Chapter 49: Sorry, Hilvia!

Due to the strange experience yesterday, Sairi slept very deeply and soundly, sleeping in until nearly noon, close to lunchtime.

Bright rays of sunlight streamed through the glass window, casting a warm, hazy glow throughout the room and falling gently on Sairi’s tender, adorable face.

Sairi’s long eyelashes fluttered a few times as she reluctantly opened her drowsy eyes, her golden-yellow irises still clouded with lingering sleepiness and confusion.

Habitually, she reached beside her, only to touch a piece of cool silk—Liliath’s scarf had long since disappeared.

It seemed that Liliath had already left. Well, it was only fitting. As a Blood Clan princess, it wouldn’t suit her to laze around all day and ignore the world. Liliath should be busy like this.

“Hmm…?” Sairi propped herself up, her long golden hair tousled and draped messily over her shoulders. “Ugh—” she grit her teeth and stretched her arms high above her head, giving a big yawn on the bed.

When the sound of her joints cracking accompanied her stretch, Sairi realized that a new day had begun (though it was almost noon already, silly!).

She rubbed her eyes and stared blankly for a moment before slowly piecing together the fragmented memories—yesterday… she was embraced for the first time… drank a little blood… was teased by Liliath a bit… then got bitten and fell asleep…

Thinking of Liliath, she instinctively touched her neck, which was smooth as ever, with only two tiny, almost invisible marks reminding her that last night was not a dream.

Her body didn’t feel particularly unwell; instead, she felt energetic, just… a bit hungrier.

But had she forgotten something?

At this thought, Sairi’s mind started racing to recall anything relevant.

“Ah! Sister Hilvia!”

Suddenly jolted awake, Sairi was completely alert. She suddenly remembered something crucial—Sister Hilvia was still trapped inside her divine hairpin space!

Yesterday, she had been so confused by the chain of events involving Liliath that she completely forgot about this! How careless of her!

“Oh no, oh no! It’s been so long! Sister Hilvia was so badly injured! What if she…?”

Panic and guilt flooded over Sairi. Flustered, she knelt on the bed, clutching her head, searching frantically for the hairpin but couldn’t find it. This made her even more anxious.

Could it be that Liliath had taken it for research? Apart from Sister Hilvia, Liliath was the only one who had close contact with her.

In a sudden impulse, Sairi wanted to get off the bed and rush out to confront Liliath, but as she steadied herself on the bedside table, something on it caught her eye with a glint.

Looking down, she found it was her hairpin, which made Sairi ecstatic.

She hurriedly grabbed the hairpin and pinned it back in her hair, then returned to the bed, ready to face Sister Hilvia.

But then Sairi realized she had been too hasty in blaming Liliath. Liliath probably took the hairpin off to avoid it poking her head or tangling her hair during sleep and kindly placed it on the bedside table.

Taking a deep breath, Sairi raised her hands toward the pentagram hairpin, concentrating intensely, silently urging, “Come out! Come out quickly! Sister Hilvia!”

A soft white glow flashed by.

***

The next moment, a figure suddenly appeared on the spacious, soft bed, sitting directly opposite Sairi.

However, the expected scene of Sister Hilvia being seriously wounded, weak, or unconscious did not occur.

Instead, Sister Hilvia—the human hero—was kneeling on the bed in a very relaxed, almost unruly posture.

Her wounds had been simply treated, no longer looking ragged, and the bloodstains on her body had faded significantly.

What stunned Sairi most was that Sister Hilvia was holding half a golden, crispy baguette, her cheeks puffed out as she ate with evident relish.

“Hmm? Sairi? Finally remembered me?”

Sister Hilvia, surprised by Sairi’s sudden appearance, quickly chewed and swallowed the bread, a flicker of surprise and then deep concern flashing in her icy blue eyes.

“Sairi, are you alright? Where are we? Are we safe here?”

She cautiously scanned the elegant but unfamiliar surroundings, momentarily forgetting the bread in her hand.

Sairi:

She stared at Sister Hilvia’s puffed cheeks, the bread in her hand, and the expression that said, “Am I on a picnic?” Her mind froze, and all the apologies and crying she had prepared caught in her throat.

This was completely different from what she had imagined! She thought Sister Hilvia would be weakly lying on her lap while she cried, pleading for her to live well or whatever.

“Hiss… why does this room’s decor look like something the Blood Clan would like?”

Sister Hilvia examined the room and commented.

“Uh, Sister… Hilvia… your… your wounds?”

