Time passed, though for how long, Silvia could not say.
Ling Qinghe lay on her side, cradling a limp, long-unconscious Silvia. She had thoughtfully pulled a blanket over Silvia, tucking her in tenderly.
“Sleep, my dear,” she murmured softly. “I’ll hold you close.”
Yet, Silvia’s face remained stark white, a picture of utter misery. Her naked body was a canvas of purple bruises—kiss marks,掐痕, and捏痕—all too evident.
Just then, Ling Cheyin approached, holding up a phone.
“Sister, shall we capture this moment?” she asked brightly.
As she spoke, she began to instruct Ling Qinghe on how to pose.
****
A little while later.
“Like this?” Ling Qinghe questioned, raising the phone with her left hand, gazing into the lens. Simultaneously, she used the blanket to wipe her right hand.
Without a trace of concern, she then formed a peace sign, pressing it against her closed right eye. A twisted smile curved her lips.
This exact angle also perfectly captured the nearly lifeless Silvia in the background.
Then, with a click, the camera immortalized Ling Qinghe in her possessive pose. This, she mused, would be a cherished memento.
‘What expression will Xia Naxin make when she sees this photo?’ she wondered. ‘I truly can’t wait to find out.’
After taking the picture, Ling Qinghe stretched her aching right hand. She tossed the phone casually to her sister, then lay down, embracing Silvia from behind, her arm wrapped around her over the blanket.
It was then that Ling Qinghe noticed the pink heart-shaped mark on Silvia’s lower abdomen.
Originally, the left side of the mark had been vividly colored, contrasting with the right. Now, however, the right side was even more vibrant than the left.
This shift signified that Ling Qinghe’s twisted love for Silvia had now surpassed Xia Naxin’s gentle affection.
After all, Ling Qinghe would never treat Silvia with Xia Naxin’s soft tenderness. For Silvia, who had been thoroughly dominated, this was merely the beginning, a baseline.
‘See, I’m the one who can leave a deeper impression on you, Silvia,’ Ling Qinghe softly whispered, her voice laced with a morbid satisfaction as she rubbed Silvia’s lower abdomen.
“What is the gentleness Xia Naxin gives you? Only I can make you truly fall,” she murmured, tightening her embrace.
Lost in a daze, Silvia unconsciously trembled. Ling Qinghe, however, misinterpreted this as her response, and the conquering smile on her face deepened.
The increasing vividness of Silvia’s heart-shaped mark also indicated the progression of her witch transformation and degradation. Silvia, it seemed, was destined to become a witch.
……
The bedside camera continued to quietly record everything.
Again, an unknown amount of time passed. Outside, the sky had already darkened.
Silvia groggily opened her eyes, her eyelids feeling raw and sticky from the dried tears on her lashes.
As she tried to lift her hand to rub her eyes, a searing ache shot through her entire body. Every inch of her skin screamed in agony. Even turning her neck caused sharp pain to flare through the bruises on her collarbone.
Her body was covered in large, intersecting purple and blue marks. These marks varied in shape, some were bruises from pressing fingers, others were scabs left by teeth.
And then, those unbearable memories surged uncontrollably into her mind: the suffocating grip on her throat, the pain of teeth biting into her shoulder, the burning sensation of fingernails digging into her waist.
There was also the dull ache in her ligaments from being forced into a full split, and the dizzying rush of blood when she was made to stand on her head.
“Madwoman! Ling Qinghe!” Silvia’s throat rasped out a hoarse curse, but each syllable pulled at the excruciating pain in her chest.
Thinking of this, Silvia felt nothing but fury towards that wicked woman, Ling Qinghe. She had shown absolutely no tenderness.
Fortunately, Silvia could use healing magic on herself. As a green aura of light enveloped her, the red marks on her body gradually faded.
The empty bedroom was so quiet that Silvia’s ragged breathing was clearly audible.
……
Before long, Silvia sat up. She pulled back the blanket and saw that the wicked woman, Ling Qinghe, had actually dressed her. No, it was a nightgown.
Silvia scanned the bedroom. It was empty. Ling Qinghe’s departure, after taking, playing with, and then abandoning her, only intensified Silvia’s anger.
It solidified her belief that Ling Qinghe treated her as nothing more than a plaything, harboring no love, only schemes to destroy and corrupt her.
