After listening to Ailaira’s gentle persuasion, Andrea was already immersed in the beautiful vision of the future, unable to wait as she asked eagerly, “So what should we do next?”
Ailaira raised a finger and pressed it gently to Andrea’s soft lips, a faint smile curving at her mouth as she soothed her, “Don’t rush. Haven’t you already felt the benefits?”
“All you need to do is cooperate with me a bit more, show more of your value, and one day your dreams will come true.”
Andrea nodded earnestly.
Ailaira’s words struck straight to the desire buried deep within her heart; that sense of inferiority born from her physical flaws had always entangled her past and was the source of all her misfortunes.
So even if there was just a glimmer of hope, Andrea wasn’t willing to give up.
And after hearing these words, without even realizing it, Ailaira’s importance in her heart rose even further; at the very least, she would not refuse to cooperate with Ailaira’s Experiment anymore.
“Mm, mm, whatever you want, I’ll agree.”
Seeing that she had persuaded her with just a few sentences, Ailaira was a bit surprised herself.
It seemed she really had found this little dragon girl’s sore spot, or else Andrea wouldn’t have agreed so readily.
As for deceit?
The Witch, who wasn’t good at manipulating people’s hearts, couldn’t possibly do something so heartless, so everything she said was true.
Ailaira believed she had the ability to solve all of Andrea’s problems.
It’s just that, well, the day this achievement is discovered will have to wait until she has thoroughly squeezed every last bit of value out of Andrea.
For now, this was only the most basic use of Dragon materials; she hadn’t yet delved into the operating logic of such a creature, nor its development of Magic, its physical structure, and so on—she would research all of these in detail on Andrea.
Ailaira’s rare sincerity had another simple reason—to satisfy her desires when necessary.
Andrea was still sitting in front of Ailaira, counting on her fingers and endlessly chattering about all the places she wanted to visit now that she had wings.
She didn’t notice at all that Ailaira wasn’t listening to a word, her gaze fixed hungrily on Andrea’s petite but extraordinarily tempting figure, her mouth constantly salivating in longing.
This desire was devoid of any emotion; it was a pure feeding instinct, like how an animal would hunt ravenously after hibernation to satisfy its bodily needs.
Of course, this didn’t mean she literally wanted to devour Andrea completely—it was just the urge to absorb the powerful Life Force in her body.
The waves of desire crashed against Ailaira’s mind, making everything in her vision turn hazy.
It was as if, in her eyes, Andrea had already shed her clothes, waiting obediently like a lamb for her to enjoy.
“Hey, Ailaira, are you even listening!”
Andrea finally sensed something was wrong, shaking Ailaira’s shoulder in annoyance, trying to pull her wandering attention back to herself.
Ailaira snapped back to her senses, maintaining her calm expression as she said flatly, “I am. There’s still a long way to go, and plenty to be done. You can plan your travels slowly after you recover.”
“For now, go ask Jody to bring me something to eat, I’m hungry.”
“Alright, look at you, lazy as ever.”
Within those few lines, Andrea had already replenished some of the Life Force she’d given to Ailaira—enough at least to move about normally.
She hopped off the chair and skipped towards the door, but just as she stepped out, she poked her head back in, looking at the motionless Ailaira with a mischievous smile:
“Ailaira, you were really gentle this afternoon! Have you finally realized the value of this Red Dragon and decided to cozy up to me?”
“It’s just that you gave me too much vitality, I need time to burn it off.”
“Alright, alright, it’s all my fault.” Andrea laughed as she left, her teasing voice still echoing faintly in the corridor, “Hehe, acting tough again.”
Acting tough, huh…
Ailaira used her Magic to lock the door tight, and in the now empty room, she first let out a long-repressed moan, followed by ragged breathing.
She clutched Andrea’s coat tightly against herself, that lingering fragrance constantly tantalizing her senses.
She really was being contrary, but not out of any moral restraint—she was just too stubborn to yield to her own desires, which was why she had sent Andrea away.
“I used to always mock Trinis for being unable to control herself, now I guess it’s come back to bite me too…”
Ailaira’s arm transformed involuntarily into a draconic limb, the claws ripping through half the sofa.
Her pupils flickered wildly, as if undergoing some strange change.
The scales that had only covered her arm now showed signs of spreading towards her torso.
Although she couldn’t empathize with the pressure Trinis felt when resisting Devouring Magic, what she and Trinis faced were two different types of temptation.
Their two completely opposite traits, on the basis of their original effects, had further expanded into a more overbearing devouring ability.
But everything comes at a price—Ailaira had to bear the emptiness in her body.
She staggered over and took out a large number of Alchemy Potions—her own healing concoctions, which should by all rights provide plenty of Life Force.
Ailaira tossed all the Alchemy Potions, bottles and all, to the tentacles behind her.
In an instant, the Alchemy Potions were drained, and only when their effects flowed through her body did Ailaira feel a bit of relief from the torment of emptiness.
But it still couldn’t compare to direct absorption, especially after having tasted Andrea’s flavor.
Temporarily suppressing the side effects, Ailaira lay sideways on the chair, pulling up her System Panel:
【Ailaira Green / Ace Green】
【Race: Unknown】
【Traits: Compression, Simplification, Sacred Affinity + Devouring Magic (unnamed)】
【Status: Hungry】
【Value Potential Assessment: Unpredictable】
【Nurturing/Training Recommendation: Promotion】
【Development Progress: 100%】
“So it really did add the new trait…”
“But you could at least pretend to act subtle with your recommendations.”
Ailaira shielded her eyes from the overhead lamp with her arm and murmured, “Forcing all these things onto me, and that so-called invitation that didn’t feel divine at all—what exactly do you want from me?”
“Mother Goddess, what kind of deity are you, really? And in your eyes, what do you see me as?”
The unanswered questions drifted through the empty room—though honestly, if the Mother Goddess really did answer, Ailaira would probably faint on the spot.
Very soon, Ailaira put these thoughts out of her mind, stood up, and went to her prepared laboratory.
Since the gifts had already been given to her, there was no reason to send them back, but there was no way she’d let a deity use these to control her future.
Her future needed no one else’s promises—she would earn it with her own two hands.
Whether what awaited her ahead was fine wine or deadly poison, she would drink it all with a smile.