Adele stubbornly opened her eyes, those crimson eyes looking at Molly: "I don't want to..."
Molly didn't know what Adele was insisting on. She looked directly at her with those misty, fragile eyes and softly mumbled, "If you close your eyes and go to sleep, you'll disappear. Dreams only come in small segments, and maybe in the next moment, I'll dream of something else."
"I also dreamed of the little master from the Green family..." She let out a small laugh. "His green hair is so strange, no wonder Gordon doesn't like him. If I were to marry him and we had a child with a mix of gold and green hair, wouldn't that be weird?"
She mumbled to herself for a while longer, but eventually couldn't hold on, gazing longingly at Molly before falling into a deep sleep. But now, her condition was much better than when Molly first came in. Molly sighed again, gently patted Adele, and withdrew her hand from Adele's grip.
Even though she was asleep, Adele still felt Molly leaving and couldn't help but tighten her grip a bit. However, she didn't use much force, so Molly was able to successfully pull her hand away from Adele's grasp.
After taking one last look at Adele, Molly finally left the room.
Over the next two days, Adele's condition worsened. Molly could choose to secretly feed Adele some artificial blood during the day, but Adele would definitely refuse. With Adele's personality, even if Mrs. Black gave her artificial blood at this moment, as long as she didn't agree to reject the marriage, Adele would still refuse to eat.
Whether Adele eats or not no longer depends on Mrs. Black.
Molly knew exactly what the issue was, so she had to face a conscious Adele, at least at night. Sneaking in undetected would be easy, but Adele would definitely wonder how she got in, possibly leading to her cover being blown.
So, there was only one answer.
Molly didn't hesitate much and decided to go directly to Mrs. Black. The maid guarding the door was a bit surprised to see Molly requesting an audience. Molly was Adele's most favored maid, and even though the mistress was under house arrest, the head maid wouldn't trouble Molly. On the contrary, she would even give her some privileges.
After all, Adele couldn't be locked up forever. If she were to come out and find out her favorite maid had been mistreated, she might replace the head maid, just like her predecessor. So Molly coming to see Mrs. Black was certainly not because she had been treated unfairly.
There was only one answer: she was here for her mistress, Adele.
The maid speculated about Molly's reason for coming and gained some respect for her. Although she was just a lowly human, her loyalty was commendable. So, the maid had Molly wait at the door before turning around to report to Mrs. Black.
Mrs. Black, feeling a bit mischievous, had Molly wait at the door. When the maid came out, she told Molly, "The lady is busy right now; you'll have to wait a while."
When Mrs. Black said to wait a while, she made Molly wait for three whole hours. Molly had to stand perfectly still at the door without moving an inch; otherwise, the maid, following Mrs. Black's orders, might find an excuse to send her back to her room for disrespecting the lady.
Normally, Molly would have been happy to have such an excuse to relax in her room. But now, Molly had to see Adele, so she stood motionless like a statue. This wasn't difficult for her. A regular human might have shaky legs after standing still for so long, but not Molly. She could even perform more challenging feats for Mrs. Black, like standing on her head for three hours without moving.
Fortunately, Mrs. Black just wanted to make things difficult for her, so after three hours, a maid from inside came out and said, "The lady is available now; you may enter." Molly bowed her head and followed the maid into Mrs. Black's room.
It was the same reception room as last time. Mrs. Black sat on the sofa, draped in a black fur shawl, looking elegant and stunningly beautiful. If Adele reached her age, she might dress like this too.
Molly pushed unnecessary thoughts out of her mind and heard Mrs. Black, in a condescending tone, speak: "I remember your name is Molly, right? What do you want to see me about?"
"You remembered correctly; my name is Molly." She answered the first question and then raised her head to look at Mrs. Black. This action was quite bold, and the maid next to the lady almost bristled. However, Mrs. Black raised her hand slightly, and the maid held back and stayed in place.
Molly said, "I know the lady must be very troubled by the young lady's situation right now. I have served Miss Adele for so long. In this castle, besides the three masters, I dare say I know Miss Adele the best."
Molly drew from the novels she had read in her previous life and spoke at length: "Now that Miss Adele refuses to eat or drink, the lady must be very worried. The young lady is the most beloved daughter of the mistress, and her pain is your pain. I boldly ask the lady to let me in to persuade Miss Adele. She is just being stubborn and hasn't come around yet. If you let me go, I can definitely talk her into it."
