Chapter 5: Fia

“Open the door.”

Fia’s furious voice came from outside.
Violet scrambled to her feet, her hands instinctively shielding her front like a startled fawn.

Dounia opened her eyes with extreme reluctance.

She didn’t even want to know that Violet was here.

Dounia slowly opened her eyes, and a flicker of surprise crossed her crimson irises as she looked at Violet.

Thump, thump, thump.

“Open the door, or your room won’t need a door anymore,” Fia issued her final ultimatum.

Dounia and Violet exchanged a look.
Dounia pressed a vertical index finger to her lips, then quickly pointed to the gray wardrobe nearby.

‘Quickly!’

“I’ll give you five seconds,” Fia said calmly.

“Five.”

“Four.”

“Three.”

Thump.
It sounded like someone had jumped off the bed.

A flurry of hurried footsteps sounded, quickly approaching the door.

“Two.”

Swish—

Dounia, dressed in the Anomaly Bureau’s gray and white uniform, pressed the lock release and appeared before Fia.

One tall, one short, the gazes of the two, whose heights formed a stark contrast, met, neither willing to yield.

‘Think you’re the only one who can glare at me?’

‘I can do the cold look too!’

‘I’ll stare…’

But whether in terms of height or the ferocity in front of her, Dounia’s presence was several notches weaker.
After just a few seconds, she had to plant her hands on her hips with a pout, maintaining her last shred of pride.

Fia stood tall, chest out, looking down at Dounia.

Seeing the little person before her lose her momentum and finally avert her gaze, Fia’s lips curled into a smile, and she nodded slightly.

‘Very good. Lowering your head is the proper posture when facing me.’

Fia walked into Dounia’s room as if no one else were there, and the door closed automatically behind her.

She scanned the room, then her gaze returned to Dounia.

“Why did you lock the door? Were you doing something bad in here?” Fia’s tone was slightly frivolous, as if hinting at something.

Dounia’s current identity was a suspected “Follower of Pleasure,” after all.

“This is my room, why can’t I lock the door?” Dounia retorted, not to be outdone. “On the other hand, why would you, the esteemed Chief, come to see a “trivial prisoner” like me?”

She tried her best to maintain a slightly mocking tone in her voice.

‘Maintain the persona… maintain the persona… I can’t let her notice anything’s wrong!’

Dounia constantly reassured herself inwardly, hiding her clenched little fists behind her back.

‘I absolutely cannot let her find out Violet is in this room, or who knows what this ultimate sis-con will do to me!’

“Hmm… so you do know I’m the Chief,” Fia smiled.

This smile sent shivers down Dounia’s spine, and she instinctively wanted to turn and flee.

Gulp.

Dounia swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

“Has Violet been here?” Fia asked.

“No?” Dounia raised an eyebrow. “Surely the Chief hasn’t failed to keep an eye on her own sister? She’s sick right now, you know~”

The curve of Fia’s lips gradually flattened.

“How I treat my sister is none of your business.”

“And you…”

Fia advanced step by step, and Dounia slowly retreated.

Bang—

With a soft sound, her heel hit the leg of the bed, and she plopped down onto the edge of it.

Fia seemed to be enjoying this feeling of chasing her prey.
She slowly walked to the bedside, by which time Dounia had already scrambled onto the bed on all fours.

Her hands rested on the headboard, a hint of panic in her eyes.

“Under extreme pressure, humans will gradually reveal their true nature,” Fia stated her opinion in an extremely calm tone.

“This is not a facade put on for daily life, but the true essence…”

Thud—

A hand blocked Dounia’s escape route.

Beneath the gray suit, the long, powerful arm left Dounia with no way to retreat.
She could only hug her knees, small and helpless, staring with timid eyes at the approaching Fia.

“Wh-what are you going to do…?” Dounia’s voice couldn’t help but tremble.

“Don’t be afraid.”

Deep eyes, long black hair.
Fia’s eyes seemed to have a unique captivating power, drawing Dounia deep within them.

She gently lifted Dounia’s chin with her black, open-backed leather glove, her cheek drawing slightly closer.

‘What is Fia trying to do…!?’

Dounia’s heart was about to leap out of her chest.
Her flushed ears were burning hot, a faint stinging pain emanating from them.

Faced with the approaching Fia, Dounia slowly closed her eyes.

Warm, sweet breath tickled Dounia’s cheek, and a seductive voice, like a devil’s whisper, entered her ear.

“I think… I smell Violet, don’t I?”

A jolt of electricity shot through her, and Dounia’s heartbeat skipped a beat.

She parted her red lips, but before she could utter a rebuttal, Fia pressed a finger against them.

“I didn’t say you could move.”

Dounia froze on the spot, the unshed tears in her eyes gathering together, shimmering with a captivating light.

“Such beautiful eyes… they almost make me want to give them a kiss,” Fia praised softly.

“By the way, you said that if you couldn’t cure Violet, I could gouge out your eyes, didn’t you?” she gently caressed the corner of Dounia’s eye, enjoying the girl’s trembling induced by fear.

She let out a soft laugh at Dounia’s fearful expression.

“You know? You look much cuter when you’re scared.”

Seeing Dounia lower her head in fear and fall silent, Fia looked away, somewhat disappointed.

“If you tell me where Violet is, I can forgive your previous impertinence. The price is becoming my s*ave. How about it?” she suggested gently.

Someone meeting Fia for the first time might have actually chosen to betray Violet, but Dounia, who had experienced every game with heart, knew deeply that Fia despised people who couldn’t see their own will through to the end!

Only those with a strong will, who could follow through on their convictions, were worthy of her mercy!

“…I don’t know,” Dounia said with her head lowered. “She… came and left just now.”

“Is that so?” Fia released the hand propped on the headboard.

“Then go open the wardrobe and change your uniform.”

Dounia instantly felt as if she had been plunged into an ice cellar, cold to the bone.

Seeing Dounia staring at her with pleading eyes, Fia said with a faint smile, “I don’t like you in trousers. Go change into the skirt for me.”

Dounia carefully skirted around Fia, got off the bed, and approached the wardrobe in the corner step by step.

‘Violet is inside… what do I do!?’

‘Should I turn back now and tell Fia the truth? Maybe she’ll still spare my life…’

‘What do I do…’

“Hee hee.”

Lilith’s mocking laughter rang in her ears.
The Goddess of Pleasure seemed to widen her eyes in anticipation, awaiting the devastating outcome of the next second.

Dounia’s hand trembled violently as it touched the cold wardrobe door.

‘Dammit… this time I’m really coming out of the closet, face to face!’

A drop of cold sweat trickled down Dounia’s forehead.
Dounia raised the corners of her lips into a smile and slowly pulled the wardrobe door open.