Rosalind closed her eyes and, trembling, pressed her lips down. However, just as she was about to touch that long-imagined softness, her body, overdrawn for days, finally reached its limit.
Thud.
Rosalind’s vision went black, and she completely fainted. Her soft body lost support and fell directly onto Annabell. Those soft red lips, coincidentally and precisely, landed on Annabell’s pale cheek.
The soft warmth on her cheek and the weight on her body startled Annabell from sleep. She abruptly opened her heterochromatic red and blue eyes, and what came into view was Rosalind’s pale face, close at hand, eyes closed tightly.
“Hey! What are you—”
Annabell instinctively wanted to push her away, but as soon as her hand touched Rosalind’s shoulder, she sensed something wrong. Her body was cold as ice, and her mana aura was so faint it was almost imperceptible.
And in her tightly clenched hand, she was protecting a bottle of golden potion that emitted astonishing life fluctuations.
Annabell was stunned. She looked at the heavy dark circles under Rosalind’s eyes, then at that bottle of “perfect-class life water” that was clearly brewed with immense effort, and the anger that had risen from being “assaulted” instantly vanished.
‘Is this woman… trying to kill herself? To brew medicine for me, she’s worked herself into this state.’
An indescribable feeling touched Annabell’s heart. As a transmigrator, she had always seen herself as a player going through a game’s plot.
Toward these game characters, she was more guarded, used them, or tried to milk the System for benefits. However, when Rosalind showed her kindness in such a self-destructive manner, that hard, cold shell was finally pried open by a crack.
“What a complete idiot of a Saintess.”
Annabell sighed lightly, didn’t push her away, but carefully laid her flat on the other side of the bed, and also pulled the blanket over her.
After an unknown amount of time, Rosalind let out a soft hum and slowly opened her eyes. As soon as she woke, she met a pair of amused red and blue heterochromatic eyes.
“Awake? Did you sleep well, High Saintess?” Annabell leaned against the headboard, playing with the crystal bottle, her tone carrying a hint of teasing.
“L-Lady Annabell?!” Rosalind woke with a start, recalling her actions before fainting, and her entire face flushed bright red, even her long neck turned pink. “I… just now…”
Annabell mercilessly said with venomous tongue, “Is this how the Church’s etiquette classes taught you?”
“I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to! I was just too tired…” Rosalind panicked and tried to get up to apologize.
“Alright, lie down. For the sake of this potion, I’ll let it slide.” Annabell handed over the crystal bottle. “Aren’t you going to feed me the medicine quickly? I don’t want to drink it cold.”
Rosalind was stunned for a moment, then understood the tacit permission and indulgence in Annabell’s words. A flash of surprise lit up her eyes, and she quickly sat up, like an extremely obedient little wife, and pulled out the cork.
“Here, my lady, ah—”
Rosalind gently fed the golden potion into Annabell’s mouth. As soon as the potion entered, it transformed into an extremely vast life force, instantly surging through her limbs and bones.
Annabell closed her eyes, relying on the powerful First Magus King bloodline, and crazily absorbed the essence of the potion like a whale drinking.
In just an hour, the broken magic circuits in her body were completely repaired, and even the previous hidden injuries vanished without a trace, her mana so abundant it seemed ready to overflow at any moment.
“Phew… Finally alive.” Annabell stretched, flexed her muscles, and felt unprecedented comfort.
Seeing Annabell fully recovered, a relieved smile appeared on Rosalind’s face. But soon, this smile was replaced by a deep sense of loss. She knew that Annabell’s recovery meant the time for parting had come.
“Lady Annabell… are you planning to return to the Duke’s Estate now?” Rosalind lowered her eyelids, her voice thick with reluctance.
“Of course. I’ve been missing for days. If I don’t go back, my cheap mother will probably turn the Royal Capital upside down.” Annabell flipped off the bed and began to organize her clothes.
Rosalind stood silently to the side, her eyes slightly red, like a puppy about to be abandoned by its master.
Seeing her pitiful appearance, Annabell rolled her eyes helplessly inwardly. ‘Fine, considering how diligently she served me during this time, I can’t just leave without a word? If it gets out, people will think our Trandy family is ungrateful.’
Annabell turned around, took out an ancient-looking parchment notebook from her storage ring, and threw it directly into Rosalind’s arms.
“Take it.”
“What is this?” Rosalind caught it flusteredly.
“It’s a fragment of our Trandy family’s internal meditation method.” Annabell raised her chin, speaking with a tsundere expression.
“Although it’s just a fragment, it’s much more useful than those common meditation techniques of your Church. Since you helped me with a small favor this time, I’m generously bestowing it to you.”
“But… this kind of family secret technique…”
“Stop blabbering!” Annabell interrupted her, deliberately putting on a stern face.
“Your mental energy has been overdrawn so badly these past few days. If you don’t practice this to repair it soon, you’ll be completely crippled. I don’t want it to get out that the great Church Saintess became an idiot because she was taking care of me.”
She paused, then added an extremely awkward venomous tongue, “Besides, this gentle meditation method is best suited for weaklings like you with fragile mental power. Practice it well, and don’t disgrace me!”
Although Annabell kept calling her a “weakling” and “bestowing,” Rosalind wasn’t stupid. This was the forbidden meditation method of a Duke’s family!
A gift of this level had value that couldn’t even be measured in money. Annabell was willing to give her something this important—what did that mean? It meant that in Annabell’s heart, she was no longer an outsider!
“Lady Annabell…”
Rosalind hugged the parchment notebook tightly, and tears streamed down uncontrollably. But this time, they were tears of happiness. Her heart was filled with immense sweetness, and that morbid infatuation at that moment sublimated into the most devout faith.
“I will definitely practice well! I will not let your expectations down!” Rosalind smiled through her tears, like a little wife who had been praised.
“I’ll go pack your bags right away! My lady, please don’t forget me. I will definitely come find you at Sky College!”
Watching Rosalind’s joyful back as she ran off to pack, Annabell helplessly pressed her forehead.
“This woman… is hopeless.”
However, a faint smile involuntarily tugged at the corner of her mouth.
‘Alright, the injury is healed, and I’ve taken advantage enough. Next, I need to go back to the academy and deal with that damn broken engagement plot. Charlotte, my little wife, you’d better wait for me!’