Just then, Silvia noticed a pink, heart-emblazoned envelope on the pillow. She raised her hand to dispel the residual magic from it.
As she was about to tear the letter Ling Qinghe had left into shreds, a burning sensation began to spread from her lower abdomen, making her stumble to her feet.
“Ugh~” Silvia gritted her teeth, realizing that this letter could not be torn before it was opened and read.
Reluctantly, Silvia opened it. Inside was only a single note, which read: “Silvia, remember to miss me while I’m away~ See you in Iris Feather Kingdom, my love ❤”
At the bottom of the note, there was also Ling Qinghe’s lipstick print. Upon seeing this, Silvia felt a surge of blood to her head and immediately shredded the note with her magic.
She was furious, a complex mix of emotions swirling within her: anger, humiliation, and even a strange sense of relief.
She would rather miss Xia Naxin in her male form than think of Ling Qinghe, that disgusting woman.
After a while, Silvia got out of bed and, with unsteady steps, made her way into the bathroom. The hot water cascaded over her body, yet it couldn’t wash away the lingering sensations on her skin or the shadows in her heart.
Silvia bit her lower lip, letting tears mix with the running water until her skin was slightly red from scrubbing. Only then did she turn off the shower.
A few minutes later, Silvia was dressed in the long-sleeved shirt and slit mini-shorts that Xia Naxin had picked out for her earlier.
She leaned against the sink, steadying herself for a long moment before finally gathering the strength to walk out of the room. As she pushed open the door, the warm yellow light of the living room spilled over her.
Silvia saw Xia Naxin half-reclined on the sofa, being massaged by a group of cat-eared and dog-eared maids. Hearing the door open, Xia Naxin sat up in surprise.
She rushed forward, her hands trembling as she cupped Silvia’s cheeks, then gently embraced her shoulders.
“Are you… are you alright? Did Ling Qinghe abuse you?”
Silvia averted her gaze, afraid that Xia Naxin would see the shattered emotions in her eyes. After all, what Ling Qinghe had done to her was far too violent.
So, Silvia forced herself to appear calm, curving her lips into a smile, swallowing a sob that threatened to escape her throat.
“I’m not afraid of anything Ling Qinghe might do. I’m fine, I didn’t cooperate with her at all. I stood against her.”
Silvia was lying. In truth, she had been overpowered by Ling Qinghe, utterly unable to resist. Hearing her words, Xia Naxin visibly relaxed, pulling Silvia tightly into her embrace and gently rubbing her chin against the top of Silvia’s head.
“Silvia, Ling Qinghe and her sister have already left.” Xia Naxin then briefly recounted to Silvia what had happened after Ling Qinghe and Ling Cheyin left the bedroom.
Ling Qinghe had specifically warned: “You must wait for Silvia to come out on her own before you can see her. Otherwise, I will make Silvia constantly go into heat.”
After delivering this threat, Ling Qinghe had gone downstairs with Ling Cheyin. Having finished her explanation, Xia Naxin tightened her embrace around Silvia even more, her voice dropping to a whisper.
At this, Silvia managed a small smile. She leaned contentedly into her lover’s warm embrace, listening to the accelerated beat of her heart.
‘No matter what, now there are only the two of them in this temporary residence.’ No, that wasn’t entirely right. There were also the numerous cat and dog girls, the cat-eared and dog-eared maids, who were currently sitting on the sofa, wagging their fluffy tails and staring with wide, round eyes at their two intimately close mistresses.
One ragdoll cat girl even secretly raised a paw, mimicking the embracing posture of the two women.
……
“Naxin…” Silvia murmured, lifting her head to look at Xia Naxin, a hint of expectation in her eyes.
“When are we going back to Iris Feather Kingdom?”
Upon hearing this, Xia Naxin held her even tighter. “We’ll leave soon. Silvia, I will protect you… I’m sorry you had to suffer here.”
Her voice trembled slightly, filled with self-reproach. In response, Silvia rose onto her tiptoes and gently kissed Xia Naxin’s lips, then buried her head in the crook of her neck.
“Don’t put such pressure on yourself, Naxin. I will always love you, my heart belongs to you.”
“Even if Ling Qinghe took my body, I would never yield to her.” She extended her hand, tightly grasping Xia Naxin’s, wanting to convey this love and promise through the warmth of her palm.
****