Westheid pushed the wheelchair, strolling with the Silver-haired Princess through a sea of flowers.
Reiya rested the back of her head gently against the chair. She wanted to turn and look at Westheid's face, but after a moment of hesitation, she gave up on the idea and instead asked:
"Mr. Westheid, when did you get here?"
"I arrived around dawn. I barely slept last night."
"So early... Don't you have other things to do?"
Westheid shrugged. "Ha, I'm quite the idler these days. Just a down-on-his-luck Lord who's lost his lands. If you had to ask what I do every day, it's mostly just fooling around. You've probably heard stories about me, haven't you?"
Reiya said, "...I have seen some comments on the Magic Net, but those must be rumors, right?"
The Silver-haired Princess turned to look at the man, her one remaining rose-colored eye shimmering with an expected innocence. "If their reports are to be believed, you've left a trail of romantic entanglements with nearly every young lady and noblewoman in the Imperial Capital."
But Westheid shook his head. "Not that many. Probably... only one or two hundred."
"One or two hundred?!"
"Around that," Westheid said. "I don't remember the exact number."
He candidly told Reiya about his ways. There was nothing to hide; it was common knowledge. Besides, in this world, a bit of a reputation for being a rake was actually advantageous for him.
Seeing the young woman fall silent, Westheid smiled. "Are you jealous?"
"Why would I be jealous? What you're saying makes no sense."
The Silver-haired Princess glanced at Westheid's impossibly handsome profile and lowered her eyes.
"Mr. Westheid is a very exceptional man, so it's not surprising... Can you take me to see the flowers over there?"
Perhaps too shy to continue discussing Westheid's "grand conquests," Reiya changed the subject.
"What's on those vines over there? I don't know yet. Although I've memorized all the plants of the Holy Tree Palace from books, I've seen very few of them in person."
"Is that so... The Holy Tree Palace has so many different flowers and plants. I can't remember any of them."
Reiya smiled faintly. "Then I can introduce them to you. Did you know? Most of the plants in this garden can be used in medicine or even cooked as delicacies."
"In that case, I'm all ears."
And so, Westheid accompanied Reiya on her walk through the garden, chatting idly.
'For the current Reiya, just keeping her company is enough to rack up major affection points. It's almost too easy.'
'If he had to win over the future Withered and Flourishing Dragon Emperor—a heartless and tearless being who had abandoned all emotion—now *that* would be enough to give him a heart attack. He wouldn't even know where to begin.'
They continued like this until dusk, at which point Westheid had to leave.
After escorting Reiya to the entrance of her chambers, the Silver-haired Princess turned her wheelchair around.
"Mr. Westheid..."
"You can just call me by my name now, can't you? I think we're at least friends."
The Silver-haired Princess froze for a moment, then nodded. "Mm... West..."
Westheid chuckled. "Ah, jumping straight to the nickname? Isn't that a little fast? Not that I mind, of course."
"I... Please don't tease me, West."
Reiya pressed her lips together, then the corners of her mouth lifted slightly as she easily accepted this new way of addressing Westheid.
The Silver-haired Princess lowered her head in silence for a moment before looking up again and speaking the forbidden words she absolutely should not have said:
"Tomorrow... will you come again?"
'Placing her feelings in another person, holding expectations for tomorrow—there was nothing more foolish.'
'Stung countless times by blood-soaked reality, Reiya knew all too well that the only way to avoid being hurt was to reject everything worth cherishing.'
'But at this moment, she cast that truth aside, greedily hoping that every day could be as happy as this one.'
"Unfortunately, I can't guarantee I'll always be free. I can only say I'll do my best. But as compensation, I'll prepare a gift for you."
Westheid's reasonable reply caused the light in Reiya's bluish-purple eyes to dim.
'Even though she knew her disappointment was completely unreasonable. Her relationship with Westheid was, at best, a friendship; he had no obligation to see her every day from morning to night.'
Hearing this, Reiya quickly said, "You don't need to get me a gift. This is... this is enough."
Westheid replied, "That's not for you to decide. Whether I give a gift is my business. Whether you accept it is yours."
The Silver-haired Princess looked down, gently stroking a strand of hair at her forehead, and said no more.
...........
After bidding farewell to Reiya, Westheid returned to his residence from the Holy Tree Palace late at night. Even so, Yolanda had dutifully prepared a lavish dinner.
Although Yolanda wasn't a maid, her duties were no different from one. She didn't hire any servants for the large residence. It wasn't because they were that strapped for cash; rather, the platinum-blonde girl believed that the ancient and glorious Qinghui Clan could not possibly hire servants who only cared about money and had no loyalty.
