Su Yao, still reeling from the shock of seeing the neighboring Emperor’s appearance—and even more shocked that her former self didn’t remember who that face belonged to—found the current scene rather comical.  She couldn’t help but laugh.

Ryan, startled awake, looked sharply at her.  “You’re not a child anymore; why are you pulling such childish pranks—”  Then he turned to glare at the man who resembled the Sereya Emperor.  “…Change back!”

Su Yao stopped laughing.

“Don’t change!” Su Yao shouted.  “I’m the client; I decide when it’s over!”

It wasn’t the era of royal absolutism; no one, not even the King, could dictate what someone else looked like, let alone the Crown Prince!  Of course, if Emperor Kail III himself showed up, she could probably sue him for copyright infringement or something.  But judging by his style, he might just snap his fingers and obliterate the entire planet, solving everything at once.

“You!” Ryan glared at Su Yao, then at the man.  “What’s wrong with you, Dylan?!”

“I think you two are the ones with the problem.” The man transformed back into his silver-haired, green-eyed form, holding out his hands to Su Yao.  “Sorry, darling, I won’t charge you.”

At that moment, the others visibly relaxed.  Even the Crown Prince seemed less tense.  The few remaining unsteady nobles approached, trembling slightly, to pay their respects.  They looked at the silver-haired man, bowing respectfully.  “Your Highness, Prince Dylan.”

“A bunch of brainless fools.” The silver-haired man scoffed.  “If that guy really wanted to kill you, he wouldn’t even need to set foot on this planet. You all know that, don’t you?”

“Wait!” Su Yao was stunned.  “You’re Prince Dylan?”

Prince Dylan was the Crown Prince’s cousin; his mother, Princess Julie, was the King’s sister.  It was common knowledge that the mother and son didn’t have a good relationship with the King and his son. 

Julie had the same bloodline as the King, a Golden Flame Dragon Lizard, but because she was younger, her claim to the throne came later.  Years ago, during the war against the Guangyi Clan, the Prince had died on the battlefield. 

Dylan also had S-class bloodline, inheriting his mother’s title, but his bloodline wasn’t Golden Flame Dragon Lizard; he inherited the Mimic Wing Ape from his father.  Therefore, his claim to the throne came after the Crown Prince.

Su Yao looked at the silver-haired man, bewildered.  “You didn’t respond to my invitation, and I’ve seen photos of the royal family; you don’t look like this—”  She suddenly stopped.

Right.  This man’s shapeshifting abilities were extraordinary; this silver-haired appearance probably wasn’t real either!

The silver-haired man laughed, turning to her.  “Oh dear, Duchess, blinded by the Sereya Emperor’s beauty—”

Su Yao silently covered her face.  The others’ expressions twisted.

“I change my face every now and then.” Dylan said casually.  “So—”

He suddenly leaned forward, putting his arms around the black-haired girl, pulling her into a hug.

“Get used to my scent; that way you’ll recognize me next time, right, little lion?”  The silver-haired young man whispered in her ear, his alcohol-scented breath washing over her.

Su Yao numbly nodded.  “Got it, old monkey.”

Dylan: “…”

Laughter rippled through the crowd.

Ryan’s face was dark.  “You injured my classmate.”

“Oh?” Dylan straightened, looking at the people behind the Crown Prince.  “Is that so? Then let’s have the Duchess check the security footage, shall we?”

Seeing Dylan’s calm demeanor, Ryan turned to his classmates.  One of them looked uneasy, his heart beating faster, appearing nervous. 

He was the most severely injured; the Crown Prince’s healer had just treated him, but hearing the word “surveillance,” his heart began to race.  Ryan immediately guessed that he was the one who started the trouble.

“If I got serious, they’d be meat paste on the walls right now.” Dylan said calmly.  “You know that, Your Highness.”

Ryan met his gaze.  “…You’re right, Your Highness.”

While the two cousins faced off, Su Yao scanned the crowd, finding the female lead.  Ruan Jiao hadn’t seen the Emperor, didn’t know his appearance, and wasn’t scared. 

She stood behind the Crown Prince, about five meters away, the subtitles above her head flickering, unclear.  It seemed distance was also a factor affecting the ability.

