After the Black Moonlight’s "Death Escape" Failed [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 26

Chapter 26: The Wolf and the Whip-Wielder

◎ Why are you so good to a dog? ◎

Early the next morning, the moment Jiao Qingyin opened her eyes, she saw the culprit behind her nightmares—the wolf cub was sleeping flat on its back on her left arm, so comfortable that its belly was fully exposed.

“Bad puppy…” Jiao Qingyin laughed out of spite. She rolled the cub off her arm; her hand, which had been pressed down all night until the blood stopped flowing, finally felt some relief.

The wolf cub seemed to be in the middle of a wonderful dream; even though Jiao Qingyin had moved it, it didn’t wake up, its little paws paddling the air.

Still just a puppy after all, sleeping through most of the day and sleeping so soundly at that… Jiao Qingyin thought with a hint of envy. Then she saw the little belly rising and falling with its breath… as if tempting her to give it a rub.

Ever since the first day she helped rub its belly to aid digestion, she had fallen in love with the feeling of a puppy’s tummy. She had tried to sneak a rub several times since, but the cub had always dodged her. Now, finally, there was another chance!

Jiao Qingyin didn’t hesitate. She reached out and touched the cub’s belly. It was soft, springy, and warm—it was simply—

Jiao Qingyin couldn’t help herself; she buried her face in the wolf cub’s belly and rubbed happily a couple of times.

At this point, no matter how deeply Nameless was sleeping, she was jolted awake. She opened her eyes in a daze, her mind not yet fully conscious, only to feel a strange sensation against her abdomen.

What is… Nameless instinctively used all four paws to grab onto Jiao Qingyin, and then…

“AWOOO!!!”

Two minutes later, Jiao Qingyin sat clutching her head—which had been whacked several times by a large tail—and laughed heartily.

This was the first time since Jiao Qingyin arrived in this world that she had expressed her emotions so freely. Even Nameless, who was in the middle of bristling her fur, was dazed when she saw the bright, dazzling smile on her face.

This person actually has a side like this…

And… she’s quite beautiful… Nameless’s heart raced, and the tail behind her began to wag subconsciously. She lifted a front paw, wanting to touch Jiao Qingyin’s cheek—only after she smiled did Nameless realize the woman had shallow dimples.

But when her paw was only a tiny distance from the target, Jiao Qingyin seemed to remember something and suddenly retracted her expression. Nameless watched as she returned to her usual cold self and looked toward the pile of pillows.

On the pillows lay Nameless’s human body, currently in a state of deep sleep because it lacked a soul. Jiao Qingyin stared at that shell for a long time until she confirmed the girl hadn’t woken up. Only then did she turn back to Nameless with a faint, gentle smile.

Nameless: “…”

The difference in Jiao Qingyin’s attitude toward her human identity and her animal identity gave Nameless a massive sense of disparity. And over the next month, this gap only grew wider.

Nameless intended to grow closer to Jiao Qingyin, but no matter how well she performed as a human, the woman remained lukewarm, acting as if she had no interest in her—neither good nor bad. Even the “perverted” mischief of teasing her had vanished.

However, as long as Nameless used her identity as the wolf cub, she not only received Jiao Qingyin’s smiles but could also stay glued to her side. Whether it was bathing or sleeping, Jiao Qingyin was happy to bring her along.

This blatant double standard caused Nameless’s mindset to lose its balance. As time passed, a sliver of subtle jealousy toward the wolf cub even began to fester in her heart.

The fact that Jiao Qingyin treated the human Nameless like thin air was a secret known only to the two of them. Everyone else only knew that the Prince had a white-haired slave under house arrest in her bedroom and never allowed anyone to see her. Furthermore, after getting this slave, the Prince seemed like a changed person; she no longer amused herself by abusing servants and had even released all the other slaves to… uh… undergo unified “re-employment training.”

Because of all this, a consensus was reached among the people of the manor: This white-haired slave must be incredibly favored.

