Axina's face twisted with ferocity as she propped herself up on the ground, but her body was too weak to muster any strength.

She could only kneel in the damp puddle of wine, glaring at Luo Wei with a vicious expression. Behind her, a snake-like tail flicked through the air, probing like a scorpion searching for the perfect moment to strike.

"Hah... You switched... my wine~"

Axina's breathy voice was irresistibly seductive. Despite the venom in her gaze, her tone was enough to send shivers down anyone's spine, like a boneless siren luring her prey.

The sweet, intoxicating scent filled Luo Wei's nostrils, and she swallowed involuntarily.

"And you... switched my wine too?"

Her voice was no better—ethereal and icy, yet tinged with a trembling undertone. The more she suppressed her emotions, the more alluring it became, like ice meeting fire, the steam rising to flush one's face red.

For a fleeting moment, as their eyes met, they both understood the crux of the matter.

They had each assumed the other's wine was safe and had taken the opportunity to switch glasses.

Axina had orchestrated a chance to swap her glass with Luo Wei's, only for Luo Wei to seize the moment and switch it back.

Back and forth, in the end, they had both drunk their original glasses of wine.

Luo Wei exhaled a heavy breath. So, the knight had tampered with every glass of wine?

"Hah~"

A flash of red light streaked before her eyes as Axina suddenly lunged, her sharp claws aiming straight for Luo Wei's throat.

Anyone who knew her secret had to die!

Summoning the last ounce of her strength, Axina struck with all her might.

"Bang—"

Luo Wei grabbed the lid of a wooden barrel and held it in front of her. The two-inch-long red claws pierced through the lid, lodging themselves in the dense wood.

"Ah!" Axina let out a cry of pain. Her fingers collided with the barrel lid, and splinters jabbed into the tender flesh beneath her nails. The pain was so intense that her vision went black. She stumbled back several steps, yanking her claws free with great effort.

That strike had drained the last of her energy.

Axina collapsed to the ground, glaring at Luo Wei with hatred.

"I should have killed you from the start!"

During their first meeting, after their first potion class, and even that night in the castle corridor when she had tested her—she should have killed her!

"Kill me?" Luo Wei panted, "Axina, you don't have what it takes."

The resistance just now had also sapped Luo Wei's strength.

She slid down against the wooden barrel, finally sitting on the cold ground.

"Axina, aren't you a Blessed One of the God of Love? How did you end up as a succubus?" she asked drowsily, her voice so faint that even she could barely hear it.

"And you?" Axina's voice was weak and feeble. "You’re supposedly the daughter of Queen Isis. How did you become a princess of the Fog Empire?"

"When did I ever say I was the daughter of Queen Isis?"

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"If you're not her daughter, how do you have the wings of a stork angel? Only the descendants of the Goddess of Life, Isis, grow stork wings."

"You said it yourself—descendants of the Goddess of Life," Luo Wei chuckled softly. "Do you really think Queen Isis is the only descendant of the Goddess of Life?"

Of course not.

Axina had realized this at the dining table, but she didn’t want to admit it.

Admitting she had been wrong was tantamount to admitting she was a joke.

She pursed her lips, unwilling to respond.

"Axina, who are you descended from?" Luo Wei asked, narrowing her eyes. "Let me guess—you exhibit the characteristics of a succubus. Are you a descendant of a succubus, or are you a Blessed One of the Dark God of Lust?"

The Dark God of Lust, a deity opposed to the God of Love, was a malevolent god whose envoys were succubi. Descendants of succubi might inherit their bloodline and abilities, while receiving the Dark God's blessing could also grant the powers of a succubus.

Luo Wei leaned toward the first possibility—that Axina was a succubus's descendant.

After all, it was impossible for someone to simultaneously serve two gods, especially two deities in direct opposition.

"So what if I am a succubus's descendant?" Axina glared at her warily. "Do you dare kill me?"

"Who knows," Luo Wei replied, her right hand still clutching the barrel lid tightly. "It depends on which of us recovers our strength first."

Silence fell over the storage room. Neither spoke as time slipped away, like the wine pooling on the floor.

In the stillness, the sound of their breathing grew increasingly distinct.

Axina suddenly rasped, "There's another breath… who is it?"

"I don’t know," Luo Wei replied, her eyes closed as she rested against the barrel.

"You don’t know?" Axina glared at her darkly. "That breath is right behind you. Who are you hiding?"

Luo Wei didn’t want to waste energy talking and ignored her.

Axina sniffed the air. As a succubus, she was highly sensitive to scents. Amid the rich aroma of wine, she detected a trace of something distinctly non-human.

It was a scent she was all too familiar with—she had raised many hunting dogs to dispose of corpses in the past.

"It smells like a dog's gland, but not quite. Is it a wolf?"

Axina stared at Luo Wei. "The one behind you—is it that savage woman in the wolfskin cloak?"

"Why is she hiding here too? I get it—she’s a werewolf, isn’t she?"

Luo Wei opened her eyes. "Since you’re so curious, why not come and see for yourself?"

Axina’s eyes burned with resentment. If only she could move right now…

"You bit—"

"Shh!"

Luo Wei cut her off, gesturing for her to listen.

From the corridor came the faint sound of footsteps, as if someone was approaching.

Axina panicked, struggling to her feet in an attempt to escape through the small wooden window.

Luo Wei bit her tongue, forcing herself to stay conscious.

She propped herself up against the barrel and turned to the figure inside, whispering, "Someone’s coming. Quickly, give me your coat."

Gladys bared her wolfish fangs at her, growling. She had completely lost her reason and couldn’t understand Luo Wei’s words.

Without hesitation, Luo Wei threw aside the barrel lid, pressed down on her head, and swiftly stripped off her wolfskin cloak before replacing the lid.

With that done, she turned toward the window, only to see Axina leaning against the stone wall, her face filled with despair.

There was no doubt—someone was outside the window.

Luo Wei quickly approached and whispered, "Axina, are you certain I’m a descendant of a stork angel?"

Axina glared at her with reddened eyes. "You bitch, I’m about to die—does that make you happy—"

"Smack!"

Luo Wei slapped her hard across the face, leaving five bright red fingerprints on her pale cheek.

She had used all her strength in that slap. Axina staggered and fell, her left cheek swelling rapidly.

"I’m not gloating. Answer my question, and maybe I’ll save your sorry life," Luo Wei said coldly.

Her palm throbbed with heat from the force of the slap.

Axina was stunned, but the mention of saving her life reignited a spark of hope.

"You’d actually be that kind?"

"Stop wasting time."

"Yes," Axina said, clutching her swollen face. "You are a descendant of a stork angel. Didn’t you know?"

Luo Wei scanned the room and spotted a shelf piled with wine barrels. "Hide behind the shelves. No matter what you hear, don’t move."

"""