Charlotte thought that since she wasn't using her real appearance anyway, no one could recognize her identity.

If it was just some lowly cleaning maid...

She needed to find a way to silence her.

Charlotte's eyes showed murderous intent: "Come on, let's go see!"

Bren only wanted to flee: "Miss, shouldn't we just run?"

"At this point, how can your courage still be smaller than a mouse's?"

Charlotte wouldn't let him off, dragging Bren toward where the sound had come from.

Celitia thought that if Charlotte and this mysterious black shadow were working together, with three people surrounding her, she'd have no chance of winning.

If it was just this mysterious black shadow, perhaps she still had a chance to escape successfully.

Seeing the situation about to become even worse, Celitia couldn't worry about much else. She stood up from behind the potted plant, planning to run back the way she came.

Having crouched for quite a while, the moment she stood up, Celitia's vision went black and she staggered, nearly falling.

"Be careful."

The black shadow drifted like a ghost, blocking Celitia's path and reaching out to embrace her.

"If you fall while trying to escape and hurt yourself, I'd feel terrible."

"Let go of me!" Celitia pushed hard against her.

But the black shadow held the girl's waist even tighter, forcibly carrying her forward two steps and pressing Celitia firmly against the wall.

An ice-cold hand covered the girl's mouth: "Don't make a sound. I don't want them to see me, and you don't want them to see you either, right?"

"Mmm—"

Celitia felt that this woman shrouded in dark shadows was far more terrifying than Charlotte and the others.

She tried to struggle, but even her hands were restrained, her entire body pressed tightly into the other's embrace.

The air before her eyes twisted slightly, seeming to form a light screen that enveloped them both.

Celitia's eyes showed a hint of disbelief.

If she wasn't mistaken, this was some kind of illusion magic.

This mysterious woman actually possessed the extremely rare illusion attribute.

Celitia had initially suspected the person might be Ileana.

But Ileana was water-attributed, which didn't match at all.

She thought for a long time but still couldn't figure out who this person might be.

Before long, Charlotte dragged Bren over to this area.

Though the black shadow and Celitia were right in front of her, Charlotte seemed oblivious.

She looked left and right but found nothing unusual.

She couldn't hear anyone leaving, and this corridor was clear except for the potted plants at the corners—there was nowhere to hide.

"Did I mishear?"

Charlotte muttered to herself in confusion, looking around again but still finding no one.

She stood right in front of Celitia, who felt the bracelet on her left wrist getting increasingly hot, as if about to burst into flames.

Though her body couldn't move, Celitia's mind raced faster than ever.

This mysterious woman definitely had some relationship with those two people.

But they weren't necessarily of one mind—perhaps she just wanted to use them.

Charlotte's target was undoubtedly herself.

But with her status, she wasn't worth such elaborate schemes.

So Charlotte was probably being used too.

Their real target was—

Sophia.

Thinking this, Celitia became even more anxious.

She struggled again, trying to make noise to attract Charlotte's attention.

But her whole body felt bound by invisible ropes—she couldn't move at all.

Celitia watched helplessly as Charlotte searched nearby for a while but found nothing.

She also recognized the man following Charlotte—it was the baron she had tricked at Cassia Cathedral, Bren.

All of this was too coincidental to be coincidence.

"We should leave quickly," Bren urged.

Charlotte knew they couldn't stay here long.

She had to give up: "Let's go!"

The black shadow turned to watch them leave. Only after their figures disappeared did she emit a scoffing laugh:

"Hmph, two clowns... Too bad I still need to rely on them for now."

Celitia felt that as Charlotte left, the bracelet on her wrist didn't seem as hot as before.

Indeed, those two must be carrying something quite important.

Was it the ribbon Bren had given Charlotte, asking her to deliver to Sophia?

Celitia pondered silently.

"Hm?"

Just then, the black shadow suddenly let out a low exclamation.

She released the hand covering Celitia's mouth, grasped the girl's wrist, and pressed Celitia's hands against the wall above her head.

The black shadow's gaze fell on the bracelet emitting deep red light.

"What is this thing? It gives me a rather... unpleasant feeling."

The black shadow forcibly removed the bracelet Florence had given her from Celitia's wrist.

Staring at the bracelet, displeasure colored the black shadow's voice.

She held the bracelet in her palm, clenched her fingers, and applied slight pressure.

As if corroded by something, the mithril bracelet quickly developed strange black spots and crumbled into fine powder that scattered from the black shadow's hand.

Watching Florence's proud creation destroyed by the black shadow, Celitia's expression didn't change at all.

Though it was somewhat regrettable, with Florence's abilities, making another shouldn't be difficult.

From the black shadow's reaction, this item seemed to make her quite wary.

"What do you want to do?" Celitia said coldly.

If she wanted to kill her, there was no need to wait until now.

"Don't worry, I don't plan to harm you."

The black shadow smiled in response, "I just don't want anyone interfering, so I'd like to ask you to sleep for a while."

Her voice seemed to contain some kind of magic. Celitia felt her eyelids gradually growing heavy.

It was hypnotic magic, and quite strong—with her resistance, she couldn't fight it at all...

Damn illusion attribute—truly one of the three conceptual elements, impossible to guard against.

Intense dizziness came from her mind. Celitia bit down hard on her tongue, drawing a trace of blood.

Even so, she couldn't stay awake.

"Don't strain yourself—it wouldn't be good if you hurt yourself. I don't want to harm you."

The black shadow reached out, grasped Celitia's chin, and stopped her further actions.

Drawing close to Celitia's ear, she softened her voice and whispered:

"Sleep, sleep. May you have beautiful dreams."

Unable to resist, Celitia's eyes gradually closed. The voice that had been right in her ear became distant and inaudible.

"Good night, my dear little lily."