Chapter 51: Their Own Thoughts?

“What were you doing?”

Iona looked at Phyllis, who had returned late, and posed a soul-searching question.

“Ha… Sorry about that, High Priestess Iona…”

Phyllis scratched her head, somewhat embarrassed.

“I walked out of habit and accidentally went back to the old cabin.”

Fortunately, Phyllis had walked that distance, and the evening breeze had already cooled the flush on her face.

Otherwise, Priestess Iona would have definitely noticed something.

“I almost went out to look for you.”

Iona’s gaze lingered on Phyllis for a moment, seeming to pierce through appearances to see something deeper.

“Haha, I’m really sorry to have worried you, High Priestess Iona.”

Phyllis felt a little unnerved under that stare.

‘She shouldn’t be able to tell anything, right?’

“Go and rest.”

Iona finally stepped aside, indicating for Phyllis to return to her new room.

“Good night, High Priestess Iona.”

Phyllis whispered, then tiptoed back to her room and gently closed the door.

Iona stared at Phyllis’s back for a long time before finally walking back to her own room to rest.

The room was quiet. Moonlight from outside the window spilled through the glass, spreading a layer of silver frost on the floor.

Phyllis walked to the bed and sat down, instinctively wanting to take out the Mirror Magic Tool again, but her fingers paused, and she resisted the urge.

After all, she was right next to Iona’s room now.

Although Carola was confident in her barrier techniques, it was better to be careful.

Phyllis washed up a bit, then lay down on the bed and opened her system interface.

[Name: Phyllis]

[Race: Catkin]

[Attributes: Strength 25; Defense 20; Agility 50; Intelligence 20; Luck 7; Charm 30]

[Status: Healthy]

[Talents: Cat’s Agility (Advanced), Night Vision (Advanced), Keen Smell (Intermediate)]

[Skills: Claw Strike (Expert), Stealth (Expert), Combat Skills (Proficient), Meditation (Proficient)]

[Special: Master-Servant Contract of the Blood Tribe; Protection of the Cat God; Carola’s Gift]

The high charm stat of thirty points already left Phyllis speechless.

Recently, after being bitten by Carola, her attribute points always went to charm.

She really didn’t want it.

Wouldn’t it be better to add to strength or defense?

What good is such a high charm stat?

Can you eat it?

Hmm…

Actually, it seems you really can!

Phyllis rubbed her eyes. Whatever, an attribute increase is a good thing anyway.

She had also gained a new skill.

Meditation.

[Meditation: During the process of meditation, there is a chance to increase Intelligence by 1 point.]

Closing the panel, Phyllis pulled the blanket up higher.

The blanket was soft and carried the scent of sunshine.

Logically, it should be easy to fall asleep, but she couldn’t.

Her mind was a mess.

‘Only Carola’s meow…’

Phyllis repeated the recent whisper in her heart, then buried her flushed face into the pillow, even flattening her cat ears under it.

It should have been tense, scary, and filled with a sense of taboo.

So why, deep in her heart… was there a hint of sweet, fluttering joy?

‘Am I really beyond saving?’

Phyllis tossed and turned in bed.

Her heart felt like it was being tickled by a feather, a tingling, itchy sensation spreading.

She clearly knew the other party was dangerous.

She clearly knew the consequences would be unthinkable if this relationship were exposed.

Yet, that secret, taboo-tinged closeness was like the sweetest poison, making her both afraid and unable to resist indulging.

Then, Phyllis thought about what happened today.

One moment it was Iona’s suggestive words, the next was Mia’s gossipy smile.

Finally, her memory settled on the scene in the cabin:

The soft sensation when Carola held her, and those blood-red eyes that still shone brightly in the dim light.

Amidst this chaotic thinking, Phyllis finally fell into a deep sleep.

However, what Phyllis didn’t know was that in the room next door, Iona was also suffering from insomnia.

“What exactly is that child hiding from me?”

Iona murmured to herself.

Even Iona hadn’t imagined that the reason she couldn’t find the answer was hidden on Phyllis’s Mirror Magic Tool.

That was normal.

Who would think Carola had turned into a Bat Decoration clinging to a Mirror Magic Tool?

Ever since Phyllis returned to the Sacred Ground, Iona had felt something was very off about her.

It wasn’t just the extra mark on her neck.

More importantly, it was her state.

‘Poor child, I wonder what kind of torment she suffered at the hands of that Blood Tribe member…’

Iona lay on the soft large bed.

Moonlight also filled her room but failed to bring her any sleepiness.

Phyllis’s expression earlier, though the surface flush had been faded by the evening breeze, still held a moist, shining light in her eyes that she probably wasn’t fully aware of, along with the unconsciously relaxed yet slightly tense lines of her shoulders and neck…

These things couldn’t escape the eyes of an experienced High Priestess.

‘It feels like the expression after a satisfying date…’

Iona repeated her judgment in a low voice, a slight frown on her brow.

This conclusion felt absurd even to her.

How could Phyllis have a date here in the Catkin Sacred Ground?

With whom?

That Blood Princess?

But after Carola infiltrated the Sacred Ground last time, she and the other High Priestesses had strengthened the Sacred Ground’s protection.

It was guaranteed that such a thing would never happen again.

Moreover, could that Blood Princess really come to the Sacred Ground repeatedly?

Did they think the Catkin’s Cat God was just for show?

“Blood Tribe…”

Iona whispered the name again.

They were a powerful and ancient race.

In terms of overall strength, the Catkin were indeed weaker than them.

But the Catkin weren’t worried about the threat from the Blood Tribe.

Because the Catkin were just one branch of the Beastman Race.

Although the Beastman Race didn’t have the close clan relationships of the Blood Tribe, and the different types of beastmen were relatively scattered.

However, the overall strength of the Beastman Race surpassed that of the Blood Tribe.

They were even stronger than the Machine Race!

Iona looked out the window at the bright moon and sighed softly.

She was worried that Phyllis, even under the Protection of the Cat God, would still be influenced by that Blood Tribe member.

Because in this world, besides forced soul enslavement and Master-Servant Contracts.

There were other ways to influence thinking.

For example, love.

“Love…”

Iona genuinely loved this sometimes reckless, cute Catkin girl, seeing her as a niece to cherish.

Her statement that she believed Phyllis would definitely become a Formal Saintess wasn’t a lie.

She truly believed it.

Precisely because of that, she could not stand by and watch Phyllis unknowingly slide into the abyss called love.

If Phyllis could temporarily communicate with the Cat God, she would have wanted to conduct a thorough examination and purification for her through the Cat God.

“Sleep well, Phyllis!”

She whispered to herself, with the resolve of a protector.

“In places you cannot perceive, I will watch over you for you. I absolutely will not…”

‘…let you fall in love with that Blood Tribe member!’

Iona lay still for a while longer, until the moonlight shifted, before slowly closing her eyes.

Good night.