Chapter 11: Despicable
Yuan You gripped Huaguang’s hand tightly.
In the struggle, a section of the princess’s pink sleeve cuff was revealed. The fabric was from the same bolt as the one wrapped around the knight’s sword hilt.
“Audacious.” Huaguang smiled as she chided her. “Insubordination. Believe it or not, I’ll whip you.”
Yuan You looked at her, her eyes blazing. “I would be honored.”
“Who taught you that?” Huaguang feigned anger.
“Someone far away in the distance.” Yuan You gave a genuine smile.
“You wicked thing.” Huaguang leaned down, following the pull of her hand, and tilted her head slightly, pretending she was about to kiss her.
The little puppy was overjoyed. She closed her eyes and waited obediently, her eyelashes trembling lightly, ready to receive her master’s reward.
But Huaguang did not grant her wish, stopping just moments before their lips would touch.
Yuan You opened her eyes, bewildered. After reading the mischief in Huaguang’s beautiful eyes, she pleaded in a small voice, “…Your Highness.”
She yearned for it.
But she dared not overstep, dared not take the initiative to offend.
The most skilled knight in the royal family, whose killing sword never left its sheath, whose clothes were never stained with blood, was now facing her princess. She wanted her desperately, yet only asked for it with an obedient voice.
Huaguang had already pulled back. While enjoying her unfulfilled desire, she said, “Endure it.”
Yuan You’s spirits instantly deflated. She gave a low “Mhm.”
Seeing her remain so obedient even after being teased like this, Huaguang’s mood lifted. She grabbed her by the collar, pulled her a few inches closer, and said, “Alright—”
“Tonight, I’ll leave the door open for you.”
Yuan You crawled forward two steps on her knees, pressing close to Huaguang. The knight’s silver armor scraped against the stone tiles, creating a few ambiguous sounds.
“I will perform well!”
Huaguang patted her head. “Good girl.”
*
“Adele.”
“Adele…”
Adele stood in a thick fog. She heard someone calling her name but couldn’t find the source of the voice.
“I’m here,” she tried to respond. The footsteps hidden in the fog suddenly stopped.
Slap—
The next second, a hand slapped down on her shoulder from behind.
Adele turned her head. A burned face was inches away, the smell of rot rushing toward her.
!!!
“Adele! You’re going to die!”
“You’re going to die!”
“Go find it!”
Find what?
What on earth do I have to find!?
Adele gasped sharply and woke from the nightmare. Early autumn had just arrived, and the summer heat lingered. The day was clearly warm, but her back was covered in cold sweat.
The person she had just seen seemed to be the madwoman from the market.
That burned face was too terrifying. There wasn’t a single patch of good flesh. Just one look into those dark, hollow eyes was enough to make one’s blood run cold.
Adele rubbed her face in frustration.
Was all this some kind of sign, or was she just under too much mental stress?
…
A fluffy sensation touched her thigh. Adele abruptly looked down.
The little rabbit emerged from between her legs. Her sapphire-like eyes blinked in the darkness, immediately followed by a cautious attempt to ingratiate herself.
“Teacher…”
Adele was so lost in thought, immersed in the dream she’d just had, that she hadn’t noticed Lina at all and had briefly lost control of her expression.
Lina was already sensitive. She instantly caught Adele’s frustration. Her heart skipped a beat, and she grew even more apprehensive.
She took out the burn ointment she had hidden behind her back and said, “I’m sorry, please don’t hate me…”
Adele looked at the person kneeling before her. All her emotions were at a breaking point. She didn’t yet understand the dangers lurking beneath the ice, but she knew very well that the time left for her and Lina was perhaps truly running out.
Adele took two deep breaths, a rare seriousness appearing on her face in front of Lina.
“You forgot again.”
Lina grew even more nervous.
The first rule: do not kneel casually.
She had done it wrong again.
“I’m sorry…”
Adele cut her off, leaning down to speak earnestly, “Lina, ‘sorry’ is useless. If I were a bad person, if I refused to let you go, you could say ‘sorry’ ten thousand times and it would be useless. The same goes for kneeling. If someone doesn’t want to let you go, it doesn’t matter how fast you kneel or how perfectly you do it; it’s useless.”
Seeing Lina still flinch slightly, Adele forced herself to hold back her lecture. She turned her face away, letting the cool night breeze hit her face.
Don’t be harsh with the rabbit… she didn’t do it on purpose, I have to give her time…
Give her time…
Adele kept trying to psych herself up, while Lina looked at her, lost in a momentary trance.
The feeling was so familiar. It was as if someone had once guided her and cared for her so earnestly…
Lina tried to remember, but her memory was a blank.
She didn’t dwell on it. Instead, she unscrewed the ointment. “Teacher, I really know I was wrong. After I’m done applying the medicine for you, you can punish… uh, no, not punish… you can discipline me then.”
Adele shook her head. “I should do it myself.”
Lina had already squeezed the ointment onto her hand. “Please let me.”
Seeing her insistence, Adele’s mind turned, and she understood her little scheme.
This little rabbit was still afraid she would get angry.
Oh well…
“Then I’ll trouble you.”
Only after the words were out did Adele remember something—
Half of the chowder from the morning had spilled on her thigh.
“Wait.”
Adele thought, This is not good.
