Chapter 21 The Clumsy New Servant
Chapter 21: The Clumsy New Servant
By the drawbridge, Terez looked at the trace left by the teleportation array nearby. She reached out to touch it.
It was a purely cold feeling, exactly like what she had experienced years ago.
The icy sword in her hand slashed wildly, completely freezing everything around it, leaving not a trace of life.
The city had already fallen, with the eagle flag flying high on the city walls.
“Frost Moon, don’t you think you’re being excessive in eradicating the rebel remnants?”
“Better to kill a thousand wrongly than let one escape.”
The final blizzard drifted down as he stood on the tower, looking at the ice-encased city below. In such low temperatures, no one could survive.
“Knight Commander Cook will probably be angry when he sees what you’ve done.”
“I don’t care. His womanly mercy will only harm him in the future.”
The iron-masked man on the high tower sheathed his blade, looking down at the city that had become a glacier. His face was expressionless. Such things were commonplace to him. Anything that posed a potential threat had to be eliminated.
In the cold, Terez gradually lost consciousness. The last thing she saw was her parents holding her tightly, shielding her from the freezing wind.
The frozen smiles and the hands caressing her cheeks had already stiffened, but they still surrounded Terez, preventing the cold wind from harming her.
But human strength has its limits, and this wall of life was about to crumble.
…
When Terez opened her eyes again, she was being carried by someone wearing a black cloak. Before her stood a magnificent Gothic western castle.
“I didn’t expect you to still be alive. What a miracle. Welcome to Rose Sanctuary, Elinor Terez.”
…
As if awakening from a long dream, Baili slowly opened his eyes in the basement and struggled to his feet.
In the wardrobe beside him hung the white shirt and pants he had been wearing. Looking at himself in the mirror, he looked exactly as he had when the fortress fell.
“So I’ve changed back correctly, but why hasn’t my hair changed to match theirs?” At least his hair remained black, not completely turning white like theirs.
He clumsily put on his clothes and assessed the magical power remaining in his body. It was about what he had expected, around forty percent of his normal level. But he could feel it was restrained—they’d saved themselves the trouble of using magic-suppressing handcuffs.
Remembering the feeling of helplessness when that scythe had been held to his neck during his escape attempt made him feel embarrassed.
No way around it. He’d have to go out and see what was happening, considering he had just signed an unequal treaty. He had some idea of what terrifying things might happen—who knew if that 300-year-old white-haired girl was some kind of pervert?
He opened the trapdoor and left the basement, returning to the familiar sea of roses.
His clothes were slightly soaked with sweat as the breeze blew through the nearby rose garden. Vivian stopped walking and looked at the somewhat disheveled Baili.
Rose petals danced in the air. He reached out, trying to catch one to examine it closely, but the petals only left faint traces between his fingers.
Vivian stood in the middle of the flower sea, her black dress swaying in the wind. She wore a lady’s hat with a striking red rose on it.
“It’s a rare nice day for you, isn’t it?” Vivian maintained a cultivated smile. “Well, the contract has been completed. You truly belong to me now, don’t you?”
Baili involuntarily knelt before her, his body completely out of his control. Bowing before the black dress, he tried to struggle but found he couldn’t move at all, and his magic was locked away.
“Hey, tie my shoelace for me, it’s a bit loose.” She said with a yawn, looking drowsy.
“Just because you say so, I have to tie it?” Baili was caught between laughter and tears, though he seemed to have no control over his body now…
His basic life skills had been practically non-existent before, so even tying a shoelace took him quite some time, and he almost tied it in a knot that couldn’t be undone.
“You idiot, don’t you know how to tie a shoelace?” Vivian grumbled with dissatisfaction. “You’ve returned to normal but are your hands broken?”
He raised his head, wanting to argue with Vivian, but quickly realized that looking up gave him a clear view under her dress.
“Wait, it’s still pink…”
“You pervert, get away!” She kicked him away with a red face. Baili fell to the ground, blood flowing from somewhere on his face. He rubbed his swollen face, feeling dizzy.
This wasn’t his intention at all—the white-haired loli simply had too many tricks up her sleeve.
“Alright, alright, clean yourself up properly. Don’t look so lewd.”
He took the handkerchief she threw at him and wiped the blood from his nose, though he wasn’t sure if it was coming from him naturally or from Vivian’s kick.
Shaking his head to clear his mind, he followed Vivian back.
In the pavilion amid the flowers, Vivian leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes.
“I’m exhausted. Come give me a shoulder massage to help me relax.”
Having no choice, Baili obediently went over to massage her. His hand on her shoulder had that same cool feeling.
It was a bit strange—wasn’t she mainly a fire user?
As he gently massaged, he hadn’t had close contact with an adult of the opposite sex before (except for that one time with the drugging). While massaging, he accidentally touched the strap.
Carefully avoiding it, he was about to continue massaging elsewhere.
“Hey, this spot is sore. Massage it a bit more.”
Now she wasn’t even pretending anymore—she was clearly trying to mess with him. He could only grit his teeth and put his hand back, trying not to accidentally undo the hook on the strap.
His movements became gentler, which reduced the pressure of his massage, making Vivian unhappy.
“I haven’t mistreated you, have I? Why so weak?”
Baili smiled bitterly. Who was it that had tied him to the dome and left him in the sun for six hours? He dared not say it directly.
“Alright, alright, I’ll use more strength.” He had no choice but to comply. The clasp was obviously deliberately tied loosely.
Vivian crossed her legs and pulled out a book from somewhere to start reading. This sudden movement almost made Baili slip and undo the clasp.
Fortunately, he was quick enough to grasp both ends, preventing it from falling.
“Damn, how do I hook it back?” The clasp was quite small. He held both sides, trying to hook one end onto the other’s loop.
“Hmm? What are you doing? Why did you stop?” Vivian turned her head with a confused expression. This pure and cute appearance scared him quite a bit. His hand trembled just as he was about to hook it, and he accidentally let go.
…
Silence.
“Wait, you wear white ones too?”
The next moment, the underwear flew directly into his face.
“Look, look, look! Have a good look!” Vivian said with dissatisfaction, turning her head away shyly. But the shyness quickly disappeared—after all, she had deliberately set him up.
The white underwear carried a young girl’s fragrance, slightly dampened with sweat. It clung to Baili’s face with a strange stickiness.
“Wait… something’s not right, why is it so small?” He finally managed to pull the underwear off his face. The stickiness made it difficult to breathe. Before he could wipe his face, Vivian stood before him with her hands on her hips, ready to scold him.
Though he was now a head taller than her, she was clearly the one dragging him along.
“You idiot, now you’re even critiquing? Let me teach you a lesson.”
Vivian dragged him toward the castle with one hand. Who knew what she planned to do? Worth noting, the underwear had somehow been put back on without him noticing.
“This scent smells kind of nice…”
“What are you thinking? Don’t forget your current status, alright?”
Vivian stood on her tiptoes and lightly tapped his head. In the sunset, the two shadows gradually receded.
The small figure on tiptoes and the tall figure turning his head—they looked quite harmonious.
The breeze blew, raising a sky full of rose petals. By the time they settled, the flower sea was completely empty.
…