Time seemed to freeze.
Oh no.
She was about to crash and burn!
“Sister, what are you talking about?”
Su Zhao inwardly groaned in agony, the residual warmth of the fingertips on her earlobe transforming into a fine, tingling itch.
She instinctively shrank her neck, yet ended up pushing herself deeper into the other’s palm.
Her poor earlobe was pinched and abused in quick succession.
Soften her waist, Su Zhao looked up at her.
Feeling the force around her neck slowly loosen, she slowed her breathing, blinked, and a thin film of tears instantly welled up in her eyes.
“When I was thrown out of the Summer Palace back then, about to freeze to death in the snow, it was Sister who cast healing magic on me, helping me avoid the miserable fate of freezing to death outside the palace gates.”
As she spoke, Su Zhao seized the opportunity to grab her wrist, gently rubbing the web of her hand with her damp nose.
“Could it be that the scene Sister witnessed with her own eyes was also a lie I told you?”
Evelyn’s eyelashes trembled.
Lowering her gaze, she looked at her own fingertips, feeling as though she were once again touching that handful of melting fresh snow from half a year ago.
At that time, Evelyn had just finished morning prayer and hurried to the Summer Palace for a council meeting.
When she stepped down from the carriage and untied her cloak, she caught sight of the poor little princess at the entrance of the Summer Palace, wondering why she had been driven out of her home.
She was curled up miserably beneath the statue of the founding monarch, her spine pressing against the base of the statue, her frozen fingertips pale and blue under the sunlight.
Goose feathers of heavy snow drifted down endlessly. Su Zhao tilted her head back, the back of her head resting against the combat boots of the statue.
Her eyelashes were stained with frost, and she gazed up at the statue’s head with a dazed expression.
She looked precisely like an abandoned young beast.
The deception was far too strong.
“Don’t put on a pitiful act for me, Dorothy. Stop using that trick you used to fool Cynthia to hoodwink me.”
Tightening her throat, Evelyn caught the faint, elusive scent of roses in the little princess’s hair, her knuckles tightening in silence as she rasped out,
“The last time you stole Cynthia’s wine, you used that same trick to wrap the guards watching the warehouse around your little finger, didn’t you?”
“So… in Sister’s eyes, am I really that despicable?”
Su Zhao’s voice trembled, tears pooling in her eyes, shattered light sparkling across her eyelashes as a choked sob spilled from her throat.
Yet she lifted her neck, obediently exposing her vital parts, baring her fragile throat to her.
Facing Evelyn’s roughness, she neither dodged nor parried, only saying, “Does Sister want to crush my throat bone? Then come ahead.”
Evelyn: “…”
Su Zhao suddenly leaned in close, her warm breath gently brushing past her damp eyelashes. Caught completely off guard, Evelyn instinctively turned her head, wanting to avoid it.
“If Sister thinks I deceived you, you might as well just strangle me to death.”
She sounded as though she were utterly heartbroken, her voice carrying a tremor. Her ending note turned into a breathy whisper, huffing against the back of Evelyn’s hand, scalding her fingers into an involuntary curl.
Evelyn was gradually losing her initiative, her momentum retreating step by step.
She asked in a daze, “Did you not?”
“Sister, didn’t you also carry me back to the Holy See that day?”
Su Zhao stood on tiptoe, leaning in close to her ear, her breath brushing past Evelyn’s lips. She deliberately paused amidst the other’s suddenly disordered breathing.
“When I was frozen speechless, Sister panicked so much that she recited the incantation for the healing magic wrong three whole times.”
Evelyn: “…”
The force in Evelyn’s fingertips completely collapsed.
Little by little.
She slowly released her grip on Su Zhao’s neck.
Su Zhao: “Didn’t Sister notice it herself?”
Evelyn’s curled knuckles lingered at Su Zhao’s throat, resembling an ambiguous embrace much more than a threatening posture.
“Why is Sister always so double-faced?”
“Hurt me.” Su Zhao smiled through her tears, asking word by word,
“Sister, do you have the heart?”
Evelyn seemed somewhat exhausted, her head slowly drooping. Her chin rested on Su Zhao’s shoulder, feeling somewhat heavy.
