Chapter 17: A New Attendant

At the Qionglan Base, in the Holy Maiden’s residence.

As the head maid, Teresa stood patiently by the bed, teaching the girl who was likely to become Luoxue’s personal attendant.

The girl stood straight, her posture respectful and humble, every motion just right.

Her long hair, black with bold red streaks, was tied up simply, revealing a smooth, delicate, envy-worthy face. Her crimson pupils remained low and submissive, and she stayed quiet and obedient throughout, without a trace of overstepping.

“Her Holiness is rather frail and doesn’t like loud noises. Be sure to keep your steps light, understand?”

Teresa spoke gently, adjusting the hem of the girl’s black dress as she gave detailed instructions.

She was quite pleased about having a new personal attendant. After all, she had too much to manage on her own and couldn’t always be by the Saint’s side.

And since the Saint was so afraid of loneliness, it was good that a young personal maid could accompany her.

She hoped this one would stay longer, not like the previous few who quit after a short while with some excuse.

Others would have been eager to spend more time with the Saint, but those girls dared to complain.

A flicker of irritation passed through Teresa’s eyes at the thought.

Of course, she quickly hid that emotion and continued to address the girl named Ningshuang:

“The Saint likes to sit quietly and daydream. She likes to hold her bear plushie. She doesn’t like strangers approaching suddenly, and she doesn’t like strong scents…”

“Also, the Saint doesn’t like anything too sour. Be careful when you prepare fruit…”

…

Ningshuang listened with wide eyes, seriously taking notes, as if she wanted to record everything about Luoxue.

“Is there anything else to tell me, sister Teresa?”

Her voice was clean and docile, her manner impeccable.

Teresa seemed more and more satisfied. She liked obedient children.

So she couldn’t help but smile with her eyes curved.

“Not for now. Remember these first. You’ll learn the rest from experience. With such an obedient junior like you, I think I’ll have an easier time from now on.”

Teresa sighed in relief.

But as she said that, she also noticed a detail: Ningshuang kept sneaking glances at the Saint’s position whenever she wrote.

Worshiping the Saint was normal.

But…

Strange…

She felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity with the girl, something about her quiet, pale, fragile aura…

It was like she had seen it somewhere before.

Teresa was sure she hadn’t met her, yet that feeling lingered.

“What’s wrong?” Ningshuang asked softly.

“Nothing, nothing.”

Teresa quickly shook her head, dispelling her unease.

“It’s nothing. Let’s continue. I’ll show you where the Saint’s clothes are stored. Here, over this way.”

…

Meanwhile, not far away, by the sofa, Mochen’s expression gradually turned strange.

The old man stood in the corner with his hands hanging at his sides, looking calm and respectful, but his gaze quietly rested on Ningshuang, and behind his pupils churned apprehension and unease.

‘Something’s off.’

From the very first second Luoxue brought the girl into the room, the alarm bells in Mochen’s mind hadn’t stopped.

Since he was constantly watched by strange gazes, Mochen was especially sensitive to such things.

And this girl called Ningshuang… the way she looked at the Saint was not the respect of a maid for her master, nor the awe of an ordinary person for a Saint.

It was more like a pathological attachment.

And what made Mochen truly horrified was this: just now, when sunlight glided across the floor and Ningshuang sneaked a look at Luoxue, he clearly saw her shadow on the ground twist and distort silently.

The edges blurred, lengthened, and curled, as if something living was squirming beneath, not a normal shadow at all.

Though the state lasted only a brief moment, Mochen knew it wasn’t an illusion.

He was too familiar with that touch.

It was the eerie aura unique to non-human beings.

‘Another one…’

‘No wonder Luoxue brought her back…’

Mochen’s throat bobbed violently, and cold sweat beaded on his back.

Luoxue was dangerous, but by and large she was well-behaved.

But this girl Ningshuang had more violence and hidden madness in her eyes than Luoxue did.

If anything, she might be even more dangerous than Luoxue…

Letting an anomaly like this stay beside Luoxue, in the core of human influence, with access to the alliance’s secrets… that absolutely would not do.

After a moment of internal struggle, Mochen walked slowly to Luoxue’s side and, lowering his voice, said with poorly concealed tension, “Saint.”

Luoxue sat quietly on the sofa, holding her teddy bear. She turned her head gently. “Hm?”

“You may not want her to be your personal attendant. It’s not suitable,” Mochen’s voice trembled. “She… her origins are unknown… People like her, Bai Wushang would never approve of her as your attendant.”

