Watching the pastry placed before him, Lorin speared a small piece with his fork and popped it into his mouth.

He’d been here a while but had never tasted the local pastries—only heard about them.

Seeing Lorin completely unguarded, Oulei said, "Last time, Second Prince mentioned his friend fell ill from eating pastries. Aren’t you afraid this might be tainted too?"

Lorin glanced up at her, then deliberately placed the pastry in his mouth before her eyes, as if answering her question.

"I doubt you sought me out just to chat about this."

Lorin didn’t believe Oulei had waited for him outside the palace, invited him here, only to poison his food.

He’d already hinted to her about Lilith last time, and she knew exactly what he meant.

Yet even so, Lorin felt she still had no intention of backing down.

The figure he’d met in the mountains—Lorin still didn’t know who it was. But recalling how that person had frozen upon hearing his voice, it was clear they recognized him.

Few cared enough about him to identify him by voice alone.

Oulei didn’t touch the pastries; instead, she lifted her teacup. "I heard Second Prince will leave the Royal Capital soon. As your future sister-in-law, I wanted to bond one last time."

Lorin frowned. Only Baneka, Romon, and Lixen should know about his departure.

No one else had been present besides a few guards.

Unless Oulei had planted those guards to get the news this fast.

Lorin dabbed pastry crumbs from his lips; sweetness flooded his mouth. "Is this your doing?"

Oulei paused, then covered her smile with a hand, the picture of ladylike grace.

"Second Prince, a genius at Advanced Magic—I never expected such sharp intuition." She continued, "Yes, I told Romon, and he proposed it to Lord Baneka."

Lorin scanned the room; only they two remained. "You have quite the method."

With no witnesses, Oulei had nothing to fear from speaking plainly.

Lorin could accuse her later, but without proof or testimony, it’d be pointless.

"Guess how I did it."

"No need."

Lorin had little interest. In the original story, Romon was capable enough to inherit the throne—but now Oulei seemed sharper.

Or perhaps his mastery of Advanced Magic pressured Romon so much that a few words convinced him to exile Lorin from the Royal Capital.

"Tch." Oulei scowled as Lorin ignored her lead.

It was like proudly showing off an achievement, only to be met with utter indifference.

"Let’s discuss a certain girl instead. I think Second Prince cares about her."

Lorin set his fork down slowly, expression turning serious.

Noticing his shift, Oulei clapped her hands; a servant brought a portrait.

She unrolled it between them. "This person matters to you, doesn’t she?"

Lorin stayed silent, eyes locked on the portrait, suppressing a flicker of unease.

But when the scroll fully opened, he froze. He stared again at the image, then at Oulei in shock.

He’d expected Xueyi—but it was Lilith’s portrait.

At first, he thought Oulei had grabbed the wrong one, but her calm expression suggested otherwise, leaving him baffled.

Oulei, oblivious to his confusion, pressed on. "Second Prince, let’s cooperate."

"Cooperate?" Lorin rested his chin on his hand, still unimpressed.

"Help me crush the Aege family—or eliminate Lilith. Or keep her for yourself. Just make her vanish from Romon’s and my sight." Oulei’s voice rose, her face twisting with manic fervor. "I’ll stop Romon from exiling you. And after he takes the throne, he’ll grant you power second only to ours."

"Wait." Lorin raised a hand. "You’ve misunderstood something."

"Misunderstood?"

"Why assume I’d help you against Lilith? And what would I do with power?"

Lilith was the original protagonist—he knew that. She’d aided Xueyi multiple times; barring extraordinary circumstances, Lorin would never move against her.

What baffled him more was Oulei’s belief that he craved staying in the Royal Capital or sought power. He was here only for his tasks.

Oulei slammed her palms on the table, standing abruptly, madness still in her eyes. "Aren’t you bewitched by that witch like Romon? Don’t you want to possess her? Why else help her repeatedly, huh?!"

"Uh... cough."

Now Lorin understood why Oulei had made these demands.

In her view, all his actions served Lilith—warning her after the poisoning, stopping that mountain figure.

To outsiders, it did look like he aided Lilith, since those events involved her. But without Xueyi, he’d never have interfered.

Lilith was dazzling in this story—not just to Romon, Xueyi’s brother, or the Knighthood captain candidate, but to countless admirers. Perhaps that was a protagonist’s due.

Power? That was Oulei’s own craving.

"Well!?" Oulei leaned in close. "A fine offer, isn’t it? What say you, Second Prince?"

Lorin shifted back slightly, startled by her sudden shift from grace to derangement.

He forced an awkward smile. "You’ve truly misunderstood me. I’m not interested in any of your terms."

He stood quickly and strode toward his waiting carriage.

Watching him leave, Oulei bit her lip hard, fury replacing madness. "Just as I thought—no man ever tells the truth."