"Little Losiya, why do you look so downcast?"
Lady Catherine silently appeared beside Losiya, startling her from her thoughts.
"You didn’t even knock?" Losiya complained.
Then she realized that not only had the other party not knocked, she hadn’t even opened the door.
Being a transcendent close to the Holy Realmmust an you can do whatever you want—sneaking into a midnight training session without even needing to tiptoe.
Losiya’s mind inexplicably wandered in that direction, and she imdiately scolded herself for the ridiculous thought. After a few coughs, she brushed it off, stood up, and smiled at Lady Catherine.
"Auntie, is there sothing you wanted?"
"That girl ca to see you?"
Lady Catherine suddenly asked this completely unrelated question. Losiya’s smile faded as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over her. She stayed silent.
"She said she can cure ?" Lady Catherine continued to press.
For so reason, Losiya felt that Lady Catherine seed unusually cold today. She had never been treated this way before and suddenly didn’t know how to react.
"...Yes." She finally admitted.
"So you agreed to her request?"
That question made Losiya lower her head further, her voice barely audible:
"I haven’t agreed yet."
Upon hearing this, Lady Catherine’s expression finally softened a little.
She was always a gentle person, but when she got angry, her calm questioning alone was enough to create imnse pressure. Losiya, normally proud, was especially vulnerable in front of her.
"You are not allowed to agree," she finally said seriously.
Losiya frowned and was about to argue when she t Catherine’s gaze—and gave up imdiately.
She thought back to that final conversation with Tania and instantly felt another headache coming.
"I can cure Lady Catherine."
"Why should I believe you?"
"Because the magical phantom flower is originally a product from Desmond territory nearby. We’ve long studied it in depth. If you don’t believe , I can even sign a formal agreent with you—under Lord Farad’s na."
"...Then what do you want?"
"Hmph..."
The request that followed almost made Losiya draw her sword right then and there.
Tania calmly made her demand—she wanted one night with Julian.
In exchange for helping detoxify Lady Catherine, and even giving up all the trade benefits they had previously discussed.
Losiya had stared daggers at Tania for a long ti, and in the end, one single word—"Get out"—sent her away.
She hadn’t refused outright at the ti, only told her to leave.
And the aning of that didn’t need to be explained.
"How did you find out?" Faced with Lady Catherine’s near-threatening stance, Losiya felt oddly relieved—at least she no longer had to suffer in silence, caught between both sides.
"You think you can hide sothing I want to know?" Lady Catherine asked in return.
Losiya nodded, admitting her point.
A mont later, Lady Catherine’s face softened, full of warmth and concern. She walked up to Losiya and gently stroked her long hair.
"You didn’t need to negotiate such terms at all. If Julian knew you were even hesitating, it would break his heart," Lady Catherine sighed.
Losiya bowed her head, pondering that last sentence, but couldn’t help responding:
"I absolutely will not agree."
But even she knew those words were partly self-deception.
In this matriarchal world, noblewon didn’t care much about a man’s "chastity." If one night with a man could save the life of soone as important as a close relative, 99% of people would agree without hesitation.
Unfortunately, Tania was facing soone from the rare 1%. Losiya couldn’t accept it. Emotionally, she had even wanted to strike Tania on the spot to teach her a lesson.
"I know you, child. If my illness worsens in the coming days, you will agree," Lady Catherine exposed her rcilessly.
No matter how painful it would be, if one night with Julian could truly save the aunt who had loved her since she was little, Losiya knew deep down that she’d eventually grit her teeth and accept.
And after that night, she’d use all the ti ahead to sincerely care for Julian, to make up for the hurt he would endure.
But just imagining it made her feel suffocated.
She couldn’t respond—her expression only grew more aggrieved, her deanor weary.
In her mory, Lady Catherine had always been vibrant and proud. She had never looked so dispirited.
But for that very reason, seeing Losiya like this made her feel gratified.
To her, nothing was more precious than genuine kindness.
"Almost all nobles have never treated male children as ’people.’ I don’t know whether your feelings for Julian fall into that sa category," Lady Catherine’s words now cut like a blade, piercing straight into the heart.
Losiya questioned herself—but couldn’t give an answer imdiately.
"Today, I spent a long ti with Julian studying his Holy Mark. He even helped a lot. Look." Lady Catherine revealed her smooth arm.
The blood vessels that had once looked as though they were about to collapse now seed miraculously restored.
"This is..." Losiya stood up in shock and grabbed her aunt’s arm, staring at it in disbelief.
"You should have more faith in Julian—just like you’ve always believed in yourself," Lady Catherine said gently.
Those words left Losiya embarrassed. At the sa ti, sothing deep-rooted inside her began to loosen.
At last, all her concerns were shattered. Losiya fully abandoned the plan Tania had proposed.
But deep inside, her anger burned, and she began plotting how to properly deal with that woman.
Just then, a knock ca at the door, and both won froze.
"Alice?" Losiya asked.
"It’s ."
The mont she heard Julian’s voice, Losiya recognized it instantly. She instinctively glanced at her aunt.
Lady Catherine raised an eyebrow in brief confusion, then quickly understood and nodded with a smile—indicating her approval.
Losiya naturally hoped her aunt wouldn’t breathe a word of this to Julian, afraid it would drive a wedge between them.
Once she had her aunt’s reassurance, she regained her usual confident presence and went to open the door herself.
Night had fallen. In the hallway, Julian stood before her—delicate and radiant. His already beautiful face lit up even more at the sight of her, blooming with a genuine smile.
Faced with this look, Losiya didn’t feel the joy she used to. Instead, a wave of guilt crept in.
Not toward Julian, but toward herself.
One misguided thought, and she had nearly handed Julian over to Tania for a night.
If Julian had been standing beside her then, maybe she wouldn’t have been so conflicted.
"Why didn’t you co to dinner in the main hall?" Julian asked first.
"I wasn’t hungry. What about you? Did you eat well?" As she spoke, Losiya playfully placed her hand on Julian’s belly.
Though her heart was filled with complicated thoughts, she acted as carefree as always.
Julian blushed and quickly pressed her hand down, stopping her mischief. He said seriously:
"In the hall, I t Miss Tania."
Losiya’s playful smile vanished in an instant.
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