Su Zhao turned her head to see her ice-blue eyes slightly curved, as though wanting to smile, yet tinged with a few specks of tearful emotion.
“I don’t have the heart.”
She didn’t have the heart.
No matter what, she couldn’t bear to.
Even her hurtful questions had been considered over and over again, unsure if they could actually leave her lips. The moment her fingertips brushed against the pulsing veins of her neck and felt her warm body temperature, Evelyn would utterly collapse in defeat without a shred of backbone.
Of course Su Zhao knew.
Su Zhao knew best of all.
The snow that day had fallen far too heavily.
Evelyn’s footsteps paused slightly, and with a casual glance, she had already recognized the little princess’s identity.
Originally, the relationship between the Lanrian Empire and the Holy See was exceptionally sensitive, let alone the fact that this was the royal family’s own domestic affair, adding a threefold layer of taboo.
She had no business interfering, nor did she intend to.
Evelyn handed her cloak to a servant, casting a seemingly inadvertent glance over the figure lurking in the shadow of the colonnade.
Then, looking straight ahead, she stepped composedly through the grand doors.
The royal guards standing watch on either side wore chilling gazes, their eyes hidden beneath metal faceplates as they fixedly tracked her every move.
The cold light glinting from the tips of their swords shifted with her pace, silently making way for her.
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Before she even appeared, Su Zhao had curled up beneath the colonnade outside the Summer Palace, deliberately tearing three holes into the hem of her dress and dusting a layer of light frost onto her eyelashes.
That wasn’t even enough; she had carefully adjusted a pitiful expression in front of an icy puddle until she was entirely satisfied.
Whether the newcomer was her mother, her sister, or anyone else. It didn’t matter who it was; she was fully prepared to put on a familiar display of weakness.
She simply hadn’t expected the pretty Saintess to turn a blind eye to her, showing zero curiosity. That all-merciful bodhisattva heart seemed to exclude Su Zhao entirely.
Soaked to the bone, Su Zhao was shivering with cold and dizzy with hunger.
She dared swear to the heavens that she was genuinely freezing and starving to the point of experiencing hallucinations.
The heavy snow blurred her vision, and vaguely, she spotted a plump, delicious chicken drumstick dangling right before her eyes.
The fragrance of meat was intoxicating, acting like a swaying piece of bait that seized hold of her entire mind.
That was why…
When the Saintess passed by.
She took a bite right out of her thigh.
Evelyn: “You expect me to believe that?”
The ravenous little princess finally achieved her wish, successfully sinking her teeth into that delectable-looking, walking humanoid chicken drumstick.
Holy light washed over Su Zhao’s snow-dusted eyelashes.
Evelyn lowered her head in stiff disbelief.
Realizing the texture felt entirely wrong, Su Zhao finally snapped back to her senses. Looking up at her in a daze, she was still clutching Evelyn’s thigh with her hands.
And even offered an outrageous evaluation: “So tough to chew.”
Recalling this scene right now.
The oppressive weight pressing down on the back of Su Zhao’s neck was identical to their first meeting.
Evelyn’s knuckles embedded themselves into her hair: “When you begged me to take you away back then, you weren’t nearly this sharp-tongued.”
Bringing up old accounts, are we?
“Sister also forgot that back then, Sister’s healing magic incantation was a complete mess.”
Su Zhao suddenly stood on tiptoe, leaning close to her ear with a honeyed tone, rolling her tongue over the trailing words:
“Your syllables were more intoxicatingly wrong than wine.”
Su Zhao’s act of playing the pitiful card hadn’t netted her original target, Cynthia, but it had successfully reeled in another unexpected prey.
When the system prompt sounded to remind her that the person before her was also one of her targets, her eyes lit up instantly.
That momentary grogginess was instantly tossed to the winds, replaced by a surge of fighting spirit.
“I’m starving to death.”
Su Zhao sneezed violently, heavy patches of snow tumbling off the collar of her robes. She grabbed the sleeve of Evelyn’s priestly robe to keep her from leaving.
“Pretty Sister, hurry and tell me, does your virtue include mercy?”
“The great Holy Lord has always used noble virtue to edify the world.”
