Although she knew such a thing was unlikely to happen, and although she trusted the friend before her deeply in her heart, a girl’s thoughts were as delicate as a fragile blossom—always sensitive, always vulnerable.
Hill’s refusal to eat seemed, in her eyes, more like a kind of distrust toward herself.
How could it be like this? Aren’t we friends? Aren’t we the same kind?
Otis felt a little upset, but still forced herself to smile. Yet the scent Hill picked up from the girl beside her had already become quite odd.
Sadness, entanglement, and even pain.
It was hard to imagine that a noble girl who had lived such a pampered life could possess such sensitive and changeable thoughts.
However, after Hill understood the information carried by these scents, her heart grew a little lighter, and even a little happy. In this world, she no longer had parents—those she could most rely on—and she herself was a hunted outcast. Simply surviving, filling her belly, required her utmost effort.
Yet even so, she had received the goddess’s favor and gained a friend who cared so much for her… In this moment, an emotion Hill had never felt before surged up from deep within, as though something inside her had melted away.
She understood now. Though she had refused to eat because she didn’t want to hurt the other girl, in the eyes of this sensitive and fragile girl, it was both a kind of betrayal and a lack of trust.
If that’s the case, then she might as well fall now, and think about what comes next later.
Perhaps, once she advanced through the Sequence and became a true Magus, she might find other ways to obtain a stable source of blood?
For example, she could go to the underground black market where blood was sold… Though that would require a great deal of money, at least it wouldn’t excessively hurt the people she cared about.
So, Hill looked seriously at Otis and asked softly, “Otis, have you really thought this through? Do you truly want to fill my belly here?”
Tears welled at the corners of Otis’s eyes, yet she still nodded firmly.
She had already prepared herself and knew that if things ever spun out of control, she would face a dreadful fate.
Her friend would drain her dry, leaving only a terrifying, withered corpse…
Though the image was horrifying, Otis knew in her heart that Hill would never do such a cruel thing to her. If it really happened, it could only be that Hill had no other choice.
After all… how could such a kind-hearted girl ever hurt someone on purpose?
“Then take me to your home,” Hill said, a smile blossoming on her face. “You don’t want me to do all sorts of strange things to you here, do you?”
As soon as these words fell, Otis’s cheeks flushed red in an instant—so beautiful as to be beyond compare.
If there were any sights in the world to rival the sunrise and sunset, it would be the blush of a young girl.
Hill felt privileged to be able to watch from such close distance, and was also grateful that, even though she feared the sun, she possessed the good fortune to personally touch a beauty that stood shoulder to shoulder with the dawn and dusk.
The heat radiating from the girl’s cheeks perfectly matched that blush; for a vampire whose body was naturally cool, this warmth was exactly what she yearned for—no matter how she stroked it, she never felt satisfied.
Otis murmured, as softly as a mosquito, “There are still a few days until the weekend…”
“Hm? Could it be that the kind and generous Miss Otis isn’t willing to let me enter the Montbatten residence as anything other than a tutor?” Hill slipped into her drama queen mode; in the blink of an eye, the teary-eyed girl became her, though she could never match Otis in pitiful charm.
Otis hurried to defend herself: “It’s not like that! I’m just a little surprised… and happy…”
“So, Miss Otis, does that mean you agree?”
Otis nodded slightly, then lowered her voice even further, so soft it was barely audible: “If possible, I’d rather you just stayed at our house forever.”
“That won’t do,” Hill said. “How could I be such a clueless guest?”
“Then… when Hill becomes a Transcendent, will it be all right?” Otis asked anxiously, eager for the answer.
“If that’s the case…” Hill stroked her chin as if considering it seriously, then, looking at Otis’s pitifully cute face, she smiled gently and placed her hand atop the girl’s head, rubbing it back and forth. She whispered, “If that day comes, then it will be my turn to invite you to my house as a guest.”
The Hamilton estate was not only the place she’d been born and had lived for over ten years in this world, it was also where most of this body’s memories were rooted. Yet, ever since she transmigrated here, she had never once seen it with her own eyes. In the stillness of night, from deep within her merged soul, there always came a faint sigh—perhaps that was the greatest regret from her previous life?
Hill resolved that, no matter what, she would fulfill that regret for her “self” in the future.
Otis was surprised: “Really?”
Hill nodded with absolute certainty. “Of course it’s true! For nobles, isn’t inviting your friends over the most basic courtesy?”
Otis sat back down and straightened her posture. “Then I’ll look forward to it.”
Hill put on a pitiful face and said in a pleading tone, “When the time comes, please don’t dislike my house for being too shabby, beautiful, generous, kind, and adorable Miss Otis.”
“Hill, you’re overthinking it. How could I ever look down on my friend’s house?”
After all, that place needed no comment; compared to the Montbatten estate, it really was too shabby.
After the two girls resolved their worries, they continued sitting closely together. Soon after, the carriage started moving, heading toward the Montbatten residence.
In less than half an hour, the carriage pulled up outside the mansion. The maids had long been waiting, and as soon as the carriage stopped, they stepped forward to open the door and help their young lady out. But today was different from usual; inside the carriage, besides their own young lady, there was another lovely young girl.
“Miss Hill?” The maid blurted out in surprise.
Though Miss Hill was young and didn’t come from any notable family, she had been the Montbatten family’s honored guest for more than half a year. The two most powerful people in the household—Madam Anna and Miss Otis—were both her students.
Especially Madam Anna, renowned for her resolute and meticulous ways, who always spoke highly of Miss Hill in private.
Talented, knowledgeable, humble and courteous, never arrogant… Most importantly, it seemed she was even more eloquent than the traveling bards from the Elven Empire, utterly charming both madam and young lady.
“Hill is going to stay with us for a few days as a guest. I’ll explain it to Mother later,” Otis, acting as half a mistress of the house, gave instructions to the maids. “Prepare some hot water, and bring a cup… uh, three cups of hot milk.”
“Yes!” The maids turned to return to the mansion, but Otis called after them, “Is there anything else, Miss?”
“Is Mother at home?”
“To answer Miss, Madam is staying overnight at the outlying estate today. Because of that dreadful witch, many cattle and sheep have been harmed. Madam has been terribly busy with this matter lately.”
Witch?
Hill frowned slightly. Lately, this word seemed to come up again and again.
Whether on the streets or in the classroom, or when passing by the church or constabulary, she would sometimes see nobles or peasants coming to protest. The nobles complained that their livestock on the outskirts kept turning up dead, while the peasants were terrified by the ghouls and liches supposedly controlled by the witch. So they demanded that those in power do something and kill that damned witch.
If possible, they’d love to see the witch burned at the stake in front of the whole town.
“So strange.” Based on what she knew, Hill found it hard to believe: “The Church of the Machine God has already sent witch hunters, and the Templars of the Church of Radiance should have arrived long ago. The constables don’t look like they’re doing nothing, so how is that witch still running rampant?”
A faint sense of unease lingered in her heart.
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