V1: Chapter 22: Please, Please, Sob Sob~

"I...I don't want to...sob sob sob, don't do this, don't..." Liang Lin couldn't hold back her tears, crying uncontrollably. "I don't want to choose, I don't want to choose either."

"There's no such thing as a free lunch. Since you don't want to make a choice, then I'll choose for you." Liang Di pushed her wheelchair to the door, one hand already gripping the doorknob. "Then I'll open the door and show the knights and maids outside what you look like now~"

No!

She absolutely couldn't let anyone see her in this pathetic and ridiculous state.

Liang Lin shed tears of humiliation, her voice trembling.

"Please, please."

"Your begging voice is too soft, even though you you were yelling at me so loudly earlier. Why aren't you begging anymore? So you still want me to open the door, don't you?"

"You...you're going too far!"

Liang Di's eyes held a hint of warning. "I can open the door with just a gentle pull now~"

"No! No, I...I beg you, I beg you...please, please! Liang Di!"

"What are you begging me for? Tell me! How am I supposed to help you if you don't tell me?"

"I beg you, please don't open the door! Please hide me! Please let me end this situation!"

Liang Di nodded in satisfaction and called out to the door, "Please wait a moment. I'm alone in the room, lying in bed. You know I have a leg problem and it's not easy for me to get out of bed. I had Bellica lock the door from the outside. Go ask her for the key."

After speaking, Liang Di stood up from her wheelchair, walked over to Liang Lin, bent down, and scooped her up in her arms, tucking her into the bed and covering her with a thick blanket. Then, she herself slipped under the covers.

Through a sliver of light, Liang Lin saw Liang Di make a "shh" gesture to her.

"Sister, they'll be coming in soon, so don't make any strange noises, okay? It's not that I don't want to help you, it's just that this toxin is being eliminated very slowly, at least five minutes. We can't keep everyone waiting outside for five minutes, can we?"

Devil! She really is a devil!

Liang Di was very pleased with Liang Lin's expression of shame and indignation.

Hearing the door lock turn, she immediately pulled the blanket up, completely covering Liang Lin's body, while she herself sat on the bed, covering her lower body, leaving only her head and torso exposed.

“Miss, we searched every room, but found nothing suspicious.”

The Knights Commander stood at the front, embarrassed and apologetic.

“It’s our negligence; we failed to investigate thoroughly.”

Liang Di’s face was filled with sorrow and dejection.

She shook her head.

“It’s alright, it’s not your fault. If anyone’s to blame, blame the person who drugged my father—they were too cruel. So what should we do? For now, just continue the investigation…”

“Miss, that night, did you see anyone enter or leave the Duke’s room?”

Liang Di shook her head.

“That night…”

Liang Lin, hidden under the covers, suddenly twitched. Liang Di immediately reached under the covers and grasped the other’s small hand.

Liang Di could feel Liang Lin’s breathing becoming heavier, almost moaning.

This wouldn’t do.

So, a tentacle emerged and was stuffed into Liang Lin’s mouth, silencing her and preventing them from being exposed.

“That night, my sister Liang Lin and I stayed in my room chatting and didn’t pay any attention to what was happening with Father. Alas, it’s our fault as daughters.”

“Yes, I understand, Miss. We’ll go ask the others next.”

The knights all left. Head maid Bellica was the last to leave. Before she did, she gave the bed a meaningful look.

That little one was inside the bed.

“Madam Meredith… Miss Liang Di is becoming more and more like you, which makes me so happy.”

Bellica touched the pendant on her ample bosom.

“If only you were still alive, I could be your dog again. That feeling… I’ll never forget it.”

After the door closed, Liang Di pulled back the covers, withdrew her tentacles, and let Liang Lin’s little head peek out.

She affectionately stroked Liang Lin's forehead, which was already damp with sweat.

"Sister, you should thank me just now. If I hadn't covered your mouth and held your hands down in time, your secret... would have been discovered."

"Hehe, then thank you so much," Liang Lin said irritably.

"I was afraid I'd suffocate you. Hmm~ Looks like the poison is almost completely gone."

Looking at Liang Lin's increasingly clear eyes, Liang Di lay down beside her.

"Remember what you said earlier~ You begged me to help you. Don't think that just because this crisis is over, your crisis is completely resolved, and you're going to have those crooked thoughts of trying to kill me."

Liang Di turned her head, staring at Liang Lin.

"Remember, you can't outsmart me, not in this life, never will be."

Liang Lin opened her mouth, wanting to say something but stopping herself. Seemingly having learned her lesson, she didn't argue further.

Now, only she and Liang Di were in the room. If she continued to talk back, who knows what unpleasant things might happen next.

Liang Di pulled back the covers and lay down.

“Sister Liang Lin, didn’t you feel anything about what just happened?”

“No.”

“Oh~” Liang Di drawled, clearly disbelieving.

“Then don’t you have anything to ask me?”

By this time, the toxins in Liang Lin’s body had mostly been eliminated, and her mind had regained its rationality.

She thought for a moment and asked, “What kind of monster are you?”

“I’m a person, can’t you tell? I’m a person with flesh and blood.” Liang Di grabbed Liang Lin’s hand and placed it against her face, letting the other feel her body heat.

Liang Lin, like a startled bird, immediately withdrew her hand.

“A person? People don’t grow octopus tentacles.”

“Haha~ those are called tentacles.”

Tentacles?

Whatever they are, it’s a monster, that’s all that matters.

“I’m going… back to my room.”

Liang Lin sat up unsteadily.

Liang Di grabbed her wrist. "Not sleeping with me tonight? Didn't you ask me to sleep with you last time?"

"It's not raining today."

Liang Lin didn't have the energy or the inclination to curse.

"Hmm...hmm~ okay~"

It's alright, no rush.

The prey tastes better after being tormented and played with.

Liang Lin left Liang Di's room and returned to her own.

Click

"Waaah..."

Liang Lin leaned against the door, her body slowly sliding down until she knelt on the floor, sobbing, tears streaming down her face.

She raised her hand, haphazardly wiping away the tears, her mouth pursed into a tight smile, utterly aggrieved.

So humiliating, so incredibly humiliating...

"Liang Di, you just wait...wait...! I will, I will definitely kill you!"