Chapter 274: Ever her love can yield

Her ruby-like eyes gleamed with a dangerous light in the darkness, her gaze slowly sweeping over the three people. Sista stood among the rose bushes, crushing a few withered petals underfoot.

“Breaking into the Royal Palace, the law demands you be executed.”

Sista’s voice was as cold as icicles on a winter night.

Her pale, slender fingers lifted gently, and the moonlight refracted coldly off her nails.

Su Ling shuddered and instinctively knelt, her slender fingers grabbing the hem of Sista’s nightgown.

“Your Majesty, please don’t do this…”

Her voice was as faint as a mosquito’s buzz.

Her silver hair fell, covering half her face, and the exposed eye was filled with a watery light.

“They just came to see me…”

Sista looked down at the girl at her feet, and the churning anger in her chest suddenly stalled.

Su Ling’s eyelashes cast fragmented shadows in the moonlight, trembling slightly like startled butterfly wings.

She remembered how these very eyes had been filled with the same watery light last night, looking dazed in her arms.

“Enough. All of you, come to the meeting hall.”

Sista finally said coldly, turning so that her nightgown carved a sharp arc.

She deliberately avoided looking at Su Ling’s instantly brightened eyes, and ignored the thoughtful gaze of the red-haired girl, Tii.

On the way back to the castle, Sista walked at the front, but concentrated all her senses on Su Ling behind her.

She could hear the faint sound of Su Ling’s bare feet on the stone path, smell the scent of roses and milk mixed on her, and even sense that small heart beating rapidly.

When she heard Tii’s soft, concerned inquiry from behind, Sista’s fingernails unconsciously dug into her palm.

“Little Su Ling, did she… hurt you?”

Tii’s voice was so gentle it made Sista uncomfortable.

Sista didn’t turn around, but her peripheral vision caught Su Ling lightly shaking her head, and then the almost inaudible words:

“Queen Sista has treated me well.”

Those words should have satisfied her, but the undisguised intimacy in Su Ling’s tone stirred a strange bitterness in Sista’s chest.

The door to the meeting hall opened silently before them.

Sista walked straight to the main seat, her nightgown gleaming with a silky luster in the candlelight.

She gestured for the three to sit down, then leaned back lazily in the carved chair, tapping her fingers rhythmically on the armrest.

“You two still have a chance to plead for mercy.”

Sista’s voice remained cold, but her gaze involuntarily drifted to Su Ling.

The girl sat between Tii and Phil, her slender fingers nervously twisting the hem of her clothes.

That water-red nightgown was personally chosen by Sista, but now it filled her with irritation.

Tii elegantly picked up the black tea just served by the maid, her emerald eyes glinting with cunning mischief in the candlelight.

“Your Majesty.”

She bowed slightly, her red hair falling like flames.

“We just missed an old friend and wanted to see if she was well.”

“You—”

Phil suddenly stood up, her cat ears perked up in anger.

“Your Majesty, you’ve imprisoned Su Ling here—”

Her golden pupils gleamed in the darkness.

Tii tugged at her hand, signaling Phil to calm down.

Sista’s gaze suddenly turned cold, and the temperature in the meeting hall seemed to drop instantly.

“Watch your words, beastfolk.”

She rose slowly, each step carrying an oppressive aura.

“Su Ling is my maid, and she came willingly.”

Swish—

A blade suddenly flashed in Sista’s hand, the tip pointing directly at Phil’s throat, startling Phil greatly.

“You’re lying, Su Ling—”

Su Ling suddenly stood up, moving so quickly that she knocked over the teacup.

The dark red tea stain spread on her skirt like a blooming blood blossom.

“Your Majesty, Phil is just too worried about me…”

Her voice trembled slightly, but she stood firmly in front of Phil.

Sista stared at Su Ling for a long time, then suddenly let out a cold laugh.

She walked closer slowly, and with her cold fingers lifted Su Ling’s chin.

“Su Ling, you are becoming more and more disobedient.”

Tii suddenly let out a soft laugh, which sounded especially harsh in the silent meeting hall.

“Your Majesty.”

She leisurely adjusted her cuffs.

“If I remember correctly, both Miss Phil and I have made indelible contributions to your grand founding cause, and yet now you would point a blade at us…”

Sista’s eyes instantly turned dangerous, a flash of killing intent flickering in her red pupils.

“Are you threatening me?”

“I wouldn’t dare.”

Tii smiled and took a sip of tea.

“Just reminding Your Majesty that for now, you don’t have the power to control me—you should know my identity, shouldn’t you?”

Moonlight streamed through the stained glass window, scattering among the four of them, cutting the silence of that moment into fragments.

Sista looked at Su Ling’s flushed cheeks from tension and suddenly felt a wave of helplessness.

She had to admit that she really couldn’t kill someone Su Ling cherished—even if that realization made her chest tight.

“Enough.”

Sista whirled around, her black hair carving an arc in the air.

“That’s enough for tonight. The two of you must leave before dawn.”

She paused, and her voice unconsciously softened a little.

“Su Ling stays.”

Su Ling looked up at Sista’s back, a complex emotion flickering in her eyes.

She gently took Tii’s hand and whispered:

“You should go quickly, I’m fine…”

“Go?”

Tii’s red lips curled into a meaningful smile.

Her fingertips gently traced the edge of the teacup.

