Chapter 66: The Ex

Beep!

The monitoring device beside the bed emitted another short sound. The numbers on the screen had stopped at Silver Stage 10, but the energy fluctuations around Carmilla had not completely stabilized. Faint red streaks of light occasionally traveled along her arms before disappearing beneath her skin, causing her long black hair to sway slightly even though the windows remained tightly shut.

Carmilla was still sitting close beside Erik. The flush from their earlier kiss had not completely faded from her cheeks, and her dark red eyes were still slightly wet. However, they were much brighter than when she had first been brought to the hospital.

The nurse checked several more readings before finally breathing a sigh of relief. "There are no signs of danger."

"Can I circulate my energy?" Carmilla immediately asked.

"You shouldn’t." The nurse answered very quickly. When she saw Carmilla frown and prepare to say more, she put down the device and explained seriously, "Your foundation remains intact, but your energy pathways have been weakened for many years. Your old strength is returning too quickly. It’s like a dried-up river suddenly being flooded with water."

She pointed at the screen. "You once reached Diamond, so your body still remembers how to handle far more energy than you currently possess. But if you try to use your strength according to your old habits now, your energy pathways may be damaged before they fully recover."

Carmilla looked at her hand. Her five fingers slowly clenched, and a faint red flame had just begun to appear when the nurse’s glare forced it to dissipate. Carmilla had no choice but to relax her hand, her voice carrying a hint of reluctance.

"I understand."

Erik watched the scene, the corner of his lips curving upward slightly. "You just advanced from Silver Stage 8 to Stage 10, and you already want to run onto the battlefield?"

"I only want to test my strength."

"Then test it by resting."

Carmilla pursed her lips. The Succubus War Goddess whose name alone had once been enough to make countless people tense was now obediently leaning against the headboard. Runi stood beside them and could not stop the corner of her lips from rising, although she still tried to maintain a serious expression.

Erik stood up. "I still have something to do."

Carmilla’s hand moved unconsciously on top of the blanket. Her fingertips had only just touched the hem of Erik’s shirt when she froze and hurriedly tried to pull them back.

Erik looked down. "What is it?"

"Nothing..." Carmilla’s face turned red again. She remained silent for a moment before quietly asking, "I just... You’ll come back, won’t you?"

The moment the question left her lips, the room fell silent. Runi stared at her in surprise, while Carmilla herself seemed not to have expected that she would ask such a thing. She tightened her fingers around the blanket and did not dare look directly at Erik.

After everything that had happened, Carmilla was still unaccustomed to having someone say they needed her.

She was even less accustomed to believing that person would truly return.

Erik looked at her for several seconds before raising a hand and gently stroking her black hair. "Of course. I already told you that I still need you to work for me."

Carmilla immediately raised her head. The unease in her eyes rapidly disappeared, replaced by a smile she could not conceal. "I’ll recover quickly."

"There’s no need to rush." Erik smiled. "Just don’t injure yourself again."

Carmilla nodded gently. "All right."

Erik left the room. The door had barely closed before Runi turned toward Carmilla and tried to keep her voice normal.

"Madam."

"Hmm?"

"You just tugged on Lord Erik’s shirt." Runi continued with a serious expression, "And asked when he would return."

Carmilla fell silent.

"Runi."

"Yes?"

"Would you like to change hospital rooms?"

Runi immediately lowered her head. "I didn’t say anything."

Carmilla turned toward the window, but the redness of her ears was impossible to hide.

After leaving the special treatment ward, Erik entered an empty lounge. He locked the door before taking the Myriad Worlds Mirror out of his spatial bracelet.

A layer of slowly shifting silver mist still covered the mirror’s surface. When Erik focused his thoughts, familiar lines of information quickly appeared.

[Unlocked World: Frozen Apocalypse]

[Entry Requirement: Silver]

[Maximum Number of Accompanying Succubi: 2]

Erik looked at the final line before saying, "Check Carmilla."

The mist covering the mirror immediately swirled, after which a new information panel appeared.

[Target: Carmilla]

[Status: Does Not Meet Accompaniment Requirements.]

Erik frowned slightly. "Reason?"

[A companion must meet at least one of the following conditions.]

[1. Has established a Bond with the owner of the Myriad Worlds Mirror.]

[2. Has received a Succubus Mark from the owner.]

[Carmilla: No Bond established.]

[Carmilla: Does not possess a Succubus Mark.]

Erik stared at the notification for several more seconds. "Meira?"

[Meets the requirements.]

"Elowen?"

[Meets the requirements.]

