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Upon receiving Lilith’s instruction, Cornelia pointed at Lacey. Lacey promptly floated up and began spinning around at a speed that almost turned him into a blur, like he had been shoved into a washing machine.

“Whoooooooooooooaaaaaaaa…. So dizzy… I’m gonna die… I’m gonna die…”

“How is it? Do you feel like talking now?” Lilith asked in a chilling voice.

“I… I… really have nothing to tell you… I know nothing!” Lacey’s voice sounded like it came from the eye of a storm. It was raspy and he sounded like he was on the verge of crying.

Although his soul was trapped in this tiny ragdoll, his senses remained keen in all aspects. Of course, he would rather not have such heightened sensitivity right now.

“Still acting tough huh? Looks like you’re not spinning hard enough.” Lilith waved her hand impatiently. She did not care if Lacey was actually crying, she only cared about getting the information she needed.

“Hiiiya… Hiiiiya!” Cornelia added more speed and Lacey began spinning even faster. Even so, he chose to remain silent, keeping his mouth shut regardless of how quickly he was spinning.

Of course, it was possible that he could not speak due to the strong currents in the room caused by the terrifying spinning speed.

Cornelia, on the other hand, was having a lot of fun. Her hand movements grew larger, and Lacey was transitioning from simply rotating to both rotating and moving up and down. Occasionally, he would hit the ground, resulting in a sudden, piercing scream that would quickly fade away in the wind.

Lilith gently patted Cornelia’s head, signaling for her to stop, before turning her gaze toward Lacey. Lacey lay sprawled on the ground, dry-heaving with no relief of actually vomiting.

“Are you still choosing to remain silent?” Lilith asked.
“I… really… know… nothing.”
“You’re going to die at this rate.”
Lacey lifted his head, smirking like how Lilith did earlier. “Even so… My answer remains the same.”

Lilith burst into a rage. Even in the face of death, this guy still had the audacity to mock her.

“Amazing. Even I’m impressed.”

Lilith grabbed Lacey’s neck and pinned him against the wall. The fiery glow in her golden eyes resembled that of an enraged master who was about to tear her disobedient disciple apart.

Despite her thunderous fury, Lilith restrained herself from using her full strength. She knew that, for now, she could not afford to destroy her only possible clue.

The mocking smile on Lacey’s face grew wider. With much difficulty, he said, “What’s wrong… Princess…? This… won’t be enough… t-to kill me…”

Lilith’s eyes blazed with an intense fury that momentarily overpowered her rationality. She was nearly tempted to just strangle Lacey to death.

“I nearly fell into your trap.”

Lilith abruptly released him, took two steps backward and plopped down on a chair next to the wall. She gently patted her face and took a deep breath.

“I have no idea why you suddenly have such a strong desire for me to kill you when you seem to be so afraid of dying just now, but I know that I shouldn’t give my enemies what they desire.”

A look of shock immediately crossed Lacey’s face. He was shocked that Lilith was able to regain control over her emotions so quickly.

“It looks like the princess is a softie.” Lacey sneered.

“Perhaps.” Lilith rested her chin on her hand. Her gold-colored eyes gradually returned to their usual color as she regained her composure.

Ignoring Lacey’s deliberate attempt to provoke her, she turned her head to express gratitude to Skarst, who responded with a smile and nod.

If it hadn’t been for her sworn brother’s inner voice transmission that snapped her out of it, she might have really killed Lacey in a fit of anger. However, she wouldn’t have been able to accept the consequences afterward. After daybreak, the registration for the Great Celestial Rite would begin, marking the official start of the game orchestrated by the mastermind. Lilith did not care what would happen by then, but for Lesiah and the others who were obligated to participate due to the required number of people…

Perhaps she could consider finding a few random individuals to fulfill the necessary quota. On second thought, she was not such a heartless person…

Lilith absentmindedly twirled her long blonde hair around her finger, her gaze distant as her thoughts drifted away. She frowned every now and then, like a young girl troubled by her little troubles.

Although she was never good at using her brain, she had no choice but to contemplate her next course of action…

If only she could extract the information she needed from the mouth of this ugly ragdoll…

“Eeyah…”

Lilith felt a gentle tug at the hem of her shirt, causing her to lower her gaze. There, she found Cornelia looking up at her with wide, sparkly eyes.

