“Please — please spare me… I — I was forced… My father is in debt. If I don’t do it, they’ll really kill him…”
Elia looked at her trembling body and her eyes full of tears.
Then, she smiled and said, “Amy, I can give you a chance.”
“What — what chance?”
“Take me to your father. Find that creditor.”
“Are — are you going to…”
“Don’t worry about it. If you don’t want to die, just lead the way. Don’t forget that right now, I really want to tear you into a thousand pieces…” Elia stowed her smile and said coldly.
This girl before her had almost dragged her back into that mental hell.
As for why she wanted to find the creditor? It was mainly because she suspected the creditor had some connection to the mysterious person, so she wanted to confirm it.
Amy didn’t dare to delay for a second and immediately led the way obediently.
On the way, Elia remained silent.
However, her mind was racing… This so-called ‘Master’ was cautious… but it seemed he also needed a point of contact… like Amy’s father… or Anya.
This indicated that while the man’s power was vast, he had no inside help within the Blood Clan… at least no one who could directly contact Kiz.
Therefore, he could only use indirect methods — through threats or bribes — to get people who were suitable for him to do his bidding.
‘As long as I follow this trail, I’ll eventually find the source.’
A smile curled at the corner of Elia’s mouth.
She loved playing games like this the most.
The Slums were located in the southeast corner of the Vampire Castle. Almost all the bottom-tier commoners of the Blood Clan lived there, and the houses and streets were dilapidated beyond belief.
Amy led Elia through several small alleys.
Finally, the two of them stopped in front of a rickety wooden house.
“It — it’s here…” Amy said, panting.
Elia pushed the door open and saw only a frail, middle-aged man lying on a bed inside the room.
Hearing the noise, he turned his head with difficulty. His clouded eyes widened in disbelief. “A — Amy?”
“Dad… I brought someone to help…” Amy said, weeping.
The middle-aged man looked at Elia. Though he didn’t know the beautiful girl’s identity, judging by the luxury of her dress, the fine craftsmanship, and its status, she had to be a highborn lady at the very least.
It was naturally very strange for a highborn lady to appear in a slum like this.
“I heard you’re in debt, right?” Elia asked softly.
The middle-aged man’s expression changed instantly.
“How — how did you know…”
“Your daughter told me. So? How much do you owe?”
The middle-aged man fell silent for a few seconds before saying, “1,000 gold coins…”
‘Ugh… 1,000 gold coins…’ To a commoner at the bottom, that was indeed an astronomical figure. Most commoners didn’t even know what a gold coin looked like, and 1,000 gold coins were likely beyond the scope of their worldview.
“So, how did you end up in debt?” Elia asked again.
“I… I…” The middle-aged man lowered his head.
Seeing that the man was unwilling to answer, Elia gave a light stomp. That single stomp caused countless cracks to spiderweb across the ground.
This successfully intimidated the man lying on the bed. He finally began to speak slowly. “I… I got addicted to gambling… and lost everything I owned… To keep gambling… I took out a high-interest loan…”
“So, who is the creditor?”
“It’s… it’s Master Cullen on the west side of town.”
Elia nodded. “Take me to him.”
“S — Saint? How — how are you…” Cullen’s eyes widened, and he scrambled up from his tea table.
The cup of high-quality tea he had been about to savor spilled all over the floor.
“Are you Cullen?” Elia interrupted him.
“Y — yes…”
“Was it you who issued Amy’s father’s debt?”
Cold sweat beaded on Cullen’s forehead. “It — it was me… but that was a normal loan. We have a Blood Contract…”
“Where is the contract?”
Cullen hesitated for a moment but eventually pulled out a piece of parchment and handed it to Elia.
After a quick glance, Elia found that it was indeed a very ordinary loan contract… but her sharp eyes noticed a mark at the bottom… a mark that looked very much like a wolf.
“What is this?” Elia asked.
Cullen’s face turned pale as he stammered, “This — this is…”
“Speak.”
Cullen wanted to lie, but meeting Elia’s eyes, he couldn’t find any words to do so. He could only say, “It — it is… that person made me add it… He said the contract would only be valid if this mark was included…”
“Which person?”
“I — I don’t know… I couldn’t see his face… He — he gave me a mission and said he’d give me 8,000 gold coins when it was done… which was just to lend the gold coins to that little girl’s father and add this mark…”
Hearing this, Elia narrowed her eyes.