Moreover, when it came to serving the Patriarch's daily needs, only someone with the Blood of Qinghui was qualified. Yolanda believed she was the obvious choice.
In these matters, Yolanda was inexplicably particular.
Sitting at the dining table, Westheid forced himself to look calm as he took a sip of his drink, glancing at his dignified and elegant sister out of the corner of his eye.
The young woman stood ramrod straight beside him, her eyes closed, as motionless as a statue.
"Brother, do you require a refill?"
Seeing Westheid keep glancing at her, Yolanda took a step forward and refilled his drink.
Westheid took a sip of the drink and cleared his throat. "Ahem, Yolanda, I'd like to borrow some money from you."
Although he, the Patriarch, appeared to be the one being served, Westheid had an embarrassing problem—he was broke.
The fall of the Qinghui Territory had turned most of their wealth to ash. Furthermore, Westheid's previous profligacy in the Imperial Capital had exhausted their already meager family savings. The only reason the clan could still function was thanks to Yolanda's savings; as a Palace Guard, she received a handsome annual stipend.
"What for, Brother?"
Yolanda asked directly, without even opening her eyes.
"To prepare for the upcoming Secret Realm Trial."
The platinum-blonde girl with the beauty of a Fairy nodded. "That is indeed a suitable reason. I just wonder if you, Brother, intend to purchase equipment, concoct Magic Potions, or grease some palms?"
Westheid thought for a moment, then decided to tell the truth.
"...I plan to commission a renowned artisan to craft a prosthetic limb as a gift for Reiya. If she had a prosthesis, her life wouldn't be so inconvenient."
"Your wisdom is truly profound, Brother. A humble, shallow, and short-sighted person such as myself cannot possibly comprehend the connection between the two."
Yolanda opened her eyes, her brilliant, enchanting purple eyes reflecting a relieved smile.
"Therefore, please forgive me for refusing your request, Brother. I have no reason to court disaster by helping that Sinful Blood Princess!"
Westheid said, heartbroken, "How can you have zero 'girl help girl' spirit?"
Yolanda retorted without showing any weakness:
"This is what you want to do, Brother. Because you said you know what you're doing, I've already stopped trying to prevent you from associating with the Fourth Princess... I just hope you can fulfill your promise. I will be waiting to see."
So the girl said, but judging from the way she looked at him as if he were trash, she probably held no such expectations.
For Yolanda, it didn't matter how terrible Westheid's personality or character was. But when it came to damaging the clan's honor and interests, she would not compromise in the slightest.
Yolanda crossed her arms. "Besides, no matter how earnestly you promise, Brother, or tell me things like how the Divine Ancestor favors the Fourth Princess, I still don't think it's necessary to curry favor with that Princess to this extent."
"Sigh. So short-sighted! It's useless trying to scheme with a fool!"
Westheid drained his glass in one gulp, shaking his head repeatedly.
'This is precisely the time when it's most necessary to be attentive!'
'The sharing from Heart and Soul's Gift is a gradual process. The first share usually doesn't take much effort. While Reiya is still young and naive, a bad man like him was fully confident he could make the Silver-haired Dragon Lady develop feelings for him.'
'And each time Heart and Soul's Gift activates, it randomly shares one of the target's Talents or Specialties.'
'If he were trying to win over a Powerhouse at the Legendary Celestial Rank, dealing with their twenty-plus—or even forty to fifty—Specialties and Talents would be a nightmare.'
'The chances of randomly getting a core Talent on the first try would be abysmally low.'
'But Reiya... she isn't the future Withered and Flourishing Dragon Emperor yet. She hasn't even officially set foot on the Path of Transcendence.'
'This means there's a very high probability that the Silver-haired Dragon Lady only possesses those two Tier T0 Talents, the ones that have been tempered and sublimated through countless trials.'
'No matter which one he got, it would be a game-changing cheat.'
'The potential payoff is just too high. It's enough to make Westheid burn away all reason and launch an aggressive campaign to win her over.'
Unfortunately, Westheid couldn't explain any of this to Yolanda. He would have to endure the humiliation and suffer her scorn for a while.
Pushing his glass toward Yolanda and signaling for the platinum-blonde girl to refill it, Westheid smiled.
"I said I will revive the Qinghui Clan, and my word is my bond."
"You will see the results by the end of this year. If I fail, you can have my head!"
"Just listen for the dragon's roar!"