Ophelia stopped her steps.
"💢"
"I'm glad you actually kept your promise, letting me go right after I won--"
With an annoyed face, she turned around, looking at the person who had been following her.
"--But why are you following me now!?" fumed Ophelia.
Rouge Vif who was lurking behind her only gave a friendly smile that she found annoying because it was obviously fake and contained ulterior motives.
"Fufufu, why get so angry?"
"I just want to see what kind of friend you are~?"
Vif walked around Ophelia.
"Remembering them is your motivation to stay."
Ophelia, "💢"
Ophelia furrowed her brow.
"I won't forgive you if you touch my friends."
"Uwaahh~ so fierce~" Vif grinned.
Vif walked away.
"How stingy of you, I just want to see."
Ophelia's patience was tested every time she was with Vif. How could a person who had a cool and cool image turn into an annoying woman who mocked like this?
Now Ophelia regrets that she has revealed that V is not the real Envy. If she knew V's true nature was this annoying, she wouldn't want to expose it.
"Leave after you see them. I don't want to see you again."
Ophelia stepped faster than Vif to another place.
Vif, who was left behind, smiled slightly.
"It's okay now, right?"
Before finally walking faster and catching up with Ophelia.
"Eh~! How evil!!! We're not strangers... How can you talk like that~!?"
Ophelia, "Noisy 💢"
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****OOO****
Character Information
Name: Ophelia CalliopeNova: II OrangeRace: Human [With Dragon Blessing]Age: 17Status: Lady of the Calliope FamilyAffiliation: Calliope Family [https://img.wattpad.com/0a80181834ae5026b28ea5094ac37e60c9192b87/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f7a70486c377933684950703431513d3d2d313336383838333233362e313739393465376330616638356534303535303537383034303033362e6a7067?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
Name: Ophelia Calliope
Nova: II Orange
Race: Human [With Dragon Blessing]
Age: 17
Status: Lady of the Calliope Family
Affiliation: Calliope Family
------------------------------------------------------
Name: Rouge VifNova: IX BlueRace: Dragon (?)Age: UnknownStatus: Famous Actress Envy [Fake]3rd Floor Northern Ruler [Fake]Affiliation: 3rd Floor Northern Region [Fake]Nemesis Guild [Fake]Agency [Unknown] [https://img.wattpad.com/d935398299a35487aa99e8135a6cb990f0a2f076/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f47325144564844677a7039676e773d3d2d313336383838333233362e313737373866383833376233316664303239313632323438383435392e6a7067?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
Name: Rouge Vif
Nova: IX Blue
Race: Dragon (?)
Age: Unknown
Status: Famous Actress
Envy [Fake]
3rd Floor Northern Ruler [Fake]
Affiliation: 3rd Floor Northern Region [Fake]
Nemesis Guild [Fake]
Agency [Unknown]
-------------------------------------------------
Name: HamerNova: V RedRace: UnknownAge: 20Status: UnknownAffiliation: Unknown [https://img.wattpad.com/b8be01c726c54ed367591b2d4b67f28d96f82a10/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f73756954354270474776546f5f773d3d2d313336383838333233362e313739393465383631663962613163323735323830383130363834302e6a7067?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
Name: Hamer
Nova: V Red
Race: Unknown
Age: 20
Status: Unknown
Affiliation: Unknown
-------------------------------------------------
Name: Berenice Ptolemaios AuletesNova: VII RedRace: AnubisAge: 16 years oldStatus: First PrincessAffiliation: Ptolemaios Sultanate [https://img.wattpad.com/156642039d5bd703a187e0bd36670bc0cce7fa00/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f5263686b4a5834593137394164673d3d2d313336383838333233362e313739393465366337393230646366393439343033393136353139382e6a7067?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
Name: Berenice Ptolemaios Auletes
Nova: VII Red
Race: Anubis
Age: 16 years old
Status: First Princess
Affiliation: Ptolemaios Sultanate
-------------------------------------------------
Name: RukaNova: II RedRace: RokkaAge: UnknownStatus: UnknownAffiliation: Unknown [https://img.wattpad.com/25412f833575bedd31498a9c822e2e32f07613e8/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f4f6b544c496d724d4477377233773d3d2d313336383838333233362e313739393465366166626264633936613235343032343234363930322e6a7067?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
Name: Ruka
Nova: II Red
Race: Rokka
Age: Unknown
Status: Unknown
Affiliation: Unknown
****OOO****
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As Naeva had explained. Ophelia, Bere and the others had promised to gather at the center of 3rd Floor instead of looking for each other around the floor.
Since so many things had happened to them lately, they hadn't had time to confirm each other's whereabouts in the center. Ophelia had no other purpose. She intended to go to the center first to look for her friends. And thankfully that choice was not wrong.
