Reborn as the General's Useless Daughter-Chapter 230: The Ancient Ruins (Part-2)

Whichever his wife chose, Kael would follow.

Zora slowly swept her gaze across the many passages. After a moment, her eyes settled on the leftmost one.

"I’ll take that one," she said quietly.

It was the passage chosen by the fewest people, yet for some reason, she felt a faint pull toward it, as if something unseen were waiting there.

In truth, this feeling was not unique to Zora. The moment she raised her hand and pointed toward that passage, the Chaos Ring on her finger gave a faint tremor.

It was the first time the Chaos Ring had ever responded so clearly.

She had tested it earlier. When she pointed at the various passages, sometimes the ring remained completely still, sometimes it reacted with a slight vibration, and at other times the tremor was more pronounced. Each response was different, as if the ring were quietly weighing the paths.

Among all the passages, the reaction toward this one was the strongest.

That alone was reason enough for her to choose it without hesitation.

Prince Kael followed her gaze to the passage and nodded calmly. "Whichever one you choose, that’s the one we take."

However, just as he was about to move, Guinvere suddenly reached out and caught his sleeve.

"Senior Brother," she said softly, "I don’t think that passage is a good choice. Why don’t we take the middle one instead?"

Her words caused the atmosphere to stiffen instantly. It placed Prince Kael at a crossroads, an unspoken choice laid bare.

Zora remained expressionless. "Then I’ll go first."

She had no interest in wasting time on a meaningless tug-of-war. Others had already moved ahead. She was not about to delay herself over something so trivial.

As soon as her words fell, she turned and walked straight into the leftmost passage without a second glance.

Seeing Zora leave without hesitation, Guinvere’s eyes flashed with a hint of satisfaction. She turned back toward Prince Kael. "Senior Brother, we—"

Before she could finish, Prince Kael cut her off. "Guinvere, if you think the middle passage is better, you should go. With your strength, you’ll be fine. I’m going ahead."

Without another word, he followed after Zora.

He had already made his stance clear.

He knew her well enough to understand her pride. She would never argue over something so unnecessary, nor would she wait for anyone. If he hesitated now, it would only widen the distance between them.

Some matters needed to be settled decisively.

Watching Prince Kael walk away without sparing her another glance, Guinvere’s expression darkened completely.

Before, he had never treated her this way. He would never have turned his back on her so decisively, let alone leave without offering even the smallest consideration.

In just three years, everything had changed.

As Zora stepped deeper into the passage, Prince Kael caught up and naturally took her hand.

"Darling," he said with a hint of teasing, though his tone was serious, "don’t run off on your own again next time."

Warmth spread through her palm as his fingers closed around hers.

Zora lifted her gaze and met his eyes. His handsome face was close, his smile gentle and indulgent, the warmth unmistakably real.

He had chosen to follow her without hesitation.

Understanding flickered in her eyes. Prince Kael’s attitude toward Guinvere had already spoken for itself. Whatever history lay between them, it belonged firmly to the past.

Her red lips curved into a faint, graceful smile as she tightened her grip on his hand. "Let’s go."

Behind them, Guinvere stood alone, watching their retreating figures disappear into the passage, her eyes clouded with bitterness and shadow.

As Zora and Prince Kael stepped fully into the passage, they quickly realized that the darkness showed no sign of ending.

Their feet were clearly touching solid ground, yet no matter how quickly they advanced, the scene before them remained unchanged. Endless darkness stretched ahead, silent and oppressive, as if there were no exit at all.

"What kind of passage is this?" Zora frowned, her brows knitting together. "It’s too strange."

They had been moving for quite some time. Even if the ruins were vast, they should have reached something by now.

Prince Kael slowed his pace, his gaze sweeping the surroundings with a sharp, steady calm. "There doesn’t seem to be any danger here," he said in a low voice. "It feels more like a test... one that checks whether we can find the way out."

Zora nodded lightly. The absence of immediate danger eased her mind. At the very least, their lives were not under threat.

"If my guess is correct," she said after a moment, her tone firm, "what we’re seeing right now is an illusory realm."

"An illusory realm?" Prince Kael glanced at her, surprise flickering between his brows.

