After Duke Garcia left, the old butler quickly took over the follow-up hospitality work, arranged rooms for Nguyen Thanh An and Aldrich, gave instructions to the servants, and then politely left.

Inside the room, Ruan Qing'an stood on the open balcony, her hand resting on the white railing, looking down at the manor.

037: [Ancestor, have you discovered anything?]

Upon hearing this, Ruan Qing'an remained silent for a moment before saying softly, "I do have a guess, a small system, but I don't know if it's true or not."

"Aldrich's identity may still be debatable. I originally thought that something happened to him after his birth that caused him to be sealed away, but now it seems that it is different from what I imagined."

037 Seemingly Understanding: [In other words, the male protagonist's identity is extraordinary; he's not just an ordinary nobleman's son.]

"...It's hard to say whether they're even human."

Ruan Qingan quietly added a sentence, and then said, "Do you remember, little system, when Aldrich's mother was pregnant, she was attacked by a monster and continued to be attacked afterward. It is possible that the seal was planted on Aldrich at that time."

"And the subsequent attacks from those strange forces are probably not what Duke Garcia said, that they were attracted, but rather the same substance as Aldrich's seal, which is increasing the strength of the seal through continuous attacks."

037 is trying hard to keep up with the train of thought: 【Let me think.】

[Ancestor, you mean that Aldrich was attacked by this power while he was still unborn, which is equivalent to planting 1% of the seal, but the strength is not great.]

[Then, a continuous stream of forces attacked him, actually deepening the seal's progress, 2%, 3%—]

Ruan Qingan nodded: "That's the idea. I'm afraid the seal is deepening even faster, which is why this is happening."

The victim turned out to be the so-called ominous person...

Upon hearing 037's words, Ruan Qingan sighed softly.

Just then, footsteps suddenly came from behind. Before Ruan Qing'an could turn around, the big, pitiful-looking dog braced itself against the railings on both sides of her, its tall body bent over, and lay on her shoulder.

It's like a big dog seeking comfort from its owner.

"Owner……"

Ruan Qingan simply turned her hand over and ruffled Aldridge's hair: "What's wrong? Is it because of what happened today?"

Aldridge didn't speak, he just nodded silently.

She thought for a moment, then asked in return, "Is it because you know the truth about being abandoned, or... do you hate Duke Garcia?"

The big dog just hugged her, looking even more aggrieved.

After a long while, Aldrich said pitifully, "I don't care about him, Master. He abandoned me, so I stopped caring about him a long time ago. I don't care what he was like before."

"Then what do you care about?"

“I…care about whether my master will abandon me because of this.”

Aldrich's voice was hoarse and muffled, carrying a strong sense of unease: "I don't recognize this identity, nor this surname, Master, you won't send me away, will you?"

Even though Duke Garcia had made it clear at the dinner, the mere thought that this possibility had once existed still lingered.

Aldridge couldn't control his panic.

Hearing this, Ruan Qing'an froze, her hand that was playing with his hair. She patted Aldridge's head, and the big dog seemed to understand. Although he was very aggrieved, he still obediently backed away.

When Nguyen Thanh An turned her head, she saw Aldrich standing a step away from her, looking at her expectantly.

It wants to get closer, but is afraid of upsetting its owner.

Seeing this, Ruan Qing'an couldn't help but chuckle. She beckoned to Aldrich with her fingertip, and the moment he tentatively leaned in, she grabbed his collar and pulled him close.

Aldridge bent down as well, his innocent eyes fixed on the girl before him, unblinking.

And she said in a low, solemn voice—

“I will not abandon you, Aldridge.”

"Why did I bring you here, Aldridge? Because I need you. I want you to recover, so I came here."

"Owner……"

Aldridge was a little stunned, but a strange sense of security filled his chest at this moment, completely filling it—he was always being abandoned, always being left behind, until now.

He unconsciously crouched down, like a loyal large dog, guarding her side, and looked up at her.

The girl cupped Aldridge's face in her hands, leaned down, and looked down at him as if the moon had come running to him.

“From the moment I bought you, you were mine. I will nurture you and never abandon you, but—you cannot have any disloyal thoughts, Aldrich. You are the only one who cannot betray me.”

"Aldrich, it's just you who can't."

She spoke in a low voice, each word deliberate and forceful, her firm tone like a collar that tightly bound Aldridge.

But he found it sweet.

Aldridge instinctively pressed his hand to his neck, where, hidden beneath his clothes, lay the collar she had placed on him long, long ago—a collar with dark red gemstones and a silver clasp.

He replied earnestly, "Understood, Master."

A loyal big dog won't understand what betrayal is.

【Affection Level: 70】

Seeing this, Ruan Qingan patted Aldridge on the head: "Alright, are you relieved now, Aldridge?"

Aldridge nodded and straightened up.

But just as he stood up, with a 'thud,' a black token fell to the ground, which was none other than the strange item that Lucas had found from the Seventh Prince.

Because this power is exceptionally strange, and shares the same origin as Aldrich, it can only cancel each other out when Aldrich holds it.

That's why Nguyen Thanh An had Aldridge carry it with him at all times.

Ruan Qingan didn't pay any attention, but just as Aldrich was about to pick it up, a light element magic circle suddenly appeared on the floor of the room and attacked the thing on the ground in an instant!

Get out of the way!

Ruan Qing'an reacted extremely quickly. The moment she appeared, she had already formed hand seals and used a fire element shield to block the aftershocks.

The attack from the light element magic circle was fierce. After breaking the shackles of the token, a strange black power surged out instantly and collided with the light element power. The aftershocks were deafening. If Ruan Qing'an hadn't blocked it, it would have alerted others.

Finally, after the golden attack disappeared—

Ruan Qingan removed the fire element shield, and only then could he see the situation on the ground clearly. The light element magic circle had disappeared, and even the black token that had just fallen to the ground had vanished...

That faint, eerie black power had completely vanished under the overwhelming impact of the light element.

Aldrich frowned and stepped in front of Ruan Qing'an, squatting down first to check the ground: "Master, everything is gone, and that thing is gone too."

Ruan Qing'an paused slightly, as if he had thought of something.

037 was completely dumbfounded: [What, what's going on?]

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