Perfecting Her Answer Outline.
After the two returned to the room, Elia had originally planned to continue refining her answer outline.
After all, Kiz had said the daytime version was too official, so she needed to polish the wording a little more…
But just as she picked up her quill, Kiz reached out from behind, placed both hands on her shoulders, pulled her up from the chair, and hauled her toward the bed.
Her posture was like that of a commander carrying out an important military mission.
“Now it’s time to rest! Elia, you’ve been reviewing all afternoon. Tonight, you’re not allowed to think about Mother’s matters anymore!”
Kiz sat her down on the edge of the bed, then pushed her backward, causing Elia to fall face-up onto the quilt.
“Exam preparation also requires a balance between work and rest! Tonight’s task is to sleep well, recover your energy, and continue tomorrow.”
“Kiz… Didn’t you say you’d help me prepare for the exam?”
Before Elia could even prop herself up, Kiz had already climbed onto the bed, burrowed into her arms, and rubbed her hair all over Elia’s face.
Elia instinctively hugged her, placed a palm on her back, and felt the subtle difference in temperature through her thin nightgown.
Kiz’s body temperature was slightly lower than that of an ordinary human, a physiological trait of the Blood Clan.
When Elia had first met her, she hadn’t been used to holding someone with such a cool body.
Now, however, she found that coolness just right.
If she raised Kiz’s body temperature a little, she could serve as a constant-temperature heating pad…
Although Elia herself wasn’t sensitive to cold or heat, holding Kiz in summer could help her cool down, while in winter, she could use Holy Light to raise Kiz’s body temperature a little.
“What are you thinking about again?”
Kiz’s voice came from against her chest.
‘I’m wondering whether you’re a warm-blooded or cold-blooded animal.’
“What did you say?”
“Just kidding~”
Kiz struggled to sit up, but Elia placed a hand on the back of her head and gently pushed her down again.
Then Elia closed her eyes.
“Your joke isn’t funny at all.”
“Don’t move around. Sleep.”
“Don’t move around. Sleep.”
Kiz’s breathing had a strangely soothing rhythm, almost like an automatic sleep aid.
She pressed herself against Elia’s chest, her breath gently brushing over Elia’s collarbone whenever she exhaled.
A few minutes later, Elia felt Kiz’s fingers lightly tracing something on her shoulder.
First, she drew a circle, then a line, followed by another circle.
After examining it for a while, Elia realized that the Little Princess was tracing a bite mark on her shoulder that hadn’t completely faded.
Thinking back, Elia realized that the bite seemed to have happened two days ago.
At the time, Kiz had begged for mercy after being tickled. Once Elia finally let her go, Kiz had rolled over and bitten her, declaring that they were even.
Now, the bite mark had faded until only a faint red outline remained, yet Kiz’s fingertips could still trace its shape accurately.
“You remember the locations of my bite marks so clearly?”
Elia asked.
“I remember every bite mark you’ve left on my body… Their positions, shapes, and depths. They’re all mine.”
After saying that, Kiz ended up getting embarrassed herself.
She buried her face in Elia’s shoulder and added in a muffled voice.
“Don’t tell anyone!”
“I won’t. But if I wrote what you just said into my answer outline, your mother would probably give me full marks.”
“In your dreams! Mother wouldn’t give extra points for that.”
“Then what would she give extra points for?”
“Because she’s also a very possessive person herself, so she’d probably appreciate some of your answers.”
After Kiz finished speaking, she let out a tiny yawn, and her body gradually relaxed.
Hearing that, Elia raised an eyebrow.
“Does this count as inside information?”
“Not really. This is common sense…”
After saying that, Kiz yawned again and quickly drifted into a half-asleep, half-awake state.
As for Elia, she could tell from Kiz’s breathing rate and heartbeat.
It was a conditioned reflex that had developed from spending so much time together.
Elia looked down at the Little Princess sleeping in her arms.
A thin red line ran straight down from her forehead, crossed the bridge of her nose, and stopped at the edge of her slightly parted lips.
Her two signature fangs faintly reflected the light.
When she bit people, she usually looked fierce, but while asleep, her fangs seemed more like decorations, adding an almost unreal cuteness to her face.
The fangs were extremely sharp and could pierce skin with only a little force.
