Let's play a game…

Lethia was surrounded on all sides, yet a devilish smile spread across her face, as if this was exactly what she wanted.

On the other hand, the maids couldn't help but frown in displeasure and confusion, unaware of the threat before them.

The maids didn't know much about Lethia since she was exiled. They weren't aware of just how dangerous she was or of her strength. To them, she appeared weak. They believed they could defeat her the same way they were told in the past.

Moreover, what they were told in the past could never be considered the truth. Before Lethia's exile, she was said to have been defeated at the hands of the knights and imprisoned. This led the maids, who were also trained to be knights, to believe she was weak and wasn't a threat.

Contrary to what was revered as the truth in the past, Lethia wasn't the one defeated by knights. None of them posed a threat to her, but in the end, she grew tired of the endless battles she had with the knights and turned herself in.

"You might be the royal princess, but shouldn't someone of your status behave like one? Your endless times of trouble will end here... There's no way for you to escape."

The maids rushed forward, raising their swords as their figures moved so fast that one could only discern faint shadow outlines. Though they seemed fast, they weren't fast at all in the eyes of Lethia.

"This is all you got? You're underestimating me to think this is enough strength to defeat me." Lethia was disappointed. The maids weren't a match for her from the start, but she still wanted them to at least have strength enough for them to survive to give her satisfaction, but they didn't.

They were weaker than she thought they would be, leaving her even more dissatisfied. Lethia's black nails grew, becoming razor-sharp claws as they turned a vivid scarlet.

As soon as the closest maid appeared before her, swinging her sword, she attacked, slitting the maid's throat, as the scarlet in Lethia's nails dimmed slightly.

Despite being a true vampire who didn't need to breathe like humans, the maid's body quivered uncontrollably as she instinctively brought her hand to her throat, feeling the warm blood that should've been cold trickle down her throat. With a sickening awareness, she knew that the lethal claws had done something to her, leaving her gasping for breath.

Repeatedly, she tried to speak, yet no words could escape her mouth. Her entire being went feeble, as though her body had been drained of all its strength.

The scarlet blood in Lethia's nails possessed a unique attribute: it could immobilize and poison an opponent upon delivering a fatal blow that would kill any human. The poison was an especial poison created from her body that would grant her enemies human weaknesses no matter what, even if they hadn't been affected by lethal attacks before.

"I'll be taking your heart." She stabbed her hand into the maid's chest, ripping out her heart and bringing it to her mouth, taking a bite, "This one is much better. You did well to keep your blood as tasty as it is."

Hearing this, the maid's pupils trembled as she witnessed her heart being crushed before her eyes as they grew somewhat wet. He never expected that she would die like this, at the hands of the Blood Demoness, who throughout her life she had been told was weak and incredibly cruel.

Despite being surrounded, she knew that the others wouldn't defeat her. Their elders had lied to them; she wasn't weak. Instead, she was strong—incredibly strong. Before, she thought she was overestimating her, but that wasn't the case; she was actually underestimating her.

After the maid died, Lethia tossed her body towards another maid, and her figure flickered, appearing behind a third maid as she stabbed her hand forward, her dim scarlet claws having returned to their original shade.

Her hand passed through the chest of the maid, whose expression revealed immense confusion and shock.

"You're too weak. Too weak to be a knight. My father must've become blind to recruit such weak servants." Lethia's cold voice fell into the maid's ears as she saw her life leave her body in an instant.

Lethia took the maid's heart out, taking a single bite out of it, then disappearing again, intending to kill them one by one so as to strike fear into their hearts.

Even though the battle should've been in favor of the maids from the start because of their numbers, it wasn't. Instead, they were being pushed back, with them losing their lives without even having the chance to resist or attack.

Lethia moved throughout the battlefield as her figure appeared for only a moment before disappearing. Screams of fear and pain could be heard like a musical instrument playing its tune. At the same time, Lethia also took advantage of the chaos, using blood magic to trap the maids.

As she weaved her incantations, the maids felt their bodies freeze in place as blood shackles and chains spread across their bodies, trapping their movement and resistance.

She raised her right hand towards the maids, speaking calmly, "Feast!"

The blood, that seemed to come alive, revealed an excited hymn, taking the shape of a demon fox that devoured all the maids, ending their lives in an instant, all at once, giving them no opportunity to resist! All but one… There was a single maid that wasn't devoured!

It wasn't that the maid was hidden or that she was forgotten. She was still alive only because Lethia deliberately kept her alive. She would've died the same way as the others if she hadn't. But why? Why did Lecia keep her?

All the other maids were killed, but she wasn't. What was so different about her that she wanted to keep her alive? The maid couldn't see the reason behind her only keeping her alive. It just didn't make sense.

No matter how long the maid considered all the possible reasons, she couldn't come up with one that was reasonable. She didn't even think of the possibility of Lethia wanting someone to protect her, as her strength was useless.

The blood shackles and chains didn't change at all like the others, keeping her trapped in place as Lethia casually walked to her, stopping as soon as she came before her.

"Let's play a game. If you want me to forgive you for what you did, simply don't speak or cry. And if you don't want me to forgive you, then cry out in pain. It'll be a fun and painful game. I'm curious how long you can endure."

"It might hurt a bit!" Lethia brought her mouth to the maid's neck and dug her fangs deep into the maid's neck, not caring if this was painful to the maid or not.

The maid closed her eyes as they turned wet from the pain, but she held her screams inside. She wasn't aware of what Lethia would do if a scream were to escape her mouth, but she knew it wouldn't be good for her. Nothing good could ever come from this demon.

A large amount of dark energy started flooding inside her body. Unfortunately, the energy was so powerful that she could hardly prevent herself from crying out in pain.

The energy was becoming too powerful for her to endure! Her veins bulged as her entire body felt extreme pain. It was as if the energy was so violent and turbulent for her body that it could easily kill her if she were to lose consciousness.

She clenched her teeth, bearing the pain, trying her hardest to keep in her screams. Her teeth were so firmly pressed together that blood started to trickle from her mouth. She didn't even try to move! She couldn't, since it would only cause her to lose concentration.

If she were to lose her focus now, she knew she couldn't hold her screams in. She couldn't let that happen, not when Lethia had plans for her that filled her with uncertainty.

She didn't want to die, but she also didn't want Lethia to win and get what she desired. If she could endure, there could be an opportunity for her to not only escape but also avenge the fallen maids, even if it wasn't big! She would do it for her own sake and for the maid's!