In the dungeon, Tania slowly woke up with a splitting headache.
When she opened her eyes, all she saw was the damp floor and pitch-black walls.
The air reeked of decay and rot, the stench so foul it nearly made her vomit up everything she’d eaten that night.
Rubbing her head, she tried to stand, but her legs were so weak she couldn’t stay upright.
She quickly reached out to steady herself.
Her hand grabbed onto the cold iron bars in front of her.
“Miss Tania, you’re finally awake.”
Luo Xiya’s voice came from ahead, laced with clear impatience.
She sat on a chair, glancing around as if there were something much more important she’d rather be doing.
“I was starting to think that if you kept sleeping like a dead pig, I might as well come back tomorrow. Can’t keep that kid waiting under the covers too long, now can I?”
Seeing her act like this, Tania thought she was just bitter over what had happened earlier.
Rather than feeling afraid of her current predicament, she laughed coldly in mockery.
“So this is the great Countess’s magnanimity. I must say, tonight has truly opened my eyes.”
Instinctively, Tania assumed a threatening posture, but before she could speak, Luo Xiya cut her off.
“Today, one of the maids in my estate fell ill.”
“And?”
Tania replied blankly.
Luo Xiya stood up slowly and walked over to her.
“She’s in that state because of you.”
It wasn’t a question, it was a flat, emotionless statement.
Tania froze, then burst into laughter, wild and maniacal, as if she’d just heard the world’s most absurd joke.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“I’m not. I’m simply informing you of the facts.”
For some reason, a chill swept through Tania’s entire body.
Luo Xiya’s voice, her eyes, everything about her was too calm.
So calm it felt like she was talking to a corpse.
Or someone already marked for death.
“If I’m not mistaken, you had Annie poison Roman. Then, you planned to use Aunt Catherine’s condition to force my hand, keeping your demand just barely within the line of what I could tolerate.”
“After all, it’s only one night. If it meant saving my aunt’s life, there was room for negotiation.”
“But the truth is, once you poisoned Roman, if I really had handed him over, you would’ve used this thing to completely control him, just like all the other men you keep around you.”
Luo Xiya picked up something thin and sleek from nearby.
Up close, it looked like a kind of smoking pipe.
“Your family really has cozy ties with those monsters in the mountains. Even a thing like this is in your hands. Seems my aunt’s illness isn’t entirely unrelated to you lot either.”
The more she spoke, the more Luo Xiya felt a creeping sense of dread.
If she really had made the wrong choice back then…
She shook her head.
Now wasn’t the time to dwell on what-ifs.
“All that is just your speculation. And you dare imprison me over it? So this is how your family treats guests? You’re the real bandits here!”
Tania’s fear grew with every word.
Had that little maid really thrown her life away and told them everything?
Now, no matter what, she couldn’t admit a thing.
She kept up her defiant front and turned the blame around.
“And after knocking me out and locking me up down here, even if you gave him to me now, it’d be meaningless! Because of your selfish arrogance, you’re going to watch Lady Catherine be slowly tortured to death….”
She couldn’t finish her sentence.
Luo Xiya reached through the bars and clutched her midair.
Her piercing blue eyes roared with silent fury, and her long black hair billowed behind her without a breeze.
“And I should thank you for helping me see things clearly. You lot, bandits at your core, even if dressed in the dogskin of nobility, are still nothing more than bandits wearing noble disguise. That foul, greedy nature of yours will never change.”
“Aunt Catherine ended up like this because of your people. Then you even reach into my territory and lay hands on my servants, expecting me to bow and trade for your so-called charity? I was the fool today.”
Now that she had seen the truth, Luo Xiya’s tone was firm and unwavering, fully prepared to sever ties with the Desmon family completely.
“Then just wait for Lady Catherine to die!” Tania snarled.
At those words, Luo Xiya’s lips curled into a faint smile.
She leaned in close and whispered something into Tania’s ear.
In an instant, Tania’s bluster collapsed, her eyes wide in disbelief.
“Think carefully about what you’ll do next. I’ll be back tomorrow,” Luo Xiya said as she turned to leave.
Before going, she glanced around at the dungeon’s damp surroundings and couldn’t help but shake her head.
At her most deranged today, she’d actually considered dragging Roman down here, right here, to take his first time.
Back in Luo Xiya’s room, Roman was still diligently cultivating his mana according to Lady Catherine’s guidance.
Faint circuits of magical light shimmered on his skin, glowing softly in rhythm with the moonlight outside.
Mana cultivation appeared calm on the surface, but danger lurked every moment.
As he cycled through the practice, Roman’s consciousness gradually sank.
Just as he was on the verge of losing awareness, a hand suddenly pressed down on his shoulder.
His senses snapped back instantly.
Roman opened his left eye, drenched in cold sweat.
His breathing was heavy, and his body felt like he had just run several kilometers.
“Tired already?” came a familiar voice and scent.
Roman, recognizing it at once, let his body lean fully into the person behind him, allowing her to gently dab away his sweat with a tissue.
Roman thought about what might happen next, and suddenly became so nervous he didn’t know what to say.
Luo Xiya, on the other hand, chatted with him as usual, saying a few thoughtful, caring things.
“These past couple of days, Aunt must’ve taught you a lot, hasn’t she?”
“Mm. Madam’s been very kind and patient. She kept me in the study and explained the path of transcendence to me, things I knew nothing about before.”
Luo Xiya pursed her lips. It wasn’t exactly jealousy toward Lady Catherine, but she had wanted to be the one guiding Roman through all this, hoping to use the pretext of teaching to sneak in some playful teasing too.
But the thought barely formed before she dismissed it.
Even though she was a genius Transcendental, her own experience wasn’t of much help to Roman.
After all, being a good student didn’t mean one could be a good teacher.
Lady Catherine, on the other hand, had always been gentle and attentive, even from Luo Xiya’s childhood.
When she taught, it wasn’t just pure instruction, she tailored her approach to the individual.
Luo Xiya had been rebellious back then, yet through a careful mix of push and pull, Lady Catherine had tamed her completely.
As a teacher for Roman, Lady Catherine was undoubtedly the perfect choice.
“Tonight, we…”
Roman suddenly murmured as Luo Xiya was lost in thought.
Her eyes lit up immediately, and even the way she pressed on his shoulder became softer, her hand sliding from his shoulder down to his arm, a mischievous idea beginning to stir in her heart.