Chapter 43: The Escape Plan

The library was vast, and Felicia and Taosu had been cleaning for what felt like an eternity.

Felicia remembered that when they began, the sun was still high in the sky. By the time they finished, it had already set.

“I’m so tired…” Taosu reverted to her original form and collapsed onto the table. “But at least we won’t get our wages deducted…”

Perhaps due to sheer exhaustion, Taosu fell asleep instantly. Even when Felicia poked her a few times, she didn’t stir.

“…” Unlike Taosu’s relief, Felicia looked lost.

She felt she had forgotten something very important—something so crucial that forgetting it might lead to death.

What was it…?

Felicia racked her brain, but in the end, she couldn’t figure it out.

Eventually, she stopped dwelling on it, convincing herself that if it could be forgotten, it probably wasn’t that important.

Truly important things are never forgotten.

Seeing Taosu sleeping soundly, Felicia had no reason to stay. She quietly slipped out, pulling the library door closed behind her.

Felicia didn’t know where she wanted to go—she just didn’t want to see Seraphina. So she aimlessly wandered the castle.

Maybe because she had some affinity with the kitchen, she found herself at the kitchen door, running into Yunwu, who was carrying two large bags of ingredients.

“Good evening, Miss Felicia.” Yunwu greeted her, then noticed Felicia’s outfit. “That outfit… pure prison style. Looks like you’re not doing so well?”

“It’s not that bad,” Felicia replied. “What’s this?”

“Well, every so often we go to Inte Town to buy ingredients. I just got back now,” said Yunwu.

“Buy ingredients?” Felicia seized on the key point. “That means Inte Town isn’t very close, right? How do you two ordinary people get there? Don’t tell me you walk?”

“Of course not… Usually on shopping days, we take a carriage. And the carriage has guards arranged by the lady, so even if we encounter bandits or magical beasts, there’s no need to panic.”

“A carriage…” Felicia’s mind began to race.

If she could sneak onto the ingredient-buying carriage, couldn’t she just ride it out of here?

But there was one problem: how to sneak onto the carriage right under Seraphina’s nose? Felicia couldn’t think of an answer, and she couldn’t figure it out.

If Seraphina was around, escaping was out of the question. But if Seraphina wasn’t there… that was a different story.

“Does Seraphina ever leave the castle?”

“Ah…” Yunwu thought for a moment. “Yes, but rarely. Usually, she goes back for Morningstar family meetings or something. When that happens, she’s often gone for days.”

“Sometimes her friends come to visit, and she might go out with them for half a day or a day.”

“She has friends?” Felicia was surprised.

Felicia had never heard that dark, crazy woman having friends.

But thinking about it, all she’d done while here was plan escapes and get messed with by Seraphina. She really had no way of knowing Seraphina’s connections…

“Actually, I’m not sure either, but I’ve heard the lady knows a girl who uses Life Magic,” Yunwu said.

“What is Life Magic?” Felicia asked a crucial question.

“Life magic… Well, actually, I don’t know what Life Magic is either. I’ve just heard it’s very powerful, even capable of resurrecting the dead.”

Yunwu and Felicia chatted animatedly. Neither noticed a black-haired figure appear at the end of the corridor. A red glint flashed in her eyes as she seemed to be watching them.

Suddenly, Felicia felt a chill down her back. She whirled around, but saw nothing.

“Strange…” Felicia muttered.

“What’s wrong?” Yunwu asked.

“Nothing. Let’s continue.”

They talked more about Yunwu’s ingredient shopping trips.

From Yunwu’s information, Felicia began to form a new escape plan.

Simply put, if she could wait for a day when Seraphina left and Yunwu went shopping for ingredients at the same time, she could sneak into the carriage unnoticed and escape.

But the problem was, the two events never seemed to coincide… Not even with previous chefs.

Felicia didn’t know if Seraphina had arranged it that way or if it was just coincidence. Probably coincidence.

Standing still for a moment, Felicia walked out of the castle and stopped before the high wall.

She placed her hand on the wall, as if pondering how to escape, or maybe just spacing out.

The black-haired figure followed her all the way, but Felicia didn’t notice.

When Felicia stood before the wall, the figure finally spoke. “What are you thinking?”

“About how to…” Felicia almost answered instinctively, but at the last second, she clamped her hand over her mouth, stopping herself from saying anything she shouldn’t.

She turned her head mechanically and saw Seraphina’s expressionless face.

Remembering her experience in the dark room, Felicia couldn’t help trembling—a primal fear deep inside her.

“Hey~” Seraphina greeted her. “Good evening~”

“G-good evening…” Felicia took a long time to snap out of it.

Even though Seraphina hadn’t said anything else, Felicia was already on edge.

“You’ve got a lot of sweat on your forehead.”

“D-do I? No, I don’t think so?” Felicia wiped her forehead with a trembling hand.

“I remember telling you, didn’t I? Lie quietly in bed and wait for me. Why aren’t you obedient, hmm?” Seraphina’s hand caressed Felicia’s cheek.

The black-haired girl’s face showed a warm, spring-like smile, but Felicia couldn’t appreciate it at all. Her mind was filled with nothing but fear.

“Did you? I-I don’t know…”

“I asked Anna to tell you. Or… do you want me to help you recall?”

When Seraphina said the last four words, her tone was noticeably heavier. Even if Felicia’s brain was slow, she could tell that if Seraphina really “helped her recall”…

Nothing good would come of it.

Whether it would be the dark room or the night games wasn’t up to Felicia.

Felicia had genuinely forgotten until now, but she couldn’t say that to Seraphina.

Even if she did, would Seraphina believe her?

There was only one thought in Felicia’s mind:

I’m screwed!

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