'Did I make a mistake? I should not have given my card away to that demon. There was too much money in it. What if she spends it all?'
'Not that it matters to me or my situation. But mom would scold me if I had to ask her for more money so soon.'
Adrian's brain was conjuring up all the evil thoughts it could regarding this situation. He was worried that he would be in trouble with his mother. And he waited for the demon to come back before confronting her.
'Ah, she is back. How long must I wait before I can head out and ask for my card back?'
Adrian was concerned about his reputation. But he was lucky because he did not have to head out. Instead, Rachael had walked toward him and held her card out.
"I am here to give your card back to you. Thank you for allowing me to use it. Do I look different from before?"
Rachael asked Adrian, and he was shocked to see the drastic change in her hair colour.
The bright green of Rachael's hair had been replaced by a dull brown. Adrian would not say it suited her, but it looked like a significant change. It also separated the 'demon' from 'human' in his mind.
"A-Ah, you are the demon from the tower? You look…very different now. It is a little difficult to recognise you with brown hair. Why did you go for such a dull colour anyway?"
Adrian tried to contain his shock for now. But he could not help his eyes from roaming all over Rachael's body. Then those eyes returned to Rachael's face, and the shock slowly faded.
"You look much better with dull brown hairs. It makes you stand out less."
Adrian praised before snatching the card from Rachael's hand and walking away.
Without her signature green hair, Rachael looked like an average person. Adrian could not look at her and think of her as a monster. In the first place, he was unsure what he felt for Rachael.
When his friends talked about people in the same situation as Rachael, Adrian wanted to them those people. But when it came to Rachael, his standing was the polar opposite of his usual self.
Looking at Rachael was a little tricky for him right now. So Adrian quickly made his way out of the sticky situation. He did not want to confuse himself anymore.
Ultimately, Rachael was left alone in front of the large house. She no longer had the money, and now she had also been abandoned.
'Well, this went about as well as I could have expected this to go. I should head out now before someone recognises me.'
Rachael walked out of the place, only to freeze once she noticed she was no longer alone. A few servants had finally come out to check the situation.
Before they could ask Rachael who she was, someone else walked out of the enormous house and saw her. Rachael had only seen the Chlorance family head once or twice. She was uncomfortable whenever she noticed his green hair, which resembled hers.
This time was no different since Rachael felt her breath getting faster by the second. The man continued walking toward her, and for a minute, Rachael was sure she had been caught.
"Who are you, kid? And what are you doing here? You are too young to be employed here, and the staff knows better than to bring their kids here."
Rocx Chlorance was a sharp person. But this time, even he was surprised to see Rachael's transformation.
Or rather, it would be better to say that he did not recognise her at all.
Rocx had only seen Rachael occasionally. So, without her signature green hair, he could not associate Rachael with the demon he hated.
"I…accidentally walked in here. I am so sorry for trespassing."
Rachael could have told her father who she was, and she would no longer be considered a trespasser. But just as she was about to open her mouth and confess, her words got stuck in her throat.
Someone looked at her with concerned eyes for the first time in her life, and they seemed warm. Whatever Rachael wanted to say was being suppressed by her emotions.
This was unhealthy, and objectively, Rachael knew she should not fall for this kindness. But subjectively, she could not bring herself to care. She wanted to feel the warmth of her family for the longest time.
'These hopes and wishes are useless to me. And yet, I am bound by my desire for more. I should hate these eyes looking at me. But it is difficult to feel hate for this man.'
Sometimes, it was a disadvantage for one to be so bright at such a young age. Rachael could not even find herself feeling angry at what this family had done to her.
"I see. So you are a lost soul? In that case, you should not go back empty-handed. Here, have this ring and use the money to buy something nice for you."
There was a saying that the Chlorance family was one of the wealthiest families out there, and if you caught their eye, they would not let you come back without handing you something.
It also made them one of the most hospitable families in the region.
"I…do not need-"
"Nonsense. I need to find a way to allow you to go back empty-handed. Here, I have another ring as well. This is an artefact that will protect you from harm."
The green-haired man handed Rachael a small ring made of a jelly-like substance. She did not have to doubt that this was an artefact.
When it landed in Rachael's hands, she noticed everyone eyed her with greed. If she saw, the others around her noticed as well. They looked greedy and decided to try to take the artefact away from Rachael.
She was afraid that it was all going unnoticed by the wise elder before her. But for the first time in her life, Rocx Chlorance decided to be a fantastic adult for her and cast a charm on the artefact.
"The world is dangerous, and it can be hard sometimes. But this artefact, I have bound to you. It can only be used by you. Now hurry up and get going."
Rocx quickly sent Rachael away. All the servants who wanted to rob her suddenly lost interest in the artefact. If they could not use it, they did not risk stealing it.
Once Rachael reached her room, she quickly threw her body on the bed and looked at the ring.
Never in her life had she expected to get something this precious. She would surely be in trouble if someone else noticed this ring.
So that was what happened as well.
Emily threw open the door to her room and entered it rudely. Rachael was not put off by it because she was used to Emily showing up unannounced.
"Rachael, where were you up until now? Did you know I had to look around for hours to find you? Think of all the time it cost me….what is that in your hand?"
Rachael's attempt to hide the ring could have been more fruitful, and Emily noticed the ring.
At first, Emily does not notice what kind of ring the artefact is, and she only focuses on Rachael's gold ring.
"This is a gold ring. Did you steal this? From where? Whom does this belong to? Oh no! We are in trouble. We need to get rid of it. I know! Let's sell it."
Emily did not notice anything at first in her panic. She held the gold ring close to her hands and levelled Rachael with an annoyed look.
But then the elder noticed the jelly-like ring Rachael was holding in her arms, and her interest was attracted by it.
"Don't look at it. And before you ask, no! I did not steal anything I had with me. It was given to me by Rocx Chlorance because he thought I was a lost child. You have nothing to worry about."
Rachael tried to hide how upset she felt when Emily accused her. She did not mind most of the time, but sometimes, it got too much for her.
"Fine, I get it. So you did not steal this time and got these two things as a gift. But even still, you need to hand it over to me for safekeeping. Anyone would be able to steal these rings from you."
Emily was not wrong when she said that. And Rachael knew she needed someone else to take care of her artefacts.
But it was not going to be Emily, at any rate. The greedy woman would end up selling everything for profit if she could.
"No! You do not get to keep my rings. I do not want to hand them over. They are mine."
Rachael denied Emily from having the rings. But Emily was determined to grab hold of the rings. Emily could see her bright and prosperous future if she sold the artefact ring. She would get a lot of money.
'With this money, I can retire from this job and find another one. I will not need to wait on hands and knees to get abused.'
Emily was unfortunate not to get any skill or power while growing up. So, working around was all she could do.
"Rachael, be a good girl and hand your ring over while I ask you nicely."
Emily cornered Rachael, but the younger one tried her best to remain calm and composed. She could not show her fear in front of Emily.
"So you will still be stubborn and not hand over the file to me? Well then, OK. You leave me with no choice but to take the ring by myself.
Emily grabbed Rachael's arm and twisted it. The sharp pain that went through Rachael's wrist caused her to drop both rings.
'Shit, now it is over. I don't I can get these rings back from Emily.'
This was a tragedy, and Rachael's heart fell as she watched Emily reach out for both rings.