Bad woman, am I pretending to be bad?

"Was this also due to your momentary kindness?" The chestnut-haired girl carefully cleaned the former's wound and wrapped it with bandages. Although her behavior was gentle, her words were unforgiving.

Seeing the girl's pale face, Winnie seemed to recall that day at the detective agency, her first encounter with Watson, and that gaze that was without discrimination, gentle and patient.

Was the person in front of me also deceiving me out of so-called kindness?

Despite having had minimal contact with the others, the little sparrow's talent for reading and keen senses allowed her to see through the veil faster than anyone else. Now, her relationship with Watson and Charlotte is one of knowing but not saying, a relationship that is both contradictory and difficult.

“She was just my colleague, as a member of the arbitration panel.”

"Please inform the artisans at the Heart of the Machine and ask them to provide support as soon as possible."

Without much explanation, Charlotte's attitude towards Winnie was one of letting things take their course, and little things outside her control would often bring her a pleasant surprise.

Of course, at this moment, what she needs to focus on most is the situation at the arbitration tribunal headquarters and Ms. Z's safety.

Pushing open the door, I rushed to the parish without hesitation. Before I even got close, the spire tower swayed precariously amidst a roar, its stained-glass windows shattered, and a spiritual howl exerted constant pressure on my spirit.

As her gaze drew closer inside, the horrific scene came into view.

The walls on all four sides had collapsed and crumbled. Half an arm hung askew from the door frame of the archives, the silver thread on the cuff indicating it belonged to the clerk, Dale. The gentleman who was always muttering about retiring had given her a jar of homemade lemon candy just last week, and now the jar lay shattered around the corner of the corridor, a few melted fructose candies clinging to the shards of glass.

Following the sound, we gradually approached the scene of the incident. There stood a familiar figure, a black-haired woman, wearing a thin trench coat, with one arm hanging down, facing another shadow.

A playful laugh rippled out from a corner.

"Do you think that the Black Forest incident is over? Zelena, my family has been under your very nose all along, yet you have always let them go because of unnecessary emotions, harboring your own hopes."

"You will ultimately reap the bitter fruits of this tragedy."

Her long, dark gray hair cascaded down to her waist, and her fitted, classic dress accentuated her legs, giving her a solemn air. But when her sharp eyebrows lowered, her scrutinizing gaze was mercilessly revealed.

Elegant and haughty, her existence was almost synonymous with vampires.

Image: "Image as shown (for reference)", Location: "Images/1751558189-100417737-113550394.jpg"

Chapter 212 Betrayal and Heartache

"Enough, Valentia, verbal sarcasm is meaningless."

The tattered clothes could not retain warmth, and Ms. Z's arm was dripping with blood, hanging limply at her side—an injury sustained in the battle just now.

Dark red blood seeped from the reliefs on the Gate of Rest, and the intertwined rose vines were no longer confined to their decorative function, as if they had been given new life.

“You don’t even dare to look at your own mistakes.” Valentia smiled slightly, her hand covered by black veil gently stroking the door frame. Instantly, the dripping liquid solidified into blades, shooting out in all directions.

"How about it, watching yourself betrayed by your so-called companions, watching your carefully cultivated greenhouse being ruthlessly destroyed, and along with her—whom you tried your best to save but could not."

A slender figure slowly walked out from behind the door. With delicate eyebrows, an exquisite face, and fine lips and nose, she seemed unchanged, except that her red eyes were even more alluring and seductive.

"Melvis, calm down, don't let this strangeness affect you—"

Zelena's address revealed the former's identity, but the next moment, a sharp crystal grazed his neck, causing his voice to lose its strength and his face to lose color.

"Cough, you can do it, just like before."

However, the words were still forced out of his throat.

"Zelena, are you still deceiving yourself? I have to admit, being soft-hearted is your biggest weakness, both in the past and now."

With a flick of her knuckles, Valentia lifted Melvis's chin under the beauty's gaze, a wicked smile curving her lips.

