The liveliness belonged to others and had nothing to do with Andrea.
She just stared in the direction where Ailaira had left, standing motionless like a little dog waiting patiently for its master to come home.
But then Andrea was instantly disgusted by her own imagination, hurriedly shaking her head to erase the vivid scene from her mind.
She admitted that the way that wicked woman descended from the sky and so effortlessly resolved her crisis felt good, but that alone was not enough to make her give up on beating her.
Although, at present, as Andrea grew more familiar with Ailaira, the gap between the two seemed to widen.
For the dragon clan, who were used to judging the strength of other species by magical power, Andrea still couldn’t understand how Ailaira, whose magical power seemed so low, could crush enemies several times stronger than herself.
If she could learn this, wouldn’t she be able to beat all those old geezers in Dragon Valley into submission!?
Just as Andrea’s mind was racing, the portal opened once more and yanked the dazed Andrea through, dragging her in.
Andrea was about to struggle when she felt herself pressed against soft skin, the familiar scent weaving around her like a net, catching her senses and forcing her body to tense, unable to fight back.
Forced to sit on Ailaira’s lap, Andrea felt all out of sorts, so she could only observe her surroundings to distract herself.
Then, to her surprise, she realized that this space was just like the magical turbulence she’d seen after smashing through the wall, only it was far more stable here, with all chaotic magical currents removed.
In this 10*10 illusory space, only a small amount of pure magic drifted about.
“This space exists independently from the world. At least, apart from Yukla and me, no one else can enter without an invitation,”
Ailaira withdrew her own card from Andrea’s hand, ignoring Andrea’s protesting look, and tucked it into her own pocket.
Ailaira gripped Andrea’s chin, forcing her scattered attention onto the wretched figure on the ground: “How did you get mixed up with her?”
Andrea took a closer look, only to discover that Yukla, who earlier had maintained an elegant and mysterious air, was now sprawled on the ground like a rag.
A dense burnt smell clung to her, eyes rolled back, limbs twitching—Andrea couldn’t help but be curious. The two had only disappeared for less than five minutes, and this woman was already wrecked?!
Was Ailaira really that strong?
Andrea secretly sized up Ailaira’s slender, dexterous fingertips, her awed gaze admiring them as if they were some sort of legendary weapon.
Ailaira, not getting an answer for a long time, followed her gaze to her own hand, then suddenly grabbed Andrea by the back of the neck, lifting her up like a naughty cat:
“When the boss talks to you, you answer immediately.”
Andrea flailed her limbs in protest, “Put me down! How should I know how I got on her bad side? She just showed up and told me to buy things, but the stuff was so expensive I couldn’t afford any of it. Then she wouldn’t let me leave and even said I had to stay and play with her!!”
By the end, Andrea’s voice unconsciously took on a bit of childish petulance. She put her hands on her hips, craning her neck to glare resentfully at Ailaira.
Ailaira met those lively, crystalline emerald eyes, paused in silence for a few seconds, then simply let go, letting Andrea crash to the ground as she said flatly:
“Acting cute won’t work on me. Who told you to be disobedient and run around, leaving me to clean up your mess?”
Andrea rubbed her sore behind and thumped her little fists against Ailaira’s calf, “Who’s acting cute with you! I got tricked into coming here! How was I supposed to know I’d be dragged into some Black Market? It’s not like you ever said there were places I couldn’t go.”
Ailaira, too lazy to argue, shifted her gaze back to Yukla, nudging her arm with her foot: “Awake? Then let’s talk.”
Yukla saw that playing dead wasn’t working, so she had no choice but to open her eyes, hand trembling as she pointed at Ailaira: “Ailaira, you can’t do this to me! You said you’d set me free!”
“I did dissolve the controlling ritual as promised. But as it turns out, you’ve fallen back into my hands.”
A mocking smile played at the corners of Ailaira’s lips as she rested her chin on her palm, leaning forward to look down at Yukla: “I almost feel sorry for you. Wanting to rise again, but after all your scheming, you still ended up picking my old home.”
Divine Mother above! Yukla was about to collapse—she truly had no idea!
You hid your past before coming to the Royal Capital so well, the only thing anyone knew was the name ‘Ais,’ and with no surname! There must be thousands with that name in the whole kingdom—how was she supposed to know that was your old home!
Watching Yukla’s tears of regret flow, Ailaira really did recall how, back when she brought Vista Green to the Royal Capital to study, she had indeed concealed their surnames and hidden both their information.
She’d worried there might be background checks in this world as well, and to avoid hindering Vista Green’s prospects, she’d gone to some trouble. Later, she found out it had all been unnecessary; Ailaira’s righteous betrayal of her family actually scored her bonus points during The Church’s review!
“Well, never mind. You can only blame your own bad luck.”
“But, since we’ve met again, why not go back to how things were before.”
At those words, Yukla’s eyes widened as she clutched her chest and shook her head, scooting backward: “I already gave you control over this space! What more do you want!”
“Ailaira, do you want to steal the Black Market I worked so hard to build again?! You can’t do this!”
Ailaira slowly stood, plucked a lock of her own hair, and then used magic to refine it.
The dark glow it emitted was the stuff of Yukla’s nightmares—the evil Slave Ritual, that sense of obedience that left the caster powerless, their very life out of their control, impossible to resist even with Sixth Rank strength.
No, she’d only just managed to escape this!
Remembering the fear of being under Ailaira’s control, Yukla immediately dropped to her knees, scrambling to Ailaira’s legs and hugging them tightly.
With her black veil in tatters, Yukla’s beautiful, alluring face pressed against Ailaira’s thigh as she obsequiously stuck out her tongue, trying to lick Ailaira’s fingertips while pleading in a muffled voice: “It’s all yours, everything is yours.”
“I’ll listen to you, I’ll do whatever you want, just don’t put that ritual on me again.”
Ailaira withdrew her hand before Yukla could lick it. After staring for a long while, she suddenly showed a merciful smile, gently stroking Yukla’s head, her voice turning a bit warmer: “I’ve learned a lot these years. Maybe my methods were a bit too harsh in the past.”
“I was just scaring you just now. I won’t do it again. You’ve managed the Black Market very well—I won’t take it from you. I’ll just ask for your help every now and then.”
Ailaira cupped Yukla’s cheeks in both hands, her abyss-like eyes devouring Yukla’s mind and soul, leaving only the sensation of the warmth of those hands.
“So, be good.”