Lorevil picked up the unfinished blood berry cake and took a large bite.
It was good that Noxia was returning to normal.
Furthermore, the black patch above her wife’s head was now only a thin layer. Most of her health bar was covered in pure white, and its fluctuations were stable.
As Lorevil chewed, she thought, ‘It’s probably going to be difficult to completely clear Noxia’s Blackening Value.’
She would just have to take it slow.
“Is it good?” Noxia asked expectantly, her eyes fixed on her, cheeks still flushed with a lingering blush.
She had woken up before dawn to make the blood berry cake.
She had used fine icing specifically for it. In the past, Lorevil would have either handed such snacks to the servants or simply thrown them away. The cake had never been tasted so solemnly until today.
“Yes, it’s very sweet. It’s even better than the ones from the store,” Lorevil praised sincerely.
The texture was soft and chewy, sweet but not overpowering, with a faint, fresh fragrance. Noxia’s effort was evident.
“I’m glad you like it. I… I’ll make it for you more often from now on.”
Hearing the compliment, Noxia’s voice was soft, her beautiful eyes filled with joy.
“Sure,” Lorevil nodded with a smile, though her heart felt a bit complicated.
Noxia’s gentleness made her heart race. However, when she thought of Mahina and the relationship that had already occurred between them, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt.
She really couldn’t understand the original owner’s thought process. Why provoke that iceberg teacher, Catherine, when she had such a delicious and gentle fiancée at home?
As she was thinking, a thought suddenly flashed through her mind.
‘If the Blackening Value only appears on those with whom I have a strong emotional bond, then if I suddenly cut ties with Catherine, will she also develop a Blackening Value?’
The thought was terrifying.
However, Lorevil shook her head, not wanting to dwell on it any longer.
She would cross that bridge when she came to it. For now, she should just rest well. Why worry so much?
After sleeping for a while, Lorevil felt a soft body pressing against her, so she pulled it closer.
‘Is it Noxia?’
Lorevil didn’t move. If it was Noxia by her side, she felt at peace.
After lying there for a bit longer, her hair became damp with sweat. Lorevil prepared to get up and bathe.
Just as she was about to move, she heard a soft inquiry from beside her. “Lorevil, are you awake?”
“Yes. I’m feeling a bit sticky from the sweat, so I’m going to take a bath.”
Lorevil pressed a light kiss onto Noxia’s forehead, grabbed a change of clothes, and went to the private bathing room for a hot bath.
The water was heated via a secret technique scroll. Although this otherworldly world lacked entertainment like cell phones, it had similar substitutes like communication blood crystals, which were quite convenient.
“Noxia, I’m going out for a bit,” Lorevil said, putting on her coat after finishing her bath.
She planned to check on Mahina’s house.
At the time, Mahina had only rented a cheap house after moving out of the workshop.
Back then, Mahina was being harassed by several thugs outside the workshop, and it was Lorevil who had stepped in to help her out of the predicament.
Thinking about it now, the original owner hadn’t looked too deeply into Mahina’s troubles, which still left some lingering problems.
“Then, are you coming back for dinner tonight?” Noxia asked expectantly, her complexion looking much better and her face flushed a healthy pink.
“Of course,” Lorevil smiled. “Make some blood mushroom soup and a blood steak.”
“I understand. I’ll be waiting for you to come back, Lorevil.”
Lorevil responded and headed out.
—
Mahina’s house was very remote; even getting to the workshop required a long walk.
Lorevil planned to find her a different house further away.
Mahina was a Human, and her status in Holy Blood City was very low. After all, this was a city where the Vampire race gathered. Although a treaty had been signed with the Human Empire a hundred years ago prohibiting the sale of human blood slaves, their situation was still very poor.
The building Mahina had chosen had ten floors, and the price was reasonable. It was filled with Humans living in Holy Blood City, huddled together for warmth. Furthermore, the owner of the house was a compassionate Tier 3 Vampire. Protecting them would be no problem.
Lorevil followed her memories to the third floor and raised her hand to knock on the door. “Mahina, it’s me, Lorevil.”
There was no movement. Was she not home?
She had to use the spare key.
*Click, click.*
The old wooden door was pulled open.
The interior was very damp. Lorevil could smell the scent of rain and the musty odor of earth.
The single room wasn’t large. it was similar to the rental rooms she had seen while job hunting before she transmigrated. The walls were mottled, and there was even a thin layer of mold in the corners. The only window faced a narrow alley, and the light was dim, making the entire room feel even more oppressive.
There was a dilapidated wooden bed, a set of tables and chairs, an empty bread bag on the table, and half a cup of fresh water.
Mahina wasn’t on the bed; instead, she was crouching in a corner of the room. She was wearing a white dress and hugging her knees. The beautiful girl’s gloomy face was stained with tear tracks, looking heavy and depressed.
“Mahina, what’s wrong? Did you not go to work at the workshop today?” Lorevil asked worriedly, swallowing hard.
She thought of the Mahina from her dream, and those cold, terrifying scissors…
She had come this time to arrange a better place for Mahina to stay and to see if she could break up with the non-blackened version of Mahina. Noxia was her fiancée, so it was better to cut ties as soon as possible. If she could maintain her distance from Mahina from the start, she probably wouldn’t be imprisoned by a blackened Mahina again.
Probably?
Mahina looked up, her dull eyes brightening for a moment when she saw her, before dimming again. “I… I was fired, Lady Lorevil,” she said dejectedly.
Perhaps because of Lorevil’s arrival, she recovered some of her spirit. “Even though Lady Lorevil helped me, I still couldn’t do my job well. Am I just useless?”
“How could that be?” Lorevil asked with a frown. In her memory, the young woman had always been reliable. There was no such thing as her being useless. “Mahina, you definitely put your heart into it. Was there another reason they fired you?”
“It’s because… because the workshop foreman said that I offended the thugs, and it would bring trouble to the workshop.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Lorevil glimpsed the health bar above Mahina’s head.
The black was almost overflowing, and thick black energy was seeping out in strands, almost solidifying into a physical form.
The blood in Lorevil’s body froze instantly, and she subconsciously took a half-step back.
Last time, it was just because Lorevil had rejected a small request from Mahina. This time was much more serious! This state was almost infinitely close to the Mahina with the scissors in the nightmare where she killed her.
‘Damn thugs! How dare they threaten the workshop!’ Lorevil cursed in her heart.
The original owner hadn’t finished the job properly, or perhaps she had acted on a whim without intending to see it through. She hadn’t completely solved the trouble, leaving such a mess for Lorevil to deal with.
“I really am… just a burden,” Mahina said, looking at Lorevil through misty eyes. Her beautiful face was filled with self-loathing.
“That’s not it,” Lorevil said, forcing herself to stay calm. “The trouble is those thugs. It’s because the workshop is afraid to offend wicked people that they bully honest people like you!”
“But… it’s all because of me. I am the one who brought the trouble and the misfortune.”
Mahina’s Blackening Value didn’t seem to stop changing because of Lorevil’s comfort. Instead, it was still skyrocketing. The black mist grew thicker and thicker, almost filling the entire room.
Lorevil panicked.
Comfort wasn’t working. Mahina was completely denying her own worth.
“Yes, it’s all because of you!”
Lorevil pretended to scold her angrily, her voice trembling.
Mahina froze.
The Lorevil before her seemed different from before. Not only did she not comfort her, but she had started to reprimand her.
Could it be… that even Lorevil thought they were right and that it was her fault?