Holding Little Violet, who had concealed her magic and was disguised as an ordinary kitten, Su Nian left Red Maple Magic Academy.
The exclusive carriage of Shadowmoon Manor rolled slowly along the smooth street.
Inside the carriage, Su Nian unconsciously stroked Little Violet’s silky, smooth fur in her arms.
The warmth and slickness soothed her slightly excited nerves.
Three powerful Saint-level Contract Beasts.
The most crucial, core piece of her revenge puzzle was now complete.
The carriage traveled through familiar streets, passed the bustling commercial district, and finally stopped before the grand yet icy gates of the manor.
Shadowmoon Manor.
To her, this had once been the place where she fell.
Brilliant and magnificent, yet tainted by that bastard Horned Demon who trampled on her dignity.
But fortunately it was also the place where she endured hardship, gathered her strength.
Every humiliation became the nourishment for her growth and vengeance.
Su Nian took a deep breath.
She pushed open the carriage door.
The sunlight of late autumn afternoon was warm but not scorching.
Su Nian squinted her beautiful eyes slightly, her face switching swiftly to the preset expression.
At this moment, the girl looked as if she had returned home tired from errands, finding relief and urgency to see her master.
This appearance perfectly matched the image she wanted to convey.
Even if the Horned Demon was not by her side, as long as she entered this manor, she had to enter “performance” mode.
After all, his spies were everywhere here.
Holding the quiet, curled-up Little Violet in her arms, Su Nian walked through a meticulously trimmed, painting-like garden that was filled with rich floral fragrance but utterly lifeless.
Two maids pushed open the heavy main doors of the mansion, made of precious wood and carved with intricate patterns.
The living room was dimly lit, with heavy curtains blocking most of the sunlight.
Chu Tian sat alone on the wide velvet sofa.
He held a document between his fingers, but his gaze was unfocused, absent-minded.
The man’s eyes drifted out the window.
The lines of his profile, under the shadow, appeared sharp and cold, as if waiting for something, or pondering something elusive.
The soft sound of footsteps broke the silence of the room, like a stone tossed into a still lake.
Chu Tian turned his head.
Those eyes, deep as a cold pool, instantly locked onto Su Nian as she entered the living room.
His gaze lingered openly on her for a moment, scrutinizing and evaluating, before finally settling on the strikingly obvious purple kitten in her arms.
“Back already?”
His voice was calm and undisturbed, betraying no emotion, like still water in an ancient well.
Yet for no reason, Su Nian felt her heart tighten.
Could it be that the bastard Horned Demon had discovered something?
“Mm… Master.”
Su Nian lowered her gaze slightly, her voice tinged with just the right amount of weariness and obedience.
She carefully offered up Little Violet, her movements a touch tentative and ingratiating.
“Master, look, this is the cat I raised at the academy to prevent mice. I adopted one.”
“Isn’t it adorable?”
Chu Tian’s gaze stayed on Little Violet for a moment, and in the depths of his eyes, a barely noticeable glint seemed to flash by.
The cat’s entire body was deep purple, its fur glossy and sleek, radiating a mysterious sheen, nothing like any ordinary housecat.
Its eyes were like amethyst crystals, brimming with life and a faint electric current, even less resembling a stray from some alley.
Chu Tian’s gaze refocused on Su Nian’s exquisitely beautiful, almost artistic face.
His tone remained flat, but carried a kind of invisible pressure, “What did you do at the academy today?”
Here it comes.
Alarms blared in Su Nian’s mind, as if war drums were beating.
She could clearly sense it—the bastard Horned Demon’s voice was calm as water, but in those bottomless eyes, a thread of scrutiny and probing lurked.
***
As expected, the commotion caused by summoning the Contract Beasts at the Forbidden Land of the Academy’s Rear Mountain, no matter how slight, no matter how much Little Violet had tried to erase it…
Had still caught his attention?
This bastard’s perception was unbelievably keen.
Even though Su Nian had used spatial powers to erase most of the spatial fluctuations.
But the massive energy aura released by three Saint-level beings descending at once, and the ripples from briefly tearing space, perhaps still left behind traces that couldn’t be fully wiped away.
‘He must not notice anything amiss.’
“I didn’t do much…”
Su Nian lifted her head, letting a timely hint of grievance appear on her face—just enough to stir sympathy.
A thin sheen of tears quickly covered her sky-blue eyes, as if they might fall from her lashes at any moment.
“It’s just… I went to the mission hall to see if there were any tasks suitable for me…”
Her voice became even softer and more delicate, with a barely detectable tremor.
“Then… I felt a bit tired, so I went to the back mountain to find a quiet place to meditate… to practice a bit of magic…”
She deliberately glossed over the location, lightly describing the heavily guarded “Forbidden Zone” as just a “quiet place.”
Su Nian paused, as if summoning great courage, then carefully moved a few steps closer.
The girl’s faint fragrance gently wafted to Chu Tian’s nose.
She raised her face slightly, her pale slender neck tracing a beautiful arc in the dim light—so alluring and unreal.
