The Alva Family.
After returning to the family mansion, Alice stormed off to find the old Duke Alva. However, whether he had planned it in advance or got wind of something, he had already secluded himself for cultivation. Alice was filled with anger and frustration. That sly grandfather of hers, was he truly so devious as to strike a deal with the king and then conveniently disappear when she sought answers? Or was there some other hidden danger that had forced him into seclusion? She was full of questions, and yet, at this moment, she could only deal with it all alone in this web of intrigue.
Alice had no choice but to let him be for the time being.
It turned out that this visit to the palace was a deal between the king and her grandfather!
"Rose, let's go back."
Back in the Skylark Pavilion, she asked Rose to send someone to prepare hot water for a bath. As she stepped into the warm embrace of the hot water, Alice hoped that the heat would not only soothe her tired muscles but also clear her muddled thoughts. She lay in the bathtub, her head resting on the edge, soaking in the steaming water, feeling much more relaxed.
She raised her hand and wiped her face with a wet towel.
When the water had cooled a bit, she got up, took the clothes from behind the screen and started to dress. But halfway through, she sensed an extra presence in the room. In an instant, her heart skipped a beat. Who could it be? An assassin? A lecher? Countless possibilities flashed through her mind, each more sinister than the last.
Alice quickly tightened her clothes and fastened them.
She summoned a slender black ink magic staff in her hand and, through the screen, aimed at the indistinct shadow. After injecting magic power into it, she thrust the magic staff out swiftly.
"Whoosh ——"
The sound of the magic staff breaking, "Crack", rang out.
Immediately after, a deep, slightly tired and hoarse voice came: "It's me."
Hearing the voice, Alice immediately relaxed her guard. But then, a new concern took hold of her.
Alice walked out from behind the screen, frowned, and said with a hint of reproach: "Caesar, did you know I was bathing?" What was he thinking, barging in like this? Was he being too careless or had he lost his 理智 that he didn't consider the impropriety?
Suddenly, a heavy "thud" sound came from the opposite side, and a tall and straight figure fell to the ground.
Seeing this, Alice's pupils contracted, and she immediately ran over. She crouched down, held Caesar's head, and asked nervously: "Caesar, what's wrong? Don't scare me!" Her heart was pounding in her chest. Caesar was a powerful figure. What could have brought him to such a state?
Feeling that Caesar's body was as cold and rigid as a block of ice, Alice couldn't help but feel a tightening in her heart.
Was it the cold poison acting up?! She knew he had cold poison before, but she didn't expect it to be this severe. Presumably, he had hidden it well before. How long had he been suffering in silence? Why had he kept it from her?
Alice struggled to help such a tall man onto the bed. She gently patted his face and asked with a furrowed brow: "Are you still conscious?" She prayed that he was, that he could give her some indication of what had happened.
There was no response.
Even the area between his eyebrows had started to frost over, and it was so cold that Alice shuddered. The sight of him like this filled her with fear. She had to do something, and quickly.
Alice immediately bit her fingertip and, using her own blood as a guide, drew a blood-colored anti-cold talisman. This was dozens of times more powerful than a paper talisman. As she drew, she thought of the ancient knowledge that had been passed down to her, the rare and powerful spells she had studied. Would this be able to save him?
She slightly raised her slender hand, and her fingertip traced in the air.
Alice's face became a bit paler. She pressed the blood-colored anti-cold talisman she had drawn in the air onto Caesar's forehead.
"Drive!"
The blood-colored anti-cold talisman disappeared into Caesar's forehead. In an instant, the frost between his eyebrows vanished, and his body temperature wasn't as cold as before. But Alice knew that this was only a temporary relief.
But this was far from enough!
After the cold poison dissipated a little, Alice discovered a sword wound on Caesar's abdomen, almost cutting across it. It was extremely shocking! What kind of battle had he been in? Who could have inflicted such a grievous wound?
It turned out that just now the ice of the cold poison had blocked the blood flow in Caesar's abdomen. Now that the cold poison had dissipated a bit, the abdominal wound was revealed.
Alice felt her head spinning. The situation was more dire than she had initially thought. She needed to act quickly, but what could she do? She didn't have any healing potions, so she had to use a talisman to stop the bleeding in his abdomen. But she knew that this was only a stopgap measure.