Mochen rationally tried to guide the old butler to prevent Ningshuang from coming to Qionglan Base, but it seemed he was also afraid of directly clashing with Luoxue, so he instinctively used Bai Wushang as a shield.

Luoxue lowered her head, her fingertips lightly rubbing the teddy bear’s fuzzy ears.

“But Ningshuang is a good child.”

Mochen frowned, his face growing even gloomier. “Saint, this isn’t about whether she’s good or not. The issue is her identity…”

Before he could finish, Luoxue tilted her head faintly.

“Ningshuang is a good child.”

“Steward, go investigate, and then you’ll know.”

“Then you can tell Mr. Bai Wushang.”

Her tone was gentle, with a touch of the Saint’s ‘innocent.’

‘Investigate…’

Mochen’s pupils abruptly shrank.

Of course he had checked.

Ever since he saw Ningshuang appear in Luoxue’s room yesterday, he had already used his privileges to search the alliance’s records.

There was no such person as “Ningshuang.”

No age, no origin, no registration, no past.

She appeared completely out of thin air.

‘Investigate? What could I find?’

But then, in the next moment, Mochen’s eyes narrowed again. He suddenly understood Luoxue’s meaning.

She didn’t want him to investigate.

She wanted him to create an identity.

To disguise another anomaly, one transformed into human form, as an ordinary maid.

As he realized her implication, Mochen’s face grew even more peculiar.

While he wrestled with this, Luoxue turned her face slightly towards him, her voice still gentle, and asked again, “Is that okay, Steward?”

Those five light words fell.

Suddenly, Mochen’s pupils contracted violently. He felt the atmosphere in the room change.

The windows were shut tight, and warm air still flowed, but Mochen felt he had been forcibly dragged into an icy winter. The world around him seemed to instantly turn monochrome, utterly silent.

An intense chill crept up his back.

It wasn’t cold on the skin; it was cold in his soul.

A wave of oppressive weight settled on him, his body growing heavy.

Something, right behind him…

was lying on his shoulders…

…

The old man’s face paled and flushed. After a tremor ran through his body, Mochen chose to relent.

He wasn’t that courageous, after all.

He didn’t dare resist.

Mochen bowed his head deeply, his voice hoarse and dry. “Sigh… I understand.”

The coldness in the air slowly dissipated.

Time started flowing again, and the world regained its colors.

“Hm.” Satisfied with the answer, Luoxue lowered her head once more and continued gently stroking the bear in her arms.

Everything seemed perfectly normal.

…

As Mochen, sweating coldly, took slow breaths, a knock sounded, neither too loud nor too soft.

“Knock, knock, knock.”

A guard entered, looking respectful but slightly tense, bowed quickly, and spoke.

“Saint, Marshal Lei Ze has just arrived at the Qiongrong Base,” he said.

“The Marshal says… um… he has urgent business and wishes to speak with you.”

…

At these words, Luoxue continued to play with her toy in a calm and composed manner.

But inside the room, Mochen and Teresa both subtly changed expressions, a hint of wariness passing through their eyes.

As for Ningshuang?

Her body instinctively trembled, and her crimson pupils abruptly shrank. Viciousness leaked from her normally calm and docile gaze.

However, just as the emotion was about to overflow, Ningshuang sensed the button eyes on the teddy bear in Luoxue’s arms slowly turning toward her… That invisible gaze seemed like a reminder.

Under that stare, the violence in the girl’s eyes quietly faded, and she returned to her earlier well-behaved and serene state.

…

But Teresa’s body stiffened.

Although Ningshuang’s look had been brief, Teresa had sharply caught it, and her pupils contracted.

Not just because the obedient girl had revealed a chilling murderous aura, but also because…

That look…

She felt she had seen it somewhere.

A fleeting image came to mind: the disaster witch she had seen in the base’s dungeon a few days ago.

‘How did it feel… as if…’

An odd sensation crept into Teresa’s mind.

But she shook off the thought, unwilling to believe such strange ideas.

Meanwhile, a bright, cheerful voice, even with a bit of naive innocence, rang out.

Luoxue held the bear and broke into a sweet, pure smile, speaking with excited, obedient energy.

“Oh, Uncle Lei Ze is here! Fine, please ask him to come in.”

Just as Luoxue spoke, a low voice came from outside the door.

“No need to trouble yourself, Luoxue. I’ve already arrived.”

With those words, a tall, muscular figure pushed open the door…

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