The Delicate Female Lead Only Wants to be Loved by the Villainous Young Ladies

Chapter 50

Before bestowing her reward, Adele had a task to complete: unpacking the mountain of shopping bags that had been delivered to her new apartment. Inside, nestled amongst layers of tissue paper and delicate ribbons, were clothes, shoes, accessories… a treasure trove of items carefully selected by Celeste, her taste, her preferences, evident in every choice.

There were even… intimate apparel. Lacy bras, delicate panties, silk stockings with price tags that made Adele’s head spin. Poverty has truly limited my imagination… she thought, her fingers tracing the delicate lace of a bra that probably cost more than her entire wardrobe.

If I ever get the chance to wear these… I’m not letting anyone rip them!

Celeste had even bought her… swimsuits. Tiny, barely-there scraps of fabric that made Adele wonder if… if Celeste had ulterior motives.

Hmph… But considering how much money she spent on me… I’ll let it slide.

Besides, it could be… a reward. For later. If she’s a good girl.

Apart from clothes, there were cosmetics, skincare products, bags, jewelry, shoes… enough to fill Adele’s closets and vanity to overflowing. It was a transformation, a way to… elevate her status, to enhance her… femininity.

She could no longer afford to be… plain, unadorned. A flower that bloomed in harsh conditions might possess a unique beauty, a resilience that was… alluring. But without proper care, it would eventually wither, its petals fading, its vibrancy… lost.

“Is this… my bedroom?” Adele asked, her voice carefully casual, as she stood in the doorway of the master bedroom, her arms laden with clothes, her gaze fixed on Celeste, who was trailing behind her, her movements hesitant, her expression a mixture of anticipation and… something else.

Adele knew the answer, of course. But she wanted to… gauge Celeste’s reaction.

“Of course, Master,” Celeste murmured, her head bowed, her submission complete.

Adele smiled, her eyes narrowing, a mischievous glint in their depths. She was pleased.

They spent the next hour unpacking, organizing, arranging… Celeste, surprisingly adept at domestic tasks, her movements efficient and precise, proved to be an invaluable assistant. If she were to don a black and white maid outfit, a frilly apron tied around her waist… she would be quite the… catch.

Was she raised in a… privileged environment? Adele wondered, her gaze lingering on Celeste’s nimble fingers as she folded clothes, her movements precise, practiced. Surrounded by servants, her every need catered to…

Hmph… I’m a little jealous.

Once everything was in its place, Adele returned to the living room, her gaze settling on the last remaining bag, the one she had saved for… last.

It contained… pet supplies.

She smiled, her expression innocent, her intentions… less so.

She retrieved a collar and leash, the kind used for… large dogs.

Celeste, her eyes widening, her breath catching in her throat, her cheeks flushing with a delicate pink, seemed to… understand.

And then… Adele spoke, her voice soft, gentle, its melody echoing their first encounter, that autumn day when Adele had first stepped onto the academy grounds, her heart filled with a naive hope, her gaze drawn to the golden-haired girl who stood out from the crowd.

“Celeste.”

She spoke her name, her tone… familiar. Almost… intimate.

She held up the collar, its leather strap smooth and supple, its silver buckle gleaming in the soft light, and said, “It’s okay if you don’t want this.”

“If this is… your way of atoning…”

“Then… I forgive you, Celeste.”

Celeste’s eyes welled up with tears, her heart aching with a gratitude so intense that it bordered on pain.

She understood. Even without Adele saying it aloud, she understood.

Adele’s behavior, her attitude… it had changed. She had become more… demanding, more… aloof. Almost… cruel.

But it was an act, a performance designed to… accommodate Celeste’s desires, to fulfill her… fantasy.

It wasn’t that Adele wanted to dominate her, to control her. She was simply… playing along.

Celeste was the one who had chosen to be the familiar, the one who had surrendered her will, her freedom.

And yet… she was the one who was being… indulged.

Adele was so kind, so pure. She didn’t care about expensive clothes, fancy makeup, luxurious trinkets. She wasn’t greedy, wasn’t materialistic.

The proof? She had even accepted those… swimsuits, those tiny scraps of fabric that Celeste had chosen with… less than pure intentions.

She had threatened punishment, but… she hadn’t actually done anything. All Celeste had felt, in Adele’s presence, was… warmth. Affection. Acceptance.

What kind of vampire master cared so much about their familiar’s… feelings?

Celeste’s sacrifices… they were nothing compared to Adele’s kindness, her generosity, her… love?

