Volume 4, Chapter 28 – Paranoia and Weakness (Part 1)

Standing up completely naked, Edith changed her clothes with Refina’s assistance. Driven by the thought that Edith would surely tease her if she turned her head away, Yisi became an observer of the process.

Since she had been using this body for over half a year, watching it being dressed from a third-person perspective naturally gave rise to a subtle feeling. It wasn’t that sense of your partner being taken by someone else, but a simple sense of wonder, like, “Oh, so that’s what that part looks like,” and “Why does it look so much prettier than before?”

With her back to Yisi, the count’s eldest daughter started the conversation in a very calm tone.

“What happened after you took control of the body? Samael’s attack was about to hit me, yet here I am, standing perfectly fine.”

Edith didn’t know how strong Yisi truly was, and Yisi had no intention of telling her explicitly.

“It was [Third Form Awakening]. When I switched states, Samael’s attack was repelled.”

To be precise, her defense stat was so high that Samael couldn’t touch her, but to an outsider, it indeed looked like the white light had repelled his attack.

Edith paused for a moment.

“Third Form Awakening… We use the same body, so why is the difference so obvious? Can I learn the same magic?”

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Although she couldn’t see Edith’s expression, she was probably troubled. This emotion, which Yisi had never seen in her before, was surprising.

Maintaining her pose with her arms outstretched for Refina to change her clothes, the count’s eldest daughter turned her head slightly to look at Yisi.

“You don’t need to be surprised that I’m showing my troubles in front of you. Everyone gets troubled, even me. I just don’t usually show it in front of people. As for why it’s you, just by removing the Fallen Mark from my body, you are worthy of being an honored guest of the Pescia family.

The Fallen Mark has plagued my father and me for decades. You should know that I was originally a Fallen. My ability was passive self-healing; I could recover quickly from any injury. It sounds like a blessing from the gods, but every injury would make the Fallen Mark grow. Even though I was extremely careful to avoid getting hurt, in these fourteen years, the Fallen Mark still covered my entire back.”

Yisi, who had seen her memories, finished the sentence.

“So that’s what led to your current personality?”

“Perhaps. But rather than saying it was influenced by objective factors, I prefer the statement, ‘My personality is determined by myself’.”

That’s excessively conceited.

But that was just the kind of person the count’s eldest daughter was. If she hadn’t said that, Yisi would have found it strange, so she didn’t mind.

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As for why the Fallen Mark had turned the count’s eldest daughter into what she was now, knowing that you will die one day and knowing exactly when you will die are two different things. The former makes people feel like there is still a lot of time left, while the latter makes them desperately search for evidence to deny the fact that they are about to die, and then try every possible means to extend their lives.

If no method to extend their life can be found, the person will become irritable and angry, inflicting their own suffering on others, even if doing so cannot change the facts.

Edith’s transformation from a blank-slate girl to the cruel and indifferent count’s eldest daughter was precisely due to the pressure of the Fallen Mark. A heavy burden can drive a person mad, especially since she was a prodigy, born several levels higher than ordinary vampires. If Edith hadn’t been burdened with the Fallen Mark, or if she hadn’t been the count’s eldest daughter, or even if Count Pescia hadn’t doted on her so much, giving her everything she wanted, she wouldn’t have become the person she was today.

But it was precisely because of her current paranoid, stubborn, proud, and confident demeanor that Yisi had been playing house with her until now. If it had been any other weak or arrogant young lady, Yisi would have forcibly helped her deal with the impostor Hetty, whether she wanted it or not, and then had Count Pescia use the Tower of Pescia to find a solution to their shared body problem. But now, she was merely an observer, wanting to see Edith reach the end through her own means.

In a way, she might be like Refina, attracted to such a dazzling existence. This quality and charm were things she lacked.

“Master, should the hair ribbon be purple or black?”

“Black,” the count’s eldest daughter said coldly to Refina, then urged Yisi, “It’s time to talk about what happened next.”

“After that, I rescued Refina, and we came here.”

“Is that all?”

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The count’s eldest daughter frowned. Ignoring the fact that Refina was still putting on her hair ornament, she turned around directly. Her bottomless azure eyes stared into Yisi’s, as if trying to unravel a mystery, searching for something.

Yisi shrugged fearlessly.

“That’s it. Refina was there; you can ask her.”

With a light snort, the count’s eldest daughter looked away as if she had lost interest.

“If you were lying, Refina wouldn’t have kept quiet. There’s still some time left. Care for a game of chess?”

The “chess” she was referring to must be the one they played in the garden in Termi City last night. Yisi raised an eyebrow.

“Hey, now is not the time for chess. After being rejected by your own father, shouldn’t you be thinking of a way to get back to the mansion?”

“Father is already under mind control. I, who have never studied mind magic, have no way to bring him back to normal. Panicking is meaningless.”

“Then what do you plan to do?”

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“Assassination. As long as I kill the person who used mind control on Father, he will be freed from it.”

“Hold on. The point shouldn’t be how to break the mind control, but to find the optimal solution to get you back to your original position with the least amount of risk. For example, go find your uncle, have him lend you his troops, and then forcibly take back what belongs to you. Assassination is too risky.”

This was not only for Edith’s sake but also to help Refina, who admired her.

Edith, now fully dressed, sat down casually in the carriage and had Refina find a small table for the chessboard.

“That is also an option. But leaving aside whether my uncle would lend me troops for such a suicide mission, first of all, doing so would be equivalent to me admitting defeat to the impostor. As the rightful heir of the Pescia family, to not only fail to reclaim my position but also have to rely on external forces… such a person is not worthy of being a noble. The board and pieces should be with you, right? Take them out.”

Yisi did not follow Edith’s command. Instead, she looked at Refina, who was standing beside her. The latter was biting her lip, looking very conflicted.

She probably wants to persuade Edith to use a method with a higher chance of success. If it weren’t for their conversation in the stone house, Yisi wouldn’t have thought of this possibility. But now it was completely different. She already knew that although Refina admired the proud and paranoid Edith, she didn’t want her to pay for it with her life. She cherished Edith’s life more than her beliefs.

Sighing inwardly, Yisi spoke up on Refina’s behalf.