Over the next several hours, Leo would spend most of his time using Mana Drain on Lia.
Not only did he consume a high-grade energy potion before starting but Lia also consumed a high-grade mana potion, so she would have more mana to let Leo drain.
“She’s definitely addicted to the feeling of her mana being drained.” Lilith said as she stared at Lia’s dazed expression.
“There won’t be any side effects to Mana Drain, right?” Leo asked her.
“No, there isn’t, but you can kill your target if you drain all of their mana. However, being addicted to the feeling of Mana Drain could be dangerous for the girl. Once you leave, she will seek other ways to experience the same feeling. Who knows, she might even look for a vampire who can use Mana Drain.”
“Seriously? There’s no way that she would do something that outrageous, right?”
“Who knows. She’s a weird girl, and humans are unfathomable creatures that are capable of doing anything.” Lilith shrugged.
“I mean, even if that’s the case, it has nothing to do with me. Once I finish this mission, I will no longer have anything to do with the Scarlet Family.”
“Let’s hope that’s the case.” Lilith said with a slight smile on her face.
Sometime later, Edwin knocked on the door.
“It’s time for lunch, Young Lady.”
Edwin entered the room shortly after with a cart, but there appeared to be less plates on the cart than usual.
Once he set up the table, it became obvious to Leo why it seemed that way.
“Where’s my food?” Leo asked when his side of the table was empty.
“The mission doesn’t state that we have to provide nourishment to you. The previous time was a privilege that you no longer have.” Edwin calmly said.
“Seriously? You’re being that petty? Is it because of what I said the other day in the bathroom? What are you, a child?” Leo scoffed.
Edwin’s eyes flickered with killing intent.
“Imprudent! Know your place, you damned brat!”
“Leo! Watch out!” Lilith shouted.
Edwin’s right arm suddenly flickered, his grasp shooting straight for Leo’s throat at lightning speed.
Despite Lilith’s warning, Leo was unprepared for the sudden attack. In fact, even if he had known that Edwin was going to attack him beforehand, he still wouldn’t have been able to react fast enough to block it.
Leo’s eyes widened, but there were no emotions behind it, as it was too sudden.
However, Edwin’s hands suddenly stopped right in front of Leo’s neck, his fingernails penetrating slightly into the skin.
Feeling the sharp sensation on his neck, Leo didn’t even dare to swallow.
“Young Lady… You…”
Edwin slowly turned to look at Lia, who had a deep frown on her face, and her hand was holding onto a black dagger.
He retrieved his hand after a moment of silence. He then looked down at the right side of his stomach to see the black dagger wielded by Lia stabbing into his body.
“Who gave you the permission to attack him?” Lia spoke in a cold voice, her eyes flickering with killing intent.
“I-I apologize… I acted on my own accord just now. Please forgive me, Young Lady. It will not happen again.” Edwin spoke with a pale face, ignoring the pain in his sides.
Lia didn’t say anything and suddenly yanked the dagger out of Edwin’s body without any warnings, causing his blood to spray all over the food.
Edwin gritted his teeth at the initial pain, but besides that, his expression remained relatively calm. He quickly pressed his palms against the injury, slowing down his blood loss.
“I have lost my appetite. You may leave now.” Lia said to him in a nonchalant manner.
“Yes.”
Edwin, still with one hand pressed against his injury, began cleaning up the mess.
Meanwhile, Leo just stood there with a dazed face. He was still trying to comprehend the situation. Everything had happened so quickly that he didn’t know how to react.
After cleaning up the table, Edwin bowed to Lia and said, “Once again, I apologize for my blunder. I will further discipline myself later.”
He turned around and started walking towards the door.
However, before he could take two steps, Lia’s soothing voice resounded, “Wait.”
“There is still someone else waiting for your apology.”
Edwin’s eyebrows twitched violently after hearing her words. He didn’t feel any anger when he was stabbed by Lia, but the thought of apologizing to Leo made his blood boil.
Unfortunately, he had no choice but to obey, as it was an order from Lia, who would be the future head of the Scarlet Household.
After taking a deep breath, Edwin turned around and bowed to Leo.
“I offer my utmost sincere apology for attacking you just now. I had acted too rashly.”
‘Sincere, my ass…’ Leo sneered inwardly, not bothering to respond to him.
Edwin left the room shortly after.
The moment the metal door closed, Edwin quickly retrieved a high-grade healing potion and chugged it down.
The wound in his body immediately started healing.
He then leaned his back against the wall, slowly falling to his butt, and he proceeded to sit there with a dazed look on his face.
‘The Young Lady not only protected that brat, she even punished me for trying to hurt him! That was incredibly dangerous!’
Edwin couldn’t comprehend why Lia was acting in such a manner. He couldn’t comprehend why she would protect Leo, nor why she attacked him for Leo.
This was not Edwin’s first time bleeding because of Lia. In fact, he’s suffered many injuries from her before, but he has never felt puzzled by her reason for hurting him, as they were all quite simple— because she wanted to see blood.
‘I cannot touch that brat as long as Lia is with him. I will need to deal with him after he leaves this place… He’s a dangerous being who could potentially affect the Young Lady’s position as the next head of the Scarlet Family!’ he cried inwardly.
