Chapter 6: Ophariel

Sitting in the chair, carefully examining the girl before him, Julian couldn’t help but feel curious.

At first glance, she seemed even younger than Julian’s current physical body. Her light purple hair was as smooth as silk, reaching down to her waist. A white hairband parted her soft bangs, revealing a delicate and beautiful face. Her sapphire blue eyes were as beautiful as jewels, and her pale pink lips were slightly parted, revealing a sweet smile. A white off-the-shoulder dress perfectly outlined her slender and graceful figure. Gloves reaching past her elbows covered her slender arms and hands. White fabric boots made the girl look more lively, while the black gold-edged cloak she wore behind her perfectly complemented its owner, displaying a hint of scholarly air.

No matter how you looked at it, this was a beautiful girl, but for Julian, it had a different meaning.

If his memory was correct (referring to this body’s memory, not Julian’s soul memory), he had definitely heard this name before. After all, there’s no country where citizens wouldn’t know the names of the royal family members ruling their country.

“If I remember correctly, I’ve heard this name before,” Julian casually picked up the teacup beside him and looked at the girl.

“Ophariel Wester – this seems to be the name of our country’s First Princess, isn’t it?”

Faced with Julian’s inquiry, the girl didn’t answer, but her expression darkened considerably.

“It used to be… now… it’s not anymore.”

There was deep regret, sorrow, and pain in the girl’s voice.

Julian didn’t have much information about this princess. He only knew from this body’s memories that this princess was born in the fifteenth month of the Year of Scattered Flowers, and was one of the most popular royal members in the Kingdom of Wester. This was not only because of her unparalleled beauty and melodious singing voice, but also because this princess had considerable political acumen and a good reputation among the nobility. But as the saying goes, heaven is jealous of talent. When she was sixteen, this princess suddenly fell ill and died, which caused a great stir throughout the Kingdom of Wester… This was thirty years ago.

As for Felix’s memory, it came from his parents. After all, his parents were at least members of the nobility, and they had to know about these things, even if it wasn’t necessary. They even often taught Felix, hoping he could become a smart, talented, and capable noble like that princess.

Of course, out of respect for the royal family, it seems that no one spread rumors, but now it appears that this princess’s death was obviously not as simple as a sudden illness.

Even though Ophariel didn’t say it explicitly, Julian could be sure that she was killed, and it was murder.
The First Princess of a country being murdered was by no means something that could be glossed over lightly.
“Who was the murderer?” Julian immediately got to the point. He knew very well that the murderer certainly wasn’t the nobles who previously lived in this castle. Otherwise, they would have been executed and their family exterminated long ago. How could the royal family possibly allow them to leave?

But this made things very strange. The sudden death of a royal member due to illness was a common tactic used to deceive the public. This tactic might work to fool ordinary people, but the royal family and nobles certainly wouldn’t see it that way. Especially since rumors said this princess was quite good at dealing with people and had a good reputation among both the royal family and nobles. Her death couldn’t possibly be brushed off lightly; someone would surely have doubts about it. Although the royal family held great power, the nobles’ influence was not small either. The death of the First Princess was a big deal, and no one would be indifferent to it.

However, faced with this question from Julian, Ophariel didn’t answer. She just shook her head slowly with a sorrowful expression.

“Then, let me ask a different question,” seeing that she was unwilling to answer, Julian didn’t pursue the matter further. After all, that was her own business. What came next was Julian’s business.
“What do you plan to do next?”

“Do what?” Hearing this, the girl was slightly stunned. She raised her head, her eyes full of confusion and bewilderment.

This was understandable. After all, she had been dead for over thirty years. If it weren’t for Julian’s appearance, Ophariel would probably have continued to exist in the form of a Demon Soul Wraith forever. For a Demon Soul Wraith without rationality or intelligence, time was meaningless. But now that she had regained her consciousness, she naturally couldn’t live as before. However, Ophariel herself was very clear that she was now just a ghost, not a human. How could someone like her have the right to hope for a future?

“I don’t know…” Ophariel thought for a moment, then gently shook her head and lowered her eyes to look at the ground.

“I don’t know what I should do, I can’t think of what I should do.”

“In that case, how about we make a deal?” Julian put the teacup back on the table and looked at Ophariel, who remained silent, waiting for his next words.

“I can help you restore your form – I can help you create a real, existing form so you can live like a human. Of course, that doesn’t mean you’ll become human, but I think that should be enough. But in exchange, I hope you can serve me. How does that condition sound?”

“Are you a mage?” Hearing this, Ophariel showed surprise for the first time. She curiously looked at the young man before her, who was only slightly older than herself, unable to see any sign of him being a mage.
“No,” Julian smiled and shook his head, denying Ophariel’s guess.

“I am a knight. But that’s not important. What’s important to me is your answer.”

