Chapter 81: Let Me Go To Her
Adele stubbornly opened her eyes, her crimson gaze fixed on Jasmine. “No…”
Jasmine didn’t understand what Adele was resisting. Adele looked at her with watery, vulnerable eyes and whispered, “If I close my eyes and sleep, you’ll disappear. Dreams are short, fragmented. Maybe in the next moment, I’ll be dreaming about something else.”
“I even dreamed about the young Green boy…” She chuckled softly. “His green hair is so strange. No wonder Golden doesn’t like it. What if they get married and their children have some weird mix of gold and green hair?”
She rambled on for a while longer, then, unable to resist any longer, she gazed at Jasmine longingly before finally falling asleep. But her state now was much better than when Jasmine had first entered. Jasmine sighed, patted Adele gently, and carefully extracted her hand from Adele’s grasp.
Even in her sleep, Adele sensed Jasmine’s departure, her grip tightening slightly. But she didn’t use much force, so Jasmine managed to free her hand.
Jasmine took one last look at Adele before leaving the room.
Over the next two days, Adele’s condition worsened. Jasmine could have snuck in during the day and given her some artificial blood, but Adele wouldn’t accept it. With Adele’s personality, even if the Blake Lady offered her artificial blood, she would still refuse to eat as long as she didn’t agree to the engagement.
The key to Adele’s hunger strike wasn’t the Blake Lady anymore.
Jasmine knew where the problem lay. She had to confront Adele when she was conscious, at least during the night. Sneaking in undetected was easy, but Adele would surely question how she had entered, potentially exposing Jasmine’s secret.
So, there was only one solution.
Without hesitation, Jasmine went to see the Blake Lady. The maid guarding the door was surprised by her request. Jasmine was Adele’s favorite maid. Even with Adele confined to her room, the head maid wouldn’t mistreat Jasmine. On the contrary, she would treat her with some leniency.
After all, Adele wouldn’t be confined forever. If she saw that her favorite maid had been mistreated, she might just fire the head maid, just like she had done with the previous one. So, Jasmine’s request to see the Blake Lady couldn’t be about some personal grievance.
There was only one possible reason: she was here for her mistress, Adele.
The maid, deducing Jasmine’s motive, looked at her with newfound respect. Although a lowly human, her loyalty was commendable. She told Jasmine to wait at the door and went in to inform the Blake Lady.
The Blake Lady, however, decided to play a little game, making Jasmine wait. The maid returned and told Jasmine, “The Lady is busy right now. You’ll have to wait.”
The Lady’s “wait a while” turned into three hours. Jasmine had to stand at the door, perfectly still, unable to even move a muscle. Otherwise, the maid, following the Lady’s instructions, might accuse her of disrespecting the Lady and send her back to her room.
Normally, Jasmine would have gladly taken this opportunity to slack off in her room. But now, she needed to see Adele. So, she stood there, motionless, like a statue. But this wasn’t difficult for her. An ordinary human would have their legs trembling after standing for so long. But Jasmine could even perform more impressive feats for the Lady.
Like standing on the Lady’s head for three hours without moving.
Fortunately, the Lady was merely trying to make things difficult for her. After three hours, a maid emerged and said, “The Lady is free now. You may enter.” Jasmine lowered her head and followed the maid into the Lady’s room.
It was the same drawing-room as before. The Lady sat on the sofa, draped in a black fur shawl, looking regal and beautiful. Perhaps Adele would dress like this when she reached her age.
Jasmine banished these random thoughts as the Blake Lady, condescendingly, spoke, “I believe your name is Jasmine, right? What brings you here?”
“You remember correctly. My name is Jasmine.” She answered the first question before looking up at the Blake Lady. This was considered disrespectful, and the maids behind the Lady bristled. The Lady raised her hand slightly, and the maids restrained themselves.
Jasmine continued, “I know you must be troubled by Miss Adele’s situation. I’ve served her for so long. I dare say that in this entire castle, besides the three masters, I know her best.”