Amidst the swirling snow and wind, the maiden’s cool, crisp voice mingled with the biting scent of snow lotus. Remaining entirely unmoved by her hints, she looked down at Su Zhao from on high.
“Though apparently, that does not include table manners fit for devouring people.”
Pretty Sister…
She held a bit of a grudge.
Yet Pretty Sister’s white hair matched Su Zhao’s preferences to a T.
No matter! Su Zhao could go another round!
“Sister, Sister! Why don’t you take me home with you!”
Su Zhao boldly propositioned her.
“If you want to pull a stunt, go look for Her Majesty the Empress.”
Frowning slightly, the Saintess gave a tug, only to find she couldn’t shake her sleeve free from the other’s grip.
“Lest Her Majesty blames me, scolding me for absconding with her precious golden princess, only to turn around and extort ten cartloads of rare magical herbs from our Holy See.”
Su Zhao: “…”
Is Mother really that kind of person?
Come to think of it, a Her Majesty the Empress willing to use any means to achieve her goals could indeed pull off such an undignified stunt.
Dignity was merely a versatile cloak of convenience; when the profits were large enough, nobles could easily toss their faces to the wind.
Seeing that Evelyn was about to leave, Su Zhao didn’t have time to ponder further as she hurriedly seized her hemline once more.
=”Have some mercy, Saintess! I can warm your bed!”
The Saintess’s heart was as hard as iron.
“The Holy See does not feed idlers.”
“Then, then I’ll be your personal maid?”
Evelyn: “…”
Frowning down at her, Evelyn asked, “Do you feel that my life in the Lanrian Empire is far too comfortable, and you wish to add some difficulty for me?”
Rejected again.
Listlessly, Su Zhao muttered, “No.” But her hands remained clamped tightly around her.
Right at that moment, amidst their tug-of-war, Su Zhao’s hand suddenly slipped.
The decorative chain along the hem of Evelyn’s robe snapped taut, pearls cascading and rolling across the ground as both of them froze simultaneously.
“I’ll pay you back for it.”
Su Zhao fished out a necklace, “A moonstone necklace, very rare, even more expensive than yours.”
Evelyn: “…”
With a wave of her hand, the scattered pearls in the floor cracks were lifted by a drift of white mist, floating up automatically to return before her.
Yet Su Zhao stubbornly shoved her own necklace into her hands anyway: “It’s worth more than that, so trading it for a bowl of hot rice isn’t asking too much, right?”
And thus, relying on this stunt-like gift, Evelyn, the soft-hearted Saintess, ultimately weathered the pressure from the knights and brought her back to the Holy See upon her return journey.
During the evening prayers that day, the new Saintess’s bedchamber gained an extra distressed princess wrapped in a plush quilt and sneezing away.
People naturally tended to push their luck.
Consequently, Su Zhao, who had initially claimed she only wanted a bowl of rice, swept through an entire table of dinner like a whirlwind after Evelyn cured her cold.
She even wrapped her arms around her stiff waist, commandeered her bed, buried her face straight into the crook of her neck, and fell soundly asleep with a deep sense of satisfaction.
Half-asleep and half-awake, a long time passed before Su Zhao vaguely sensed a faint rustling sound.
The double-faced Saintess had finally made a move.
She meticulously tucked the blanket in around her, paused for a long while, carefully stroked her head, and readjusted the angle of Su Zhao’s head.
Allowing her to lean against her for a more comfortable sleep.
Su Zhao couldn’t help curving the corners of her lips in a mental note: Why is she so soft-hearted? So easy to bully?
Did the Saintess not realize that the more she acted like this, the more people would want to bully her?
Outside, completely exposed to the open air, the night patrol knights’ movements echoed from time to time. Prying gazes felt as though they could sweep in at any second, offering a severe lack of safety.
Perhaps the two of them had arrived at the same conclusion, or perhaps the quarrel had come to a temporary halt, leaving Evelyn speechless and requiring a more suitable venue to sort through her thoughts.
Lifting her up by the waist, Evelyn nimbly stepped across the windowsill and entered the room.
The moment they stepped into the enclosed interior, Su Zhao broke free from her embrace and slammed the window shut with force.
