Volume 8, Chapter 46 – Cynthia’s Secret

[Blink]

After conferring with Camilla and concluding that Alice was in danger, Yisi immediately used ‘Blink’ to arrive at the Wozwahl ducal estate. Although a vampire’s night vision was excellent, the summer rain was always particularly fierce, making it difficult for Yisi to see her surroundings clearly at night.

“They’re not here?”

Duke Wozwahl and his wife, including the King of the Hels Kingdom she had discovered that morning, were all at the ducal estate. The only ones missing were Cynthia and Alice.

It was already nine o’clock at night. In this other world that lacked entertainment, it was the time when people were about to go to bed. Where could Cynthia and Alice have gone?

Expanding the search range of the [Omniscient Map] to the entire city, Yisi soon found the two of them.

The auction house.

She’s already gotten the Tears of God, so why go to the auction house?

Suddenly, Yisi realized something else.

When she had visited the Wozwahl household, besides Alice being one of the Fallen, there was another person who was also one of them.

Cynthia and Alice’s mother.

In the eyes of the Wozwahl family, the Tears of God were expensive and rare. Having already asked her for it once, in order not to use up Alice’s future share, they would not ask her for more to save Alice’s mother. Thus, the need to go to the auction house arose.

Compared to Alice, who wouldn’t live past the year, her mother could hold on for much longer.

“Tsk.”

Although the Wozwahl family’s thinking was understandable, Yisi still felt a sense of annoyance. One of the things she hated most was having to choose between two sacrifices.

“No…”

This was not the time to dwell on such things. She had to quickly inform Cynthia of the conclusion she had reached with Camilla and have her be on her guard.

Activating ‘Blink’ again, Yisi appeared in the sky above the auction house. Since the auction had already ended, the people inside were leaving one after another. Cynthia and Alice had just boarded their carriage to go home.

Thank goodness, I made it in time.

Yisi secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Should I say that the Gospel is not all that, and in the end, it couldn’t win against me in terms of time? Or should I say that I was overthinking it, and the Gospel didn’t predict this step at all?

“No matter which, as long as Alice isn’t dead, it’s my win.”

Choosing a dark alley to land in, Yisi hesitated for a moment, then walked directly out of the alley into the rain. Since her clothes and hair were already soaked, holding an umbrella now would only seem strange. She would just take a bath and change her clothes at Cynthia’s house later.

Rеαd оո КаtRеаԁіոɡCаfе

With this thought, Yisi walked through the rain to the front of the carriage that was about to depart. Probably because her current appearance was very disheveled, like a common slave on the street, the coachman driving the carriage frowned.

“Go away, go away. What slave is this? This is the Wozwahl family’s carriage. Are you looking to die?”

With no intention of wasting words on the coachman, Yisi, at a speed that he could not catch, first patted his shoulder, then slipped directly into the carriage.

“Who’s there?”

Less than a second after entering the carriage, a short weapon was held in front of Yisi. She couldn’t help but sigh and pushed aside the silver hair that was soaked with rain and covering most of her face.

“It’s me.”

“Yisi? Why do you look like this?” Quickly retracting the hilt of her sword, Cynthia, wearing a flower crown and a long white dress, looked shocked. She let go of Alice, whom she had been holding in her arms, stood up, and in one step, sat down next to Yisi. “Were you being pursued? Where is Laxyphinia? Why isn’t she with you? What happened to you?”

She’s even more anxious than I am.

Not expecting Cynthia to be so concerned about her, Yisi couldn’t help but give a wry smile.

“Don’t worry. I was just in a hurry and forgot to bring an umbrella when I came out. Well, it’s good to see that you and Alice are alright.”

“Alice is under my protection, of course she’s fine. It’s you. You should be sleeping at this time. Why did you run out by yourself? Even if your strength is no less than mine, it’s too risky to be out alone at night. The capital isn’t very peaceful recently. There was even an incident this morning where Duke Herbis was attacked. If you were to run into those people who are causing trouble in the city, the outcome wouldn’t be good. If Duke Herbis hadn’t met a silver-haired, twin-tailed girl who used a long spear to help him, he probably wouldn’t have seen tonight’s moon… wait,” Cynthia sized Yisi up, her gentle face gradually filling with astonishment. “Yisi, answer me seriously. That girl wasn’t you, was it?”

There was no need to hide her strength just to deal with a few people under level thirty. And to increase the reliability of her next words, admitting it would be a good thing. Yisi nodded.

“Mm, it was me. And I’ve also found out where that group of people came from.”

“Let’s put other things aside for later. Take off your clothes first.”

“Huh?”

She was about to say something very serious, yet Cynthia was telling her to take off her clothes. Yisi naturally felt perplexed.

