This voice arrived far too abruptly, like a sudden clap of thunder bursting through the silence. It startled Su Zhao so badly that her whole body shivered, her calves hooking backward as she hurriedly grabbed hold of the metal bars.
“Be careful and hold on steady,” that voice turned serious, “don’t accidentally fall down.”
“Sister, why are you trying to scare me!”
Before she could even clearly see who it was, Su Zhao began complaining first.
The Saintess possessed a very good temper and refused to bicker with a little imp, gently saying, “You were just watching too intently.”
Pausing for a moment, she added, “So much so that you didn’t even notice when I walked in.”
Su Zhao felt that tiny hint of grievance, looking at her with a sense of novelty.
The Saintess looked somewhat unnatural under her gaze, her long eyelashes trembling slightly. This trace of emotion was far too precious, resembling a ripple spreading across a calm lake before disappearing in an instant.
“You really are too mischievous.”
The Saintess swallowed the words she had originally intended to say, instead spreading out her arms to signal for her to jump down, “Come down, I’ll catch you.”
A powerful mage could easily use a simple spell to wrap someone up and lower them down smoothly. Yet she chose to discard this most convenient method, intimately choosing to use her own body to welcome her.
These feelings, which were not meant for outsiders to know, were carefully concealed.
Just like Evelyn carefully hiding a bunch of dew-laden, delicate flowers, precious and secretive.
Su Zhao lacked such delicate sensibilities, her eyes curving into smiles as she spread her arms out like a bird, cheerfully shouting, “Hooray! Sister, I’m coming down!”
Her swaying body tugged at someone’s heartstrings, leaving them suspended in mid-air, floating up and down.
Evelyn couldn’t help holding her breath, her hands lifting up unconsciously as she rasped out a reminder, “Slow down.”
Before her voice could even fade, that eager and enthusiastic figure leaped down from the top of the cage with full excitement and fearlessness.
Much like a fledgling swallow hurtling into its nest.
Unlike that previous time when she was pushed hard by the succubus and woke up from a dream, feeling like an endless sinking and falling as she plunged deep into an oxygen-deprived sea, bringing an indescribable sense of stimulation and crisis to Su Zhao.
This time, before the slight weightlessness could sweep over her brain, Su Zhao felt a sudden tightness around her body as Evelyn’s arms wrapped firmly around her, catching her steadily.
Big sister is always reliable!
Su Zhao couldn’t wait to rub against her, rolling back and forth in her embrace like a spoiled little cat, full of trust toward her, “I knew it! Sister would definitely catch me!”
Evelyn let out a helpless, soft laugh, gently pressing down on her head in an attempt to quiet her. Yet Su Zhao showed no signs of stopping, continuing to twist and turn while burying her face into her shoulder, muttering away:
“Sister, sister! Let me tell you! Just now, I ran into a major pervert!”
Evelyn stroked the top of her head with very gentle movements.
The aloofness and indifference she showed to outsiders completely vanished, her tone revealing a trace of careful tenderness, “Go ahead.”
As if meeting a relative she could rely on, Su Zhao’s previously cheerful mood suddenly grew heavy. Thinking of her unlucky experiences throughout the day, her long-accumulated emotions instantly erupted.
Su Zhao blinked, and tears instantly fell.
Clinging to her shoulder, she raised her head and looked at her with tear-filled eyes, crying a rain-blossoming pear flower of heartbreak, “Evelyn, I, I was bullied so miserably!”
What do you do when you see your big sister?
Naturally, you get kisses and cuddles!
And then complain!
“What do you mean?”
The Saintess frowned slightly, her icy blue eyes resembling a frozen lake, clearly angered.
Yet her movements in holding her hand were extremely gentle, her thumb brushing across Su Zhao’s wrist and rubbing it soothingly.
Softening her voice, Evelyn looked at her encouragingly, “Tell me everything, piece by piece, detail by detail.”
Clearly, she intended to back her up.