She wanted to stop Lina, but her fingertips trembled. She was afraid that if she reached out, she would scare the already timid person.
It was this moment of hesitation that made her lose the only chance she had to stop it.
Lina had already lifted the cool blanket covering her legs.
The palm-sized burn was red and swollen. The edges of the broken blister were wrinkled, made even more horrifying by the contrast with the tender skin on the rest of her inner thigh.
“Sorry…” Lina said in a muffled voice. “I’m really sorry.”
Her previous apologies had only been to protect herself. The guilt at this moment was genuine. A person who was often burned by candle wax could empathize the most.
“It’s okay… Mmph?!” Adele’s words were cut short as her whole body suddenly tensed.
She looked down. Lina’s long ears had wrapped around her knee.
“I have to hold your leg still. The side effects of this medicine are a bit strong.” Lina controlled her ears, clamping Adele’s leg. “If you move around, the wound could split open and bleed a lot.”
“You…” Adele’s lips trembled. She wanted to speak but held back.
“Teacher.” Lina’s eyes were innocent. “Could you spread your legs a little further apart, please?”
Adele looked at her face and, as if bewitched, chose to obey.
The elven ointment took effect immediately upon application. The wound would show signs of healing the next day, and in at most three days, it would be fully recovered.
But the stronger the medicine, the stronger the pain.
“Teacher, if it hurts, tell me. I’ll go slower at first.”
A gentle breath was inches away. Adele’s brain shut down. “It doesn’t hurt,” she said.
Lina froze for a few moments, then said in a deadpan voice, “That’s because I haven’t applied it yet.”
“…”
Lina squeezed out a pea-sized amount of ointment, skillfully warmed it in her palm, and then covered Adele’s wound.
!!!
Sizzle—
A puff of white smoke rose gracefully, accompanied by the sizzling sound of meat on a hot plate.
Adele nearly fainted. She clenched her jaw tight to keep from making a sound.
Lina continued her work in silence.
The wound beneath her palm was all because of her. A person used to being hurt was fundamentally good-natured, and the guilt in her heart was doubled.
Precisely because she had been hurt, she knew how awful it felt, and so she was unwilling to hurt others.
It was too painful.
Every silent night, when she hid under the bed to apply her own medicine, she could only muffle her mouth tightly with her ears.
She didn’t dare cry out in pain. Screaming was a sign of indecency.
A sacrificial offering could only endure.
She was used to enduring, and she instantly sensed Adele’s pain.
“Teacher, does it hurt a lot?” Lina stopped her movements. “Should I blow on it for you?”
“No need, I’m fine. You can continue.”
Adele tried to act nonchalant. She didn’t want to show too much pain because she didn’t want the sensitive rabbit to feel guilty.
But sweat was already rolling down her back in streams.
She felt like she had become an ingredient for teppanyaki. Her seared skin was about to curl up at both ends like bacon, sizzling with oil…
Help…
“If your muscles stay this tense, you’ll get a cramp. Let me help you relax them.” Lina was desperate to make it up to her.
The lop-eared rabbit’s soft hands were, at this moment, like God’s bait in a sting operation. Every scene from the illusion was stimulating Adele’s mind.
Why had she voluntarily chased after Lina?
Was it the illusion bewitching her, or were the thoughts hidden deep within her heart at play?
Whichever it was, Adele didn’t dare to think about it too deeply.
She absolutely could not have any improper behavior toward an underage girl.
Adele had a guilty conscience and didn’t dare let Lina touch her too much.
“…No need, I’m really fine.” Adele composed herself and said, “Let’s just apply the medicine.”
“Alright.”
Lina focused on the movements of her hands, squeezing out more ointment.
Adele tilted her neck back slightly. On the surface, she was enduring the pain of the medicine, but hidden in her rapid breaths was the amorous thought of wanting to hold the person between her teeth.
She knew it was wrong.
But—
The rabbit was really fragrant and soft.
No carnivore could resist this temptation.
Lina…
In this moment, Adele had a despicable thought. If the little rabbit were the version from the illusion, she could…
At least have a clear conscience.
Lina was still applying the medicine, repeating the motion mechanically.
Adele closed her eyes, not daring to focus her attention on her leg any longer.
The elven ointment took effect immediately. The reddened skin at the edge of the burn had already returned to its original color, and the more severe parts of the wound were also slowly healing.
Lina stopped to observe the wound, her peripheral vision catching Adele’s restrained expression.
She remembered the bite from that morning.
Adele had also frowned slightly like this, enduring in silence.
Lina gazed at her, her blue eyes narrowing slightly in the darkness.
Adele’s head was tilted back, her expression one of unbearable pain, the cold sweat on her neck, and the slight tremor of her fingertips…
Every single detail filled Lina with a desire to explore.
What was she enduring? Was it just the pain?
Then why was her face red?
If it hurt so much, why did she still spoil her?
If she were to take her for her own, would she be in pain?
If…
The clock struck midnight. Lina’s whole body jolted, and all those wicked, insubordinate thoughts scurried back into the shadows.
“Are you done?” Adele asked.
Lina avoided her gaze and said guiltily, “N-not yet.”
“…Then continue.”
“Mhm.”
/
“It wasn’t after Teacher left that I developed the idea of keeping her by my side forever. Long before, on a certain silent night, I heard her racing heartbeat.”