“What’s wrong?”
“Doll… wants to play…”

Cornelia gestured with her hands. Now that she could speak some basic words, she was able to express herself more effectively. She wanted to play with the doll, Lacey.

How could she still be thinking of fooling around at a time like this?

Lilith frowned disapprovingly, about to reprimand Cornelia. Upon seeing Cornelia’s huge, pitiful eyes, she relented and nodded.

“Fine. He’s yours for a short while.”
“Eeyah… Mommy’s… the best…”
“Don’t call me Mommy, I’m not your mommy.” She then added, “And don’t be too nice to him, he’s still being interrogated.”

“Eeyah!” Cornelia nodded her little head vigorously to show that she understood. As for the first part… of course that was just her mother being a tsundere.

Cornelia is definitely Mommy’s most favorite person!

Cornelia wobbled toward Lacey on her short legs, then sat down and revealed a dazzling smile, as if she was reuniting with a long-lost friend.

Lilith sighed but convinced herself that carrot and stick was a common interrogation tactic. Maybe the innocence of such an adorable young girl could sway Lacey.

“Oh… a change in tactic?” Lacey, feeling his soul finally escaping the maelstrom, struggled to focus his eyes on Cornelia, who was sitting in front of him with a smile.

“I’ll admit that I don’t have fond memories of you and you even managed to instill genuine fear within me for the very first time in my life. However, I no longer have even the slightest trace of fear toward you,” he said disdainfully.

As someone who was mentally prepared to die, nothing and no one could strike fear in Lacey’s heart.

“Come on, Mini Devil,” Lacey said, lying down on the ground, looking like he was prepared for whatever awaited him. “Torture me in any manner you want. Consider yourself victorious if you manage to make me grunt today.”

“Eeyah?” Cornelia tilted her head in confusion. She pondered for a brief moment, then lifted Lacey into a sitting position.

“What? You’re making me sit? Tiger bench? You’re going to put me through the legendary sitting torture?”
“Eeeyah~”

Cornelia patted the ground and said adorably, “Play… house…”

“Play house? Oh, is that a new type of torture? Nevertheless, it doesn’t matter. No amount of torture can make me frown… Even now, I am not frowning… hahaha…”

While Lacey was amused by his own joke, Cornelia was busy preparing something with a serious look on her face.

“These are…”

Lacey looked at the assortment of items laid out in front of him, a little stunned.

The golden dinner plates, knives and forks, bowls and chopsticks, were so small that they seemed impractical for actual use, same for the models of food displayed on the plates…

Playing house…? Were they really just going to play house?

“Play… house…”

With everything in place, Cornelia clapped her hands excitedly, her eyes shining brightly like stars on a cloudless night sky.

“What? Is that really all we’re going to do?” Lacey sighed in relief. Although he was mentally prepared to die, he was glad he did not have to feel stress about it.

“Fine, I’ll entertain you…” Lacey muttered.

Perhaps this was the final game he’d ever play in his life.

“Alright, what do you want me to do now?” Lacey adjusted the cutlery with his ragdoll hands. Though small, they were perfectly suited for him.

“Eeyah…”

Cornelia seemed to be in distress, troubled by their next course of action. After all, this was her first attempt at playing house, and she had no prior experience.

As her eyes scanned Lacey’s body, a sudden realization caused her to clap her hands. It dawned on her that the ragdoll lacked a nice dress. This led her to wonder about the kind of clothes that would look good on it.

At that moment, an image appeared in Cornelia’s mind. It was her beloved Mommy admiring shiny gold coins under the moonlight in the dead of night. She would rub her face against them and say, “What in this world could be more beautiful than shimmering gold?”

With this memory, Cornelia believed she had found an answer. She accessed her mother’s storage space and retrieved a pile of those shimmering gold stuff.

She pointed at them, instantly melting the shiny stuff into liquid before slowly reshaping it into something wearable.

If Lacey had blood in him, his face would have turned pale right now. He watched as Cornelia slowly approached, holding a stunning piece of “clothing” that shimmered with gold and glowing like hot ember. The intense heat it produced almost set the clothes ablaze.

Lacey felt a chill down his spine as he stammered, “Hey, hey, little one. What are you doing?”

“Eeyah?” Cornelia blinked at him.

“Playing house.”