The next morning, when Bell woke up, a slight stinging sensation came from his neck.
He walked to the washroom and brushed his teeth in front of the mirror.
In the mirror, there was a shallow wound on the side of his neck that had already scabbed over.
A small bite mark.
Bell stopped his movements and stared at the wound for a few seconds.
Lilian.
He remembered sleeping very deeply last night, and in the middle of the night, something seemed to have crawled onto the bed.
Warm breath, a gentle touch, and then a faint, sharp pain.
“Delicious.”
That voice had echoed on the edge of his dreams, sounding like a hallucination.
Bell splashed his face with cold water.
Forget it.
At least she didn't lose control.
Pushing open the dormitory door, the hallway was empty.
No one was there.
Bell froze for a moment.
Cecilia wasn't waiting for him at the door.
This wasn't right.
From the start of school until now, every morning, that girl would punctually appear at his door with that angelic smile and take his arm to the cafeteria.
But not today.
Bell stood at the door, looking at the empty corridor, a sense of unreality welling up in his heart.
Where did she go?
He didn't think too much about it and turned to head toward the classroom.
Many people were already seated in the classroom.
Kyle was sitting by the window, chatting loudly with a classmate nearby.
Bell walked in and found a seat in the corner.
Kyle’s voice stopped for a brief moment.
Bell didn't look up, but he could feel the red haired youth's gaze land on him.
Then, Kyle continued talking to others, his voice still loud and noisy.
It was just that the forced boisterousness sounded somewhat grating.
Bell inadvertently looked up, and his gaze met Kyle’s for a split second.
Kyle’s eyes darkened before he quickly looked away.
Bell’s heart sank.
He had indeed hurt Kyle.
The words he said that day had pierced the boy’s heart like a knife.
Bell lowered his head and opened his textbook.
There was no other way.
It was the only thing he could do.
Throughout the entire day’s classes, Bell saw no sign of Cecilia.
Her seat remained empty.
No one asked where she was.
Or rather, no one dared to ask.
When the last class of the afternoon ended, Bell stretched and packed his books.
He hadn't seen Cecilia today.
How lucky.
So lucky it felt somewhat surreal.
Bell stood up, preparing to leave the classroom.
“Bell, come to my office for a moment.”
Leovet Victor’s voice came from the doorway.
Bell’s footsteps faltered.
He turned his head and saw Leovet Victor leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed. His face, which always carried a hint of mockery, showed no emotion.
Bell nodded.
“Yes, Instructor.”
Inside the office in the Black Stone Tower, the light was very dim.
Bell stood outside the door, took a deep breath, and knocked.
Knock, knock, knock.
“Come in.”
Pushing the door open, he saw Leovet Victor sitting behind the desk, playing with a cyan wind blade in his hand.
Leon Wolfgang stood beside him, expressionless.
Bell walked in and closed the door.
“Two things,” Leovet Victor began, his voice calm.
Bell’s heart tightened suddenly.
“Your sister withdrew from school.”
Leovet Victor looked up, his eyes, which seemed able to see through souls, staring straight at Bell.
“She has now left the Royal Capital, and her whereabouts are unknown.”
Bell’s mind went blank.
Withdrawn?
Cecilia withdrew from school?
Where did she go?
Why?
Countless questions exploded in his mind, but Bell couldn't say a single word.
He just stood there like a stone statue.
Leovet Victor didn't give him time to react.
“Second.”
He pointed to Leon Wolfgang beside him.
“I heard you’re looking for classmates to form a team. Take this kid with you.”
Bell’s gaze slowly shifted to Leon Wolfgang.
Leon Wolfgang looked at him coldly without saying a word.
Bell opened his mouth, his voice dry.
“Instructor, I...”
“No ‘I’s,” Leovet Victor interrupted.
“You’re going to the adventurer's guild to earn money, right?”
Bell nodded.
“Then take him along.”
Leovet Victor stood up and walked over to Bell.
“Leon needs combat experience, and you need a powerful teammate.”
He patted Bell’s shoulder.
“Mutual benefit.”
Bell looked at Leon Wolfgang, and Leon Wolfgang looked at him.
Their gazes collided in the air.
“I don't need dead weight,” Leon Wolfgang spoke, his voice icy.
Bell’s fists clenched at his sides.
“I don't need any either.”
Leovet Victor laughed.
“Good.”
He turned and walked back to his desk.
“Then prove it to each other.”
Bell and Leon Wolfgang nodded simultaneously.
