All seven women stared at the Arbiter.

If it said “yes” — then from this moment forward, they would have to start killing each other.

If it said “no” — they would need to reconsider what “The Last Bride” might truly be hiding.

Yet how could the Arbiter be so generous as to simply tell them?

It held its gaze on the varied faces before it for a long moment, then smiled gently and said, “The brides have come from afar — you must be exhausted. Please return to your rooms and rest. A lavish lunch will be prepared for you shortly.”

Disappointment crossed the faces of the women.

All except Bai Youwei.

She had clearly anticipated that the Arbiter would not reveal the truth. Utterly at ease, she wheeled past it and headed straight for her room, without looking back.

The others exchanged glances, and after a brief hesitation, went off hesitatingly to find their own rooms.

The Arbiter watched the retreating figures of the women.

The sense of satisfaction it had just been reveling in was now tinged with a feeling of incompleteness. Like a clean wall brushed with a smear, like a pristine new shoe stepped on, like… like when it was beginning to appreciate the subtle and complex richness of human emotional shifts — and suddenly struck a wall. A hard, cold, unyielding wall.

Bai Youwei…

It had encountered all manner of players — some as clever as her, some as composed as her — but not one of them… was quite like her, as though she had been born for games.

She was, of all of them, the one who had adapted to games most naturally.

If a player like this were to die in the game, it would be a genuine pity. But then — what extraordinary data would she display in the moment of her death? The mere thought of it filled the Arbiter with anticipation.

How very… thrilling.

“There is one more hint for the clear conditions…” The Arbiter stood at the side of the corridor and spoke again.

The women ahead stopped.

The Arbiter said gently, “You may move freely through the manor, and you may make use of anything within it — but please, do not go to any locked rooms. If you do, the Duke will be very, very… displeased.”

With those words, the Arbiter gave them one last smile, turned, and walked away down the corridor, step by step, until it was gone.

The women stood rooted to the spot, looking at each other in bewildered unease.

Cheng Qian was deeply anxious — and even knowing that Yu Yaqing and Hu Ya disliked her, she couldn’t help drifting toward them and asking in a small voice, “Is that the second hint?… What does any of that mean?”

Yu Yaqing frowned. “It sounds like they’re deliberately saying the opposite — trying to get us to go find the locked rooms?”

“…Could it be Bluebeard?” Zhu Shu said.

“Bluebeard?” Cheng Qian blinked, and quickly said, “I know that fairy tale! Long ago there was a nobleman with a blue beard — his strange appearance frightened people, and no one was willing to give their daughter to him. He finally managed to take a wife, and after they were married, he told his wife she was free to open any room in the house — except for one room, which she must never, ever open! This… this is very similar to what the Arbiter just described!”

“Since you know the story of Bluebeard, you should also know its original version.” Bai Youwei gave her a level glance. “In truth, Bluebeard had a compulsion to kill — every wife he took was brutally murdered, and their bodies… were in that locked room.”

“No…” Cheng Qian’s face went pale. She stepped back, tears forming in her eyes. “We’re going to be killed?… I don’t want this — I don’t want to be a bride…”

Zhao Lanfen couldn’t hold it in either, and began to cry. “Why on earth did they throw that banquet?! Why did they have to invite us for a meal?! If I’d known it would end like this, I never would have gone with my husband to that wretched dinner!”

Hu Ya, though she didn’t look as openly frightened as the others, felt a knot of dread in her own chest. She asked Yu Yaqing beside her, “Sister Yu, what do we do?”

Yu Yaqing gritted her teeth and thought for a moment. “The sun hasn’t set yet — the Duke won’t be back until then. Let’s look around and see if we can find any clues.”

—