The Delicate Female Lead Only Wants to be Loved by the Villainous Young Ladies-Chapter 268: Kaiser’s Arrival

If the pearl in her hand wasn’t real, Edith would have thought she was dreaming, a beautiful dream conjured by Sharon’s power. But it was real, a gift from Adele, a precious jewel born from suffering, finally brought into the light. Tears pricked at Edith’s eyes, but she held them back, unwilling to show weakness in front of Adele.

“Thank you... Adele,” she whispered, clutching the pearl tightly.

“I’ll treasure it.” She understood the message behind the gift, the silent promise of acceptance and forgiveness, and she vowed not to disappoint Adele.

Adele, watching her, felt a familiar twinge of embarrassment. These sentimental moments weren’t her forte. But as long as Edith understood, as long as she cherished the gift, that was enough. She turned to the others, only to be met with a chorus of disgruntled pouts.

“Master, you’re playing favorites...” Celeste grumbled, voicing the unspoken complaint of the others. Adele had disappeared into the tent with Edith, and now she had emerged with a pearl, a gift seemingly reserved only for Edith.

“Yeah!” Wofoo nodded, her wolf ears twitching. Even the usually docile Sharon puffed out her cheeks in protest.

Adele, surprised by their reaction, offered a hasty solution. “...Should I go back to the river and look for more clams?”

Their pouts deepened. That was hardly a solution!

“Okay, okay! I’ll get you all gifts after we leave this place!” Adele promised, her voice a playful appease. The girls, mollified by her promise, relaxed, their earlier resentment fading.

Edith, however, smiled, a genuine smile that reached her eyes. It was the first time she had experienced such... preferential treatment. But she knew it was a fleeting moment, a whim of Adele’s, and she couldn’t allow herself to expect more. She would repay Adele’s kindness with unwavering loyalty. She busied herself preparing lunch – grilled fish, clams, and some river shrimp – her heart filled with a quiet gratitude.

As the food cooked, Edith, wiping a bead of sweat from her brow, called out to Adele and the others, who were relaxing in the tent, “Adele, the fish is almost rea—!?”

Her words died in her throat as she saw the small figure standing before her, a child with Adele’s familiar pink eyes and delicate features.

“A-Adele!? What happened to you!?” Edith exclaimed, her mind reeling. It was a reaction shared by anyone familiar with Adele upon seeing Xiao Ai for the first time. But for Edith, the implications were... unsettling. If Adele had somehow become a child... did that make Edith... a pedophile? But she couldn’t abandon her feelings for Adele, not even if it meant facing... social ostracization.

Xiao Ai, oblivious to Edith’s inner turmoil, simply pointed at the sizzling fish on the grill and said, “Fishy, sister!”

Hearing the child speak, Edith noticed a crucial detail she had overlooked in her initial shock: Xiao Ai’s eyes were too pure, too innocent, unlike Adele’s. The realization that this child wasn’t Adele, but someone... or something... else, made Edith’s blood run cold. While “fishy” sounded like something Adele might say when acting cute (though she had never done so in front of Edith), the word “sister” was definitely out of character. Adele wasn’t that polite!

Adele: ? Are you polite? (Adele curses internally)

Edith, piecing together the clues, came to a seemingly impossible, yet likely, conclusion.

“You... you’re not Adele, are you?” she asked, taking a step back, her voice trembling slightly. She now saw Xiao Ai as some kind of creature of the Secret Realm, a spirit or an elf, perhaps, taking on Adele’s form.

Xiao Ai, not understanding Edith’s fear, simply reached for the fish, her “Mama’s” influence evident in her assertive behavior. But she underestimated the heat of the grill, and with a yelp, she pulled her hand back.

“Be careful!” Edith cried, her protective instincts overriding her fear. Even if this child was a creature of the Secret Realm, she couldn’t just stand by and watch her get hurt, not when she looked so much like Adele.

She examined Xiao Ai’s hand, relieved to find no burns.

