Xunian was lifted from her sleep and dressed.
She was groggy, held in a warm embrace, mumbling softly without awareness.
“It’s already 8 o’clock,” a devilish voice whispered in her ear.
Xunian jolted awake, resting against the warmth, her eyes scanning the clock.
Only 7:40…
She furrowed her brows and shot a glare at the Duke’s Daughter.
The Duke’s Daughter pinched her soft cheek, a doting smile gracing her stunning face.
“Come on, it’s time to eat.”
Xunian frowned with disdain and pushed her hand away.
“Go away.”
She closed her eyes again and collapsed into the Duke’s Daughter’s arms, playing dead.
“Do you want a good morning kiss if you don’t get up?”
Xunian’s eyes snapped open.
She said coldly, “I don’t want to…” want one.
The perfect face loomed in her pupils, and sure enough, soft lips pressed a kiss on hers, carrying a faint scent.
The Duke’s Daughter achieved her goal, a smile tugging at her lips with feigned concern, “What did you just say?”
A surge of unexplained anger rose in Xunian’s heart, and she rolled her eyes at her with no patience.
Forget it, she didn’t want to deal with her.
She didn’t realize that her few unguarded moments were all when the Duke’s Daughter was teasing her.
It seemed she could easily provoke her feelings.
At this moment, Xunian had no idea.
……
As usual, the Duke’s Daughter carried Xunian in a princess carry to the dining table, sitting down and placing Xunian on her lap.
A late-arriving Fu Ruxue’s jaw nearly dropped; she nearly pulled her chair down while dragging it over.
Were these two really so blatant now?
Xunian felt a bit embarrassed but showed no sign of it, calmly sipping her coffee.
She had been carried like this every day — sitting on the Duke’s Daughter’s lap in front of the Players was nothing special.
Today, the Housekeepers had prepared coffee and bread for everyone.
The lavish breakfast was normal but carried a subtle strangeness.
There might be a trick.
Fu Ruxue swallowed her bread with caution and asked, “Why aren’t you eating?”
The Duke’s Daughter, as if afraid she might starve Xunian, watched her every move closely.
7:58.
Any later, and they would be breaking the Rules.
The door was suddenly pushed open, and a figure burst in, drawing everyone’s attention.
Li Hua, sweating profusely, ran over and yanked a chair to sit down.
He leaned back, panting heavily, parched, and grabbed the coffee on the table, gulping it down.
“Cough, cough, cough—”
He choked, his face flushed red as coffee splattered with his shaking.
Fu Ruxue swallowed her bread and asked, “What happened?”
“Nothing, I…”
Xunian’s gaze just shifted toward him when a hand grabbed her chin, forcing her face back so she could only see the Duke’s Daughter.
Seeing herself reflected in Xunian’s pupils, the Duke’s Daughter nodded in satisfaction, a trace of amusement in her blood-red eyes.
“You may only look at me.”
Xunian’s face fell; already cold, her expression grew even colder, frost settling over her features.
The Duke’s Daughter’s blood-colored eyes trembled slightly before hiding her disappointment.
Did she really not want to look at her?
Her overwhelming possessiveness spilled out uncontrollably; she curled a cold smile.
“Do you need me to feed you?”
Before Xunian could answer, she pressed her lips onto the soft lips that had just been kissed, the bitter taste of coffee mingling with the sweetness of the kiss, intoxicating and addictive.
She deepened the kiss, leaving Xunian breathless, her whole body flushing from face to ears.
Her fair hands struggled to push against the Duke’s Daughter’s shoulders.
Blood surged, her heartbeat pounding like drums in her ears.
The Duke’s Daughter was truly insane!
And there were two others watching!
Fu Ruxue and Li Hua stole glances at their entangled forms, lowering their heads to quietly pick at their bread in the tense atmosphere.
Seeing no way to push her away, Xunian bit down hard.
The Duke’s Daughter winced in pain and flinched, giving Xunian the chance to break free.
At this moment, Li Hua’s emotions were even more tumultuous than Fu Ruxue’s — he felt far from sober.
Wasn’t it supposed to be feeding? How did it suddenly turn into a kiss???
It was his first time witnessing a scene like this, and he finally understood the nature of the relationship between Xunian and the Duke’s Daughter…
He had always been curious about their connection, and now it was crystal clear, his eyes full of shock.
Xunian was truly terrifying — even the strange and mysterious Duke’s Daughter was not spared.
She really was hungry.
From six players initially, only three remained in the blink of an eye.
Li Hua looked around, “Where’s Cheng Li?”
Fu Ruxue paused her coffee sip and answered after swallowing, “He’s dead.”
Li Hua wasn’t too surprised, just a bit stunned, frozen for a moment.
Suddenly,
A scream for help came from the Garden.
“Help! Help! Miss, save me…”
It was the Gardener’s cry.
The Duke’s Daughter released Xunian, straightened her collar, and looked at her softly.
“Wait for me.”
With that, her eyes darkened as she stared toward the Castle’s door, heading off in the direction of the sound.
