Chapter 20: Betrayal

Frosy calmed her breathing, pretending to be asleep.

But in truth, she wasn’t sleeping at all; she could still see the outside world.

And this wasn’t thanks to any advanced magic.

It was simply a small blood raven specialized for detection.

This blood raven hid within the darkness, merging with the shadows, making it almost impossible to discover.

Just then, a red light flickered outside the door.

Blood mist seeped in through the crack, taking on the form of Emilia.

Emilia looked at the blood raven hidden in the darkness and beckoned to it.

Frosy’s blood raven couldn’t respond, but a voice transmission spell carried Frosy’s voice to Emilia.

“Looks like I’m going to win.”

“I’m already prepared to tear you apart.”

Emilia gave a soft laugh through the voice transmission spell, “It’s not certain yet who’ll win.”

Blood mist gathered around Emilia, drawing Ivy close and also pulling Frosy’s blood raven into it.

In an instant, the space seemed to shift—a unique, blood-colored realm appeared before Emilia and Frosy’s blood raven.

Ivy was still lying on the bed, but there was no sign of Frosy beside her.

Only Ivy’s solitary figure remained on the bed.

Emilia gently tapped Ivy.

At first, Ivy didn’t react at all, until Emilia spoke up:

“I’m Emilia. This is a space I created, Frosy can’t observe it.”

Upon hearing this, Ivy still didn’t react, as if she really was asleep.

Just as Emilia was about to wake Ivy, Ivy pushed herself up on the bed.

She didn’t look the least bit sleepy—just a little drowsy.

“Your Highness, if you’d been any later, I’d have really fallen asleep.”

Ivy yawned as she spoke.

Outside the space, Frosy’s brow furrowed slightly as she continued observing with her blood raven.

Ivy curiously sized up the space, didn’t mention the deal with Emilia, and instead asked with genuine curiosity:

“Your Highness, did I disappear from the outside world, or am I still asleep there, and this is actually a consciousness space?”

Recalling things she’d read in web novels in her previous life, Ivy asked this way.

Perhaps Emilia hadn’t expected Ivy to connect this to a consciousness space, but surprise flashed in her eyes before she replied calmly.

“I brought you directly into a special space, but I left a dummy beside Frosy to imitate you sleeping.”

“Normally, Frosy wouldn’t be able to notice anything.”

Ivy nodded after hearing this. The atmosphere fell silent for a moment. Neither of them mentioned the deal; instead, they began chatting idly.

But Emilia quickly ended the pointless small talk and got straight to the point.

“What do you think about the deal I offered you?”

Ivy sat on the bed, crossed her legs, propped her chin in her hand, and looked at Emilia.

“But I’m actually doing pretty well here with Frosy.”

“And with my current status in the Empire, even if I did go back, I probably wouldn’t survive.”

Ivy neither refused nor agreed, but instead brought up another topic.

Emilia raised an eyebrow. From Ivy’s words, she picked up on something different.

“So, what else do you want?”

Emilia asked bluntly.

“No need to rush. Look, Frosy hasn’t caused you any trouble so far, right? I’ve been keeping your secret for you.”

“And I’m just about to win Frosy’s trust. Wouldn’t it be easy for me to get the information I want?”

Ivy spoke frankly, looking as if everything was under her control.

She figured that since Emilia dared to approach her, Frosy must not have gone to cause trouble for Emilia.

From the killing intent Frosy couldn’t hide in her eyes, Ivy was almost certain that Frosy and Emilia were at odds.

So the little secrets she told Frosy would never be mentioned to Emilia.

Although her fence-sitting was risky, she was sure Frosy wouldn’t share information with Emilia—and even if they did.

After all, when Emilia came to find her, she was still sleeping in the same bed as Frosy.

She’d even “fallen asleep” before Frosy did.

She was completely innocent. If Frosy got angry, it would only be at Emilia—she wouldn’t drag Ivy into it.

Now, everything was going according to her plan.

“So, I need you to help me break the seal that’s restricting my power.”

Ivy finally voiced the condition she’d thought over for a long time.

She had considered asking for a new identity in exchange.

But after thinking it through, if she escaped with Emilia’s help, Frosy would be furious.

If she fled back to the Empire, she’d face a massive manhunt.

A new identity would be useless—a normal person like her couldn’t run far no matter how capable she was.

But if she regained her strength, she’d be free to go wherever she wished.

Besides, Ivy believed that one day she’d become strong enough to trample Frosy underfoot.

She’d pay Frosy back for everything she’d done!

That was why Ivy made this request.

But Emilia shook her head. “Honestly, it’s not that I don’t want to help you.”

“It’s that I can’t.”

Emilia spread her hands. “This seal isn’t Bloodkin magic, nor is it human.”

“It’s an ancient magical artifact, and it was a one-use item. It disappeared when it sealed you.”

“At most, I can loosen the restriction and restore about forty percent of your power—about as strong as your old teammates.”

Ivy frowned, but she had no other options. Even though it looked like she was negotiating with Emilia, if Emilia backed out, it would all be for nothing.

“How can I trust you’re not lying?”

Emilia kept smiling as always:

“Do you really have a choice?”

Ivy fell silent, but soon heard Emilia continue:

“Relax, I’m very trustworthy. For example, I can unlock part of your restraints right now.”

As Emilia spoke, a thread of blood stretched toward Ivy.

Ivy instinctively tried to dodge the blood-red thread, but couldn’t avoid it. The thread slid into her mouth and entered her body.

Very soon, Ivy felt her whole body become lighter.

The usual faint fatigue and powerlessness disappeared without a trace.

Ivy’s eyes widened slightly, and she curiously clenched her fists. This feeling was truly amazing.

“Happy cooperation.”

Ivy smiled at Emilia.

Just then, Ivy suddenly noticed the whole space beginning to tremble, as if the signal was unstable.

Emilia glanced inconspicuously at the blood raven still hidden in the darkness, then said to Ivy:

“This is bad. Frosy seems to be waking up. Here, take this pill—if you swallow it, you’ll sleep straight through till tomorrow morning.”

Emilia handed Ivy a small pill and said to her.

“If Frosy finds out you’re awake, our deal will probably fall apart.” Emilia explained.

Ivy looked at the pill in her hand, thought for a few seconds, then didn’t hesitate anymore and swallowed it.

She already had enough weird debuffs on her—no matter what side effects this pill might have,

Could it really be worse than a slave brand that lets others control her body?

After swallowing the pill, Ivy felt a wave of dizziness. Her eyelids slowly closed, and she collapsed onto the bed.

And just as Ivy fell asleep, the already unstable space shattered.

Frosy looked at Ivy, now asleep in exactly the same position as before. Her face was dark as the sea, and the violence in her eyes was barely concealed.