Survival Guide After Accidentally Kissing a Demon - Chapter 117

Chapter 117

It was the third day of the Royal Hunt.

The morning light was soft, spreading evenly across the campsite.

Madam Constance left her tent early and headed toward the largest main tent.

Inside the main tent, a freshly prepared breakfast was neatly laid out on the table: steaming bread, pastries piled high with cream, and a hearty meat and mushroom stew. They emitted an enticing aroma.

Before going to sleep the previous night, Madam Constance had been worried about the fact that Bartholomew hadn’t eaten much. Since she had slept so early, she was bound to be woken up by hunger in the morning.

With this in mind, Madam Constance had risen early to bring breakfast to Bartholomew.

Taking the picnic basket from a servant, Madam Constance had just selected a few soft rolls and pastries to put inside when she caught sight of several noblewomen from the Bird Family gathered together out of the corner of her eye.

Their faces were pale and tense as they discussed something in hushed tones.

Originally, there was little interaction between the Butterfly Family and the Bird Family. However, after the carriage incident on the Imperial City Main Road, Madam Constance felt nothing but annoyance toward the Bird Family. Consequently, she didn’t mind at all overhearing some bad news regarding them.

Inside Bartholomew’s tent.

After the silver-haired man in black robes pressed a kiss to her forehead, a thick, ink-like black mist swirled around his pale toes. In the blink of an eye, the man’s figure vanished without a trace.

Raising a hand to touch her forehead, Beili curled her lips into a slightly complex expression before lazily collapsing back onto the bed.

She buried her face in the pillow, preparing to drift back to sleep, when the tent flap was flung open. A figure wearing a wide-brimmed feathered hat rushed inside, accompanied by an anxious and urgent cry-

“Luoluo…!”

Madam Constance only sighed in relief when she saw the figure curled up in the bedding, with only a head of long, silver-gray curls visible.

The three daughters of the Bird Family had gone missing.

Of course, Madam Constance didn’t care about the whereabouts of those three girls, just as the people of the Bird Family hadn’t offered a single word of concern when her own precious daughter went missing. However, this news had stirred up unpleasant memories for Madam Constance, causing her to rush back in a panic.

Beili turned her head and glanced at the newcomer.

“Mother, why so early today?” she asked in a mumble. Catching sight of the basket in Madam Constance’s hand and smelling the aroma of bread and cream pastries, she sighed happily. “So Mother came to feed me. That’s wonderful; I happen to be hungry.”

“Of course… my dear…”

Constance stared at her. The closer she got, the tighter her brow furrowed. Her eyes, lined with thick, heavy eyeliner, gradually filled with astonishment.

Finally, she reached the bedside, straightened the girl’s body, and tilted her face up by the chin.

“Luoluo!”

At the same time, she let out a cry of helplessness and shock.

“Luoluo! Were you sleepwalking last night? Did you chase down a wild rabbit and eat it raw? Oh, heavens, forgive me for having such an absurd thought, but you look dreadful right now-like a… barbarian!”

As Madam Constance described it, she pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the bloodstains from the girl’s lips.

Oh… and the ears, the neck, the collarbone, the hair… truly, it was everywhere.

As if imagining something, Madam Constance’s expression gradually became complicated.

Beili noticed the woman’s expression and asked, “Mother, what is it?”

“Luoluo… where did all this blood on your face come from?”
Madam Constance frowned, her tone tactful as she asked.

Uh… how did it get there?

Last night, a Demon had huffed and puffed through the hearts of several people before pinning her to the bed and kissing her for a long time.

She couldn’t exactly be honest about that, could she?

“…I forgot, Mother.”

Beili’s red eyes flickered for a moment. After putting on a show of vacant contemplation, she replied, “Maybe I really was sleepwalking.”

The simple woman took her words at face value.

As soon as Beili finished speaking, she saw Madam Constance quickly pull a metal object resembling a pocket watch from an exquisite pouch at her waist.

The woman flipped open the small, antique gold circular lid.

Beili noticed that the outer ring of the dial didn’t represent time; instead, it featured miniature depictions of various animals.

Madam Constance smeared the dried blood from the handkerchief onto the center, infused it with Mana, and waited for the tool to work.

This was a Bloodline Tracing Magic Artifact.

Before Bartholomew had returned to the Constance Family, she used to carry this artifact whenever she went out.

If she saw a girl who looked similar, Madam Constance would pay a large amount of gold coins for a single drop of that girl’s blood, just to see if she possessed the Butterfly Bloodline.

The dried blood was completely absorbed by the magic artifact.

Then, the needle pointed to the bird-shaped pattern.

“Oh… this is just terrible…”

Her precious daughter, Bartholomew, had likely eaten the three daughters of the Bird Family while sleepwalking.

Madam Constance thought this with a face full of worry.

She knit her brows tightly.

“Today is the last day of the hunt. I’ll make an exception and allow you to eat in bed.”

Before Beili could understand what was so terrible, Madam Constance placed the picnic basket in her hands and pulled the quilt over her, covering her entirely.

“Luoluo, don’t come out. Mommy will have someone bring hot water. You need a good wash,”
Madam Constance said.

Though she didn’t understand why this was happening, Beili trusted Madam Constance, so she complied.

She picked out a piece of buttered bread and began to eat quietly under the covers.

Soon, a flurry of footsteps appeared in the tent.

Then came the sound of water being poured over and over.

A servant placed a small step-ladder next to the bathtub and bowed respectfully to the Duchess. “Duchess, the hot water is ready. Do you require assistance?”

Madam Constance said, “No need, I’ll do it myself,” and waved her hand, signaling for them to leave.

Then, the sound of retreating footsteps followed.

Madam Constance walked to the bathtub and reached out to test the water temperature before speaking to Bartholomew under the quilt. “Alright, Luoluo, come over and wash the blood off your body.”

Beili was still chewing on her bread. Hearing the woman’s words, she lifted the quilt and stood up.

She carried the picnic basket and set it by the bathtub, laid her thin, pale white linen nightgown aside, stepped up the small ladder, and climbed into the tub, leaving only her head above the water.

Madam Constance wiped her face with a clean, damp towel.

At the same time, she cautioned her, “Luoluo, don’t tell anyone about the sleepwalking last night. No matter what happens, Mommy will protect you.”

Soaking in the warm water, the young girl felt extremely comfortable.

She nodded, sat up, and reached out an arm to grab a cream dessert from the picnic basket.

The dried, dark red blood from her neck down to her collarbone had been dissolved by the warm water.

However, it revealed dense patches of marks, as red as strawberries.