It was already morning when Su Cheng woke up. She took a shower, changed her clothes, and saw Camus when she entered the living room.
The blood mage was sitting on the sofa reading a book, his blonde hair shining brightly in the sunlight.
With his back straight, his posture appeared quite elegant. Hearing her approach, he asked without even looking up, "Did you rest well?"
"Well enough," Su Cheng said, glancing at the empty floor space. "Did Lusha take the instrument away?"
Camus suddenly looked up and stared at her.
Su Cheng: "What?"
Camus: "...What an intimate way to address him."
Su Cheng's head throbbed. "It's his alias. I'm not the only one who calls him that."
Camus clearly didn't want to dwell on the topic. He snapped the heavy tome in his hands shut. "Let's go. Breakfast shouldn't be over yet."
As they headed to the dining hall downstairs, they discussed what had happened at the auction, specifically the identity of that black mist.
"The Mirror-Hidden Society," Camus said in a low voice. "An ancient organization that worships the God of Illusions. Their doctrine dictates that identity is merely an illusion, and the true self does not exist. They possess secret arts of shapeshifting, stealing others' appearances, voices, and even certain memories to infiltrate the circles of royalty and nobility, merchant guilds, armies, and even the Church. They have no fixed identities; or rather, every official member has multiple 'identities'."
Su Cheng blinked. "...I remember the God of Illusions is an ally of the God of Darkness, right? If they can even infiltrate the Church, that's truly impressive. You're talking about that black mist, right? Do they do this kind of thing for profit, or to prove something to their deity?"
"I suppose it's a bit of both."
After a brief silence.
"I get it," Su Cheng nodded. "I'm guessing that playing the role of the Prince might have been some sort of mission, whether assigned by someone else or chosen by itself. I ruined that, or rather, I discovered the secret. They probably have some sort of rule, so it will come back to steal my identity. Hmm, I'm actually quite curious how it plans to do that. Pretending to be a Divine Chosen is no small feat."
Camus frowned slightly. "You do realize that means it intends to kill you, right?"
"...Yeah, but there are already too many people who want me dead. One more won't make a difference."
Su Cheng muttered, "I want to kill it too. It found out my secret as well."
The blood mage raised his hand and rapped her on the head.
"Ouch!"
Su Cheng clutched her head.
Even though he hadn't hit her hard, she instinctively exaggerated her reaction. "I only just fought with that... wait, what was the deal with that lunatic who smashed up the auction house yesterday?"
"An out-of-control Dragonborn," Camus said flatly. "Sasha has already uncovered the person's identity. For a Dragonborn, their desire for wealth, romance, power, and so on can be infinitely magnified by their dragon blood, causing them to lose their minds and face total destruction. He wanted to obtain those dragon bones, resurrect the ancient dragons, receive their blessings, and become a true dragon."
Recalling the chaotic scene from yesterday, Su Cheng couldn't help but frown. Then, her expression changed. "The Commander is also a Dragonborn, right?"
The blood mage's gaze became somewhat subtle. "...I don't think you need to worry about him going mad."
Su Cheng thought about it. "He's at least over a thousand years old. If he were going to go mad, he would have done so ages ago, right? Besides, he doesn't seem like the type to—"
She still remembered Kai once saying that even if he was looked down upon, he didn't care all that much.
Someone like that probably wouldn't have overly strong obsessions.
Thank goodness.
Su Cheng almost subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.
Downstairs in the banquet hall, breakfast had not yet been cleared away. Under the soft, bright glow of the crystal chandeliers, the marble floors and silver tableware gleamed.
The aroma of roasted meat and bread drifted through the air, mingling with the fragrant scent of fruit and floral wines.
On one side of the entrance was the cold dish area, where translucent shrimp and shellfish, along with thinly sliced ham, were piled into small mountains. They were garnished with brightly colored pickled olives and gherkins. A few carved poultry dishes sat in the center, their meat roasted to an enticing honey hue.
It would soon be lunchtime, so there were very few people in the dining hall right now. In a grand hall that could accommodate hundreds, only three or five tables were occupied.
Su Cheng grabbed a plate and started piling food onto it. As she loaded her plate, she paused. "Wait, you said the Mirror-Hidden Society worships the God of Illusions, and they possess shapeshifting magic, which means illusion spells and transmutation spells from the arcane magic branch, right?"
She had read some related books, so she was at least aware of the difference between these two types of magic.
Basic illusion spells only affected vision; only at advanced levels could they affect smell, taste, and touch, and their range expanded as the caster's proficiency increased.
But generally speaking, they were primarily spells targeting the senses of others.
It was like a person wearing clothes; the clothes could be any color, but the body underneath remained the same.
Illusions were the clothes. To those who could see through them, these clothes might as well not exist.
Transmutation spells, however, could truly alter a person's physical form. Just like when she had previously transformed into Vanessa; even though the Marigold Palace had magic arrays designed to counter illusions, they couldn't dispel her disguise.
Because her bone structure, skin color, and physical state had undergone genuine changes. Although it was temporary, the only thing that remained unchanged was her soul.
There were many types of transmutation spells, and blood magic transmutation was just one of them.
"But what that person used wasn't an illusion, because Aquila's body was rotting. It didn't look like some kind of fake image, nor was it a transmutation spell—"
If it were a transmutation spell, the body would still be their own.
"That black mist seemed to be controlling a corpse," Su Cheng whispered. "It said it itself at the time, 'this body.' Think about the difference!"
"Corpse manipulation spells can be learned by anyone," Camus frowned. "But if it were a real corpse, it might not have been able to block the descending divine punishment."