Amidst the soft crash of impact, the entire room transformed entirely into a private sanctuary.
Bright lighting mixed with the familiar fragrance of roses, radiating an absolute sense of security that caused Su Zhao’s boldness to skyrocket against the wind.
“So Sister really thinks I’ve been deceiving you from start to finish?”
Taking the initiative to speak, Su Zhao was pinned against the windowsill by Evelyn, her back pressing against the protruding corner with a sharp ache, yet she smiled brightly.
“Sister doesn’t trust me at all. In Sister’s heart, have I always been nothing more than a despicable liar from beginning to end?”
As the beads of sweat from the back of her neck slipped into Evelyn’s interlocked fingers, Su Zhao suddenly lowered her head in a retaliatory, playful bite against her fingertips.
Evelyn’s fingers curled inward abruptly: “I didn’t say that.”
The soft, springy sensation of Su Zhao’s teeth brushed past and vanished into empty air.
Su Zhao advanced; Evelyn retreated.
Following that, Evelyn clamped her hand around her waist, and in the next heartbeat, amidst a sudden sense of weightlessness, Su Zhao was sent airborne before she could react, letting out a startled gasp as she grabbed onto the Saintess’s cascading white hair.
Reflected within Evelyn’s ice-blue pupils, Su Zhao saw her own shattered reflection.
She was laid down softly onto the bed, her fingertips still unconsciously twisting tightly into the shoulder seams of the Saintess’s priestly robe.
Clinging to her, Su Zhao refused to let her leave.
“Sister, do you truly not know how much I need you?”
Every word sincere.
Every sentence earnest.
Evelyn’s hands trembled.
Lifting her hand abruptly, Su Zhao caught the wrist of the other person just as she was about to pull away. Pulling Evelyn down, she pressed that hand directly against her chest, where her pulse beat wildly beneath her cool palm.
A storm brewed across the surface of the ice-blue lake.
No longer tranquil.
Su Zhao pressed her advantage step by step.
“Sister, you clearly heard it, when you drew close to me, my heartbeat was faster than the blizzard of that day. How can you still pretend you don’t see the truth?”
Meeting gaze for gaze, Su Zhao’s eyelashes fluttered before she suddenly lifted her chin, biting down on the buttons of her priestly robe.
“Why do you like biting things so much?”
Evelyn finally spoke.
Yielding to her force, Evelyn was pulled downward, forced to lean in close. The two of them rubbed temples and cheekbones, their warm breaths intertwining and lingering among the pillows.
Su Zhao suddenly quieted down, pressing her side profile against the other’s carotid pulse. “The temperature of Sister’s palm…” A smile colored her voice.
“Why is it even hotter than candlelight?”
When Evelyn’s fingertips repeatedly stroked the back of her neck, as though tempted to bite down, Su Zhao suddenly recalled that snowy night when she was carried back to the Holy See.
She had sat inside the confessional, watching the Saintess recite the prayers of the evening liturgy, only to stumble once again upon the words “temperance” and “restraint.”
Yet tucked inside her warm embrace, she had mischievously and boldly slipped her frozen fingertips into the other’s sleeve cuffs.
She thoroughly relished the sensation of controlling her emotions.
Lifting a hand, Su Zhao brushed past the red mole rolling alongside the other’s swallow: “Sister’s heartbeat is so loud and noisy, too.”
Evelyn suddenly clamped her hand around the back of Su Zhao’s neck, her thumb pressing deep into her warm mouth as though wishing she wouldn’t speak another word.
To silence her exposure.
To silence her steady retreat.
Evelyn’s white hair spilled downward, tangling with Su Zhao’s hair. Her breath seemed to be burning up, scorching Su Zhao into an unbearable arch of her spine as her fingers pressed firmly into her back.
The previous stiffness, shifting from confrontation, had already melted into damp ambiguity.
Everything was just right.
Yet just as Evelyn stared into her eyes, preparing to lean down, Su Zhao suddenly touched upon a strange moisture.
The night wind carried a subtle, metallic rustle that drifted into her nose.
Realizing something was amiss, Su Zhao bolted upright in one swift motion, instinctively pinning Evelyn’s wrist as she reached around her shoulder to peer behind her.