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
It didn't take long for Ophelia to find the whereabouts of Bere, Ruka and Hamer who were busy gambling at the center to cover Hamer's debt. Actually, Bere had intended to find Ophelia first. Unfortunately she found Hamer first. Worse in a state of great debt that followed the man. As separty partners, inevitably Bere and Ruka help cover it up.
Fortunately, even though they were late in finding Ophelia, Ophelia herself came to them. It's just that...
"........"
Bere was somewhat confused by the current situation.
She was very happy that her friend Ophelia who had somehow ended up at the Meeting of the 3 Rulers as Madam Lin's Avatar could now be in front of her in a fine state.
But really...
"Hi! You're Lia's friends, right?" greeted Vif kindly.
"I'm V, hello there~!"
Is there a strange woman with her?
In addition, Ophelia's face looked very distressed by the presence of that woman.
"💢"
"......."
Bere smiled awkwardly.
"Li-Lia... She...?" Bere was confused.
Ophelia again brushed off Vif's hand that was casually embracing her.
"Just an itchy woman."
"How can you say that? Even though we've been living together for some time, you bad~"
Vif was sad.
"💢"
Ophelia became even more annoyed.
"Shut up 💢" Ophelia smiled with a creepy expression.
Bere, "!!???"
"To what extent!? A Lia? I've never seen Lia get that angry at someone else," Bere was shocked.
"So who are she to you, Ophelia Nee-san?" asked Ruka bluntly.
"Ruka!!! Woi!!! You idiot! Can't you read the atmosphere!?" Bere panicked inwardly.
Ophelia was silent. She didn't know what to answer. To be honest, even though Vif was very annoying, during her life with her, Ophelia knew that Vif never really meant any harm, even though she was annoying. Vif did like to taunt and suddenly do something she didn't like, but if she really intended to force something on her, she would have used her slavery. But Vif had never once used the slavery function on Ophelia. All her annoying behavior, she did after she won in gambling.
And it was true that Vif was the one who saved her from Madam Lin. But--
"......."
Ophelia glanced at Vif, it turned out that the blonde woman had been smiling at her all along.
"💢"
-- she was too annoying and unpredictable. So Ophelia didn't want to admit it.
After thinking for a moment, Ophelia knew what she should say.
"V, Envy's subordinate."
"For some reason I live in Envy's mansion. And V lives there and helps Envy with her work," Ophelia answered honestly, but did not say the whole story.
Bere nodded in understanding.
"Ohh... Envy's slave, anyway. I'm Bere! Lia's friend! You have a unique name."
"Woii!! Impolite, idiot!" shock Hamer.
"Ah, sorry... Habit," said Bere.
Vif chuckled, "Ahahahaha... It's okay. It's not entirely wrong after all."
"I'm Hamer, their party partner. Please forgive this kid's leaky mouth, young lady!" panicked Hamer.
"Take it easy, I'm already immune," Vif smiled.
"Is she an angel!?" marveled Hamer to herself. Hamer really didn't recognize Vif as Envy even though he had met Envy in person, huh.
Well, after all the aura the two exuded was very different.
"I'm Ruka, V Nee-san."
"Fufufu, nice to meet you all, Lia's friends," Vif smiled kindly.
"Us too!"
No one was suspicious of Vif's identity, not only because she was brought by Ophelia, but also because she was a polite and friendly woman, not exuding the aura of a bad person at all. With just a short conversation, V had already become the image of a kind and friendly woman they happened to meet. Of course, Ophelia, who already knew Vif's real (?) personality, thought otherwise.
"But Lia, what did you actually do at the Meeting of the 3 Rulers? How did you become the Avatar?" Bere asked innocently. Even that girl never imagined that Ophelia would become Madam Lin's slave because she was framed. No, not just Bere. The others never imagined it either. They just thought Ophelia had deliberately put herself in that dangerous situation for some reason.
"What are you doing? I panicked when I saw what happened to you!" she said.
"Luckily you were rushed to the hospital... Ah! Sorry, Lia! I was going to visit you! But when my business was done and I came to the hospital, you weren't there..." Bere regretted.
"It's okay..."
Ophelia smiled wryly. How should she explain this? She didn't want to make her friends more worried.
Vif, who noticed the change in the girl's expression, took her place to answer.
"Lia did that on purpose because she wanted to make a personal deal with Envy as Calliope."
Ophelia, "!!!?"
Turning her head quickly to Vif.
Bere, Ruka, Hamer, "!!!"
Ophelia was surprised by Vif's answer. But it seemed like her friends just believed her.
"Ohh!! No wonder! Envy is hard to meet, that's why you went to the trouble of becoming Madam Lin's Avatar, losing, and then becoming Envy's, so you can have a serious talk together!" marveled Bere.