To flirt with a young girl in front of an old friend and treat her as his possession is a blatant provocation.

"Would you like me to tell you more about what happened in Hessen? To be honest, that girl's blood was indeed delicious. Even I was intoxicated by it during my first embrace and couldn't help but leave my mark."

"Physical pain, swollen gums, photophobia, and heat intolerance—the process of transformation is always agonizing and despairing, just like the melody you're playing now. What Melvis experienced is exactly the loneliness and helplessness you, Zelena, are experiencing right now. You caused irreparable harm through your mistake, yet you try to absolve yourself of responsibility with an apology. It's not that easy."

"Perhaps killing Melvis back then would have caused you even greater heartache, but in this situation, it is also a rare moment of leisure. Over the long years, the drama of betrayal and revenge is the only opera that I never tire of watching."

The short-bladed dagger spun at her fingertips, transforming into the perfect comb, gently tousling the hair ribbon strand by strand—the original B-grade sealed artifact of the Arbitration Court: Crimson Kiss.

“Go, pick it up, kill her, Melvis. You are no longer an incomplete blood monster. We are of the same blood, we are both noble vampires.”

She released her grip, letting the dagger fall to the ground with a crisp sound.

Without saying a word, under Valentia's gaze and the watchful eyes of countless guests behind her, the black-haired girl slowly stepped forward, reaching the eyes of Ms. Z, who was forced to kneel.

“Melvis…”

Ignoring the beauty's soft call, Melvis slowly tightened his five fingers and then loosened them, like a newborn baby who has not yet cried gradually becoming familiar with the new world.

Picking up the dagger and pointing the sharp edge at the person in front of her, she seemed to be carrying out Valentia's orders.

If Ms. Z were cold and ruthless, she could naturally ignore her injuries and rely on her own resilience and perseverance to get back on her feet and tip the scales. If she were to use her Sequence Six abilities, it would be a piece of cake. However, she felt guilty towards Melvis and could not bring herself to harm that face.

If it weren't for him, the girl before him wouldn't have been isolated and helpless in the Black Forest incident, infected by the vampires, haunted by delirium, tormented by suffering, wavering between instinct and reason in the alternation of day and night, unable to have a good dream or sleep all day long.

That's why she felt so guilty and remorseful, regretting her negligence and feeling ashamed of her powerlessness.

Therefore, even though she had faced Melvis's coldness and indifference on several occasions, she had accepted it calmly, just as she was now, willing to sacrifice herself even if he wanted to take her life. As long as it had value, it could bring back that pure and kind girl.

The salty, metallic smell of blood wafted in with the cold wind, and Melvis's raised dagger gradually overlapped with Ms. Z's slender neck—like threads already woven on the spindle of fate, crumbling at the slightest touch.

Fortunately, a gunshot broke the silence, and a burst of light pierced the eyelids.

The powerful impact made it impossible for his knuckles to grip the blade, causing it to slip from his hand again. Melvis staggered a few steps and fell into the display case inside, his face grim.

Charlotte?

Ms. Z looked back and saw the girl, also bleeding, gripping the gun with both hands, resolutely and firmly pressing the trigger.

"Oh? Unexpected guests. I thought that liar fool would get rid of you easily, like picking unnecessary crumbs off a cake. It seems I had too many expectations of that hypocritical believer."

"You mean Felton, right?"

Suppressing her surprise, after sorting out her thoughts, Zelena had figured out the cause and course of the attack.

Felton's advance borrowing was reasonable, and the documents provided by the Cardinal Order were also authentic and valid. The only similarity was that the sealed artifact he borrowed happened to be the perfect counter to the vampire before him, capable of tracing the origin of the mist and causing irreparable injuries.

Yes, as the patriarch of the universal church, he only needs to cover it up slightly and portray the accident as a perfectly timed coincidence to extricate himself from the situation and leave no trace.

Therefore, the other side's plan was so precise that it included the arrangement of every person and the overlap of every location and time. Given the already scarce manpower, the intervention of outside help meant that even if one could face Valentia, one could not guard against the betrayal of one's companions.

