Regarding this "special gift," Altair did not refuse; after thinking for a few seconds, she readily accepted this birthday gift.
After receiving it, her heart remained calm, feeling no inner condemnation or resistance—nor even any urge to take action to end this trade or destroy the trafficking dens—she even felt that such things were perfectly normal.
She began to inspect and size up these nine maids, thinking that Vivian knew her very well and that the maids sent perfectly matched her aesthetic—
Perhaps it was because her "fusion" with Lucius had lasted longer and longer, causing her thoughts and way of thinking to constantly shift—from resistance to catering, then to taking it for granted, and now to "this is their honor."
Or perhaps she was "this kind of person" all along; she just lacked the conditions before—
When the maids finished the final rinse, Altair woke up at the right time. As she rose from the bathtub, her entire body stood in the center of the pool like a lotus flower emerging from the water, her movements creating ripple after ripple on the surface. Water droplets flowed slowly down her graceful figure and along her undulating curves, as if greedily tracing every inch of her lines.
The maids standing to the side picked up the soft, warm cotton cloths they had prepared and began to gently press them against her shoulders and back—their movements were slow and meticulous.
After the cotton cloth absorbed the water droplets from her skin, only a dry warmth remained. Their touch was so light that it was almost imperceptible, like a feather gently brushing past.
Her long hair was untied and tended to by the maids with smaller cotton cloths, their movements as gentle as if they were handling a rare treasure. Under the cotton cloths, the hair gradually became dry and soft, emitting a faint fragrance.
The entire process proceeded quietly and orderly. The maids kept their eyes lowered, not daring to overstep in the slightest, while Altair closed her eyes and enjoyed the comfortable process.
When the last cotton cloth was set down and Altair's skin was completely dry and glowing with a soft luster, the maids proceeded to dress her in thin silk pajamas.
After walking out of the washroom, Altair returned to her bedroom and lay on the sofa, enjoying the nail-trimming service provided by a maid.
Not long after the trimming began, the bedroom door was opened from the outside, but it wasn't a person who walked in; it was her pet black panther, "Panthera."
"Panthera" was the name she had specifically looked up references for to give the black panther not long ago.
Actually, at the beginning, she hadn't thought about naming the black panther, the reason being that she was terrible at naming things; her pet names before transmigrating were usually "Xiao Hei" or "Xiao Huang"—
So after receiving this gift, she had just kept calling it "black panther, black panther," with no intention of naming it.
It wasn't until recently, as she had been keeping it for longer and the black panther's size grew larger and larger, that she felt calling it "black panther" was indeed a bit inappropriate.
So she specifically looked up some information, using the Latin scientific name for the genus of cats, Panthera, based on the Greek meaning of "a beast that hunts everything," and merged "Pan" for all or universal with "Thera" for Guardian or hunting to get the current name "Panthera."
The name carried the meaning of "The Hunter and Guardian of all Night." It sounded both classically divine and coldly wild, fitting both noble elegance and the mystery of the night.
When Altair saw that it was the black panther Panthera who had entered, she beckoned to the pet panther, signaling it to come over.
Toying with its massive head, Altair couldn't help but remark, "Panthera, you've grown again recently. Did Vera secretly give you extra meals?"
But Altair's question received no response from Panthera because it hadn't taken the potion yet, and its intelligence was still like that of a four or five-year-old child.
Altair's stroking only caused it to display feline instincts, its belly emitting a low-frequency "purr."
Altair wasn't discouraged by its reaction, as this was just idle talk to pass the time.
Looking at Panthera's current state, Altair couldn't help but think, "I didn't expect you to enter adolescence so quickly, and you've developed well. I'll give you the potion in a moment."
"A Black Night Panther fighting a Black Night Wolf—just thinking about it is exciting. We'll see who's stronger then."
While Altair was still lost in thought, the sound of messy footsteps coming upstairs and shouting came from the open door.
The shouting only stopped after someone reminded the person where the "object" they were looking for was.
