The hero's gender is yet to be determined after rebirth.

The three of them, including Lorenwei, were invited back to the Noble Lady's Palace to rest.

On the very first day of teaching, someone got poisoned. Luckily, it wasn't the head chef who did it, and the other party was rude first. Plus, the noblewoman was there to back them up; otherwise, Lorenwei and the other two would probably have been interrogated: "Where did you all come from, you spies?!"

Of course, Lorenwei also explained: the reason why Sylph could only be a kitchen helper was because of this strange skill, which was passively and continuously active...

After the female stewardess left, Melan laughed, "Hahaha! I never thought you and Sylph had opposite skills! I'm the teacher killer, and you're the apprentice killer!"

Before Sylph could answer, Lorenve made a shushing gesture.

"No one's coming right now, let's rest for a bit." She said this as an excuse, but her movements were quick and efficient as she carefully inspected the palace where she had settled.

There were no magical detection methods to conceal it, nor any secret listening devices. Lorenwei's confidence in discovering this kind of facility was to the point that she believed no one dared to claim to be second to none.

But there really isn't any eavesdropping or spying setup here. Are we just lucky? Or is it that we're more likable than Loren when we're dressed as women?

Sylph saw Lorenve looking around and offered to help, but quickly shook her head: "Even with an archer's keen senses, I can't detect any traps."

"Maybe we were just lucky," Lorenwei said, accepting the conclusion with a sigh.

"This place is so beautiful! The decor is gorgeous!" Meilan ran around excitedly, admiring the various interior decorations she had never seen before. "The Grand Duchy of Posey is so rich!"

In reality, they were staying in the Noble Ladies' Palace, a residence used to entertain female guests from other countries. The decor and hospitality were excellent, but it was under tight security—a level of political surveillance that appeared relaxed on the surface but was actually quite stringent underneath. In fact, Lorenwei and her two companions were being watched.

This is not the inner palace, but the outer palace. It is not an area where the royal family of the Grand Duke of Percy resides, nor is it within their jurisdiction.

According to what Aisser had taught him, there was a harem within the inner palace, where the royal women lived. As a cook, he wouldn't even be able to see it.

“It’s not that they’re rich, it’s that they treat us too well.” Lorenwei rested one arm on her hand and stroked her chin with the other, striking a detective’s thoughtful pose.

On her way here, Lorenwei had been keeping a close eye on the sentry posts. Although they weren't as heavily guarded as the palaces in another world, they weren't exactly lax in their defenses either.

She knew she wasn't in an easy place. Subconsciously, Lorenwei felt it wasn't that simple.

Lorenwei underestimated the world's royal family's vigilance and also underestimated the level of her own beauty. After all, she had grown up surrounded by stunning beauties like Aisser, and now she was surrounded by great beauties, so she never imagined that her appearance would stand out from the crowd.

"Wow, even the edges of the curtains are trimmed with gold thread!" Meilan exclaimed. "Hey, why are there curtains on the bed too?"

“This is a mosquito net, to keep mosquitoes out,” Lorenwei explained.

“There are only two beds here.” Sylph frowned after looking closely.

The bedroom had a large bed for the ladies of the house. There was another bed in the outer hall for the maids.

Meilan didn't mind: "You guys sleep in the bed, I'll sleep on the sofa."

“Uh, there’s no sofa here.” Lorenwei looked carefully and found only hardwood chairs; perhaps it was a matter of style.

"I can sleep on Puyo's body too." Meilan felt there was nothing to worry about.

"You should sleep in the bed; at least get used to it," Lorenwei said. "You can choose which one to sleep in."

Meilan pointed to the maid's bed outside: "Then this one will do. This one is a bit firmer. I don't like that bed that bounces on top of me, and it's too big. I feel uneasy sleeping on it."

"Okay, then, Silph and I..."

"Hey! Who wants to sleep with you?!" Siruf suddenly interrupted her.

Lorenwei was taken aback: "Huh? We've been sleeping together for days..."

Sylph frowned and said, "That was then, but now you've made it clear you're not a girl... Anyway, don't let Melanie laugh at us!"

"It's clearly because you're afraid Meilan will laugh at you that you're being so haughty and refusing to sleep with me," Lorenwei thought to herself. "I should have just ambushed you like I did with Kurara the other day..."

