Albedo's languid gaze, tinged with amusement, swept over the empty treasury before settling on Duke. Her red lips parted slightly, and her voice carried a magnetism that was both intoxicating and unnerving. "Heh~ My dear little Duke, you finally summoned me after all this time. I was starting to miss you. This little box seems rather interesting."
Her gaze then shifted to the small wooden box on the stone platform, a barely perceptible flicker of surprise crossing her eyes.
The Rule Barrier that had left Duke helpless seemed not to exist in her eyes.
Albedo seemed to have already sensed what was inside the wooden box, and it had piqued her interest.
She studied Duke with amusement, as though looking at an entertaining toy.
Rather than immediately turning her attention to the wooden box on the stone platform, Albedo walked barefoot up to Duke. With a playful smile, she extended a slender, jade-like finger until it nearly touched his chin.
"How surprising~ My dear little Duke, I never imagined you would come into contact with something on this level. You certainly haven't disappointed me." Her voice held a cloyingly sweet, dangerous magnetism.
Although her fingertip never actually touched him, Duke felt a cold presence brush over his skin, supremely seductive yet utterly dangerous, making even his soul seem to tremble.
It was an instinctive fear rooted in both body and soul, born of the enormous gap between their strength and life levels.
Duke forced himself to steady his mind and stepped back half a pace, evading that intangible teasing.
"Albedo, I need your help," Duke said bluntly, keeping his tone calm. "The barrier around that wooden box, I
can't break through it."
Albedo seemed to have seen through the barrier's nature with just a couple of glances.
She looked back