Su Yao thought, concentrating on observing the characters, mentally strengthening her intent to read her thoughts.  The chaotic, blurry letters gradually formed words, then complete sentences.

【Su Yao is a terrible woman, a shameless slut.】

【She’s engaged to His Highness, yet she’s all over other people, hugging and cuddling…】

【His Highness would never do something like that…】

Su Yao almost laughed.  To say the male lead avoided others because of his engagement was utter nonsense.  He just hadn’t met someone he liked yet. 

After he fell for the female lead, their intimate interactions were numerous, and his fiancée wasn’t even dead yet.  Of course, it was true that he wasn’t promiscuous; many people more attractive than Ruan Jiao had approached him, but he remained unmoved, avoiding them.

…I’m different.  Su Yao thought.  If she met someone who matched her preferences, she’d definitely feel them up and get their contact info.  It’s a pity that her favorite face belonged to the Sereya Emperor.

The Crown Prince left angrily, his classmates following quickly; the remaining nobles soon dispersed, the few unconscious ones carried away.

“Your Highness.” Su Yao addressed the Prince who remained.  “How difficult would it be to break off my engagement with your cousin?”

Dylan turned.  “Are you serious? Why?”

“Why?”

Su Yao repeated, “Because I’ve fallen for Kaiser III—do you believe that? Of course it’s because I don’t like your cousin!  That’s why I don’t want to marry him. What else could it be?”

“Hahahaha,” Dylan laughed uncontrollably, “You just like Emperor Seleia’s face, and probably his body too.  Just secretly make a bio-android that looks like him, or find a lover with shapeshifting abilities.”

Su Yao’s face remained impassive. “Can we talk about something serious?”

But he had a point.

In the book, the neighboring emperor was just a background character whose name was mentioned, seemingly having no interaction with the protagonists.

Even less so with someone like her, a mere cannon fodder.

So Dylan’s solution—something to try after resolving these messes—was acceptable.

“Besides, how many of us truly love our husbands or wives? We can each do our own thing. Having two children who can inherit your surnames and titles is enough.”

The silver-haired man said casually, “Of course, if you really hate him that much, propose a broken engagement to the Royal Internal Affairs Department, but they’ll likely stall you.”

Su Yao nodded. “I signed an agreement when I got engaged to him…”

“Listen, sweetheart,” Dylan interrupted her, “You can’t take that agreement entirely seriously. The problem is, if you break the engagement, the Crown Prince won’t find an S-level match with a compatibility rate exceeding 50%, so they won’t easily agree. They have ways to put you off.”

Su Yao was also worried about this. “Is there any chance the Crown Prince will propose breaking it off himself?”

Dylan sneered, “From what I know of him, not for now. And once you try to make a big deal out of this, to avoid negative publicity for the Crown Prince, they’ll definitely smear you first.  Including what happened between you and me today, everything will be used against you.”

“However,” he changed his tone, “Emperor Seleia’s part will be erased, because no one dares to provoke him. They’ll only say you cheated on the prince with me during your engagement.”

“Interesting,” Su Yao twitched her lips, “I thought they would bring out the photos of me touching your chest, saying I defiled His Majesty, and hopefully make him hate me enough to kill me.”

“No,” Dylan shook his head, “I said no one dares to provoke him, in any form. Even if he’s truly angered by your actions, before killing you, he might eliminate everyone involved.”

Su Yao: “Are you serious?”

Dylan: “I only know it’s effortless for him, and the Royal Internal Affairs Department knows that too, so they wouldn’t dare try.”

“Wow,” Su Yao sighed, “And you still dared to impersonate him?  And you even told me to find a lover who can transform like that?”

Dylan chuckled lightly, “…I don’t care. I never really wanted to live that long anyway. As for others, there are plenty of people who are not afraid of death for money.”

Su Yao fell silent.

Dylan was several years older than Brian. If he had inherited his mother’s bloodline, according to the Olai royal succession law, he would have been the first heir.

Unfortunately, there were no ifs.

In the original story, he was undoubtedly the villain.

Because of some grudges between the older generation, he hated the Crown Prince and the King.

