Evelyn’s embrace was warmer than imagined.
Su Zhao’s cheek pressed against her chest, and by her ear was a heartbeat so regular it was almost cold, as if the ambiguous loss of composure in the bathroom just moments ago was nothing more than an illusion to Evelyn.
Her favorability remained completely motionless.
Su Zhao felt a little defeated.
It was not until she was gently placed back on the bed that Su Zhao realized she had unconsciously clutched the Saintess’s sleeve, her fingertips pressing against a cold blue gemstone pendant.
It looked remarkably like Evelyn’s ice-blue eyes.
The sky had grown entirely dark, and moonlight poured through the window lattice, casting a bright expanse of silver radiance.
“You are going to tear it.” Evelyn’s voice fell from above, the moonlight gilding her eyelashes with a layer of frost.
Su Zhao retracted her hand as if electrocuted, only then noticing that the silk nightgown on her body had vanished without a trace under the influence of magic.
Replacing it was a set of cool, dark adventure gear complete with leather bracers bound to her forearms.
The rough fabric of the collar grazed her collarbone, stirring up an annoying tickle that reminded her of just how absurd her current situation was.
She was the one whose legs had turned to jelly from the love spell, she was the one who had fled in disarray and lacking proper attire, and now she was the one wrapped up in layers like she was about to go dragon-slaying.
Su Zhao did not feel right about this at all.
“My dress…” She curled her legs up, her voice muffled against the pillow.
“It got dirty.”
Evelyn tapped her knuckles lightly, and that neatly folded nightgown was currently resting right beside Su Zhao’s pillow.
Su Zhao glanced sideways at it.
Right before her eyes, Evelyn hooked the collar of her nightgown and lifted it slightly.
“The latest style of magical soft armor from the Adventurer’s Guild, featuring incredible defense and a built-in quick-change enchantment that lasts for twelve hours. Surely better than going naked, right?”
The final few words landed like a small hook, making the tips of Su Zhao’s ears burn. She did not dare utter a sound, burying her face like an ostrich.
She reached out to grab the nightgown, only to be suddenly enveloped by the shadow of a leaning figure.
“Wait.”
Evelyn’s warm breath swept across her cheek, causing her to shudder once more. “You forgot something.”
Cool metal pressed into Su Zhao’s palm, and it was a devastatingly familiar card.
Su Zhao’s eyes snapped wide open.
Her waist softened slightly, and swept with vexation and panic, she instantly recalled that flash of familiar crimson.
It was far too symbolic of a mark, and even if Evelyn could not read the item description on it, she could not possibly fail to guess whose possession it was.
The item that should have been happily presented to Evelyn to raise her favorability was currently so scorching that Su Zhao could barely hold it.
Su Zhao asked with a trembling voice, “Where did you find this?”
“When I carried you out, it dropped from you.”
Evelyn stepped back half a step, her ice-blue eyes resembling a frozen lake.
Her tone remained as gentle as ever.
“Whose thing is this?”
An item stored in the game inventory could just fall out?
Was it really that unreliable?
Su Zhao forcefully suppressed the complaints bubbling up to her lips.
The card surface glowed faintly in the darkness, the obscure bat crest on it growing increasingly prominent. Only then did Su Zhao realize that it was the family crest of the Vampire Grand Duke.
Blatantly obvious.
Like a branding mark proclaiming a sense of territorial ownership.
Su Zhao’s scalp tingled as she suddenly realized she had no way to explain this.
A pitiful creature deep within the imperial palace like her, an ordinary person incapable of magic, had no means of accounting to Evelyn for her actions.
By what means had she managed to escape the clutches of the bloodthirsty and brutal Vampire Grand Duke while also acquiring such an important trophy?
That was the biggest trouble with this item.
The game was setting her up in a trap yet again!
“Sister, I am so sleepy.”
Su Zhao’s gaze slowly drifted toward Evelyn, fixing on her cascading white hair.
Evelyn’s eyes, set against the backlight, shone brighter than the card. The corners of her lips curved upward in a smile as she looked down at her, resembling a powerful predator waiting for its prey to step into a trap.
Su Zhao fiercely clenched the card and rolled out of bed.
