Chapter 74: Lia Scarlet
Edwin knocked on their door about two hours after sundown.
“Young Lady, is the young Adventurer still alive?” he asked her from outside.
“You’re so annoying! I am still alive!” Leo responded to him this time.
“…”
“I see… What about the Young Lady’s condition?” Edwin spoke a few moments later, clearly surprised to hear Leo’s voice.
“I am fine.” Lia replied.
“Please excuse me. I am coming inside for a moment for a quick inspection.”
Edwin opened the door and entered the room shortly after.
He then walked to the bed and quickly looked at Lia to make sure there were no injuries on her body.
After seeing that she was unharmed, Edwin turned to look at Leo with a profound expression.
“You don’t seem harmed either, and the Young Lady’s bloodlust ended much quicker than usual. To be completely honest, I wasn’t supposed to check up on her for another three hours, but I really wanted to see the situation. How did you do it?” Edwin asked Leo.
“Sorry, but I don’t have any intention of telling you.” Leo calmly responded.
Edwin narrowed his eyes at him, but he didn’t say or do anything.
After a moment of silence, Edwin turned to look at Lia with a puzzled expression on his face.
‘The Young Lady isn’t saying anything, either?’
“By the way, my body is all sweaty from all that exercise. Can I leave to take a quick shower?” Leo suddenly asked.
“There’s a bathroom here. You are not allowed to leave this room until the end of your mission.” Edwin said.
“You want me to clean myself in a bathroom that’s filled with blood? I’ll come out even dirtier than before I went inside!”
“That is none of my concern—”
“Let him.” Lia suddenly said.
“E-Excuse me?” Edwin turned to look at her again, his eyes slightly widened.
“I will not repeat myself.” Lia said in a nonchalant voice, yet it sounded very authoritative and threatening.
“Yes, Young Lady.”
Edwin then looked at Leo and said, “There’s a bathroom in the room right next to this one. You have half an hour to get yourself cleaned up.”
“Thanks.” Leo didn’t linger in the room for even a second longer and rushed to take a hot shower.
“Is everything okay, Young Lady? He didn’t do anything weird to you, right?” Edwin asked Lia once they were alone.
“What are you trying to say, Edwin?” Even though her face showed no changes, after working for her for 18 years, Edwin could tell that she just got a little annoyed by his question.
“I apologize, Young Lady. Please ignore my random rambling. I am truly getting old.”
“You may leave,” she then said.
“I understand.” Edwin bowed to her before leaving the room and shutting the door.
However, he didn’t leave completely, as he had to make sure that Leo wouldn’t run away.
Sometime later, Leo came outside the room with a refreshed look on his face.
“It’s been 35 minutes. You’re 5 minutes late.” Edwin said the moment he saw Leo.
“Cut me some slack. You’re using me as a sacrifice. I might even die soon. The least you can do is let me relax a little before I die.” Leo said in a sarcastic voice.
Edwin’s eyebrows twitched a little after hearing Leo’s words.
“You’re getting a little too comfortable, young man. Don’t forget your place. As long as you’re within the Scarlet Household, you’re at our mercy. If I want you to die, nobody can save you.” Edwin spoke with a hint of killing intent within his gaze.
Just by his aura alone, even a novice like Leo could tell that Edwin was stronger than Lia. However, he was not scared of Edwin, and the reason was simple.
“Kill me? You’ll need permission from your Young Lady first.” Leo sneered.
The killing intent within Edwin’s eyes intensified after Leo used Lia’s presence to threaten him.
“I’m going back to the Young Lady now. She’s probably getting lonely without me.” Leo turned around and walked towards the metal doors.
“I swear, if you do anything weird to the Young Lady, I will not only take care of you but everyone you hold dear.” Edwin spoke in a low but cold voice.
Leo stopped in front of the metal door, and he spoke a moment later, “How fortunate for me then. I don’t have anyone like that in this world.”
He opened the metal door and entered the room afterward.
However, when he went inside the room, Leo couldn’t see Lia’s figure anywhere.
‘Is she in the bathroom?’ he wondered to himself as he took a seat on the bed.
“That old man is most likely an A-Rank Adventurer or has the strength of one. Why are you picking a fight with him?” Lilith suddenly asked him.
“Does it look like I am picking a fight with him?”
She nodded.
“I’m not doing it on purpose. I just don’t like him. It feels like he cannot wait until I am dead, and my survival somehow irritates him.” Leo shrugged.
“Maybe he thinks you’re doing something weird to his young lady? After all, a young maiden and a young man staying inside an enclosed room could only mean one thing.” Lilith chuckled.
“You mean it can only mean one thing inside your perverted head?” Leo frowned.
