Back at the Estrella mansion, Amber parked the car steadily. Turning to the passenger seat, she noticed that Aries had awakened at some point. Aries was staring blankly out of the window, her gaze seemingly distant.
Amber paused and called out, "Miss Aries."
Aries blinked, turning her attention back, but she didn't look at Amber. She opened the car door, saying, "You can go back."
Amber, seeing Aries seemingly unaffected by what had happened, recalled her indifference during the wound dressing. She unconsciously clenched her fist and stepped out of the car, following Aries. "Miss Aries, your injuries are severe. Let Dr. Sunny take a look."
Aries halted her steps, slowly turning to look at Amber. Was Amber... concerned about her?
Meeting Aries' gaze, Amber's expression flickered with a hint of remorse. "If I can be of any more help to Miss Aries, perhaps she wouldn't be injured like this."
Aries remained silent. She wondered if Elestrela would say the same if she knew Aries had personally led an expedition against Lily's family back then.
Aries' profound gaze made Amber unable to read her thoughts. Just as Amber was about to say something, a black sedan slowly approached. Passing by the two, it finally stopped at the entrance of the Jiang mansion. Amber turned to glance and her pupils contracted.
It was Estrella's car.
Estrella got out of the car without sparing a single glance at the two. It was as if they were nothing more than trash on the roadside, unworthy of attention. With her back straight and strides long, Estrella walked towards the Jiang mansion. The gatekeepers had already opened the door, bowing respectfully to welcome back their noble queen.
"Aries, come here."
Just before entering the house, Estrella suddenly spoke, her tone casual as if calling a dog. She didn't stop, nor did she wait for them. Aries watched her figure enter the Jiang mansion before retracting her gaze and looking at Amber. Eleven Miss's behavior was too obvious. Aries frowned and, opening her mouth, said, "Go back." She then turned to walk towards the Jiang mansion, her expression unreadable.
Inside the mansion, Aries entered Estrella's study.
"These are the only records found in the laboratory." Aries placed the observation records on Estrella's desk. From her pocket, she took out two test tubes containing an unidentified liquid and placed them as well. "These are the samples."
Estrella, lounging in her soft chair, silently observed her. Aries had sacrificed something for her, and she placed it on the table. Estrella didn't even glance at it. After a moment, she spoke, "Undress."
Aries momentarily froze, processing what she meant.
Estrella coldly narrowed her eyes. "Don't make me repeat it a second time."
Aries gestured with a finger, lifting her hand to unzip the loose camouflage suit. She tossed the coat onto the ground. Her shirt had already been cut to shreds by the ice esper; during the makeshift bandaging Amber did, she simply took it off and discarded it. Now, she wore only an undergarment, and her upper body was wrapped in bloodstained bandages.
Aries looked towards Estrella. The queen remained high and mighty, casting a scrutinizing gaze that didn't allow her to stop. Aries didn't change her expression, raising her hand to untie the bandages one by one. The bandages, sticky with blood, were ripped off, opening up the wounds that had barely been sealed. The room was filled with the increasing scent of blood.
Aries took off the bandages, and then she reached down to unfasten her belt. Throughout the entire process, she maintained an impassive expression.
The shocking wounds on Aries' body didn't make Estrella furrow her brow. She lounged lazily, observing Aries' body. Scars crisscrossed her delicate and pale skin—some deep, some shallow, some long, some short. They formed a mosaic of traces, all a result of Aries fighting for her. This included the wounds that were still bleeding on her right abdomen and ribs, which would soon become permanent scars, just like the ones already present.
Estrella admired the artwork before her, especially pleased with the ugly and distorted name "Estrella" carved on Aries' chest.
Leaning against the back of her chair, Estrella tapped her fingers gently on the armrest, raising her chin slightly as she spoke, "Come here, kneel."
Aries obediently walked over and knelt beside Estrella. Estrella extended her hand, placing it on Aries' shoulder. Her fingers traced gently over the scarred and intersecting lines on Aries' skin, finally resting on the wounds beneath her ribs. With a sudden force, Estrella jabbed her fingers into the wounds.
Aries' pupils contracted, but aside from that, her expression remained unchanged.
Estrella leaned down, the chilly fragrance of her breath brushing against Aries' ear. Lazily, she asked, "Why were you injured?"
Aries replied, "Mission."
Estrella, with lowered eyes, studied the clear veins and arteries on Aries' neck. Her eyes gleamed with a chilling coldness as she exhaled softly, "For the mission or to protect someone?"
"For the mission," Aries responded. She knew what the other wanted to hear. Leaning closer to Estrella's ear, she added, calmly and softly, "For you, Boss." As the words left her lips, a smile formed on her face, malicious and reminiscent of a beast baring its fangs.
Estrella chuckled softly, straightening up. Withdrawing her hand, now stained with Aries' blood, she brought it before Aries' face, arrogantly commanding, "Lick it clean."
Aries, realizing she was being treated like a dog, watched the bloodied and elegant hand before her. With almost imperceptible grinding of her molars, she leaned forward, extending her tongue to lick the blood droplets from Estrella's fingers.
