Before Yu Zhizhi could even react, the world started spinning!
When she came to her senses, she was already pinned down, lying across his lap.
The male in front of her had one hand clamped around her wrist and the other gripping her neck—
"Looking to die?"
His voice sounded pained.
Dracula, who was severely injured, had been recuperating here. He no longer had the Strength to spare for a fight. When he heard the noise, he discovered it was just some foolish little female who didn't know her place.
He could snap her neck with just one hand!
Just as Dracula started to exert his Strength, the energy and blood in his body surged, and he suddenly spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.
"PTHOO—"
The Strength in his hand gradually loosened...
Yu Zhizhi grabbed his wrist, her voice trembling. "I... I'm here to save you..."
'...Save him?'
Dracula's dark pupils wavered for a moment.
He sounded as if he'd just heard a joke. "Do you have any idea who I am?"
"I don't know..."
Yu Zhizhi finally broke free. She scrambled to the side and started coughing.
'I almost suffocated—'
She looked at the male in the golden mask. There were almost no bestial features visible on his body.
'What clan is he from?'
'Could I have gotten the wrong person?'
'[Is it him?]'
Yu Zhizhi couldn't help but ask.
System: "This male meets both the [Rare] + [SS] Level criteria. He is a conquerable target!"
'SS Level...'
'Males of this Level have terrifying Strength, each one more so than the last.'
Yu Zhizhi didn't dare to imagine it. If he hadn't been so severely injured just now, she would probably be dead!
"You... you've coughed up so much blood." Yu Zhizhi didn't dare get too close.
"Wait for me—"
Yu Zhizhi tossed out this sentence and ran off.
When she returned, she was carrying a pile of medicines in her arms.
The Beast Clan male who had been threatening her just moments ago was now unconscious. Yu Zhizhi knelt beside him and gently touched his forehead.
'So hot!'
'He has a high fever!'
Yu Zhizhi fumbled in a panic. She gently lifted his black Divine Robe and discovered a blade wound on his chest, glowing with a deep purple light.
After disinfecting it...
She applied the painkillers she had found, and then a medicine that worked like a Healing Spell on the blade wound.
Yu Zhizhi was very conflicted.
This Beastman's origins were unknown, and he looked like someone not to be trifled with.
Right now, he was unconscious.
If he had even a little Strength left, she wouldn't have been able to get near him at all.
Yu Zhizhi looked at the small medicine vial in her hand.
"This isn't right..."
She'd never done anything so bold before, and a part of her wanted to back out.
But if she missed this chance tonight, she might never get another one.
If the mission failed—
She would be erased!
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
Yu Zhizhi's voice was barely a whisper. She opened the small vial and brought it to the mysterious Beastman's lips. Squeezing her eyes shut, she poured the liquid medicine down his throat.
Dracula regained a sliver of consciousness...
He heard the quiet apology and struggled to open his eyes. He saw the little female in a maid's uniform, clutching a medicine vial with both hands, her face filled with fear.
"You..."
He wanted to ask—
'What did you make me drink?'
But he only managed to get one word out before he felt a metallic taste rise in his throat.
He fought back the urge to vomit blood.
He noticed the bandaged wound on his chest and his brow furrowed. Soon, he realized something was wrong with his body. He was having a reaction below the waist.
Dracula froze.
The next second, the little Rabbit Clan female beside him leaned in.
...
In the middle of it all, Dracula coughed up blood once.
His eyes turned red with fury.
He could only let this rabbit fumble her way through it from beginning to end.
When it was over, the little female vanished in a flash.
Above the church, the sun gradually rose.
The night had been a complete mess.
Yu Zhizhi ran all the way back to her room on the third floor of the castle. Her cheeks were burning as if she had caught his high fever.
Lisa was waiting by the door and let out a sleepy yawn.
"Ms. Zhi Zhi, you're back! Did that medicine work well?"
Last night, Ms. Zhi Zhi had come back saying she needed a lot of medicine. So, Lisa took her to the hall in the territory specifically for storing medicine.
At the mention of medicine—
Yu Zhizhi's face turned even redder.
She stammered, "It... it worked well. I'm going to sleep for a bit, so I'll skip breakfast..."
"Of course~" Lisa replied. "Rest well, Ms. Zhi Zhi. I won't let anyone disturb your sweet dreams!"
Yu Zhizhi returned to her bed.
She buried her face in her pillow.
*Sob—*
'What would you even call what I did?'
'...Forcible plunder?'
'I wonder how that Beast Clan male is doing now. I didn't even dare to look him in the eye when I ran away.'
For the next three days in a row, Yu Zhizhi secretly made her way to the abandoned church every night.
Each time, she would bring many medicine vials and food.
She would leave them outside the church and then quickly run away.
Dracula's injuries were bone-deep. He had to use all his spiritual power to seal the wound. He wouldn't be able to heal until the witch doctor arrived.
Right now, he was like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.
Any random Beastman could have easily taken his life.
Dracula went from being ashen-faced on that first night to being filled with endless killing intent.
Every time this little female came, it was a reminder of that unbearable night.
'Once my body can move again, the first thing I'll do is find her and repay this humiliation a hundredfold!'
However, on the fourth day... the little female didn't come.
The fifth day...
The sixth day...
Her figure was no longer seen outside the abandoned church.
Dracula sat cross-legged on the ground, his hands holding an Array open. The little female's image kept appearing in his mind: her blushing face, her soft waist...
He laughed in anger.
'She has a bit of a conscience, but not much.'
It was clear the little Rabbit Clan female had felt guilty these past few days, which was why she came to check if he was dead or alive each day.
The medicine and food she brought were very useful.
But he didn't expect her to get tired of it after just a few days.
She stopped coming altogether.
"Master, the Federation has issued a warrant. They're searching the entire Empire for you now. Our men have made arrangements. Tomorrow is the best time to leave the city—"
Dracula sat within the glittering golden Array. "You all go first. I still have a Beastman to kill."
"Who do you wish to kill, Master? Why not leave it to your subordinates?"
Sensing his master's icy gaze, the Beastman subordinate immediately knelt.
"Go back and receive five strikes from the military rod."
"As you command!"
After the subordinate left, the church returned to its silence.
Dracula's injuries were mostly healed. He stood up, and the golden Array at his feet gradually dissipated.
He looked outside.
'The little female wears a servant's uniform and moves freely about the territory. She must be a permanent servant here.'
Dracula still remembered the scent she had left behind that day.
But...
When he tried to use his spiritual power to probe for her, he found that her scent was impossible to track.
At most, he could only follow it to the steps outside the church.
The K family's territory was vast.
'Rather than go looking for her, it would be better to...'
'...wait for the rabbit to walk into the trap.'
Dracula waited patiently in the abandoned church for a long time.
Until one day at sunset, he smelled a familiar scent.
The little rabbit stepped on the fallen leaves outside and slipped into the one place she should never have come. A cold smile appeared on Dracula's lips.
He leaned against the statue of a deity, looking completely lifeless, as if he had stopped breathing long ago.
Yu Zhizhi's hand, which was holding a bamboo basket, suddenly went slack.
A whole basket of food tumbled to the ground.
She stared blankly at the mysterious Beast Clan male's "corpse," thinking, 'I've been busy with things these past few days and couldn't come over. He didn't starve to death, did he—'