“…Besides, if most people didn’t know what he looked like, I bet many would secretly do this kind of thing.”

Dylan said casually, “Also, thank you for letting me watch a good show, Duke.”

He enjoyed watching the Crown Prince be unhappy.

So even if he was used by the Crown Prince’s fiancée, he didn’t mind at all.

After the prince left, Su Yao returned to the banquet hall.

Some guests remained, and those in the know were gossiping about what had just happened.

As soon as the protagonist appeared, their gazes turned towards her.

Su Yao calmly walked into the crowd, starting to chat with them, while paying attention to whether subtitles appeared above their heads.

The previous owner had a deeper impression of those with high bloodline levels, and apparently had spent time memorizing their appearances while preparing for the banquet.

Su Yao did the opposite, specifically choosing to talk to unfamiliar guests.

Because these people’s bloodline levels might be relatively lower.

She greeted many people, but found nothing.

“…Duke, you’re a student at Olai Military University, aren’t you?”

Su Yao suddenly stopped.

Above the person talking to her, a few broken letters appeared.

Su Yao nodded. “I am.”

The previous owner had indeed chosen that school, not only because of the engagement to the Crown Prince, but also because it was indeed one of the best universities in Olai.

However, due to a series of troublesome matters related to inheriting the title, the previous owner had taken a leave of absence for a while.

Su Yao smiled, “What’s wrong?”

The man was stunned. “What?”

Then his face lit up, apparently surprised that the Duke was willing to talk to him.

“My son is going to take the spring entrance exam!”

The man pulled the young boy beside him who was hanging his head low. “I think you young people have more to talk about—”

The boy’s head lowered further, as if suffering from social anxiety. He stammered a greeting, burying his head like an ostrich, motionless.

His fair and delicate face was flushed red.

Su Yao’s gaze fell on his head.

【…Don’t look at me…Don’t…Why…Ugh…Next time I’ll definitely not come to this kind of…】

Su Yao didn’t say anything to embarrass the socially anxious gentleman, but silently walked past them, and heard the father’s disappointed reprimand of his son behind her.

She walked half a circle in the banquet hall before encountering another person with clear words appearing above their head.

This one wasn’t so shy, and they chatted happily for a while.

When Su Yao felt tired and hungry again, she left the banquet hall, opened her optical brain, called up the list of invited guests, and searched through them one by one.

—The two people with proper subtitles were both D-level.

They were both cross-generational inheritors, but unlike her, the ancestral bloodline they inherited was lower than their parents’.

Occasionally, a few C-level individuals had letters appearing above their heads, but they barely formed words or phrases.

This time, she directly took the elevator to the rooftop, found a random bedroom in this resort castle, opened the door through biometric verification, and then fell asleep on the bed.

Boundless darkness descended.

She began to fall again.

Su Yao sat on barren land strewn with craters and bones.

An overwhelming shadow enveloped her, and a heavy dark mist rose from the surface, the mist swirling and pulsating as if alive.

A tall figure vaguely emerged from the mist.

“…This time it should work.”

A low, mellow male voice came from the mist.

The man slowly stepped out of the black mist, silently standing before her.

“You like this, right?”

Su Yao stared at him in shock.

The man had an exceptionally exquisite face, with obvious mixed-race features.

A head of jet-black curly hair was like seaweed, setting off his snow-white flawless skin, his brows deep, his features sharp, both flamboyant and handsome, beautiful with an aggressive aura.

His light and translucent eyes were like diamonds reflecting light in water, his pure black vertical pupils as sharp as blades.

“?”

Su Yao didn’t focus too much on his face.

She looked at the naked male body.

Broad shoulders, narrow waist, long legs, an impeccable golden ratio.

Every line was perfect and strong, every muscle showed unparalleled strength, like a statue of silver and marble enshrined in a temple.

Then—

Su Yao subconsciously shifted her gaze.

She froze.

Su Yao: “?!?!?!?”

First, a size that was completely beyond human comprehension.

And why are there two?!

Had she finally gone mad?

In the chaotic dream, she forgot she was in another world, forgot the influence of bloodlines on people, forgot many new things.

She was shocked by this bizarre scene and woke up from her dream again.