Celia shivered with cold, struggling to remain calm.
"I don’t want to die, if I tell you a secret, you’ll understand." She knew that without revealing the secret, she could never win Mervin’s trust.
What saddened her was that she was doing all this to avoid being a pawn, to be free, and more so, to help Ah Foo in the future. Yet, before she could help Ah Foo, she had to exploit her relationship once again to achieve her goal.
How was this any different from what she’d done ten years ago?
Celia fell into deep pain.
"Lin Fu is different to me, I will offer my loyalty to her once again, until the end of my life."
"Again? Offer loyalty?"
Mervin, being a true member of the Great Nobles, was of course well aware that only the Royal Family could qualify for the loyalty of a Guardian Duke.
Suddenly he thought of something, his gaze fixing intensely on Celia.
"Are you saying Lin Fu is Princess Freya, whom you once served?"
She had finally spoken the secret.
"But the appearances, the personalities are all different, how is that possible?" Mervin, of course, also knew Princess Freya; he had met the little princess several times in the past.
"Though the appearances differ, the personality is exactly the same." Celia’s lips curled into a warm smile as she thought of their past.
"Ah Foo has always had that personality, what you all saw was just her disguise. Every time she had to meet with the Nobles and ministers, she would deliberately put on a stern facade, but she was so young at the time, not at all imposing, in fact, just more adorable."
Mervin’s memories of Princess Freya did indeed portray her as very adorable, but she hated being called cute, so no one mentioned it, only exchanging knowing glances in private.
"At the moment, I don’t know why the princess has lost her memory or changed her appearance, but I’m very certain I’m not mistaken about her identity. I will find out..."
Before Celia could finish her sentence, she saw that Mervin’s expression had changed, becoming horrifically altered.
Mervin’s face twisted in pain as he spoke, "To make someone lose memory, change their appearance... Other than genetic modification, I can’t think of anything else."
"Genetic... modification?"
Celia stepped back, her body wavering and falling to the ground.
"I’m not certain, but the possibility is high unless Ah Foo’s memory loss is a facade. There are many ways to change one’s appearance, and many people do it to avoid trouble, but nobody would erase their memories as well, there’s no benefit to it."
But Mervin’s unease grew increasingly more acute.
"I will support you, but if you dare betray her again, I will kill you myself." Mervin’s voice was weary, laced with profound pain, "But I am not yet the master of the Meisfield family, you must gain the support of a powerful Guardian Duke."
Celia covered her face in agony, sobbing soundlessly.
Mervin’s gaze softened with a hint of sympathy; Celia’s madness had always been a subject of ridicule among the Nobles.
"Leave now! I don’t care whether all this was truly only for serving Ah Foo, but it is an undeniable fact that you have used her once more. Without her, neither I nor Major General Fu Xing would have interfered."
Clearly, Mervin had already known who Celia would seek cooperation with next.
Celia left, dispirited, as if her very soul had been extracted.
Half an hour later, she arrived at Fu Xing’s private residence and waited at the door until dawn before she was allowed to enter.
"I’m sorry, Duke, but my Lady is not at home, the Duke felt it was inappropriate to let a strange woman in in the middle of the night. I really am very sorry," the butler said apologetically, his words utterly heart-wrenching.