At this moment, the “incredibly favored” Nameless was sitting alone in her wheelchair, silently practicing new magic. The Prince’s bedroom, which outsiders imagined to be a place of nightly revelry, was actually so quiet most of the time that one could hear a pin drop. Only Nameless, for the sake of power, sacrificed much of her time spent with Jiao Qingyin as a wolf cub to huddle here and learn thirstily.

The fireplace in the bedroom burned brightly, but Nameless often felt cold. Compared to being left in this “greenhouse,” she preferred staying with Jiao Qingyin in the freezing garden, watching as her afternoon tea transitioned day by day from sweets and fruit wine to savory biscuits and black tea.

Turning a page in her book, Nameless slowly looked up, stretched her stiff shoulders, and then looked at the brass clock Jiao Qingyin had recently added.

Three in the afternoon. She should still be in the garden… Nameless closed her eyes, intending to go take a look.

Click.

Nameless cut off her meditation and opened her eyes quickly. The book in her hand flew into the air, returning to the desk a second later. The pages turned on their own as if by a wind, stopping at the page Jiao Qingyin had been reading before bed last night.

Jiao Qingyin, carrying the wolf cub, opened the door and walked in.

Nameless turned her wheelchair toward her and offered a seemingly obedient smile. “Your Highness.”

Aside from her legs, Nameless’s previous injuries were basically healed. However, several scars remained on the lower half of her face, and since her skin tone was uneven there, she hadn’t taken off her veil. Her recovery speed was several times faster than normal, but Jiao Qingyin didn’t seem suspicious. Even twice when she hadn’t managed to hide the traces of healing magic in time, the woman acted naturally—it was unclear if she didn’t notice or simply didn’t care.

Jiao Qingyin averted her gaze and walked straight to the bed. She set down the fast-asleep wolf cub, wrapped it in a blanket, and left a few pieces of jerky the cub liked on the nightstand.

Nameless watched this in silence. When Jiao Qingyin looked over, Nameless proactively steered herself closer. Jiao Qingyin looked down to meet her eyes; only then did she notice the girl’s hair was longer than before and she had put on some weight, no longer looking like a malnourished waif.

If she could stand up again, she would probably be about the same height as Jiao Qingyin.

“Your Highness?” Nameless tilted her head.

Jiao Qingyin gave a hum in response before speaking: “Come out with me tonight. Someone will come to help you dress in an hour.”

The one-month period was almost up. She was going to take Nameless to complete Main Quest 3—attending the Imperial Palace Banquet.

The official date of the banquet was in three days, but Jiao Qingyin needed to follow the original owner’s habit of entering the palace a few days early. In the original plot, this was the original owner’s most insane period. To humiliate the protagonist, she brought her into the palace and attended several private parties of noble youths, causing the already frail protagonist to nearly die several times.

The system dutifully played plot fragments in Jiao Qingyin’s mind. The various atrocities committed by those nobles nearly made her vomit from disgust.

Nameless was stunned by Jiao Qingyin’s words. Since being brought back to this bedroom, she hadn’t stepped outside. Why today, all of a sudden…?

Seeing Jiao Qingyin turn to leave after speaking, Nameless reached out to grab her hem, but before she could touch it, the woman stopped on her own.

“I can’t take you with me all the time,” Jiao Qingyin didn’t turn around, hiding her awkward expression behind a cold tone. “As my slave, if anyone… tries to touch you, you hit them to kill.”

Nameless’s pupils shrank instantly. What does she mean…?

Is it concern? Or a test?

After a moment of silence, the wheelchair slid forward slightly. Nameless looked at Jiao Qingyin’s back and spoke softly: “Your Highness, as I am… I’m afraid I cannot do that.”

Jiao Qingyin let out a cold laugh, her tone dripping with mockery. “I was just saying it. Who cares if you can actually hit them or not.”

With that, she strode away, her long hair sweeping an arc through the air.