After leaving the hallways, Edwin began planning his next attempt at taking Leo’s life.
Meanwhile…
“Are you okay?” Lia asked Leo once they were alone again.
“Yes… Thanks to you. You saved my life just now.” Leo said after wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.
‘I was brought here to be killed by her, yet she saved my life… What an unexpected turn of events…’ he sighed inwardly.
“You’re bleeding.” Lia pointed at his neck.
Leo subconsciously touched his neck, and sure enough, there was blood on his neck, as Edwin’s fingernails had managed to penetrate just enough to cause him to bleed.
“Here’s a high-grade healing potion.” Lia handed him a luxurious-looking bottle that was even decorated with gold.
“It’s fine… A low-grade healing potion will do for this kind of injury.”
Leo retrieved his own low-grade healing potion and drank it.
As much as he wanted to taste the high-grade healing potion, he was someone who hated wasting resources, even if those resources are not his own.
“Then let me clean up the blood for you.” Lia said.
She suddenly approached him, and in one swift movement, she held his face with her small hands. At the same time, she moved her head towards his neck.
Once she was close enough, Lia opened her mouth and stuck her tongue out, licking the leftover blood on his neck.
Leo’s body froze after feeling the soft and wet sensation sliding across his neck. He wanted to step back after snapping out of his daze, but Lia’s grasp on him was much stronger than he’d anticipated.
When she finished licking all of his blood, Lia released him and took steps back until she reached the bed and fell on it, and she would lie there with a dazed look on her face for the next few minutes in complete silence.
“You must be feeling pretty happy right now. Is this your first time being licked by a girl?” Lilith chuckled with a wide grin on her face.
Instead of replying to her, Leo used his clothes to wipe the saliva left behind by Lia.
A few minutes later, Lia sat up on the bed and beckoned him.
“It’s going to be sundown in a few hours so I want to avoid spending any energy until then.” Leo said to her, thinking that she wanted him to use Mana Drain on her.
“I just want to talk to you,” she calmly said as she patted the space beside her.
“Okay…” Leo nodded and sat on the bed next to her.
“I will get straight to the point. I would like you to work for me in the Scarlet Family.”
“What?” Leo raised his eyebrows.
“I want you to stay here even after your mission is over. Your only job is to use Mana Drain on me, and I would like you to provide me some of your blood every once in a while. In exchange, I will give you everything you want, as long as it’s within my power, and as the future head of the Scarlet Family, I have plenty of power and influence, especially in the future.”
Leo swallowed nervously after hearing her enticing offer.
However, he knew that it was impossible to work for her or her family.
“Can you give me some time to think about it? I will let you know my answer after I am finished with my mission.”
Despite already deciding that he won’t be working for her, Leo did not immediately give her an answer, as he wanted to finish his quest before potentially offending her.
“Okay, I will wait.” Lia did not rush him for an answer either.
Several hours later, Edwin returned with dinner, cooking Leo’s share as well.
When Edwin saw the way Leo looked at the food, he calmly said, “Don’t worry, I didn’t poison your food.”
“I can eat it first if you don’t trust him, which is understandable after what he did to you.” Lia added.
“It’s fine. I trust that he didn’t poison it.” Leo said with a stiff smile on his face.
Sometime later, Edwin returned to clean up the mess.
“Once the Young Lady has her last outbreak, your special mission will officially be completed, and you will be allowed to leave this place.” Edwin said to him before leaving the room.
“I can’t wait to get this over with so that I can finally get some proper rest.” Leo said with a calm face.
Once Edwin left, Leo waited until sundown before he consumed a high-grade energy potion and started using Mana Drain on Lia.
However, since this was Lia’s final outbreak before she returned to normal for another 6 months, her increased mana regeneration would last longer than usual. Fortunately for Leo, his Mana Drain Mastery Rank increased to ‘B’ towards the end, allowing him to push through the last few minutes.
Leo collapsed on the bed at the end of their session.
“How do you feel?” he asked her after catching his breath.
“It’s finally over,” she said in a low voice.
“That’s great…”
Ding!
<You have completed a Special Quest>
<+150,000 Magic Experience, +750 Magic Points>
‘It’s finally done…’ Leo released a sigh of relief.
However, Lilith suddenly said, “It’s not over yet, Leo. You still have to deal with her offer. If she decides to kill you for rejecting her offer… Anyways, good luck.”
“I know… You don’t have to tell me that…”
Sometime later, Leo stood before Lia with a serious expression on his face.
“I have given many thoughts about your offer, Lia. Unfortunately, I cannot work for you.”
“…”
Lia’s expression remained unchanged even though she’d just been rejected.
“Is it because of Edwin? If you want me to get rid of him, I will permanently remove him.” Lia spoke a moment later.
“No, it has nothing to do with Edwin, you, or the Scarlet Family.” He shook his head.
ᴘᴀn ᴅᴀ-ɴ oᴠᴇʟ, ᴄ.ᴏ.ᴍ “Then why? Explain your reasoning.” Lia said, her eyes narrowing a bit.
Seeing this, Leo swallowed nervously, as he could tell that she was unhappy about his decision.
And he nodded, “Of course. That was my intention in the first place.”
