Chapter 35: The Potion of Love

Deep down, Xie Yier couldn’t help but let out a quiet, humming laugh, a cunning light flickering in her eyes.

As a Duchess, Xie Yier had always been accustomed to personally inspecting the new achievements at each of her subordinate Alchemy and Potion Workshops.

It was precisely because of this habit that her fateful encounter with Aier occurred.

But the coincidences did not end there.

That day, Xie Yier had just finished examining a novel potion at that particular Potion Workshop. The Director of the workshop had named it the “Potion of Love’s Reins.”

Its effects were simple and direct: the user would emit a unique aura that could not be detected by others. The first target to inhale this aura would be permanently bound to the user, and their own hormone secretion would be entirely controlled by the user.

To put it bluntly, Xie Yier could completely control when and where Aier went into heat, and even to what degree—she could precisely manipulate it, and it would only stop when she said so.

It was just like the Silver Pattern in a fantasy novel, but with even more extensive functions.

With this, Xie Yier could make Aier develop a body that only reacted to her—she wouldn’t go around attracting others anymore.

Aier’s body would belong to her alone.

And the effect was permanent!

This potion had no other obvious physiological side effects. Of course, it was not without its flaws—its success rate was abysmally low.

The workshop had tested it on Strays fifteen times and only succeeded twice.

More importantly, the successful cases seemed to occur only when the recipient was in a state of arousal.

The Director speculated that when the recipient was in such an “open-door” susceptible state, their nervous system’s acceptance of the potion’s link was significantly enhanced.

Even so, the success rate hovered only between twenty to thirty percent.

And the creation of this potion was accidental, an unexpected result of a complex reaction.

This meant that, for now, it remained a one-of-a-kind, unrepeatable item.

Since samples were needed for further experiments, the workshop kept two test vials.

The last remaining dose of this fate-altering potion had now been handed over to Xie Yier.

Tonight, Xie Yier intended to take the potion and permanently bind Aier’s body to her own.

It had only been a few days since entering the Royal Academy, and her little darling was already attracting plenty of covetous gazes. If she didn’t do something, Aier might be snatched away before she even noticed.

Aier could only belong to her!

Looking at Aier, who was kneeling at her feet, diligently massaging her, Xie Yier’s smile deepened, and the madness in her eyes grew even more intense.

Aier: I’ve been kneading for almost half an hour now, my hands are so sore.

Who knows what Xie Yier is thinking about up there on the sofa—her smile is practically splitting her face in two…

Aier had no idea what was about to happen to her, and was still grumbling about Xie Yier in her heart.

“All right, take a break.”

After spacing out for quite a while, Xie Yier finally snapped back to reality, realizing that Aier had been kneeling at her side like an indefatigable little squirrel, massaging her for ages.

“Little Ai, get up and move around a bit, don’t let your legs go numb.” Xie Yier’s tone was uncharacteristically gentle.

She glanced at the clock—it was already seven thirty in the evening.

She hadn’t expected half an hour to slip by so quietly and quickly in her excited thoughts.

Following her instructions, Aier propped herself up on her somewhat numb knees and slowly stood up.

She moved like a child learning to walk, clutching at expensive furniture and shuffling awkwardly across the thick carpet until she finally felt blood flowing back into her stiff, numb legs.

She looked just like someone who’d just been thoroughly ravished.

Xie Yier watched her with satisfaction, her red lips curving into a pleased smile. “Let’s go, it’s time for dinner, my Little Ai.”

“Dinner!”

Aier, who had been looking a bit wilted just moments before, instantly perked up at the mention of “dinner.”

The long table in the Dining Hall was bathed in the warm glow of flickering candlelight, silver cutlery gleaming brilliantly.

Xie Yier, naturally, chose the Main Seat, while Aier was placed in the seat immediately to her right.

For Xie Yier’s convenience to reach out and touch her at any time… ahem, to serve her food.

“Come, try this and see if you like it. I know you love seafood, so I had the Royal Kitchen prepare a few extra dishes for you.”

Tonight, Xie Yier seemed even gentler than usual, reminiscent of the first time they met, her smile so soft it could drown someone.

Although she was always rather considerate, Aier, being a sensitive little creature, could sense the pressure Xie Yier usually exuded.

For some reason, that pressure was completely absent tonight.

And she hadn’t gotten upset over Aier interacting with other girls, either.

Could it be… she’s in an especially good mood today?

However, when Aier’s gaze fell upon the sumptuous dishes on the table—

Oysters, lobster, steak…

Huh?

At first glance, nothing seemed amiss, but something still felt off…

These dishes… all seemed to be for boosting vitality!

And specifically, boosting that aspect!

Realizing this, Aier suddenly felt a chill run down the back of her neck.

Was Xie Yier not even trying to hide her scheming anymore?

“Little Ai, don’t just sit there spacing out. Try this oyster, it’s very fresh~”

Xie Yier’s smile didn’t change as she enthusiastically served Aier.

With a deft flick of her slender silver fork, a plump, glistening oyster was separated from its shell and landed squarely on the gilded plate in front of Aier.

Next, she skillfully peeled the tough lobster shell, extracted the whole tail meat, even thoughtfully removed the vein, and piled it onto Aier’s plate as well.

Before long, Aier’s plate was piled high with a fragrant little mountain of seafood.

Aier: “Uh…”

Although Aier loved to eat, if the food was served with ulterior motives, that was another matter entirely.

Xie Yier beamed, her expression all but spelling out “ulterior motive”: “What are you waiting for? Eat up.”

Under Xie Yier’s expectant gaze, Aier picked up her silver fork and, as if chewing on wax, stuffed the top-grade ingredients into her mouth.

You might think that with such great seafood, she should be delighted, but the problem was that in this world, all seafood was simply boiled and served with salt.

She longed for soy sauce… longed for wasabi… longed for seafood dipping sauce…

To suppress the fishiness churning in her mouth, Aier had to frequently cut into her Black Pepper Sauce steak, trying to mask the flavor with the taste of black pepper.

She couldn’t quite tell what was in the drink, but judging by the aroma, it seemed to be hot cocoa.

When Aier took a sip to moisten her dry mouth, she felt the smooth and dense texture, the cinnamon powder adding a hint of graininess, and she could faintly taste the sweetness of honey.

Watching Aier “wolf down” her food, Xie Yier, in an excellent mood, picked up her own cup of the same drink and sipped it gracefully.

The dinner finally ended in a rather bizarre atmosphere.