Chapter 11: Maid Adelle

“Grrr—”

Back in her room, Dounia rubbed her stomach.

Violet had placed four bottles of mineral water at the bottom of the large first-aid kit.
Though not much, it was enough to meet her basic physiological needs.

Dounia twisted open a bottle cap, her gaze involuntarily drifting to the bag of potato chips.

“Eat them, eat them~”

“This is what you want. Go on, reach out and tear open the bag…” Lilith’s voice tempted her from within her mind.

Dounia gripped the chip bag tightly, swallowed, and then slowly released her hand.

“Why not eat them?” the little demon Lilith hovered in front of Dounia. “Am I ruining your mood?”

“…No,” Dounia forced herself to pick up the remaining piece of black bread on the table, which was only half the size of her fist.

This was what she had saved for herself before giving the rest to the guard, Julie.

She took a bite.
The hard crust was still a bit tough even after being soaked in water, requiring repeated chewing to swallow.

The feeling of the hard dough scraping down her esophagus was painful, as if this delicate body simply couldn’t accept such food.

“This really isn’t like a normal girl at all…” Dounia laughed at herself.

Dounia’s gaze grew slightly unfocused, her instincts trying to escape the bitter, sour taste so she wouldn’t throw up.

“If the black bread is so disgusting, why not eat the snacks Violet brought you?” Lilith asked curiously. “Are you a masochist?”

Dounia rolled her eyes at Lilith and silently washed down the black bread with half a bottle of mineral water.

Seeing her silence, Lilith continued, “If you’re trying to sell these snacks for money, couldn’t you do the same with the black bread? Why give it to that guard?”

“Are you trying to prove you’re a generous and noble person?”

“I’ve never considered myself a generous person, much less a morally noble one,” Dounia said dryly, chewing on the black bread.
Without a bowl, she had already learned the trick.

Keep it in your mouth first, then take a sip of water, let it soak a little longer before swallowing.
It would be much better, and the bitter taste would diminish.

“Getting on her good side is part of my consideration. My future plans might also require her.”

Dounia admitted to herself that she wouldn’t help others when she herself was starving to death, not without expecting something in return.
That was for saints.

“And doing things like this makes my heart feel happy. I’m just paying for both of those things,” Dounia said. “Have you ever played a game on ‘Hell’ difficulty? Especially during the early stages of development, every penny has its use. You’d wish you could split it into ten pieces.”

“Unless I deem it necessary, I won’t eat these snacks,” Dounia said firmly, swallowing another mouthful of black bread.

Lilith blinked in surprise.

“That really doesn’t sound like something a weak and powerless young girl would say.”

Dounia smiled faintly.

“Who said I was a girl?”

“You don’t have a d*ck.”

A tic-tac-toe mark of anger appeared on Dounia’s forehead, trembling slightly.

“You don’t have a mama.”

Lilith’s smile faltered almost imperceptibly, and then she vanished into thin air with a pop.

Dounia had just started humming a little victory tune when the door swished open.

Gray-blue hair was tied into a high ponytail, secured with a sharp, pointed silver hairpin, looking both understated and dangerous.

Her eyebrows were long and slightly arched, giving her a sharp look.
Her eyes were deep and cold, like shining winter stars, inspiring awe.

Dounia’s gaze shifted to the diamond stud earrings she wore.

The earrings were small and exquisite, sparkling with a dazzling cold light, as icy as their owner’s eyes.

“I am Clementine Adelle, D-Block administrator, your surveillance officer,” the girl in the black maid outfit said.

She sized up Dounia with a scrutinizing gaze, her expression cold as she spoke.

“Address me as Adelle. Do not attempt to get familiar.”

‘Surveillance officer?’

Dounia blinked slightly, immediately understanding the meaning.

Before Dounia could ask, Adelle continued, “A surveillance officer, as the name implies, is the direct superior of an ‘Executor.’ They are responsible for monitoring the Executor’s every move and ensuring their actions comply with the Anomaly Bureau’s regulations.”

“And you, Dounia Viktor, are the new ‘Executor’.”

Adelle handed Dounia a laminated ID card.

It had Dounia’s photo and the Anomaly Bureau’s seal.

“And to understand an Executor, you must first understand what ‘Anomaly’ means in the ‘Anomaly Bureau’.”

Adelle sat down at her desk, her eyes sweeping over a blank sheet of paper as if by chance.

“In this world, the easiest way to obtain extraordinary abilities is to control an anomalous object, or in other words… a ‘Cursed Object’.”

Adelle’s icy gaze pierced straight into Dounia’s soul.

This didn’t feel like an introduction, but more like an interrogation.
She was testing whether Dounia knew this information.

‘No wonder they say she’s Fia’s head maid. They’re cut from the same cloth…’

Dounia slowly shifted her gaze to Adelle’s favorability bar.

[-25%]

The corner of Dounia’s mouth twitched.

‘This thing can be negative!? If it gets any higher, will she want to stab me to death on the spot? Is her favorability low because I slapped Fia’s butt to save my life?’

“I will only say these things once. It is your own fault if you do not listen carefully.”

Adelle looked down at Dounia from her superior position.

Her nose was straight, her lips slightly thin, seemingly always pressed together, revealing her indifference and causticity.

Dounia’s gaze flickered to the silver hairpin at the back of her head.
Not a single messy strand of hair escaped from it.

‘This woman probably has a bit of OCD.’

“Cursed Objects often come with corresponding negative effects. Contact with them will trigger a ‘curse,’ bringing about disasters of varying scales.”

“Those who can control ‘Cursed Objects’ to a certain extent and command them are called ‘Curse Users’,” Adelle said, sitting in the chair.
The full, soft white fabric of her uniform was stretched taut, creating a stark contrast with her slender, corseted waist, which made Dounia’s heart itch a little.

“And in a rarer situation… a ‘Cursed Object’ can also be a ‘living person’ itself,” Adelle said, looking directly at Dounia, a hint of undisguised disgust on her face.

“You are walking troubles, bombs wrapped in human shells. Under normal circumstances, you would be executed immediately or imprisoned in the Anomaly Bureau for the rest of your lives, never to see the sun again.”

Dounia’s lips curved into a slight smile.

Wasn’t that her current situation?

“But you also possess strange, dangerous, and powerful abilities that need proper guidance,” Adelle said, placing a hand on her chest. “Under the authorization of a ‘Surveillance Officer,’ an ‘Executor’ can carry out limited actions.”

“I will monitor your daily life, your movements, your every action, every change. But don’t think this is what I want,” Adelle looked down at Dounia. “Until one day, I will have to kill you.”

“Fine, then why not come and kill me now?” Dounia, also getting a little angry, puffed out her chest and met her gaze.

‘Who are you putting on a face for!’

‘You don’t dare kill me now because I’m still useful to Fia!’

Adelle’s hand moved like lightning, a blur in the air as she easily gripped Dounia’s throat.

“Cough… let… go…”

“Know your place, Executor,” she said in a cool voice.

Adelle forcefully pushed Dounia against the wall and, before she could react, kissed her on the lips.

A strong impact was felt.
Those thin lips pressed down desperately and forcefully, bringing an unprecedented pressure and heat.

Dounia’s pupils contracted, and she trembled slightly.

Adelle’s knee came up, her exquisite face clearly defined, her fair skin glowing faintly, her expression cold and disgusted.

Blood rushed to her cheeks, Dounia’s heart pounded, and in her blank mind, only three words appeared.

Why?