Vina lifted his teacup and took a sip, then supported it with his right hand while wrapping his left around it.
Taufman held his cup in one hand and took a large gulp, slowly turning it between his fingertips.
"Ophelia was infected," Taufman said. "You could tell she'd been poisoned. She was very listless."
"Yes, I noticed that too." Vina nodded. "But when Ophelia appeared before us, there wasn't the slightest trace of pollution on her."
"We can't make arrangements like this again. We were lucky nothing happened to Ophelia this time."
"No matter how good the arrangements, unexpected variables will always arise. That's perfectly normal. As long as the outcome is good, that's enough."
Taufman smiled faintly and asked, "But was the outcome really good?"
Vina took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled. "Perhaps we could call Ophelia over now and question her more closely."
"Why add 'perhaps'?" Taufman asked.
"And why would you ask that?" Vina said with a wry smile.
"Ever since that unidentified Light Remnant activated the formation in my villa's master bedroom and teleported into Snake Island, I've known Ophelia was hiding things from me.
"For instance, why was Kallen in my villa then? My guards had no record of any outside visitors. At the time, Ophelia sat in front of me and told me she intended to cut off that little bit of affection she had for Kallen.
"Then it turned out the two of them were having a secret rendezvous in my villa.
"I can understand how young men and women sometimes get impatient and do something out of line without considering the time or place.
"But I can't understand a girl bringing her boyfriend to her uncle's house for a secret rendezvous, especially when that girl is our Ophelia."
"She's grown up.