Lulu watched as death flashed before her eyes. She could not do anything with the attack. There was no way to dodge it with such a short distance. It took time to activate her defensive spell. Just as she thought she was doomed to die, crimson fire burst out from underneath. The fire covered her from the lightning, negated the lightning from killing her.

Everything happened within a few seconds. She almost died, and then she was saved by someone.

“I thought you were sympathetic toward her because you two are fellow women? Now you want to kill her?” Rosalie stood up, shaking her head.

“As you said, we are still strangers, and this stranger tried to use me. Even though her little trick may not harm me in any way, you should know what caused me to die?” Zowen looked away from Lulu. She was holding back, not trying to kill the hostage girl.

“On top of that, why do you protect her? I thought you didn’t care about her?”

“I don’t really care about her, but I care about you. I don’t think he will be happy if you kill her when you persuade him not to kill her,” Rosalie shrugged.

Zowen took a deep breath and turned around. She lost her appetite after what happened.

The villagers gathered with such a big commotion, but they were scared to get near them. Rosalie turned toward the villagers, “It’s just a small fight between us. There’s no need to worry.” Despite her words, the villagers were still concerned with the fact that a fight between them could raze the whole village.

Rosalie turned toward Lulu and let out a sigh, “I actually don’t understand what’s in your head. The contract does not bind you, and you can just leave last night, but you decide to stay. Now you try to use a little scheme to get the freedom that was never taken from you. Don’t tell me you want to sleep with His Majesty?”

Lulu’s face was pale, not because of what Rosalie told her but because she avoided death. Even though the red-haired lady saved her from the blue-haired lady, she did not feel regretful at all. She felt like the red-haired lady was more dangerous even though he pissed the blue-haired lady. The one in front of her was unfeeling, showing no emotion ever since she met her, while the blue-haired lady showed more emotions. If she had to compare the two, the one that would kill her unprovoked was the one in front of her.

Lulu decided not to answer, not willing to involve herself with the red-haired lady. “I will return to my lodging.” She bowed and headed back to where her brother was, not forgetting to bring food with her for her brother.

Despite the suffering, her brother did not give up on his life. He ate whatever she got for him, and after finishing the full plate of breakfast. Lulu received a message, and the message was from her half-brother, who was in bed right now. The tongue was cut, and his limbs were gone. But they still could communicate through the Communication System.

Give me a regeneration potion and a healing potion. We will make our escape as soon as my limbs regrow!

Both were hostages, but no one watched them. As the red-haired lady said, why did she not escape last night? She questioned herself, and the only answer was to fulfill the contract, sleeping with Tang Shaoyang. She was horrified by the realization but masked it with calmness in front of her half-brother.

Lulu let out a sigh and shook her head. Young Master Mistovel’s reaction was, to be expected, raged. His face turned red from anger as his eyes wide open, glaring at his half-blood sister. He thought Lulu had betrayed him and his family.

“This is not the time, Brother. I will give the potion after dinner tonight, and then we will make our escape at midnight.”

Young Master Mistovel calmed down, processing what his sister said to him. It was a more reasoned plan than his impulsive plan. He nodded and closed his eyes, sending her a message to leave the room because he wanted to sleep.

Lulu returned to her room, sitting at the edge of the hay bed. She was thinking about what the blue-haired lady had told her earlier during breakfast. Her little trick made the blue-haired lady mad. She remembered that the blue-haired lady said she had died once for the same reason, being tricked.

‘Does that mean Tang Shaoyang has a resurrection skill? Or one of his subordinates has the skill?’

That was the plausible explanation, and that might be the reason why Tang Shaoyang dared to challenge his brother despite the rank gap. Lulu fell into her thoughts, trying to figure out the mystery around Tang Shaoyang with the clue she had.

*** ***

The day was uneventful but for one person, Areth. The boy returned to the village with Tang Shaoyang at sunset. The boy was overwhelmed with fatigue, mentally more than physically, because he went through a lot in one day. Despite the exhaustion, the happiness could not be hidden from his visage. His eyes were bright as he could not stop smiling, bringing a giant monster on his shoulder.

Of course, he killed a lot of Steers, but the one on his shoulder was his first solo hunt. He killed the monster without Sir Tang’s help, and he was proud of his achievement. As the sight of his village came into his eyes. Areth started to pick up his pace, running toward the village and calling the villagers with joy.

The boy announced his return and showed off his loot around. The villagers were impressed that the weak young boy managed to kill the monster that haunted the village. Cheers and praises were given to the young boy, who could not stop laughing and smiling as he received everyone’s attention.

Tang Shaoyang watched everything from the sideline and could not help but be proud of himself. Areth could be considered his half-pupil. That is what made him proud.

“You end up helping him.” Rosalie came to his side, watching the villagers celebrate their first high-ranking hunter.

“For my selfishness, doing a good deed to balance my bad deed. It feels nice….” His words trailed off. The reason he wanted to help Areth was not for Areth but for himself. It was to lessen the guilt for the people he had killed. It was a twisted way to do a good deed, but it helped him.

“And I have found my answer. I will fight to survive. I will do anything to survive, even if it means others have to suffer. For my people and for my family! I will not be troubled by those useless feelings even if it means I will become a monster.”𝔬𝒱𝑙𝒩xt.𝒞𝗈𝓂