Castorice's voice was inherently pleasant to the ear, but at this moment, it was like an icicle, instantly piercing the young girl's nerves.
Her entire body jerked violently as if struck by a bolt of lightning, and her retreating steps froze instantly in place.
Fear, like a cold tide, spread from the soles of her feet to the top of her head in an instant.
Her mind went blank, with only one thought echoing frantically in her heart:
What did I do wrong? Was the tea too hot? Or was the cup placed in the wrong position?
She knew that being assigned to serve tea to Her Highness the Holy Maiden was already a heavenly honor.
In their branch, those high-level officials who usually acted like tyrants had become as quiet as cicadas in winter after the news of the Holy Maiden's arrival came; they didn't even dare to breathe too loudly.
Aside from that high-and-mighty Spirit Saint Elder, no one else even had the qualification to stand before Her Highness the Holy Maiden.
A bottom-tier Saint like her didn't even have the qualification to welcome the Holy Maiden from a distance.
If she weren't young, female, and reasonably well-featured, this task would never have fallen to her.
But this honor also meant that one wrong step would lead to eternal damnation.
"Re... Reporting to Her Highness the Holy Maiden..."
The girl forced herself to stop her teeth from chattering and buried her head even lower, her voice trembling uncontrollably with fear.
"This subordinate... This subordinate is named Nana."
Castorice quietly observed the girl named Nana before her.
Dark red ponytail, wheat-colored skin, twelve or thirteen years old, and that familiar name... In Castorice's mind, a blurry figure overlapped with the girl in front of her.
It was her.
The female supporting character from the original work with a tragic background, forced to join the Holy Spirit Cult because her parents were controlled by them, who eventually defected with Huo Yuhao's help to join the Tang General.
A pitiful person struggling in hatred and despair.
There was not a single ripple in Castorice's purple eyes, but she already had a plan in her heart.
This was a very good chess piece.
Good talent, a resilient Mind and nature, and most importantly, she had a weakness that could be easily exploited and a wish that could be easily fulfilled.
"From now on, you are my maid."
Castorice's voice remained flat, without any emotional fluctuations.
"You will be responsible for my daily life and meals. Can you do it?"
Maid?
Hearing this, Nana was completely stunned. She looked up in bewilderment, meeting the Holy Maiden's gaze for the first time.
What an exquisite face it was, looking unlike a real person, with silver-purple long hair and elf-like pointed ears; especially those indifferent purple eyes, which seemed to contain a dead, silent starry sky. A single glance made her Soul tremble, and she hurriedly lowered her head again.
Become the Holy Maiden's maid?
What did this mean?
Was it glory, or a deeper Hell?
Her mind was in a mess, and for a moment, she didn't even know how to respond.
At that moment, Elder Lin, who had been waiting outside and didn't dare to enter, appeared at the door like a ghost.
He had clearly overheard the conversation in the room, and a flattering smile immediately appeared on his face.
"Saint Number Six, to be chosen by Her Highness the Holy Maiden is an honor you've earned through eight lifetimes of merit."
The Spirit Saint Elder's voice carried a hint of urgency; this was a perfect opportunity to show loyalty and curry favor with the Holy Maiden.
Looking at the dazed Nana, he immediately prompted her: "Hurry up and thank Her Highness."
"Yes... Yes, Nana... thanks Her Highness the Holy Maiden."
Jarred by Elder Lin's sharp command, Nana finally snapped out of her shock.
Her knees buckled, and she quickly knelt on the ground, pressing her forehead tightly against the cold floor.
However, in the shadows where no one could see, she bit her lower lip hard. What surged in her heart was not joy, but bone-chilling coldness and humiliation.
She hated.
She hated the Holy Spirit Cult, and she hated all the Evil Soul Masters here.
They were the ones who destroyed her home, used despicable means to control her parents' Souls, and forced her to wear this mask and become one of them.
And now, she was actually going to become the personal maid of the Holy Maiden, one of the highest symbols of this evil organization?
This was simply the World's greatest irony.
But she didn't dare to refuse, nor did she have the right to refuse.
Here, her life was more lowly than that of an ant.
She didn't even dare to think about the consequences of refusal.
"Very well."
Castorice seemed completely unaware of Nana's internal struggle. Her gaze moved past the kneeling girl and landed on Elder Lin at the door.
"Since she is now mine, Elder Lin, I believe you know what needs to be done regarding certain matters."
That gaze was very calm, yet it caused Elder Lin, a Saint-Grade powerhouse, to feel a sudden, inexplicable palpitation.
He felt as if he were being watched by a venomous snake, and his entire Soul Power tightened involuntarily.
What did the Holy Maiden mean by this?
Castorice didn't need to have read the original work to know that an organization like the Holy Spirit Cult must have countless dark methods for controlling subordinates.
For peripheral members like Nana who were forced to join, holding their family's Souls hostage was the most common and effective shackle.
Elder Lin's mind raced, and he instantly understood the subtext in Castorice's words.
The Holy Maiden was bestowing a favor.
Using a small act of kindness to buy the heart of a maid.
"This subordinate understands. This subordinate completely understands."
Elder Lin bowed hurriedly, his posture humble to the extreme.
He then turned to Nana, forcing a kind smile that looked increasingly distorted on his ugly, old face.
"Saint Number Six—no, Nana—come with me. You have been with the Holy Cult for many years and have been loyal. It is time to return your parents to you."
Parents... returned to me?
These words exploded in Nana's mind like a thunderclap.
She was completely stunned, not noticing Elder Lin's hypocritical smiling face at all.
In her World, only those few words remained, echoing repeatedly.
She jerked her head up, not looking at Elder Lin, but subconsciously, with a hint of disbelief, toward the Holy Maiden sitting in the main seat, who had remained indifferent from beginning to end.
This time, a very faint but real smile appeared at the corner of Castorice's mouth.
"Go."
Boom!
Nana's entire World collapsed at that moment, only to be reconstructed in the next second.
She understood; she understood everything.
It wasn't Elder Lin being kind, but the will of this Holy Maiden.
For so many years, she had endured humiliation and heavy burdens, wearing a mask to deal with her enemies and even letting her hands be stained with blood. For what?
Wasn't it for the day she could rescue her parents' imprisoned Souls and let them find true peace?
She had originally thought this wish was far out of reach, perhaps even impossible to achieve in this lifetime.
But now, happiness had come so suddenly, so unrealistically.
This Holy Maiden, who had just made her feel humiliated and hateful, had helped her fulfill a lifelong wish that she might never have completed on her own, with just a casual sentence.
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