Chapter 26: Blackmail p2
Adele’s face was full of worry. She didn’t even have the mood to sit down and had been standing and waiting. Hearing footsteps coming downstairs, she quickly approached and said, “How is it?”
Haia had returned to her cold, meticulous appearance. “She’s getting better, but she still needs a lot of care. She doesn’t need to take any more medicine. Your company is the best.”
She handed the diagnosis and the money for the ink to Adele. “If you have any problems, you can come and find me at any time.”
“Is that so? Then thank you!”
Adele was overjoyed. She stuffed the paper and money into her pocket, took Lina’s hand, and walked out.
Before leaving, Lina turned her head to look back.
Haia raised an eyebrow and mouthed silently, “Take care, little rabbit~”
Lina was completely infuriated by her, but she couldn’t act on it. She could only follow Adele away, all fluffed up.
Wicked woman!
Just as Haia was about to go upstairs, a blood-stained hand suddenly slapped on the glass door.
“Save me…”
The weak female voice made Haia’s heart nearly stop in an instant.
So familiar!
She rushed out the door. The woman who had collapsed on the steps was covered in blood and had already lost consciousness.
…
The sour smell of disinfectant barely covered the thick smell of blood.
Herlkin startled awake from a deep sleep. She subconsciously reached for her waist. She didn’t feel a dagger, only a freshly stitched wound.
“Hiss—”
The sharp pain instantly made her eyes turn red. A pair of large, fluffy fox ears popped out from the top of her head, then drooped limply.
It really hurts!
Herlkin propped herself up on the bed, her gaze wary as she looked around.
The instrument cabinet and medicine cabinet were both open. On the oilcloth-covered table were several bloody lancets. Half of the catgut was hanging from the mouth of a bottle, the other half soaked in a carbolic acid solution.
Clearly, the surgery had just ended.
Herlkin looked at her side. The wound was stitched up well.
She looked up, wanting to find the person who had saved her, but her gaze fell on the medical license hanging on the wall.
The two words “Haia” entered her eyes. Her eyes widened slightly. Before she could take a closer look, a figure walked in from behind the screen.
“You’ve woken up quite quickly.”
Haia had tied her long black hair back. There were a few splatters of blood on the collar of her shirt. She was holding a clean white cloth. Whether it was from excessive nervousness or intense concentration, a faint weariness appeared on her face as she wiped her fingers.
Herlkin looked at her. Her cracked lips moved several times, but in the end, she only squeezed out four words.
“Why is it you?”
Haia’s face turned cold. She stared at her. “Then who did you hope it would be?”
Herlkin avoided the question and said, “I want to drink water.”
As Haia poured the water, her gaze never left her.
Herlkin’s scalp tingled from her stare. “Why did you come down the mountain?”
“And why did you come down the mountain?” Haia handed her the water, answering a question with a question.
“Am I asking you, or are you asking me?” Dissatisfaction overflowed from the red fox’s vertical pupils.
“So many years, and still this stinking temper.” Haia pulled over a stool and sat by the bed.
Herlkin’s hand, holding the glass, was trembling. “Mind your own business.”
“You think I want to mind your business?!” Haia had been feeling sorry for her a second ago, but the next second, she was stung by the person’s distant attitude and abruptly raised her voice.
“Why are you yelling at me!” Herlkin slammed the glass down. “If you hate me, just say it!”
Haia was so angry she took off her glasses. “I shouldn’t have saved you! I should have just thrown you out!”
“Go on, throw me out! You’d better throw me far away! So I won’t be an eyesore!”
Herlkin’s tail was all fluffed up.
Haia’s expression changed several times. “Herlkin, you’ve grown some guts. Have you forgotten who used to fetch water for your bath every day when you were little? Who fed you, bite by bite, sip by sip!”
Herlkin was suddenly speechless and said stubbornly, “Did I ask you to take care of me?”
Haia finally couldn’t take it anymore and grabbed her large tail. “Say that again!”
The red fox’s tail was extremely sensitive. Herlkin was in pain and itchy. Her already red eyes filled with a watery sheen. “You!”
Haia didn’t speak, just stared at her calmly.
The red fur trembled pitifully in the dead silence. Herlkin chickened out and said in a small voice, “I was wrong.”