Sairi’s voice trembled, pointing at Sister Hilvia with wide eyes.

Sister Hilvia instinctively touched her back and shoulder, where Barrios had sneak-attacked her without honor. She moved her arms and showed a trace of surprise.

“Huh? Seems like… almost healed? It still aches a little, but nothing serious…”

As a top human warrior, Sister Hilvia’s self-healing ability far surpassed normal people, and she had the skill to tend her own wounds.

(She didn’t know that Sairi’s hairpin space contained some divine aura, which invisibly accelerated her recovery and purified some evil energy.)

What surprised her most was that all the furniture and tools she brought before departure were found inside Sairi’s hairpin space, and many foods had suddenly appeared yesterday.

(Sairi had secretly taken some food from the kitchen and stored it in the hairpin, planning to eat more later.)

Only then did Sairi heave a huge sigh of relief, patting her small chest and saying fearfully, “You scared me to death… I was so afraid something happened to you… I’m sorry, sorry, Sister Hilvia, for keeping you locked in the hairpin for so long! I… I had a lot happen yesterday and totally forgot…”

Her voice trembled, eyes reddened, golden-yellow eyes filling with guilty tears.

After all, she really did forget to release Sister Hilvia earlier. Maybe back then, Sister Hilvia could have helped her deal with Liliath.

Seeing Sairi’s tearful, flustered apologizing expression, Sister Hilvia’s heart immediately softened.

She quickly put the bread aside (snapping off a small piece to pop into her mouth), moved next to Sairi, and gently pulled her into a warm embrace.

“Alright, alright, don’t cry anymore~ Silly girl, what are you apologizing for? I’m fine.”

Sister Hilvia’s voice was gentle, tinged with a hoarseness borne of surviving a great calamity (which, given the danger yesterday, was no exaggeration).

“I know you risked yourself to save me. If it weren’t for you, I might’ve ended up in the hands of that bastard Barrios, or dragged back to the palace to live that dull, boring life again. You bravely stood up, protected me, and helped me. I should be the one thanking you.”

Sister Hilvia lightly patted Sairi’s back, soothing her excited emotions.

Seeing usually cheerful Sairi now so sad and heartbroken made Sister Hilvia’s eyes sting. Silently, she vowed to make Barrios the sneaky bastard pay with his life.

How dare he ambush her and make Sairi so upset and worried.

With that thought, Sister Hilvia hugged Sairi tighter. Sairi, understanding, snuggled closer into her embrace.

Feeling Sister Hilvia’s warm hug and her usual tenderness, Sairi could no longer hold back her tears. They fell in soft drops as she clung tightly to Sister Hilvia’s waist.

“Wuwu… Sister Hilvia… I’m so glad you’re okay…”

“All right, all right, no more crying. See? I’m fine now.”

Sister Hilvia gently patted Sairi’s back, comforting her softly, then carefully studied Sairi in her arms.

“But you… I feel like your complexion is paler than before. What exactly happened yesterday? Where are we? Is it safe here?”

She perceptively noticed subtle changes in Sairi’s appearance—her skin was colder and paler—and the unusual surroundings.

Sairi’s body stiffened slightly. It was clear Sister Hilvia had noticed something.

Here it came—the hardest question to answer. How should she explain that she had been embraced and turned into a Blood Clan member? Would Sister Hilvia hate her? Think she had become a monster?

She subconsciously lifted her head from Sister Hilvia’s embrace, her gaze evasive, fidgeting with the hem of her clothes, stammering, “Ah… um, well, nothing much happened… we’re very safe… this place is…”

Her mind raced to concoct a plausible lie. “It’s a… kind-hearted… secluded strong person’s place. She’s kind and saved us, and helped me heal!”

Liliath did qualify as a “strong person” and did “help” her “transform,” so that wasn’t a lie, right? Sister Hilvia should accept this explanation?

Sister Hilvia quietly studied her, her icy blue eyes like the clearest lake, seemingly able to see through souls.

But she didn’t immediately refute anything; her gaze grew more focused and gentle.

She reached out, gently brushing away some messy strands of hair from Sairi’s forehead. Her fingertips inadvertently touched the cooler, more delicate, and smoother skin beneath.

Then, she suddenly leaned closer, her nose twitching slightly as if confirming some scent.

This made Sairi extremely uneasy. Sister Hilvia was obviously examining her physical condition.

Soon, Sister Hilvia’s gaze fixed on Sairi’s slightly parted lips, revealing two small fangs that had lengthened just a bit due to nervousness.

