Saranya’s Desperate Act

“Saranya, my lady… it’s time to wake up…”

The cabin creaked faintly as Paresha called out softly.

Saranya’s eyelashes fluttered, and she slowly opened her eyes.

“Mmm… Oh…”

Perhaps accustomed to the disciplined life of the church, Paresha had risen much earlier than both Saranya and Kaelan.

She had single-handedly fetched three sets of toiletries and breakfast.

With meticulous care, she had cleaned their cabin, folded their clothes neatly by their pillows, and even procured a small table, stools, and a deck of cards.

‘Who knew if she had stolen or simply ‘acquired’ them?’ Saranya mused.

Saranya slowly sat up, rubbing her forehead.

She took a towel and a water skin from Paresha, then quickly washed herself while still on her bedding.

‘Sigh…’

Last night had been a close call indeed; she had nearly ended up engaging in ‘deck play’.

Ultimately, her Master had shown a sliver of mercy, considering the biting night air and strong winds, deeming it too dangerous for her to crawl around in the dark.

Thus, the ‘task’ had been postponed.

Now, before her, the compliant Paresha had everything perfectly arranged.

She knelt, greeting Saranya with a soft, delicate voice.

“Good morning, Saranya, my lady…”

“Ah! Good morning, Paresha.”

The priestess-in-training was already fully equipped, her weapons neatly fastened at her waist.

A black eyepatch covered one eye, and her pale golden hair was meticulously styled into a small braid at the back of her head, bouncing with every movement.

It was undeniable that Paresha had matured significantly through her trials.

Her demeanor was more refined, and she had shed her former petulance when dealing with outsiders, becoming composed and shrewd.

Overall, she was now an exemplary warrior.

‘It was a pity such a good child had been corrupted by that witch…’

“Paresha, you only need to follow orders… You don’t have to look after us to this extent…”

“It’s quite alright, Saranya, my lady! I-I wanted to do it myself!”

“Then, thank you…”

“Mm! As long as Xiao Sha can live well with both of her masters, none of this is a bother!”

Despite being treated as a s*ave beneath a s*ave, Paresha’s expression remained devout, her face beaming with happiness.

Seeing her like this, Saranya was momentarily speechless, unsure of what to say.

Privately, Paresha now displayed extreme subservience to both her and Kaelan.

She had transformed from a noble young lady into a docile plaything, proactively tending to their every need, both physical and emotional.

As one of the culprits, Saranya’s only means of compensating Paresha was to fulfill her promises.

They shared a common goal: to find their respective brothers.

Additionally, she wanted to try… to ‘fix’ the broken Paresha.

‘The poor child was truly pathetic…’

‘What was the best way to do it?’

Saranya sighed, glancing at Kaelan beside her.

After confirming that Kaelan was still sound asleep, she leaned closer to Paresha’s ear.

“Paresha, if Master isn’t watching… you don’t have to call me ‘my lady’. Just call me ‘sister’ like before…”

“But…”

“No ‘buts’! I’m not like Kaelan; I don’t want to enslave anyone!”

Saranya frowned, feigning anger.

Paresha swallowed, then hesitantly, tentatively spoke.

“S-sister~”

The priestess-in-training uttered the long-unspoken words, as if committing a grave transgression.

A blush instantly spread from her earlobes to the base of her neck, and her composure completely crumbled.

“Ugh…”

Paresha quickly clutched her cheeks, her words muffled.

“Then, may I make a request of you, Saranya-sister…?”

‘A request!’

‘Someone who considered themselves a s*ave wouldn’t speak like this.’

‘Since Paresha did, it meant… it meant there was a glimmer of hope for her to improve! Right?!’

“Speak! Anything I can help with—”

“Could you please discuss with Kaelan, my lady, and ask her to include Xiao Sha next time she graces you with her presence…? Xiao Sha wishes to be… trodden upon by both you and Kaelan, my lady…”

Her hopes shattered, Saranya’s pupils constricted, and her heart gave a heavy lurch.

Paresha’s words were like a bucket of ice water dumped over her head.

Saranya stood frozen, her face pale, utterly at a loss for how to respond.

“Th-that…”

‘It’s over.’

‘There’s no saving her…’

“What’s wrong, Saranya-sister?”

Paresha was too deeply influenced by Kaelan; she didn’t even realize the impropriety of her words.

Under Saranya’s dismayed gaze, she slowly lowered her hands from her face.

Beneath her palms, her face was flushed, her eyes vacant.