The wounds continued to bleed, and even with the robust constitution of a high-level esper, leaving them unattended would not be sustainable. Aries' tongue glided over Estrella's fingers, and her gaze, which had become distant, gradually lost consciousness.
Aries swayed, leaning forward, and then fell onto Estrella's lap.
Estrella looked down at her with a lowered gaze. With bloodstained hands, she gently stroked Aries' hair. A pleased smile curved on her lips, "Good girl."
After a while, when the blood had formed a small pool on the ground, Estrella seemed to recall something. She picked up the phone on her desk and dialed Sunny's number.
Aries woke up four days later, opening her eyes to see the cold and distant face of Estrella's chief physician, Sunny.
Aries smiled faintly and thanked, "Dr. Sunny, thank you."
"No need," Sunny coldly replied. "You should thank the head of the house. To give you a blood transfusion, the head had someone drain another person's blood."
Aries didn't have a rare blood type; it was just insufficient at the time. In less than half an hour, a young boy was brought to Sunny by Estrella's people.
The boy looked around sixteen or seventeen, fair-skinned and seemingly innocent. However, because his blood type matched Aries', he was forcibly brought in as a fresh blood source.
Sunny could never forget the boy's terrified expression and tearful plea. Though Aries didn't need all of the boy's blood, she still couldn't save him in the end. Because of Estrella's order, the boy's entire body was drained of blood. Sunny watched helplessly as it happened.
Aries' life was saved, but it came at the cost of another innocent child's life.
"Is that so? Then, I should thank Boss for valuing me so much," Aries said calmly, seemingly indifferent even when hearing this news, as if discussing the weather.
Sunny clenched her fists tightly, her eyes burning with anger, yet Aries appeared unaffected.
Suddenly, the door swung open, and someone walked in—Amber.
"Aries, you're awake?" Seeing her awake, Amber was pleasantly surprised. She gestured with her hand, showing a bag of fruits, and said with a smile, "I brought you some fruits."
Sunny, with a cold expression, stood up from her chair and walked out without saying a word.
"Sunny, Doctor?" Amber watched Sunny pass by without acknowledgment. The latter ignored her and slammed the door shut.
Amber's smile faded as she turned back to sit beside Aries. From her bag, she took out an apple and a fruit knife, peeling the skin. "Miss Aries, please don't mind. Dr. Sunny is..." She hesitated, finding it difficult to continue.
Aries finished her sentence, "Dr. Sunny is unwilling to use an innocent life to save someone like me."
Having studied medicine for so long, Sunny still believed she could save the world. She had yet to realize that this world had rotted from the inside out. Aries chuckled wryly.
Amber furrowed her brow, refuting, "Miss Aries is not an executioner."
Aries looked at her with a half-smile, and Amber couldn't help but feel that her gaze was strangely sharp. Amber diverted her eyes, focusing on peeling the apple with great concentration.
Amber was a skilled and nimble girl; she peeled the skin off the apple neatly without breaking it.
Aries observed the bag of apples on the bedside. In the post-apocalyptic world, fruits were a luxury, and the cost of these few apples likely exceeded a thousand survival points. Not to mention the D-district, even those living in the C-district might never taste what fruit was like in their entire lives.
Aries turned her gaze to Amber and asked, "Did you go on missions these past few days?"
Amber's knife paused momentarily before continuing its work. "I wanted to improve myself. I don't want to be a burden to Miss Aries anymore." She handed the peeled apple to Aries, smiling, "But they were just some minor tasks within the safe zone, nothing dangerous. This time, going on a mission with Miss Aries earned me quite a few survival points. I bought some equipment, and I won't hide behind Miss Aries on the next mission."
Aries took the apple and took a bite, its sour taste making her lick the juice off her lips. She glanced at Amber and said meaningfully, "Having ambition is a good thing."
After this mission, Estrella didn't assign Aries any new tasks, and Aries herself wanted some time off. Having been with Estrella for so long, Aries had never taken a break. Suddenly, she felt the desire to experience what it was like to have nothing to do all day.
However, her wish didn't come true. Although Estrella didn't give her any new tasks, she started bringing Aries along wherever she went.
In the opulent banquet hall, Aries stood in a corner wearing a black suit, clean and neat but lacking the brilliance compared to the glamorous attendees. The hall was filled with the mingling of people, and the crystal glasses refracted the ambient light, creating a dazzling spectacle. Classical piano music resonated in the grand hall, elegant yet teasing, while the air carried the aroma of delicacies and the intoxicating scent of alcohol, fermenting into a decadent ambiance.
Aries, standing straight with an expressionless face, watched the people in the hall wearing their hypocritical masks, moving about with pretense. Most of them gathered around Estrella.
Despite everyone understanding Estrella's terror, countless individuals flocked to her, chasing after the queen like obedient puppies. They adorned themselves with various purposes, fawning over her like sycophants, hoping that their flattery and obsequiousness would gain the queen's favor.
Every banquet signified the rise or fall of a family. This was a battlefield for the high echelons.