“Understood.”
“Now get out.”
Leovet Victor waved them away.
Bell turned, pushed the door open, and walked out.
Leon Wolfgang followed behind him.
The two of them walked one after the other through the corridors of the Black Stone Tower.
Neither of them spoke.
When they reached the tower entrance, Leon Wolfgang stopped.
“Bell Lucas.”
Bell looked back.
Leon Wolfgang’s face was devoid of expression.
“Don't hold me back.”
Bell stared at him, silent for a few seconds.
“You too.”
Leon Wolfgang turned and walked away without looking back.
Bell stood in place, watching his silhouette disappear into the night.
Then, he looked up at the light at the top of the Black Stone Tower that never went out.
Cecilia withdrew from school.
Where did she go?
Why?
A sense of unease rose in Bell’s heart.
That girl never did anything without a purpose.
If she left the Royal Capital, it must be for something.
And that “something” surely had to do with him.
Bell turned and walked toward the dormitory.
The night wind was cold.
He shoved his hands into his pockets and quickened his pace.
When he returned to the dormitory, Lilian was sitting on the edge of the bed, hugging her knees and looking out the window.
Hearing the door open, she looked back.
“Master.”
Bell nodded.
“Mhm.”
Lilian stood up and walked over to him.
“The wound on your neck...”
Her voice was very soft.
“I’m sorry.”
Bell shook his head.
“It’s fine.”
Lilian lowered her head, not daring to look at him.
Bell reached out and ruffled her hair.
“It’s really fine.”
Lilian looked up, a glimmer of light flashing in her blood-red eyes.
“Master...”
“Go to sleep,” Bell interrupted her.
“There are things to do tomorrow.”
Lilian nodded and turned to walk back to her own bed.
Bell took off his coat and collapsed onto the bed.
His mind was a mess.
....
The man on the operating table was no longer screaming.
His throat had gone hoarse ten minutes ago, and now he could only make intermittent whimpering sounds, like a broken bellows leaking air.
Cecilia stood by the operating table, holding a blood-stained scalpel.
Her white robe was splattered with dark red spots, and her long golden hair was tied loosely behind her head, with a few strands sticking to her sweat-dampened forehead.
But there was no expression on her face.
Those obsidian eyes were as calm as a pool of stagnant water.
“Suture.”
She spoke, her voice as gentle as if she were coaxing a child to sleep.
Beside the operating table, a middle aged man in a black robe hurriedly handed over a needle and thread.
His hands were trembling.
Cecilia took the needle and thread, lowered her head, and began to stitch the hideous wound on the man’s chest, stitch by stitch.
Inside the wound, a heart still faintly beating was clearly visible.
That was not a human heart.
It was an organ stripped from a magic wolf, a full size larger than a human heart, its surface covered in fine black scales.
Cecilia used mana to forcibly embed it into the man’s chest cavity.
“Integration rate thirty-two percent,” she murmured to herself, her movements never stopping.
“Seven percent higher than last time.”
“Progress.”
She looked up at the black robed man beside her.
“Record it.”
The black robed man nodded quickly, picked up a quill, and began writing rapidly on parchment.
Cecilia lowered her head again.
The needle and thread passed through skin, making a faint tearing sound.
Her movements were slow and meticulous, as if she were completing a delicate work of art.
The man on the operating table had completely fainted.
His chest heaved violently, each breath sounding like a broken bellows being pulled.
Cecilia stopped her hands and stared at the still-beating magic wolf heart.
Anyone else would find it hard to imagine that the person before them was a girl who had just reached adulthood.
“The essence of life.”
She spoke softly.
“What exactly is it?”
No one answered her.
The room was silent, except for the man’s intermittent breathing and the slight crackling of the oil lamp in the corner.
Cecilia suddenly smiled.
The smile was light and faint, like a crack on a sheet of ice.
“Brother must know.”
She murmured to herself.
“When I find the answer, I’ll go back and tell him.”
She set down the scalpel and turned toward the water basin in the corner of the room.
Cold water poured over her hands, blood sliding down her fingertips and blooming into a deep red in the basin.
Cecilia washed for a long time.
She didn't stop until the blood on her hands had completely disappeared.
She looked up at herself in the mirror.
The girl in the mirror was pale, her eyes hollow.
“I will find it.”
She said to her reflection.
“And then, Brother will never be able to leave me again.”
Behind her, the man on the operating table suddenly began to twitch violently.
The black robed man cried out in alarm and rushed over.
