishes, never repeating the same in a month. He's also very romantic, um...let me see if I have his ID photo, he looks really handsome..."

Seeing Oedipus seemingly about to continue endlessly, Michael quickly interrupted her.

"Wait, Lady Altria, wait."

"Can we talk more about your boyfriend next time?"

"I came here without my mother's knowledge, so my time is limited."

"Even though our McNewdeau family participates in the laboratory project... I've been feeling a bit excluded lately."

"My mother doesn't allow me to know anything related to the lab. But that's fine, what puzzles me is she spends all year round in the lab, leaving my father alone in the castle. It makes me feel strange."

"To be honest...I suspect she's up to something not good."

"She's concerned that as a member of the Forbidden Orchestra, it might hinder her plans."

"So this time, I mainly came hoping to see what she's really up to... Can you, secretly, show me where she works?"

Michael placed her arms on the table, gently laying her hand on Oedipus's fair hand, speaking solemnly.

Michael's face was charming, innocent. Despite her noble status, she didn't exude any arrogance,

But Oedipus avoided eye contact, unable to look at Michael's face.

"Do I really have to go?"

Michael nodded.

"...I'm sorry, I can't do that."

Oedipus sighed.

"Listen to me, don't be surprised."

"Your mother, that is Grand Duke Gabrielle. The place she works at is an area only senior researchers can enter."

It detains countless unruly angels, while researchers set numerous traps against angelic riots there.

So, for someone like me, unfamiliar, it's extremely dangerous."

"Moreover, as the researchers there always experiment with angels, under immense pressure and pain, many angels, unconsciously, release aside and backdrop."

"Due to the chaotic aside and backdrop, it has become a borderland between the realm of fantasy and reality."

"Only Grand Duke Gabrielle... or people like Prometheus, have the ability to do research there. Otherwise, if ordinary people enter, they might never return."

"And even smoking is prohibited there! It is said... when those detained angels sense smoke, they transform into bloodthirsty demons!"

"Foreigners are fine, but if an Acadia person goes in, enduring days without smoking, what about that?"

"So, I advise you not to go... If you truly want to see Grand Duke Gabrielle, I'll make a call for you later. Our phone lines here are working."

After listening to Oedipus's words, Michael deeply furrowed her brows, the doubt in her expression like a dark cloud that wouldn't dissipate.

She swallowed hard and asked Oedipus, "What exactly... is that place?"

Oedipus paused, casually running her fingers on the table, and slowly said, "We call that place...the No Smoking Zone."