Chapter 44 : Don’t come over here!

Liliane’s magic froze the world with ruthless precision.

Inside “Venus’s Secret,” the air was thick with biting cold.

The thugs and innocents controlled by the black mist stood petrified in mid-charge, encased in lifelike ice sculptures. The leader’s snarling grin, a noble girl’s terrified eyes, even shards of glass mid-flight were sealed in crystalline eternity, a hauntingly beautiful stillness.

In this icy palace, only the corner where Ailiya and Aurora stood remained warm, protected by an invisible barrier—the sole pocket of life.

Aurora, starry-eyed, was practically spellbound, muttering, “Lady Liliane… so cool…”

Ailiya sighed, glancing at the silver-haired girl radiating divine authority. Cool? This is a walking Ice Age.

“You again…” Liliane’s icy voice cut through the silence.

She glided through the ice statues, stopping before Ailiya and Aurora, her violet eyes tinged with familiar exasperation, as if staring at chronic troublemakers.

Why the “troublemaker” look? Ailiya thought, aggrieved. They started it! I’m the victim here!

Liliane scanned the frozen scene, her cold gaze lingering on each statue before settling on Ailiya. “Explain what happened,” she commanded.

Ailiya straightened, taking a deep breath, and recounted everything—the thugs’ invasion, the robbery, the eerie black mist’s revival powers—without missing a detail.

At the intense parts, she couldn’t help but shudder. I almost died, you know!

Liliane listened, her eyes half-closed, long lashes casting faint shadows. She touched her chin, lost in thought. “Strange,” she murmured. “This is the capital’s premier economic district, with tight security. A planned robbery of this scale is unheard of, and the patrol should’ve sent warnings.”

She looked at Ailiya, her gaze probing. “This black mist—what did it look like?”

Ailiya raised her hand eagerly, like a schoolkid. “Black!”

Liliane’s expression froze, her eyes narrowing into a withering glare.

Ailiya shrank back, lowering her arm, muttering inwardly, I’m not a magic expert, okay…

She nudged Aurora, still swooning. Aurora blinked, snapping out of it. “Huh? Oh! Lady Liliane, what did you ask?”

Liliane didn’t repeat herself, merely shifting her gaze.

Aurora caught on, quickly describing the mist. “It’s not magical, no mana fluctuations—just pure filth. It came from their iron bracelets, turning eyes red and controlling people! Like… a virus!”

Liliane frowned, puzzled. “Virus? Never heard of it.”

“Not even in the Royal Library?” Ailiya blurted.

Liliane ignored her, raising her wand. A soft white glow melted the ice around the leader’s wrist, revealing the plain iron bracelet.

Ailiya leaned in. No mist emanated now; it looked utterly ordinary.

Liliane’s violet eyes studied it intensely, searching for clues, but her confusion deepened. Even Lady Liliane can’t figure it out?

Known for her confidence, Liliane’s inability to discern anything from the bracelet brought a rare hint of frustration.

She raised her wand again, melting the remaining ice and levitating the bracelet to her. “I’ll take this to the Magic Research Institute for analysis.”

She turned to leave.

“Wait!” Ailiya called, her nosy streak flaring. “What about them? Just leave them frozen?”

Liliane retrieved her black parasol from the doorway, replying lightly, “I didn’t use full force. The ice will melt soon, and the patrol will handle the rest.”

Ailiya nodded, then pointed at the wreckage, anxious. “And the shop’s damages?”

Please don’t bill me for this!

Liliane sighed at Ailiya’s panicked look, her tone softening. “The shop belongs to the Winter family. I’ll handle the losses. You two can go.”

“Phew!” Ailiya exhaled, tension melting away.

Liliane said nothing more, opening her parasol and stepping into the pouring night rain, her slender figure vanishing into the mist.

Ailiya started to follow, but Aurora grabbed her arm. “Hey, Ailiya…”

“What?”

“Why did we come here?”

Ailiya blinked, then remembered. “…To buy underwear.”

“Where’s the underwear?”

They exchanged a look, turning to the corner where their purchases were—now encased in thick frost, like two giant ice blocks.

“…!!!”

On the capital’s outskirts, rain pounded the cobblestones.

Ailiya clutched the frozen bags of underwear, the icy chill numbing her fingers.

Aurora held an umbrella over her, both silent.

Thinking Aurora was fretting over the shop’s damages, Ailiya was about to console her when Aurora spoke. “Why’s your head always full of money?”

Caught off guard, Ailiya’s schemes exposed, she pouted, retorting, “If my head was full of money, at least it’d be worth something!”

“I give up.” Aurora sighed.

Money’s the root of life! Happiness! Without it, how do I pay my debts?! Ailiya ranted inwardly.

“I’m thinking about the black mist,” Aurora continued. “I’ve scoured every game setting, and there’s nothing like it. What is it? Why’s it here?”

Ailiya rolled her eyes. “Your guide’s been wrong about everything. Just burn it already.”

Smack!

Aurora slapped Ailiya’s back, making her yelp. Aurora grinned, her vitality returning. “Whatever, we’ll figure it out later. Right now, our priority—”

She leaned close, whispering with a mischievous smirk, “—is trying on your new underwear!”

Ailiya froze, clutching the icy bags tighter, her face stiffening.

Why’s her look so creepy?! Was she really a girl in her past life?!