The atmosphere grew tense.

Sairi’s heart pounded like a drum, almost leaping out of her throat. It seemed she could no longer hide the truth.

Suddenly, Sister Hilvia reached out again—not to accuse but with immense gentleness and pity—pulling Sairi back into her arms.

This hug was even tighter than before, filled with a protective warmth.

After so many embraces, Sairi had grown desensitized. Before, she might have felt shy or uncomfortable, but now she accepted it. Otherwise, constantly rejecting hugs would raise suspicion or cause dislike.

“Heh, you little fool…” Sister Hilvia’s voice sounded softly in her ear, tinged with tender pity and resolve.

“Still trying to lie to me? You carry the Blood Clan’s aura now. Though it’s faint and mixed with your original scent, I can feel it… and your teeth… your body temperature has changed…”

Sairi’s body froze completely, then trembled violently as overwhelming panic and grievance burst forth.

“I’m sorry! Sister Hilvia! Sorry! There was a Blood Clan member… she forced me… wuwu, I couldn’t fight her… I’m not a monster… please don’t hate me…”

She cried incoherently, clutching Sister Hilvia’s clothes like a last straw, begging for forgiveness or even for Sister Hilvia to be furious and lash out at her.

She had prepared for either reaction. As long as Sister Hilvia could accept her, whether with anger or not, it was fine.

She just didn’t want Sister Hilvia to leave. Otherwise, her “otherworld big sister” would be gone to hold on to.

(Though, clearly, this thought no longer held much ground; her feelings had grown far beyond just clinging to a protector.)

But Sister Hilvia didn’t see it that way. Her heart seemed to be painfully squeezed.

She held the trembling, crying Sairi tighter, gently resting her chin on her head. Her voice was so soft it could drip with warmth.

“How could I ever hate you, you silly Sairi?”

“How could I hate you because of something like this?”

“No matter what you become, you’re still my Sairi. The one who secretly hides snacks for me, who cries desperately when I’m hurt, who would do anything to protect me by stuffing me into a hairpin.”

“So what if you’re Blood Clan? So what if your appearance has changed? As long as your heart is still Sairi’s, I will never hate you.”

“Actually… seeing you safe and sound, still bouncing around thinking about lying to me, makes me happier than anything. I know even if you lie to me, it’s because you mean well.”

“Don’t be afraid, Sairi. No matter what happens, I’ll always be by your side. I like you, Sairi, not your race or your looks.”

Sister Hilvia’s gentle, firm words were like warm sunlight, dispelling every shadow of fear and doubt in Sairi’s heart.

Her words reached Sairi’s ears exactly as spoken. She never expected Sister Hilvia to be so affectionate and to accept her, even if she was hiding the truth.

Sister Hilvia’s words echoed deep in Sairi’s soul, becoming an invisible meteorite branded on the great tree of her memory, never to fade.

Sairi lifted her head, eyes brimming with tears, meeting Sister Hilvia’s icy blue gaze filled with sincere acceptance and unconditional care—without a trace of disdain or distance.

Yes, this gentleness, this acceptance, this look—it was definitely Sister Hilvia.

A flood of joy and relief washed over her like a warm current.

Unable to hold back, Sairi burst into tears, but this time, they were tears of release and happiness.

She hugged Sister Hilvia tightly, burying her tear-streaked face in the warmth and safety of her shoulder, greedily drawing in that comforting presence.

“Sister Hilvia… I like you the most!”

Her voice thick with sniffling and choking up, she spoke the truest words from her heart.

Sister Hilvia smiled gently, softly patting her back like calming a frightened little bird who had finally found a home.

“Mhm, I like you the most too, Sairi.”

They held each other tightly, bathed in the hazy light, forming a warm and healing picture.

***

Yesterday’s dangers, the anxiety of separation, the change of identity… at this moment, all seemed to melt away in this embrace filled with trust and love.

Sairi felt so happy she might faint. As long as Sister Hilvia was by her side, even becoming Blood Clan wasn’t such a big deal.

This love was the most beautiful and important thing in the world.

She never imagined those touching scenes she had heard from her grandmother’s stories or watched in dramas would so vividly unfold before her eyes, happening to her.

She would never betray this love.

The future might hold many unknowns and challenges, but at least now, she had the most precious understanding and acceptance in the world.

And that love seemed to surpass even the desire to cling to a protector. Who knew what else might happen in the future to change that feeling?

Procrastination mode, activated!