Xunian casually tossed aside her knife and fork, facing Fu Ruxue, who met her gaze.
They saw the joy reflected in each other’s eyes.
The plan to send away the Duke’s Daughter was a success.
——————【Flashback】——————
The night before.
Garden.
Darkness and malevolence ran rampant, everything around radiating an evil blood-red hue.
Xunian and Fu Ruxue were searching for the corpse.
They had just tied up the Gardener, watching him writhe helplessly on the ground.
An idea struck Xunian.
She fiddled with clusters of red spider lilies with her gloved hand while casually chatting with Fu Ruxue.
“I suspect the Duke’s Daughter is the final BOSS, and the door must be connected to her.”
Fu Ruxue stopped and looked at her in surprise, “Why?”
“Just a feeling?”
“Intuition? I don’t believe it. Tell me why.”
Xunian glanced at her and laid out her analysis.
“She’s relatively freer and stronger inside the Castle. The Butler and Housekeepers all have fixed roles—the Housekeepers keep searching for their heads, the Butler from the start appeared as a guide and watcher, their own missions. But the Duke’s Daughter doesn’t have one.”
Xunian rambled on, making it sound like a master was speaking.
“I don’t get it…”
Fu Ruxue listened to her smooth talk and felt overwhelmed, itching for a brain to grow.
At that time, the Duke’s Daughter was still referred to as the Butler.
“The earlier stuff doesn’t matter. For now, I need to stay close to her. If we need to communicate, you hold her back. Just like that… and it’ll work…”
Fu Ruxue’s eyes lit up, considering the possibility, and agreed, “Alright.”
——————【Flashback Ends】——————
Now.
Xunian tapped the table in front of Fu Ruxue, catching her attention.
“No time left. How’s the clue search going?”
“I found the Chess Pieces, but only five.”
Fu Ruxue showed her a handful of fingers wrapped in a towel — the “chess pieces” made of flesh, fingers severed.
She showed the finger-chess to Xunian but turned her head away, unwilling to look.
Xunian saw them and understood.
“The other five must be the Duke’s. You might have to chop off the Duke’s hand.”
Fu Ruxue laughed awkwardly, “You’re not joking, right?”
“No.”
Xunian’s reply was concise.
“…”
Fu Ruxue was unusually silent.
She suspected Xunian might be looking for a chance to kill her, but she had no proof.
“I have some ideas about the game’s Exit.”
As soon as Xunian said this, Fu Ruxue was slightly stunned, and Li Hua’s gaze was drawn in.
Li Hua had been eavesdropping closely and naturally looked toward them at that phrase.
Xunian smiled faintly.
That was exactly the effect she wanted.
“There aren’t many of us left. If the three of us share clues, maybe we can get out faster. What do you think?”
Li Hua was the first to answer, “Sounds good.”
“Me too.”
Fu Ruxue agreed.
“Tell us your clues.”
Fu Ruxue absentmindedly touched her pocket, then looked at Xunian.
When Xunian nodded, she reluctantly took out the Chess Pieces.
“…This is it. According to the Rules, finding all the Chess Pieces and playing chess with the Duchess might be useful.”
Li Hua took a deep breath, his expression serious.
“Yesterday, I…”
“Quite lively.”
A voice laced with slight displeasure interrupted him.
The Duke’s Daughter leaned against the doorframe, a smile on her lips, her beautiful red eyes fixed unblinkingly on Xunian, radiating pressure.
Interrupting again at a critical moment.
Xunian had many questions she wanted to ask the other two, but asking them in front of the Duke’s Daughter would be a death sentence.
Better to change her approach and acquire clues another way.
Xunian dragged the iron chain and walked over to the Duke’s Daughter, taking her hand proactively.
“Let’s go to your room.”
Just holding hands made the girl’s face flush slightly.
She let Xunian lead her, a sweet smile blooming at the corner of her mouth as she whispered, “Okay…”
Rarely so willing, Xunian easily manipulated the Duke’s Daughter without realizing anything was off.
Passing Fu Ruxue, the Duke’s Daughter’s gaze landed on the International Chessboard in her hands.
Fu Ruxue clutched the chessboard tightly, watching her warily.
The Duke’s Daughter said nothing, simply looking away calmly.
Feeling the warmth of the hand holding hers, all her thoughts focused entirely on Xunian.
The two, as if shielded by a barrier from others, finally left.
Fu Ruxue and Li Hua felt as if the air had cleared.
“Do you really trust Xunian? Do you believe everything she says?” Li Hua asked.
Fu Ruxue shot back, “I don’t trust her. Do you think I trust you?”
“…That Xunian isn’t simple. I advise you to be careful,” Li Hua warned kindly.
“So what if she’s not simple?”
Fu Ruxue had long known Xunian was extraordinary, possessing terrifying calmness and sharp insight unlike normal humans.
She even sometimes felt Xunian wasn’t human.
But Xunian never gave up on her.
Many times, Xunian was not safe herself but still kept saving her.
If they could get out of here, she wouldn’t mind making this companion who had lived and died with her.
As for Li Hua?
Why should she trust someone who barely spoke to her?
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