“Your Majesty seems to have forgotten that we are not subjects you can summon or dismiss at will.”

Sista’s back visibly stiffened for a moment.

Su Ling saw the Queen’s fingers trembling slightly in her sleeve, a sign of impending rage.

“Tii…”

Su Ling pleaded softly.

“Don’t do this…”

But Tii ignored her, her emerald eyes fixed on Sista’s back.

“When Moria sent Bloodkin Knights to assassinate you, who came from afar to save you?”

“Last year, when the nobles rebelled, who dealt with eighteen Blood Clan assassins for you in a dark alley?”

With each word, her voice grew softer, yet each sentence struck Sista’s ears like a knife.

“And now, you won’t even grant me the right to see a friend?”

The air in the meeting hall seemed to freeze.

Phil stared wide-eyed at Tii, her cat ears swiveling alertly, obviously never expecting this seemingly gentle red-haired girl to dare speak to the Blood Clan Queen like this.

Sista slowly turned around.

Her black hair cast grim shadows on her face.

“Are you teaching me, the King, how to rule?”

Tii stood up unhurriedly, her red hair dancing like flames in the candlelight.

“I wouldn’t dare.”

She bowed slightly, her posture as elegant as if performing a courtly salute.

“Just reminding Your Majesty that you cannot monopolize Su Ling.”

Su Ling felt Sista’s gaze land on her as if tangible.

There was something in that look that made her heart tighten—anger? Anxiety? Or some emotion she couldn’t read?

“Your Majesty.”

Su Ling gathered her courage and stepped forward, her bare feet on the cold marble floor.

“I—I want to go out for a walk…”

“With Tii and Phil…”

Her voice grew quieter, but she stubbornly refused to lower her head.

“Just one day.”

Sista’s red eyes widened slightly.

This was the first time Su Ling had made such a request on her own.

She looked at the girl who was usually as docile as a lamb, and suddenly discovered that beneath the silver hair lay a stubbornness she had never noticed before.

“I will protect her.”

Phil suddenly interjected, her golden cat eyes glowing in the darkness.

“I swear on the honor of the beastmen.”

“Are you sure?”

Sista’s voice was surprisingly calm.

Tii chuckled softly, her fingers playing with a silver emblem that appeared from nowhere—an Assassin Mark that only high vampires would recognize.

“I will also ensure her safety in my own way.”

Sista’s gaze lingered on the emblem for a moment, a trace of complexity flashing in her eyes.

She walked slowly to Su Ling, and her cold fingers touched the girl’s cheek.

“Why do you suddenly want to leave me?”

The voice was so soft only Su Ling could hear, carrying an almost imperceptible tremor.

Su Ling looked up at this queen who always stood above everyone, and for the first time saw something like vulnerability in those ruby-like eyes.

“It’s not leaving.”

She answered softly, gathering courage to hold Sista’s hand.

“I just want to see what the world under your rule looks like.”

This answer clearly surprised Sista.

Her fingers tightened slightly, then immediately relaxed, as if afraid of hurting Su Ling.

“One day.”

Sista suddenly spoke, her voice returning to its usual coldness.

“You must return before sunset.”

She turned to Tii, a warning light flickering in her red eyes.

“If even one hair on her head is damaged, you know the consequences.”

Tii bowed gracefully, but her emerald eyes held no fear.

“As you wish, Your Majesty.”

Su Ling couldn’t believe her ears.

She watched Sista’s retreating figure.

Black hair fell like a waterfall, shimmering coldly in the moonlight.

That queen who never changed her mind had actually made a concession for her?

“Let’s go, little Su Ling.”

Tii took her arm, her voice gentle as if the earlier tension had never happened.

“I’ll take you to see the spring marketplace.”

Phil had already hopped to the window, her tail wagging happily.

“Hurry! We can still make it to the marketplace before dawn!”

But Su Ling didn’t move.

Her gaze still followed the direction where Sista had disappeared.

Suddenly, she pulled free from Tii’s hand and chased after her with bare feet.

At the end of the corridor, Sista stood alone in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.

The moonlight outlined her tall and lonely silhouette.

Hearing footsteps, she didn’t turn around.

“Your Majesty.”

Su Ling stopped three steps away from her.

Her fingers nervously twisted the hem of her skirt stained with tea.

“I will bring you a gift.”

Sista’s shoulders trembled almost imperceptibly.

After a long while, she finally said softly:

“No need, just take care of yourself.”

Su Ling gathered her courage and stepped forward, gently pulling at Sista’s sleeve.

She could feel the queen’s body instantly tense, but she didn’t shake off her hand.

“I will miss you.”

Su Ling said quietly.

Then she quickly turned and ran away, afraid to see Sista’s expression at that moment.

She didn’t notice that the moment she turned, Sista’s face flushed slightly.

When Su Ling’s figure disappeared at the end of the corridor, Sista slowly raised her hand to touch her own slightly burning chest.

There, a heart that had been still for a long time was beating at an unfamiliar frequency.

‘Stupid…’ she muttered, not knowing if she meant Su Ling or herself.

Outside the window, the first rays of dawn pierced the darkness.

Sista watched the figures of the three girls cross the rose garden and gradually disappear into the morning mist.

She stood for a long time.

Until the sunlight burned her pale skin, then she turned and walked into the shadows.