And Adele’s next words… they confirmed her suspicions, her belief in Adele’s inherent goodness.

“I’ve been thinking…” Adele said, her voice hesitant, her gaze searching Celeste’s face. “I think… you should choose… how we interact.”

“Friends? Familiar? Or… pet?”

“It’s… your choice, Celeste.”

It was true. Back in the infirmary, Celeste had been the one who had initiated the contract, who had bound their souls together. And Adele… she had even offered to release her, to break the bond.

But Celeste had refused. She had pledged her loyalty, her devotion.

And now… Adele was offering her a second chance. She wouldn’t interfere, wouldn’t use her power, her magic, to influence Celeste’s decision.

If Celeste wanted to be friends… Adele would accept it.

If she wanted to remain a familiar… she could refuse the collar.

But if she wanted to be… something more…

Celeste, wiping away her tears, her heart aching with a gratitude so intense that it brought a smile to her lips, a smile that shone through the tears, a smile that… transformed her, knew the answer.

Her body, her heart, her very soul… they belonged to Adele.

She slowly knelt before Adele, her movements graceful despite the awkwardness of her position, her golden hair cascading down her back like a waterfall of sunlight, her gaze fixed on Adele’s face, her heart pounding with a mixture of anticipation and… joy.

She reached Adele, her gaze never wavering, her surrender complete.

Adele’s eyes widened, her fingers, still clutching the collar, trembling slightly. But Celeste, her expression resolute, her gaze unwavering, gently offered her neck, her throat, her… everything.

Adele, with a soft click, fastened the collar, its cool leather a stark contrast to the warmth of Celeste’s skin.

It was the most beautiful sound Celeste had ever heard.

There was no such thing as… halfhearted devotion.

Adele… You will always be my Master.

My goddess. My savior.

And I… I am your dog.

And in that… I find my happiness.

………………

Celeste knelt on the floor, her head bowed, her posture a perfect picture of… submission. Adele, her heart aching with a tenderness that surprised even her, knelt before Celeste, her arms wrapping around her, pulling her close, her embrace a silent acknowledgment of… the gift Celeste had given her.

Celeste’s body was soft, warm, her scent… intoxicating.

Adele felt… safe. Content.

Perhaps… in losing herself, Celeste had… found something as well.

In this strange, new world, a world that was both familiar and alien, Adele had few anchors, few sources of… comfort.

And Celeste… she had become one of them. She had earned Adele’s trust, her affection, her… love?

Linlang… well, she was too transparent, her emotions too easily read, her heart too pure to… deceive.

And because she couldn’t deceive… she could only be deceived.

But Adele wasn’t taking advantage of her. Not really. She genuinely cared for Linlang, her affection… real.

And then… there was Hermione.

If only she wasn’t so… powerful, so… unpredictable. Adele, in her presence, felt… small. Insignificant.

Hermione… she should be ranked higher on Adele’s list of… priorities. Who wouldn’t want an Ice Queen who was… secretly soft for you?

As for Dorothy and Sharon…

Adele pushed those thoughts aside, her fingers tracing the outline of the collar around Celeste’s neck, her touch lingering, her gaze softening.

“Is it… cold?” she asked, her voice laced with concern.

“No… Master,” Celeste whispered, her voice barely audible. “It’s… not cold at all.”

It was… warm. Burning. A heat that radiated from the magic crest on her abdomen, spreading through her limbs, her heart, her very soul.

She was a fire manipulator, but this heat… it was different. More intense. More… consuming.

Every Elemental possessed an elemental affinity and a refinement level. Affinity was determined by bloodline, a hierarchy that mirrored the Sequence system. A Sequence One vampire, for example, would typically possess a Sequence One elemental affinity.

But there were exceptions, those who possessed affinities that were either higher or lower than their Sequence ranking. Those with higher affinities were considered… gifted. Those with lower affinities were… well, they were considered failures.

Celeste, her fire affinity considered to be high-end for a Sequence Two, was… almost gifted. If her opponent hadn’t been Hermione, a prodigy with the highest-ranked ice affinity Adele had ever encountered… perhaps she wouldn’t have been so easily defeated, her confidence so utterly shattered.

Elemental affinity was innate, a gift of blood. But refinement level… that was a measure of a vampire’s skill, their mastery over their element, achieved through training, through practice, through… experience.

The magical world recognized thirteen levels of elemental refinement. Celeste, before her… transformation, had been at the sixth level.