But this was only a temporary solution and not a permanent cure!
Alice looked at Caesar's pale face, which had a different kind of fragile and enchanting beauty. At that moment, she felt a strange mixture of emotions. She had always known him as a powerful figure, and yet here he was, at her mercy.
She thought to herself, I never expected that one day I would be the one saving you!
She bit her fingertip again and squeezed out a drop of blood. The drop of blood split into two halves and automatically covered her eyes.
She closed her eyes.
"With my blood, reopen the blood pupil!" A cold and indifferent voice rang out, carrying an inexplicable pressure that shook the surroundings. When she did this, she was aware of the risks. Her strength was not enough. Opening the blood pupil was a dangerous gamble. But she had no choice. Caesar's life depended on it.
The magical beasts in the distant Flaming Forest stirred restlessly.
She opened her eyes, revealing those crimson eyes.
Crimson and strange, looking down upon the world.
She raised her hand and placed it over Caesar's wound. A pair of crimson and strange pupils stared at his abdominal wound and began to analyze and heal. She focused all of her attention, all of her magic power, on the task at hand. She could feel the connection between herself and Caesar's wound, as if their fates were intertwined at that moment.
No one saw that in Alice's pupils, there seemed to as if they were being burned by flames. Was her blood pupil about to fail?
It hurt so much!
She knew that with her current strength, she was not enough to open the blood pupil. Opening the blood pupil was already a last-ditch effort. And now she was constantly healing Caesar... What kind of situation had she gotten herself into? Had she been too reckless? But if she didn't try, Caesar would surely die.
Suddenly, a strong white light flashed before Alice's eyes, and she instinctively closed them.
Strangely, she found herself in a pure white space. She tightened her frown. What was this place? Was it the realm of the gods? Or some kind of spiritual trap?
What was going on?
Wasn't she saving Caesar?
Suddenly, in front of her, where everything was white, a two-meter-tall book appeared, with three large, flamboyantly written characters on it: "Strange Pupil Art".
Alice was instantly overjoyed. It was "Strange Pupil Art". The book she had learned in her previous life! But how had it appeared here? Was it a gift from the heavens? Or was there some other hidden purpose?
However, the difference was that the "Strange Pupil Art" book in her previous life only had a few pages of content, while this one was very thick.
A red ball emerged from the dusty cover of the book.
An ethereal voice like from ancient times rang out: "I am the spirit of the 'Strange Pupil Art' book. You have the ability to inherit the 'Strange Pupil Art', so I have chosen you to inherit it. Are you willing?"
Although Alice was happy, she wasn't carried away by what was in front of her. What would be the impact of this inheritance? Would there be a cost?
She calmed down and asked: "What are the consequences if I'm willing or not?"
The book spirit paused for a moment and then said: "If you're willing, you will sign a contract with the 'Strange Pupil Art', obtain methods to upgrade the strange pupil and various pupil techniques. If you're not willing..."
The book spirit suddenly said firmly: "You won't be unwilling."
Alice raised her eyebrows, a bit surprised. This book spirit was rather interesting! It seemed to have a strange confidence in its choice.
Alice asked in confusion: "Why did you choose me?"
"… I don't know." The book spirit replied seriously.
Alice: "..." It felt a bit random. But then again, perhaps there were forces at work here that she didn't understand.
Perhaps sensing Alice's mood, the book spirit explained: "I detected that your soul has learned a few remaining pages of the 'Strange Pupil Art' book. So after your blood pupil was reopened, it awakened me, who had been sleeping for thousands of years."
"Ah, so that's it." Alice slightly curved her lips, "Okay, I'll sign the contract with you." She felt a sense of anticipation. This might be the key to saving Caesar and unlocking her own true potential.
Hearing this, the book spirit resolutely rushed towards Alice's body and merged with it.
The white space where Alice was instantly turned into red vein-like lines, surrounding Alice as the central point.
Alice felt that her spiritual consciousness was connected to a small red figure.
Her eyes felt a stabbing pain. After some time, her eyes had an unprecedented sense of comfort.
Alice closed her eyes and sensed.
She suddenly opened her eyes and said coldly: "Among the three thousand paths, my pupil art is supreme! Contract ——"
"Done!"