A Mysterious Connection

Lily Bai asked, "Aunt Serena, does Lord River Drake treat you well?"

"He treats me extremely well," Serena replied.

"Has Snow Yuan been making things difficult for you these past few years?" Lily pressed.

Serena shook her head. "No, not at all."

"You don't have to hide it from us," Lily said. "After what she did today, we just can't believe you!"

"Really, she hasn't!" Serena insisted. "Lily, honestly, the reason she keeps targeting you isn't because of me—it's actually because of you."

"Because of me?" Lily was puzzled. "What do you mean? Isn't it because Lord River Drake favors you, so she takes it out on us?"

"I only found out recently that's not the case," Serena said. "I've heard it's because you look a lot like her old romantic rival. That's why she doesn't like you."

"What? Her romantic rival? Who?"

"I don't know exactly who," Serena admitted. "The man she liked lost that woman—she died. Snow Yuan never got over it, so when she first saw you, she was really shaken."

Lily thought back to the first time she met Snow Yuan.

It was when Aunt Serena had just given birth to Yao Yao, and Lily came to visit with her mother.

The moment Snow Yuan saw her, her pupils widened and she grabbed Lily's wrist, demanding to know who she was.

So... it was because Lily looked like her rival in love?

Could her rival be... Lucia Lu?

Lily asked, "Aunt Serena, have you ever heard the name 'Lucia Lu'?"

Serena replied, "No, who is she?"

Lily shook her head and stayed silent.

She decided to ask the Damian persona summoned by the Lovebound Summoning Art.

That night, she set up a Spirit Barrier in her bedroom and summoned Damian once again.

This time, she was much calmer than before.

As soon as Damian appeared, Lily made him sit properly and forbade any wandering hands.

He was obedient and sat up straight.

"Tell me, if you're just my imagination, how do you know things I don't?"

"I can't know anything else. I only know things about Damian Black," he replied.

"Why can you know about him?"

"Because I share a certain connection with him."

"What kind of connection?"

"A... mysterious connection."

"What kind of mysterious connection?"

"I don't know either."

"...Alright," Lily said. "Let me ask you, who is Lucia Lu? You must know that, right?"

Damian replied, "I know."

"Tell me! Who is she? Does she really look like me? Why did Lian Lian say she's a taboo?"

"Mm. She is a taboo," Damian confirmed.

"Go on," Lily urged.

"If she's a taboo, then naturally I can't talk about her," he said.

"...Damian, I'm ordering you to tell me!" Lily demanded.

He stood up and walked over to her. "You summoned me in the middle of the night just to ask me this?"

"Yep!" Lily replied.

Damian's face darkened. "Nothing else?"

"What else could there be?"

Damian turned away and vanished.

"Hey! I didn't tell you to leave. Why did you disappear on your own?"

Lily kept using the Lovebound Summoning Art, but he refused to come out again.

"What's going on? Why won't he answer my call? Is he angry? What is he mad about?"

Lily thought for a while, then covered her face. "He wanted me to say I summoned him because I wanted to see him! I'm so... wicked! Ahh!"

...

The next day, Aunt Serena called Lily over and dressed her in a stunning Celestial Robe.