Chapter 45
He couldn't bear to part with it.
The girl's hands were fair and delicate, slender and thin, with a faint pink hue on her fingers, like the skin of a newborn, so delicate and fragile that the blood vessels beneath the skin were visible.
Hughes's eyes darkened. "It will hurt a little."
Xia Qian was taken aback, "...Wasn't it just a drop of blood?"
"That hurts too." He gently pinched her fingers, seemingly not particularly fond of the test.
“But it’s just a drop of blood,” Xia Qian said. It shouldn’t hurt that much, but the boy in front of her seemed particularly concerned.
In front of them was the identification platform, on which sat a brand-new black box. Inside the box was a sharp silver needle, its tip gleaming with a silvery light.
"The test is about to begin. Please use the provided tools to drip blood into the dropper. You have three minutes to prepare."
The cold, mechanical sound of the testing system flowed through the hall. The sharp silver needle lay in the box. When Hughes picked it up with his long, slender hand, the sharp tip of the needle flashed. It was not only sharp, but also incredibly thin.
Just looking at it makes it seem sharp, but if you gently prick it with a needle, it probably won't hurt too much.
Xia Qian couldn't help but think.
She obediently stretched out her fingers, her pink fingertips gently offered to Hughes.
Her expression was calm, seemingly without fear, but her trembling eyelashes betrayed her thoughts. Hughes held her tiny fingertips in one hand and the needle in the other. The closer he got, the more uncontrollably her long eyelashes began to tremble.
"Are you scared?" he asked in a low voice.
"No……"
The silver needle was only millimeters away from her fingertip. If Hughes had just gently lowered it, the needle could have pierced her fingertip, but he hesitated to make a move.
Xia Qian swallowed hard and said to herself, "It's just a drop of blood."
She wasn't afraid.
Why should she be afraid? She couldn't possibly be afraid.
What kind of monster is a drop of blood? Although I'm afraid of blood, it's just a little bit, so it shouldn't be a big deal.
Xia Qian, you can't be afraid of this.
Xia Qian said to herself in her heart.
Perhaps still feeling cowardly, she closed her eyes in fear, but her eyelashes continued to tremble as she waited for the silver needle to land.
"Just a moment," she kept telling herself.
The boy didn't miss the girl's timid appearance. He held her delicate, small fingertips in his hand, while the hand holding the silver needle remained still. Instead, he gently squeezed her soft fingertips with a reluctant gesture. At the same time, his deep voice slowly descended, "I'm still reluctant."
"There's no need."
He reluctantly released her fingertips, his fingers seemingly still savoring the touch of her skin. "Xiaxia is a princess, there's no need for her to hurt herself for this kind of test."
What's the meaning?
Xia Qian opened her eyes in surprise, slowly, her long eyelashes trembling. "But, isn't this how you have to pass?"
"It's not a necessary choice either."
What's the meaning?
Because she had closed her eyes, when she opened them again, all she could see was a blurry image. She could vaguely see the light from the hall shining into her eyes, and the boy standing in the shadows with his head down, his eyebrows and eyes obscured. The silver needle was flashing, particularly bright between his fingers.
She squinted, but her vision remained blurry. She reached out and rubbed her eyes, trying to see more clearly, but her vision was still blurry. She couldn't see the scene in front of her, but she could vaguely see that the boy was looking down, holding a silver needle in his hand, his slender fingers reaching towards the entrance of the dropper. The next second, he gently pierced the tip of his finger with the silver needle.
The alluring blood flowed from his fingertips, slowly dripping into the dropper, like a blooming datura flower, blooming alluringly in the dropper.
Xia Qian opened her eyes and saw Hughes insert the silver needle into her hand. For a moment, she forgot what to say. He calmly dripped the needle into the dropper. The blood was beautiful.
She subconsciously looked at the boy, only to see that he remained as calm as ever. He stood in the shadows, as if all the light was going against him. Xia Qian breathed very softly and involuntarily held her breath.
“Hughes…”
She looked at him, puzzled. "Why did you stab yourself?"
“Hmm,” he replied softly, casually setting the silver needle down. “You are a princess, unlike them.”
"Commoners do this to break through their own class, but you are already in this class."
No need.
It was originally hers, yet she was forced to bleed, just for proof.
unnecessary.
His blood seemed to still be flowing, not much, but even just a little, her heart ached inexplicably. She was clearly afraid of blood, but her gaze was fixed on his slender fingertips, and she couldn't look away.
She couldn't help but grasp his hand, cradling it in both of her small hands, her delicate fingertips enveloping his fingertips, looking at the tiny bloodstain with heartache, "...Doesn't it hurt?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Xia Qian realized how stupid she had said.
It's just a little bit of blood, how could it possibly hurt?
However, she still couldn't help feeling heartbroken.
He didn't need to do that.
