Sebanli had finally withdrawn.

  "Rise, Troy," Luo Wei's face broke into a brilliant smile. "My brave Knight Commander, you haven't disappointed me."

  Troy stood up and said respectfully, "Your Highness, Count Wesley wishes to meet with you."

  Luo Wei: "Fine. When does he want to meet?"

  "Tonight," Troy answered. "He says there's something very important he needs to discuss with you."

  Tonight?

  Luo Wei frowned. The Sebanli army had only broken camp at noon—they probably wouldn't finish withdrawing until tomorrow morning. She didn't want to go to Golu City right now.

  "What's so important that it has to be tonight?"

  "Count Wesley didn't say what it was. He only said that if you agree to meet tonight, he'll come to Siria himself to save you the trouble of traveling."

  Luo Wei was puzzled. What could be so urgent that Count Wesley would rush over to see her without even cleaning up the mess in Golu City?

  "The sun will set in two or three hours. Can he even make it here for a meeting tonight?" she asked hesitantly.

  Troy glanced at the sky and said bluntly, "If I leave now to get him, he can make it."

  Luo Wei glared at him. "Then why didn't you bring him along?"

  Troy's face was serious. "Without my master's orders, a loyal knight cannot act on his own initiative."

  Luo Wei's temple twitched. "Don't you know how to be flexible? And if Count Wesley wanted to meet me, it couldn't have been a spur-of-the-moment thing. Why didn't you have the raven bring back a letter to ask me?"

  But it was a spur-of-the-moment thing!

  Troy's green eyes showed his grievance. "Count Wesley only said he wanted to see you after the Sebanli army announced their withdrawal."

  Luo Wei paused. Count Wesley wasn't in a hurry to see her before the withdrawal, but suddenly became urgent after? Could the situation at Golu City still change?

  Or did Count Wesley learn something and want to warn her?

  Luo Wei couldn't figure it out. She looked at Troy. "Did you let something slip about my last letter in front of Count Wesley?"

  Troy's eyes widened. "I didn't!"

  He wasn't the type who couldn't keep secrets. Besides, those strange things she'd written in that letter—he didn't believe them at all!

  Luo Wei met Troy's stubborn gaze, paused, then headed upstairs. "Come with me. We need to talk."

  Troy's eyes dimmed. His forest-green eyes lowered slightly as he turned and followed her.

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  The two went upstairs and entered the study.

  Luo Wei pulled out her wand and cast two spells on the room before turning to look at Troy. "Do you not believe there are angels in the Sebanli army, or do you not believe you're blessed by the God of the Undead?"

  Troy said firmly, "I'm not blessed by the God of the Undead."

  "Then why don't you dare take off your mask?" Luo Wei stared into his eyes. "You can see it yourself, can't you? There's a blessed mark on your forehead."

  Troy clenched his fists. "That's just a burn mark someone branded on me with a hot iron. It's not a real blessed mark."

  "Really? A burn scar that hasn't faded after two or three years?"

  Luo Wei stepped closer, looking up at the upper half of his face covered by the mask.

  "Troy, are you going to wear that mask your whole life and deceive yourself?"

  "I... I'm not..." Troy retreated a step as she pressed forward, awkwardly turning his head away. His fiery red curls slipped from under his hat brim, the strands sliding across the cold iron mask and covering the left half of his face.

  "Not what? Not deceiving yourself?" Luo Wei reached out and straightened his face, making him look directly into her eyes. "Troy, you can't escape reality. If this identity wouldn't bring you danger, of course I could let you accept it slowly."

  "But angels have descended to this world. You can't forget your weakness. If they discover you, you'll die without a trace, and I'll be implicated too. Do you understand?"

  Troy was forced to look into her eyes. Those bright black pupils reflected his pathetic appearance, instantly breaking down his defenses and making even evasion feel powerless.

  "I really... I'm not," he said with difficulty. "I'm not a believer of the God of the Undead."

  Luo Wei lowered her hand and looked at him calmly. "Then do you dare take off the mask?"

  Troy reflexively pressed his hand against the mask, but the next second jerked it back as if burned. Silence spread through the stagnant air.

  After what felt like forever, Troy slowly raised his hand again, reaching for the mask on his face. "I'm not blessed by the God of the Undead. I don't believe in them."

  His long, rough fingers climbed up the iron mask, his fingertips touching its edge. Beneath the mask, his deep forest-green eyes filled with devotion.

  "I don't have the God of the Undead's blessed mark. Blessed marks only appear during prayer, but the black brand on my forehead has never disappeared."

  Troy's voice was hoarse. "It's really... ugly."

  His fingers, calloused from years of wielding a sword, gripped the mask firmly and removed it bit by bit with stiff movements. The back of his hand trembled slightly.

  "I told you, I swear on my life to offer you all my faith and loyalty."

  "Whether it's a blessed mark or not, I won't acknowledge it."

  He stepped back half a step with his right leg and slowly knelt down. The cold, hard iron mask gradually moved away from his face, revealing his sharp eyebrows and the forehead covered in black patterns.

  The blessed mark of the God of the Undead was always more domineering than other gods'.

  Troy had a handsome face, but those dense black patterns tangled across it, covering almost his entire forehead. The twisted designs even crossed his brow and extended all the way to his temples.

  To be fair, such a mark really couldn't be called attractive.

  A single point between the eyebrows added elegance, but covering half a face had no beauty whatsoever.

  Luo Wei herself had such a mark on her back—twisted black patterns extending from her shoulder all the way to her tailbone, covering her entire back. Even looking at it once in the mirror made her eyes hurt.

  "Don't move, Troy." She extended her finger and touched his brow. "Was this mark like this from the beginning?"

  Troy suppressed the urge to flee, his voice trembling. "At first it was just a small spot between my brows."

  Later it grew bigger and bigger, spreading like wild grass until it covered his entire forehead.

  Luo Wei said sympathetically, "Troy, don't you understand? This is the God of the Undead's punishment. If you acknowledge that you're their blessed one, perhaps they'll forgive you."

  "No." Troy gritted his teeth. "I'm not their blessed one. I don't believe in them."

  He said word by word, stubbornly, "I've already given my faith to you. I can only be loyal to you alone."

  Luo Wei looked down at his face. "Troy, why must you—"

  Before she could finish, she suddenly stared at Troy's forehead, her eyes slowly widening.

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