‘Another mysterious person in a black cloak…’
At this moment, Elia estimated there was at least a 95% probability that this mysterious person was the same one who had poisoned Kiz.
Elia then decided she would do a good deed.
“Cullen, I’ll pay off Kane’s debt for him,” she said.
“However… you have a task. If that mysterious person contacts you again, notify me immediately. Otherwise…”
She reached out and pressed her hand on Cullen’s shoulder.
Cullen instantly felt a searing pain, as if his shoulder were being burned by fire.
“Otherwise, I’ll show you the true meaning of a life worse than death.”
Cullen nodded frantically. “I — I understand! I understand!”
Elia then poured out exactly 1,000 gold coins from her Storage Space — not a single coin more, and not one less… Ah, right, she did have such a Storage Space, though she usually had no use for it.
She lived in the castle every day; why would she ever need to spend money?
“Fine, that’s all.”
With that, Elia turned and left, not even sparing a glance for Amy, who was still dazed in the background.
It was already evening by the time Elia returned to the castle.
The moment she saw her, Kiz breathed a sigh of relief. “Where did you go? I’ve been looking for you for a long time…”
Elia walked quickly over to her and slapped the contract onto the table.
Kiz was stunned. “What is this?”
Elia then explained everything, including her own deductions.
“That person again… What on earth does he want?” Finally, Kiz slammed her hand onto the table, gritting her teeth.
Elia pointed at the mark. “Do you recognize this symbol?”
Kiz looked closely. “This… it looks familiar…”
“Hmm… if I’m not mistaken, this mark is the symbol of that organization. The same one that poisoned you.”
“You mean an organization?” Kiz’s gaze sharpened.
“Yes. There’s more than one person in black; they are an organization…”
“Regardless of how strong they are, I will make them pay the price they deserve,” Kiz muttered, clenching her fist.
Suddenly, Elia let out another smile.
“What is it?” Kiz asked.
“Heh, I just think you look really cool when you’re being serious.”
“There you go again!”
“What now? Am I not allowed to compliment you these days?”
“Was… was that a compliment?”
“Of course it was.”
Kiz glared at her again, but after a few seconds, she gave in.
Three days later, at night, Elia was just about to get into bed to sleep with the Little Princess when she heard the sound of flapping wings.
She turned her head and saw a crow landing with a letter tied to its leg.
‘So, it’s starting again?’ She and Kiz had barely enjoyed three days of peaceful daily life… those guys just couldn’t stay quiet.
Despite her inner complaints, she still opened the letter.
There was only a single line written on it: “The night of the full moon in 3 days. Meet at the Ruins outside the city… If you do not come, the Blood Clan will flow with rivers of blood.”
Elia’s gaze turned cold.
It seemed she had to go out and handle something… Although it wasn’t certain whether the person who sent the letter was from the Holy Grail Order targeting her or the Wolf-head Cult targeting Kiz, it made no difference to her.
They were all bastards that needed to be dealt with — absolute jerks standing between her and a happy, beautiful daily life with the Little Princess.
Elia went to the bedside and watched Kiz’s sleeping face for a long time.
Then, she leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her forehead.
“Wait for me to come back.” After saying that, she turned and left the room.
Daylight was just beginning to break on the horizon.
Elia looked back at the castle, which was faintly visible in the morning mist.
Then, she began striding toward the outskirts of the city.
However, before she had gone very far, she suddenly stopped. “Come out,” she said softly.
As her voice fell, a petite figure stepped forward.
“You…” Elia was stunned.
To be honest, she had thought it was an enemy! She was already prepared with her Holy Light Magic, waiting to blast the person into eighty pieces after asking a few questions.
But the person who arrived was actually…
“You thought I wouldn’t know?” Kiz walked slowly toward her.
“Why did you come?” Elia asked.
“Because the place you’re going might be dangerous.”
“And?”
“And… I’m coming with you.”
“Ugh… Do you know you might die?”
“I know.”
“Are you afraid?”
Kiz said without hesitation, “Yes, but I’m more afraid of losing you.”
As soon as those words were spoken, Elia couldn’t help but pull Kiz into her arms. This time she held her even tighter. “Idiot.”
After hugging for a long time, Elia finally let her go and took her hand.
“Okay, let’s go.”
A gust of wind blew across the wilderness, kicking up a cloud of dust.
The figures of the two girls gradually disappeared into the morning mist.
In a corner of the castle, a crow stood silently on a windowsill, watching the direction in which they had left. A strange light flashed in its eyes.