“I feel like my body’s been hollowed out…”
Bai woke up in bed, clutching her waist. Her whole body was so sore and weak she could barely get up.
She’d fainted too many times these past few days, her small frame simply couldn’t take it.
Turning the water red?
So the dye was her own blood?!
Yare just drank like that, and she’d almost drowned in the tub!
“Bai’s body is starting to protest.”
She really didn’t want to get out of bed, but there was still so much to do!
Not to mention the estate had tons of places that needed cleaning, the garden outside was a complete mess too.
Throwing off the blanket and dragging herself out of bed, Bai touched the spot on her neck where Yare had bitten her. It still felt tingly.
Just as she took her first step, everything suddenly went black.
She stumbled, nearly falling to the ground. It took all her strength just to steady herself, but her head was spinning, and even the ceiling seemed to tilt.
“Ugh…”
She felt like a patient with a terminal illness, standing upright was already a struggle.
Her body was clearly rebelling. Bai silently swore to herself:
Unless Yare specifically called for her, she would never go to her on her own again!
Every visit ended with her passing out, there was no way she could survive at this rate!
***
Though the manor was usually quiet and still, with that reclusive master probably not having left her chair in centuries, certain places were unnaturally clean.
Bai walked through the estate, checking things, and aside from a few hallways that needed sweeping, most of the long-neglected furniture barely had any dust, like…
She reached out and wiped a brass wall sconce with her finger.
The surface was polished and smooth, like new.
She murmured to herself,
“It’s like… there was another blood slave here besides me…”
In a storage room on the first floor, Bai found something covered with a large white cloth.
Lifting it, she discovered a full set of cleaning supplies, even gardening tools.
Most likely left behind by that former blood slave who had died.
She picked up a broom and turned it over.
Carved clearly into the wooden handle was a single character:
“Lian. So it really was that blood slave’s.”
She couldn’t help wondering, what exactly caused that “Lian” to die?
But it didn’t matter.
With enough tools, her job would be a lot easier.
Maybe if she finished early, she could return to the human world sooner!
Thinking that, Bai perked up.
She grabbed a white cloth and tied up her bangs.
Then she found a white apron inside, on it, “Lian” was written neatly in black ink.
Without much thought, Bai put it on.
“The will of my predecessor… Bai will carry it forward!”
If she was going to be a blood slave, then she’d be a proper one!
Two years ago, to perfectly manage Yalbera’s ancient castle, Bai had once found a book on the shelf titled On the Self-Cultivation of a Blood Slave, and had studied it diligently.
It covered everything from cleaning up bloodstains to managing a chaotic estate, nothing was left out.
Though Bai had no idea who wrote that book, or what mental state the author was even in at the time ()
After studying it seriously, as long as she had a broom and a rag in hand, Bai was invincible!
She spent the entire day sweeping away the dust that had built up along nearly all the manor’s hallways, polishing the brass sconces and various metal fixtures again.
She didn’t stop until nightfall.
When she reached the mysterious predecessor’s room, Bai tried once more to open the door, just to see if it needed cleaning inside, but it was still locked.
Now only one hallway remained.
Bai swallowed hard and looked up toward the top of the dim, spiraling staircase.
The faint bronze glow barely lit the landing, silent as a tomb… and yet it felt as though a beast lay in wait.
That was Yare’s floor.
Once she cleaned up there, her day’s work would finally be done.
She took a deep breath.
Come on, Bai.
What’s there to be afraid of?
It’s not like Yare’s going to fling the door open and suddenly leap out to bite me…
…Probably not.
Reaching the top floor, Bai moved even more carefully than usual.
She tiptoed as though every step might wake the beast.
Gripping her broom, she began sweeping the dust ever so gently, like a cautious little cat.
It took her a full hour to finish.
“Now all that’s left is the floor and the brass sconces,” Bai whispered to herself.
A full day of exhausting labor piled on top of an already weak body, Bai felt like she might collapse at any moment.
So once this was done, she needed to get back and rest immediately.
She picked up the rag and stood on her tiptoes, trying to wipe the wall, mounted sconce.
But her short arms just couldn’t reach.
“Ugh… So close! Dammit, why is this sconce higher than all the others?!”
Frustration flickered across her face as she stretched desperately, trying to extend her reach just a little farther…..
BANG!
Suddenly everything went black, and Bai collapsed straight to the floor.
The sconce was knocked loose, clattering against the ground with a loud metallic crash that echoed through the entire hallway.
It rolled… and rolled… and then, with perfect aim, smacked right into Yare’s door.
I’m… I’m doomed aaaaaaaahhh!!!
Her mind shrieked in terror.
Meanwhile, inside the room, Yare was quietly flipping through a book.
RIP…
A page tore in her hand, right as the noise reached her ears.
Yare: 💢
Looks like I haven’t drained her nearly enough.
She still needs some discipline.
Snapping the book shut, Yare marched straight toward the door, ready to knock that disobedient blood slave unconscious one more time.
She flung the door open, about to speak…
But froze when she saw the scene before her.
There was Bai, holding a white cloth in one hand and a bucket in the other, tiptoeing toward the stairs like a little criminal on the run.
Hearing the door open behind her, Bai stiffly turned her head—only to see Yare staring directly at her.
She panicked and shouted, “S-s-sorry, Master! Bai didn’t mean to! Bai just wanted to wipe the sconce…”
Yare didn’t respond.
She just stood there, staring blankly at her.
That white apron… the way her hair was tied up…
For a moment, it was as if she was seeing someone else.
The girl who had died by her hands.
The one she hadn’t forgotten even after a thousand years.
***
“Hehe, sorry, Master. Lian didn’t mean to.”
Lian, dressed in a white apron, sat on the ground awkwardly scratching her head.
A brass sconce lay knocked over beside her.
Yare sighed and rubbed her forehead.
“You knocked over the lamp again.”
“You can’t blame Lian for that. It’s Master’s fault for putting all the sconces so high on this floor! Lian can’t even reach them,” Lian pouted in protest.
Yare gave a helpless smile and stepped in front of her, curling a finger gently.
Lian, still sitting, slowly floated up off the floor.
“Mm…”
Yare reached out and lifted the arm that had been nicked by the metal.
Blood still dripped from the cut.
She brushed her fingers over it, black light shimmered, and the wound vanished completely.
“Be more careful next time. A blood slave’s blood is for her master alone.”
“Hehe, Lian understands~”
Lian replied with a cheerful smile.
…..
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.