Chapter 9 : Come on!

Evening.

Luko bounced down from the second floor, hugging her dragon plushie, eyes sparkling with anticipation.

She had made up her mind: tomorrow she would remove Qianya’s mark!

As long as she could stay with Qianya forever, whether there was a mark or not didn’t seem to matter anymore.

She circled the first floor once and quickly spotted Qianya sitting at a corner table.

“Xiao-Ya!”

Luko dashed over.

“Luko-chan?” Qianya looked up.

“You’re done working, right? Come to my room (^▽^)”

“Uh…”

Qianya paused, lifted her head, and her eyes flickered away.

“Well… I might be a little busy tonight. How about we talk tomorrow instead… And the slave mark thing isn’t urgent either…”

Her expression was completely unnatural.

“…Eh?”

The smile on Luko’s face vanished instantly.

“Why? Didn’t you promise you’d come tonight? Do you… hate me now…”

“No no no (≧﹏≦)” Qianya hurriedly waved her hands, wanting to explain, but the words stuck in her throat.

Just then, a teasing voice came from behind.

“Because Yaya promised to spend time with me tonight~ Little Luko can’t cut in line.”

Both Qianya and Luko turned around.

Vivian strolled over gracefully.

She walked up behind Qianya, naturally wrapping her arms around Qianya’s waist and resting her chin on Qianya’s shoulder, voice dripping with playful affection.

“Right, Yaya? We agreed to taste the new black tea in my room tonight, didn’t we?”

“…”

Qianya silently nodded and gave Luko an apologetic look.

“Eh…”

Tears instantly welled up in Luko’s golden eyes.

“C-Can’t you do it tomorrow? I really have something very important to talk to Xiao-Ya about…”

“That depends on whether Yaya is free tomorrow~” Vivian smiled.

“We’re heading up now. Be a good girl and stay downstairs, little Luko~”

With that, she pulled Qianya toward the stairs, not giving either of them another chance to speak.

Luko stood rooted to the spot, watching their backs disappear up the staircase. The tears in her golden eyes slowly faded, replaced by a faint, almost imperceptible shadow.

“Xiao-Ya…”

The neck of the dragon plushie in her arms was suddenly squeezed tight ( ).

♡♡♡

Vivian’s room was the complete opposite of Luko’s cute style. Deep purple walls, furniture edged with delicate lace, a small round table by the window holding a silver tea set, and a faint perfume lingering in the air.

Vivian pushed Qianya into a chair, then sat across from her and leisurely poured herself a cup of black tea.

“No need to be so nervous, Yaya. I’m not going to eat you.”

“What exactly do you want?” Qianya asked.

Vivian took a gentle sip. “Nothing much. I’m just very interested in your little plan~”

“What are you talking about…”

“You’ve been trying to figure out how to remove the slave marks, haven’t you?”

“Nn (°ー°〃)”

Qianya froze.

“Iris holds too big a grudge against you, Zero is too hard to read and trick… so you picked the purest one, Luko, planning to start with her and remove her mark first, right?”

“I didn’t…”

Qianya was completely stunned. She opened her mouth but couldn’t get a single word out.

“And that night, you went to find Lady Flo, didn’t you?” Vivian dropped another bomb. “I don’t know what you two talked about, but I can tell Lady Flo seems quite interested in you.”

Every single thing Vivian said hit the nail on the head.

“You…”

Qianya’s eyes widened. She was speechless.

Vivian was way more troublesome than she’d imagined!

“What the hell do you want?! (╬◣д◢)”

Qianya gave up pretending.

“If you want to stop me, just say it. All this roundabout stuff is annoying.”

“Hehehe~”

Vivian suddenly giggled.

“I never said I wanted to stop you. I’m just upset~ When it comes to removing slave marks, Yaya didn’t think of me first and went to Luko instead. I’m jealous~”

Her voice sounded like she was pouting.

Qianya knew it was an act… but she didn’t want to give up hope.

“You… you’d really be willing to remove my mark?” Qianya asked cautiously.

“Of course.” Vivian nodded, smile growing wider. “But there’s a price.”

“A p-price (*ﾟﾛﾟ)”

Qianya had a very bad feeling…

Vivian said nothing. She simply lifted her right foot and gently placed her bare, snow-white jade foot on Qianya’s lap.

It wasn’t wearing any stocking; the skin was flawless and delicate.

“Come on, Yaya~”

“…Huh (●_●)?”

Qianya stared blankly at the foot now resting on her knees. Her brain short-circuited.

Eh?!!

So this is the price?!

“Do I really have to (〃﹏〃)” Qianya asked, face burning.

“Don’t you want the mark removed?” Vivian countered.

“Nn QAQ”

Qianya was about to lose it.

Why is the price this…

Whose weird fetish is this ( )