As a result, Lorenve slept in the small bed, while Sylph and Melanie slept in the big bed.

Meilan said reluctantly, "I can't sleep!"

Then, not long after she went to bed, in the quiet night, her long, even breathing was exceptionally clear.

Lorenwei quietly got up, preparing to sneak into the palace at night.

She skillfully rummaged through her night clothes and quietly changed into them.

This was a black night outfit that Aisser had prepared for her, embroidered with some non-reflective dark flowers and leaves, so that she could still look like a girl all day. Moreover, this night outfit wasn't the kind of form-fitting clothes that look like something a thief would wear; it had a fashionable feel to it, and crucially, it wasn't reflective.

If you were to wear it casually, it wouldn't be too much of a problem. You could even walk around in it openly and find it hard to find fault with it.

Lorenwei had long suspected that the clothes were old, probably from a nighttime stealth operation that her mother had done back then... and then she had given them to her again fifteen years later.

"You flower thief, where are you going?" Siruf's voice came from behind.

Lorenvi shuddered in fright; this was a bad start. She'd been discovered before she'd even begun her infiltration of the palace.

Of course, Sylph had been watching her for a long time.

“I’m not going to do anything bad,” Lorenwei explained softly as she turned around stiffly.

That being said, would the jealous fairy agree to go to Kurara in the middle of the night? Lorenwei suspected that Sylph's emotions had been hovering on a dangerous line throughout this trip.

"..." Sylph walked up to Lorenwei and stared at her for a long time without saying a word, until Lorenwei felt uneasy under her gaze, before she said in a low voice, "Go, be careful, don't be reckless."

"You really want me to go find Kurara?"

Sylph said calmly, "Let's not even talk about whether you can find her or not. Even if you do find her, she might not forgive you."

“…” Lorenwei was in low spirits.

“But I know you’ll regret it for the rest of your life if you don’t go looking for it,” Siruf said, looking at Lorenwei.

“…Yes.” Lorenwei nodded vigorously.

Sylph continued, "In that case, you'll always remember her, and I can't stand that."

At this moment, the green-haired female elf spoke resolutely, her emerald eyes shining like jade in the night, as if she could see right through Lorenwei's heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys.

After saying this, Sylph went back to bed.

Lorenwei let out a long sigh, straightened her night clothes, and carefully left the Noblewoman's Pavilion.

It was around 11 p.m.

Aisser had taught Lorenve that the safest time for nighttime travel wasn't the latter half of the night, but between 10 and 11 p.m. At this time, the guards were more relaxed because most people assumed thieves only acted in the latter half of the night or before dawn. There were also some people who slept late, so they were less vigilant.

Without using her Sword Saint abilities, Lorenwei skillfully bypassed the three sentry posts. The opposing forces weren't particularly strong; the strongest team leader was only a Greatsword Master. After all, top-tier experts rarely patrolled at night; most of the work was done by average individuals, using crystal magic arrays and other defensive measures.

The warning setup, such as the crystal magic circle, was only a matter of time for Lorenwei. She quickly identified several key palaces that might be where the princess resided. After all, the Grand Duchy of Percy only had a handful of nobles; rather than arresting someone to interrogate about the princess's whereabouts, it was better to try her luck at the most luxurious palaces one by one.

Lorenwei kept dodging sentries and sneaking around some magical warning traps, and soon arrived at a luxurious palace not far from her in the inner palace.

"The Grand Duchy can't compare to the Royal Kingdom; it's still quite easy to sneak around," Lorenwei thought with disdain.

She stretched and yawned towards the patrolling guards in the distance, who had their backs to her, indicating that she felt relaxed.

She easily entered the palace outskirts, and in the shadows of the small garden, she walked quietly, her back bent, hidden by a row of low flower bushes.

"Ouch!" A flustered female voice suddenly reached my ears, as if she had tripped.

Then a copper basin of water came over the bushes, splashing water all over Lorenwei's head with a loud thud, and the basin also hit her head with a crisp clang...

Chapter 170 Lorenwei, who doesn't know her mother-in-law; Kurara is back!

"I'm in Lorenwei's form now, not Lorenwei, right?" Lorenwei checked her night-clothes; they were still women's fashion, just a bit darker in color. She was still presenting herself as a girl.