“Sister! You’re hurt?”
Evelyn: “…”
With a dazed expression, before Evelyn could even react, Su Zhao tore open the collar of her robe.
Urgent and heedless of everything else, her movements were remarkably rough as the pearl buttons directly snapped off, rolling in circles until they disappeared beneath the bed.
Pulling away the fabric, she anxiously pursued her questioning: “Where is Sister hurt? Is it serious?”
With a strained tone, Evelyn choked out: “That was my only priestly robe.”
Su Zhao raised her voice in an urgent call: “Sister!”
Was that important? Not important at all.
“Stop blocking! Let me see where you’re hurt.”
Unable to resist a glance, Evelyn looked toward the mirror.
In the reflection, her clothing was in disarray, her face flushed, and the little princess sat triumphantly straddling her, unceremoniously clawing at her clothes.
The arm she used to resist was pinned down, her defensive force so feeble it instead guided Su Zhao’s hands to pull open her collar, exposing stretches of pale skin.
Like a half-hearted reluctance.
“It’s just a minor injury.”
The scene was far too easy to misunderstand, especially considering this was Cynthia’s palace.
The bed she lay upon was the bed Cynthia had slept in; the duvet she covered herself with was the duvet Cynthia had used.
Everywhere seemed to retain her scent, the fragrance of roses permeating every single object, including people.
Making Evelyn feel thoroughly ill at ease.
Stiffly pinning Su Zhao’s wrists down, she pulled the lapel that was on the verge of being ripped away back into place.
“Duke Norland’s physical body was completely consumed and occupied by a demon, and the dark energy released by the demon scorched me.”
“It’s just a superficial wound, nothing severe. However, her dark energy is peculiar; healing magic is ineffective against it, which is why it looks a bit frightening.”
“Oh.”
Hearing the exhaustion laced in her tone, Su Zhao understood. The Saintess possessed a body of holy light, and having two opposing forces clash within her body surely wasn’t comfortable by any stretch of the imagination.
Su Zhao felt deeply distressed, though a greater part of her felt secretly delighted, Sister was injured! Wasn’t this the absolute best time to take advantage of her vulnerability, exploit the situation, and rack up favorability points?
Since Evelyn was currently in dire need of comfort, as long as she played her part well and coddled Sister properly,
Perhaps Sister, touched by her thoughtful devotion, would be willing to raise her stagnant favorability rating.
Sweet romance was waiting for her!
Lightning-fast thoughts flashing through her mind, Su Zhao suddenly snapped to her senses, straightening her posture as she clasped her hand.
“So that’s why Sister’s mood was so off today, you were bewitched by the demon’s abilities.”
Demons had always excelled at magnifying various negative emotions in humans to achieve their own ends.
Su Zhao gnashed her teeth inwardly; that damned demon had screwed her over more than once already.
Duke Norland was currently locked up in the Summer Palace dungeon; sooner or later, she was going to go take a look at this fellow’s true face!
“I’m sorry.”
By the end of today’s interrogation, Evelyn was the one apologizing to her, feeling guilty for her own suspicions.
Her eyelashes drooped in shame as her knuckles curled up in silence.
“It’s all my fault, entirely my problem, for letting her exploit a loophole and even letting it affect your mood.”
Look at that.
What an understanding sister.
What a considerate and gentle sister.
With just a few words from Su Zhao, she smoothly scooped all the blame onto herself and turned around to apologize to her instead.
Su Zhao burst into tearful emotion: “My heart aches so much for you, how could I ever blame Sister? This was never Sister’s fault to begin with!”
Evelyn’s wound was still oozing blood.
Looking down, Su Zhao saw that her own fingertips had already been stained with blood, the glaring crimson contrasting sharply against snow-white skin, looking all the more startling.
Evelyn didn’t want her to look, their forces locking in a stalemate. Fearing that she might rupture her wound further and unwilling to use force since the other was resisting, Su Zhao could only say,
“Then Sister should rest well first; the ball can wait.”
Though her quest’s favorability points ached, today’s events had also injected Su Zhao with a sense of crisis.
Even though Evelyn had always been gentle with her, even during today’s intense questioning, her favorability had remained rock steady without dropping a single fraction.
