Su Ling stood outside the tent, gazing at the distant mountain range, her heart a tangled mix of emotions.
On that quiet, peaceful night, she had agreed to Phil’s request and decided to temporarily leave Sista to join the rebels.
It wasn’t an easy decision, but she knew she had to do something for the oppressed races.
Sista’s promise was important, but Phil’s eyes, and the humans and beastfolk struggling at the bottom, made it impossible for Su Ling to stand by.
“Are you really sure about this?”
Phil walked up beside her, her voice carrying a hint of uncertainty.
Su Ling nodded, her gaze firm.
“Yes, Phil. I believe in your ideals, and I believe we can change this kingdom.”
“Good! That’s more like it!”
A flicker of relief crossed Phil’s face, but she quickly returned to her tsundere demeanor.
“But this was your choice. Don’t come crying to me later.”
Su Ling smiled but didn’t reply.
She knew that despite Phil’s sharp tongue, she cared about her more than anyone.
Life in the rebels wasn’t easy.
Su Ling had been a maid in Sista’s castle, but she was quick-witted and soon adapted to the rebel lifestyle. She helped Phil with logistics and occasionally joined strategic discussions.
Although she had once been a maid for the Blood Clan, her companions in the rebel army didn’t hold it against her. Instead, they welcomed her warmly.
Those tough days were exhausting, but they also gave her a sense of fulfillment she hadn’t felt in a long time.
Yet the cruelty of war far exceeded Su Ling’s imagination.
The rebel army clashed fiercely with the Kingdom’s forces at the border.
Blood soaked the earth, and cries of anguish filled the air.
Su Ling witnessed countless lives cut short, her heart filled with pain and turmoil.
After one battle, Su Ling stood on the corpse-strewn battlefield and asked softly:
“Phil… is this change really the right thing?”
Phil walked over and patted her shoulder.
“Change is never easy. But if we don’t persevere, those who died will have sacrificed in vain.”
Su Ling nodded, but the unease in her heart grew stronger.
She began to wonder if she could ever find the answers she sought in this war.
Meanwhile, Sista’s fury burned hotter by the day.
When she learned that Su Ling had betrayed her and joined the rebels, her heart was flooded with anger and pain.
She couldn’t understand why her most trusted maid would choose to leave her, even stand on the side of her enemies.
“Su Ling… how dare you betray me.”
Sista stood atop the castle’s high tower, her gaze icy as she stared into the distance.
In her heart, there was both longing for Su Ling and a barely suppressed hatred.
She swore she would bring Su Ling back and make that foolish maid pay for her betrayal.
The tide of war gradually turned in the Kingdom’s favor.
Though the rebels fought valiantly, they were no match for the Kingdom’s elite forces.
In a pivotal battle, the rebels suffered a devastating blow.
Human and beastfolk soldiers fled, leaving their weapons behind, and blood flowed like a river across the battlefield.
In the chaos, Su Ling was surrounded by a small squad.
She fought desperately, but in the end, she was outnumbered.
Just when she thought she would die on the battlefield, a familiar figure appeared before her.
Ink-black hair cascaded down, and dark red eyes gleamed with dangerous light. Her pure black dress, adorned with feathers, made her look like a reaper descending upon the world amid the field of corpses.
“Your Highness…”
Su Ling looked up at Sista, her heart full of guilt and fear.
Sista gave her no chance to explain.
“Su Ling, you’ve finally fallen into my hands.”
Her voice was low, and then she waved her hand, signaling the soldiers to bind Su Ling.
Su Ling’s small body was quickly tied up tightly.
“Take her back to the castle.”
Sista said coldly.
“I’ll make her reflect on her betrayal.”
After returning to the castle, Su Ling was locked in a dim room.
Her hands and feet were bound with iron chains, leaving her unable to move freely.
During that time, she heard many rumors.
Under the brutal suppression of the Blood Clan army, the rebels were completely defeated.
Phil, as the main instigator, was executed publicly.
Additionally, a human Kingdom assassin named “Phoenix” mysteriously disappeared during an assassination mission, never to be seen again.
On the same day of Phoenix’s disappearance, a maid named Tii vanished from the castle without a trace.
Moria quickly noticed something was wrong and eventually discovered that Tii was actually the assassin hiding in the castle.
The outside world kept changing.
The people Su Ling had once cared about left one by one.
She wallowed in sorrow every day, as if her tears had already dried up.
Without realizing it, only Sista seemed to remain by her side.
Sista visited her every day, but each time she said nothing, merely staring at her with those cold eyes.
“Your Highness, I…”
Su Ling tried to explain, but Sista cut her off.
“Shut up!”
Sista’s voice trembled slightly.