The moment her bare feet hit the cold floor tiles, the residual tingling sensation of the love spell surged up along her spine.
Inhaling a breath of cold air straight into her lungs served to shock her rationality back to life.
Without stuttering a single beat, Su Zhao rattled off quickly.
“I miss home so much, I miss my dear mother, I miss my dear sister, and I miss my warm bed.”
Feeling that those words lacked enough persuasive power to salvage her dignity, she bravely added one more line.
“It is getting late, and the flowers in my Summer Palace need watering too!”
Of the thirty-six stratagems, running away is best.
In an instant, she could no longer care about favorability points or anything else. After experiencing this rapid succession of events, she only wanted to vanish from Evelyn’s presence immediately.
Completely vanish.
It was too humiliating.
She never wanted to see her again!
Su Zhao staggered toward the terrace.
She did not dare look at Evelyn’s expression at that moment.
It was a clumsy excuse.
But that no longer mattered.
“Let us not delay, let us hurry.” A gust of wind swallowed the tail end of her words as Su Zhao nimbly vaulted over the carved stone railing.
Evelyn offered an indulgent, light chuckle. “Run slowly, your soft armor is not fastened properly yet.”
The final half of her sentence was shredded by the howling wind.
Su Zhao came to a sudden halt, looking down to see the straps of her leather chest piece twisted behind her back. A horribly out-of-place, bright pink butterfly knot was dangling and swaying crookedly in the wind.
It looked precisely like a panicked cat’s tail.
Evelyn used magic to catch her falling figure.
Taking the opportunity, she deepened a blessing upon her, just in case her playful nature took over and she threw all caution to the wind.
Although the terrace was not exceptionally high, a frail ordinary person taking a genuine tumble from it would likely suffer severely.
The Saintess seemed to be in a good mood today, exceptionally thoughtful, and did not grow angry at Su Zhao’s flip-flop behavior.
Even though she had responded to her repeated entreaties and followed her here, only to be denied permission to stay, she still kindly forgave Su Zhao.
Sister was so kind and magnanimous.
Without even a trace of reproach.
Su Zhao felt heartfelt gratitude.
Having finished reporting to the City Lord,
and passing through the teleportation array, Su Zhao finally returned to her familiar home.
The corridors of the Summer Palace were forever drifting with the fragrance of roses.
Su Zhao walked briskly, terrified that Evelyn might pursue the matter, stumbling back into the Summer Palace in such a rush that she had not even put her shoes on properly.
Stepping barefoot onto the carpet and bypassing a few corridors to enter the main hall, she happened to run right into her sister, Cynthia, who was leisurely leaning against the doorframe peeling grapes.
The noble imperial crown prince wore a smile in her eyes, her bright gaze glowing brilliantly beneath her pearl tiara.
Catching sight of her figure, Cynthia slowly raised a hand. “Look, who is this?”
Pinching a peeled piece of fruit between her fingertips, she waved it gently toward her.
“Has my little nightingale finally decided to return to her cage?”
The corridor was steeped in night shadows, and the chandelier overhead dispersed the intense darkness, stretching Su Zhao’s shadow back and forth between short and long.
The familiar rose scent brought a familiar sense of security.
An inexplicable pressure made Su Zhao feel a prickle of guilt, slowing her pace until she finally dragged herself over to Cynthia’s side under the beckoning crook of a finger, offering a soft, spoiled whine.
“I am sorry, I made you worry, Sister.”
“I heard my little bird was carried off by some incomprehensible succubus.”
Cynthia leaned down, cupped her chin, and fed a grape directly into her mouth. The purplish-red juice stained the corners of Su Zhao’s lips.
“It scared me enough to rush back from the border battlefield overnight.”
Cynthia was always like this, wrapping even her reprimands in honey.
The grape was extremely sweet, its rich juices bursting inside Su Zhao’s mouth.
Su Zhao could not help licking her lips, and before she even had time to swallow, Cynthia raised a hand to wipe away the excess juice.
That hand, as flawless as white porcelain, was instantly coated with a layer of shimmering moisture.