Her attachment to her ran deep.
Yet Su Zhao could never exhaust the well to catch the fish!
Evelyn’s eyelashes fluttered.
Su Zhao couldn’t read what she was thinking. Evelyn bit her lower lip tightly, her gaze dim as she stared fixedly at their intertwined hands.
After a long while, Evelyn slid her five fingers into the gaps of hers, raising her gaze to meet hers with a very soft tone,
“But I want to stand proudly by your side in the light of day.”
Due to the awkwardness of their respective stances and identities, Su Zhao’s interactions with her had mostly felt like illicit affairs, sneaking around out of habit.
After all, if Her Majesty the Empress ever discovered their harmonious relationship, she would likely issue an immediate decree to sever all ties between them.
Yet this upcoming ball was an exception.
In this kind of recreational social setting, they could hold hands and embrace openly.
They could dance together grandly, right before everyone’s eyes. Everything would be based on etiquette, leaving not a single person with grounds for objection.
Hearing those words, Su Zhao’s heart genuinely ached for her.
Thinking back to how anxiously Evelyn had wanted to capture Duke Norland earlier,
Probing her stance and demanding promises time and time again, it had all been for this very purpose.
She hadn’t spoken of it aloud, but she truly valued this opportunity deeply.
Su Zhao’s conscience seemed to be undergoing torture. Listening to her careful tone, she felt hot tears prick her eyes as she squeezed her hand tightly, “Okay!”
Right at that moment, Evelyn snapped her gaze upward.
A stray, teasing breeze of rose scent drifted in on the night wind, mingling with the aura on Su Zhao’s body, realizing it by then was already far too late.
“Cynthia is back.”
Su Zhao: “Ah?”
We’re doomed!
The newly birthed tears of emotion instantly dried up. She practically sprang off the bed, sprinting to the window and poking her head out to take a look.
Sure enough, the wheels of a flamboyant golden carriage were crushing across the lane, and the sway of a carriage shadow was already cast upon the window lattice.
Cynthia had arrived far too quickly. Su Zhao’s breath hitched, cold sweat breaking out across her back as she looked around anxiously in search of a hiding spot for Evelyn.
“What do we do, what do we do?”
Cynthia’s footsteps could already be heard.
Drawing closer with every step.
Evelyn: “I’ll handle it.”
This was Cynthia’s residence, the place she knew and understood best.
Seeing nowhere to hide, Evelyn channeled holy light into her fingertips, and the blooming radiance enveloped them both.
Su Zhao was yanked backward by the light, tumbling dizzily right into the bedding.
The quilt wrapped softly around her, and the instant she fell, the spell that was about to dissipate still dutifully cushioned the small of her back.
The holy light gave her a gentle boost to prevent her from injuring herself accidentally.
Following closely, a heavy weight landed in Su Zhao’s hands.
Before the pain of her elbow bumping against the bedpost could spread, a soft, well-behaved white Persian cat tumbled out of midair and landed squarely in her arms.
The abruptly appeared Persian cat had its vertical pupils shrunk to thin lines, its satin-like tail sweeping across Su Zhao’s trembling hand.
Its cat ears stood erect in vigilance, turning toward the direction of the door.
“Evelyn?”
Su Zhao stared in bewilderment at the elegant and pretty kitty in her arms, subconsciously stroking its puffed-up tail.
Before she could process what was happening.
The next second.
“Bang!”
The screech of turning door hinges and the sound of a door slamming open exploded simultaneously.
Cynthia shoved the door open and strode inward abruptly.
“Good evening, my dear little sister.”
The greeting of good evening was drawn out lazily. As the final note fell, the grandfather clock in the corner of the room suddenly stopped ticking. Even the tick-tock of the pendulum vanished into nothingness.
The oppressive weight was so intense!
Unable to help herself, Su Zhao nervously plucked out a tuft of cat fur.
“I seemed to hear some strange noises outside just now.”
Smiling faintly, Cynthia stepped gracefully into the room. Her gaze, as bright as a falcon’s, swept slowly across the interior.
“Let me see if my restless little nightingale has secretly smuggled any other little birds into the house.”