Ivelia appeared directly in front of Lin Ling as if she had teleported.
She was so fast that Lin Ling was still in the middle of letting go of Leticia.
“Uh...”
Lin Ling's gaze slowly drifted upward.
She met Ivelia's purple eyes, which still held a lingering, dangerous glint.
Her body instantly froze.
A highly forced smile slowly tugged at the corners of her mouth.
She seemed to be trying to prove that absolutely nothing had just happened.
But Ivelia gave her no chance to explain.
Before the eyes of everyone present, Lin Ling was swept up into Ivelia's embrace.
Before Lin Ling could even utter a protest, both of their figures completely vanished from the gates of the Demon King's Castle.
Only a few lingering motes of magic drifted slowly in the twilight breeze.
...
An eerie silence fell over the castle gates.
The twilight wind swept past, ruffling their clothes and hair into a mess.
Kainster's mouth hung slightly open.
His blue eyes were filled with utter shock at what had just transpired.
“Did we... did we just witness a terrifying kidnapping?”
Kainster was the first to speak, breaking the silent deadlock.
Just then, a deep beastkin voice echoed from behind them.
“What are you all doing here? Standing in a line like that, are you trying to be guards for the Demon King's Castle?”
Baroque happened to be returning at that moment. He looked at the group standing in the wind, looking quite bewildered.
They were standing shoulder-to-shoulder, staring at the exact same spot. Anyone who didn't know better would think the Demon King's Castle had suddenly hired new sentries.
“Mr. Baroque, you wouldn't understand.”
Leticia stared at the spot where Lin Ling had just been taken from.
A complex mix of emotions lingered in her eyes from the purple magic she had witnessed.
Especially after Lin Ling had hugged her.
The sudden flash of red light within that purple magic still felt dangerous to Leticia even now.
Beside them, Danasuo had already flown in front of Baroque, wildly gesturing to describe what had just happened.
First, she raised both hands behind her head, mimicking long, flowing hair.
Then, she pointed to the spot where Lin Ling had been standing.
Next, Danasuo wrapped her arms around herself and spun rapidly in mid-air.
Finally, she threw her hands outward, making a gesture representing two people suddenly vanishing.
Baroque watched Danasuo's frantic mid-air performance and tried his best to interpret it.
“Hmm... so you mean, someone with long hair, and then something about Lin Ling?”
Danasuo nodded vigorously.
Then she hugged herself again and spun half a turn in the air.
“Ah, I think I get the gist of it.”
Baroque nodded after watching Danasuo's physical description.
“The Demon King took Miss Saintess away, right?”
Danasuo immediately nodded hard and gave Baroque a big thumbs-up.
“You can actually understand that?!”
Kainster stared in disbelief at Danasuo's dance-like gestures. This beastkin gentleman could actually decipher that?!
“What's so strange about that? Isn't this just normal communication?”
Baroque looked at Kainster, puzzled.
To him, Danasuo's movements were clear enough.
Long hair, hugging Miss Saintess.
Then vanishing using teleportation magic.
Anyone who could do such a thing in the Demon King's Castle should be able to understand without needing a lengthy explanation, right?
Seeing how easily startled Kainster was, Baroque glanced at the quiet Leticia, his appreciation for her growing even more obvious.
At least Leticia was a guest who could put one's mind at ease.
“Alright, let's not stand around here.”
Baroque raised his hand, signaling the others to follow him.
“Danasuo, tell Niya later that she doesn't need to deliver dinner to Lin Ling tonight.”
Danasuo paused slightly upon hearing his words.
She glanced back at the spot where Lin Ling had just vanished.
Then, she wore an expression that suggested she had suddenly realized something.
Although Kainster was somewhat confused as to why Lin Ling didn't even need dinner after being taken by the Demon King, he saw that no one else was asking questions.
In the end, he could only swallow his curiosity.
With that, Baroque led these grim-faced folks through the gates of the Demon King's Castle.
Why did he feel like a traitor leading Heroes into the Demon King's Castle?
Baroque paused slightly. Miss Saintess was probably being punished by the Demon King in some unimaginable way right now.
“Sigh, wish you the best of luck, Lin Ling.”
Thinking of this, Baroque shook his head.
Meanwhile, inside Ivelia's bedroom—
A flash of purple magic flared and vanished.
Before Lin Ling could even recover from the weightlessness of the sudden teleportation, her body made contact with a soft mattress.
The bed dipped slightly under her weight. She instinctively reached out with both hands to prop herself up.
“Huh? Why did we come straight to the bedroom?!”
“Wh-what are you doing?”
Lin Ling looked around in a daze.
But Ivelia's eyes glowed with a faint red light.
As she pinned Lin Ling to the bed, she caught the scent of earth lingering on her.
But more than the earth, Lin Ling carried Leticia's scent—the gentle aroma of sunshine.
It wasn't an unpleasant scent; in fact, it was rather relaxing.