He immediately understood. Both Meira and Elowen possessed marks directly connected to him, while Carmilla did not. If he wanted to bring her into another world, they would first need to establish another layer in their relationship.

Erik rested his chin on his hand, his gaze fixed on the mirror.

He did not like the idea of placing a mark on Carmilla merely because he needed her combat strength.

She had only just escaped from a Contract that had lasted for decades, had just been abandoned by her family, and was currently at her most vulnerable. If Erik said he wanted to place a Mark on her solely to bring her into another world as a combatant, Carmilla would undoubtedly agree.

But he did not want to receive her consent that way.

"Forget it." Erik put away the Myriad Worlds Mirror. "It’s still too early."

He was only at Black Iron Stage 8. Before reaching Silver, he first needed to advance through Bronze. He could take his time choosing his companions.

...

At the beginning of the afternoon, Sarna’s car stopped in front of Laviana’s media headquarters. Elowen had remained beside Erik ever since they left the hospital, seemingly still unable to shake off her anxiety after what had happened at the Council.

She had held his hand inside the car. Even after getting out, she wrapped herself around Erik’s arm and refused to move more than half a step away from him.

Erik allowed her to do as she pleased. The two had barely walked through the large glass doors of the lobby when an angry voice came from ahead.

"I already told you! Those conditions are unacceptable!"

Erik stopped. Elowen also raised an eyebrow slightly because that voice was far too familiar.

They both looked toward the reception area on the right.

Saraya stood in front of a low table, facing a young man. He appeared to be only a little over twenty, and his face still looked somewhat immature. He did not have long hair or strange fingernails like the men from the Council.

However, his body was so obese that he needed to sit in an electric mobility chair wider than usual.

The man held a bag of food in one hand while scrolling through a file on the screen with the other. He chewed as he read, with crumbs still stuck to the corner of his mouth. Two Succubi stood behind him. One held his drink, while the other wore a simple combat uniform and was clearly his guard.

The young man raised his head and looked at Saraya. "Why are they unacceptable?"

Saraya clenched her hands. "A house in the city center, three million Credits every month, all your personal expenses, and cultivation resources on top of that. Isn’t that enough?"

"That is the minimum." He took another bite before continuing, "You’re Rank S. That alone makes you worth considering."

Saraya’s expression turned cold. "Worth considering?"

"Yes." The man scrolled down the screen. "But your records say you were returned by your Partner."

"I wasn’t returned."

"Is there a difference?" He raised his head. "You failed to establish a connection after three months, the man ended the arrangement himself, and then the Center took you back. In everyone else’s eyes, that means you’re merchandise that was returned."

Saraya’s face turned pale.

Every word seemed deliberately aimed at the wound she least wanted to remember. The young man did not care at all. He merely continued in a matter-of-fact tone, "After we are matched, eighty percent of your income must also be transferred to the family account."

"Eighty percent?" Saraya’s eyes widened. "Do you have any idea how much I earn?"

"Of course I do." He smiled. "That is also why I came."

Saraya looked at the person in front of her.

His enormous belly. The electric chair. His fingertips greasy from the food. The Succubus standing behind him and holding his drink solely so he would not need to open the bottle himself.

A wave of nausea gradually rose inside her.

For some reason, she remembered Erik’s old apartment. She remembered him standing in front of the stove in a simple apron, remembered the meals he placed on the table, and remembered how Erik himself had gone to work every month to pay the rent.

Even when he was almost out of money, Erik had never demanded that Saraya hand over her income.

At the time, she had considered everything he did to be his obligation. Now, standing in front of a completely different man, Saraya finally realized how painful that contrast was.

"I refuse," she said coldly.

The young man stopped chewing. "What did you say?"

"I said I refuse." Saraya took a deep breath. "Find someone else."

His expression immediately changed. He had assumed that a Succubus who had once been returned by her Partner would understand her position.

Yet the woman standing in front of him actually dared to reject him.

"Do you truly believe you still have any value?"

Saraya gritted her teeth. "At least I’m not so desperate for a man that I have to choose you."

The lobby immediately fell silent. Several nearby employees turned to look, and the young man’s face flushed red.

"You..."

Saraya was not finished. "Look at yourself. You want my money, you want me to support you, and you want me to hand over my income. Then what can you give me?"

It was a question she had never asked Erik, yet now it came from her lips naturally.

The young man seemed unable to believe that a Succubus would dare ask him such a question. Several seconds later, he laughed coldly.

"I’m a man. That is what I give you—the opportunity to form a connection with a man."

He raised his chin slightly, his contemptuous gaze sweeping over Saraya from head to toe. "If it weren’t for your Rank S potential, I wouldn’t even bother looking at trash that someone else had already thrown away."