“Could it be… Master doesn’t trust me?”
Her voice softened, laced with deliberate dependence and a grievance hard to describe, as if she’d suffered a great injustice.
Her gaze was clear and innocent, staring straight at him, trying to prove her innocence.
“I am… wholeheartedly devoted to serving Master now…”
Each word made Su Nian feel deeply humiliated, stabbing at the pride buried in her heart.
“Ding-dong, Humiliation Value increased by 12749.”
“Ding-dong, Annoyance Value +12749.”
But for the sake of final victory, to crush the man before her completely, to grind him into the dust.
She could only shatter all her dignity and pride for now, burying them deep in the darkest corners of her heart.
She must not fail at the final moment.
If the bastard Horned Demon didn’t accompany her out of the city to Blackstone Gorge—
All her plans, everything, would be thrown into chaos.
Chu Tian quietly watched the girl.
Watched her weeping appearance, trying desperately to prove her “loyalty” and “obedience.”
Those deep eyes flickered for an instant, as if weighing something.
Earlier, in the manor, he had faintly sensed a spatial disturbance from the direction of the Magic Academy.
That fluctuation was extremely weak and vanished in a flash; its source was vague, difficult to pinpoint.
And Su Nian had just happened to go to the academy today and stayed for quite a while.
It was hard not to associate the two.
However, seeing her sincere and emotional response now, with every expression perfectly timed—it didn’t seem like she was lying.
That perfectly measured grievance.
That deliberate display of dependence, as if from the heart.
Had he misunderstood the girl before him?
Perhaps…
Red Maple Magic Academy was full of hidden talents; perhaps that fluctuation had another cause?
While Chu Tian was lost in thought, Su Nian’s eyes darted, and she immediately switched tactics, deciding to strike while the iron was hot.
She changed into an even more delicate, helpless posture, like a little white flower swaying in the wind, gently tugging the corner of Chu Tian’s sleeve, her movements soft and dependent, voice lowering further.
“Master, Master ❤ ~… I took a mission at the hall today, to collect magical herbs at Blackstone Gorge. The alchemy instructor wants to research a very important Healing Potion…”
“If they can create that potion, it could save many people, right?” The girl spoke while blinking her watery eyes.
At this moment.
In Chu Tian’s eyes, the girl before him was like a kindhearted angel.
“The instructor said Blackstone Gorge is dangerous, the terrain is complicated, and there are many powerful high-level Magic Beasts…”
“And, the mission is urgent, I have to go tonight, but… but going alone, I’m a bit scared.”
Su Nian’s voice grew softer and softer, but her tone was filled with dependence and trust for her master.
“Master ♥…”
She lifted her dewy eyes, brimming with pleading.
“Master, could you… could you go with me?”
To make her plea more convincing, Su Nian suppressed her shame and leaned in a little closer to Chu Tian, almost pressing against him.
She wore the tight new dress she bought yesterday, the fabric clinging softly and outlining her breathtaking figure.
As she moved closer, the blend of her natural scent and faint floral fragrance became even more intoxicating, subtly wafting into Chu Tian’s senses.
She rose slightly on tiptoe, bringing her rosy lips near his ear, her breath warm, voice lowered to a seductive whisper, laced with bewitchment and suggestion.
“As long as… as long as Master promises to go with me, I’ll properly… thank you…”
This open display of affection and almost naked seduction made Chu Tian’s pupils ripple instantly.
His Adam’s apple bobbed involuntarily.
Chu Tian now fully understood what “thanking Master” meant.
‘When did Su Nian become so skilled at this?’
“Oh?” Chu Tian’s lips curled into a playful, slightly wicked smile.
He reached out and pinched Su Nian’s delicate chin, his grip inescapable, forcing her to meet his gaze.
“How will you thank me?”
“Mm… if Master goes with me, even outside… that’s fine.” Even though Su Nian had prepared herself mentally, saying these words still filled her with shame.
With such an obvious invitation—
Chu Tian’s eyes immediately lit up, ‘Outdoors? That certainly was an interesting kind of thanks.’
Blackstone Gorge, remote and dangerous, was indeed a fine place for some undisturbed “interaction.”
He had fantasized about being with her outside Shadowmoon Manor… but only ever fantasized.
Now he had this chance for “gratitude”—
Of course Chu Tian took the bait.
Although some suspicion about the spatial fluctuation lingered, Su Nian’s current “obedience” and “dependence,” and that tempting promise of “gratitude,” greatly pleased him.
“In that case, Master will go with you.” Chu Tian said.
He could experience something new and gain a large amount of Annoyance Value—there was no reason to refuse.
Even if there were some risks.
“Thank you, Master ♥!” Su Nian looked delighted, sky-blue eyes shining with “sincerity.”
As if having her master’s “protection” was the greatest happiness she could imagine.
But in her heart, the girl was thinking, ‘The bastard Horned Demon really took the bait. Heh, men! As for that “gratitude” in the wild… In your dreams!’
‘Tonight it’s you who’ll be getting “beaten up” in the wild!’