After a brief silence, Ruan Qingan suddenly said, "Aldrich, go check if there's any movement at the door."

"Understood, Master."

After Aldrich checked the surroundings, he returned to Nguyen Thanh An's side: "No one was alerted, Master."

Upon hearing this, Ruan Qing'an relaxed a little. She lowered her eyes to look at the place where the magic circle had appeared, pondered for a moment, and then, as if she suddenly realized something, her leaden gray eyes brightened slightly.

When she looked up again, Ruan Qingan met Aldrich's eyes, his clear gaze filled with intense doubt and confusion.

037: [What's going on, ancestor?]

Ruan Qingan: ...So I have to explain to both of them at once? Or maybe I should just let Aldrich recover sooner.

Accustomed to thinking in sync with him, Ruan Qing'an was still a little unaccustomed to it. After a moment of silence, he spoke: "Because of the existence of the Church of Light, almost all the light mages in the entire continent of Hilar have been absorbed by the church, and there are very few outside."

"The light element magic array of that intensity can only be set up by a magician who specializes in light element research. In other words, the one who set up the magic array here is a member of the Church of Light."

037 couldn't help but ask in return: "Has Duke Garcia gone mad? How could he allow the Church of Light to tamper with his manor?"

Ruan Qingan shook his head and explained, "To be precise, it wasn't tampering with the property. It's more likely that Duke Garcia asked the Church of Light to make these arrangements in the manor."

"Do you remember, from the time Aldrich's mother became pregnant with him until after Aldrich's birth, the Garcia family was constantly attacked. Perhaps by chance, Duke Garcia discovered that the element of light could counteract that strange power."

Ruan Qingan paused: "The ratio is about 1 to 10, which is why he invited the Light Magicians of the Church of Light to inscribe a large number of light element magic arrays inside the manor."

"When the token landed just now, because it was separated from Aldrich, its power was not neutralized, which is why it attracted the light element attack."

After hearing Ruan Qingan's explanation, 037 suddenly understood.

After the explanation was clear, Ruan Qingan looked up at Aldrich. His eyes, as clear and innocent as a child's, seemed to understand what he had just said, yet also seemed somewhat confused.

Ruan Qingan sighed softly, then suddenly said, "I've found another way to recover, Aldrich, but there might be risks."

"I don't really understand these things."

Aldrich whispered, taking Nguyen Thanh An's hand and rubbing it against his cheek: "Master, I'll do whatever you say."

"...Go find the butler and ask him to prepare some stationery."

Upon hearing this, Aldridge nodded and then left.

Only after he left did 037 say: "Ancestor, you were actually trying to get rid of the male lead, weren't you? What exactly are you planning?"

"The original method was uncertain, because I didn't know how intense the emotions generated by Aldrich himself would need to be to reach the threshold of breaking the seal."

As Ruan Qingan spoke, he turned and went to the balcony, put his hand on the railing, looked up into the distance, and his eyes darkened slightly.

037 instinctively followed her gaze, only to realize then—

[That...that's the direction of the Church of Light!]

The Church of Light's influence extends throughout the entire continent of Hilar. Not only does the Lycas Empire have its branch churches, but other empires also have them, and each branch church enjoys a high reputation in its local area.

In short, the Church of Light is a colossal entity standing tall across the entire continent of Hilar, one that even the Empire dares not offend lightly.

Not to mention the Lancaster family...

Upon realizing this, 037 said: [Ancestor—]

Ruan Qing'an interrupted 037 directly: "We can't drag this out any longer, little system. Aldrich can't keep going like this. I really can't figure out what threshold the intensity of emotions needs to reach."

“But I know that only the Church of Light possesses a sufficiently strong power of light element. If the branch churches can’t do it, then I’ll go to the headquarters. I’ll find it eventually.”

Hearing Ruan Qing'an's resolute attitude and firm tone, 037 gave up trying to persuade her and waited quietly with her.

A moment later, Aldridge returned with the letter.

Looking at the gold-embossed letter paper and the sealing wax, Ruan Qing'an took a deep breath: "You'd better agree—"

After understanding the implied meaning, 037 hesitated to speak.

037: ...Lord God, your bandits have come down the mountain again!

...

Until the next morning, at the Garcia Manor Restaurant.

Duke Garcia was wiping his fingertips with a handkerchief, looking every bit the gentleman. When he saw Nguyen Thanh An and Aldrich coming down the stairs, he asked, "I wonder if you slept well last night?"

"Your Grace is too kind. Aldrich only just learned the truth about what happened ten years ago, how could he possibly get any rest?"

Ruan Qing'an couldn't stand Duke Garcia's gentlemanly demeanor, which contrasted sharply with his pretentious act the night before. His fake emotions made her feel nauseous.

Duke Garcia's expression froze, but after looking at his son Aldrich, whom he had wronged for ten years, and then at Nguyen Thanh An, whom he could not afford to offend, he could only say in a deep voice, "I know, it was indeed a mistake I made ten years ago, no matter how you look at it."

It seems they were the ones who compromised and made concessions, but that's actually their fault.

Ruan Qing'an chuckled softly and said nothing more.

After she and Aldrich sat down to eat, the butler suddenly rushed in from outside the restaurant, carrying a letter with gold lettering. He bent down and handed it to Ruan Qing'an: "Your Excellency Dolores, this is an urgent letter sent for you. Please take a look."

"Okay, thank you for your help."

Ruan Qingan nodded and reached out to take it.

The gold-embossed envelope had no markings other than a simple wax seal, as if it were intentionally concealing the identity. However, Ruan Qing'an was not surprised and opened it without changing his expression.

'Your Excellency Dolores.'

"I apologize for causing this misunderstanding. The reason the Church of Light has such a strong concentration of light element is because so many believers of the God of Light have gathered here. Our faith is unwavering, and the divine will naturally bestow blessings upon us. This is not the effect of a magic circle."

'If you are willing to believe in the God of Light and your faith is steadfast, the divine will naturally sense it and reward you for your faith.'

Respectfully submitted by the Church of Light, a branch church of the Xisha Empire.

Upon seeing this, Nguyen Thanh An suddenly burst out laughing, which immediately attracted the attention of Duke Garcia. Like a startled bird, he instinctively looked over, somewhat uneasy.

"Lady Dolores, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing. I'm just a little surprised that someone has treated me like a fool in a long time. Don't worry about it."

Ruan Qingan pinched the corner of the envelope with his slender fingertips, and then fire elements gathered in his palm, burning the letter inside to ashes, which then scattered in the air.

"Farewell, Your Grace."

"I think there's still one place I haven't been to."