Chapter 14
"Beiliya, are you feeling better?"
Gaia's voice brushed past her ear with an intimate warmth.
Liu Yu hummed in response. She watched her tears seep into the thin silk shirt of the young man before wiping them away and sitting up straight.
"I'm sorry, I lost control," she said, her voice carrying a faint hint of embarrassment hidden beneath its nasal tone.
"It’s not your fault, Beiliya," Gaia said, gently patting her head and lowering his gaze slightly. "So, can you tell me what happened now?"
For a moment, Liu Yu was lost in thought.
The expression on the young man's face was too tender—it was the same gentleness he always showed, yet it felt entirely different.
She couldn’t quite figure it out.
"I don’t know," Liu Yu shook her head.
For the sake of tonight's plan, she couldn’t expose Mary; otherwise, she would surely reveal the truth about the medicine as well.
"I thought we were friends," Gaia insisted, his eyes fixed on her.
He must have sensed something.
Liu Yu knew Gaia had always been perceptive.
She glanced at the approaching group, specifically at Mary, who looked visibly nervous. Liu Yu shrank back and buried herself in Gaia's embrace once more.
"Maybe... maybe the horse suddenly went mad," she stammered.
Mary visibly relaxed.
"Beiliya," Gaia pursed his lips disapprovingly.
Liu Yu grabbed his sleeve, her voice trembling.
"Ga-Gaia, let’s go, please? I... I don’t feel well."
Gaia let out a soft sigh, and then the horse beneath them began to move.
Harry’s hooves thundered across the ground, and Liu Yu was jostled into Gaia’s arms.
His embrace wasn’t as slender as it appeared; instead, it carried a sense of strength. His waist, wrapped in a white shirt, caught the wind, which billowed and brushed against her face.
Her nose caught the crisp scent of pine and snow—clean and pure.
Liu Yu wrapped her arms tightly around him, sensing a faint unease in the young man.
"Beiliya."
"Yes?"
"Loosen your grip a little. Harry is well-behaved; you won’t fall."
"But if I let go, I see that horse again—it went mad, crashed into pieces... Holding onto you is the only thing that keeps me from being scared."
The girl’s body trembled in his arms.
Gaia caught the faint fragrance of roses once more.
He remained silent for a moment, then simply used his free hand to gently pat her head.
Liu Yu’s lips curved into a small smile.
The moment Liu Yu and Gaia left, Mr. Edward rode over like the wind.
He immediately spotted the black horse lying in a pool of blood.
"Oh, by the God of Light, what happened?! Where are young Lesley and Miss Fergus?"
"Miss Fergus is unharmed, and Mr. Lesley took her away," Prince Carlo explained.
Edward glanced at him.
"You look like you’ve just eaten something unpleasant. Mr. Carlo, do you also fancy the beautiful Miss Fergus?"
"Mr. Edward, you’re joking again," Prince Carlo replied with a bitter smile.
Natasi glanced at him, her fingers twisting together until her knuckles turned white. Mary let out a cold snort.
"That’s impossible. Miss Fergus has such a bad temper. Brother Carlo only likes gentle girls."
Edward, being his usual blunt self, muttered something under his breath and then exclaimed,
"This isn’t right, something’s off..."
"Mr. Edward, what have you noticed?"
Edward didn’t answer.
He dismounted and, unfazed by the gruesome state of the black horse, began inspecting it—lifting its mane, tapping its back. Finally, he carefully pulled out a small white card from his vest pocket. The card bore the image of a golden sun.
Mary gasped, covering her mouth.
"A Molaka card?"
The staff of the God of Light is only wielded by the God’s messengers, but ordinary people seek solace by "requesting" a Molaka card from the Temple of Light.
The Molaka card can detect the presence of Dark Force nearby—though it’s rarely needed.
Under the rule of the God of Light, Dark Force has long been reduced to a lurking pest.
Edward tossed the Molaka card into the pool of blood.
Soon, the edges of the white card began to burn with black flames, and the golden sun at its center turned gray.