The backing had arrived.
The weather cleared up, the rain stopped, and Su Zhao felt capable once again.
Su Zhao held a deep grudge. That completely gnawed peach pit lingered relentlessly in her mind, its mocking power maxed out. This grievance stuck in her chest, choking her so she couldn’t catch her breath.
She said with bitter resentment, “There’s this major pervert, super, super terrible! She ate the peach I had bitten into, snatched away the doll I had kissed, and, and she even coveted my body!”
With every extra sentence, Evelyn’s eyes sank a fraction further.
Once Su Zhao finished speaking, she pulled her about-to-fly-off-in-gestures arm, pressed her against her chest, and asked softly, “What is her name?”
Su Zhao felt that the force restraining her was a bit heavy, but the degree of control was well managed, preventing her from leaving without hurting her excessively, keeping it within her tolerance range, so she couldn’t bring herself to voice any complaints.
After struggling with difficulty for a long moment, Su Zhao managed to free one arm from her embrace, pointing toward the direction she had been looking at just moments ago, “It’s the owner of that Number 12 private box!”
The next second, her excited mood cooled down, and Su Zhao wore a bitter expression once more, whining, “I do not know what her name is.”
At this moment, Su Zhao truly regretted it to her core. She shouldn’t have, absolutely shouldn’t have, found the auctioneer too annoying earlier and let her walk away so easily.
At the very least, she should have asked for Number 12’s information first so it would be convenient to seek revenge later!
It was just that before seeing the situation inside the box, even if Su Zhao wrung her brains out, she would have only assumed her master was a pervert who had taken a fancy to her looks.
Who could have known that fellow was purely a massive pervert? She specifically picked things she had bitten into to eat.
Who knew if there was still her saliva on them.
Ew, rather disgusting.
It couldn’t be dwelled upon at all.
Su Zhao said viciously, “She even deliberately ate the peach I bit into just to disgust me. The next time we meet, I will definitely give her a heavy punch!”
The next second, her tone shifted to regret, and Su Zhao was filled with lingering remorse, “It’s a pity that back then, back then I felt too awful, I didn’t open my eyes and didn’t see her face the entire time, otherwise I would have drawn a portrait for sister to make it easier for sister to find her.”
“Don’t worry, I will handle this matter.”
After pacifying her, Evelyn asked, “Apart from Number 12, who else has bullied you?”
With no clues regarding Number 12 for the moment, Su Zhao immediately recalled the main culprit: “There is an even more hateful fellow!”
The sins of the succubus were too numerous to record.
Su Zhao recounted all the various evil deeds of the succubus one by one. Just talking about them left her throat dry.
The more she spoke, the angrier she became; the more she spoke, the more aggrieved she felt. Her emotions surged higher, and her tone grew increasingly indignant. Reaching a peak of excitement, she couldn’t help smacking the armrest and jumping up.
“Sister, you must help me seek justice! I want to strike her weakness hard! Isn’t she a poor wretch who lacks money? I’ll just snatch away all her property! Anger her to death!”
A layer of frost gradually condensed in Evelyn’s eyes, her gaze sharp as a knife.
It was a very childish approach that sounded completely ungratifying and failed to dispel the fury in her heart.
Yet in front of Su Zhao, Evelyn said nothing of the sort.
Her gaze fell tenderly upon her, gently pressing down on her shoulders, softly sweeping aside a stray lock of hair falling beside her ear and tucking it neatly behind her ear.
She only said, “Alright, I’ll help you.”
Awooo!
Spoiled by big sister again!
Su Zhao’s eyes sparkled brightly. Before she could even think of any flattering compliments to praise her big sister’s reliability, she heard her say:
“And that Number 7, as well as the manager of the auction house. Bear with it for a few days; once I catch them, I will send them over to you.”
“However you want to vent your anger on them, it’s all up to you.”
Su Zhao was startled, asking in astonishment, “How does sister know? I haven’t even told sister yet.”