Those final words completely shattered Saraya’s restraint. She stepped forward, her voice sharp and cold.

"Who are you calling trash?"

"Guard!"

The Succubus standing behind him immediately appeared in front of him. Saraya was furious and did not stop. The moment she raised her hand, the female guard deflected her arm with a single movement before driving a powerful strike into her shoulder.

Crash!

Saraya fell onto the stone floor. Blood immediately began flowing from her nose.

Everything had happened too quickly. The female guard did not continue attacking. She merely stood between Saraya and the young man.

Saraya lay on the floor with one hand braced against the ground, her disheveled hair covering half her face. The pain in her nose was insignificant, but the humiliation made her entire body turn ice-cold.

Just as she was about to get up, a pair of shoes suddenly appeared in her line of sight.

Saraya froze. She slowly raised her head, and then her entire body stiffened.

Erik stood several meters away. Elowen was beside him, still holding his arm.

Both of them were looking in her direction.

Why did it have to happen now?

Why did Erik have to be the one who saw her lying on the floor?

Saraya wiped the blood beneath her nose harshly and gritted her teeth as she stood. "Don’t look at me like that!"

Erik frowned. "I haven’t said anything."

His calm voice only made Saraya feel as though he was pitying her. She bit her lip and tried to preserve the final remnants of her pride.

"Do you think I’ll regret anything just because you have Elowen? I’ll definitely find a man better than you!"

Elowen’s expression immediately turned cold.

Erik, meanwhile, could not understand why he had been dragged into this situation the moment he walked through the door.

At that moment, the sound of high heels approached from behind.

"Saraya?"

Vylana quickly walked over. Today, she wore a dark red dress that tightly hugged her body. Its neckline and back were cut lower than the last time, just enough to emphasize her full curves. Her red hair had been carefully styled, and her lips were lightly made up.

Saraya froze the moment she saw her. Her gaze moved from Vylana to Erik before settling on that dark red dress.

Something immediately clicked in her mind.

"Ah..." Saraya laughed, but her smile was filled with anger. "I understand now."

Vylana immediately had a bad feeling. "What do you understand?"

"What are you dressed like that for?"

Vylana frowned. "What does that have to do with you?"

"You never dressed like this when you met Erik before." Saraya stared directly at her. "Who was the one who told me every day that Erik was poor?"

Vylana’s expression changed slightly. Elowen slowly turned toward her, while Erik also raised an eyebrow.

When Saraya saw their reactions, her anger erupted even more violently. "Who said he had no family background and no money, and that if I stayed with him, I would only have to support another useless man?"

"You..." Vylana immediately stepped forward. "Saraya, you’re not thinking clearly."

"I’m not thinking clearly?" Saraya screamed. "You were the one who told me not to let Erik touch me! You said he wasn’t worthy of me! You told me I should find someone better!"

Vylana’s expression became increasingly ugly. "Enough!"

Saraya looked at Vylana’s figure-hugging dress before looking at Erik again. "Then what are you doing now? Dressing as though you’re about to strip naked in front of him?"

Vylana’s face flushed bright red. The nearby employees all lowered their heads at the same time, trying to pretend they did not exist.

Vylana immediately turned toward the guards. "Take Saraya to the lounge."

Two women stepped forward. Saraya immediately struggled against them. "Let go of me! Vylana, you’re afraid he’ll find out, aren’t you? You deliberately manipulated me into leaving Erik, and now you want to steal him!"

Vylana gritted her teeth. "Take her away!"

Saraya was quickly dragged toward the elevator. Even as its doors were about to close, her voice continued echoing through the lobby.

"Vylana! You’re a hypocrite!"

Click.

The doors closed.

The lobby became frighteningly silent. Vylana remained standing in place and took several deep breaths before slowly turning around. The smile had returned to her lips, but it was clearly far more rigid than before.

"Saraya’s... mental state hasn’t been very good lately."

Erik looked at her. "I see."

That single response only made Vylana even more uneasy. "The things she just said..."

"It’s fine." Erik looked at Elowen. "Let’s go."

Elowen held his arm and walked toward the elevator with him. Before stepping inside, she turned back to look at Vylana one more time.

There was not the slightest trace of friendliness in her emerald eyes.

The elevator doors closed. Vylana stood alone in the lobby, and the smile on her face immediately disappeared. She slowly turned toward the direction in which Saraya had been taken, her teeth clenched tightly.

For the first time, Vylana felt that the friend who had once been so easy to control might truly ruin something important.