A faint smile curved Zora’s lips. "Illusory realm is a constructed environment formed through special means. Once a spirit warrior falls into those, they often don’t realize it at all. To outsiders, we might not even be moving. We could be standing perfectly still."

She paused, then continued calmly, "We already saw the true scale of the ruins from outside. There’s no way we could walk this long without reaching anything. So the only explanation is that we’ve been caught in an illusion."

Prince Kael let out a quiet breath. "I’ve never heard of something like this."

The admiration in his voice was genuine. The more he thought about it, the more reasonable her explanation became.

Zora blinked in slight surprise. In her previous life, illusion techniques were not uncommon. Some spirit warriors were mediocre at them, their illusions crude and easy to break. Others were terrifyingly skilled, capable of trapping someone between life and death without them ever realizing it.

With Prince Kael’s background, it seemed impossible that he had never even heard of such a thing.

Before she could dwell further, Prince Kael spoke again, confirming her suspicions.

"Darling," he said softly, "you truly know far more than I do."

His deep eyes carried undisguised admiration.

Prince Kael had always believed his knowledge to be extensive, yet time and again, Zora continued to surprise him.

Just who was this woman beside him?

As that thought surfaced, his grip on her hand unconsciously tightened. There was a strange unease in his chest, a sense that no matter how close he stood to her, something about her remained veiled.

It was as though an invisible layer of gauze lay between him and her true self, thin yet impossible to lift.

And that realization stirred both fascination and a quiet, unsettling longing in his heart.

Sensing the subtle shift in Prince Kael’s emotions, Zora gently tightened her grip on his hand in response.

She was not particularly eager to reveal the secret of her identity.

Even if she spoke of it now, no one would truly believe her, and she had no desire to invite unnecessary trouble.

If, one day, she and Prince Kael truly reached a point of complete trust and shared hearts, she might tell him everything.

As for now, she preferred to let all those unexplainable things be attributed to a mysterious, nonexistent "master."

"We’ll carefully observe our surroundings," she said calmly. "As long as this is an illusion, it must have flaws. They’re just extremely hard to find."

Prince Kael nodded in agreement. He didn’t loosen his hold on her hand, but his gaze became sharper, scrutinizing every inch of darkness around them.

Meanwhile, Black, White, and Shihtzu were not idle either, spreading out and doing their best to help search for weaknesses in the illusion.

"I’m really speechless," Black muttered after staring until its eyes ached. "It’s just endless darkness. Where am I supposed to find a flaw?"

"What kind of lunatic designed an illusion like this?" White complained with a grim face. "Looking for cracks here is like chasing ghosts."

While Zora and Prince Kael were temporarily trapped, the situation in the other passages was far worse.

In those channels where the Ring of Chaos had shown no reaction, the spirit warriors who entered had already met their deaths, the smell of blood slowly seeping through the ruins. In channels with weaker fluctuations, complex mechanisms appeared.

Though deadly, those traps at least allowed a slim chance of survival for those quick enough to react.

Only the passage chosen by Zora remained eerily free of danger.

She finally came to a stop. Since she had already confirmed that this was an illusion, there was no point in blindly moving forward.

"Where exactly is the flaw..." she murmured, crouching down to study the ground inch by inch.

No matter how closely she examined it, she found nothing out of place.

"There doesn’t seem to be any problem at all," Prince Kael said after a moment. "Could it really not be an illusory realm?"

Zora thought briefly, then shook her head. "No. It has to be an illusion technique."

She straightened up, her eyes steady. "Since we can only go back and forth here, then we’ll do the opposite."

"The opposite?" Prince Kael echoed, puzzled.

She smiled faintly. "That’s often how illusions work. Let’s try first. If it succeeds, I’ll explain."

"Alright," he agreed without hesitation.

Zora turned to face him, her tone serious. "Close your eyes. Keep telling yourself that everything in front of you is fake. Don’t doubt it. Follow me, then walk straight toward that wall. Don’t hesitate."

"Alright," Prince Kael answered at once.

He trusted her completely.

Even if there were truly a solid wall ahead, even if it meant colliding headfirst and shattering bones, he would still step forward without the slightest doubt.