"Dark Force?! There’s Dark Force here?!"
"Gray..." Mr. Edward muttered, pacing back and forth on the grass. "I need to get someone to look into this!"
"Go! Go! Go! Kids, this isn’t a place for you to linger!"
Edward shooed them away like a flock of chicks.
Natasi, Prince Carlo, and Mary had no choice but to leave. As they reached the end of the street, Natasi couldn’t help but glance back.
At the spot where the black horse lay, messengers of the God and knights had appeared as if out of thin air, surrounding the area.
What on earth had happened?
Was it related to Louis’s disappearance?
Or was Louis... targeting her sister?
Meanwhile, Gaia didn’t take Liu Yu back to the stables but instead brought her directly to the entrance of the girls’ dormitory.
The matron was surprised to see the two on horseback and immediately recognized Mr. Lesley, who had been personally escorted by the bishop.
Her vigilance crumbled like the banks of the Nala River at the sight of his ethereal face.
"Mr. Lesley, aren’t you supposed to be at the stables at this hour?"
Gaia dismounted and reached out to help Beiliya down, replying,
"Miss Fergus was a bit shaken. I’m taking her back before returning to the stables."
"Don’t forget the clothes I left in the changing room," Liu Yu reminded him.
"I’ll remind your sister," Gaia said after a pause.
"No, you bring them to me."
"...Alright."
There was no way to argue with that.
Liu Yu pressed further.
"Then come see me later."
As he hesitated, the girl seemed on the verge of tears.
"Is that not okay, Gaia? My legs hurt, and my hands hurt too."
Gaia sighed helplessly.
"Beiliya, I can never say no to you."
Liu Yu smiled.
"See you tonight, Gaia."
"See you tonight, Beiliya."
Gaia mounted his horse and rode off.
Liu Yu entered the mushroom-shaped dormitory, and as soon as she stepped into her room, her smile faded.
She hadn’t lied—her hands and inner thighs were chafed raw, two of her nails were split, and blood spots dotted her skin, making for a rather alarming sight.
Under normal circumstances, she would have used this as an excuse to cling to Gaia, making him tend to her wounds and agree to her requests.
But now—
She turned to the empty space behind her, clenching her fists.
"Aren’t you going to show yourself, Lord Louis?"
"Miss Fergus never disappoints me," a man with black hair and eyes emerged from the void.
His skin was pale, his demeanor noble, but the way he looked at Beiliya was as fierce as a wolf.
"Though I’m curious, how did you know it was me?"
"Mary’s expression," Liu Yu replied.
The moment she saw Mary, she knew.
Mary hadn’t intended to kill her, only to teach her a lesson, but the horse had gone completely berserk...
"Miss Fergus’s tears are truly exhilarating. This is my first gift to you. Do you like it?"
Louis slowly approached.
He was still dressed in his usual dark attire, his entire figure shrouded in mystery.
"I don’t think anyone in the world would appreciate such a gift," Liu Yu said coldly. Her hand subtly gripped the memory bead on her wrist.
"Oh, no, no, dear Miss Fergus, don’t touch that. You won’t like the consequences," Louis said, placing a hand on her shoulder and leaning in to whisper in her ear. "That man, Gaia Lesley—your beloved—does he know it was you who gouged out his eyes?"
Liu Yu’s heart froze as if encased in ice.
He knew?!
Louis actually knew?!
No, he might just be bluffing.
"The people of the Soren Kingdom surely don’t know that the great Duke Louis is a vampire, a servant of the Dark Force."
"Duke Louis? Oh, I don’t know him."
"Lord Louis sees him every day in the mirror, yet you don’t recognize him?" Liu Yu said with a mocking smile. "Though in the duke’s mansion, you wear a brown wig, change your eyes to a tea color, and sport a mustache, your handsomeness, like the sunlight outside—"
She yanked open the curtains, letting the sunlight pour in, "is impossible to hide."
Louis took a step back.
He seemed amused by her words.
"So?"