Cynthia looked at her as if she were an idiot.

“What ‘huh’? Do you think I’d let you go home in wet clothes like this? If you catch a cold, wasting Winterbloom is a small matter, but it would be bad if it turned into a more troublesome illness. The temple’s healing magic can only treat external injuries and poison; it’s ineffective against colds.”

Although Cynthia meant well, it would be bad if she took off her clothes here.

Since it was currently summer, for the sake of coolness, she was only wearing one outer layer. Coupled with her innate shyness about women’s underwear, besides this blue dress, the only other thing on her body was a pair of safety shorts, just like Pepe’s. It was no problem for Laxy to see her naked. Laxy was a third-rank, God-Forged Angel without the three great desires. After seeing her shameless appearance, she wouldn’t ask her with a curious or educational tone. She had also gotten used to changing clothes in front of Laxy.

Because Laxy didn’t need to sleep, she would guard her bedside every night in the name of a bodyguard. Whenever she tried to have Laxy leave the room for reasons like changing clothes, Laxy would ask her with a very incomprehensible expression why she had to leave, making it seem as if she were the one in the wrong. So over time, even with Laxy always in the room, she had maintained the habit of not wearing underwear since she first came to this world.

It would be absolutely terrible to take off my clothes now.

Yisi hurriedly looked at Alice, who was sitting opposite her. She hadn’t spoken to Alice since they had last met at the ducal estate.

Rеαԁ оո KαtReαⅾіnɡСαfe

“Um, Alice, do you know life magic? Spells like ‘Drying’ or ‘Cleaning’.”

Life magic was the simplest type of all magic. Even people of level one or two could use it. Magic chanters who could only use life magic weren’t even worthy of the name. As a noble young lady, Alice should know it too.

Unfortunately, Yisi got a disappointing answer.

Alice shook her golden twin tails.

“I don’t know life magic.”

“Alright, hurry up. There are no men here. What are you dawdling for? You don’t look like the kind of delicate young lady who can only be served by servants to change her clothes.”

“No, it’s not that kind of problem… I’ll just wait until I get to your house and change there.” Re-gathering the tension from just before, Yisi sat up straight and put on a serious expression. “Alice, you two—”

Before Yisi could finish, her vision was covered by a piece of clothing that smelled of perfume. Yisi subconsciously twitched her nose twice.

It’s Cynthia’s scent.

Originally, she hadn’t recognized this scent. It was only because she had been forced by Cynthia to drink with her in the morning that she remembered it. Yisi quickly pulled the clothes off her head, but the sight that greeted her made her regret it.

The clothes that had been on her head were Cynthia’s usual white dress. And now, Cynthia was only in a set of light blue underwear. Due to her preference for swordplay, Cynthia had no excess fat on her body. Her figure was very well-proportioned. Both her body curves and skin care were a perfect ten. Coupled with a bust even more mature than Laxy’s, on Earth, she would surely be someone who could appear on the cover of a fashion magazine.

Suddenly, Yisi felt a warm liquid welling up in her nose. She quickly touched it—thank goodness, it wasn’t a nosebleed. The reason it felt warm was just that the air she exhaled had warmed the still-damp water on her body.

Honestly, that was quite a close call.

If her body had really had that kind of unsightly reaction because the scene was too stimulating, it would have been so embarrassing she’d want to find a hole to crawl into. Unlike the times she had seen Evelyn bathing in the church hall or changing Laxy’s power core, she had been mentally prepared on those two occasions. And both Evelyn and Laxy had a sacred aura, which didn’t easily lead to such thoughts. But now, not only was she very close to Cynthia, but the scene had also changed too suddenly. She had no mental preparation at all.

I almost thought I was going to be eaten by the big sister.

Yisi’s dazed expression made Cynthia frown.

“What’s wrong? I’ll say this first, I’m lending you my clothes because I see you as a trustworthy friend. And I don’t care about the rule that noble young ladies can’t change clothes in a carriage.”

It’s a good thing I’m a girl, otherwise Cynthia would surely be blackmailing me now.

While secretly feeling relieved, Yisi politely averted her gaze and folded Cynthia’s clothes.

“No… I just didn’t expect you to suddenly take off your clothes. Also, you have a great figure.”

Especially the firm and smooth skin of her abdomen, which was comparable to the close-up shots in paintings.

That was probably sexual harassment just now.

Yisi couldn’t help but complain to herself. But she was a girl now, so it was fine to say it. As long as she really didn’t have any intention of sexually harassing her, she didn’t need to feel guilty. Cynthia’s figure was indeed worthy of praise.

Rеad оո КаtRеаdiոɡСαfe

Cynthia raised an eyebrow in surprise. Although she didn’t look at Cynthia’s expression, just from her lighthearted tone, Yisi could tell that she was happy about the compliment.