“I mean, your playboy-like face doesn’t help with your situation at all.”
“This is a face that Miss Camille had picked for me!”
“So what? That’s not how others see you.” Lilith shrugged.
“Damn it… I should’ve asked Miss Camille to change my face before I became an Adventurer…” he sighed.
“It’s too late to change now. You’re already in the Guildmaster’s crosshair, not to mention the Scarlet Family.”
“I know that…”
Sometime later, the door to the bathroom opened, and Lia walked out with her body dripping wet with red water. However, the most shocking part of her appearance was the fact that she was completely naked as of this moment. There was a towel on her head, but it didn’t block her most important areas.
“Y-You! Why did you walk out like that?! At least wrap the towel around your body!” Leo immediately turned around when he saw her appearance. Of course, he still saw everything.
“I don’t mind being seen by you,” she said in a calm voice.
“Wow, she’s very bold. Is she really that innocent, or is she just teasing you? Even I cannot tell what’s on her mind.” Lilith chuckled when she saw the situation.
Sometime later, Lia finished drying her body and wore her one-piece dress again.
“It’s getting late. Let’s go to sleep.” Lia said to him as she entered the bed.
Leo grabbed one of the pillows on the bed and placed it on the floor beside the door.
“What are you doing?” Lia asked after seeing his actions.
“What else? It’s not like I can sleep on the same bed as you.”
“It’s fine. I don’t mind sharing the bed with you. There’s plenty of room too.”
‘Is she doing this on purpose…?’ Leo couldn’t help but wonder inwardly.
He was hesitant to sleep on the bed not because Lia was a beautiful girl and he was a healthy young man. He was simply afraid of the risks. After all, he wouldn’t have any time to react if she suddenly decided to slit his throat while he slept.
“Are you worried that I might hurt you in your sleep? Don’t worry, I won’t do such a thing, and I have already decided to never point my weapons at you.”
“It’s not that I don’t trust you, but what if you suddenly lose control? You won’t be able to stop yourself if that happens.” Leo said.
“You worry too much. I only lose control once a day. I don’t have to worry about it until tomorrow,” she said.
“Just go sleep with her, Leo. You don’t get to share a bed with such a beauty very often. I’ll keep watch to make sure nothing happens to you.” Lilith said to him with a smile on her face.
Leo sighed.
“Alright, I’ll sleep on the bed.”
Leo entered the bed shortly after, but he made sure to sleep near the edge of the bed.
Lia stared at him with a nonchalant look on her face from the center of the bed.
“Goodnight,” he ignored her gaze and closed his eyes.
“Goodnight,” she responded.
Despite his situation, Leo actually fell asleep very quickly. Using Mana Drain for the entire day had really drained him of his energy.
As for Lia, she would silently stare at Leo’s sleeping face for many minutes before eventually falling asleep as well.
The following morning, Leo woke up to the sensation of something pressing against his chest.
When he opened his eyes and saw Lia sleeping on his chest, his eyes widened with shock.
However, he didn’t dare to move.
He then noticed Lilith floating right above him with a smug look on her face.
“She couldn’t sleep last night, so she tried using your body as a pillow. It seems to have worked wonders.”
??n ??-? o???, ?.?.? And before Leo could say anything, she continued, “By the way, that butler is on his way to this room. He’ll be here in a few moments.”
“What?! He’ll definitely kill me if he sees me like this!”
Leo gritted his teeth and gently rolled Lia off his body, sighing in relief when he saw that she was still sleeping.
He then got off the bed and walked to stand beside the door.
*Knock* *Knock*
“I have prepared breakfast. Excuse me.” Edwin opened the door and entered the room with breakfast.
He immediately noticed Leo, who was standing right beside the door when he opened it.
“She’s still sleeping,” Leo said, trying to act like he’s been awake for a while.
Edwin turned to look at the bed after hearing Leo’s words.
He frowned when he saw how Lia was still sound asleep on the bed.
‘She’s never slept this late before…’ Edwin thought to himself with a small frown on his face.
However, he didn’t say anything and still prepared their breakfast nevertheless.
Once everything was set, Edwin looked at Leo and said, “You are not to touch the food until she wakes up, nor are you allowed to disturb her rest.”
“What if the food turns cold? Are you okay with letting her eat cold food?” he asked.
Edwin’s eyebrows twitched slightly after hearing Leo’s words, and he said, “She will wake up very soon. If not, I will just prepare it again.”
‘So his eyebrow twitches every time he’s irritated, huh? That’s good to know.’ Leo smiled inwardly after understanding Edwin a little more.
Edwin left the room shortly after.
In the end, Lia would not wake up for another two hours, so Edwin had to prepare breakfast again from scratch.