Vanessa stepped back and tilted her chin toward Ke Leya.
“Spin around.”
Ke Leya looked down at the unfamiliar clothes she was wearing, hesitated for a moment, then obediently turned in a slow circle.
The skirt of the dress gently billowed with the movement before settling back around her ankles.
Vanessa’s gaze landed on the girl’s hair, which had fallen loose with the motion.
She walked behind Ke Leya and gathered the cool, smooth strands with her fingers.
Ke Leya felt Vanessa’s fingertips occasionally brush against the skin on the back of her neck.
It tickled a little, and she unconsciously shrank her neck.
“What are you doing?”
“Don’t move. Your hair is a mess.”
“Oh.”
Ke Leya stood still, letting Vanessa fuss with her hair.
She could feel Vanessa’s fingers weaving through her locks, the movements a little clumsy.
Sometimes, they would gently tug at the roots, which stung a bit.
“Have you tied anyone else’s hair before?”
Ke Leya suddenly asked.
Vanessa’s hands paused.
“No,” she said, continuing her work as she split a section of hair into three strands.
“I just learned it for you.”
Ke Leya blinked.
She stared at the rough wooden wall in front of her, the words turning over in her mind.
“But it hurts a little.”
Hearing this, Vanessa’s movements became lighter, but faster.
Her fingers worked through the cool, silky silver hair, clumsy yet earnest, gathering it together.
She secured it with two dark hair ties she had slipped off her own wrist.
At the back of Ke Leya’s head, she tied a pair of not-quite-neat but clean twin-tails.
“There,” Vanessa said.
Her fingers slid down, brushing against Ke Leya’s nape before gently pressing her shoulders, turning her to face her.
Ke Leya looked up.
Before she could clearly see the expression on Vanessa’s face, a soft, warm feeling landed on her forehead.
“A kiss like this,” Vanessa said, pulling back slightly to look into her eyes.
“It won’t hurt anymore.”
Ke Leya blinked.
A strange warmth still lingered on the spot on her forehead where she had been kissed.
She lifted her hand to touch it, but her fingers paused mid-air before falling back down.
She poked the System in her mind.
“She kissed me,” Ke Leya stated.
“Mm-hmm, I saw.”
The System’s electronic voice sounded a bit lazy, with an undertone of someone enjoying the show.
“Did I end up losing on this deal?”
“…”
The System was silent for two seconds.
“From the perspective of Equivalent Exchange, Host, you just used three kisses to get three lives.
Now she’s voluntarily kissing you once without charging you extra.
Theoretically, you didn’t lose.”
“And practically?”
“Practically speaking…”
The System drew out its tone.
“She came out way ahead.
She made the first move, which is her unilaterally taking advantage of you.”
“Oh,” Ke Leya understood.
“So what should I do?”
From the System’s end came a sound like flipping through pages or typing on a keyboard.
After a moment, it suggested with a tone of encouragement, tinged with uncertainty:
“Why don’t you kiss her back?”
Ke Leya considered the logic of this suggestion.
“Is that really okay?”
“It’s fine. I’ve searched through a lot of literature, and that’s what they all do.”
So Ke Leya looked up at Vanessa, who was still standing in front of her, looking down at her as if waiting for a reaction.
She slightly tilted her head up, took a small step forward, and while Vanessa was still processing, stood on her tiptoes and gave a quick peck right back.
Vanessa clearly hadn’t expected this “return gift.”
She froze for a moment, looking at Ke Leya, who had already stood back down straight after the quick peck.
The lingering warmth on her forehead felt like a feather gently brushing across her heart.
The surprise in her gray eyes quickly settled, replaced by a smile.
“Fast learner,” Vanessa said, reaching out to tidy the bangs Ke Leya had mussed up against her forehead.
“But next time, you might want to try a different kind of return gift.”
“Like what?”
Ke Leya asked, tilting her face up. She was genuinely curious.
Vanessa didn’t answer.
She just took Ke Leya’s hand and turned to walk toward the door.
“Let’s head out first.”
Ke Leya, led by her hand, looked down at their intertwined fingers.
She didn’t pull away.
The door opened.
The light in the hotel hallway was a bit brighter than in the room.
The wooden floorboards creaked slightly under their feet, and the stairs at the end led downwards.
As they descended the stairs, Vanessa walked half a step ahead, still holding Ke Leya’s hand firmly.
Ke Leya watched the steps, walking a little slowly. Her body was indeed still weak, her legs feeling like jelly.
Halfway down, Vanessa suddenly stopped and turned.
“Tired?”
Ke Leya honestly nodded.
Without a word, Vanessa turned around and crouched down in front of her.
“Hop on.”
Ke Leya looked at the broad back before her.
She hesitated for a moment but still climbed on, wrapping her arms around Vanessa’s neck.
Vanessa lifted her up easily and continued downstairs.
This position left Ke Leya plastered against her back, her chin resting on Vanessa’s shoulder.
“System,” Ke Leya said in her mind.
“Is this normal?”
“Cute!… I mean, this kind of cute girl cuddling is definitely normal.”
The System’s electronic voice sounded very satisfied.
“Just enjoy it. Don’t overthink it.”
A few guests were sitting in the first-floor lobby. Hearing the noise from the stairs, they looked up.
Seeing Vanessa carrying a silver-haired girl on her back, their gazes turned to surprise.
Since when did that God of Killing kidnap a little girl?
Vanessa ignored these looks entirely.
She walked straight through the lobby and pushed open the hotel’s heavy wooden door.
Noise and light flooded in.
Ke Leya squinted instinctively.
The street wasn’t wide, paved with gray flagstones, with wooden and stone houses of varying heights lining both sides.
Various signs hung outside the shops. The air was mixed with the burnt fragrance of baking bread.
People came and went.
Children shrieked as they chased each other through the alleys.
The sounds were chaotic.
Ke Leya, lying on Vanessa’s shoulder, slowly opened her eyes wide.
So this was the outside world?
“Hold tight,” Vanessa’s voice pulled her attention back.
A man pushing a cart piled high with wooden barrels shouted as he squeezed past them.
Vanessa sidestepped, shifting her arms to hold Ke Leya more securely on her back.
“System, according to novels, vampires should be afraid of light, right?”
“For a High Pure-Blood like you, sunbathing is like getting some calcium.”
The System’s voice explained in her mind, its tone casual.
“The ones afraid of sunlight are those Lowly Blood Servants and Mixed Bloods.
Your father is a Duke; your constitution can handle the sun just fine.”
So she could walk under the sun.
This realization made her tighten her arms around Vanessa’s neck.
Vanessa felt it and turned her head to ask,
“What’s wrong?”
“The sun,” Ke Leya said, her voice right by Vanessa’s ear.
“It’s not hot.”
Vanessa didn’t stop walking.
“I know.”
She carried Ke Leya further along the stone-paved road, merging into the flow of people on the street.
There was a stall on the roadside.
On the iron rack hung a sizzling, oily roasted chicken.
Drops of fat fell into the charcoal fire, sending up small puffs of smoke and a stronger, richer aroma.
She had never eaten that.
She wanted it.