Read Novel Full Chapter 527: An Attendant?
Chapter 527: An Attendant?
After a bit of back-and-forth chatter, Marionette asked:
"Where are you currently?"
"Hm? Oh, uh... I’m in the East right now, just in a park."
"Luton?" Marionette inquired, surprised.
"Mhm! That’s what my entire trip was for, just to do a delivery~..."
"From our own academy?" Marionette asked.
"Uh, huh. Since what we’re delivering is confidential, our academy wanted someone trustworthy to do it, while also making it seem like a simple task—thus, the Student Council was made to carry it out. As for why spatial magic wasn’t used—"
"Because it would take an obscene amount of mana to attempt such a task, I’m aware..." Marionette fidgeted with the paws of the stuffed rabbit, "Then, after delivering whatever you need to, will you be finished with the task given?"
"Yep, no more after that."
"Do you have a way to go home? I wouldn’t mind stringing together something for that to help you with that."
"Oh! I do, don’t worry, but I’m planning on doing something that’ll help me get into an event happening in a few days."
"An... Event?" Marionette paused, realisation hitting her, "Are you perhaps referring to a noble gathering on May 7th?"
"Yeah, the Legacy Table. I’m thinking of trying to convince one of the Scions of the four Dynasties here to be their attendant, so I can get in—"
"Attendant...?" Marionette interrupted, perplexed by what she had just heard.
Why on Earth would Lillian want to work as an attendant? And why would she need to attend the Legacy Table, which she was told was more of an event for those trying to connect
with each other?Marionette’s red eyes narrowed and glowed slightly, her dark veins—which she had only just treated—spreading up her neck at an even faster rate.
"For what purpose do you want to go to the Legacy Table, Lillian? Is there someone you wish to meet there for something? If so, I’ll gladly do it on your behalf, since I’ll be attending it."
"Oh, it’s fine! I can do it mysel—"
"Lillian, I don’t want you going to it." Marionette interrupted in a strict tone.
For some reason, she didn’t quite like... No...
She didn’t like the idea of Lillian working in a role that would require her to stick beside someone for a prolonged period of time at all; the feeling being strengthened by the fact that someone wasn’t her.
The darkness around her stirred.
Was it wrong for her to feel this way? Was she being controlling? Of course not, Lillian was hers, after all.
The dark veins continued to crawl higher up her neck, soon reaching her face.
If Lillian were to work under someone else, that would be the equivalent of her handing Lillian away.
There was no way she could tolerate such a thing. The thought of Lillian having to spend her time around a rancid and moving corpse—so that she could attend a time-wasting event—made her feel even more sickly than she already was.
Marionette’s mind started to become foggy, as impulsive dark thoughts began to leak to the front of her mind.
She would rather commit genocide on an entire city of innocent civilians and risk damaging her family’s reputation before handing Lillian over.
She would rather commit the heinous act of kidnapping Lillian and isolating her from everyone that wasn’t her, just to prevent the scenario of her leaving her personal space and reach.
As Marionette continued to be influenced, Lillian, who was none the wiser of what was happening, inquired calmly:
"Marionette, why is it that you don’t want me to go? Out of curiousity."
"Because I don’t want you to, Lillian." Marionette clenched her jaws, "There is no reason for you to attend a pointless event like this when you already have me... If you needed something from someone, you can just ask me to do it on your behalf..."
Lillian was her girlfriend, her property, and her comfort. She’s her warm blanket against the cold, and she refused to let rancid corpses linger around and dirty her.
Hugging the stuffed rabbit closer to her chest, Marionette pressed her face against the back of its neck, trying to take in whatever scent of Lillian was left.
’It’s fading...’
Lillian, after a period of silence, whispered:
"Oh... I get it, now."
She then asked:
"Mari~, could you hold your phone closer to your ear?"
Breaking out of whatever thought she was in, Marionette did as she was asked. And after confirmation that she did it, she was rewarded with words that caused her body to shiver:
"I’m yours, Marionette~... I only love and belong to you."
Pulling her hand away from the stuffed rabbit, Marionette clutched the lower half of her face, reflexively trying to hide her blush from no one.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Her heart throbbed loudly like drums.
"Huu... Ha... Huu..." Marionette’s breathing became ragged with pleasure as Lillian’s words echoed into her ears.
She licked her dry lips, faintly imagining the taste of Lillian’s lips against her as she slowly pressed the insides of her legs together.
Marionette then held her phone closer to her ear again, forgetting to hide her heavy breathing, and asked in a breathy voice with complete disregard of how pathetic this may cause her to appear:
"Again... Tell me that, again, Lillian... Tell me who you belong to..."
"... *Gulp!*..."
Ignoring Lillian’s nervous gulp, Marionette waited impatiently, needing to hear it one more time.
"I-I belong to—"
Beep.
Marionette, who was excited to hear it again, heard a beep, followed by utter silence from the other end.
"... Lillian?"
Hearing no response, Marionette held her phone away from her ear, clearly perplexed.
Staring at the black screen of her phone, Marionette tried to turn it back on, but it flashed with the "Out of Battery" symbol.
Her phone had run out of battery.
Marionette stared blankly at her phone, watching as it continued to flicker.
Her blank and emotionless face then twitched rapidly as a wave of unbridled anger and frustration washed over her.
She was so close to hearing it again!
Marionette’s dark veins, which had ceased their spreading at Lillian’s stimulating statement, pulsed and webbed outwards across her body like living tattoos.
And because of that, the miasma-like darkness that was emitted from her body dramatically increased, even gaining mass as dark swirls began to manifest around the room.
The walls along the inside of her room began to crack, along with her bed frame.
With eyes shining like car lights, Marionette grunted deeply, hissing at the pain, trying to push back against the Corruption.
But, as though sensing her rebellious act, Marionette’s eyes shot wide open as she felt something begin to rise from the inside of her throat.
Quickly crawling over to the side of her bed, Marionette vomited—
"Eugh...! *Cough Cough*..."
—What she could assume to be a mix of darkness and blood.
Gritting her teeth and wiping her mouth, Marionette reached for her medications—this was the strongest stage her sickness had reached thus far!
If her past discomfort was the equivalent of having a dozen or so razor blades stuck inside her chest, clawing at her organs, then this one was much worse!
It was like she was cramped inside a small room that was filled with knives, on top of the sensation of razor blades inside her chest.
Upon taking her medication and resisting the change her body was going through, Marionette managed to catch a glimpse of a folder in front of her bed.
Using whatever control she had over the darkness, she brought the folder towards her and began to scan through it.
Her eyes landed on familiar and unfamiliar faces that had a section of description about their strengths, weaknesses, abilities, and evaluations.
She apparently needed to choose a batch from this folder so that they could compete for a place as her attendant for the Legacy Table.
’Attendant...? Wasn’t this...’
Wasn’t this something Lillian was looking to be?
The frown that Marionette had earlier at not being able to hear Lillian’s words soon curled upwards into a smile.
A broad smile. A happy smile. And lastly... A mischievous smile...
If Lillian wanted to be an attendant so badly to attend this upcoming event... Shouldn’t she make Lillian hers? It’s only the right and logical idea, after all...
"The moment she becomes my attendant... Wouldn’t that have mean I would win our little competition?"
If Lillian became her attendant, that would mean Marionette would become her employer.
And ultimately...
Her mistress and owner.