It's so hard being a hero!

"No, they just asked a lot of questions."

Sophia breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, that's just how she is, very curious. Don't take it to heart."

After Frey finished speaking, she sat down next to her.

The two were silent for a few seconds, and Sophia's gaze inadvertently swept across the banquet hall.

In that instant, her nose suddenly caught a faint, sweet scent.

The scent was very faint, mixed with the aroma of food, the fragrance of wine, and the perfumes worn by nobles; ordinary people's sense of smell could not distinguish it at all.

But Sofia was very sensitive to the smell.

This is Lilith's aura.

It smelled much stronger than the noblewoman from Kyle City, almost exactly like Lilith herself.

Sophia's gaze suddenly turned towards the direction from which the aura was coming.

At the side door of the banquet hall, a woman in a purple dress was walking out.

The woman looked to be in her early twenties, with long, dark blonde hair piled up at the back of her head.

Her features were delicate, and her purple eyes gleamed faintly under the light.

The moment Sophia saw the other person, she saw the shadow of Lilith, the goddess of desire, in him.

It's not a similarity in strength, but rather the feeling.

That feeling that instinctively makes one uneasy.

Sophia instinctively wanted to stand up and chase after them to see what was happening.

But as soon as she moved, she realized that her current identity was inappropriate.

A twelve-year-old girl chasing after a strange woman at a palace banquet—it just doesn't make sense.

In the instant she hesitated, the woman had already walked out the side door.

Sophia quickly turned her head to look at the distance, where Vic was holding a glass of red wine and chatting with several nobles.

She quickly used a telepathic spell to call out to Vic.

Vic was slightly taken aback, but immediately greeted the people around him as if nothing had happened and walked over with his wine glass in hand.

"what happened?"

Vic asked in a low voice, his face still bearing that nonchalant smile, as if he were chatting casually with Sophia.

Do you know the woman in the purple dress who just walked out the side door?

Sofia's voice was very low.

Vic glanced discreetly toward the side door.

"A purple dress? Dark blonde hair?"

"Correct."

"Did you see where she came from?"

Sophia recalled that the woman had come from the direction deep within the palace.

There are only a few places in that direction.

The emperor's bedroom, the private rest rooms of the royal family members, and several side halls that are not open to the public.

"It looks like they came from the direction of the emperor's bedroom."

After Sophia finished speaking, Vic frowned slightly.

"Her name is Evelyn."

Vic paused for two seconds, then spoke.

"He was a pharmacist recommended by someone when the old emperor was seriously ill five years ago."

"pharmacist?"

Sofia repeated the word.

"Hmm, a genius pharmacist."

Vic's tone carried a complex meaning.

"Five years ago, the old emperor's health was already failing. The imperial physicians were helpless, and the priests of the Holy See could only alleviate the symptoms, but could not cure the root cause."

He paused.

"Just when everyone thought the old emperor wouldn't survive that year, someone recommended her to the royal family."

"and then?"

"Then she created a potion."

"That medicine was miraculous. After the old emperor drank it, his health improved at a speed visible to the naked eye. The hidden injuries and illnesses that had tormented him for many years subsided by more than half within a month."

Sophia frowned.

"Is there really such a miraculous medicine?"

Yes, but at a price.

Vic's gaze sharpened.

"From the moment the old emperor drank the first bottle of that medicine, he couldn't live without it."

"Can't live without it?"

"Yes, at first it was once a month, then it became once every two weeks, and then once a week."

Vic's tone grew increasingly somber.

“Now, he drinks it every day.”

Sofia remained silent.

She was all too familiar with this pattern.

It's not medicine, it's poison.

On the surface, it's treating illness, but in reality, it's making people addicted.

Once addicted, one can never be without the person who provides the drug.

"Did the old emperor himself know this?"

Sophia asked a question.

"I know, but there's nothing he can do."

Vic shook his head.

"Without that medicine, he wouldn't live more than a month. He's just drinking poison to quench his thirst, but anyone in his position would make the same choice."

Sofia was silent for a moment, then took a deep breath and lowered her voice to a level that only Vic could hear.

“Vic, I can smell Lilith’s scent on her.”

Vic's expression changed instantly.

The carefree smile in those pale golden eyes vanished in an instant, replaced by an extreme seriousness.

"Are you...are you sure?"

His voice was low, but every word seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth.

"determine."

Sophia nodded.

"Although it's very faint, I won't mistake that scent; it's very similar to Lilith's scent."

Vic's fingers tightened slightly as he gripped the wine glass.

"You mean, Evelyn is related to Lilith?"

"It's not that there's a connection, it's that she possesses Lilith's power, and it's very strong."

Sophia corrected her.

"It's not the kind of secondhand power that believers obtain through sacrifice, but a more direct and pure kind."

Vic fell silent.

He knew what this meant.

If Evelyn really has a direct connection with Lilith, then the medicine she gave the old emperor is highly problematic.

It's not a simple addiction problem; it may involve something deeper.

"Is the old emperor in danger?"

"I asked," Vic asked.

"If so, then it's not just the old emperor."

Sophia shook her head, her gaze falling on the nobles clinking glasses in the center of the banquet hall.

"If Lilith wants to control the entire empire by controlling the old emperor, then everyone is in danger."

Vic tapped his fingers lightly twice on his wine glass, a habitual gesture when he was thinking.

Sofia was very familiar with this move.

"I need to look into this Evelyn."

Vic finally spoke.

"If she really has a problem, it's better to act sooner rather than later."

Be careful.

Sophia gave a word of advice.

"Lilith's people are not that simple."