“Well, well, getting along quite nicely, aren’t we?” Adele’s voice came from the tent, and Edith, as if seeing a savior, felt a wave of relief wash over her.

“Adele...” she began, her mind buzzing with questions.

But Adele, not giving her a chance to ask, explained everything, her encounter with Xiao Ai, the child’s strange abilities, her connection to the Secret Realm.

“Now you understand,” Adele said, her voice serious. “I’m only telling you this because I trust you. Don’t tell anyone, not even Lady Chen Xi.”

“You won’t betray me, will you, Edith?”

“N-no! Of course not!”

“Good, I trust you,” Adele said, then, picking up Xiao Ai, who was still eyeing the grilled fish, “Mama, fishy~,” she chanted, her persistence a perfect imitation of Adele’s own.

Adele chuckled and, taking another skewer, offered the slightly cooled fish to Xiao Ai, who took a bite, her face lighting up with a blissful expression.

“Yummy~”

Adele suspected that the first words Xiao Ai would learn would all be related to food. What a little foodie, unlike Adele herself... who was a big foodie.

Edith watched this exchange with a mix of bewilderment and... something akin to maternal affection. Xiao Ai’s existence was still a mystery, but if Adele had decided to care for her, then Edith would treat her as her own daughter. Edith, having known darkness, cherished the light, and she... would be a good mother. And now, she could practice, showering this child, this miniature version of Adele, with the love she had always longed to give.

...............

Except for introducing Xiao Ai to Edith, Adele rarely allowed the child to appear in her human form. Who knew if there were any vampires with enhanced vision lurking nearby, observing them? It was best to keep Xiao Ai hidden, at least until they returned to Cromwell Academy. Her priority now was escaping the Secret Realm. The trial wouldn’t last forever, and Adele, her initial enthusiasm waning, was ready to leave. If not for the promise she had made to her “wings,” she would have already used the True Ancestor’s rune to teleport out.

It was time to rest again. Wofoo volunteered to keep watch, and Celeste joined her. This left Sharon and Edith alone with Adele.

Wofoo knew that Celeste was trying to be fair, to share the burden of protecting their master. But if she were in Celeste’s position, she wouldn’t be so selfless, so willing to relinquish her time with Adele. It was a level of devotion Wofoo couldn’t quite comprehend, but she admired it nonetheless. “Celeste... is truly the most important person to Adele,” she murmured, her voice barely a whisper.

“What makes you say that?” Celeste asked, her golden hair swaying gently as she walked beside Wofoo towards the edge of their campsite.

“Because... without Celeste,” Wofoo replied, her gaze fixed on the ground, “those who... love Adele... would be at each other’s throats.”

Celeste chuckled. “Do you really think I’m that capable?”

“...Yes,” Wofoo replied, her voice firm.

“Then my abilities, compared to Master’s, are nothing. She’s the one who holds us all together. I only helped her with a small matter, but she... she saved me.”

“...Adele saved me too,” Wofoo murmured, her voice filled with a quiet gratitude.

Just then, as she reminisced about her encounter with Adele, Wofoo’s ears perked up, her ash-gray hair lengthening and curling, her body tensing as her wolfish instincts kicked in. An intruder, a powerful presence, had entered her range. And the scent... was all too familiar.

“Celeste... it’s Kaiser... she’s coming.”

“What... !?” Celeste’s own memories of Kaiser were vivid, the girl’s imposing figure and overwhelming power a force to be reckoned with. Neither she nor Wofoo could hope to defeat her. “Wofoo,” she asked, her voice a nervous whisper, “can she be... reasoned with?”

Wofoo considered the question. Kaiser, though powerful, was still a vampire. A # Nоvеlight # Body Technique vampire, her strength derived from within, unlike Familiar types, who borrowed power from otherworldly beings. It made the former seem more... honorable, the latter a cowardly reliance on external forces. But in reality, the borrowed power of a familiar was incredibly effective. Kaiser, despite her relentless challenges, had never been able to defeat Dorothy, whose familiar was simply too powerful.

