Chapter 125: Big Sister Has to Be Obedient~

“Mmm~ hmm hmm~ hmm hmm~”

Humming cheerfully, Mingtong carried a tray and stopped in front of the basement door.

She pressed her ear against it.

From inside, she could vaguely hear Josuna’s nearly hysterical voice—

And Peretti’s pained whimpers.

“Why… why why why why why…
Why is this thing still here?! WHY?!
Something that shouldn’t exist should just disappear already!!”

“Hehe~ Miss Josuna acts all tough in front of others, but the moment she sees stupid big sister, she softens completely. What a weakling.”

Smiling, Mingtong pushed the door open.

A thick smell of blood rushed out.

Breathing in that familiar scent, she greeted Josuna enthusiastically.

At this moment—

She was unusually excited.

The room was covered in Peretti’s blood—

On the bed, on the floor.

Witch materials were already rare.

And Peretti, a Light Witch, was practically one in ten thousand years.

Thanks to Josuna, she could now legitimately collect Peretti’s blood for experiments.

The difference between a Light Witch and an ordinary witch—

Between witches and humans—

She had always wanted to know.

More than that—

She was curious what her potions would do to a witch.

Unfortunately—

The orders from above were clear:

Bring Peretti back to the capital unharmed.

What a pity.

So many experiments—

Now impossible.

“Miss Josuna, it’s lunchtime~ Today’s meal is meat sauce pasta with grilled sausage.”

Mingtong didn’t immediately pass on the higher-ups’ orders.

Instead, she reminded Josuna to eat.

From last night until now—

This girl hadn’t eaten for two meals.

Crimson eyes snapped toward her.

Josuna’s body trembled violently, gripping the scalpel as if she might stab Mingtong the next second.

“Who told you to come in?!”

“Well, it’s lunchtime~ Just a reminder—
The useless big sister you’re pressing down… looks like she’s about to die~”

“Cough… seriously… I can’t even hear properly… what do you mean ‘about to die’? I’m already dead…”

For the first time ever—

Peretti found Mingtong adorable.

Her presence was like a small light—

Temporarily blocking out the darkness.

Only temporarily.

“…What…?”

Only now did Josuna realize something was wrong.

She pressed hard against Peretti’s wounds, but blood kept flowing through her fingers.

“Healing magic… right, healing magic… as long as I use it, she’ll be fine…”

Panicked, she cast healing spells.

The wounds on the neck closed.

She let out a breath of relief—

But Peretti’s condition didn’t improve at all.

Her face was pale—

Like she was on the verge of death.

“No… how is this possible… this isn’t how it should be… it shouldn’t be like this!”

She increased her magic output—

But it was useless.

The wounds healed.

The body didn’t.

Setting the tray aside, Mingtong explained calmly:

“Just a reminder—
A witch’s body is made of pure elements.”

“Using human healing magic on a witch has very poor effect.”

“If you want her to recover quickly, she either needs to heal herself or absorb the corresponding element.”

“But Miss Peretti can’t use healing magic.”

“And in this basement, light elements are extremely scarce.”

“As for human-used light magic…”

She smirked.

“You know it’s stolen.”

“That kind of light element is useless for healing.”

“Then what should we do?!”

“It’s simple, dear~ The weather is so nice today—just take stupid big sister outside for a walk.”

“She’ll recover quickly.”

“And I can take this time to clean up this room~ prepare it nicely for your ‘two-person world’ from this morning~”

“Hey—what are you saying?”

Even unable to move, Peretti still protested weakly.

Mingtong just smiled knowingly at Josuna, as if saying—

I get it.

Of course—

Her real goal in sending Josuna away—

Was to collect the blood on the floor.

Doing that in front of Josuna?

That unstable woman would definitely get jealous.

“…Go outside…”

“Yes… she’s a Light Witch. If she goes outside, she’ll definitely be fine!”

Josuna loosened her grip, preparing to carry Peretti out.

But—

Her gaze landed on the blood mark on Peretti’s neck.

Her expression darkened again.

“Mingtong, do you know what this is?”

“Don’t rush, let me see~”

She leaned closer, fingers rubbing lightly over the mark.

Josuna frowned deeply at the sight—but endured it.

“Oh~ so it’s this.”

“If you keep dragging it out, I’ll cut your head off.”

“Alright, alright, I’ll explain~”

“This is an ancient tradition of the blood race.”

“It’s called ‘Blood Thicker Than Blood.’”

“By merging one’s blood into a close person’s body, it leaves a blood mark.”

“As long as the mark exists, you can sense the other person’s condition over a vast distance.”

“…A blood mark… is there any way to remove it?”

“Simple.”

“Drain all of Peretti’s blood—”

“Or kill the caster.”

“So~ big sister… who do you think the caster is?”

Mingtong suddenly smiled, as if recalling something.

“Oh right—how could I forget?”

“Feiye. It must be her, right?”

“She uses dark elements too—she’d definitely know this kind of thing.”

Josuna’s regret surged.

She had always thought Feiye was just a healer—

An obstacle in controlling Peretti.

A threat.

But now—

That witch had actually left a mark on Peretti’s body.

Damn it… when did she do that…

She hadn’t even done something like this herself…

A mark that could sense safety…

Wait.

Suddenly—

A realization struck her.

If this mark really allowed Feiye to sense Peretti’s condition—

Then why hadn’t she appeared yet?

Recalling that brief darkness she saw in the cathedral of Falisa—

The answer became clear.

“Big sister… if I’m not wrong…”

“Feiye’s current state must be terrible.”

“So bad that she can barely move.”

Seeing Peretti’s silence—

She knew she was right.

What a stroke of luck.

Killing a heavily injured Feiye would be easy.

“Big sister is really something…”

“You actually tolerated a little lunatic doing this.”

“That makes Josuna unhappy~”

She threw the blood-stained collar aside.

Then took out a new one.

This one—

Bright red.

With a long iron chain attached.

“Wait—Josuna, listen to me—!”

“Shh—”

Her finger pressed firmly against Peretti’s lips.

“Big sister’s words… aren’t trustworthy anymore.”

“Be good.”

“And next…”

“You have to listen obediently~”