Chapter 20: Self-Inflicted Karma

“Ah, you’re awake, hehe.”
Being stared at so intently by Perletti, Feiye guiltily turned her head away, too embarrassed to meet her gaze.
Her cheeks were flushed crimson.

“Yeah.
Looks like I kind of got in your way.
Should I just pass out again for a bit?”
Perletti teased, a hint of amusement glinting in her golden eyes.

Being held in the arms of a little girl so much younger than herself made Perletti feel a bit complicated inside.
But then again—

This was a loli’s lap pillow.

She had to admit, it was actually quite comfortable.
Just that the floor was a little hard.

In truth, Perletti had already regained some clarity after drinking part of Feiye’s blood.
But perhaps driven by hunger’s instinct, she had kept eating, afraid that if she missed this meal, there wouldn’t be a next one.

Reality, however, told her she’d worried too much.

‘You’re practically about to kiss— and you’re still worried about not having food later?’

As for this meal, she might as well consider it payment for being used as a pillow for an entire afternoon.

Only after experiencing it firsthand did she realize—
witches really did need blood to survive.

That said, she was quite curious.
Just who exactly was this little girl?

How did she know Perletti needed to drink blood?
And judging by the looks of it, she wasn’t an ordinary person either.

‘Tch… no way.
Don’t tell me she’s a witch too?’

Perletti pondered.
Or was it that all witches needed to drink blood like she did?

“W–W–No, no need, really!
About what just happened… j–just pretend nothing happened, forget it, forget it!”
After hearing that, Feiye shook her head like a rattle drum, vehemently denying everything, terrified Perletti might end up disliking her.

“Is that so?
But I clearly saw you almost kiss me,”
Perletti continued to tease, finding Feiye’s reaction incredibly entertaining.

“That didn’t happen!
It really didn’t!
Please forget it already, wuu—”
Feiye was on the verge of tears, clutching her head and refusing to look at Perletti’s openly amused expression.

She was afraid Perletti would distance herself from her, just like Qingcheng had in her previous life, because of her feelings.

For some reason, seeing Feiye like this made Perletti feel an inexplicable sense of joy.

It felt like teasing a small animal—
unexpectedly pleasant.

“Alright then.
But you should at least tell me who you are,”
Perletti finally asked the question that had been bothering her all this time.

“Huh?
You don’t know?”
Feiye looked up in surprise.
A trace of disappointment flickered through her purple eyes.
So in this life, Big Sister really didn’t know her at all.

“Idiot, how would I know if you don’t tell me?!”
Perletti said, laughing helplessly.

“Wuu… don’t scold me,”
Feiye pouted pitifully.
“I’m Feiye, the Witch of Night.
I heard a witch had been born here, so I came to find you.”

‘As expected.’

Perletti understood immediately.
She hadn’t expected this little girl to really be a witch—
and a Witch of Night at that.
That probably meant dark-element magic.

She herself was a Witch of Light, if she remembered correctly.
So those witches sent someone with the opposite element to hers—
and a child at that?

Was that really okay?

‘Uh… wait.
The youngest witch is still several hundred years old, right?’

Careless of her.

Only now did Perletti realize she might have been fooled by Feiye’s appearance.

“Did you come alone?”
she asked.

“No, there’s also a Witch of Wind.
But he’s a total bookworm—
spent the whole day in the library and refused to come out,”
Feiye answered honestly.

A bookworm?
Perletti immediately thought of the green-haired girl.
She was the only one who fit that description.

“I was just thinking earlier how nice it’d be to have a witch nearby.
Turns out there were actually two witches around me the whole time.
That’s ridiculous,”
she couldn’t help but complain.

After lying on the floor for so long, no matter how you put it, it was uncomfortable.
Perletti got up and turned toward the hotel.

A loli’s lap pillow was certainly nice,
but nighttime was dangerous,
and it was easy to run into all kinds of strange people.

Though no matter how strange they were,
they probably wouldn’t be able to beat the several-hundred-year-old loli beside her.
Still, better to let her kill fewer people.

After all, people didn’t live this long easily—
and if the church found out, things would get troublesome.

However, the loli behind her seemed to misunderstand something.

She stared blankly at Perletti’s retreating back for a moment.
Then her eyes reddened slightly.
She suddenly lunged forward, clinging to Perletti’s back,
grabbing her clothes tightly and refusing to let go.

“Don’t go…
Please don’t leave me…”
Feiye’s voice trembled with sobs.
The shadows of her past life made her terrified of being abandoned again.

“Huh?
No, it’s not that.
I just thought it’s dangerous at night, so we should go back to the hotel first,”
Perletti hurriedly explained.

For some reason, Feiye’s words felt oddly familiar to her—
and carried a vague sense of danger.
Yet she couldn’t recall why.

“Really…?
You’re not lying to me?”
Feiye asked hesitantly, her voice still shaking.

Back then, Qingcheng had said similar reassuring words—
then abandoned her to go find that golden-haired one, and then…

She didn’t dare think further.
After that, Qingcheng had completely changed.

Suddenly, Feiye remembered the contents of that book—

Worried that the one you love might get hurt,
afraid that the one you love will leave you,
so you imprison the one you love…

Imprison…

‘If I do that, Big Sister won’t leave me, right?’

‘Then Big Sister won’t have to go through all that pain again, right?’

Feiye began to seriously consider the question with her not-so-bright little head.

“Of course it’s true~
Come on, let’s go sleep on a big bed,”
Perletti said lightly.

She reached back, hooked Feiye’s small body, and pulled her into her arms, holding her as she continued forward.

Feiye’s body was tiny and soft.
When held, she obediently stayed still.
Whenever Perletti looked at her, Feiye would shyly bury her face into Perletti’s chest,
only her reddened ears peeking out.

How could a little thing like this possibly be annoying?

Besides—
Perletti still needed this safe source of food.

Unconsciously, she tightened her arms.

As soon as they entered the hotel, Perletti was stopped by the same receptionist from earlier.

“Why are you stopping me?
I have the key,”
Perletti said, pulling out the key the receptionist had given her earlier and shaking it slightly.

“Of course, I know,”
the receptionist replied with a professional smile, her eyes flicking between the two.
“I just wanted to ask— is this girl your younger sister?”

“Younger sister?
Oh, yes,”
Perletti immediately understood her meaning and went along with it.

“Then I wish you a pleasant stay,”
the receptionist said, bowing slightly and no longer stopping them as Perletti took Feiye upstairs.

“Tsk tsk, what a pity. Such a petite girl. How regrettable indeed,” the receptionist murmured softly as she watched Perletti leave,
a suggestive smile spreading across her face.

Taking a little girl so late at night into a big-bed room with only one bed—with her experience, she could tell at a glance what that meant.