At the same time, a cold, mechanical voice beeped from the identification station, and the next second it said coldly, "Blood not detected is not that of the test subject. The plan has been changed to naturalization into a noble family and is now being linked to the family of the blood provider."
"Binding successful. Tester Xia Qian has successfully registered as a citizen of the Siegel family. Her status is Hughes Siegel's fiancée, the provisional mistress of the Siegel family, a Noble Rank 7, and a VIP of the Imperial Family."
"Bound to Hughes Siegel".
"The system will now send a message to the tester, notifying the major nobles of the empire."
Although the Royal Forest is remote, it possesses an absolutely advanced system. The empire values talent, so once a tester passes the test by skipping seven levels, the system will automatically start issuing messages to notify the major nobles, and in some cases, it will even attract the attention of the royal family.
Xia Qian's situation was not something that only attracted the attention of the imperial nobles.
She was brought by Hughes himself.
The system's voice was clear and powerful. Even beyond where Xia Qian and Xiu Si were, its voice could still be heard far away. None of the elders standing outside missed a single word spoken by the system.
They looked at each other, whispering amongst themselves, and saw doubt and a hint of confusion in each other's eyes. The girl was clearly a princess from the source of life.
Why did the test result show that she should be admitted to Siegel? Shouldn't they have just released the girl's blood test results so that everyone could see the purity of her spiritual power?
What is their prince doing?
Was the girl's identity deliberately concealed?
The elders exchanged bewildered glances, and some in the crowd couldn't help but whisper their doubts. Just then, the system's voice beeped again in the hall. The next second, before anyone could respond, the system's voice clearly announced, "System message notification temporarily suspended. Begin modifying the tester's title."
The elders were all taken aback, but before they could react to what was happening, the system's voice came again, "According to the feedback from the spiritual energy purity sensor of the system device, the tester Xia Qian's spiritual energy purity is as high as 100%! She can be granted the title of princess."
"Possesses the aura of the Tree of Life, the source of life, and is born a noble."
Yes, there is a sensor system installed in the room.
Ordinary superhumans are born with insufficient spiritual power and need to work hard to increase it. However, those who are born with strong spiritual power do not need to be tested; their sensing system can detect it on its own.
The reason why royalty is royalty is because they are inherently different.
What kind of blood do you need?
Why do they have to do things that only ordinary people do? They are different from others.
"The process of sending notifications to the major nobles has now resumed. The latest title suffixes and test results for the testers have been added."
As soon as he finished speaking, the system's voice never sounded again.
This test is now truly over.
However, every elder knew perfectly well that the test had only ended, not truly over. What was initially thought to be just a pretty girl turned out to be quite extraordinary.
They dare not offend them, but now that the other nobles have learned about the system's notification, they are all thinking about how to curry favor with them.
That is the source of life.
The Church of Light can be ignored, and one can remain arrogant and self-possessed, but the Source of Life is a different story.
That is the source of all spiritual power.
Legend has it that even a single stone there possesses spiritual power, and the spiritual power of those with supernatural abilities is hundreds of times stronger than that of other supernatural beings on the galaxy continent.
If even a random stone can possess spiritual power, what would the treasures there look like?
The other party is still a princess in distress. If we don't try to please her now, when will we?
Just by thinking about it, one can imagine gold and silver treasures.
The imperial nobility is about to descend into chaos!
Meanwhile, the hall remained silent.
"You don't need to do this," Xia Qian said softly, her small hands still holding the large one. Listening to the system's words, Xia Qian didn't really have any particular thoughts; she wasn't originally from this world.
None of these things really felt particularly real to her, but...
She looked up, her dark pupils reflecting the handsome face before her, and whispered, "Hughes..."
Her expression was conflicted and complicated, as if she had been thinking about it for a long time, but finally couldn't help but say, "Hughes, have you ever thought that you'll regret everything you've done for me one day..."
"I may not be your destiny. You'll regret it when you meet the person you truly love."
It wasn't anything she was afraid of; she already knew the plot, but saying it out loud made her feel very uncomfortable, like a thorn stuck in her heart.
Fearful and at a loss.
Even as she held his hand, she unconsciously began to pull it back little by little. "You might also feel that everything you're doing now is not worth it."
She said this, but didn't respond for a long time. She couldn't help but look up, and was caught off guard by a pair of narrow eyes, as if she had been locked onto by a dangerous hunter.
The hunter looked at her calmly, and Xia Qian suddenly didn't know what to say.
Her words must have seemed completely nonsensical to him, but, but...
"Is this what Xiaxia wants, or what Xiaxia doesn't want?" he suddenly asked in a low voice.
"I..." The girl's eyes were filled with confusion, as if they were blank, but the emotions in her eyes did not seem like a sudden outburst of emotion.
She lowered her eyes, unsure of what to say.
It's neither hope nor hope.
Yes, yes...
What should it be?
She couldn't help but think about it, and finally, after a long pause, she gave her answer: "...I'm scared."
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