In the end, all those who could tell the truth died, and the plan naturally became a subtle coincidence, while he only needed to pick up the sealed artifacts required for advancement.

Those who benefit from the situation are the so-called true culprits.

"So what if it is, so what if it isn't? At this point, even if we receive more help, it will only increase casualties. Why don't you beg me, Zelena, and maybe I'll take pity on you and kindly convert this girl into a vampire so she can survive?"

With a light laugh covering her mouth, Valentina felt confident of victory as she looked at the disheveled state of those who had come before her.

“Even without me, without the Eye of Twilight, he would have found someone else and shifted the blame to the one destined for evil. It’s just that my arrival makes the plan more secure and more interesting.”

"In your current state, you can't do anything. A mere Sequence Eight can't interfere with the situation. Kill them, Melvis. You shouldn't have any mercy for a newcomer."

With her hands behind her back and leaning back, she was about to laugh and watch how things would unfold when she felt a cold, sharp pain in her back chest.

The dagger ultimately pierced one side, only the roles were reversed. Of course, the brown-haired beauty was not flustered; instead, she clicked her tongue in disappointment.

"Your ruthless betrayal is like a wooden stake piercing my chest; my heart is breaking."

Chapter 213 Breaking the Impasse

Valentia's sigh was particularly clear amidst the sound of dripping blood. She looked down at the dagger piercing her chest, her fingertips gently tracing the edge of the blade, feeling the numbness of life slowly slipping away.

"It truly breaks my heart. I gave you a new life, and this is how you repay me?"

“You should have died in Hessen, with growing despair and helpless pain.”

The beautiful woman's figure vanished from sight, then reappeared on the shards of the stained glass window scattered on the ground—each facet reflected a different figure, some leaning lazily, some covering their lips and laughing softly, some casting a mocking glance, their malice in their red eyes almost overflowing.

"If you follow the rules and regulations, even for ten years, you will not be able to make further progress on a path that you are not suited for, and you will only waste your precious youth."

"Why not consider the second option? Even if you try to save face now, it still confirms your previous betrayal. The impartial arbitration tribunal will never be merciful to traitors."

"No, I will state the facts and the difficulties of the situation to the higher authorities, and reasonably inform the Cardinal Order that Melvis's actions were a necessary period of dormancy, a temporary strategy that was unavoidable."

Instead of letting this obvious enticement continue, Zelena straightened her back and firmly said no.

"Enough. There's no need for this ignorant lie meant to save my life."

Unmoved by their words, Melvis stomped on the glass beside his leg, his tone as distant as ever.

“Valentia, your so-called rebirth is based on unequal slavery, and Zelena, for the past three years, everything you have done and said has been to soothe my mind and body, and I know all of this.”

“I admit that it is biased to weigh the Arbitration Tribunal against the Twilight Eye in order to live a worthwhile life.”

Her bright red vertical pupils gleamed with a beastly coldness, yet the girl's tone was clear and logical, showing no signs of being infected by vampires.

"Look at what a pure heart you have. Selfish and selfish, Melvis, you were born to be a vampire, cold and arrogant."

Valentia gently clasped her hands together in the mirror, and applause erupted from all sides, as if genuinely praising her words.

“I know that the Arbitration Tribunal has very low tolerance for non-humans. To be honest, after becoming a vampire and still retaining my rationality, my scales have indeed tilted to the other side.”

“Melvis…”

Knowing that there must be a turning point in the conversation, Ms. Z still lowered her head in shame.

"This is my heartfelt confession, regardless of interests or circumstances. Thank you, Ms. Z. People are made of flesh and blood too. Over these many days and nights, all members have seen your patience and gentleness, and it warms their hearts. I am no exception."

"Even though the events in Hessen, the loneliness and helplessness, and the torment of pain have filled me with deep resentment, it has nothing to do with you. You don't need to feel ashamed or indebted."

