‘You are too weak, that is why all of this keeps happening!’
Lorevil slammed her palm against the table with force. A loud bang echoed across the surface, yet her own body trembled like a sieve.
‘When street thugs bully you, you do not dare to fight back. When the workshop makes things difficult for you, you only hide in a corner and cry. The trouble was not caused by you, and the misfortune was not invited by you. You take all the blame onto yourself. Does that help at all?’
‘Mahina!’
‘Do you think that crying like this, denying yourself like this, will change anything? That is ridiculous. It only makes the people who bully you more pleased and the people who care about you more worried!’
Lorevil glared at the girl curled up in front of her and scolded her in frustration.
‘I hope this actually works.’
While thinking that, the girl quietly glanced at the map and edged half a step toward the door without making a sound.
Mahina trembled from head to toe under the scolding. Her tears stopped instantly as she stared blankly at Lorevil.
‘Is it working? Or is she just waiting for the cooldown? Or is this the calm before the storm?’
Lorevil felt her heart leap into her throat.
Thinking of the nightmare version of Mahina, the one who reacted so violently after learning she had stayed overnight at Madam Sharon’s home, Lorevil knew that simply standing in front of her now already required tremendous courage.
‘I should never have meddled in this out of softness. Great. Now I have probably thrown away my second life too.’
‘T-then… what should I do?’
Mahina lowered her head, her voice as soft as a mosquito’s buzz.
A turning point had appeared.
Lorevil froze in place.
‘When the thugs harass you, you can ask the landlord for help. You can also ask me for help. If the foreman fires you out of prejudice, you can refute his discrimination instead of agreeing with his nonsense.’
Seeing the dark corruption bar above Mahina’s head stabilize at ninety percent, Lorevil slightly softened her tone.
‘But even if I argue back… I will still be fired, right?’
Mahina pressed her lips together, her face pale.
She knew Lorevil was right. Yet years of weakness had left her without the courage to resist.
She had wanted a little comfort from Lorevil, but Lorevil refused to approve of her silent endurance.
The grievance surged up again. Tears like broken pearls rolled down her delicate face and fell to the ground one after another.
The black corruption bar above her head rose and fell, each fluctuation stabbing at Lorevil’s nerves.
‘Let me ask you something. If someone said you were clinging to a Vampire, meaning they were speaking ill of me, slandering me, what would you do?’
Lorevil took a deep breath and changed her approach.
‘I would kill anyone who dares to speak badly of Lady Lorevil.’
Mahina answered without hesitation.
The moment the words left her mouth, Mahina herself froze. Even her crying stopped.
How could she say something like that?
She had always thought of herself as weak and timid. But the moment she imagined someone slandering Lorevil, an uncontrollable anger surged from the bottom of her heart. She wanted those people to pay the price immediately.
To kill them.
‘See? That is the same. Think of it as doing it for… the family and friends who care about you.’
Lorevil had almost said it was for her sake. After reconsidering, she swallowed the words. She intended to break up with Mahina cleanly. There was no need to tangle things further.
‘But… Mahina does not have any family.’
Mahina’s voice turned bleak.
‘When I was four, my father… passed away. My mother followed him… and took her own life. The villagers divided up my family’s property and treated me as a burden. They fed me spoiled food and made me do the heaviest labor.’
That life story was too tragic.
Lorevil fell silent.
‘When I was fifteen, Vampire merchants came to the village. They said they would take me to the city for a better life. I believed them and went with them.’
‘And then?’
Lorevil asked, already immersed in the story.
‘They sold me to a blood slave workshop. Every day I was locked in a dark cellar, waiting to have my blood drawn by Vampires. If I resisted even a little, I would be whipped until my skin split open. The friends who were with me later all died…’
A hysterical edge appeared on Mahina’s face as tears flooded out again.
It was as if she had returned to that sunless cellar.
‘I was afraid. I did not want to die. So I ran with everything I had. I ran for three days and three nights. I almost starved to death by the roadside before I was lucky enough to escape to Holy Blood City.’
As she listened, a memory flashed through Lorevil’s mind.
Mahina had found a stable workshop job in Holy Blood City, only to be harassed by street thugs. At that time, Lorevil happened to be buying lunch for Catherine at a newly opened restaurant and stepped in to save her.
A cliché scene of a heroine saving a beauty.
And Lorevil just happened to like beautiful prey.
Over the following months, she found Mahina a secluded residence. One thing led to another, and they became entangled. Eventually, on that night, they crossed the line.
Fate truly played tricks.
‘Only you, Lady Lorevil… you are like light, illuminating my gray life.’
Lorevil had just finished sorting through that memory and rubbed her brow when she heard Mahina’s tearful confession.
‘Even though Lady Lorevil just scolded me, I know you did it for my own good.’
Lorevil froze completely.
How was she supposed to respond to someone so obsessively devoted that being scolded only made her feel cared for?
‘Lady Lorevil…’
‘I only need to stay by your side. If you abandon me too, then there will be no place left in this world for me.’
Mahina’s eyes radiated such intense emotion that Lorevil felt she might melt. It was as if hearts could appear in her pupils at any second.
Before Lorevil could react, Mahina pressed her tear-stained lips clumsily against Lorevil’s.
‘Mahina, wait, I—mm… mm…’
The moment Lorevil opened her mouth to speak, Mahina sealed it with her own.
Only when they were both out of breath did Mahina pull away.
‘The taste of Lady Lorevil…’
Mahina licked her lips and revealed a slightly unhinged smile.
Lorevil’s heart sank. Could she even mention breaking up now?
The moment she said it, she might be chopped into pieces.
She did not need any prophetic nightmare to tell her that.
All of Lorevil’s strange experiences and instincts warned her that once she brought up breaking up, not only would she die, Mahina might even take her own life.
Mahina slowly pushed Lorevil down onto the bed. Warm, moist breath brushed against Lorevil’s delicate face as Mahina braced her hands at Lorevil’s waist.
‘Wait…’
Lorevil frowned. She did not like this position.
‘Lady Lorevil… is there something else?’
Mahina’s youthful body was already pressing down on her as she asked in confusion.
If she did not like it, she could change positions.
The soft sensation against her body stirred Lorevil’s impulses, but reason told her she had to stabilize the situation first.
‘Aren’t you hungry right now?’
Lorevil called out calmly.
The moment she finished speaking, Mahina’s stomach growled. Blushing, she immediately collapsed into Lorevil’s arms.
‘It seems you did not eat your fill and just kept crouching in the corner crying.’
Lorevil seized the opportunity to roll off the bed in one smooth motion. She reached out and gently rubbed Mahina’s hair, softening her tone as much as possible.
‘Come on. I will take you to eat freshly baked grilled stuffed mushroom meat rolls with sweet berry sauce.’
Mahina nodded, saliva pooling rapidly in her mouth.