Her lips quivered uncontrollably, and her features twisted into a grotesque spasm.

It was an expression of fervent zeal, abject humility, and twisted desire—the unmistakable look of a truly deranged psychopath.

“Kaelan, my lady, said that serving my masters wholeheartedly is Xiao Sha’s honor, Xiao Sha’s reason for existing…”

“Xiao Sha has done well… Saranya, my lady, you just asked me to call you ‘sister’, and Xiao Sha has completed that instruction perfectly!”

“No… no, that wasn’t an instruction… You… When did you become like this… How could this happen…”

Saranya was instantly enveloped by a profound sense of powerlessness.

She mumbled, leaning back against the cabin wall.

She had intended to bring Paresha back, believing that with gentleness and patience, she would succeed…

Instead, it seemed she had merely flipped a strange switch.

Paresha watched her, breathing rapidly, her gaze fixed.

It was clear she still had something more to confess.

“Please forgive Xiao Sha’s selfish desire… which is to be used by both of my masters together!”

“Please… Xiao Sha wants to join… Xiao Sha will do anything—be a footrest, a carpet, support your bodies, clean… anything!”

The girl grew increasingly agitated, her once upright posture swaying.

She suddenly dropped to her knees, reaching out to gently pinch Saranya’s toes.

“Please… Saranya, my lady, just like this, please plead my case to Kaelan, my lady…”

“Paresha, don’t…”

Saranya felt her entire stomach clench.

She covered her mouth, retching dryly, then abruptly recoiled, curling her legs back to escape Paresha’s touch.

‘What was she to do?’

‘How could she answer?’

‘How could she face Paresha?’

‘Should she tell her that being a s*ave, trodden underfoot by a master, was no honor?’

‘Should she tell her not to yield to Kaelan, to reclaim her own individuality?’

‘Did she… did she truly have the right to say such things?’

Even if she were to speak such words, Paresha wouldn’t listen.

After Kaelan’s conditioning, Paresha had constructed a cognitive filter, interpreting all of Saranya’s words as ‘instructions’.

There would be no point in having Paresha mechanically execute those instructions or parrot her words back.

Saranya struggled, pondered, and sank into despair, finally forcing a stiff smile.

“I understand… You, you’ve done very well… Paresha… You deserve praise… Ha… haha…”

‘It was useless. Under Kaelan’s shadow, nothing she said or did could save Paresha.’

This living corpse of Paresha not only lacked dignity but would also disappoint her time and again.

‘Most importantly, if Paresha continued like this, wouldn’t it ruin her exclusive relationship with her Master?’

Her Master belonged to her alone, an exclusive possession.

She… she would never share her Master with anyone else, neither in body nor in spirit!

‘In that case…’

Saranya shivered.

A cold, viscous, wicked thought surged into her mind, instantly spiraling out of control.

“Paresha, come a little closer…”

“Uh—”

Saranya embraced the innocent priestess-in-training, her lips slightly parted as she gently kissed Paresha’s forehead.

“Good girl…”

Paresha, thrilled by the reward, purred like a cat, rubbing against Saranya in her embrace.

Saranya, seizing the opportunity, slowly drew the dagger from her waist.

‘Something that couldn’t be fixed was scrap.’

‘And scrap, naturally, had to be ‘disposed of’.’

‘That’s right, Paresha was already dead, in a sense.’

‘She wasn’t killing Paresha now, but rather… a corrupted construct, molded by Kaelan into Paresha’s form.’

‘This was an act of justice… This was justice…’

“Hoo… hee hee…”

Warm tears streamed down her cheeks as Saranya gripped Paresha’s back, then lowered her head to kiss the girl’s lips.

As expected, the intense sensation instantly overloaded Paresha’s mind.

Her eyes rolled back, leaving only an expanse of white in her sockets.

Naturally, in her state of ecstasy, Paresha was at her most vulnerable, all defenses abandoned.

‘To leave without pain, in boundless joy, wasn’t that a good end?’

A cold glint of steel flashed.

“Hah— Ngh—”

Beside them, Kaelan yawned languidly, sitting up from her bedding, her eyes heavy with sleep.

“Eh… Huh?!”

Upon witnessing the scene before her, the young witch’s mind instantly snapped awake.

“You two… are kissing… huh?”

Clang!

Saranya was scared out of her wits, the dagger clattering to the floor as she shoved Paresha away.

“Master!”

“Kaelan, my lady!”

“Listen to our explanation!!!”