But why am I so unlucky?

Lorenwei looked at the copper basin still trembling slightly on the ground, scratched her head, and was speechless for a moment. While sneaking around, she was doused with a basin of cold water? And then hit with a copper basin?

"Oh? Excuse me, I didn't expect there to be someone here." The woman who had tripped and exclaimed in surprise had clearly noticed Lorenwei in the bushes.

"Ah..." Lorenwei straightened up and awkwardly wiped the cold water off her face.

There were no streetlights here, and by the dim moonlight, Lorenwei saw a beautiful woman looking at her with a somewhat surprised expression.

The woman was dressed as a noblewoman, with fair skin and a deep cleavage revealed by her clothing. She was very beautiful and appeared to be only in her early twenties. However, her attire suggested she was over thirty. According to the customs of the Grand Duchy that Kurara had described, the type of ribbon indicated that she had been married for at least twenty years.

This woman was the same noblewoman from the daytime, who had been waiting for Lorenwei for a long time. She seized this opportunity and deliberately poured a bucket of water on Lorenwei, even hitting her on the head... With her intentions on the side of surprise and her complete advantage of location and people, Lorenwei's nighttime activities were almost entirely under her control.

Lorenwei was sizing up the woman, and the woman was also sizing up Lorenwei, looking at her very carefully, and her expression gradually became strange.

Had she given herself away? Lorenwei was conflicted. Should she knock her unconscious? Or should she tell a lie? The latter was certainly more appropriate.

At this moment, a slightly ambiguous expression appeared on the woman's face, and she suddenly blurted out, "Are you relieving yourself here?"

“Oh, of course not!” Lorenwei quickly denied.

For some reason, I felt very flustered when I was around this woman.

"So you were squatting by the low-lying flower bushes?"

"I accidentally dropped one of my bracelets, and just as I found it, your copper basin hit me." Lorenwei bent down to pick up the copper basin, and under its cover, took out a bracelet.

Lorenwei returned the basin to the woman and shook the bracelet in her hand.

"Oh, so you're looking for the bracelet. Hey? What are you doing here?" the woman asked.

"I'm not very familiar with the way, after all, I just entered the palace." Lorenwei regretted saying this as soon as she finished speaking, as it sounded a bit strange.

"You got in through connections again, didn't you? Just like me." The woman chuckled. "But your goal is definitely the second prince of the Fite Empire. I can't even dream of such a goal."

"Are you looking for a nobleman?"

"Of course, otherwise who will take care of me when I get old and lose my beauty?" The woman winked.

Lorenwei felt that she didn't feel like a middle-aged woman at all; she was more like a slightly older mature woman, and her every move exuded a unique and alluring charm.

“I think your plan will definitely succeed!” Lorenwei sincerely believed that as long as she tried her best, she would definitely be able to climb into the ranks of the nobility.

"Actually, it doesn't have to be a nobleman. As long as the person I choose can support my family, that's enough. And although there's no war now, who knows when disaster might strike? We might all be gone at any moment." The woman sighed, clutching the copper basin. "Out of necessity, I need someone who is good to women, can support the family, and can protect it. Such a person is probably very hard to find..."

I wonder how much meaning was hidden in this woman's words.

“I think with my sister’s looks and figure, there’s absolutely no problem!” Lorenwei thought she was looking for a safe, reliable man who could also make money.

"Oh dear, you're calling me 'sister'? I'm not that young at all."

"My biggest flaw is that I like to tell the truth," Lorenwei said with a serious expression.

"Oh dear, you're such a lovely child." The woman patted Lorenwei on the shoulder, then seemed to realize something, "Oh? Why are you all wet? Ah, you got splashed with water from my basin, didn't you? I'm so sorry, come, come to my room and change your clothes."

"Oh? No, no need."

"No, no, come quickly." The woman pulled her away, continuing, "Don't be too angry with me, do you know what this basin of water is?"

"Hmm? What's so special about this basin of water?" Lorenwei was thinking of knocking the woman unconscious to escape, but after hearing what she said, she became more interested.

This woman's ability to manipulate people's hearts is far beyond what Lorenwei, with her stubborn and straightforward male nature, can match.