Chapter 77: Chapter 77: Lilian Awakening
"What are you doing?!" Bennett shouted, straining backward to claw out whatever distance she could.
Olivia’s eyes darkened. She finally released Bennett’s wrist, stepping back. A faint redness tinged her cheeks, and a manic grin spread across her lips.
"We’ll meet again soon, dear... and next time, I’ll be even closer to your soul."
She murmured with both hand on her cheeks, her gaze fixed on Bennett, and as if by magic, her form dissolved into nothingness, vanishing instantly.
Bennett pressed a trembling hand against her neck, the heat still burning across her skin. Her face flushed as she stared at the empty space where Olivia had stood moments ago.
"What... was that..." she whispered, her voice unsteady. Her knees gave out, and she sank to the ground, hugging them tightly to her chest.
She buried her face, struggling to regain her composure, but the memory of that intimate touch refused to fade.
’Is... is this shame I’m feeling? Why would she do that to me... Ehhhhhh...’
After a long moment of steadying her breath, Bennett pushed herself to her feet. With one last wary glance around the Garden, she walked toward the palace gates.
"Greetings, Duke." The knight bowed with a hand to his chest, stepping forward to open the carriage door.
Bennett gave a brief nod and placed her foot on the step—then froze.
There, resting on the luxurious carriage seat, was a small purple stone.
Her brows furrowed as she picked it up, the surface cool against her fingers. Sliding into the carriage, she sat down, still frowning at the strange object.
"Neigh—!" The horses cried out as the carriage lurched into motion.
Bennett turned the stone over in her palm, inspecting it with growing curiosity.
---
"Are you sure about this...?" Calista swung her short legs back and forth, tilting her head as she looked curiously at Shi Hong.
Shi Hong didn’t glance away from the glowing orb before her. Arms crossed, she gave a firm nod.
"Hmm. I don’t think Master will be pleased if we try to control her entire journey."
Calista let out a heavy sigh, folding her arms over her chest. A pout tugged at her lips.
"Strange... you were the one who wanted to take Master away as soon as possible. So what happened now?"
"Hmmm, I was," Shi Hong admitted, his tone softer now, "but I don’t want to see that look of disappointment on Master’s face. She’s... like a mother to me."
"Ahhh." Calista hopped to her feet, her pout easing into a faint smile. "Yeah, I know... but still, we won’t be able to help her if she takes another route."
---
[Initialization: Soul scan confirmed: ’H͠e͞a͢v͡e͞n͟l͟y Ph͘o͠e͜nix I͡mm̷o̴r͢t̨a͘l’.]
A burst of blue aura erupted from Bennett’s body, crackling through the air like lightning. She stiffened, eyes snapping toward the sudden purple screen hovering before her.
"Did... did that witch do this...?" she muttered under her breath, instincts fully sharp and wary cause of previous encounter.
For a moment, her body trembled with tension, the aura flaring brighter. But slowly, as no immediate threat came, Bennett forced herself to steady her breathing. The blue light receded, fading back into her core.
She exhaled deeply, her gaze narrowing as she studied the glowing words on the screen, though two of them shimmered in strange, broken letters she couldn’t make sense of.
[Initialization complete: Please insert Key Master.]
The screen shimmered, then tore open, revealing a small red void at its center.
"What key...?" Bennett muttered, frowning in confusion. Her eyes darted between the strange void and the purple stone resting in her palm. The shape... it fit perfectly.
Her fingers trembled as she raised the stone, her other hand tensed, ready to leap back at the slightest sign of danger.
Carefully, she reached forward and pressed the stone toward the void, the stone melt in her hand sinking into screen.
’Strange... is this some kind of artifact...? Wait.’
Bennett rubbed her temple, trying to drag up the hazy fragments of distant memories from her previous life.
’Tch. Did I even truly live that life...?’
Her eyes widened as the thought clicked, the strange glowing screen, the commands, the prompts. She remembered seeing something like this before, not in reality but in the entertainment industries of her past life.
’A system...?’
"Is this the same thing as those stories?" she muttered, rubbing her chin.
A new screen blinked into existence.
[Scan Complete: Please select behavior for unknown person.]