Su Cheng nodded. "Earlier, the Commander said—"
Camus instinctively glanced at her.
Su Cheng didn't notice his look. "Depleting the soul until only a sliver remains is practically the same as being dead. You can't do anything, nor will you react to external stimuli. But according to the rules of certain spells, it's not considered completely dead."
"I know many similar spells, but if playing the role of the Prince was a plan and a mission, then this sounds very much like the style of the Mirror-Hidden Society."
Camus pondered for a moment. "Most of the members in the Mirror-Hidden Society are followers of the God of Illusions, but a fraction of them follow the God of Dreams. Many dream-related spells are spiritual magic, which can directly affect the soul. For example, there is a spell called 'Slumber of Death,' which causes a person's soul to sleep forever."
This sounded like it could all tie together.
Su Cheng felt this possibility was very high. "Speaking of which, learning elemental magic requires the ability to resonate with a specific element, but the spells we just talked about don't have that requirement, right? They test comprehension and brains more? Just like blood magic?"
"In principle, that is true," Camus said in a deep voice. "But the elemental magic system is more complete. Once you can resonate with it, it is very easy to learn—compared to any of the ones we just discussed. Some blood mages cannot even complete the most basic spell after years of initiation."
Su Cheng couldn't help but raise the corners of her lips. "So I am a bit of a genius, right?"
The blonde man beside her sighed softly, a trace of helplessness appearing in his cold, steel-blue eyes. "Do you really like hearing me praise you?"
Su Cheng nodded vigorously. "I do."
Camus choked slightly on his words.
Perhaps because such a sincere answer left no room for rebuttal, he had no choice but to comply.
"Yes, you are a genius. Although I've never really taught anyone else, I know some blood mages and apprentices, and none can compare to you."
"Well," Su Cheng's smile grew wider, "not only have you never taught anyone else, you haven't properly taught me either, and I haven't even mastered the basics yet."
Camus glanced at her sideways. "...Do you really want to learn the basics? Even if you extract magic power at top speed, it will take you months to accumulate enough to cast a spell. I have already compressed this time to the absolute limit."
Su Cheng coughed lightly. "Weren't you acting like you didn't want to teach me before? I was just saying. By the way, someone asked me about you at the banquet earlier."
"Asked you?"
"Yes, he thought I was Vanessa. He said he heard Mr. Loki had a student who was good at blood magic and memories, and asked if I knew them. I naturally said I didn't."
"Vanessa really doesn't know me," Camus said casually. "What did that person want to do?"
Su Cheng shrugged. "I don't know. He asked if I could pass a message for him, and I just brushed it off. Since he didn't agree to my conditions, the conversation ended there."
Camus raised an eyebrow slightly. "What conditions?"
Su Cheng: "?"
He actually asked?
He actually asked???
She thought this guy wouldn't be interested in such things.
Su Cheng: "Do you remember me telling you before that my curse acted up?"
Camus placed his plate on the table. "You originally wanted to sleep with this person, but he refused—and then Luxara solved it for you?"
Su Cheng blinked. "Since you are so smart, I don't need to waste my breath."
Camus: "......"
He silently picked up his plate and walked away.
Su Cheng still had things to ask, so she had to chase after him. "By the way, what other news did Sasha find out? Has the news of the attack on the Marigold Palace auction spread out?"
In the dessert area on the other side of the entrance stood a towering white cake, resembling a castle draped in frosting and chocolate bars. It was surrounded by various pastries: berry tarts piled high with wild berries, cream puddings garnished with cherries, and puff pastry rolls stuffed with wine-soaked apple filling.
"...No." Camus said while taking a piece of cake, his face still a bit gloomy. "But I suggest you be careful. It would be very easy for Duke Aulu to confirm your identity."
"I was already in that state at the time. I didn't really think about hiding it from him. At most, I'll just deny it to the death. Besides, I wasn't the one who wrecked his place."
Su Cheng almost piled her plate full. "Speaking of which, didn't a lot of people send me invitations before, asking me to banquets or wanting to go on dates with me? He didn't do any of that. I mean privately. The invitation to the Marigold Palace doesn't count, there were tons of people invited to that."
Camus put down the tongs. "At that time, you were still in the Church's temple. I don't think Duke Aulu would openly show favor to you in front of the Church's people."
Su Cheng: "...Isn't he a Blessed of the gods?"
Camus glanced at her. "He used the power of a Blessed in front of you?"
"Yes, he turned that dragonborn into a gold statue," Su Cheng twitched her lips. "The God of Wealth, right?"
This was also an allied main god of the God of Light. If Duke Aulu was His Blessed, then he should also be someone the Church would want to win over.
"Actually—"
Sasha had entered the dining room at some point, appearing beside them like a ghost.
"The God of Wealth is a bit different from other deities. Duke Aulu has also made various huge donations to the Church, but if you go look at the temples he has had repaired, there will always be various marks of the God of Wealth hidden inside—"
The main god followed by the Church is the God of Light, along with the twin gods of the Sun and Moon and other minor gods under His command. The other allied main gods are not among those worshipped.
So this action was tantamount to provocation.
Sasha turned his head to look at the wide variety of food on the table. "...Think about it. If you were very rich right now and needed to build a good relationship with the Church to do something, would you have your workers and foremen tamper with things in this regard, putting the mark of the God of Contracts in some corner?"
Su Cheng immediately looked up at the ceiling. "In his dreams! A mark, yeah right!"
The two men beside her immediately looked at her.
"Oh my," Sasha curled his lips. "What's with this resentful tone like a young couple after a fight? Do you two have a history? Or are you two dating right now?"
