Andrea poked her head out from the Gold Pool, eavesdropping sneakily on Ailaira and Andrea’s conversation. Only after they gradually walked away did she turn to Jody and ask:
“Jody, Jody, what is a Separation Fee?”
Jody crossed her arms, shook her head, and thought hard for a long while. “I remember hearing Miss mention it before. I think it’s the price you pay to forcibly separate two people who are in love, right?”
Andrea nodded as if she understood, then began calculating—if someone wanted to separate her from Ailaira, how much would they pay?
But when she looked at the wealth that could fill her entire room, Andrea just flopped down and gave up thinking. Things had come to this—no matter how much someone offered, she would never be tempted.
Ailaira watched Trinis board the carriage. Trinis lifted the curtain and waved goodbye to Ailaira with lingering reluctance. “Miss Ailaira, I’ll miss you.”
“Mm, I’ll be buried in experiments for the next few days. I’ll probably forget you completely in less than three days.”
Hearing this, Trinis waved her arms gently, expressing her excitement. “Trinis, you did it! You managed to live in Miss Ailaira’s heart—for three whole days!”
Trinis firmly believed this would be the opportunity for their feelings to rekindle!
Ailaira opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end, had nothing to add. There were few people in the world who could leave her at a loss for words, and Trinis was one of them.
“Sometimes, I really do envy your optimism.”
Trinis propped her face on her arms, lying against the carriage window, her loose golden hair like a long ladder waiting for a prince to climb into her heart from the white tower:
“Just stay as you are now—that’s what Miss Ailaira taught me.”
Ailaira recalled their first meeting, the soft, weepy Princess desperately covering her cheeks to hide her tear stains from outsiders. The memory brought a faint smile to Ailaira’s lips.
Ailaira moved closer to the carriage, and under the Kadessi Knight’s deathly glare, leaned in to Trinis’s cheek, whispering softly in her ear, “When you see Vista again, remember to tell her—I’ll come collect my debt from her personally.”
Just like in the past, Ailaira had used her position as an apprentice Saintess to sneak out of the Royal Capital with Trinis. This time, for Trinis to escape alone, Vista had definitely been involved from behind the scenes.
Thinking carefully, Trinis’s sudden burst of Magical Power last night was also suspicious. To cast Holy Magic with divine energy, Vista—who possessed the [Sacred Affinity] trait—could far surpass her in power.
If it was Vista purifying Trinis’s Magical Power, there shouldn’t have been any errors. If there were, it could only mean she’d neglected her duty.
For an instant, Ailaira even felt a bit gratified. Her hopelessly stubborn little sister had finally learned to use her authority.
But that didn’t mean she would forgive Vista. To so carelessly dump trouble on her doorstep… Remembering the data shown for Vista on the System Panel, Ailaira tapped her finger lightly on Trinis’s neck and drew a drop of her Blood.
“Took a drop of your blood. It’s useful for experiments.”
Trinis just felt like she’d been bitten by a mosquito. She blinked and, keeping her voice low, asked, “Is one drop enough?”
“Heh, you’d better be careful, Your Highness. With just a drop of Blood, a Cursed Magic Mage above the eighth rank could curse you.”
“If that day ever comes, I’ll definitely come crying to Miss Ailaira for help.”
“I never said I’d save you.”
“Heartless Miss Ailaira, I still like you very much.”
Kadessi couldn’t stand it anymore, reached out, and pushed the carriage forward, forcing it to set off.
As the carriage slowly rolled away, Ailaira withdrew her gaze and turned back to the Chapel. The doors closed automatically behind her, shutting out the eyes of the outside world.
Andrea rushed up with her arms full of gold coins, full of anticipation. “Ailaira! Can you help me bring these back to my room?”
“If you stuff all of this in your room, where will you live?” Ailaira waved her hand, and the gold and silver on the ground vanished, leaving only a few pretty ornaments behind. “Pick a few things to decorate your room. I’ll hold on to the rest for you. If you need it, just come ask me.”
Andrea didn’t sense anything wrong and happily took her treasures to decorate her room. Jody, seeing Ailaira’s wicked smile, watched Andrea’s back with deep sympathy.
Miss Ailaira used to say the same thing to Miss Vista. Then Miss Vista never saw that money again…
To this day, Jody had never seen any money that entered Miss Ailaira’s pockets come back out.
Oh, foolish Red Dragon, played right into Miss Ailaira’s hands.
Andrea, blissfully unaware that she’d fallen into a trap, was still reveling in the excitement of arranging her Dragon’s Lair. Meanwhile, Ailaira, carrying Trinis’s drop of fresh Blood, returned to her Research Laboratory. Last night’s sleep had been exceptionally restful, so now she could throw herself energetically into brand new experiments.
“Magical Power and traits are all contained in human Blood. Just a single drop can yield a bit of Magical Power containing [Devouring Magic].”
“By the same principle, I can dilute Vista’s Blood to extract [Sacred Affinity].”
Ailaira summoned a large barrel of stored Blood, each drop glowing faintly golden rather than pure dark red—these were the samples she’d collected from Vista over the years.
It wasn’t some strange hobby—Vista’s Blood was just too useful as a material for certain divine rituals. Over time, she’d amassed quite a lot.
Everything was ready. Ailaira focused on operating two Blood samples at once, simultaneously extracting and guiding the two completely opposite traits closer and closer together.
“Now, let me see… After merging my little sister’s traits with those of a demon, what interesting things will happen?”
Meanwhile, in the Dungeon beneath the Royal Capital’s Church, only a few flickering candles lit the damp, oppressive darkness. All the screams and cries were sealed within each cell by Magic Suppression, unable to escape, making the whole place suffocatingly silent.
Vista entered, still wearing her ever-present Saintess robes. She stopped before a cell deep inside, where the Holy Knight on guard immediately opened the door for her.
“Saintess Vista, she still won’t say a thing.”
“Mm, thank you for your work.”
Vista fixed her gaze on a figure in the corner: a ragged woman, stinking of filth, bound to the wall by five thick iron chains soaked in Holy Water—each driven through her limbs and collarbone so she couldn’t move an inch.
Vista looked down at her coldly, speaking slowly. “Stubbornness leads nowhere.”
“Saintess Sillirora, why did you attack the Church’s Judges and try to steal the trial records? Your chaos even led to the Princess’s escape.”
The woman lifted her head. Her blood-stained face had no pupils, only empty sockets, staring like an abyss and making one’s skin crawl. Her voice, hoarse and broken, was nothing like her former melodious tone. “So it’s you—the one who betrayed your own family to become Saintess, Vista.”
“And the Princess? Wasn’t it you who helped her into the teleportation array amid the chaos!? I was nothing but your perfect excuse!”
Vista’s face showed no emotion, but her Magical Power churned, making the chains rattle violently. Blood spattered from Sillirora’s wounds, landing on Vista’s cheek.
Vista calmly wiped away the blood, then gestured for the chains to stop. “Saintess Sillirora, those words won’t anger me. You’re just making your suffering worse.”
“Hahaha!”
Pain didn’t make Sillirora yield. Instead, it drove her to crazed laughter. She pulled at the chains, her wounds tearing wider, her limbs nearly coming off, just to get closer to Vista. Her twisted face gave no hint of Vista’s thoughts.
“Don’t you want to know what I was after? Then I’ll tell you.”
“I received a Divine Oracle!”
“He wants me to kill—the [Water Silver Witch]!”