Mist Empire’s Rise: Fake Noble to Fog Queen

Luo Wei grumbled inwardly but displayed just the right amount of surprise on her face.

"Your former classroom? Could it be that you were a senior student in the Advanced Division?"

Wordsworth lowered his arms, the flames in his eyes dimming.

[I used to be, but not anymore.]

"Why?" Luo Wei probed carefully. "Is it because you graduated?"

Wordsworth remained silent, staring blankly at the Advanced Division's church, as if overwhelmed by waves of sorrow.

"Ah, could it be..." Luo Wei suddenly covered her mouth, her dark pupils darting around, "Could it be that you... passed away before graduation?"

She blinked her big eyes, which sparkled with excitement: "Senior, um, may I ask about the cause of your early death?"

"Was it suicide or murder?"

"Did you take your own life due to academic pressure?"

"Or was it a crime of passion? A love triangle? A forbidden male romance?"

Wordsworth's melancholy mood was abruptly broken.

[None of those! Stop making wild guesses!]

He felt this junior was being too nosy. If he didn't speak up to clear his name, his reputation might be forever tarnished.

[I didn't die at the academy. I was already a soul before I entered the academy.]

Finally got him to confess, Luo Wei's lips curved slightly in a quick smile.

"What, a soul? But I've never heard that Siria Magic Academy accepts undead students?" she asked with even more surprise.

[Of course the academy doesn't accept them. I had to disguise myself to successfully sneak in. If I hadn't exposed my identity while saving someone, I would have already graduated from here!]

As soon as the words slipped out, half his secrets were revealed. Wordsworth suddenly realized his mistake and fearfully hid behind a tree.

Even through the thick trunk, Luo Wei could feel the regret and helplessness radiating from him.

"Don't worry, senior. I won't tell anyone."

She placed the oil lamp on a raised tree root and slowly backed away on her tiptoes.

"This lantern is a gift for you. Don't put candles on the windowsill anymore - they not only go out easily but could also cause fires."

"I'm leaving now. Goodbye."

The footsteps gradually faded away, but the oil lamp remained on the tree root, its warm light illuminating the leaf-covered ground.

After a while, a dark head peeked out from behind the tree trunk.

The girl had disappeared, leaving only the quietly burning oil lamp.

Wordsworth stared at the lamp, reached out to touch it, then quickly withdrew his hand. After a moment, he reached out again and picked up the lamp by its handle.

For him?

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How did she know he liked light?

This junior was strange - their first meeting she scared him with a face full of blood, their second meeting she asked if he was murdered or committed suicide. He should have been angry, but she gave him a gift.

Undead are creatures of darkness - they can't emit light, nor do they like being illuminated.

Wordsworth was an exception. He happily hugged the oil lamp as he floated into the church.

Under the willow tree across the stone bridge, Luo Wei watched this scene and narrowed her eyes thoughtfully.

Rather than a puppet master, Wordsworth seemed more like a manufactured puppet.

His mindset and behavior were somewhat childish, unlike an experienced and calculating adult.

No rush - she had already gotten him to open up tonight. It would be much easier to get information from him in the future.

Luo Wei lowered her head and pulled out a crumpled piece of parchment from her sleeve. Fortunately it wasn't too damaged, or she would have had to redraw it.

She folded the parchment into a small cube and tucked it into her money pouch, then walked towards the student council office in the dark.

After seven days of exploration, she had successfully mastered the art of slacking off.

She didn't actually need to walk the full circuit around the academy walls - she just needed to check in at the plaza entrance every three hours to leave her aura on the warning line.

Luo Wei entered the student council office, which was completely empty - even the owls were absent.

Spring was approaching, and with field mice becoming more active after consuming their stored food, the owls had been busy hunting them at night lately, usually not returning until dawn.

Luo Wei pushed some chairs together, laid down a cushion, and comfortably settled in.

Before falling asleep, she summoned Nicole and earnestly instructed the spider to wake her up in two and a half hours.

Nicole tilted its fuzzy head, hopped to her pillow side, and fixed its large black eyes on her unblinkingly.

"Nicole is a little alarm clock."

Luo Wei lay on her side, poking its paw while trying to hold back her laughter.

Nicole raised its pedipalps, swaying left and right on its eight legs.

No, Nicole is a little spider.

"You're definitely an alarm clock," Luo Wei poked it again and closed her eyes. "Alright, I'm going to sleep now. Good night, Nicole."

Nicole lowered its pedipalps and curled up its legs, its dark eyes reflecting Luo Wei's peaceful sleeping face.

Having slept less than three hours in the afternoon, Luo Wei fell into dreamland as soon as she closed her eyes.

Her dreams were chaotic, with heavy dark clouds that seemed about to crash to the ground.

She stood on a barren mountain outside the city, looking up at something.

A crow's cry split the sky, the dark clouds shattered, and golden light poured through the gaps between the clouds.

Angels descended from the distant clouds, carrying divine wrath as they descended through the pillar of light.

Blood-colored mist spread, and divine might manifested as two giant lidless eyeballs appeared in the sky. Their cold gaze locked onto her, slowly closing in, as if observing a tiny speck of dust.

Found you, blasphemer.

She has blasphemed against the divine, kill her!

Kill her!

Countless murmurs echoed in her ears, accompanied by a strange itching sensation.

Unable to bear the intense itching, Luo Wei raised her hand to scratch her ear, but her hand hit the chair back, suddenly jolting her awake.

Nicole jumped down from beside her ear, waving its legs to catch her attention.

Luo Wei sat up in a daze and looked at Nicole: "Was I just dreaming?"

Nicole raised its legs and anxiously circled around on the chair.

"Is it time already?"

Nicole jumped to the ground, tugged at her skirt, then hopped to the window, turned around to face the closed stained glass, and kept waving its legs.

"You want to go out and play? Alright, alright..."

Luo Wei walked over and opened the window a crack for it.

"BOOM—"

A thunderclap exploded in the sky, and a strong gust of wind suddenly blew the window wide open, making her hair dance wildly.

Lightning flashed across the pitch-black night, followed by another thunderous boom, and a faint golden light flickered between the dark clouds.

Luo Wei stared intently at that gleam of light in the sky. So what she saw that morning wasn't an illusion - there really was something flying in that light.

What could it be?

She recalled the dream she just had, and her pupils contracted.

Could it be... angels?

These angels... they couldn't all be coming to capture her, could they?

Good heavens, just yesterday she thought she had found an escape route, but today she found herself in another dead end. Indeed, one shouldn't be too proud, or joy will turn to sorrow.

After three breaths of self-reflection, Luo Wei decisively pulled out the turtle shell she had neglected for several days and gently stroked its green, glossy back.

"It was my fault for neglecting you. From now on, I'll remember to touch you every day to check for good and bad omens."

She closed her eyes, held her breath, and entered the star chart in her spiritual world.

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