“Why are you so late today, Anna?”
Anna entered the tavern called Wangyou Lily, her entire body already soaked through.
In one corner of the tavern sat an Ice Magic Crystal, constantly releasing a chill that made Anna shiver.
She put on her trademark smile and tried to deal with the busy Mammasan at the counter who was hustling for customers, but she was completely ignored.
She wasn’t a Headliner; no one cared about her.
Except for the Mammasan in charge of managing the waitresses, no one dared to keep their eyes on the Headliners, but her gaze always lingered on Anna.
That slightly plump yet dignified Mammasan walked over in small steps, yanked off Anna’s tattered cloak, and Anna hurriedly covered her lower abdomen—but she still took a solid slap across the face.
“What are you hiding for? Hurry up and change! A noblewoman has specifically requested you tonight!”
The slap didn’t hurt, but Anna’s chest felt as heavy as if it were raining inside.
“Okay… I’ll go right away.”
Swallowing her frustration, Anna held her stomach and headed toward the waitresses’ resting room.
From a distance, Mammasan threw a set of hand cards at her.
She caught them and looked down—it was the most luxurious and exclusive Princess Suite in the entire tavern.
Looks like the one who requested her was a noblewoman of high status.
Anna had worked in this tavern for over a year and had received her share of requests.
Most were from noblewomen, and even the rare noblemen were young aristocrats in the capital with a penchant for cross-dressing.
She shed her shirt and shorts and gazed at herself in the mirror, letting out a soft sigh.
She was too thin, and among women her age, she was considered quite short.
By her own standards, her face was decent, even cute, but pale and lacking in softness.
Her only notable features were her moonlight-like silver hair and flame-like eyes—such hair and eye color were extremely rare in the capital.
Her appearance probably wasn’t what the noblemen of the capital preferred.
Those guys liked tall, curvy girls with big chests and slender waists, elegant and swan-like noble ladies—not some plain ugly duckling crawling out of the slums like her.
But with the noblewomen of the capital, it was a different story.
Almost all of those who requested female companions were shùn.
Anna had read their popular picture books and stories, most of which followed the same script: wealthy and sunny noble ladies saving fallen, gloomy, poor girls.
Among all the girls at Wangyou Lily, only Anna fit their fantasy.
Anna was happy to play along, performing a play of love and being loved, rescue and being rescued, giving her guests a perfect emotional experience.
Thanks to this, she had worked as a companion for over a year without ever truly losing her virginity.
In her own words, she sold her talent, not her body.
She changed into a uniform modeled after that of the capital’s Magic Academy: a white long-sleeve shirt with a ribbon tied at the collar; a blue pleated skirt falling modestly below the knees, leaving only a short gap before her calf socks.
Anna braided her silver hair into low twin braids draped over her shoulders.
After some thought, she dabbed a bit of blush on her cheeks and tossed the lip tint back into the drawer.
She lightly tapped her shoe tip on the floor and spun in front of the mirror.
Her skirt fluttered, her steps graceful—but Anna still felt something was missing.
Pride? Vitality? Or the noble aura ingrained in the bones? She didn’t know, but she felt those heavenly noble girls should have such an air…
Anything but what she was—this rat scurrying through the dark gutters.
Time to work… no, time to clock in.
Sliding open the resting room’s door, Anna collided headfirst with a young girl.
“Sorry, I’m really sorry…”
Anna bowed her head apologetically but bumped into her again as the girl’s head lowered as well.
“No, don’t report me…” Anna lightly pinched the oversized sleeve at her fingertips, looking ready to cry. Her brows drooped, her eyes cast pitifully to the floor. “Sister…”
This was her usual trick—always worked.
“Report? That’s not so easy to say.”
The girl didn’t seem easily fooled.
Anna looked up and appraised the young woman before her.
Unlike Anna, a counterfeit, the girl wore a genuine Magic Academy uniform; though the style was the same, the fabric and craftsmanship far surpassed Anna’s imitation.
Looking higher up, Anna was speechless.
That face was magnificent—she had never seen a face so grand.
Delicate, smooth bone structure; fair, exquisite skin; a pair of deep blue eyes like lakes and seas; and golden hair shining like the sun.
What a beauty.
