Before Ronald’s eyes, Heiloice’s body transformed like magic.
The height of her nose bridge, the plumpness of her cheeks, the thickness of her lips...
Except for a pair of steel-blue eyes that had not changed, the girl’s face was instantly replaced by another appearance. And under the cover of the quilt, her body also underwent very noticeable changes in curves.
The whole process took no more than three breaths.
An image Ronald had never seen before appeared before him.
"Is this ’you’?" Ronald asked gently.
"Yes... this is the real, original me." Heiloice nodded.
Ronald stared at her current appearance. Honestly, Ronald was somewhat surprised.
He had never considered the possibility that Heiloice was a great beauty in his original expectations.
Although she did not possess Ariadne’s captivating beauty,
to be fair, she was definitely a beautiful girl who held her own. Her features looked soft and harmonious, flawless at a glance, with her jet-black hair cascading behind her like a waterfall of night, and her steel-blue pupils embellishing her essence like the finishing touch.
If there was no subjective judgment,
meeting Heiloice in completely unfamiliar circumstances, Ronald would definitely think that she was a well-protected delicate young lady living a sheltered life.
Then, Heiloice laughed.
She saw through Ronald’s thoughts and couldn’t help but tease him:
"What, didn’t think I would look ordinary, did you?"
"My school is capable of precisely sensing and controlling the body, making oneself look better during development—it’s quite a basic operation."
Heiloice’s argument made so much sense that Ronald couldn’t find any grounds for rebuttal.
"Mr. Ronald, the ’Capital Daily’ you asked for earlier?"
It was another perfectly timed moment, as there was a knock at the door of the living room.
Ronald gave Heiloice a helpless look, then turned to pick up the newspaper.
When he returned to the bed with the ’Capital Daily’
Heiloice just glanced at it and said confidently,
"You might want to start with the front page; it might help with our discussion later."
Ronald responded and unfolded the newspaper, the first line that caught his eye was the striking headline.
[Starlight Concert Attacked, Famous Actress Ariadne Tragically Dies.]
With doubt in his heart, Ronald continued to read down the front page.
A long section of the news was actually quite simple: the Starlight Concert held in the White Star District by a famous entrepreneur was unexpectedly attacked by foreign insurgents, with substantial casualties.
Ariadne and her entourage, who were invited to perform, met with misfortune during the attack.
After carefully finishing the article, Ronald flipped through the newspaper.
After confirming there was no important news missing, he asked Heiloice,
"So... this concert was a trap set up for you?"
"How could it only be us?" Heiloice shook her head dismissively, her eyes filled with deep apprehension, "The concert invited a lot of ’people’, and not just from our side. Other powers that had infiltrated the Springs system also suffered a severe blow."
"Her Majesty the Queen, along with the people from the Church and the Investigator, cleared out most of the spy agencies within the capital?" Ronald opened the conversation for confirmation.
At that moment, Heloise chuckled self-mockingly.
"It’s normal for you to guess that."
"But according to my speculation, her majesty’s purpose is not limited to just that."
While discussing her speculations, Heloise pointed towards the newspaper Ronald had just put down, reading word by word:
"Did you see this? The phrase ’attacked by foreign rebels.’ It’s not only about cleaning us out; she also plans to shift the increasingly serious domestic conflicts. The appearance of the words ’foreign rebels’ probably means she’s about to launch a war on the overseas colonies."
Heloise spoke of a direction Ronald had completely not considered.
But being directly named, he could understand the queen’s approach.
A purge of the capital’s spy agencies, then using the opportunity to divert the people’s attention to deflect from the growing domestic tensions—a very standard politician’s playbook.
"Your judgment is quite professional." Ronald couldn’t help but remark.
"Being sensitive to information is the most basic professional quality of a spy," Heloise admitted immediately.
However, upon hearing this, Ronald’s upper body stiffened.
He noticed that Heloise had admitted to being a ’spy’ in her words.
Although they had both speculated about each other’s identities before and had come very close to the truth, openly admitting such an identity was a different matter.
Even if one’s identity were exposed, a spy would absolutely not admit it.
What was Heloise thinking!
Ronald’s sudden silence was obviously noticed by the girl on the sickbed.
Heloise laughed with a mix of helplessness and complication:
"Ronald, at this point, I have no choice."
"In a militaristic state like Entrode, a spy who fails their mission only has death awaiting them. Even if I could return alive, I’d only face severe torture and be secretly executed."
With a few words, Heloise described her current predicament, her eyes full of self-mockery: "To end up in such a situation today, I had somewhat expected it. Although I’m not a good person, I still prefer to live."
"Fortunately, Entrode is not Grede. As long as I take a ship and escape far away, they most likely won’t be able to find me."
Hearing the implication in Heloise’s words, Ronald frowned and asked:
"Do you have a detailed plan to leave Grede?"
A brief moment of bewilderment flashed in Heloise’s eyes.
But quickly, her gaze steadied:
"It actually doesn’t matter where to go."
"Those who knew my face, one by yesterday, was beaten to death by an old man from the Church with a nail head hammer. And with the ’Alyda’ identity officially dead, Grede officials have provided me a cover."
"In this world... there are plenty of places to shelter."
Though Heloise seemed composed, the loneliness and helplessness in her eyes were unmistakably poignant.
Thus, Ronald began to help her think through the strategy:
"While that is said, there are still dangers in reality. From the questions the Investigator asked me yesterday, they are still conducting further investigations. If you..."
Watching Ronald’s serious conjecturing, Heloise suddenly frowned and interrupted him: "Ronald, come closer."
"Ah, are you uncomfortable?"
Ronald immediately bent over towards her.
But as soon as he got close, Heloise pulled him down and embraced him.
"It’s nothing big, just let me ride on you for a while."