Zelena's heart clenched. This was not the forgiveness she had hoped for; it was more like a cold severing—a clean break between responsibility and emotion.

"The world is destined to be unfair. If this is the candy I have earned after going through so much suffering, I will gladly enjoy this bittersweet experience."

Words of relief echoed in the silent air. Her eerie red eyes no longer held confusion or struggle, only a cruel clarity remained.

"But this candy is not poison you bestowed upon me, Valentia." The girl's voice suddenly turned cold as she turned around, her gaze sweeping across the shards of mirror imagery on the ground like a blade.

"It was the thorn I clung to when I was desperately trying to survive in Hessen. Your 'rebirth' is nothing more than an invitation to another set of shackles. I choose to stand here not because of the arbitration tribunal's judgment, but because—"

She paused, as if sighing, or perhaps reflecting, "There was someone here who tried to hand me a rope when I was falling into the abyss. Even if that rope was ridiculously fragile, even if it ultimately failed to pull me back, that attempt was real."

For the first time, the brown-haired beauty in the mirror lost her usual mocking smile. Her red eyes, visible through countless fragments, narrowed simultaneously, revealing a dangerous glint. "What a touching heart-to-heart talk. Too bad, it seems you don't intend to leave with me?"

"Sweet words built on enslavement and deception, and bitterness destined for tragedy—even if I face trial and execution, even if I have to start over, no matter how many times I experience it, I will firmly choose—"

"the latter."

These words seemed to have thoroughly enraged the beautiful woman; her voice was no longer languidly mocking, but coldly and indifferently pleading.

"You have already been branded as a traitor. Apart from the Eye of Twilight, no one can keep a living vampire."

To be honest, although she had only listened in for a short while, Charlotte had already pieced together the details of the Black Forest incident from the available information. Compared to the tedious and dirty fighting, she found the scene before her to be more complicated and interesting.

Valentia is somewhat like her, except that she lacks patience and composure when it comes to enjoying herself.

If it were her, she would definitely get involved, subtly explore the other person's heart, but not stop them, watching them plan every strategy with great expectations, and then seize the victory at the perfect moment, watching those prayers and hopes all go to waste.

The confusion and helplessness she felt at that time, the entanglement of grudges and resentment yet her inability to let go, the repeated questioning of truth and falsehood, and the pleading for denial, were what gave her the supreme pleasure.

Enough. If she doesn't step in now, it will seem out of place in this scene, preventing the music from continuing.

“Ms. Z, please leave here first. Pedeline and the others have been settled and have no more worries.”

The girl's gun was still steadily pointed at the image in the mirror. Her loose blonde hair was wet and clung to her cheeks, and her face was stained with some dirt, but it couldn't hide her clear and sharp eyes.

Just now, the entanglement and conflict between the three seemed to have nothing to do with her, who was detached from it all; only the lives of her companions were held in her eyes.

"I almost forgot about you, my new little beast. It's quite a coincidence. I originally only wanted to use Crimson Kiss, its extraordinary properties, as a criterion for promotion, but your good colleague insisted on destroying the entire Arbitration Court."

"So, except for what is necessary, I have no choice but to see others off, just like the cold-heartedness of little Melvis."

The dripping blood spread into a pool on the ground, and the images then multiplied into countless forms, serving as a medium and a mirror to be chosen.

Without hesitation, Valentia raised her fingertip, and in an instant, countless blood arrows shot out from all directions, locking down the space for dodging and heading straight for Charlotte.

boom--

Gunshots rang out, and a cluster of sparks grazed the curtain tie, ripping it off and scattering it from above.

The usually accurate girl seems to have made a rare mistake?

No.

The moment the curtains fell, the view that had been illuminated by candlelight and smoke was instantly obscured and concealed.

In a fleeting moment, barely perceptible to the senses, the light on the mirror briefly vanished, and Valentia suddenly appeared from behind, only to disappear back into the mirror again.

However, a second shot rang out before it could be fired.