But now… as she basked in the warmth of Adele’s magic, her understanding of her element deepened, her control… intensified.

She felt a surge of power, her refinement level… increasing.

From sixth level… to seventh!

Celeste, a Sequence Two fire manipulator with a seventh-level refinement. For a student, for someone who was still… developing her abilities, it was an impressive feat, a level of mastery that would guarantee her success in the academy’s graduation exams.

She was… almost as strong as Hermione.

But then… her joy turned to ashes, her excitement replaced by a cold dread.

Because Hermione… her refinement level was… eighth.

And her affinity… it was Sequence One.

It’s not enough… I’m still not strong enough!

Her eyes dimmed, then brightened, a flicker of determination replacing the despair.

Adele, sensing the shift in Celeste’s emotions, her brow furrowed with concern. She tugged gently on the leash, the collar tightening slightly around Celeste’s neck.

Celeste gasped, not in pain, but in… submission.

“Master…” she whispered, her voice barely audible.

“What are you thinking about, Celeste?” Adele asked, her voice soft yet firm, her gaze never leaving Celeste’s face.

Celeste, unable to lie, her golden hair trembling slightly as she spoke, confessed, “I was just… thinking about… when I can finally… defeat Hermione.”

“When I can… rescue you from her clutches…!”

Her words, laced with a fierce determination, a protective instinct that was almost… canine, made Adele’s heart skip a beat, her gaze darkening.

She stood up, tugging gently on the leash, leading Celeste towards the sofa. The leash was short, and Celeste, her body responding instinctively, followed, crawling on her hands and knees, her movements graceful despite the awkwardness of her position.

She was a powerful vampire, a member of the nobility, but… she was also… Adele’s dog.

And she would obey.

They reached the sofa, and Adele, sinking into its plush cushions, her small body swallowed by its softness, looked at Celeste, who remained kneeling on the floor, her posture erect, her gaze fixed on Adele, her expression a mixture of adoration and… something else.

She had chosen this. She had chosen to be Adele’s familiar, her… pet.

And Adele, accepting her choice, her heart softening, decided to… drop the pretense. She would embrace her role as… Master.

But she wasn’t cruel, not like some of the other vampires who treated their familiars like… objects.

She was… different.

She understood Celeste’s desire for revenge, her need to… prove herself. It was a dangerous desire, a double-edged sword. But it could also be… useful.

Ultimately, Adele wanted Celeste and Hermione to… get along. They were both… precious to her.

They’re both… mine.

She sighed, her thoughts a jumbled mess, then she smiled, reaching out to gently stroke Celeste’s hair.

Head pats for the good puppy.

“Don’t worry about that now, Celeste,” she said, her voice regaining its warmth. “Hermione… she’s not someone you can… defeat.”

She’s the one I can’t defeat.

“But you’ve… gotten stronger, haven’t you?” she asked, sensing a shift in Celeste’s aura, her magic.

Celeste’s expression brightened, a shy smile curving her lips, her eyes sparkling with a pride that was… almost childlike. She nodded, her eagerness to please, to earn Adele’s praise, evident in her every gesture.

If she had a tail, it would be wagging furiously right now.

“What’s your… refinement level now?” Adele asked, her curiosity piqued.

“Seventh level, Master,” Celeste said, her voice filled with a quiet pride.

Adele’s jaw dropped. Seventh level… She’s almost caught up to Hermione…

And what about Adele’s own refinement level?

It’s… 0.5, right?

She winced internally. It was a sore spot, a constant reminder of her… weakness. She was like an ordinary human who had somehow stumbled into a school for monsters, her powers barely a flicker compared to the overwhelming strength of those around her.

But she wasn’t worried. Not yet. Her time to shine was coming.

But first… she had to endure the humiliation of being the weakest student in her magic training class. Tomorrow, Friday, was training day. And she was… not looking forward to it.

She sighed, her thoughts drifting to… unpleasant possibilities, her legs crossing, her ankle resting on her opposite knee, her posture a study in casual elegance. Her skirt, riding up slightly, revealed a tantalizing glimpse of white stockings, her toes, small and delicate, wiggling playfully.

Celeste, her gaze drawn to Adele’s leg, swallowed nervously, her throat suddenly dry.

Adele, noticing her reaction, her lips curving into a mischievous smile, her eyes sparkling with a mix of amusement and… something else, leaned back against the sofa, her posture relaxed, her voice taking on a languid tone.

“Give me a foot massage, Celeste~” she purred.