The red-haired girl had a pair of strikingly beautiful, ruby-like eyes. When she stared directly at Shen Lin, it gave him the illusion of being gazed upon by a witch.

He was momentarily stunned.

Then, Lilia, disregarding her ladylike demeanor, burst into laughter: “Hahaha! Did I scare you?—This is a curse, a curse in the bloodline. Did I do it well? Uncle Benson once said this to my father. He’s such a hypocrite, always telling the people it’s a blessing from the gods.”

Shen Lin looked at her expressionlessly.

Lilia pouted, finding it boring. “Alright, alright, Uncle Benson is very good to me. I shouldn’t speak ill of him behind his back.” She then looked at Shen Lin and sighed, “It’s so nice. I wish I had such beautiful hair. Blonde hair is so pretty.”

“What happens if someone leaves?” Shen Lin asked.

“I don’t know,” Lilia rested her chin on her hand and shook her head slightly. “I asked my father, but he said it’s not something I should know.”

Shen Lin: “Roll for psychology.”

KP rolled secretly.

Lilia’s expression was natural, showing no signs of lying.

Shen Lin thought: It seems she really doesn’t know.

Lilia said unhappily, “He always treats me like a child, never telling me anything. I suspect Dylan has already arrived, but he doesn’t want me to know.”

Shen Lin deliberately probed: “Who is Dylan? I don’t know him. How can I help you find him?”

“He’s an outsider,” Lilia said frankly. “The last time I saw him was ten years ago. I don’t know what he looks like now. He’s like you, with blonde hair and blue eyes, very beautiful.”

Shen Lin asked, “Don’t outsiders stay at the sanctuary when they come here? Hosted by Benson?”

“No, he’ll come to find me,” Lilia said confidently. “He promised me he would come to see me.” She thought of something and slumped on the table, discouraged. “But it’s already several days past the agreed time, and he hasn’t come. Do you think he got lost in Moonfall Village? Please help me find him!”

Shen Lin was silent for a moment, then asked, “How did you meet him?”

Lilia’s face turned red. She held her burning cheeks and said shyly, “We just met, you know. You’re so annoying, you can’t ask a lady such questions.”

Shen Lin: “…” How old were you ten years ago?

Lilia covered her face, peeking at Shen Lin through her fingers. “You’ll help me, right?”

KP: “The NPC is using charm on you. Roll for willpower.”

Shen Lin rolled and succeeded.

KP: “You feel nothing inside, even thinking she’s not as good-looking as you.”

Shen Lin: “…”

Under Lilia’s eager gaze, Shen Lin nodded and said, “I’ll keep an eye out for him.”

Lilia breathed a sigh of relief. “Since that’s the case, as a reward..” She took out a handkerchief, wrapped the dictionary in it, and hid it in a secret pocket near the hem of her skirt, a pocket she had made herself. Her movements were skilled, clearly having done this many times before.

“I’ll also help you take this book out and make sure my father won’t cause you any trouble,” she said, winking slyly at Shen Lin.

When they left the study, Mayor Rodson was reading a newspaper.

Lilia walked over, wrapped her arms around Rodson’s neck from behind, and affectionately kissed his cheek. “He’s such a lovely boy! I like him very much. If I didn’t have to go to Ms. Lina’s soon, I’d love to chat with him more.”

Rodson asked curiously, “Why are you going to Ms. Lina’s?”

“She’s sick. I’m going to visit her. I’ll be back soon,” Lilia said, letting go of Rodson. “I want raspberry meringue pudding for dinner. Don’t say we don’t have any. I saw some raspberries left.”

Rodson nodded dotingly. “You know I’ll fulfill all your wishes.”

“I love you, Father.”

“Dear, I love you too. Come back early.”

“Got it.” Lilia ran over like a gust of wind, linking arms with Shen Lin and lifting her skirt slightly. “I’ll send him back on the way. I want to chat more with him about the outside world. It’s much more interesting than class.”

Shen Lin naturally said, “It’s my honor.”

The two boarded the carriage. Lilia sat beside him, turned her back, and took the book from the secret pocket under her skirt, handing it to him. “Here, don’t forget our agreement. If you find anything, come here to find me.”

She took off one of her earrings and gave it to Shen Lin. “Take this earring to find me. The guards will let you in. Where do you live?”

Shen Lin didn’t plan to reveal their hideout to Lilia, so he gave her an address two streets away.

Lilia frowned. “Why do you live in such a place?”

“What’s wrong with it?”

“That’s where the lower-class people live,” Lilia said. “I thought you’d at least live on, say, Wells Street.”

