Chapter 12: New Clothes
“Teacher, I’m done applying it.”
Lina put down the ointment and, after a moment’s thought, knelt back down. “I was really wrong.”
Adele felt like she was about to have a stress response herself.
The moment she saw Lina kneel, all her mental preparations became like flimsy foam boards made of cheap plastic, unable to withstand a single blow.
She knew she had to give Lina time, but a voice deep inside her was shouting—
There’s no time!
Anxiety was growing wildly in her heart, an emotion infinitely magnified by the many unresolved issues.
Who was that madwoman?
What on earth was she supposed to find?
And what was with the fake Adele in the hallway?
…
The burn no longer hurt; the wound felt cool and soothing. But Adele’s heart was a mess of anxiety and restlessness.
She said sternly, “You insist on kneeling?”
All of Lina’s further apologies were cut off.
She looked at Adele, at those eyes moist with pain.
Once again, she remembered everything from that morning.
Lina’s gaze fell on Adele’s wrist.
She had actually hurt her teacher…
“Lina, answer me.”
Adele was very much like a teacher at this moment, but Lina suddenly didn’t want to be an obedient, good student.
She still held a tiny bit of hope for this world. If she could be loved, be cherished, and live with dignity like a human being, she was willing to wait for next spring, to live through another four seasons.
What she needed was no longer a lifeline; she needed a reason to live.
Lina was being stubborn.
She just wanted to know, was Adele’s kindness toward her truly an accident? If she pushed her luck again, would Adele indulge her as she had that morning?
“Then hit me.” Lina held up her left hand. “Please discipline me.”
Adele stared at her, not responding. Besides helplessness, there was even more worry.
Lina’s two ears hid behind her back again. The stubbornness that had just flared up quickly vanished completely under that gaze.
She had been tough for a whole three seconds, and then—
She chickened out.
One look was all it took for Adele to know that the person before her was scared.
She wanted to know what this little rabbit was being stubborn about. Feigning anger, she said, “Fine. You’re asking for it, right? I’ll grant your wish.”
Adele grabbed Lina’s left hand. The moment her wrist bones pressed against her, her heart had already melted into a puddle. She said toughly, “You tell me, how many hits?”
Extreme sensitivity was a curse, but also a gift. The force on her wrist changed slightly. In the space between loosening and tightening, Lina caught Adele’s emotions.
She understood that the person before her had a soft heart.
And she got the answer she wanted.
Adele’s heart ached for her.
People are greedy, and Lina was no exception. She wanted to get more from Adele.
Concern, or scolding.
Anything from her teacher was fine.
“Whatever.” Lina was trembling all over. It was the first time she had spoken like this, and she wasn’t very skilled at it yet. She fanned the flames with a trembling voice, “Anyway… anyway, I was born to be bullied…”
Slap—
Adele tapped her palm. The sound was crisp, but it didn’t hurt.
It was just numb.
So numb that Lina’s stubborn streak vanished again.
“Did you read the book I gave you for nothing?” Adele gripped her hand and pulled her closer. “Is that how the book teaches you to belittle yourself? I’m really going to have to deal with you.”
“I…” Lina was caught off guard. Her body tilted, and she fell directly into Adele’s embrace.
So fragrant.
She felt her mind go fuzzy. All her rebelliousness was melted away by this embrace.
“I’m sorry, Teacher. I was wrong.” Lina retracted her thorns and said with her head hung low, “I did read the book carefully. I won’t do it again.”
Her fluffy tail wagged ingratiatingly. Adele was helpless against her. She pulled her up directly and patted her uninjured leg. “Sit.”
Lina didn’t sit sideways, but straddled her leg directly.
Adele’s back stiffened.
Too close.
This little bad rabbit…
…
“Anyway, what happened today is in the past. I’m really not mad at you, and I won’t be angry. Don’t worry.” Adele didn’t touch her. Her two hands gripped the edge of the stool as if to prevent herself from committing a crime. “But don’t say such bastardly things again.”
“Mhm.” Lina nodded obediently.
Adele said patiently, “It was also my fault for being too hasty, for not giving you enough time. I apologize to you.”
Lina’s eyes suddenly turned red. She shook her head. “It’s okay. I’m just happy that you’re willing to care about me. I will change those bad habits…”
She subconsciously bit her lip, trying to suppress the sourness welling up in her throat.
“Don’t bite.”
Adele’s eyes were full of pity. She reached out and rescued her lip from between her teeth.
