A black wooden bed, large enough for four or five people to lie side by side, stood against the wall. The matching wardrobe, desk, and daybed were so simple they bordered on austere.
A carpet so thick it nearly swallowed her ankles covered the floor, muffling all sound.
The overall feeling was… spacious luxury. There were few items, but each was of exquisite quality, exuding a sense of distance that seemed to say, ‘I have deep roots, but I’m too lazy to show off for you.’
“Fine, at least the bed looks comfortable,” Flora muttered, curling her lip.
Feeling a bit irritable, she pulled open the desk drawer. Flora was simply being restless, wanting to find some trace that didn’t belong in this “perfect new life script.”
The first drawer was empty, lined with soft velvet.
‘So clean, not even a speck of dust.’
The second drawer held brand-new parchment that felt cool to the touch and a quill with a star-studded barrel.
‘Even the stationery is this flashy? Do I need a limited-edition starry sky set just to write a suicide note?’
When she pulled open the shallowest drawer at the bottom with a “just as I thought” attitude, her fingertips unexpectedly brushed against a cold, hard little object.
“Huh?” Her movements paused as she pulled it out.
It was a ring.
And… it was very, very beautiful.
The band was bright silver, shimmering with a soft yet undeniable luster. The setting had elegant, flowing lines, but the most eye-catching part was the main stone set in the center.
It was a pure, translucent, and perfectly cut diamond. Even in the dim indoor light, it still refracted a dazzling fire, as if it had condensed the starlight itself.
It was extremely radiant, forming a wonderful contrast with the plain, dull silver band. It was as if the brightest star in the night sky had been plucked and fixed right there.
“Lonely people listen to sad songs…” An ancient ballad echoed from somewhere unknown.
Flora froze for a few seconds.
“Wow…” Flora subconsciously let out a low cry. The beauty of this ring was intuitive and impactful.
It looked very expensive, and… it was slightly at odds with the overall style of the room. The room was one of restrained, low-key luxury, whereas this ring was almost ostentatiously beautiful.
‘Whose is this?’ She pinched the ring, turning it over and over. ‘Ilya’s? Doesn’t seem like it. This style… is younger, more radiant. Could it belong to some princess who lived here before? Did she forget to take it?’
Just as she was about to examine the diamond closely, a faint… itchy sensation suddenly came from her fingertips.
It wasn’t a scratch from the diamond’s edges. It was more like a very subtle, warm vibration coming from inside the ring, tickling her skin through the cold metal.
“Huh?” Flora shuddered, her hand instinctively tightening around the ring. ‘Is this diamond… hot? No, that’s not right…’
The sensation became clearer. A steady, faint pulse, like breathing, emanated from the core of the ring. It carried a strange warmth that spread up her arm, faintly resonating with the rhythm of her own heartbeat.
‘What the hell?’ She stared at the dazzling yet strange ring, alarm bells ringing in her head. ‘Could this be some kind of magical monitoring gem? It looks pretty, but is it actually a 24-hour livestream?’
With Ilya’s way of doing things, it wasn’t impossible.
After hesitating for 3 seconds, her damned curiosity and a strange attraction won out.
She attempted to mobilize a sliver of the still-unfamiliar, weak mana belonging to her new demon race body. Like a thief, she extremely carefully “poked” the ring.
*Hum!*
A faint but exceptionally clear ringing sound directly echoed in her mind.
Immediately after, before she could react, an incredibly clear spatial concept forced its way into her consciousness — it wasn’t large, but it was structurally stable, about 1 cubic meter in size.
There was no doubt; this was a storage space attached to the ring.
And in the very center of this small space, it was not empty. Instead, something was steadily suspended there!
Although it was wrapped in a soft, misty halo that obscured its specific form, she could clearly “feel” its presence.
That object stayed there all alone, as if it had been slumbering for countless ages, waiting to be awakened.
Flora was completely stunned, her fingers turning slightly white from the force of her grip on the ring. ‘A storage ring? And it comes with a “surprise gift bag”?’
Was this development a bit too fantastical? ‘Is it a trend in the demon race to buy jewelry and get a blind box?’
Did Ilya know about this ring? If so, why leave it in this empty drawer? If not… then whose ring was it?
Why did it react to her mana, or rather, to the things flowing through this new body? Was that brilliant diamond merely a decoration?
Countless question marks exploded in her head like fireworks. Ilya’s casual remark, “She looks just like her,” resurfaced at an inopportune time.
‘Could it be…’ She stared at the sparkling diamond on the ring, a bold guess rising irrepressibly. ‘Is this “her” thing? What “she” left behind… isn’t just the ring, but also the “thing” inside?’
Just who was this “she,” and why was she being so mysterious?
Her heart skipped a few beats for some unknown reason. She looked around like a thief, even though she was the only one in the room.
Then, holding her breath with a complex mix of nervousness, anticipation, and “whatever,” she slowly slid the ring onto her left index finger.
The size… was a perfect fit. “Tsk, even the finger circumference feels like it was tailor-made,” she whispered.
The moment she put it on, that strange pulsating sensation became steady and natural, as if it were meant to be part of her body’s rhythm.
The small storage space was also clearly anchored in her perception. The mysterious object inside silently asserted its presence, its enveloping halo seeming to say: ‘Want to know who I am? Come and open me up~’
She raised her hand toward the light from the window. The brilliant diamond refracted gorgeous spots of light against her slender, fair fingers.
It was magnificent and eye-catching, forming a sharp contrast with her simple dress and the room’s low-key style, yet strangely… it didn’t feel out of place.
This unexpectedly discovered, beautiful, and eerie ring was like a meticulously polished gem deliberately left on a path she had to cross.
For now, she didn’t know if it was a decoration, a key, or a trap. But at least, in this exquisite palace where Ilya had everything planned out, she had found something so unique.
“Well.” She gently twisted her finger, the diamond tracing a faint light. “If there’s a chance, I’ll figure out what this thing is and why it’s here.”
She took one last look at the room. The starry ceiling, the large black bed, the thick carpet — everything was still unfamiliar and carried an invisible pressure.
But now, there was a different kind of light on her finger. Although the future was uncertain, at least… it looked quite valuable.
Flora thought at an inopportune moment, ‘If I don’t have enough travel expenses for a future escape, pawning this thing should fetch quite a lot of money, right?’
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