Chapter 50: Regret

Merorin was held so tightly that she could barely breathe.

She gently pushed Sevia away and asked with a puzzled look, “Sevia, didn’t you say you wanted to go to the garden? What’s this—are you really that impatient?”

Sevia lifted her head, her eyes sparkling with joy.

She didn’t notice the issue in Merorin’s words at all and said with a smile, “Merorin-chan, didn’t you just refuse to go to the laboratory with Cassie? Then of course next we’re going to the garden together. I’ve already planned everything!”

Hearing this, Merorin gently shook her head, an apologetic smile at the corner of her lips.

“Sevia, it’s not what you think.”

She paused for a moment, then looked at Sevia’s suddenly confused face.

Afraid she might misunderstand, Merorin continued, “Last night, I took in a new maid. Her name is Louise. Today, I want to spend some time alone with her, to help us adjust to each other and let her get used to the new environment.”

When Sevia heard this, it was as if a bolt of lightning had struck her.

The happy smile on her face instantly froze.

Her arms instinctively tightened around Merorin’s arm, almost digging into her skin, and her voice trembled with disbelief.

“Merorin-chan? You… you already have me as your maid, and there’s also Lady Lilith. Why… why do you still need another maid?”

Still clinging to a sliver of hope, she asked anxiously, “She… what race is she?”

Seeing Sevia’s hurt and nervous expression, Merorin answered hesitantly, “She’s also from the succubus race.”

“The succubus race?!”

Sevia’s voice suddenly rose, then fell again, filled with despair, as if something most precious had been taken from her.

Her eyes instantly reddened, her voice choking.

“Merorin-chan, are you abandoning me? Or is it that… my service isn’t enough for you anymore, so you’re looking for someone else to replace me?”

As she spoke, her long succubus tail suddenly tightened.

Like a cold snake, it wrapped tightly around Merorin’s legs.

“Ugh—!”

Merorin could only gasp for air, struggling to explain in broken breaths.

“Se… Sevia… it’s not what you think… I just feel she’s very pitiful… I don’t want girls like her… to be hurt…”

Hearing this, Sevia knew that Merorin was kind-hearted.

But the jealousy and unease in her heart did not fade.

She bent down, her red lips almost touching Merorin, and whispered in a tone that was both aggrieved and punishing.

“Merorin-chan, I really should punish you properly. I need to make you remember that you can only belong to me…”

Merorin struggled amid extreme pleasure and suffocation.

With her last remaining awareness, she shakily pleaded, “Sevia… I’m not abandoning you… I just can’t stand seeing people get hurt… please… stop…”

At that moment, a small figure ran over from the end of the corridor.

Sevia looked over and saw a frail silhouette.

Pink hair, arms so thin they looked like they could snap with a bend, pale complexion—she looked like someone who hadn’t received enough food or care for a very long time.

Doubt and a trace of inexplicable pity instantly filled Sevia’s heart.

The newcomer was Louise.

She saw Sevia tightly holding Merorin, while her own master lay limp in the other’s arms, her face flushed and her breathing rapid, clearly enduring something.

Seeing that Sevia was also wearing a maid’s uniform, fear and confusion filled Louise’s heart.

Gathering her courage, she asked in a trembling voice, “Y-you… who are you? Wh-why are you doing this to my master?”

Sevia lowered her head and looked at the little girl wearing the same uniform as herself, yet so young and timid.

Thinking again of what Merorin had said—“I can’t bear to see people get hurt”—her heart shook violently.

She finally understood.

Merorin hadn’t taken in this new maid because she was tired of Sevia.

It was because of the kindness she had always cherished.

The jealousy in her heart receded like a tide, replaced by deep regret.

She hurriedly loosened her arms around Merorin, and her tail withdrew as well.

“Louise… quickly!”

As soon as Merorin felt the restraint disappear, she used all the remaining strength in her body.

Gasping softly by Louise’s ear, she whispered, “Take me away… Louise, hurry… take me away…”

“Yes! Master!”

Although Louise was afraid of Sevia, her master’s orders came above all else.

She gathered her courage, stepped forward, and supported Merorin with her equally frail arms.

Holding her tightly, almost dragging her along, she hurried toward the other end of the corridor.

Sevia remained standing where she was.

She didn’t chase after them.

Watching Merorin being supported away by the little maid named Louise, regret and remorse tangled wildly in her heart like creeping vines.

She realized that she had truly misunderstood Merorin’s goodwill.

She felt ashamed of her impulsiveness and jealousy.

What hurt even more was that she had not only wounded Merorin’s heart, but also personally destroyed the precious chance to spend the entire day alone with her.

She lowered her head, her shoulders slumped.

She looked just like a defeated little dog abandoned in the rain.

Silently, she turned around and dragged her heavy steps toward the garden she had originally planned to go to, her heart shrouded in gloom.

In the corridor, Louise supported Merorin, who could barely walk, running as fast as she could while asking anxiously, “Master, where are we going?”

Although Merorin’s body was weak and her soul felt as if it were still drifting among the clouds, her goal was unusually clear.

Leaning against Louise’s frail shoulder, she forced out a smile and said softly, “To the library… today, I’ll teach you some knowledge.”

“The library?!”

Hearing those two words, Louise’s eyes instantly widened, her face bursting with unbelievable excitement.

“Learning knowledge?! That’s amazing! Thank you so much, Master!”

Her voice trembled with excitement.

As a low-ranking succubus like her, she had no qualification to enter the Demon King’s library at all.

Normally, she could only receive some basic public education for demons, learning only the most elementary things.

Only exceptionally outstanding or powerful demons could come into contact with real knowledge like that.

And even then, without someone to teach them, they wouldn’t understand it anyway.

Looking at Louise’s flushed, excited little face, a warmth welled up in Merorin’s heart.

She lifted her weak hand and gently stroked Louise’s hair, asking softly, “Louise, what do you want to learn?”

Faced with her master’s question, Louise froze.

She opened her mouth, only to realize she didn’t know where to begin.

She had never been given a choice in her life, and she didn’t know what she wanted to learn.

She shook her head blankly, her voice carrying a trace of confusion.

“I… I don’t know… Master. Whatever you want to teach me, I’ll learn.”