The moment of shock was brief.
Shiya quickly understood Leonora’s purpose in doing this.
Just like the original owner of this body, Leonora was also an unapologetic ‘love-addled brain’.
All her seemingly shrewd calculations ultimately aimed to break the two of them apart and make Karlen fall for her.
A villainess young lady and a yandere cannon fodder girl—if divided into factions in a game, they could be considered a pair of villainous sisters.
But Shiya didn’t see it that way.
Leonora’s proposal seemed like a win-win, but in reality, she was just treating Shiya as disposable cannon fodder for dirty, hard work, to be discarded after use.
“I agree,” Shiya said, nodding with difficulty and slowness.
“That’s more like it.”
Leonora looked quite pleased, releasing the hand that had been pressing on Shiya’s shoulder and strolling over to the window to admire the scenery outside.
“Only by making Elena lose her reputation and have nothing left will you be able to get close to her and become her sole support, right? Isn’t that what you’ve always dreamed of?”
Leonora turned her head to look, only to find the hospital bed already empty.
At that moment, Shiya was supporting her weak body, swaying unsteadily as she walked to the door of the ward, her palm about to grasp the handle.
Unfortunately, being one move behind meant being one move behind.
In the blink of an eye, Leonora was behind Shiya, grabbing that unruly little hand.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Leonora’s tone was icy.
Shiya gritted her silver teeth, glaring at Leonora.
“You have no right to restrict my freedom.”
The two women engaged in a tussle and entanglement at the ward door for a good while.
In the end, the physically weak Shiya lost, being pressed back onto the hospital bed by Leonora.
This time, Leonora didn’t hold back at all, pressing her entire body onto Shiya to prevent the still-struggling girl from escaping again.
“I just don’t get it. Why are you resisting such a mutually beneficial good thing?”
Leonora’s beautiful eyebrows furrowed fiercely.
“In that case, I might as well tell Elena everything, including your scheme.”
Despite the obvious power disparity clearly establishing a hierarchy, Shiya still had no intention of giving up her resistance, continuously pushing against Leonora.
In this back-and-forth, her hands pressed against Leonora’s flat chest several times.
This made Leonora even more furious, so she decided to return the favor, giving Shiya a hard pinch.
“Mmm…”
Shiya let out a soft moan, momentarily losing all strength, her entire body going limp and tingling.
Seeing this move had an unexpectedly effective result, Leonora also breathed a sigh of relief, simply lying on top of Shiya to rest.
Their faces were exceptionally close at this moment.
On the white sheets, patches of wet stains spread.
But please don’t misunderstand.
These were merely the drops of sweat the young ladies shed while vying for dominance in their hierarchical relationship.
Shiya had her own considerations for saying those words.
The original owner had borrowed such a large sum of money to help Elena campaign for Student Council President.
She just hadn’t said it out loud, afraid of hurting Elena’s pride.
But Shiya was no fool.
Since Elena had enjoyed the benefits brought by that money, she should also help figure out a way to repay the debt, not foolishly keep it a secret like the original owner, only to be exploited by others later.
“Is Elena really worth you using everything to protect?”
Leonora stared into Shiya’s pale golden eyes, asking word by word.
In Leonora’s view, Shiya was willing to protect Elena even if it meant Elena learning about her massive debt and coming to hate her.
Although displeased, Leonora sighed and compromised, taking a step back.
“As long as you promise to do the job well, your debt will be wiped clean. Besides that, I can also grant you one condition.”
Shiya’s heart stirred.
One must know that the Leonora family ranked among the top in the Imperial Capital in terms of wealth and magical knowledge reserves.
Leveraging her influence would be far more efficient than Shiya searching for a way home like a headless fly.
“Is that for real? Then I want you to…”
As Shiya spoke, an orchid-like fragrance wafted around Leonora’s nose, and warm breath brushed against her earlobe.
This made Leonora unconsciously move her head back a little, her gaze shifting.
Although she knew Shiya’s sentence wasn’t finished, Leonora’s heartbeat involuntarily quickened a few beats.
It was utterly baffling.
The two briefly immersed themselves in the pink atmosphere they themselves had created, unaware until the ward door was suddenly pushed open, catching them completely off guard.