"I knew you'd be planning something! How could you think of something that complicated!"
Ophelia could see Bere's eyes beaming at her.
The girl couldn't tell the truth. The truth was far from it. But... That's all right. It was already too late.
"Y-Yeah... Because... What I want to talk about is related to... family matters... so..."
"You can't be careless, huh? Beuhh... being a child of the Grand Family is troublesome, huh?" cut in Hamer.
"S-So it is..." smiled Ophelia.
Still with her fake smile, Vif watched their interaction from afar. No one knew what she was really thinking (if the contents of Vif's mind were not shown), that woman was really hard to understand. Unlike Naeva who rarely showed her emotions, all the emotions she displayed were just acting. No one knows when she's acting and when she's not. This was also the reason Ophelia couldn't fully trust Vif.
After being satisfied with confirming the results of her decision, Vif slowly approached Bere.
Ophelia, "?"
"I borrowed your friend for a while," Vif smiled, making Ophelia suspicious.
"I'm begging you, please don't do anything that--"
"I know, take it easy," Vif cut in.
"???"
Bere who was suddenly approached by Vif and gently pulled on her shoulder by the woman was confused.
"A-Anoo...??"
But before Bere could say anything, Vif had already put her mouth close to Bere's ear.
"I'm not talking with Bere, Ophelia's friend."
Bere, "?"
"Rather with Princess Berenice, Princess Cleopatra's sister," Vif continued, making Bere flinch and immediately raise her guard.
Bere, "!"
Bere's warm eyes immediately sharpened.
"What do you want?"
Vif grinned, she liked Bere's instantly different reaction right after she mentioned Cleopatra.
"Nothing. Since you're Lia's friend, I thought I should tell you."
Bere, "?"
"News came to the Envy Mansion not long ago. The previous Sun Priest is dead. And about a week ago, Princess Cleopatra was officially appointed as the new Sun Priestess."
Bere was unexpectedly not too surprised by that fact. After all, the previous Sun Priest was already dying, she could die at any time. So Bere had guessed that Cleopatra would become a Sun Priestess in the near future. But she didn't expect that she wouldn't be there for her sister. That was the girl's only regret.
As she grasped her hand tightly, Bere smiled faintly.
".... Thank you for telling me."
"You shouldn't have bothered to do it," Bere smiled back at Vif.
Vif who had finished her business started walking away from them.
"It's okay, I was just carrying out Envy's orders."
"She brought a message from your mother, she asked you to take some time to go home before the 4th Floor Ascension Exam."
Vif looked back at Bere.
"Looks like there's a little surprise for you later."
Bere, "That...so...? Ah... Thanks again. It's probably because of Envy's orders and Hahaue's message? But still, thank you for conveying it to me."
"Hahahaha, my pleasure, Princess..." Vif smiled.
Vif walked back to the mansion. But just before she actually left them, she took the time to say goodbye.
"It was a short meeting, but it was quite fun."
"May we never meet again, Ophelia Calliope."
Seeing her start to move away, Ophelia could only look at her with a calm expression.
"Yes, may we not meet again."
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Meanwhile...
A girl had been watching them while eating pies and other sweets in front of the cafe. She was accompanied by a woman with long lavender hair who only ordered tea.
[ Eva-sama is really doing nothing but watching them, huh ] smiled the woman.
The girl who spoke to her, Naeva Winter replied after finishing off the cake in her hand [https://img.wattpad.com/ce61a95691e2997feaec76c67dd2ca99f037f244/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f615f51506d644f6c4b54656d6a413d3d2d313336383838333233362e313739393465393837633334646430333338363031343734393436362e6a7067?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
The girl who spoke to her, Naeva Winter replied after finishing off the cake in her hand.
"There's nothing that requires me to help them."
The woman, Virgo giggled a little.
[ Eva-sama said so, even though Eva-sama had started paying attention to them since the Meeting of the 3 Rulers ]
[ Eva-sama actually intends to help if things get worse, right? ]
Naeva continued to cut the cake regardless of Virgo's words.
"No."
The silvery white haired girl glanced at Ophelia, Bere, Hamer and Ruka.
"Children..."
"Should be able to solve their own problems. Otherwise, they won't grow."
Virgo smiled softly.
[ Yare yare... ]
Her master was like that. She was always cold and didn't care about anything. But all her actions had a precautionary plan to prevent the worst situation from happening. If the master didn't care about them from the beginning, she wouldn't have placed ice bugs flying around the children to show Naeva everything that happened.
Well, even though Naeva was still that cold to not do anything despite knowing her party mates were going through all that.
"It's a good thing they're not being spoiled brats asking for help, because I--"
Turning her gaze away from them and closing her eyes again to enjoy her cake.
"--there was absolutely no intention of carrying burdens."