“Hmm?” Haia tightened her hand. “I didn’t hear you clearly.”
Herlkin shrank back and trembled even more. “Senior Sister, I was wrong.”
“If you had been this obedient earlier, it would have been fine.”
Haia showed mercy and let her go.
Herlkin silently cursed her a couple of times, then suddenly remembered something and began to fumble with her hands.
“What are you looking for?” Haia asked.
“Oh no! Have you seen a kraft paper bag with medicine for headaches inside?”
Herlkin’s expression became very serious.
Haia shook her head. “I haven’t seen it.”
“Not good!” Herlkin propped herself up on the headboard, about to get up. “I have to go. I have something urgent!”
“You’re still injured!” Haia tried to stop her.
“Thank you, but I really have to go!” Herlkin had already stood up.
Haia had no choice but to compromise. “I’ll call a carriage for you, alright?”
“Okay.”
About half an hour later, Herlkin got into a carriage heading for Lina’s manor. Haia, who had watched her leave, turned and went inside, taking out the bag of headache medicine from a drawer.
She held the kraft paper bag to her nose and sniffed. She quickly recognized the formula and the person who had prepared the medicine.
“Teacher, you really do care about her…”
*
Ah—
A scream echoed through the manor.
Adele looked up at the sound. The newly appointed butler, Dilys, rushed to her with Lina in her arms.
“My lady! The young miss says she’s pregnant with your child!”
Dilys’s wheat-colored skin was flushed with a healthy red. Her voice was clear and bright, and with one shout, the whole courtyard knew.
The maids pounding fruit jam stopped their work. Three heads popped out from behind the flowerbeds. The person collecting eggs also raised their feather-covered head. And the person on the roof repairing the weeds even perked up their ears.
Work suspended! Time for gossip!
A carriage screeched to a halt at the courtyard gate, the wheels striking sparks on the gravel road.
Herlkin threw back the curtain, her amber eyes about to spit fire.
Got my niece pregnant!?
The person in question, Adele, stood by the well, her brain completely shut down.
What child?
Oh right, my child…
What!? My child!?
“I’m a woman!” Adele blurted out. The explanation she wanted to give swirled in her mouth, but then she suddenly remembered the hysteria. “I… forget it. Give her to me.”
Lina was giggling foolishly. After being placed in Adele’s arms by Dilys, she was smiling so much she could barely control her expression.
“Lina? Are you okay?”
Adele pinched her cheek, the shock in her eyes completely replaced by worry.
Is she having an episode?
Lina smiled happily. Imitating the description of a pregnant woman in a book, she also touched her lower abdomen and said, “Teacher, are you looking forward to the birth of this child? It’s our first child.”
Just as Adele was about to correct her, Dilys appeared behind her like a ghost. “My lady, I’ve raised rabbits before. You’d better just go along with her. Rabbits have a big temper. They can get so angry they die.”
Adele thought for a moment, then gave a dry laugh. “…I’m looking forward to it.”
Lina grabbed her hand. “Teacher, the baby is moving. Feel it.”
Adele followed her pull without resisting, her mind filled with:
Call a physician!!!
Lina knew better than anyone that her stomach was filled with two plates of shrimp dumplings, a glass of apple juice, and three large muffins.
Adele, naturally, could not feel the presence of a new life.
The moment she put Lina down, she felt a chill on her back, and then she was whipped into the flowerbed by a fluffy fox tail.
With a “whoosh,” Herlkin descended like a god. Her cunning, vertical pupils were now filled with righteousness, her entire being filled with a sense of justice.
“Lina! Aunt is here to back you up!”
Lina: ???
Adele, who had been thrown into the flowerbed, silently closed her eyes.
This must be a hallucination…
/
“…Actually, I went back to the room that night because I really didn’t want to wait anymore. The rope hidden under the bed was a prop I prepared for myself. I wanted to use the same trick again, so she would come and hug me. I can’t just tie her up, right?”
“She said she would never blame me, so… even if I locked her up, she would still indulge me, right?”
“Adele, I think I’m becoming a little abnormal. I still dream about the past. I’m still very scared. Can I really escape the fate of being sacrificed? Can I really have freedom? Will you always be with me? I think I’m a very greedy person. I really can’t be without you.”
“Adele, I only have you. Please never leave me, okay?”