Su Zhao felt rather awkward watching this, so she picked up a silk handkerchief nearby and eagerly helped wipe her sister’s hands.
“Sister, hear me out!”
Cynthia accepted her service with a clear conscience, her expression unfathomable, revealing neither joy nor anger.
With her heart hanging by a thread and unable to guess Cynthia’s thoughts, Su Zhao carefully peeked at her expression while wiping, trying to decipher her intentions.
Once she finished, Cynthia took the handkerchief from her hand, her gaze sweeping briefly across Su Zhao’s wrist.
“It is fortunate that Saintess Evelyn extended a timely helping hand.”
A white dove formed of magic landed on Su Zhao’s shoulder.
Su Zhao turned her head to look, and the dove nuzzled intimately against her cheek, spreading its wings and letting its feathers softly brush against the red mark on her arm.
There still remained the tooth marks where Su Zhao had bitten herself in a panic earlier.
She felt the guilty sensation of being caught in bed by her sister.
Uncomfortably, Su Zhao stroked the dove’s feathers.
On the other side, Evelyn, who had been watching coldly from the sidelines for a long time, finally stepped forward. “You have finally noticed my existence.”
Cynthia cast a soft glance at her, lightly blowing the steam from her tea. “The Saintess is so conspicuous, how could I possibly fail to notice?”
The First Heir to the Empire always kept her noble status in mind. The motion with which she picked up the bone-china teaspoon was as elegant and poised as playing a harp.
With a light chuckle, she explained with pristine politeness.
“Please forgive my earlier discourtesy. The moment I saw this wretched little nightingale return, my attention was completely captured, leaving me temporarily unable to spare a thought for anything else.”
Evelyn’s tone remained light.
“Your Highness loves her sister dearly, how could I possibly have the heart to find fault?”
Whether it was her imagination or not, Su Zhao could not be sure.
She always felt an invisible, subtle current of gunpowder hanging between their dialogue.
Yet, as she gently tugged at the dove’s tail feathers and thought better of it, she decided it was unlikely.
After all, one side was the noble and incomparably esteemed Imperial Crown Prince, whose status was supreme and whose pride always outranked the heavens, so how could she ever lose her composure to quarrel with someone?
The other side was a Saintess transcendent of the mortal world, devoted to all living creatures, full of compassion and boundless love.
How could such eyes ever accommodate the trivial petty romances of the world, let alone flare up in anger over meaningless trifles?
Su Zhao completely set her mind at ease.
And with great interest, she went back to playing with the dove.
“Thank you for your understanding, Saintess.”
Cynthia’s teaspoon paused for a fraction of a second.
Su Zhao only felt that she had been swept by a sidelong glance, heard a faint hum of laughter, and in the next second, her hands felt entirely empty.
Su Zhao blinked in confusion. The feathers dissolved in her palm, and the white dove abruptly transformed into a chain of light that gently tightened around her neck.
Accompanying this outward pulling force, the chain of light seemed to strip something away from her body.
A familiar, comforting warmth gradually faded from her perception.
Cynthia spoke softly.
“The Saintess’s precious blessing ought to be enshrined upon an altar, not used as a plaything for a child to amuse herself with. That is far too wasteful.”
“God loves all the world, which naturally includes playful children.”
Evelyn’s voice carried a faint chill.
Su Zhao noticed Evelyn’s gaze sweep over her and immediately straightened up, feigning complete innocence of any wandering thoughts.
“Three days from now, the Holy See will organize a blessing ceremony. It will be quite lively. If Her Highness Princess Dorothy is interested, perhaps…”
Oh brilliant!
She could unlock the scenario of her sister focusing on work! Women working hard were the most charming!
Su Zhao nodded frantically. “Interested, of course I am interested! I will definitely…”
“My imperial younger sister has to prepare for the Midsummer Night’s Ball.”
Cynthia smilingly cut off the rest of the sentence, the light chain formed from the dove securely locking down that warm protective blessing.
With a merciless wave of her hand, she tossed the blessing back into Evelyn’s arms as if it were worthless trash, while simultaneously pulling Su Zhao close and stating clearly, word by word.
“What a pity, I am afraid she will have no time to attend your invitation.”