The assessment of the next day concluded just like that.
Except for Rita’s bizarre match, everything went smoothly.
As night fell, the entire Capital gradually sank into darkness.
Yet, the rarely traveled alleyways still burned bright with light.
A middle-aged woman with a face full of coarse flesh quietly strode through a corridor filled with the scent of Incense and muffled moans, directly bursting into the room at the end.
Inside, a scantily clad young girl was already waiting.
Seeing the woman enter, she immediately knelt before her.
“Master, you’ve arrived.”
“Lead the way.” The woman didn’t even glance at the kneeling girl and instead kicked her heavily with the tip of her boot.
The girl hurriedly stood up and fumbled through a wardrobe packed with all sorts of revealing clothes and even more depraved toys.
Suddenly, a rumbling noise echoed inside the room as a panel in the wardrobe slid aside, revealing a hidden passage below.
The woman snorted coldly and stepped into the passage.
The girl immediately grabbed a torch from the corner of the room, lit it, and followed behind her.
After a winding and twisting path, the woman stopped at the door of a spacious underground room.
She beckoned, and the girl opened the door for her.
Inside, a man cloaked and holding a torch was waiting.
“Hmph.” The woman snorted again. “I’ve waited so many days—how is it still not done?”
The man’s voice trembled uncontrollably: “I-It’s like this, I don’t know why, the hellhound… it—it suddenly lost contact!”
“Lame excuses! What hellhound? It’s just a dumb dog! You’re a dumb dog too! All of you are dumb dogs!”
A sultry female voice interrupted, “Oh? Who did Lady Mel call a dumb dog?”
Mel, already on edge, snapped, “I said—”
But her words stuck in her throat, and her tone shifted dramatically, her fear-twisted face softening into a smile.
“Y-You are…”
“For safety’s sake, don’t try to find out where I am, nor say that name aloud.”
Mel nodded repeatedly, staring at the tips of her boots. “Understood. Understood.”
“Lady Mel.” The voice remained sultry but invisibly intensified Mel’s pressure. “Do you remember what we agreed upon?”
“I remember, of course I remember.” Mel broke into a cold sweat. “You give us power, and we’ll eliminate the cursed princess inside the Lord of the Capital’s mansion. The lordship will be mine, and you just…”
“Good enough that you remember.” The voice didn’t wait for Mel to finish. “I lent you my carefully bred hellhound, taught you how to make it recognize scents, even taught you how to mix the Incense’s scent. And yet, you botched it all?”
“I-It’s all my subordinate’s fault—no, no, it’s all my fault.”
“Forget it. I’ll give you a little more help, and a hint. That white-haired girl who wants to become a Holy Knight has been getting close to the princess lately. If you want the lordship, you might want to try your luck with her.”
“Ah-choo!”
Rita sneezed suddenly for no reason, almost knocking Cecilia to the floor.
The back of Cecilia’s head collided with Rita’s knee with a dull thud.
Rita quickly raised her hand and rubbed Cecilia’s head, which was resting on her lap.
“Princess! I didn’t mean to!”
“I said, when we’re alone, call me Cecilia.” Cecilia lazily stretched out her hand and moved the few coins on the top of the stack on the bedside table aside.
Seeing the coins in Cecilia’s hand made Rita’s heart ache.
Those were my coins! Mine!
Earlier.
When Rita was notified by a maid to come to Cecilia’s room, she thought Cecilia was about to begin another one of those hopeless tests again.
After all, except for the accidental intrusion that night, every time Cecilia was full of confidence, making Rita feel stupid in comparison.
Also, the aura of superiority Cecilia unconsciously exuded put a lot of pressure on Rita.
But this time, Cecilia didn’t mention anything about exams or tests.
She just pointed to something covered by Silk on the bedside table.
“Open it.” Cecilia commanded in a calm tone.
Rita lifted the Silk and saw what was underneath—neatly folded clothes with stacks of coins pressed on top.
“Put these on, and the coins are yours… for now.”
Hadn’t something similar happened a few days ago?
Oh right, that time it was coercion; this time, it was temptation.
Rita didn’t dare reach out to touch the clothes under the coins, instead sneaking a glance at Cecilia’s expression.
Cecilia seemed to see right through Rita’s thoughts in an instant. “Your clothes are too shabby. Last time, I didn’t have time to dress you properly, but today, we have plenty of time.”
Shabby? That outfit was something I spent several coins on!
Wait! Last time? Dress up? Plenty of time today?
Princess, what exactly are you saying?
Aren’t you just craving my body?
Rita’s heart screamed inwardly but obediently put on the clothes Cecilia had prepared for her.
For the same reason: she was given way too much.
Rita thought it through—if it came to the worst and she fell out with Cecilia, the money was real.
At worst, she could exchange it for gems or something easy to carry and run off to live well somewhere else.
As the saying goes, everyone’s buried in the same earth eventually.
But today, what Cecilia gave Rita was not revealing clothes, but a rather nice Sleepwear set.
Though the matching underwear was a little…
Of course, the whole changing process was done under Cecilia’s unwavering gaze, which alone made Rita feel more exhausted than running three laps on the field.
Afterward, Cecilia patted the bed and told Rita to sit down, then lay down on Rita’s lap and closed her eyes.
Not once did she ask for Rita’s consent—though given her status, she didn’t need to.
Then, Cecilia began mumbling some harmless little rules, like calling her “Cecilia” when alone.
Rita wouldn’t be scolded or punished for breaking the rules; the only penalty was a tiny deduction from the pile of coins belonging to her.
But Rita wasn’t afraid of being scolded; what scared her was that!
Rita still didn’t know what Cecilia wanted to do—after all, besides lying on her lap, she hadn’t done anything.
Oh right, she was deducting her money.
“Prin… Lady Cecilia.”
“Lady Cecilia? That works too.” Cecilia paused thoughtfully. “What do you want to say?”
“You called me over because you want me to do something for you?”
“Do something? I haven’t thought that far.” Cecilia exhaled softly. “How about… come bathe with me?”