Anna swallowed hard and stepped back a few paces, only to stumble over the threshold and fall backward onto the floor.
Damn it.
Anna hurriedly covered her abdomen, but looking up, the girl’s expression clearly showed she had seen everything.
“Tsk.”
She clicked her tongue in admiration as if appraising a rare treasure.
Anna clenched her skirt tightly, head bowed in silence.
Those red eyes glanced up at the girl, but in an instant, they shifted away, and the hand clutching the skirt relaxed.
The girl stood up from the armchair, supporting herself with her hands, and bowed deeply to Anna.
“Anna?” the girl suddenly spoke, her voice cold like the rain outside.
Anna froze on the spot.
“You know me… miss.” She forced a trademark smile. “What a coincidence.”
“Of course I know the companion I requested.”
The girl twirled the hand cards between her fingers and stepped closer; Anna retreated step by step.
Until her back pressed against the wall with nowhere left to run, Anna realized she had fallen into a prison woven from the girl’s power and shadow.
“Miss…?”
Endure.
She must endure.
Anna knew well the family background hidden behind that uniform.
She couldn’t afford to provoke such a heavenly noble girl; she had to bow for this undeserved disaster.
The girl placed one hand on the wall, tossed the hand cards carelessly aside, and with two fingers, lifted Anna’s chin.
Those blue eyes seemed to ripple with waves.
Warm breath brushed slowly against Anna’s neck, tickling softly like feathers on her heart.
Anna’s breath grew heavy, deep and slow, then changed to a Canary’s nighttime wail as the girl’s fingers inched closer.
Those fingers wandered like a traveler crossing mountains—from ridge to hill, over gently rolling valleys, straight to a boundless desert; then along the desert, down to an oasis.
The traveler paused in the desert, reverent before the oasis.
“Hah~”
Her body burned with heat, her heart thumped like a drum.
The strength in her limbs drained completely the moment the girl’s fingers brushed her.
The girl’s fingers suddenly parted Anna’s shirt, revealing the hidden mark again to the daylight.
Her finger pressed lightly on the mark, tracing its shape in midair.
Anna’s clothes were in disarray; utterly exhausted, she no longer had the strength to resist the close scrutiny of the secret on her abdomen.
“N-no, don’t look there.”
Anna’s plea was like a caged bird’s cry.
But whether caged Canary or trapped in this girl’s grasp, she had long since lost the right to choose.
She could only accept passively, forcing herself to accept.
Humiliation surged in her heart, her eyes stung as if punched.
She wanted to cry, but reason told her this was no time for tears.
She tried to squeeze out a professional smile, but no matter how she lifted the corners of her mouth, they remained tightly pressed.
Looking at the girl ravaging her body, Anna didn’t know what to do.
“It’s beautiful… just like you, Anna.”
Beautiful…? That was truly… absurd.
Anna clenched her fists.
That mark was an unhealable scar and an inescapable nightmare to her.
Yet this person shamelessly called it “beautiful.” What was she thinking?
Was she humiliating her?
Mocking her downfall?
Did she even know Anna’s background?
If she did… was she deliberately here to laugh at the Fallen Hero?
What on earth was this Villainous Young Lady thinking?
“Anna, I know everything about you.” The girl’s chest pressed tightly against Anna’s, and Anna could feel the powerful heartbeat inside it. “Become mine… give me everything.”
Anna wanted to resist, but her body was uncontrollable.
The mark on her abdomen burned like fire.
Anna knew the magic brand of the Slave Crest was activating—her owner was forcibly issuing orders through the Slave Contract.
Anna could only watch helplessly as the girl claimed her piece by piece, her voice caught in her throat like suffocating air.
She could only watch, powerless.
A madwoman… a complete madwoman, unleashing her inexplicable possessiveness.
Anna felt like a fragile boat caught in a tsunami.
No matter the raging winds or terrifying waves, she would be swallowed whole.
She was powerless.
She wanted to save herself, but all she could do was let the waves capsize her vessel, drag her under, and make her a captive of the tide.
Maybe she would be washed ashore.
Maybe she would sink to the bottom of the sea.
She was too insignificant.
Under the tide’s force, she could only submit.
Her little boat was already overturned and sinking.