Rise of the Lustful Evil Monarch (Re)-Chapter 533: An Ice Coffin (1)

Third Person's POV

Instead, his posture remained lowered and his body slightly hunched as he held his unconscious grandson carefully in his arms.

His eyes were cast downward, and his expression subdued and respectful to the point of near submission.

Even his aura had been deliberately restrained.

He did not dare to look at her, not even once, because he understood very clearly that the woman standing before them was not someone he could afford to acknowledge lightly.

Meanwhile, seeing the frost soul orchid swaying violently under the relentless pressure of the chaotic winds and colliding shockwaves with its slender crystalline stem bending again and again as if it would be torn from its roots at any given moment, the blue-haired woman's expression shifted subtly.

It was as if a sudden realization had struck her mind and brought clarity to something she had not paid attention to before.

A faint glimmer of understanding passed through her half-lidded cloudy blue eyes as she turned toward Arlene, and a trace of mischief once again surfaced on her lips as she spoke in a light, teasing tone that carried a strange undertone.

"Hehe… so this is the treasure for which you endured so many hardships and ventured into such a dangerous place without even informing your dear aunt?"

Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly, and her smile deepened in a way that felt both affectionate and unsettling at the same time.

"What would I have done if something had happened to you, hmm?"

As she said this, her tone subtly shifted near the end, growing heavier and more serious.

But instead of feeling reassured by her words, Arlene felt a strange chill crawl up her spine and her skin started prickling faintly as a sense of discomfort spread through her.

The concern in her aunt's voice did not feel natural to her, nor did it resemble anything she had ever experienced from her before.

And rather than easing her mind, it created an odd and suffocating feeling that made her instinctively wary.

The blue-haired woman continued in a calm and almost idle voice,

"And it seems that if I do not take action immediately, all your efforts and the dangerous trials you endured for this opportunity will go to waste because of this reckless battle between that beast and this rather disappointing aura master."

Hearing those words, Arlene's eyes widened slightly as a flicker of panic surfaced within them, though she suppressed it almost instantly and forced her expression to remain composed, even as her thoughts began to surge uncontrollably beneath that calm exterior.

She did not trust this woman who was supposed to be her aunt in the slightest, and a part of her was already convinced that her aunt had followed them secretly, waiting patiently for the right moment to seize whatever treasure she had come here to obtain for herself.

According to the knowledge she had gathered from the leather bound tome she carried, this frost soul orchid was no ordinary herb but a treasure especially sought after by Sky Realm mages.

It was something so rare and valuable that it could assist in breaking through realms that were otherwise nearly impossible to cross by normal methods, making it a blessing that could alter the very trajectory of one's ascension path.

It was precisely because of this value that her suspicions toward her aunt had taken root so deeply because her aunt was also a Sky Realm mage.

At the same time, she even used this reasoning to justify her belief that her father had deliberately not sent her aunt along on this expedition, though in truth she had unknowingly ignored the fact that much of this conclusion was shaped more by her own bias and unease than by any solid evidence.

However, regardless of whether her suspicions were correct or not, she knew one thing clearly and it was that she could not stop her.

The blue-haired woman was far too powerful, and even if her protector in this expedition, armored aura master had been standing beside her at this moment, there was no certainty that he would oppose her aunt at her command, as his duty was limited to ensuring her safety and not engaging in conflicts beyond that purpose.

And even if he did choose to fight, Arlene was not confident that he possessed the strength required to hold her aunt back.

While these thoughts clashed violently within her mind, growing more chaotic with each passing second, she suddenly noticed that the blue-haired woman had already moved.

She rose lightly into the air and crossed over the towering ice wall she had created earlier, her figure gliding effortlessly across the cavern as if the raging battlefield below held no meaning to her at all.

She passed through the storm of snow and shattered ice as though it were nothing more than a passing breeze. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

In the next moment, she landed gently upon the small island at the center of the pond, her movements graceful and completely unhurried, as if she were merely taking a casual stroll rather than stepping into the heart of a dangerous battlefield.

Now standing before the frost soul orchid, she finally observed it from close range, and it was at that moment that her expression changed.

A faint frown appeared on her face as her eyes focused intently on the delicate plant.

'Something is wrong...'

Even though the orchid appeared to be in full bloom, its crystal blue petals gleaming with a rich and mesmerizing shine while its twin dark blue blossoms swayed faintly at the top, it did not radiate the strong vitality or dense icy essence that such a rare and powerful herb should naturally possess.

Instead, what she sensed was strangely hollow, as if the brilliance of its appearance was merely a surface illusion that concealed an emptiness beneath, lacking the depth and life that should have been present within it.

Meanwhile, Arlene, who had been observing her aunt closely, noticed this subtle change in her expression, and in that instant, the chaotic storm of suspicion and fear within her mind stilled abruptly as a different realization began to form.