No matter how lucid, no matter how restrained, she would still lose her reason the moment the rabbit hurt herself.
By the time she realized what she had done, it was already too late.
The action wasn’t exactly ambiguous, but between a teacher and a student, it was a bit over the line.
Before Adele could feel regret, a slightly heavy head burrowed into her arms.
Lina threw caution to the wind and hugged Adele tightly with abandon.
She buried her face in this warm embrace, hiding her already moist eyes.
Perhaps this moment really was just a dream.
A person with such bad luck as her might have already fallen to her death that morning.
A dense wave of moisture came from her chest. The fabric, soaked with tears, clung to her skin. Adele could feel that Lina was crying.
She gently stroked the head of the person in her arms.
Go ahead and cry.
It will be better after you’ve cried.
After a long moment, Lina said with a trembling voice, “Teacher, you touched my ear…”
Was it on purpose?
Adele: !
“Sorry.” Adele held up her hands in surrender. “I didn’t notice.”
A little rabbit’s ears were like a big tiger’s backside.
Lina was stunned for a moment, then started to laugh. She held up her ears, imitating Adele. “It’s okay…”
Even if it was on purpose, she was willing.
*
“Get off…”
Huaguang’s upturned eyes couldn’t hold back her tears.
But how could a princess beg for mercy?
She kicked at Yuan You. It was a soft kick, not like an attack, more like throwing herself into a net.
The agile knight clamped down on her ankle, calm and composed. “Your Highness, let’s talk this out.”
“Yuan You!” Huaguang was exasperated.
“Your subordinate is here.”
Yuan You had long since taken off her silver knight’s armor. She rolled up the sleeves of her shirt, revealing a section of her lean forearm.
“You’re getting revenge on me!” Huaguang trembled pitifully, only her eyes still trying to be strong. “I’ll sentence you to a hundred military lashes! Then I’ll hang you from the city tower for three days and three nights! I’ll let everyone throw rotten vegetables at you!”
Without her mask, Yuan You had an extremely cold face. She lowered her eyes slightly, the puppy-dog heat gone, replaced by a touch of wickedness.
“Fine. As long as Your Highness can bear it, I’m fine with anything…”
“You wicked thing!” Huaguang was at her wit’s end. She buried her face in the pillow in embarrassment, pretending to be dead.
Yuan You turned her face, saying audaciously, “Is that the only insult you know?”
“You just wait!”
Yuan You suddenly smiled and whispered in her ear, a gentle confession—
“Your Highness, I’ll be waiting. I will always be with you.”
“Always.”
Huaguang’s breath hitched. She grabbed her by the collar and said, “Hurry up…”
“As you command.”
*
After Herte left, the entire vast manor was under Adele’s management. Lina could wake up naturally every day.
The sky outside was bright, and the sound of the maids pounding fruit jam could be heard from the courtyard.
In a half-dreaming, half-awake state, Lina reached out her arm to the side.
The sheet was cold.
No one was there.
She snapped her eyes open.
Adele was gone.
Lina took a moment to recover, then poked her head out of the bed curtains.
After confirming there was no one else in the room, she furtively buried her head in Adele’s pillow.
The scent was very faint.
Lina took a deep breath.
Not enough.
It was like smoking. Once you’ve tried a strong one, a weaker one just doesn’t have the same flavor.
Lina clutched Adele’s pillow as if she were clutching the person herself.
Her actions the previous night had been too excessive. As soon as the sun rose, she began to feel a lingering fear.
A thorny test was the worst way to confirm true feelings. A person who had finally received a little care didn’t dare to continue being willful.
Lina only dared to push her luck with Adele’s pillow, then lose herself in it.
Teacher was the first person to save her.
There was no way she couldn’t become dependent.
Lina lay with her face in the pillow. The pressure brought a slight suffocation and dizziness. In just a few minutes, drowsiness washed over her.
When Lina woke again, it was already noon.
She opened her eyes and found someone standing by her bed.
Subconscious fear made her body tense instantly. In the past, when she overslept, those instructors would stand by her bed with all sorts of instruments of punishment.
A few seconds late meant a few lashes.
…
“It’s me.”
Adele spoke in a gentle voice. She wore a water-blue linen shirt with a cream-white, gold-threaded vest over it. Riding breeches of the same color encased her long legs, and on her feet were a pair of brown, half-calf leather boots.
The collar of the shirt was made in the rose style currently favored by the nobility. When buttoned, it looked like a half-opened flower, making one appear noble and elegant.