“...She can be reasoned with,” Wofoo replied, her voice low, “provided you’re strong enough to make her listen.”

“So she’s unreasonable!” Celeste retorted, exasperated. This was bad. Very bad.

Before Celeste could devise a plan, however, Wofoo said, “She’s here.”

Celeste’s body tensed, her gaze fixed on the horizon, where a tall figure was approaching, her movements swift and decisive: Kaiser.

Wofoo had sensed her, but Kaiser had undoubtedly sensed them first, her heightened senses, honed through years of physical training, far surpassing even Wofoo’s enhanced werewolf senses.

“Fancy meeting you here, Wofoo,” Kaiser called out, her voice carrying across the distance, a clear, almost amplified sound that made it evident just how much control she had over her own power.

She didn’t need brute force; she had mastered the art of applying force precisely, efficiently, finding her opponent’s weaknesses and exploiting them. Body Technique vampires, through rigorous training, eliminated their own weaknesses, making their opponents’ vulnerabilities all the more apparent. And Kaiser, if she chose to unleash her full power, to break the “shackles” that limited her human form and embrace the demonic transformation known as “Blood Demonization,” could become a truly terrifying force. It was a technique few had mastered, a forbidden art that pushed the limits of the vampire body, granting unparalleled strength and speed. Wofoo, though possessing a similar berserker transformation through her werewolf heritage, couldn’t compare to Kaiser’s raw power.

Kaiser was, in every sense of the word, a boss battle, her strength far exceeding that of Wofoo and Celeste combined.

“K-Kaiser,” Wofoo stammered, her voice trembling slightly, “I don’t want to fight you.” She deactivated her partial transformation, her body relaxing, her eyes pleading.

Kaiser, however, continued her approach, her gaze fixed on Wofoo, a predatory glint in her eyes. “But according to the rules of the Secret Realm,” she said, her voice a low purr, “we’re competitors. It wouldn’t be right to... not settle things between us, would it?”

“...We can form an alliance, Kaiser,” Wofoo said quickly, desperate to avoid a confrontation. She wasn’t ready to leave the Secret Realm, not yet, not before she had... something with Adele.

She exchanged a look with Celeste, took a deep breath, and then continued, “I know I can’t offer you much, but... we have others. Edith, Lady Chen Xi’s granddaughter, and Sharon, True Ancestor Snyder’s descendant. They are both powerful Sequence Ones. That... should be enough to form an alliance with you, Kaiser! Together, we can eliminate the other vampires, monopolize all the Blood Essence in the Secret Realm, even the legendary treasure!” If that treasure even existed. But it made for a convincing argument.

Kaiser seemed to consider Wofoo’s offer, her silence making both Wofoo and Celeste tense. Kaiser finally reached them, her gaze sharp and calculating, her wolf-like aura making Wofoo’s body stiffen. Celeste had only heard rumors of Kaiser’s strength; she had never experienced it firsthand. And Wofoo, who had once served as Kaiser’s sparring partner, knew the true extent of her power.

Kaiser had often allowed Wofoo to use her berserker transformation while Kaiser herself fought with restrained strength, relying solely on her honed reflexes and unmatched skill. And she had never lost. Wofoo’s greatest achievement had been leaving a single scratch on Kaiser’s cheek, a lucky blow landed during a moment of desperation. The memory of that encounter, the chilling realization of Kaiser’s overwhelming power, still made Wofoo shudder.

Kaiser finally spoke, her gaze fixed on Wofoo, a playful glint in her eyes. “Edith and Sharon...” she mused, her voice a low purr, “and Adele, isn’t it? You wouldn’t have gathered like this... unless it was for her.”

A cold sweat trickled down Wofoo’s back. She hadn’t expected Kaiser to see through her deception so easily.

“So,” Kaiser continued, “the alliance can wait. Take me to her first.”

“I’m... quite interested in her.”