From what Freud and the others had gathered, Moonfall Village divided its residents into three classes. The first class was the upper class, favored by the gods, with the purest and noblest bloodline. They were equivalent to nobles in the outside world, enjoying the best resources and living the most luxurious lives. Most of them lived on Furong Street and Elynx Street. The second class was ordinary people, who could generally sustain themselves through labor and had some land and resource allocation rights. They mostly lived on Wells Street. The lowest class consisted of the poor, who were weaker and aged faster than ordinary citizens. Most of them were born with illnesses and lived in cramped, dirty George Street and Harsank Street.

Shen Lin said, “Then just drop me off at Wells Street.” It would take about half an hour to walk back from Wells Street, which wasn’t too far.

“No,” Lilia thought for a moment and refused. “I’ll take you safely to your destination. From now on, you’re the princess, and I’m the knight. This is my duty.”

Shen Lin: “…” What the hell, princess and knight?

Thus, the luxurious carriage drove into the dirty, narrow alley. Lilia looked around in shock at the dilapidated surroundings. Weak people huddled by the roadside, and half-naked children wandered the streets, seemingly innocent but with vigilant eyes scanning their surroundings. Their gazes all fell on the carriage, and the lifeless yet predatory eyes of passersby peered through the open curtain, landing on Lilia’s face.

Lilia, frightened, quickly closed the curtain and shrank back. Her face pale, she looked at Shen Lin. “How can this be?”

Shen Lin: “Roll for psychology.”

KP rolled secretly. “You can clearly sense her fear from her trembling voice.”

Lilia hugged herself, her fair skin covered in goosebumps. “How… how can this be? What’s wrong with them? Why do they look like that?”

“Disease and poverty are tormenting them because of the bloodline classification you mentioned,” Shen Lin said. “The upper class enjoys better resources due to their birth, while those born with illnesses are left in the abyss.”

“I didn’t know,” Lilia shook her head, her eyes reddening. “They’re suffering so much… Doesn’t Uncle Benson distribute food to them?”

Shen Lin didn’t answer. He glanced at the road and said to Lilia, “Just drop me off here. I’ll walk back myself.”

Lilia hesitated, clearly still clinging to her princess-and-knight promise.

Shen Lin reminded her, “If you go further in, your luxurious carriage might get blocked in the alley. They’ll drag you out of the carriage and take everything valuable.”

Lilia widened her eyes. “I’m the mayor’s daughter!”

Shen Lin sneered, glancing at the homeless people by the roadside. “Do you think they care?”

Their eyes were like wolves, ready to pounce.

Lilia was terrified, her face pale. “Then… then I’ll drop you off at the intersection ahead. Be careful when you get out.”

“Alright,” Shen Lin nodded.

The carriage stopped, and Shen Lin jumped out.

Lilia’s luxurious carriage sped away, but the covetous gazes around them didn’t dissipate.

Shen Lin said, “I want to roll for luck.”

KP: “…”

KP gave in. “Roll.”

Shen Lin rolled a success.

“Actually, I had a whole string of plot prepared,” KP said expressionlessly. “It’s quite boring.”

Shen Lin: “Oh? And now?”

KP said, “The refugees lost interest in you after seeing your shabby clothes.”

Shen Lin: “Tch.”

The crowd stared at Shen Lin for a while, then, with looks of disappointment, turned away and left.

“But what would have happened?” Shen Lin asked.

KP paused, then said, “Actually, nothing much. Before you rolled for luck, someone else rolled for luck—and it was a critical success. He’s here to pick you up now.”

With KP’s hint, Shen Lin scanned the crowd and soon spotted Yan Xiuyi walking over from the alley.

He wore a white linen shirt, straight black trousers tucked into boots, a slim waist, long legs, and broad shoulders. His short brown hair looked very soft in the dim twilight, and his light-colored pupils glowed faintly.

His gaze swept over the crowd and landed on Shen Lin’s face. That glance felt as if it had been waiting for a long time, giving Shen Lin a sense of temporal dislocation, a fleeting illusion.

. . .

When they returned to the temporary camp, Shen Lin handed the book Lilia had helped him steal to Freud. “Too many words, my head’s spinning. You translate it.”

“Got it!” Freud held the book, pushed up his glasses, and said to KP, “I’m rolling for library use.”

His library skill was 80, and he passed the check. Freud took the book aside and quickly deciphered it. “The stars have reached their specific positions, and something will reappear in the world. Hiss, this sounds familiar?”

“Princess—” Shen Lin quickly remembered. “Princess Louise left these words in the clock tower when she died.”

“The name isn’t clear,” Freud carefully flipped through the old booklet. “Some pages seem to be missing, and some words can’t be translated.”

“Let me see,” Shen Lin leaned over, glanced at it, and frowned. “Tch, the key names can’t be translated.”

Author’s Note:
You feel nothing inside, even thinking she’s not as good-looking as you.
Yan Xiuyi agrees: Indeed.