Adele had left the top two buttons undone. She had just come up from the backyard. Beneath the open, petal-like collar were two straight collarbones. She was slightly sweaty, and her moist skin, even with her back to the light, was still dazzling.
Lina’s eyes were glued to her.
She had just woken up, and the cowlick on top of her head was sticking straight up. Her two ears were completely fluffed out.
Adele followed her gaze down to her own collar.
What bad thoughts could a bewildered little rabbit ball have?
She didn’t think much of it, nor did she notice Lina’s momentary guilt and the reddening of her ear tips.
“Good, you’re awake. The new clothes have been delivered. Try them on.”
Adele took the new dress hanging on the door.
“I know your skin is sensitive, so I specifically told the tailor to use imported silk for the main dress. The pannier and the outer frame of the corset are made of teardrop-shaped boning, which is very light and not constricting. Also, the velvet on the edge of the overskirt has been replaced with the most popular floral lace of the moment…”
Lina was completely stunned.
She had never expected that when Adele said she would have clothes made for her, she meant such beautiful clothes…
She had only ever seen such exquisite dresses on the noble ladies who came to the manor for discussions.
She even felt that the dress before her was more gorgeous than any of the ones those people had worn in the past.
The body of the dress had a very natural silk sheen in the sunlight. All the ribbons were edged with silver thread, and the front of the corset was inlaid with a row of rose-gold buttons, each with a small, heart-shaped pink diamond in the center.
The materials were luxurious, but the sincerity was priceless.
Lina looked at the black robes in her closet, then at the one Adele was holding.
They were worlds apart.
Herte was very rich. A merchant who owned his own manor would not lack the money to buy dresses.
But a sacrificial offering, required to maintain purity and renounce desire, could not wear brightly colored clothes and could not have any accessories on her body.
The robes in the closet had no fine tailoring. The black cloth robes were very wide, tightly enveloping all of her skin.
What was being bound was her body, and also her soul.
The dull colors, the unreasonable design, all filled her already sensitive girlhood with gloom.
Herte had once said that a sacrificial offering didn’t need to wear good clothes, so she had never worn a beautiful dress.
Even though she loved them very much, she had never had one.
But today, her dream came true.
Looking at the dress hem so close to her, Lina was timid. She didn’t dare to reach out.
Is it really okay?
“The dressmaker happened to have time, so she made this first. The shirts and trousers are still in the queue.” Adele pretended not to see her hesitation and placed the dress directly in her arms. “As for the fashionable accessories, I’ll take you to the shop to pick some out another day.”
Lina caressed the double-threaded damask pattern on the surface of the dress.
So exquisite.
This was the first time she had been treated with such seriousness.
Lina looked up. The moment she looked at Adele, tears began to flow before she could speak.
Adele’s heart ached. She gently stroked Lina’s head. The person beneath her palm didn’t wail, but silently wiped away the falling tears with her hand.
“Thank you…”
Adele put an arm around her shoulder. She understood her grievances but didn’t voice them. Instead, she pretended to be relaxed and changed the subject.
“Stop lazing in bed, the sun is already high in the sky. We have butterflied shrimp with butter today, and also three-shred spring rolls. You told me last time you wanted to eat muffins, so I’ll make some for you this afternoon. I just made some jam this morning. We’ll add a little honey later, you’ll definitely like it…”
She chattered on like this, subtly and gently telling Lina that she was no longer alone.
She would not be bullied anymore.
Lina wiped the tears from her face, buried her face in the crook of Adele’s neck, and said in a muffled voice, “Hug me.”
“Okay.” Adele was overjoyed.
She’s daring to make requests.
And she didn’t use the polite form of address.
These are all good signs.
…
The two of them fussed around until the sun was setting in the west before they finished lunch.
“Teacher, when will you teach me to ride a horse?” Lina rubbed her stomach. “I’m willing to learn.”
“No rush. Your arm strength is too weak. It’s very dangerous to get on a horse rashly.”
Adele took an elastic band out of her bag and pointed to the ceiling. “Tomorrow, I’ll have someone install a bar here.”
Lina’s gaze followed her movements, finally settling on the elastic band.
So familiar.
Was it a rope?
In the Sacred Cult, to test a person’s piety, besides bloody methods like rolling on a bed of nails, there was also tying a person up and throwing them under the scorching sun. It was said that if the believer was pious enough, the Lord God would summon dark clouds to block the sun.
Lina’s eyes were full of worry.
Adele wouldn’t do that kind of thing to her, right? Then what was the rope for?
