"Oh? Education?" Jiuli Xue watched Vanessa with great interest, her scarlet, enchanting eyes shimmering with a seductive glow.
"I'd love to see how Miss Vanessa plans to educate me."
"Miss Jiuli Xue, your posture is quite problematic. I believe that a truly elegant and well-mannered lady would never present herself in such a sitting posture in public. Even more so, she would never remove her socks and extend her foot toward someone else's mouth in such a setting." Vanessa's lips carried a faint, almost imperceptible smile.
Her smile had now transformed into something purely polite, as if, were it not for the sake of etiquette, she wouldn't bother showing Jiuli Xue a pleasant expression at all.
"Well then, I truly have no idea how to be a proper lady. In that case, I must trouble Miss Vanessa to personally guide and instruct me in the future, teaching me how to be a proper lady, yes?" Jiuli Xue crossed one of her long, snowy-white legs, smiling playfully with a teasing air.
"And along the way, I'll teach Miss Vanessa how to be a loyal and devoted servant, one who properly serves her master~"
"No need to wait for the future. Tonight will do just fine." Vanessa's previously emotionless, polite smile finally gained a hint of slyness, complementing her pale cherry-colored hair, giving her an air of mischievous cunning.
"One night is enough to teach you how to be a proper lady."
"Oh my? Miss Vanessa is quite confident, isn't she? Then I shall wait and see?" Jiuli Xue didn't rush to act, instead choosing to observe what Vanessa intended to do.
The only technique Vanessa possessed that could pose a real threat to her was the Divine Benediction Flame, which, given that Vanessa's mana was currently depleted, she couldn't use.
Though Jiuli Xue remained cautious, she did not believe Vanessa could pose any significant danger to her.
"Miss Jiuli Xue, your strength still hasn't fully recovered, has it?" This time, it was Vanessa's turn to smile. Her smile was breathtakingly beautiful, like a cascade of falling cherry blossoms in April.
"Oh? Is that what Miss Vanessa thinks? Then by all means, you may try." Judging by Vanessa’s tone, Jiuli Xue assumed she was planning to resort to violence and couldn't help but chuckle. "Don't worry, I'll be gentle."
"No need." Vanessa made a gesture of refusal, the curve of her lips growing more expectant.
"Miss Jiuli Xue, I order you not to do anything harmful to me."
"Oh dear, oh dear, how could I bear to hurt such an adorable Miss Vanessa?~" Jiuli Xue hadn't yet realized the gravity of the situation, her laughter shaking her delicate frame, the bells on her fox ears jingling incessantly.
Vanessa simply smiled without saying a word. Just as she finished speaking, a dim black collar around Jiuli Xue’s neck glowed, revealing a line of red runic symbols.
Vanessa knew—the collar had taken effect.
With elegant, unhurried steps, she gracefully approached Jiuli Xue and retrieved a small ruler from her spatial pocket.
Jiuli Xue was still pondering the deeper meaning of Vanessa's actions when, suddenly, she felt a light tap on her head.
"Lesson one: When in public, one must sit with proper posture. Understood?" Vanessa twirled the ruler in her hand, her face adorned with a smile as gentle as flowing water.
The tap was neither painful nor harsh, but the sheer humiliation of it left Jiuli Xue momentarily stunned.
She couldn't comprehend—where did this human woman get such audacity??
From the moment she was born until now, no one had ever dared to use a ruler to strike her head with such a lecturing tone.
For anyone who dared harm her, Jiuli Xue had always been merciless.
It seemed that before taking her as a loyal pet, she would have to educate Vanessa properly first.
With this thought, Jiuli Xue decided to seize Vanessa by the throat and let her experience the despair of suffocation firsthand.
However, just as she extended her claws, the black collar around her neck heated up. In the next instant, Jiuli Xue’s pupils narrowed into slits as an almost branding-like control force compelled her to retract her hand, trembling.
"My, my, what is this? Miss Jiuli Xue wasn’t planning on assaulting her teacher, was she?" Vanessa covered her mouth with one hand, feigning a shocked expression, before her lips curved into a smirk. "That deserves punishment."
Pa! She raised the ruler again and gave Jiuli Xue another light tap on the head.
"???" Jiuli Xue’s pupils constricted—she had finally realized that something was terribly wrong with the thing around her neck.
This thing... something was off. Could it be...?
Staring at the smiling girl before her, Jiuli Xue suddenly pieced everything together.
She had been caught in this woman’s scheme from the very beginning.
In other words, Vanessa had known all along that once she recovered her human form, she would turn against her.
She had been outwitted.
『Virtue +80 (Major character emotional fluctuation)』
『Current Virtue: 434』
"Heh." Vanessa chuckled, this time with genuine amusement, her smile radiant.
Feeling humiliated, are you, Miss Jiuli Xue?
Oh, don’t be so hasty—this is just the beginning. The debts from my past life? I haven't even begun collecting them all~
The Virtue gain was even greater than she had expected—excellent.
It seemed her decision to humiliate Jiuli Xue had been the right ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) one. Such a convenient human ATM—it would be a waste not to make full use of her.
"Don't worry, Miss Jiuli Xue, I won’t harm you. You won’t lose your life tonight." Vanessa circled around Jiuli Xue. "However..."
"Not being in mortal danger doesn’t mean you won’t lose something precious."
For example—your dignity.
"........." Jiuli Xue fell silent.
Vanessa was smiling brightly.
Now, the tides had turned.
"Alright, what are you still sitting like that for? Put your legs down." Vanessa tapped her ruler against her palm, her face brimming with delight.
Pa! Vanessa swung the ruler again, this time striking Jiuli Xue’s smooth, jade-like thigh. The ruler even bounced back slightly due to the soft flesh.
The mere thought of Jiuli Xue erupting with even more Virtue points soon had Vanessa holding her blushing cheeks in excitement.
Ah, ah, no, she couldn’t allow herself to get carried away like this. This wasn’t proper behavior for a lady—she had to compose herself~
"...As you command, Miss Vanessa." However, just as Vanessa was thinking this, Jiuli Xue did something completely unexpected.
She seemed to have realized something, obediently lowering her legs. Her stance, once seductive and defiant, had now become as composed as a well-behaved student. Yet, her charming smile remained, and she silently gazed at Vanessa without saying a word.
『Virtue +50 (Emotional fluctuation)』
『Current Virtue: 484』
Obedient on the surface, but deep down, she was still stewing in shame and frustration.
Vanessa chuckled lightly and walked behind Jiuli Xue, running her fingers through the fluffy, soft fur of her large fox tails.
"When outside, you shouldn’t wag your tail carelessly. You might accidentally hit someone in the face. Among us humans, only little pets who don’t understand speech wag their tails recklessly."
"Mmm, alright~ I won’t move." Without needing Vanessa's command, Jiuli Xue suddenly became eerily obedient, actually stopping the movement of her tails.
However, that enchanting smile of hers remained fixed on Vanessa, her half-lidded eyes watching her intently.
For some reason, the way Jiuli Xue was looking at her gave Vanessa an ominous feeling.
It felt like she had gotten herself into big trouble.
No matter where Vanessa hid in the future, even if she burrowed three feet underground, Jiuli Xue would track her down.