"So, to prevent the great Duke from having a sudden impulse to crush me like an ant, I wrote a letter and handed it to a trustworthy person, instructing them to deliver it to the Temple of Light if anything were to happen to me. How’s that? Interesting, isn’t it?"
Louis clapped his hands:
"Very interesting. Miss Liu Yu always brings me surprises."
"Can’t help it. If you want to live, you have to work harder."
"Now, you hold my secret, and I hold yours—"
"—No, I never admitted to anything. I love Gaia, and I would never harm him."
"Love?" For a moment, Louis’s expression turned strange. "Is it the golden iris, or the medicine you gave him?"
"You—"
Liu Yu looked at him with suspicion.
"That’s right, the great Louis is everywhere."
"I think if Miss Liu Yu hadn’t arrived so quickly, that iris would have been in Mr. Leslie’s hands. Oh no, don’t glare at me. Natasi is so kind, yet you always bully her. I originally intended to finish you off myself, but I ended up witnessing something quite intriguing instead."
This meant that Louis had come to the school to kill her, but instead stumbled upon the scene of her original self committing the crime?
Later, Natasi brought food, picked up the iris badge left by the original self, but Louis secretly slipped it into Gaia’s hands…
The initial mystery was solved.
"By the way, you were quite captivating when you gouged out those eyes."
Duke Louis looked at the pale girl before him, who seemed cornered, and smiled slightly.
"The medicine…"
Liu Yu suddenly remembered something and rushed to the desk, pulling out the dog tooth from the bottom drawer—
She had taken it off after that day. But just in case, she brought it along for another crystal ball test.
The Academy of Light has a barrier; without a medium, he couldn’t enter.
And the medium of the Dark Force could only be brought in by her, who carried the memory bead and the feather.
Last time, Louis seemed to be at a disadvantage, but in reality, she…
had been fooled.
"Smart girl, without you, I couldn’t have entered."
"What do you want?"
Louis suddenly brought up something:
"Miss Liu Yu, do you know what the Holy Spirit Body is?"
"Yes."
"No, you don’t." Louis shook his head. "Those old fools at the Temple think the God of Light is merciful, but they don’t know that in the eyes of the god, everything is just a game… He loves no one, and when he grows bored, he overturns the game… Occasionally, on a whim, he crafts a perfect vessel, imbues it with a soul, teaches it knowledge, and sends it to the mortal world to carry out his will."
"Such a vessel is the Holy Spirit Body."
Liu Yu fell silent, thinking to herself that this Holy Spirit Body was different from the previous ones: he was the incarnation of the god himself.
"So?" she asked.
"Your medicine has no effect on the Holy Spirit Body."
"Impossible!"
Liu Yu instinctively refuted.
But when she recalled the events from the original story, it was true… Gaia was barely affected.
Her face turned deathly pale.
"No, it’s not entirely useless. You’re just missing one thing."
"What?"
"My blood."
Legend has it that vampire blood has a hallucinogenic effect, and they are particularly fond of virgins. So, what should have been a painful act of bloodsucking feels like a beautiful dream.
Liu Yu knew he was right.
Louis gently lowered his head, and Liu Yu could feel his warm breath on the back of her neck.
"You like Natasi," she carefully chose her words. "But I think you can see that Natasi admires Gaia. So, by helping me, you’re helping yourself."
"That’s not how a deal works."
Louis stepped closer to her, his newly grown teeth as white as jade. "I want your blood."
"Mine?"
"Yes." Louis leaned in closer, his voice low. "Last time, I only tasted a little, but that little bit has haunted me, making my blood boil…"
"Fine."
Liu Yu picked up the enamel cup and pressed it against the wound on her palm, squeezing hard.
Blood dripped into the cup.
Louis couldn’t help but take a step forward. The air was filled with an intoxicating scent, reminiscent of vast fields of poppies, brimming with greed and sinful desire.
Disgusting, yet irresistible.
"Half a cup, in exchange for one drop of yours."
Louis’s pupils were pitch black, deep and unsettling.
"Deal."
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