Seeing the flicker of gold-red flames in Huayin’s hand about to touch the bedsheet, Ange’s pupils shrank.
She seemed to vanish from her spot, reappearing behind Huayin in the next instant.
“Stop!”
With a low shout, Ange’s right hand shot out, accurately and powerfully seizing Huayin’s right wrist just as she was about to press the flames down.
The immense strength caused Huayin’s hand to freeze in midair, the flames stopping precariously only a few centimeters away from the sheet.
“Let go! What’s the big deal? It’s just a ragged bedsheet! I’ll buy you a new one! Ten! 100!”
Startled and furious, Huayin struggled to break free from the grip. Her other hand instinctively rose, hot energy beginning to gather in her palm once more.
Ange’s gaze hardened. Her left hand moved just as quickly, pinning Huayin’s left hand with the same irresistible force.
She locked the girl’s entire body from behind, forcing both of her arms into a restraint behind her back.
“Calm down! You jerk!”
Ange’s voice carried a suppressed rage and an unquestionable authority, a far cry from her usual lazy and decadent tone.
Huayin struggled with all her might, only to find that the strength she was so proud of was impossible to use against Ange’s sudden restraint.
She could feel a violent streak on the verge of losing control in Ange’s tone.
Anxious and angry, she was about to explode with her full power regardless of the consequences.
Just then, she caught a glimpse of Ange’s eyes out of the corner of her own.
Those violet pupils, which were usually lazy and blurred, were actually glowing faintly now.
They shimmered with a deep, cold, ghostly purple light that seemed capable of swallowing all light.
An indescribable, ancient, and ferocious aura spread from Ange like a tide, instantly filling the small room.
‘Is this… Beelzebub’s power? The Gluttony Demon Lord’s aura?’
Huayin froze.
This was the second time she had faced this side of Ange’s activated bloodline so closely and clearly.
The Ange before her had undergone an earth-shattering change in temperament.
The usual decadence and laziness—the feeling that she was almost easy to bully—had vanished completely.
In its place was a chilling majesty, like an ancient predator from the very top of the food chain.
There was very little human emotion in those eyes, only a pure, crushing pressure that made her tremble.
A fear stemming from primal instinct instantly wrapped around Huayin’s heart, freezing her boiling blood and her out-of-control rage.
Her struggling strength involuntarily slackened, and the flames gathered in her palm quietly extinguished.
Sensing the stiffness of the body in her arms and the fading of the power, the eerie purple light in Ange’s eyes slowly receded.
The restless Blood of Beelzebub in her body gradually calmed down.
However, she still did not let go of Huayin immediately; she only slightly lessened the force of her hard restraint.
Ange’s cheeks were slightly flushed, and her breathing was a bit hurried as she gritted her teeth.
Forcibly driving her bloodline to suppress Huayin had caused the Magic Mark on her lower abdomen to start burning faintly again, sending a familiar throb through her.
But she endured the discomfort, striving to keep her expression and voice serious.
Huayin finally calmed down completely. Or rather, she was intimidated by this other side of Ange—one she had never shown before, serious to a terrifying degree.
She clearly realized that Ange was serious. She really… really… really did not want this bedsheet destroyed. This was likely more than just an ordinary bedsheet.
Ange slowly released her grip on Huayin and took half a step back.
She took a deep breath, trying to settle the dual discomfort caused by the surge of power and the restlessness of her Magic Mark.
Her gaze fell on the stain on the bed, her eyes complex and filled with an indescribable sense of cherishing.
“Phew—”
She let out a long breath, her voice returning to its usual tone, though it carried a trace of undetectable hoarseness and heaviness.
“This bedsheet… was given to me by the Director of the orphanage I was in. It’s… very important to me…”
She looked up at Huayin, who was still a bit dazed, her tone calm but firm.
“So, I can only accept that you got it dirty. It’s fine. I’ll wash it. I won’t leave any marks, don’t worry.”
“Orphanage?”
Huayin instinctively repeated the word.
It was a concept far removed from her life as a pampered Eldest Miss, but it pulled her mind back slightly from the earlier shock and shame.
The seriousness of the topic allowed her to temporarily ignore her own embarrassment.
But despite that, as soon as her eyes touched the bedsheet, the blush that had just faded from her face surged back instantly.
The feeling of being utterly humiliated overwhelmed her again.
Just then, she suddenly felt a chill and a sense of discomfort at her right ankle. She looked down.
“Eek!”
She let out a short shriek, hurriedly pulling up that piece of intimate clothing and putting it back on.
Right now, she truly wished she could perform the earth-burrowing technique of an ostrich — perhaps a distant relative of the Phoenix — and bury her head in the soil forever, never to see anyone again!
Ange didn’t seem to notice her small movements, or perhaps she deliberately ignored them.
Her gaze was somewhat vacant, as if she were looking through that stain at a time from long ago.
“I didn’t know my parents,” Ange suddenly spoke, her voice very light, as if stating a fact that had nothing to do with her.
“I crawled out of my mother’s stomach… they were both already dead by then.”
Huayin looked up sharply, her red eyes filled with horror. She couldn’t imagine what kind of scene that must have been.
Ange’s expression remained calm, even numb, as if she were telling someone else’s story.
“Later, I entered an orphanage and lived with a group of orphans just like me.”
The corners of her mouth seemed to twitch upward ever so slightly.
“My Director… back then, she saw that I was always catching colds. So, she lived frugally to save money and bought me this thicker bedsheet. I still remember her smiling and telling me that after a while, once she saved enough money, she’d get me an even warmer quilt.”
She missed it dearly…
As Huayin listened, she instinctively asked, “What happened after that?”
Ange: “…”
A long silence from Ange was the only response.
Huayin instantly realized she might have asked an extremely stupid question.
She opened her mouth, wanting to say something to take it back.
But Ange only took another deep sigh.
“Phew—they died,” Ange’s voice was calm, without a single ripple of emotion. “It’s as simple as that.”
“…”
The room fell into a deathly silence.
Only the faint sound of birds chirping came from outside the window, along with the complex scent still lingering in the air—a mix of alcohol, musk, and a faint sadness.