Before long, the personal maid Vera appeared at Altair's door with her head lowered. After walking in slowly, she glared fiercely at Panthera as if she were indignant.
Seeing Vera's state, Altair smiled and said, "Didn't Panthera just sneak out while you weren't looking? Is it worth all that shouting? Fortunately, Butler Hahn hasn't returned yet; otherwise, you'd be in trouble for behaving like this."
Upon hearing this, Vera lowered her head even further, looking as if she had been wronged, and explained in a soft voice, "Count Altair, Panthera is just too untrustworthy. I clearly made an agreement with it. It was supposed to stay put after I left, and it would have only been for a little while."
"I even promised to share my snacks with it."
"But who knew? I only left for five minutes, and it vanished in the blink of an eye."
"Student Vera, what you should explain is: what did you do that even Panthera felt the need to avoid you?" Altair reminded her with a smile while stroking Panthera's fur.
Vera looked up and explained to Altair, "I went to see my sister. Just now, while playing with Panthera downstairs, I saw my sister being carried down by several people. I thought she was sick and wanted to ask why and what medicine she needed—"
With Vera's explanation, Altair understood the reason for her dereliction of duty. She hadn't expected that she was the cause of it all.
"Alright, I see," Altair quickly interrupted Vera's speech and added, "You don't need to specifically watch Panthera anymore. The newcomers have been at the manor for nearly half a month; it should have recognized them all by now."
"Go and clean the laboratory now; I'll be using it in a bit."
After the maid finished trimming her nails, Altair stood up, patted the black panther's head, and said to it, "Panthera, let's go. It's time for you to join the journey of evolution."
——————————
After saying that, Altair walked ahead and said, "Go to the potion preparation laboratory first—"
Before she could finish the sentence, she paused and turned around, saying, "Go find Vera first; I'll come find you in a moment."
Watching Panthera head toward the laboratory, Altair couldn't help but laugh. She had forgotten that Panthera probably didn't even know what a laboratory was yet.
Shaking her head, Altair went to the material treasury and took the materials needed for the Night Pathway's sequence 9 Sleepless.
Arriving at the laboratory, Altair set down the materials and began to mix the potion.
sequence 9: Sleepless. Main ingredients: One Midnight Beauty flower, a pair of eyes from a Six-legged Owl.
Supplementary ingredients: 80 ml of strong liquor, 10 drops of Night-scented Grass essential oil, 3 leaves of Midnight Beauty, a portion of coffee beans or tea leaves.
After putting the main ingredients and most of the supplementary ingredients into the beaker, Altair remembered that felines cannot consume coffee or large amounts of tea, so for the last supplementary ingredient, she only added a tiny, symbolic amount of tea leaves.
Soon, she obtained a cup of "foul-smelling black liquid."
After smelling the liquid in the beaker, Altair almost gagged on the spot. Vera, who was watching from the side, couldn't help but ask, "Count Altair, is this the Sleepless potion controlled by the Church of the Night?"
"Why does it smell so bad? Like stagnant water in a sewer... The Sleepless of the Church of the Night are so pitiful, having to drink a potion that tastes like this every time they advance."
Altair nodded in agreement and felt fortunate that she wasn't even half a Sleepless.
Enduring the disgusting smell, Altair poured the liquid from the beaker into a prepared plate and said to Panthera, "Remember the precautions after taking the potion: clear your mind, adhere to your heart, and firmly accommodate the potion—"
"Drink it. The sooner you drink, the sooner the pain ends."
After hearing Altair's words, Panthera looked at the liquid in the plate and immediately began to lap it up impatiently.
Once the potion was finished, Panthera's spirituality surged instantly, but it calmed down again after a few seconds, as if nothing had happened.
Then, it looked at Vera with an innocent gaze, and the two stared at each other.
Seeing this, Altair couldn't help but sigh, "Humans really can't be compared to animals. Not only can it stabilize so quickly after taking the potion, but its sense of smell is also quite something—at least it wasn't affected by the potion's odor."