Chapter 24 : You can only be considered a loli

“It was you…” Qianya’s pupils practically shook.

“Why would you do that!”

“Just a little punishment for a naughty Yaya.” Vivian said with a smile.

Qianya: “Punishment?”

Vivian: “Exactly. Who told Yaya to brush me off the night before last? I went out of my way to brew that special red tea for you, and the moment you finished it you ran off to the tavern with Iris… Tell me, how could I not be upset~?”

“B-But… just for something like that, you didn’t have to hire a bounty hunter!” Qianya’s eyes went wide.

That was way too extreme (๑˃ಐ˂৭)

“Oh? Why not?” Vivian raised a brow, sounding perfectly justified.

“It was so dangerous…”

“Dangerous where?” Vivian walked to the window, pulled the curtain open a crack, and lowered her voice. “I never actually planned to sell little Luko. Pandora took my money; she was only ever going to follow my script. How could she possibly hurt her?”

“But Luko didn’t know that!” Qianya took an anxious step forward.

“Luko locked herself in her room right now. She’s so fragile—if we leave her alone, her mental state will collapse!”

“That’s exactly what I wanted.” Vivian suddenly spun around, red eyes gleaming with mischief.

“Eh?” Qianya froze.

Vivian: “I need to properly control the distance between you and Luko. If you two get too close, where’s the fun for me later?”

Qianya: Fun (O_O)?

“You’re completely unreasonable (╬◣д◢)” Qianya clenched her tiny pink fists in anger.

But the next second—snap. Vivian snapped her fingers.

“Nnghyaaaa X﹏X”

A powerful numbing jolt shot through Qianya’s back.

It was Vivian’s slave mark. She had activated the shock module. Qianya instantly lost all strength and dropped to her knees with a thud.

“Ahh…”

Qianya’s eyes grew unfocused, drool involuntarily slipping from the corner of her mouth.

Vivian stepped in front of her, lifted Qianya’s chin with a black-stockinged leg. “Mind your tone, Qianya.”

Qianya: “Nn…”

Vivian: “Let me remind you—you’re nothing more than a little loli in Starlight Café right now.”

“And you’re the slave, I’m the master. I can trigger the shock module whenever I want… so don’t raise your voice at me, okay~?” Vivian warned with a sweet smile.

“Why… do you have to do this…” Qianya’s voice came out broken. The lingering numbness made it hard to even lift her head.

“Because I know exactly what’s going through Yaya’s head.”

Vivian’s smile vanished.

“You want to remove all the slave marks so you can turn back into the old Yaxi and sneak away, right?”

“Uh (°口°๑)?”

Qianya’s whole body stiffened.

“I won’t let you do that.” Vivian giggled and pinched Qianya’s cheek.

“Yaya is so cute right now—soft, easy to fluster, so much fun… How could I possibly let you change back?” Her tone grew more and more possessive.

“So you’re trying to control me and Luko…” Qianya swallowed hard.

But Vivian was far scarier than she’d imagined.

“Not just Luko. I’m going to control your relationships with all three of them. Of course, we’re partners—I’ll help you lift the contracts… but from now on, if you want to remove anyone’s slave mark, you do it with me. If you try to go solo… you’re not going anywhere.”

The last sentence carried unmistakable pressure.

“Just… just for that… you’re going to cage me QAQ” Qianya’s mind cleared a little as the pain faded.

Looking at Vivian, she felt truly trapped…

Then Vivian reached out and squished Qianya’s cheeks.

“You haven’t forgotten our promise, have you?” Her fingertip lightly brushed Qianya’s lips.

“Nn…?” Qianya couldn’t speak.

“Back when you were still Yaxi, why do you think I willingly became your slave?”

“…”

Qianya blinked. Blurry memories surfaced.

She had once made Vivian a promise.

Become his slave, and every day after would be full of fun—way more fun than now… something like that.

“Remembered?” Vivian nodded with a nostalgic smile.

“Even back then, I could tell you’d give me a completely different life… And you really did. Whether it was collecting the other slaves or turning into Qianya now, it’s been way more entertaining than my old days in the vampire castle.”

She paused, a cold glint flashing in her red eyes. “But what if one day… you stop being fun?”

“Urgh X﹏X”

Vivian gently wrapped her fingers around Qianya’s throat, then licked her cheek.

“Then I might just drain all of Yaya’s blood and leave on my own~ After all, I don’t waste time on boring people.”

“Kyaa (つ﹏⊂)”

Qianya couldn’t stop trembling.

“There there, don’t be so scared.” Vivian instantly switched back to her usual charming smile. “Right now I still think Yaya is super cute and interesting. How could I bear to drink your blood?”

She pulled Qianya up from the floor and hugged her tight. “Before we part ways, let me give Yaya a little gift.”

“A gift? Eh—!”

Before Qianya could react, a cool sensation touched her neck, followed by a slight sting.

Vivian’s fangs grazed her skin—ticklish, a little numb.

Qianya tried to push her away but was held firmly.

A few seconds later, Vivian released her, licked her lips, and smiled with satisfaction. “There, gift delivered.”

Qianya: …Nothing happened, right (°ー°〃)

“Your so-called gift is— Aaaah Σ( ° △ °|||)︴”

As soon as she spoke, the heart-shaped mark on her back suddenly burned, as if something had been implanted.

“I hadn’t decided before, but now I know exactly what punishment module to add.” Vivian explained with a grin, reading her confusion.

“W-What did you do QAQ” Qianya asked in panic.

“I won’t tell you the exact effect, but don’t worry, Yaya—it’ll be very interesting.”

She leaned close to Qianya’s ear. “If one day you get too close to a certain girl… this module will activate. Then Yaya will find out just how ‘special’ my gift really is.”

“Nn (〃﹏〃)”

Qianya’s face collapsed.

♡♡♡

When Qianya left Vivian’s room, her eyes were hollow. All hope for life had vanished…

[What’s wrong, Qianya-chan? You look like a slightly dead Hakimi ⊙ω⊙]

Flo’s voice suddenly rang in her mind.

But Qianya barely reacted…

Qianya: That girl… is different.

[What?]

Qianya: Vivian… is nothing like the other three…

After spending all this time with them, Qianya had finally figured out their differences.

Iris acts like she hates Qianya—and she really does hate her a bit ( )

But she’s not a bad person. As a holy-domain elf full of justice, even if she insults Qianya, she’s all bark and no bite. She’ll still protect her as much as she can.

Zero seems indifferent, but after last night, Qianya knows she actually matters a lot to her. Maybe it’s because of the perfect image Yaxi built back then… but Zero would never truly hurt her.

Luko doesn’t need explaining—she’s the most genuine of the four. She loves Qianya both inside and out, and she’s the most obedient.

Only Vivian… She acts close, but her heart isn’t.

From the very beginning, she never actually loved Qianya. Everything was just for fun…

And now, for fun, she was going to start controlling Qianya.

Qianya: Help me, wuu (╥﹏╥)

I don’t want to be a toy (sad)