Yet, it was precisely this scent that made Ivelia utterly repulsed right now.
“You are covered in that Saintess's scent.”
Ivelia leaned down and whispered in Lin Ling's ear, her voice remarkably calm.
But Lin Ling sensed an incredibly intense danger in those words.
With her eyes glowing red, Ivelia slowly moved her hand closer to Lin Ling's supporting arm.
Her originally purple eyes were now completely shrouded in a soft red glow.
Ivelia's movements weren't fast.
It was as if she were deliberately letting Lin Ling watch her hand draw nearer.
“Your Majesty?”
Lin Ling watched the hand approach, and a bad feeling grew stronger in her heart.
【This is bad, very bad! This development is completely wrong!】
Lin Ling screamed in her mind, trying to shimmy backward.
However, there seemed to be an invisible wall of magic behind her, constantly blocking her from moving.
【Whoa?! Why is there an invisible wall on the bed?!】
【Oh my... What are you doing, haha?】
With nowhere to run, Lin Ling could only watch as Ivelia's hand drew closer and closer.
Just as Lin Ling accepted her fate and closed her eyes, Ivelia suddenly grabbed her supporting arm and pulled.
“Huh?”
Lin Ling felt herself instantly lose her balance.
By the time she could see clearly again, their positions had completely swapped.
【Whoa, th-this situation is really not good, is it?!】
【And how did the Demon King end up underneath me in a split second?!】
Lin Ling looked down.
Ivelia was lying beneath her.
And she was sprawled entirely on top of Ivelia.
Weren't they a little too close?!
Lin Ling immediately pushed herself up with her hands again.
【This posture is even worse now! And Your Majesty, what is with that smile of yours?!】
Seeing the Demon King beneath her smiling slightly, Lin Ling's face instantly flushed red in alarm.
If she lowered her head even slightly, Ivelia's scent would assault her nose!
【Why did this happen the moment I got back? Though I really did want to lie down and rest on the bed when I got back desu wa.】
Being able to return to her room and lie down on a soft bed to rest should have been a very blissful thing.
“But not in this way!!!”
Lin Ling's inner thoughts slipped out of her mouth as a loud shout.
Her voice echoed through the bedroom.
Right after she shouted,
Lin Ling's expression froze.
She had blurted out her thoughts again.
Looking at Lin Ling on top of her, Ivelia gently brushed away the hair that had been mussed during the tumble.
Her fingertips lightly brushed past Lin Ling's cheek.
This caused Lin Ling's already flushed face to turn an even deeper shade of red.
“Next time, remember to keep your inner thoughts in your mind.”
Reading Ivelia's lips, Lin Ling almost lost her strength and collapsed.
But if she collapsed right now, they would definitely kiss, wouldn't they?! Right?!
Staring at the smiling Demon King beneath her, Lin Ling slowly averted her gaze.
Watching Lin Ling look away, Ivelia wrapped her arms around Lin Ling's waist.
She pulled the stiff body completely into her embrace.
Lin Ling's cheek rested against Ivelia's shoulder.
“Your Majesty, aren't you holding me a bit too tight?”
Lin Ling tried to ruin the delicate atmosphere with her awkward phrasing.
But Ivelia remained completely unfazed.
Skill negated!
She simply buried her face in Lin Ling's soft, long hair, greedily breathing in her scent.
Leticia's scent was still there.
Ivelia tightened her embrace further.
Lin Ling felt as though she were being squeezed tightly by some terrifying tentacle monster.
Though she didn't feel any pain, and actually, it felt kind of nice?!
Only when Leticia's scent on Lin Ling was completely covered by her own did she finally release her hold.
As Ivelia let go, the dangerous red glow in her eyes began to fade away.
But Lin Ling, still lying on top of her, had a face that was completely crimson.
Grumble...
Just then, Lin Ling's stomach let out a loud, clear growl that echoed through the quiet room.
Lin Ling's expression froze once more.
She slowly lowered her head, burying her burning face into a rather soft, wonderful place.
At this moment, had the embarrassment of a growling stomach actually overcome the awkwardness between them?
Ivelia let out a soft chuckle. Looking at Lin Ling, who had buried her face in her chest, she reached out to pet the thoroughly embarrassed Saintess.
“You've played for so long today; it really is time for dinner.”
Her palm rested gently on Lin Ling's head, slowly stroking her soft, long white hair.
The gesture carried an open, undisguised fondness.
Feeling Ivelia's touch, Lin Ling immediately sensed the atmosphere turning strange again.
The radar in her head practically started blaring alarms.
“Whoa!”
Lin Ling scrambled off Ivelia using both her hands and feet.
“Um, I'm heading to the dining hall first! See you later, Your Majesty!”
A highly forced smile was plastered on Lin Ling's face.
Before Ivelia could even speak, the glow of teleportation magic lit up beneath Lin Ling's feet.
A flash of white magic flared and vanished, leaving only a few lingering motes of light drifting slowly in the bedroom.
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