Chapter 101 Ophelia: My Brother-in-Law is Acting Strange!
In the present world, in the hall beside the Era Tombstone at the Tower of Secrets.
At the center of the hall, a light screen materialized, rippling like water.
Mr. Silver huddled in a corner, yawning involuntarily, his fluffy tail drooping from time to time, seemingly struggling against the hibernation instincts of a silver weasel.
On the other side, dark immortal metal particles, empowered by an alchemical matrix, coalesced into the shape of office tools.
Ophelia sat at the desk and chair formed by these particles, her mercury hands continuously delivering royal decrees, intelligence reports, and quarterly statements to her.
A pen danced between Ophelia’s slender, pale fingers, occasionally sketching a few strokes on the paper before being taken away by the mercury hands and sent towards the entrance of the Tower of Secrets.
The alchemical matrix’s control over the immortal metal was limited to a few hundred meters. Clearly, at the entrance of the Tower of Secrets, the second princess’s subordinates were already waiting to deliver these decrees to various parts of the imperial capital.
Though not yet an adult, as the only publicly recognized princess of the imperial family, Ophelia had already begun participating in various political affairs—
And had established a force loyal only to herself within the imperial capital.
Of course, it’s not hard to understand why Ophelia and Mr. Silver were slacking off.
The scene being broadcasted on the light screen was simply too boring.
The queen, who looked exactly like Akshia and was suspected to be her identity in the Sixth Epoch, spent her days within the palace at the center of the royal city.
Apart from occasionally handling political affairs, she spent most of her time in her private chambers.
Sometimes she would play with a clay doll that was somehow bound to her soul, or lazily recline on her throne, flipping through a mountain of fairy tale books that she seemed to have read many times before.
Or she would rest her chin on her hand, quietly gazing at the scenery beyond the royal city, like a serene sculpture.
It could be said that this queen, like Mr. Silver, had taken the otaku lifestyle to the extreme, not leaving her residence for several months.
No wonder the two became good friends in the present world.
However, while such an otaku queen’s life might be interesting to watch occasionally, it quickly became boring after a while.
If it weren’t for the fact that the flow of time in the Night World was different from the present world—
Although several months had passed in the Night World, only half a day had passed in reality—Mr. Silver and Ophelia would have probably left long ago.
Like an audience member who happily bought popcorn, only to fall asleep during the movie and wake up to find it had already ended.
“I say, Tina’s little sister,” Mr. Silver said, using his tail to stuff a small fish into his mouth, “are you sure we should keep waiting here?”
“Are we really going to watch Xiya’s otaku life for several more months?”
Although Mr. Silver was also an otaku, at least he had the internet, soda, air conditioning, and video games to keep him company…
As for the life in the light screen, with only a clay doll and fairy tale books for company, Mr. Silver couldn’t help but feel sympathy for Akshia in the Sixth Epoch.
It seemed she had long been accustomed to such a life, perhaps spending most of her life in this palace.
If Mr. Silver had to live like that, he would probably have gone crazy from boredom.
“Probably not…”
Ophelia finished reviewing a military order, then took a moment to glance at the scene in the light screen.
“Every historical echo in the Night World must correspond to a specific event.”
“And the era background selected in the End of the Night World is a major event that can directly change the course of civilization and era history.”
“The Night World doesn’t give impossible tasks, nor does it give tasks that can be easily passed.”
“If simply staying in the palace and living leisurely could clear the historical echo, then the rules of the Night World would be too merciful.”
Ophelia paused for a moment.
“Ordinary Night World echoes usually don’t last more than half a month.”
“Era echoes in the End of the Night World are slightly longer, but generally don’t exceed a year.”
“The calmer the previous setup, the more turbulent the events that are about to unfold.”
She capped her pen and then released it.
Before the pen could fall to the ground, the liquid mercury behind Ophelia caught it, suspending it in mid-air.
It was then swallowed by a rift and stored in a sub-dimension for storage.
“If I’m not mistaken…”
“The turning point should be coming soon.”
As if to confirm Ophelia’s words.
The distorted light screen, which had been fast-forwarded at nearly a hundred times the speed, showing an almost unchanging palace scene, suddenly changed.
It was as if the knob of a film projector had been turned, and the speed of the images on the light screen gradually slowed.
Finally, it reached a 1:1 synchronization with real time.
Clearly, the circuits Ophelia had engraved in the recording crystal had detected something unusual and automatically adjusted the time flow.
Both Mr. Silver and Ophelia’s gazes fell on the light screen.
In the light screen.
Within the palace enveloped in twilight, the eternal silence was abruptly broken.
The queen, who had been reclining on her throne, one hand resting on her delicate chin, the other flipping through a fairy tale book, suddenly moved her eyes.
In the next moment, the lazy, indolent expression on her fair face disappeared, replaced by a solemnity befitting her status.
She snapped her fingers.
At the same time, with a flash of icy blue light, the fairy tale book disappeared.
A few seconds later, a palace maid in a white dress entered the palace.
She approached the throne and spoke respectfully.
“Queen Helen, the newly selected maids have arrived. Please bestow your blessing.”
“Let them come.”
The girl who looked exactly like Akshia but was now addressed as Queen Helen did not speak.
But at the same time, icy blue text appeared in the air.
The maid didn’t seem surprised, just respectfully acknowledged and quietly left.
A few minutes later, several figures entered the open space below the palace.
“What’s the big deal… it’s just some new maids. Nothing interesting.”
Mr. Silver flicked his tail in disappointment.
But then, his gaze suddenly froze.
So did Ophelia’s.
It was just a new batch of maids, nothing special.
Unless—
You ignored the one with the cold, elegant aura among them.
She was tall and stunningly beautiful, so much so that even Mr. Silver and Ophelia, who had seen much, could only describe her as breathtaking.
That alone would have been fine, but the soft lines of her features, which seemed to embody all the beauty in the world… looked all too familiar to the two.
Just like the clay doll the queen was playing with.
(End of Chapter)