Drawing on the countless novels and dramas she had consumed in her previous life, Jasmine said, “Miss Adele is refusing to eat or drink. You must be worried. She’s your most beloved daughter. Her pain is your pain. I humbly request that you allow me to see her, to try and persuade her. She’s just being stubborn, unable to see reason. Let me go to her. I’m sure I can convince her.”
Those novels and dramas hadn’t been for nothing. However, her speech didn’t quite fit her usual persona as a stoic, aloof beauty. She rarely broke character, but she had no choice now. She was asking for a favor. If she maintained her usual cold demeanor, the maids behind the Lady might just slap her.
She could endure humiliation, but not physical assault. She had allowed herself to be pinned to the ground before, but a slap was unacceptable. If the maids tried to hit her, she would fight back, exposing her secret.
So, she had carefully prepared this speech and thought she had done a good job.
Her efforts seemed to have paid off. The Blake Lady was surprised that a lowly human understood her good intentions. She even sighed, “Why can’t Adele see this as clearly as you do?” She muttered to herself, “Everything I’m doing is for her own good.”
—Not exactly.
Jasmine countered silently. If she truly had Adele’s best interests at heart, would she be so forceful? Treating her daughter’s marriage as a bargaining chip and claiming it was for her own good… And their love for Adele stemmed largely from her being a worthy heir with exceptional talent.
If it weren’t for that, they wouldn’t dote on her so much. Perhaps they would indulge her whims, even spoil her, like they did with the second miss. But that kind of love was no different from the love one might have for a pet. No expectations, just amusement. Oh, and of course, fulfilling their duty as a marriage tool.
Jasmine had seen countless examples of this in her previous life.
The Blake Lady wasn’t easily persuaded. As Jasmine watched, the Lady’s expression turned cold, her crimson eyes filled with indifference. “You’re just a human. Why do you think you can convince Adele?”
“Adele is my daughter. She won’t be swayed by a few words from you. You know her? Don’t be so arrogant. You’re just a human.”
As expected… the Blake Lady looked down on Jasmine and didn’t believe she could influence Adele. Jasmine wanted to sigh. The Human Resistance Army had already reached the White family’s fifth stronghold, and these vampires were still so arrogant.
I wonder how she would react if she knew that the Human Resistance Army was planning to attack the Blake family’s third stronghold and the Golden family’s sixth stronghold, Jasmine thought mischievously.
She decided to be more direct with the Blake Lady. “Lady, I can convince Adele.”
She didn’t even add “Miss,” which made the Blake Lady frown. “You’re just a human. What makes you think you can say that?”
Jasmine raised her hand, revealing a small razor blade between her fingers, the kind used by male servants for shaving. The Blake Lady frowned even deeper. She didn’t believe such a small blade could harm her.
Then she saw Jasmine slice open her own hand. The cut wasn’t deep, only a few centimeters long, but blood still flowed from it. The maids in the room, their eyes turning red, their breathing becoming heavy.
Even the Blake Lady felt a surge of desire. She instinctively raised her fan, covering half her face, and swallowed hard. She blinked, surprised by the intoxicating scent of Jasmine’s blood.
It was so alluring, like blooming roses, like the finest black tea. The sweet aroma filled her senses, even though she had just eaten and only drank the highest quality blood. She felt an overwhelming urge to drink, to taste it.
But vampires weren’t beasts. She suppressed her desire. No wonder even Adele, with her picky palate, was willing to drink Jasmine’s blood.
Her fangs itched. She licked them, trying to regain her composure. Looking at Jasmine again, she saw a flicker of mockery in her eyes. But it was so fleeting that she thought she had imagined it.
She heard the human before her say boldly, “I can convince Miss Adele, with my blood. I believe you know that the school doctor coveted my blood during the first semester. I don’t know how delicious it is, but it’s certainly not something you find everywhere.”
Not something you find everywhere? The Blake Lady had never encountered such an alluring scent.
However…
“Are you sure you want to go in there? You might die.”
A vampire starved for so many days was like a bloodthirsty beast.
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