[First — Obsessive: If she doesn’t get what she wants, she will destroy herself and everyone around her.]
[Second — Yandere me$s: She will fell in love with the person again she fell in first life. her memory will return, she will love her first love again until her last breath and remain unfailingly loyal.]
[Third — Maniac: She will reach levels of obsession no goddess of love could match.]
[Fourth — Normal (current): Ends in two hours.]
Bennett tilted her head, eyes narrowing as she read the options. With a long sigh, she rubbed her temple.
"The heck... is this thing seriously asking me to change someone’s behavior? Is this system crazy?" she muttered at the glowing screen.
Her gaze hardened. "Fine then. Tell me, who’s this unknown person you’re talking about?"
The screen flickered, symbols twisting before words finally steadied.
[Correction: This is not a request to change the person’s behavior. It is fated to happen. The individual is in a state of conflict].
Reading it, Bennett close her eyes adn fell into thoughts.
’Fated to happen....Is this system some divine to know fate.’
Her eyes fell open in shock at her Wild thought. "Is this the blessing i got before, Dint that blessing did nothing to me before, is this system that blessing, cause only god knows about fate."
She look carefully at screen again reading the next words.
[Because of her uncontrollable extremes, the one she loved severed her soul into four fragments... to protect both themselves and her. We cannot disclose the person’s name.]
"So... do I really have to choose one of these?" Bennett muttered, her voice low with reluctance.
Her eyes lingered on the screen, lips twitching as she reread each line.
"All of these options sound dangerous..." She exhaled sharply through her nose, forcing herself to steady her hand.
After a moment of hesitation, she lifted her fingers and pressed them against the second option.
’This is the only one that doesn’t mention destruction or killing... I’ll take my chances with this, hope she get best thing whoever the person is.’
[The system will fully unlock in 24 hours, Wait patiently.]
---
[The immense potential is awakening as promised.]
Lilian, seated before her dressing table, frowned at the sudden message floating in her vision.
The maid brushing her hair paused, worry flickering in her eyes. "Princess, are you in pain anywhere?"
"Oh..." Lilian blinked, then forced a small smile. She raised her hand in dismissal. "No, it’s fine. You may leave."
The maid hesitated, then bowed respectfully before stepping back and exiting the room.
Lilian shot up from her seat and hurried to the window, yanking the curtains shut.
"What immense potential? If I remember correctly, you’ve mentioned this before," she muttered sharply.
She sank onto the sofa, leaning back against the cushions as though waiting for an answer. But then her eyes slowly lost their focus, turning dull and vacant, while a faint, unsettling smile crept across her lips.
---
A mass of black energy drifted through the night sky, the pale moon hanging above. Slowly, it descended toward a mansion, slipping soundlessly through an open window.
"Ummmm..."
The energy shimmered and shifted beside the bed, reshaping itself into the form of a mature woman with long, crimson hair.
Her lips parted, her gaze locked hungrily on the figure sleeping beneath the sheets. A low, breathy moan escaped her mouth as she leaned closer.
"Ahhhm... I missed this feeling." Olivia whispered as she slipped onto the bed, lying beside Bennett’s sleeping figure.
Her hand brushed along Bennett’s waist, and with that single touch, bennett false male form dissolved, revealing her true self.
"That’s better."
She pressed closer, her chest sinking lightly against Bennett’s arm, her breath catching in her throat.
’Hah... I want to be even nearer, but how...’
Her face drifted closer, lips parting slightly before she brushed a soft kiss against Bennett’s cheek. A flush spread across Olivia’s face, her heart hammering in her chest.
"Uhhhm..." another moan escaped her lips at the simple touch.
’I want to remain like this forever...’
Her lips trailed from Bennett’s chin down to her neck, lingering before closing softly over the skin. Olivia bit gently, savoring the taste as if branding her.
A shiver ran through her body, her toes curling in pleasure. Heat pooled in her thighs, the faint wetness only making her hunger Deeper.
Olivia squirmed closer, her arms tightening possessively around Bennett’s body as if afraid to let go. Slowly, she raised her face from Bennett’s neck, her gaze falling onto those soft, red lips.
Her tongue darted out, wetting her own lips, eyes burning with hunger that only deepened the longer she stared.