“What are you two doing?”
Elena’s voice rang out abruptly, startling the two girls into separating at lightning speed, then sitting up straight-backed and proper on the bed.
Shiya began tidying her disheveled snow-white hair, as if to hide something.
After a moment of panic, Leonora shot Elena a challenging look.
Elena’s face gradually darkened, her fists clenched, a thin layer of frost spreading in her eyes.
“I was wondering why Shiya has been acting so strange lately. So it’s you, Leonora, who’s been behind it all, corrupting her.”
Elena’s voice carried an uncontrollable anger.
Yet perhaps even she herself didn’t realize that deep down, she felt a wave of relief, as if a long-standing confusion had finally been answered—a truth that was undeniable and not to be profaned.
Leonora was clearly taken aback for a moment, then she laughed.
“President Elena, you shouldn’t make accusations without evidence.”
After saying that, Leonora blew a puff of air into Shiya’s ear, causing the other girl to blush crimson, then straightened her sleeves and strode away with her head held high.
Leaving only the mess on the hospital bed behind.
Shiya had been pretending to be busy smoothing out the wrinkles on her clothes, though the damp collar and bedding were indeed causing her great distress.
But she couldn’t very well change clothes in front of an outsider, so she had to endure it.
Guiltily glancing over, she found Elena had already sat down on the bed and was looking at her.
Shiya’s body stiffened for a moment, then she curled up and retreated toward the head of the bed.
Memories of the original owner being neglected and turned into a doll were subtly but continuously changing her, making her follow her survival instinct to start distancing herself from Elena.
Seeing Shiya reject her approach, Elena didn’t know whether to reach out and grab her or scold her too harshly.
She couldn’t bring herself to do either.
She simply thought Shiya was acting this way out of shame, having been caught in the act of coming out of the closet.
She sighed, deciding to start with gentle persuasion.
“Shiya, what Leonora did to you… it’s not because she genuinely likes you.”
Shiya was a bit confused.
Of course Leonora didn’t like her.
But she quickly realized that Leonora’s series of actions just now had conveniently misled Elena, covering for her, the mole.
She didn’t dare say much, afraid of exposing herself, and could only let out a soft “Mhm.”
In Elena’s eyes, this meant Shiya had been overly brainwashed by Leonora, and it would be very difficult to set her back on the right path.
Mentioning her old rival Leonora, the chill in Elena’s eyes deepened, her tone laced with gritted teeth.
“I think her real purpose in getting close to you is to disgust me, to ruin my reputation, so she can take back the Student Council President position. That’s how these children of the great noble families are. They don’t even hold the royal family in regard.”
Shiya tilted her head.
The problem-solving process was entirely correct, but the answer was completely wrong.
Leonora, love-addled brain number two, was doing all this just to compete with you for Karlen.
But it was a bit inappropriate for the topic to keep revolving around Leonora.
“Elena, do you still have work at the Student Council? Right now, I’m penniless and can’t even afford a meal.”
Elena’s expression changed.
“Yes, but only odd jobs like cleaning at the Student Council are left.”
Elena had been about to add—don’t even think about positions like the President’s Assistant or Secretary—because Shiya had once requested those too, not for proper work, but just to get closer to her.
When Shiya learned that Karlen was concurrently holding that position, she had flown into a rage, nearly smashing everything in Karlen’s office.
But Shiya waved her hand, cutting her off first.
“Can I get an advance on a month’s salary then?”
What kind of work it was didn’t really matter to Shiya.
She only believed in the principle that one’s labor should yield its due reward.
This sudden change caught Elena off guard, making her speech somewhat halting.
“That… of course you can.”
Hearing there was money to be had, that she could improve her living conditions, Shiya, who had been expressionless all along, relaxed her brows and eyes, revealing a faint smile.
This made Elena, who had been by her side for half the day, feel very uncomfortable.
It felt like Shiya had become a stranger, as if she had fallen headfirst into the pursuit of money.
Elena still wanted to continue emphasizing that Leonora was harboring ill intentions and had ulterior motives.
Unfortunately, at that moment, an untimely, urgent knocking sound came from the ward door.