"Your Highness, are you saying that this mermaid saved you?"
The paladin looked puzzled, glancing frequently at Xiu, his tone hesitant.
Maggie recognized the paladin; it seemed he had been in the entourage when she last visited the Kingdom of Arnold.
“That’s right, he’s my savior. He’s injured now, so I need to take him with me.”
Maggie nodded. It was good that Yarlin wasn't around. She was now the person with the highest status, and no one could question her decisions.
Xiu calmly leaned against the tree, his handsome face indifferent, his pale purple eyes clear and transparent without a trace of reflection, as if he could see right through a person's heart.
"Yes, Your Highness."
The paladin bowed his head in agreement, but his expression was indescribable and quite complicated.
For some reason, Maggie understood the underlying meaning in his eyes.
It's probably... maybe... the kind of look you give a pervert...
This wasn't just Maggie's wild guess; she had seen similar expressions on the faces of the noble servants when she bought Perkins before.
This is the expression that servants would only show when nobles were buying concubines and male lovers.
Maggie's mind flashed with images of Nesser and Perkin, and she fell into deep thought.
Perhaps there is something slightly off?
The paladin turned and walked towards Xiu. Maggie did not hesitate and left with the nun who was with her. If she did not leave, Xiu would definitely make some unreasonable demands later.
On the contrary, with her gone, Xiu might have nowhere to make things difficult for others.
...
Before long, the group returned to the camp originally prepared for the Demon Hunting Competition. Many young noblemen and ladies had already returned, and many of them showed surprise when they saw Maggie, who was wrapped in a blanket, slowly walking out of the dense forest.
Although Maggie was covered with a blanket, it couldn't hide her tattered clothes and wet hair. Even with healing magic to heal her wounds, the unnatural paleness on her face indicated that she had just been injured.
Because of the temple, no one discussed it openly, but Maggie could occasionally hear whispers as she walked through the crowd.
"Wait, I was the last to leave. I remember seeing Lord Greta and Her Highness the Saintess taking a walk together, how could this be..."
"The city lord has disappeared, and Her Highness the Holy Maiden is in such a sorry state. What happened?"
"Could it have been attacked by a high-level monster?"
Before they could finish their discussion, someone saw Xiu emerge from behind Maggie, and everyone fell silent instantly, captivated by his beauty.
Even without the features of a mermaid, Xiu still possessed a pure yet eerie aura. With his top-tier looks and the unconscious allure he exuded, he didn't resemble a mermaid; he was more like a fairy.
That's right, Xiu eventually transformed into human form. After the poor paladins were exhausted from being tormented, Maggie had no choice but to intervene.
Based on the current situation, Maggie objectively gave him a piece of advice.
'Mermaids are much larger targets than humans. If you want to be caught sooner, you can continue to uphold your nobility.'
She had considered that if Xiu didn't intend to continue the transaction, she would accept it.
Fortunately, after thinking for a moment, perhaps feeling that Maggie was right, or for some other reason, Xiu managed to strengthen his legs and catch up with them.
Perhaps, maybe only Maggie would treat her clients this way.
"Lord Greta was a vampire in disguise who intended to murder the Holy Maiden, but she has already been killed by the Holy Maiden."
Amidst the curious or surprised gazes of everyone, the nun stepped forward and explained the situation on Maggie's behalf.
Nesser and Perkin, who had returned earlier, arrived a little later. Nesser had initially looked happy, but the moment he saw the soaking wet Maggie, he instantly became emo, his eyes filled with worry.
He jogged over to Maggie, gently tugged at her sleeve, and his tone betrayed his deep remorse.
"I'm sorry, sister... I won't be playful next time. I'll stay by your side and protect you..."
When Maggie heard Nesser's words, she was first taken aback, then laughed. This time, it was her turn to feel guilty towards Nesser. The poor thing had been kept in the dark and thought he hadn't protected her well.
Even if he didn't go demon hunting, Maggie would have found a way to keep him in the camp.
"I'm fine. You're still an elf cub, it's normal for you to like playing, there's no need to be sad."
Maggie shook her head, her wet hair slipping down her forehead, her voice gentle.
After calming Nesser down, Maggie looked up and saw Perkin's face. She hadn't even noticed that he was so close to her.
"You...be careful."
Perkin seemed to notice the surprise in Maggie's eyes, awkwardly looked away, left her with those words, and then disappeared from her sight.
"?"
Maggie raised an eyebrow; she was indeed surprised that Perkin was concerned about her.
This doesn't quite fit the character of the Dark God.
Nesser and Perkin had already returned, so Maggie didn't linger and headed straight for the city lord's mansion, which must have been deserted by now, with not even a single blood servant left.
The relationship between vampires and humans is not very good. If the nobles of the Kingdom of Saint Na discover that a vampire has disguised himself as a human and become the city lord, they will definitely feel that their dignity has been violated, and who knows what they might do in anger.
If she were a vampire, she would definitely have evacuated everyone from the city lord's mansion beforehand.
Blood servants aren't worth much, so it's not impossible that they might just be disposed of.
However, she still had to go back, after all, her bargaining chip, Princess Eve, was still waiting there, and she couldn't just throw it away.
It would also be a good option to have the temple issue a warrant for the punishment.
The Holy Maiden of Light was attacked by vampires and nearly died within the territory of the Kingdom of Saint Na. I wonder how much wealth the royal family will have to spend to win her forgiveness?
Thinking of this, Maggie's mood became even more cheerful.
Not only did they successfully deliver the 'Blood of the Night,' but they also obtained mermaid tears, dealt with a vampire, and, with the compensation, made a fortune.
As Maggie expected, when they returned to the city lord's mansion, only Eve, trembling with fear, remained in the carriage. Upon seeing Maggie return, Eve disregarded past grievances, stumbled out of the carriage, and ran towards Maggie.
"There are...there are vampires...so many people have died..."
Eve's eyes were unfocused and empty, her voice trembled uncontrollably as she spoke, and her body shook like a sieve.
She didn't even realize that Maggie wasn't doing well either.
"I know."
Maggie's face was also pale. As soon as she stepped into the courtyard of the city lord's mansion, she smelled a strong stench of blood. Although nothing seemed outwardly unusual, the mansion was probably full of corpses.
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