Chapter 46: Miss, Drink It

“Elianna, what… what are you doing?”

Elose’s heart skipped a beat. Fortunately, Elianna didn’t use much force, only leaving a shallow red tooth mark.

“Miss, don’t you like me? This is my response to you ~”

‘Damn, this demon is teasing me again!’

Elose clenched her small fists, yet she remained angry but dared not speak out. After all, she wasn’t sure what kind of consequences her resistance would bring.

Although it seemed to her that everything was progressing as usual and Elianna hadn’t discovered that she knew her true identity, she had a feeling deep down.

Elianna had changed. Indeed, if her gaze toward Elose previously held only simple desire, it now contained many other mixed emotions.

She didn’t dare to be the slightest bit careless.

Fortunately, this awkward atmosphere did not last long, and the carriage soon arrived at the Duke’s mansion.

Elose got off the carriage as if she were escaping. Just as she breathed a long sigh of relief, Elianna passed by her side, causing her entire body to freeze and her expression to turn exceptionally ugly.

This change was naturally caused by the demon maid. As she passed by the girl, she whispered in a volume only Elose could hear.

“Miss, see you tonight ~”

What this meant was naturally self-evident. Recalling her experiences from the previous few nights, Elose’s legs couldn’t help but tremble.

Almost jogging all the way back to her room, Elose threw herself onto her large bed without a second thought. At this point, only shrinking under the covers gave her a sliver of a sense of security.

After a long while, she pulled out the parchment book she had previously found in the Archive Tower from under her pillow. Why hadn’t the holy water worked on Elianna?

Maybe she could find the reason in here.

Elose opened the yellowed Parchment Scroll, her fingertips sliding over the obscure text.

Outside the window, the setting sun sank, dyeing the room in a dark gold hue. The temperature inside the room, at some unknown point… grew lower and lower.

“Holy water… holy water…”

Elose kicked up her legs, muttering softly under her breath.

“Found it!”

Her legs kicked the bed as Elose sat up with some excitement, but after a short moment, she knitted her brows.

According to the contents of the book, holy water would indeed cause damage to some low-level demons. However, for high-level demons, holy water did not have a direct damaging effect; instead, it would first weaken the demon.

No wonder it had no effect on Elianna. After all, this girl was extraordinary, far beyond what an ordinary demon could compare to.

However, seeing the book say that holy water was effective made Elose feel a bit better; at least her gold coins hadn’t been spent in vain.

But… wait!

Elose suddenly remembered something. If holy water could weaken a demon, then Elianna must have been weakened quite a bit today.

And this was all because of her. If she wanted to retaliate…

Recalling the scenes of being raided at night by Elianna before, the girl felt as if her neck were being squeezed once again, making it difficult to breathe.

*Knock, knock.*

At that moment, the light sound of knocking almost made her jump.

It was Elianna. Elianna was here!

Elose hurried to hide the book. Just 1 second after she had finished hiding it, Elianna’s voice carried into the room.

This girl was becoming more and more arrogant now, entering and leaving her room without needing her permission at all.

Elose didn’t dare to show the dissatisfaction in her heart. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she forced a smile at Elianna.

“Elianna, do you have something for me?”

“Miss, I brewed a pot of hot tea for you to warm your body.”

“Ah… I’m fine, no need.”

Under these circumstances, who would dare drink something sent by a demon!

However, while Elose thought Elianna would take the tea away as she had before, who would have thought…

“Miss, this is a tea I specially prepared for you. Give it a taste ~ You… will drink it, won’t you? ~”

As she said the latter half of the sentence, Elose clearly felt her demon maid’s tone change, causing her to shiver involuntarily.

“Sp-specially prepared for me?”

Elose looked at the black tea in front of her, her speech becoming stuttered.

‘She didn’t put poison inside, did she?’ From this one small cup of tea, malice was almost overflowing into half the room.

That was right. From Elose’s perspective, malice was constantly drifting out from this cup of tea.

‘Damn, is this Elianna’s revenge?’ Elose gripped the hem of her nightgown with her two small hands, feeling incredibly nervous.

‘Did she discover something? Is that why she’s in such a hurry to kill me?’

The girl’s heart hammered. Facing this “kindness” that she couldn’t refuse, she really didn’t seem to know how to respond.

No, she couldn’t just watch herself walk toward death!

After agonizing in her heart for a long time, she finally pretended to smile and spoke.

“Thank you for your kindness, Elianna, but I don’t really feel like drinking tea right now.”

At this point, she had to stall for time first.

However, Elianna didn’t seem to intend to let Elose have her way. She crossed her hands in front of her chin to support her jaw, curving her lips into a smile.

“Miss, please don’t misunderstand ~ I’m not negotiating with you ~ Please… drink it.”

‘Damn it, she isn’t giving me a single chance at all!’

Elose’s face instantly turned pale. Looking at Elianna’s pale gold eyes that flickered with a dangerous light, she knew this wasn’t a discussion, but an order.

The demon maid elegantly picked up the teacup and approached her. As the distance shortened, Elose could more clearly see the malice on the surface of the black tea that had almost solidified into substance.

“Miss, please.”

Elianna handed the teacup to Elose’s lips, her fingertips brushing across the girl’s cheek as if unintentionally.

Elose stiffly took the teacup. The icy porcelain cup and the warm tea liquid formed a sharp contrast. She lowered her head, looking at the deep red liquid in the cup as if it weren’t tea, but some kind of living creature.

“Drink it quickly.”

Elianna’s voice was as soft as a feather, yet it carried an irresistible power.

“While it’s hot.”

Elose closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her mind raced. Should she spit it out? Knock it over? Or…

“Or is the young lady afraid of something?”

Elianna suddenly leaned over, her lips almost pressed against Elose’s ear.

“Afraid that I put something strange in the tea?”

Elose snapped her eyes open, meeting those pale gold eyes that were inches away. She could see herself reflected in Elianna’s eyes—shocked, fragile, and like a small beast with nowhere to run.

“I…”

Elose’s voice trembled beyond recognition.

“Don’t worry, Miss.”

Elianna straightened up, her smile deepening.

“It’s just black tea. I want to warm your body.”

Those words sounded so sarcastic. Elose bit her lower lip, her fingertips turning white from the force of her grip. She knew that no matter what was in the tea, she couldn’t escape.

If she refused, Elianna could completely use a more direct method to help her drink it.

Swallowing her saliva, Elose raised the teacup…