“My Lady! He— he—”
Cecilia turned her head.
On the man’s chest, that magic wolf heart suddenly stopped beating.
The next second, the entire heart exploded like ignited dynamite.
Flesh and blood splattered.
The black robed man was blown backward, slamming heavily into the wall and sliding to the floor.
Cecilia stood where she was, motionless.
A few drops of warm blood splattered onto her face.
She reached out, wiped away the blood with her fingertip, and put it in her mouth.
“A failure.”
Her voice was still calm.
“The thirty-seventh time.”
She turned and walked toward the door.
“Clean it up.”
She spoke without looking back.
“Prepare the next experimental subject.”
The black robed man struggled to get up from the floor, his entire body trembling.
“Y— yes, My Lady.”
Cecilia pushed the door open and walked out.
The corridor was dark, lit only by a few oil lamps hanging on the walls, casting a dim yellow light.
She walked slowly, her footsteps echoing in the empty hallway.
Reaching the end, she stopped.
Ahead, a heavy iron door was tightly shut.
A massive lock hung on the door.
Cecilia stood before the door, raised her hand, and knocked lightly.
Knock, knock, knock.
There was no response.
She knocked again.
Knock, knock, knock.
This time, a low voice came from inside.
“Who is it?”
“Me.”
Cecilia spoke.
The room inside was silent for a few seconds.
Then, the chains rattled.
The iron door slowly opened.
A white haired old man appeared behind the door.
His hair was entirely white, his face covered in wrinkles, and his murky eyes stared at Cecilia.
“Another failure?”
Cecilia nodded.
“The thirty-seventh time.”
The old man sighed.
“You’re too impatient.”
Cecilia didn't speak.
The old man stepped aside, clearing the doorway.
“Come in.”
Cecilia walked inside.
The room was large, the walls covered with various diagrams and notes.
In the center, on a massive laboratory table, were countless jars and bottles.
Inside were various organs soaking in transparent liquid.
Cecilia walked to the table and picked up one of the glass jars.
Inside the jar, a human heart floated quietly.
“I just want to be with him forever.”
The old man opened his mouth as if to say something, but ultimately said nothing.
Cecilia turned and headed for the door.
“I will find a way.”
She spoke without looking back.
“No matter the cost.”
The iron door closed behind her.
The old man stood in place, watching her departing back, his expression complicated to the extreme.
“Madwoman.”
He muttered to himself.
“A madwoman among madwomen.”
Cecilia walked out of the corridor and into a vast hall.
Several black robed figures were standing in the hall, and when they saw her emerge, they quickly lowered their heads.
Cecilia ignored them and walked straight toward the other side of the hall.
There, a massive wooden door was tightly shut.
She pushed the door open.
Outside the door was a desolate plain.
The night wind blew past, carrying a scent of rot.
Cecilia stood at the door, looking up at the cold moon in the night sky.
“Brother.”
She said softly.
“Wait for me.”
Behind her, an unfamiliar voice suddenly spoke.
“You’re the new executive?”
Cecilia turned around.
A young man stood not far away.
He looked to be seventeen or eighteen, wearing a magnificent black robe, his short golden hair shimmering under the moonlight.
His face was handsome, but his eyes held an uncomfortable arrogance.
Cecilia didn't speak.
The man walked over, his gaze scanning her once.
“Eighteen?”
He raised an eyebrow.
“Since when did the White Tower Society start taking in children?”
Cecilia still didn't speak.
The man laughed.
“Interesting.”
He walked up to Cecilia and reached out, wanting to pat her head.
Cecilia stepped aside and dodged him.
The man’s hand stopped in mid-air.
He froze for a moment, then laughed even louder.
“Quite the temper.”
He withdrew his hand and crossed his arms.
“I am Thorne Ross.”
He paused.
“The First Prince of the Kingdom.”
Cecilia’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Prince?”
Thorne Ross nodded.
“That’s right.”
His voice carried a hint of pride.
“I provide resources to the White Tower Society, and the White Tower Society helps me eliminate my enemies.”
“Mutual benefit.”
Cecilia stared at him, a glimmer of light flashing in her obsidian eyes.
“What resources can you provide?”
Thorne Ross laughed.
“Money, people, and—”
He leaned in closer.
“Power.”
Cecilia was silent for a few seconds.
Then, she suddenly smiled.
The smile was sweet and innocent, like that of a guileless little girl.
“Your Highness.”
She spoke, her voice soft and sweet.
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