Chapter 219 - Su Luxi (9)

As said before, the plot was always finding ways and opportunities to erase Jiang Li from the surface of the earth.

So when he was walking outside planning to return to the gathering of people in the garden, his heart suddenly started to palpitate and his vision slowly blurred until they blacked out. The world's consciousness took advantage of the fact that his body was drained of energy and low on mana to strike at him. Since he was never part of the story, it naturally wanted his death!

'Damn plot!' Even though he didn't manage to change anything in the storyboard, it still found the fact that he did something to the male lead unforgivable. So it immediately attempted to kill him at the next moment!

It was a last-ditch effort that he evaded the sharp pointed rock which 'mysteriously' appeared on that part of the hallway. And then as he fell unconscious, all that was on his mind were curses targeting the culprit behind his condition.

...

Nothing bad truly happened to Jiang Li since the people from the church were nearby. However, in the end, the one who found him first and brought him somewhere safe was not one of the holy knights, but a girl who had escaped from the party to get some peace and quiet.

The holy nights were definitely around. It was just that the girl the nearest to him when it happened. She got her maids and guards with her who helped her carry him to one of the guest rooms.

An hour later, he woke up. And his pupils dilated upon recognizing who the person in his room was.

The female lead?

"I'm glad Mr. Wade is now awake." She greeted with a polite smile unbefitting of her age.

For Jiang Li who had knowledge of the plot, it was easy to tell that she was now really the person who had regressed to the past. Her eyes were simply the clue.

It was just quite a mismatch that the face and the smile were very innocent and child-like, yet the eyes showed that she had already gone through the various vicissitudes of life. A child's eyes were usually very pure, while an a.d.u.l.t's showed stories and tales, or sometimes, calculations and schemes. Thinking of what happened to her in the past life, it was easy to tell hers belonged to the first type. She was indeed deserving of pity.

Pretending he didn't know who the cute child before him was, he muttered in a questioning manner, "You are?"

"My name is Rumina Bolden, only daughter of Duke Bolden." She respectfully added, rising for a couple of seconds to perform a curtsy. "It's an honor to meet you, Your... Honor."

As she said the last part, the confusion which crossed her eyes for a brief moment did not escape his notice. He was very sure that the cause for that was his identity, or maybe his very own existence.

Jiang Li first returned the courtesy with an impassive face put on, "Greetings and a good day, Miss Bolden. Allow me to thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking care of me today. As they said, kindness should always be repaid. Don't worry, Miss. I would make sure to return the favor in the future."

"No, no need for that," waving her hands in front of her, the girl first showed surprised and then shook her head. "I, I did it not do that for a return. If somebody's in need, it's a noble person's duty to help if it's within his or her capabilities. I'm sure no matter who is in my stead when that happened, they would also do what I did. My action is nothing great, really."

"Miss Bolden is very polite."

"I don't deserve your praise."

After looking at the girl for quite a long while, the man realized why he kept feeling that she was odd. Afterward, he blanked out a bit and then frowned.

The expression he made that time did not register on the eleven years old female lead since she did not dare to look straight into the boy's face.

A minute passed in silence.

The girl who finally noticed that he was observing her raised her head for a second but then immediately bowed.

Seated on the low stool, she corrected her posture, feeling conscious of the boy's stare. A couple of seconds later, to distract herself, she busied her mind recalling if the person before her existed in the previous life.

'No matter how I wracked my brain, I couldn't remember him. But how could that be?'

'A prophet should not be lower than a saintess. This person is even rumored groomed to be the next leader of the Holy Church, which means his position and identity are very lofty and hard to miss. How come there is no information about him in my memories?'

The girl's beautiful green eyes stared down lost in the curious patterns of the marble flooring. Circles. The sight below was full of those, in various sizes and colors. Now, she felt like she was being hypnotized and pulled into a different world, somewhere she could be absorbed in her thoughts.

A moment later, a possibility flashed in her mind which made her eyes go round and mouth slightly fall open. 

'Could it be... Due to my time-traveling, some very important pieces of information got erased? Before my death, I seemed to have heard the Goddess' voice, then I suddenly woke up in my ten-year-old body. Mr. Wade right now, or at least before the Saintess' arrival, is the closest person to the Goddess. Are these two related? So there is really a possibility that my memories of him have been deleted?'

'Ah...' The girl subconsciously let out a sigh and lowered her head more.

Rumina Bolden's mood turned gloomy due to that thought.

If her guesses were true, then why didn't she just lose memories of how she got treated by the Emperor?

All those sufferings and heartaches she experienced, why were those not erased instead?

She felt uncomfortable in her heart. While there was extreme fear in it, there were also remorse, unwillingness, and regret. However, she knew miracles were hard to come by so instead of wallowing in depression and bad thoughts, she should focus more on her newly found goals. 

'In this life, I really should not entangle myself with them. Or else, I'd suffer and die again!'

A hint of fear and nausea rose up from within her as her petite body trembled. She covered her mouth since the image of the miserable her popped up in her mind, almost making her vomit.

Jiang Li's voice rang, knocking her out of her stupor. "You look unwell as if something heavy is weighing on your mind. Is there something you want to ask from me? Maybe I can repay the favor that way?" 

"Hah?" She let out a surprised yelp. Instinctively, she raised her gaze to the other person in the room, seeing him already up from the bed, standing before her. The discomfort instantly disappeared, replaced by feelings of emptiness, and then confusion.

Now that she managed to get a good look at the prophet, she could see that not only was his white hair striking, all his facial features were. It was simply hard to forget his face after seeing him for the first time. There was also his House joining the ranks of the duke.

If her memories were not tampered with, then was he simply non-existent from that timeline? The assumption sounded probably, yet it was not adding things up...

Seeing, the look on her face, Jiang Li batted his eyes once then continued, "If a matter is plaguing you with worries, ask then. It's a free chance to inquire something from me, valid while I'm still here. You don't know how many people in this continent wanted me to divine their future for them."

'That sounds...' The girl didn't know how to describe what she felt upon the offer. But she did open her mouth, albeit reluctantly. There was only one thing that came to mind, that one thing which she badly wanted right now.

"C-can you help me... cancel my engagement to the prince?" Midway she paused to swallow the invisible lump in her throat.