Elia reached out and lightly touched the tip of one fang with her index finger.
Even in her sleep, Kiz wrinkled her nose and mumbled something indistinct.
Elia carefully tried to make out what the Little Princess was saying…
It was probably, “If you bite me again, I’ll bite you back.”
This person was even competing with her in her dreams…
As expected of the Little Princess.
The next morning, Elia opened her eyes and found a plate on the bedside table.
It contained honey muffins, Purple Berries, and several neatly cut slices of toast.
Beside the plate was a note held down by another small object.
The handwriting belonged to Kiz.
“I went to attend the meeting in Laura’s place first. Shadow Song and Glow are arguing about the water-drawing schedule again. Natasha specifically requested my presence… Probably because I made nine blunt remarks last time, and she thinks Fiona will behave a little better with me there.
“Eat your breakfast while it’s hot. Don’t let it get cold! Also, the Purple Berries were picked by Lillian Lasombra early this morning. She said she picked them for you.”
Elia looked at the words “She said she picked them for you,” and something deep in her heart seemed to be gently touched.
After washing up, she ate all her breakfast.
The Purple Berries were still terribly sour, but she didn’t leave a single one.
Then she decided to head to the Council Chamber to check on how things were going with Kiz.
Before she even reached the entrance, Elia could hear the commotion inside.
“Chief Fiona, you just said, ‘There is a discrepancy in understanding regarding the implementation of the water-drawing schedule.’ Let me translate that sentence for you now.”
Kiz’s voice was calm and clear.
“Your Radiant Tribe also drew water on odd-numbered days, violating the agreement. You don’t want to admit your violation, so you used that sentence to dress it up. Now, please tell me in no more than five words: Did you draw water on odd-numbered days?”
What followed was a long stretch of silence.
Elia walked to the doorway and immediately noticed a rare crack in Fiona’s expression.
Her smile remained, but its curve had become noticeably stiff.
Natasha stood on the other side with her arms crossed, the corners of her mouth raised high.
As for Laura, who was sitting in the main seat, the quill in her hand remained suspended in midair.
She had clearly been recording the proceedings seriously, but now she had completely forgotten what she was supposed to write.
“We… did indeed draw water.”
Fiona spoke softly.
“How much?”
“About three barrels.”
“But you drew three barrels. Chief Natasha, how do you think this should be handled?”
Kiz then turned toward Natasha, who was sitting beside her.
When Natasha was called upon, she immediately straightened up and glanced at Kiz.
“Three barrels. The agreement stipulates that odd-numbered days belong to Shadow Song for water collection… However, according to the agreement, any unauthorized water collection must be compensated at double the amount. Three barrels means six barrels. In addition, the next time it’s Glow’s turn to collect water, Shadow Song should be allowed to draw three extra barrels as compensation. Princess Qisi, what do you think?”
“Do you agree?”
Kiz glanced at Fiona and repeated, “According to the agreement, unauthorized water collection must be compensated at double the amount. Three barrels means six barrels. In addition, the next time it’s Glow’s turn to collect water, Shadow Song should be allowed to draw three extra barrels as compensation.”
“Agreed.”
When Fiona said this, her expression looked as though she’d swallowed an entire unripe Purple Berry.
“Very good.”
Kiz circled the item in the meeting record.
“Alicia, write this down first. The first agenda item at the next meeting will be to confirm whether the compensation has been provided.”
“Yes, Princess Qisi.”
Alicia answered while lowering her head and writing furiously.
Judging by her expression, she had probably developed something close to admiration for Kiz’s style of conducting meetings.
Elia leaned against the doorframe and watched everything without making a sound.
Kiz sat in the first chair to Laura’s left, her back straight, her hands folded on her knees, and her chin slightly raised whenever she spoke.
She neither raised her voice nor slammed the table.
She simply looked at the other party calmly and used the most ordinary tone to dismantle every twist and turn in their arguments.
The issue that had gone back and forth with Fiona for nearly half an hour had been forcibly clarified by just a few words from Kiz.
This was what the Blood Princess looked like when handling government affairs.
She was completely different from the person who bristled, blushed, and cried in front of Elia.
Really, Elia suddenly felt very proud.
The feeling of pride had come out of nowhere… but she decided to keep it.
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