The novels and dramas weren't for nothing, although Molly's usual icy, stoic demeanor didn't quite match this long speech. Normally, she wouldn't break character, but now she had no choice—she needed a favor. If she kept a cold face in front of the lady, the maid behind her might step forward to reprimand her.
A warrior can be killed but not humiliated. Molly could tolerate being pinned to the ground, but she absolutely couldn't accept being humiliated. If the maid really tried that, Molly would resist and risk exposing herself.
So she carefully prepared this long speech and felt she delivered it well.
Molly's long speech had the desired effect; at least Mrs. Black felt that even a lowly human could understand her good intentions. She couldn't help but sigh, "How come Adele doesn't see it as clearly as you do?" She muttered to herself, "Everything I've done is for her own good."
—But not entirely.
Molly silently disagreed. If it were truly for Adele's good, how could they be so forceful? They had turned their daughter's marriage into a bargaining chip, so they shouldn't claim everything was for her benefit. Their love for Adele was largely because she was a worthy heir with exceptional talent.
If it weren't for that, they wouldn't love Adele as much. They might even cater to Adele's wishes and spoil her, just like they did with the second young lady. But that kind of love was no different from the way one might love a pet—no real expectations, just let her enjoy herself. Oh, and don't forget to fulfill the role of a marriage tool on the side.
Molly had seen countless examples like this in her previous life and understood it all too well.
Mrs. Black wasn't easily convinced, and sure enough, under Molly's gaze, Mrs. Black's expression turned cold, her crimson eyes filled with indifference. "But you're just a human. Why do you think you can persuade Adele?"
"Adele is my daughter. She wouldn't be swayed by just a few words from you. You understand her? Stop boasting; you're just a human."
As expected, Mrs. Black looked down on Molly and didn't believe she could sway Adele. Molly wanted to sigh. The human resistance forces had already attacked the White family's fifth stronghold, yet these vampires were still so arrogant.
If she knew that the human resistance was now planning to break through the Black family's third stronghold and the Gordon family's sixth stronghold, would she scream in shock? Molly thought mischievously.
Molly decided to be straightforward with Mrs. Black: "Madam, I can persuade Adele."
She didn't even add "Miss" before Adele's name. Mrs. Black raised an elegant eyebrow. "You're just a human. What makes you say that?"
Molly raised her hand, revealing a small razor blade between her fingers, the kind male servants used to shave. Mrs. Black's brows furrowed further. She didn't think Molly could harm her with such a small blade.
Then she saw Molly slash her own hand. The cut wasn't deep, only three or four centimeters long, but blood still seeped out. In that instant, the eyes of the maids in the room turned redder, and their breathing grew heavier.
Even Mrs. Black's eyes darkened, and she instinctively raised her fan, opening it to cover half her face as she couldn't help but swallow. Mrs. Black blinked in surprise; she hadn't expected Molly's blood to smell this good.
Her blood smelled divine, like blooming roses and the finest tea. That sweet scent seeped into her nose, and even Mrs. Black, who had just had a satisfying meal and usually drank only the best blood, couldn't resist the urge: she wanted to drink it, she had to drink it.
But vampires weren't beasts, so they suppressed their impulses. At that moment, Mrs. Black thought, no wonder the picky Adele was willing to drink Molly's blood.
Her fangs ached a little. Mrs. Black licked her sharp teeth, steadying the wavering in her heart. When she looked at Molly again, she caught a fleeting glimpse of ridicule deep in Molly's eyes. But it was so brief that Mrs. Black thought she must have imagined it.
Mrs. Black heard the human in front of her boast: "I can persuade Miss Adele, just with my blood. I'm sure you know that the school doctor had an eye on my blood during the first semester. I don't know exactly how delicious my blood is, but it's certainly not something you can find just anywhere."
Not just something you can find anywhere—Mrs. Black had never smelled such delicious blood.
However...
"Are you sure you want to go in? You might die, you know."
A vampire starved for days had already turned into a bloodthirsty beast.
Molly: Madam, you're useless. Let me handle it.
Mrs. Black: ?
Molly: By the way, the Black family's third stronghold and the Gordon family's sixth stronghold are also going to be attacked.
Mrs. Black: !!! (Let out a sharp scream)