Chapter 180: Unexpected Ally in This World (1)

After a while, the servants finally finished installing the communication device. The slight gap of the device slowly glowed with pale green light, indicating that the connection request had already been sent.

At the same time, several small runic formations quietly spread around the device before forming a transparent barrier across the room.

The communication setting had already been configured into a completely private channel. Only the chosen participants inside the connection would be able to hear each other’s voices. Even the others standing nearby would hear nothing at all.

Clearly, Princess Lovia had specifically prepared this device for a confidential conversation with Ruvian alone. Now, all they could do was wait for the other side to answer.

"But honestly, I don’t think she’s going to answer." Silvena said while crossing her arms. "Even if it’s the weekend, she’s still a princess. I doubt she’s free enough to casually accept calls whenever she wants. We probably should’ve written a letter first and arranged a proper time with her."

Ruvian remained silent while staring at the device.

Then suddenly...

Bzzzt.

The communication device emitted a faint hum before it brightened. The connection had been accepted almost immediately.

"Huh? I guess she’s free," Irene lightly commented while taking another bite of her honey-glazed bread.

Silvena blinked blankly at the glowing device.

"I... I guess."

A moment later, the light above the device slowly condensed before taking shape into the figure of a young golden-haired woman seated behind an extremely luxurious desk.

The moment the projection stabilized completely, Lovia immediately raised her head.

"Oh, you’re awake already?" she said. "That was faster than I expected."

The moment they recognized the figure in front of them, both Silvena and Irene immediately straightened themselves.

Silvena lowered her head slightly and placed a hand over her chest in a respectful gesture. Meanwhile, Irene quickly swallowed the bread inside her mouth before awkwardly giving a small bow as well.

Only Ruvian did not move at all.

He simply stood there quietly while staring directly at her projection with a calm but serious expression.

"Let’s cut to the chase and speak directly," Ruvian said curtly. "What exactly do you want from me?" His expression remained neutral, yet his gaze had already turned unusually sharp.

Lovia merely smiled in response.

"Haa~ can’t you at least loosen up a little?"

She slowly closed her eyes for a brief moment before opening them again.

"This is the first time we’ve talked to each other after, what — six weeks already? That’s honestly a new record for us, you know? We rarely even missed a single day of our daily conversations before."

The smile on her face slowly became more cunning.

"Am I right, Spicy?"

Ruvian immediately let out a long sigh before placing a hand over his face.

"So it was you all along, Duchess."

Across the projection, Lovia simply leaned back against her chair with a satisfied smile on her face.

"Hihi~ Did I get caught?"

Ruvian ignored her comment entirely before turning toward Silvena and Irene.

"Can the two of you leave us alone for a moment?"

Even though the private barrier already prevented others from hearing their conversation, Ruvian still preferred taking an even more careful approach.

Silvena looked slightly confused by the sudden request, while Irene merely blinked quietly.

The two of them exchanged glances for a brief moment before eventually nodding.

"Sure," Silvena said while letting out a small sigh.

A moment later, both of them quietly left the room, leaving only Ruvian alone in front of the glowing communication device.

*****

"So, it was you who took Zian away."

Ruvian said that while letting out a long sigh.

"Well, how was I supposed to know that you also got transmigrated into this novel?"

Lovia replied while puffing her cheeks slightly.

"At that time, I had no choice but to rely on Zian’s strength. But waiting for him to get expelled naturally would take way too long, so I thought why not just bring him over immediately?"

Ruvian stared at her silently with a completely dumbfounded expression.

’What the hell is she even thinking...?’

"Listen, Duchess," Ruvian said while rubbing his forehead. "Do you even realize the butterfly effect you’ve caused?"

"Oh, come on. What’s so wrong about it?" Lovia complained immediately. "I only did that to survive. Bringing Zian to my side early was obviously the safest option."

’Well, what Duchess did was not entirely wrong either.’

Even if she had transferred herself into Velthia Academy, it honestly would not accomplish much. Zian’s actual story only truly began during the Wellencrest Arc anyway. So from a certain perspective, bringing him away early was indeed the more efficient choice.

"But what about the system?" Ruvian suddenly asked.

The moment that question came out, Lovia awkwardly rubbed her cheek with one finger.

"Ahem... well... about that..."

Ruvian immediately narrowed his eyes. For some reason, he suddenly had a very bad feeling about this.

"Don’t tell me..."

"Okay, okay! I admit it!" Lovia quickly raised both hands defensively. "I didn’t think about it properly when I brought him here. I even saved his family too, alright? They’re all completely fine. But because I interfered with his canon event..."

"—He never obtained the system?" Ruvian finished for her while slowly facepalming himself.

"Haa~ Yea, I fucked it, okay?!" Lovia shouted while smacking the table.

"I forgot to consider the canon event part! Ah, fuck me, I seriously can’t believe I forgot something that goddamn important. But honestly, that shitty-ass system was fucking useless anyway. Nothing but a pain in the ass. So screw it. He’s better off without it, to be fair."

"Haa... Duchess. Language."

Ruvian sighed tiredly.

But she was right.

Although the system had indeed played a massive role in Zian’s growth, eventually, it would also become the very thing that ruined him.

Zian was simply too soft-hearted.

At the beginning, his desire to become stronger came from a genuine wish to protect the people precious to him. That determination alone pushed him forward again and again.

But later in the story, he gradually lost too many people around him — his friends, companions and some other people that he failed to save. In the end, all of that slowly shattered his spirit apart. Because the system itself reflected the will and mental condition of its user, so Zian’s declining emotional state eventually began weakening his abilities as well.

The more broken he became mentally, the weaker the system responded to him.

’Well... no matter.’

Ruvian quietly narrowed his eyes.

’I already abandoned the idea of relying on Zian’s strength ever since that day anyway.’

’However, now that nobody has claimed the power of that system... doesn’t that mean it’s still vacant for someone who meets the requirements to attain it?’

After a brief silence, Ruvian lifted his gaze back toward Lovia’s projection. "Anyway, tell me every change you’ve caused ever since you transmigrated into that body."

His eyes narrowed.

"And after that, I’ll share mine as well."

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[Chapter 180: Unexpected Ally in This World (1)]