“You betrayed me, Su Ling. I trusted you so much, and yet you chose to leave me.”
Su Ling lowered her head, tears welling in her eyes.
“Your Highness, I just wanted to do something for the oppressed humans and beastfolk… I never intended to betray you.”
Sista sneered.
“For the oppressed?”
She slowly approached Su Ling, her gaze dark.
“Did you ever think about what your betrayal means to me?”
Su Ling looked up, her eyes full of conflict.
“I’m sorry…”
“Hah.”
Sista let out a low laugh.
“Do you think an apology can erase your sins?”
She paced slowly in the dim room, growing angrier by the moment.
Finally, she stopped and turned to face Su Ling.
“It seems words alone aren’t enough to make you reflect.”
“Your… Your Highness?”
Sista’s face was as cold as ice. She dragged over an exquisite diamond wooden box.
She had ordered it made specifically for this purpose while Su Ling was imprisoned.
She extended her slender fingers, slowly opened the box, and took out several cold iron chains.
Before Su Ling could react, Sista lifted her horizontally.
“Huh?”
Su Ling gasped.
The next moment, Sista unhesitatingly hoisted her hands high above her head and spread her legs apart, securing them.
The tips of her toes hung in the air, gently swaying.
The cold metal against her skin made Su Ling tremble uncontrollably.
Tears slid down one by one.
“Like this… you’ll never be able to betray me a second time.”
Sista quietly admired the scene, her fingertips lightly tracing where the chains met Su Ling’s skin.
She both hated Su Ling’s betrayal and couldn’t completely let go of her feelings for her.
Seeing Su Ling bound like this stirred a sick pleasure mixed with pain in her heart.
She pulled a whip with barbs from her bosom and lightly traced it along the inside of Su Ling’s thigh.
The sensitive skin immediately flushed with faint red marks.
The chains clinked softly as her body trembled.
“Your Highness… please… don’t…”
Su Ling finally couldn’t help but beg.
But no matter how she begged, Sista was unmoved.
Su Ling could only hang in midair, gradually struggling to breathe.
“Mm…”
She struggled desperately, her face flushed red, the chains clinking continuously, but she couldn’t break free.
“The night is still young.”
Sista slowly curled the corners of her lips.
“We have all the time in the world to play.”
Seeing Su Ling’s agonized struggles, the sick excitement in Sista’s eyes grew stronger.
She picked up a candle again and slowly dripped hot wax onto Su Ling’s chest.
The searing pain made Su Ling let out intermittent moans, her body shaking violently.
“Mm… I was wrong…”
Despair eroded Su Ling’s consciousness bit by bit.
Her once clear eyes gradually lost their luster.
Her pain became numbness.
Sista quietly watched her reactions, a cruel smile spreading across her lips.
As the night deepened, the twisted love and torment spiraled out of control.
From the moment she learned of Su Ling’s betrayal, the remaining love in Sista’s heart seemed to have been devoured by pain and loneliness.
She was no longer the Sista she used to be.
The servants said the Second Princess had completely changed.
She had become manic, irritable, cruel—even more terrifying than before.
Even among the nobles, rumors began to circulate that Sista had lost her mind.
Now she had become the most fearsome Blood Clan in Ansels.
And in Sista’s eyes, Su Ling was no longer just a maid.
She was something to be controlled, to be possessed.
She wanted to see Su Ling suffer, to hear her beg.
She could even use this little maid’s will to survive to control her emotions, her body, her entire life.
“So getting love is this easy…”
Sista murmured softly.
“Why did I waste so much effort before?”
She leaned down and whispered in Su Ling’s ear:
“Su Ling, I love you… I’ve always loved you.”
Time seemed to stand still.
No one knew how long it lasted.
The moon and stars gradually dimmed.
Su Ling’s body was covered in mottled marks, sweat soaking every strand of her silver hair, plastering it to her cheeks and neck.
Sista finally slowed to a stop.
She moved sluggishly to release the chains binding Su Ling.
Clatter.
The silver-haired girl collapsed onto the bed like a withering vine.
Her eyes were hollow and unfocused, as if she had lost all awareness of the outside world.
New rumors began to circulate in the palace.
People said that the mad, violent Second Princess had recently become much calmer.
She was no longer as moody as before and had even restrained her sharp edges.
According to the servants, it seemed she had caught a “beloved canary.”
Princess Sista spent every day with that canary, barely even leaving her room.
The nobles were full of curiosity.
What kind of canary could have such charm?
Those nobles who loved raising rare birds and animals went to great lengths to uncover the truth.
But no matter how they tried to curry favor with the princess or secretly investigate, they came up empty-handed.
Only Sista herself knew.
That beautiful canary, from that day onward, could never leave her again.