Evelyn slightly raised her chin, gesturing toward the entrance.
“Just captured a few people and interrogated them roughly.”
Following her gaze, Su Zhao saw a line of fully armed Holy See knights escorting dozens of bound captives inside, appearing to prepare for further interrogation.
Among the line of captives, a face bruised black and blue looked exceptionally familiar. Sticking her neck forward forcefully like a duck being led to the execution block, she struggled frantically and flailed her arms, attempting to attract her attention.
Su Zhao looked closely: Oh, it’s the auctioneer!
This unlucky soul had indeed been captured.
Her appearance looked thoroughly miserable, making Su Zhao’s nonexistent conscience twinge slightly. Meeting her mournful, plea-for-help gaze, she tugged at Evelyn’s sleeve and leaned in to whisper softly:
“I let her go, didn’t she tell you?”
“I heard her mention it, knowing that she had gained your special favor.”
Whether it was Su Zhao’s imagination or not, Evelyn seemed to bite down heavily on the last few words.
Without even glancing over in that direction, yet knowing precisely who she was speaking of, Evelyn’s tone turned slightly cold, “Rest assured, I won’t take her life. It’s just that the city is in chaos right now, and letting her run around everywhere would only make her more dangerous.”
“Once I finish interrogating her shortly, I will release her completely unharmed.”
The auctioneer: QAQ
With her life on the line, the auctioneer as the person involved was exceptionally sensitive, keenly sensing something amiss from Evelyn’s tone.
She seemed to have discovered something she shouldn’t know!
Was she really not going to be killed?
“Alrighty then.” From afar, the auctioneer saw the thick-skinned princess nod understandingly, shrug at her, and show a helpless expression: “Set your mind at ease, sister is just protecting you.”
The Saintess’s expression was soft, breaking into a rare smile as she finally condescended to raise her head and cast a distant look in her direction.
Her gaze was very cold.
Freezing the auctioneer into a shudder.
The auctioneer: Not feeling at ease in the slightest.
Su Zhao casually reminded Evelyn again, “Sister, remember to ask about Number 12’s identity; she might know.”
The auctioneer’s brain went blank as she instinctively looked toward the Saintess with a face full of question marks, only to receive a warning glare full of chilliness from the other party.
With a bitter expression, the auctioneer wheezed out faintly, “I beg you, please stop talking.”
The rest of the people filed in one after another, as if the abyss had heard her prayer. The commander of the vanguard knights at the very end stepped forward, bowing their head to report the battle situation to the Saintess.
“The vanguard has already taken the City Lord’s Mansion, but the traitor Norland is not inside the city. According to the servants, she rushed to the Elven Forest days ago and has not yet returned to the city.”
Evelyn gave her orders: “Have Andrew lead a team to encircle and suppress her, and notify the two mages sent by the royal family to assist us to head over together.”
“Later, I will ask His Majesty to contact the Elven Queen and have the elves move out to stall them.”
Pausing, she turned her head to look at Su Zhao.
“Rest assured, I am here for everything. All the grievances you suffered, I will help you claim them back.”
Before Su Zhao could even start feeling happy over this naked protection, the next second, she saw Evelyn pause in silence for a brief moment, bend down slightly so her line of sight leveled with hers, press her right hand onto her shoulder, carefully weigh her tone, and speak softly.
“The battle here is not yet over, and there is chaos everywhere, which can hardly be called safe. I’m a bit worried about you, so I’ll first send someone to escort you back to the Summer Palace.”
Su Zhao’s heart sank, her previous joy instantly wiped clean.
Her emotions plummeted straight to rock bottom.
Her mind filled entirely with a single sentence.
Her bath was all for nothing!
This simply wouldn’t do!
Su Zhao’s internal alarm bells instantly rang wildly as she reluctantly grabbed her sleeve, looking at her with a pitiful expression, utterly crestfallen.
“Sister, we finally managed to meet. Are you not going to stay with me?”