Volume 4 Chapter 51

Volume 4 + Chapter 51: Deception

Hearing Elizabeth’s earlier words made Xia Yi feel profoundly uncomfortable.

Use coercive force on her?

“Let go of me!!”

Xia Yi glared at Elizabeth.

“Do you even know what you’re doing?”

“Of course I do. I’m going to turn my beloved Xia Yiyi into my own personal little blood-pack, and keep you by my side—permanently.”

Elizabeth even began describing the scene she imagined, her tone lively and vivid.

“Every night, I’d wake up, hold my adorable little blood-pack and take a sip… After finishing work, another sip… Before dawn when I go to sleep, a final sip… And in the end, I’d cuddle you like a pillow and drift off happily…”

“What do you take me for?! I’m not your toy!!” Xia Yi protested loudly.

She could hardly bear it anymore.

If she really accepted the political marriage and agreed to marry Elizabeth, then after arriving in the Crimson Empire, this—this—would be her life.

A life of misery!

How could she possibly agree?

“But isn’t it wonderful?” Elizabeth tilted her head. “Xia Yiyi, whatever you want, I can give you. Your favorite manga, sweets, drinks—anything at all.”

Elizabeth offered extremely tempting conditions.

“From now on, all you’d have to do is cuddle with me. I’ll take care of you~ Xia Yiyi won’t need to work or put in effort anymore. You can slack off all you want. And after we finish cuddling every day, I’ll give you lots and lots of spending money! If you act cute, I’ll even double it~”

“Eh? That…”

Following Elizabeth’s temptations, Xia Yi thought it through carefully.

A life where all she had to do was laze around and act spoiled… it did sound a little—pleasant—

Ah!

No, no, no!

The little princess shook her head vigorously.

She was a dignified Sword Saint—how could she fall for Elizabeth’s sugar-coated lies!?

If she were truly someone who loved slacking off, how would the Holy Sword ever have acknowledged her?

If she submitted to Elizabeth now, she would lose her qualification as a Holy Sword wielder.

“You dare try to shake my sword-heart? You think those conditions can buy me? Ridiculous! I… I will never fall for it! Don’t even dream of making me yield to the likes of you!”

“Xia Yiyi, I’m being sincere. If you keep rejecting me, I’ll really cry, you know!”

“I don’t believe your tears—not a bit!”

Xia Yi was truly angry now. She awakened the bloodline of the Silver Dragon Royal Family, her silver eyes glowed faintly.

Heart Like a Still Mirror.

Her mind stepped into a flawless state as sword intent surged. She raised her free hand, fingers pressed together like a blade, and slashed toward Elizabeth’s heart.

“Oh my, what an adorably fierce little silver dragon.”

Elizabeth exerted a bit of strength and flung Xia Yi aside.

But Xia Yi’s movement skills were far from weak—she had already anticipated this. While airborne, she twisted her body, landed in a roll to disperse the force, then sprang back up and drew her Rose Staff.

“Elizabeth, release Miu Miu right now!!” Xia Yi pointed the Rose Staff at her. “This is your final warning—otherwise I won’t hold back!”

“Xia Yiyi, how many times must I tell you? I am Miu Miu. Why won’t you accept it?”

“You’re Elizabeth. Miu Miu is Miu Miu. You two are not the same. Don’t think you can fool me.”

“If you insist on thinking that way, I suppose it can’t be helped.” Elizabeth sighed helplessly. “I did meet Miu Miu, you know. When I first awakened, I opened the door to her spiritual world…”

“And then?!” Xia Yi demanded anxiously.

“And then I ate her. She became a part of me.”

“…Lies.”

“A single body can’t host two souls for long. Two souls crammed into one vessel is nothing but a burden. Just like how two drivers can’t sit in the same seat—doing so would only destroy the vehicle. The strong devour the weak. It’s natural law. I simply devoured Miu Miu. Understand?”

“……”

Xia Yi fell silent.

“It’s fine if you don’t. Everything that belonged to Miu Miu is now part of me—her soul, her feelings, her memories. They’re like a small marker added to the scale of my original life. They belong to me, but they don’t define all of me.”

Elizabeth explained lightly, as though Xia Yi’s reactions were nothing more than an amusing spectacle.

“So I am Miu Miu. And Miu Miu is me.”

Xia Yi bit her lip.

Logically, she could understand this—her own relationship with her inner demon had been the same.

A stronger soul defeats a weaker one, then either devours or erases it to take control of the body.

But emotionally, she refused to accept it.

“Shut up! Miu Miu—she’s not dead!”

“All right then, Xia Yiyi… it seems I’ll have to take some action to calm you down.”

Elizabeth lifted her hand. Her fingernail pressed against her own artery and sliced it open, bright red blood sprayed outward.

Then she clenched her fingers in the air. Instantly, the temperature of her blood plunged, freezing as it condensed into a solid blade.

“Blood Magic — Frozen Blood Blade.”

Feeling the intent to fight, Xia Yi quickly raised her Rose Staff.

She did not summon the Holy Sword immediately—not out of arrogance, but because she had weighed her options carefully.

The Holy Sword was her strongest trump card.

Against an overwhelmingly stronger opponent, fighting cautiously would not yield victory. Her best chance lay in an unexpected strike.

First, probe the enemy’s depth with magic, hold out against her attacks by any means possible, find an opening—and then unleash the Holy Sword with full force.

Therefore, she could not use the Holy Sword too early.

If Elizabeth began guarding specifically against it, her chances would drop to zero.

Whoosh!

While Xia Yi was still thinking, Elizabeth’s figure vanished from sight.

No—she hadn’t disappeared!

Even before her mind processed it, a warrior’s instinct had already warned her—an attack was coming.

“Ice Shield!”

With a restrained chant, Xia Yi conjured an ice barrier for protection, and at the same time swung her Rose Staff toward the front.

Shuaa!

A frigid sword aura shattered the Ice Shield and smacked the Rose Staff right out of her hands.

Absolute domination in cultivation left her with almost no ability to counterattack.

The gap in strength was far too great—at such disparity, tactics meant nothing.

Then she saw the icy sword-light sweeping toward her chest—

“Miu Miu! Wake up!!”

Xia Yi screamed desperately.

“……!”

Suddenly, the Frozen Blood Blade stopped mid-strike.

The blood-clan girl before her halted her attack.

A dazed expression surfaced on her face as she murmured dreamlike fragments.

“No… I can’t… hurt… Xia Yiyi…! I mustn’t…!”

Her eyes had changed—completely different from Elizabeth’s earlier gaze.

She lifted her head. When her vision focused on Xia Yi, she recognized someone familiar. Shock flickered across her face, followed by guilt and self-blame as she realized what she had almost done.

“Xia Yiyi… I… I’m sorry…”

“Miu Miu—you’re back!”

Xia Yi’s face bloomed into a joyous smile.

Wonderful—Elizabeth really was lying!