“Is that so? Although the maids at home always praise me, I always thought it was their flattery. Since even you say so, it must be true. Speaking of which, I’ve always thought my body was different from ordinary people. Don’t you think so, Yisi?”

“Different from ordinary people?”

Yisi tilted her head in confusion.

“Yes,” Cynthia rarely showed a troubled expression. “Don’t the men at the Warriors’ Association have firm muscles on their stomachs? But no matter how much I practice my sword skills, I don’t have such a thing. Among the noble young ladies I know, the only one I can discuss such private topics with is Alice. But Alice doesn’t like to exercise, and I can’t force her for my own sake.”

“Mm… have you not asked your servants?”

Cynthia frowned reproachfully.

“As the Flower of the Kingdom, to ask a servant such a question, wouldn’t I be laughed at?”

Indeed.

Just as some women would be embarrassed about inverted nipples, and some men would be embarrassed about… —it was better not to go into detail here. Although it wasn’t something to be ashamed of in others’ eyes, the person themselves would feel inferior because they were different from others. Cynthia was probably the same.

So Cynthia also worries about such small things. Yisi couldn’t help but sigh. She had originally thought that Cynthia wouldn’t care about such details.

“Don’t worry. In my aesthetic, I think it’s better not to have muscles on your stomach. Mm, like you, is great.”

“Really? Not flattery?”

“Of course. If you really don’t believe me…”

Although it was a bit embarrassing, to prevent Cynthia from feeling inferior because she didn’t have abs, she had to give a little. After all, if such a thing that the person themselves cared about so much wasn’t resolved soon, the inferiority complex could very well affect their future life.

Yisi lifted her blue and white dress up to her stomach—it was really quite embarrassing.

“S-see? Isn’t it the same as you? I often spar with Laxy, but I don’t have the muscles you’re talking about on my stomach either.”

“Oh… really no muscles…” with a mixed expression of curiosity and enlightenment, Cynthia’s turquoise eyes widened slightly. She leaned down and looked at Yisi’s stomach. To check if she really had no muscles, she even poked her abdomen with her index finger—it sank in softly. Then, a look of imperceptible relief flashed across Cynthia’s face. “I see. I can rest assured now. So I’m not the special one.”

“Ahem.”

To hide her shyness, a blush appeared on Yisi’s face, and she coughed lightly twice.

This is really… only intimate same-sex friends would have such an interaction. No, maybe such a thing doesn’t even happen among girls. For women who are delicate and sensitive, even if the other person is a doctor, it would be difficult to talk about their physical differences. Maybe only a woman with a more casual personality like Cynthia would share such private matters with someone she had only sparred with once.

Also, I’m really quite bold and kind. Yisi quickly lowered her skirt and subconsciously touched the spot on her stomach where Cynthia had poked.

“So I told you, there’s nothing wrong with you.”

Rеαԁ оո ΚatReаdіոɡСafе

“Only men have muscles on their stomachs?”

“Mmm, that’s not necessarily the case.” There were also women with many abs, but that was a different aesthetic. For example, in Gota City, being sturdy was considered beautiful. “There are women with muscles on their stomachs, but you don’t have to worry, Cynthia. I believe that the vast majority of the kingdom’s nobles think that women without muscles are more beautiful.”

“Is that so? Then I don’t have to wear long dresses all the time and can switch to more form-fitting clothes in the future.”

Cynthia nodded to herself.

“Huh?”

Could it be that the reason Cynthia only wore long dresses was because she was afraid that tight clothes would reveal that she didn’t have abs? What kind of logic was that?

A dark cloud appeared over Yisi’s head.

Logically speaking, showing one’s stomach would be more alluring.

Although that would turn the Flower of the Kingdom from a snow lotus into a more bewitching flower.

“What, am I wrong?”

“No, you’re not wrong.”

For Cynthia, who was already a public figure, being popular was not a bad thing. Besides, Cynthia herself liked clothes that were easy to move in. No one could say anything.

For some reason, Yisi felt that the distance between her and Cynthia had shortened a lot.

Perhaps people who have shared each other’s secrets would have this feeling.

Wait.

Although the perfume that wafted into her nose made her want to prolong the conversation, she hadn’t come here to exchange girlish sentiments.

I was unknowingly led astray by Cynthia. The charm of an older sister is truly terrifying.

First, she handed the soft, fragrant dress she was holding back to Cynthia. Then, pressing her fist to her lips, Yisi coughed pretentiously.

“Ahem. The reason I came here in the rain was to inform you and Alice of something.”

Cynthia gestured with her eyes for Alice to be quiet, then frowned and looked at Yisi.

“What is it?”

“Someone is targeting Alice.”

Yisi said, word by word.