Julian noticed that Ophariel was looking at him fearlessly, without any shyness on her face. This proved from another angle the credibility of those rumors in his memory. This princess indeed possessed considerable royal demeanor. She wasn’t like those flowers in a greenhouse who would feel shy and embarrassed. Moreover, her self-control ability was astonishingly strong. After all, she was able to use her rationality to control the Demon Soul instinct that was on the verge of collapse and rampage after seeing a human. This alone was enough to arouse Julian’s interest. In fact, even Julian himself couldn’t be sure if he could remain as calm as the princess before him if he became a similar wraith.

“You need me,” those sapphire blue eyes sparkled with wisdom.

“That’s right,” Julian didn’t deny this point.

“But you’re just a small lord,” Ophariel’s lips curled slightly, revealing a confident smile.

“And I am a royal princess, the First Princess.”

“You were in the past, you used to be, but now you’re not anymore,” faced with Ophariel’s words, Julian showed no sign of backing down. He looked at that beautiful face, not hiding his admiring gaze at all. After all, beautiful women are always pleasing to the eye, and a beautiful and intelligent woman is even more so.

“You’re right,” hearing these words, Ophariel didn’t feel lost, nor did she feel sad or helpless. On the contrary, she nodded firmly.

“Now, I’m just an ordinary person… and I think exchanges always come at a price. I don’t have the capital to bargain now, so I can’t think of any reason to refuse your proposal. I don’t want to go back to my previous life, that fear, emptiness, and the chaotic pain of losing rationality, I never want to experience again. Rather than returning to that state, I’d rather choose an unfamiliar and unknown future…”

As she spoke, a hint of determination appeared in Ophariel’s eyes.

“After all, this is the path I’ve chosen.”

“Very good,” faced with Ophariel’s answer, Julian nodded with satisfaction, then stood up and walked to the girl’s side. At this moment, Ophariel was floating in the air. She looked curiously and uneasily at the young man walking towards her, suddenly feeling a bit flustered.

“What are you going to do? Don’t you need a magic array or some incantation?”

“I said, I’m not a mage, but a knight,” Julian’s smile was elegant and gentle, full of confidence and pride.

“There’s no need for such complicated preparations. I have a simpler way to help you complete this body…” Saying this, Julian paused. He noticed Ophariel’s confused gaze. “You possess powerful shadow magic. This magic didn’t leave your soul even after your death. However, I’ve never heard that you were a mage?”

“I’m not a mage,” Ophariel shook her head in confusion.

“I don’t know anything about shadow magic either… I just feel that there’s a powerful force deep in my soul, and when I was alive, I never felt these things.”

“This might be related to your Demon Soul Wraith form,” strong obsession plus rampant magic power bound Ophariel’s soul. Perhaps it was because of this that the shadow magic sleeping in her body awakened. However, Julian was just guessing. In fact, he quite believed Ophariel’s words. If this princess had been detected to have the talent to use shadow magic when she was alive, she would probably have been protected like a rare animal by those mages. How could she have died in such an obscure place from a murder?

“But you don’t need to understand these things,” Julian didn’t dwell on this matter and continued his words.

“I think you should be able to skillfully use this power. So what I’m going to do now is to condense a core in your soul. Later, you just need to concentrate and fill that core with power. I think this shouldn’t be a problem for you.”

“I understand,” watching Julian step by step approaching, Ophariel’s expression was a bit stiff, but she quickly nodded and replied. Hearing the answer, Julian revealed a strange smile, then he reached out his hand towards the girl’s chest.
Although knowing that she was a soul body and couldn’t be touched by mortals, seeing Julian’s action, Ophariel’s first reaction was still to cross her arms in front of her chest, trying to step back and avoid it. However, Julian didn’t stop because of this. On the contrary, he extended his arm, and soon, his right hand passed through Ophariel’s arms and chest, entering her body.

For Julian, the soul before him was just a soul body. Although she looked as if she was in physical form, reaching out would definitely not encounter any obstruction. After all, in front of Julian, there was only air. So, after determining that he had grasped the source of her magic, Julian closed his eyes.

“Demise.”

With Julian’s whisper, the surrounding light suddenly dimmed, then powerful energy began to rotate, condense, and change form around the palm of his right hand.
For Ophariel, this was a different experience.

For the girl, this was also the first time in her life that she let a man “enter” her body. For Ophariel, this naturally made her feel anxious, uneasy, and a bit shy. But then, she felt her body getting hotter and hotter, an indescribable comfortable feeling was washing over her soul. That scorching heat like waves was rampaging inside the girl’s body, and with the washing of these waves, Ophariel felt her body getting hotter and hotter. She bit her lip hard, trying not to make any sound, but couldn’t stop this from continuing. Then, Ophariel only felt something inside her body suddenly contract, and then abundant and powerful scorching energy burst forth, almost breaking the dam of the girl’s rationality.

“Now!