[Playing hide-and-seek with Nini, mission completed! Reward: Queen's Halo.]
[Queen's Halo: Under the sky, there is no land that is not the king's! Within the king's land, all seas are peaceful! The Queen's Halo can passively remove curse effects within a one-meter radius around you.]
[Ding-dong! Host has won the bet and is about to have a Blood Contract with Nini. Activating Nini's affection detection function! Nini's current affection: 0 points. Special reminder: When the affection of a Blood Contract partner reaches 100 points, the host can directly call upon their power!]
[Please bind the Blood Contract with Nini as soon as possible.]
"No, no, let's do it again! Again! Again!"
Nini poked her big head out of the teapot's spout, baring her sharp teeth and screaming wildly.
"We agreed that one game would decide the winner. Do you think just because you're small, I'll let you off easy?" Elena said gracefully, but her blood-red eyes left no room for doubt.
"Wahh—Sister is bullying Nini!"
"Or do you dare to deceive the princess?" Elena sat at the table, propping her chin on her hand, and said coldly. "In that case, you'll be turned into a pile of broken flesh by my father."
Nini immediately fell silent.
[Nini's affection for you -10]
"Stop blabbering and sign the Blood Contract," Elena said with a smile that wasn't quite a smile.
"Okay, okay..." Nini nodded, climbed out of the teapot, bit her finger, and drew a magic array on her palm.
But Elena grabbed her wrist and leaned in close. "I want a master-servant Blood Contract, not an equal one."
[Nini's affection for you -10]
"Or shall I tell my father about your deception of the princess?"
[Nini's affection for you -20]
With tears in her eyes, Nini bit her finger again and drew another magic array on her palm. "That's right, that's right. Honesty and trustworthiness are what make a good child."
Saying this, Elena grabbed Nini's hand with the magic array without hesitation. Invisibly, a mysterious connection was established between Nini and Elena.
"Ha ha ha..." Finally having gotten through a crisis, Elena laughed happily. With Nini, this ordinary human finally had a way to protect herself in this terrifying other world.
Although the sixth rule of the Dark World stated that all beings below level 100 were ordinary life forms. In other words: vulnerable. But Nini's toy bear's level was: ??? Elena believed it would be a powerful ally for her.
As for Nini's affection... Haha! She had already signed the master-servant Blood Contract. What did she need affection for? Blood doll, just be a diligent worker for me for the rest of your life!
"From now on, you are my maid. If you don't want to be turned to ashes, do as I say. Invert... uh, just be good, okay?" Elena said kindly.
Nini: (ノ(.ꏿ﹏ꏿ)ノ゙)
[Congratulations on achieving the achievement: Shadow of the Soul.]
[There are always some bad people who plant an indelible shadow in the hearts of innocent children. Your sick and twisted smile has caused irreparable damage to the young soul of a child. Achievement reward: Your smile's terror level +1]
Elena: (ノ(ヾノ꒪ཫ꒪))
Damn you, broken system! I'm smiling so sweetly, and you dare to slander me...
"Hey, tell me—what did your evil stepmom say to you when she sent you to my room?"
As a modern fujoshi who'd read over a hundred harem novels before reincarnating... yeah, a total beauty of the new age! She could keenly sense that something fishy was going on here.
"Madam said that the princess is a very fun and wonderful playmate. So, Nini came."
Looking for a great playmate? I was looking for one too...
Forget it. It seems innocent Nini doesn't know anything about it. But as the smart Elena, she had already guessed her stepmother's plan almost perfectly.
She'd lived in the vampire castle for six years, and her stepmother had never cared about her—not once. But on the day before her coming-of-age ceremony, her stepmother suddenly started worrying about her mental health and sent her a terrifying rag doll.
And guess what? The previous owner of this body was genuinely scared to death by that rag doll.
Sure, the first rule of survival in the dark world says you're absolutely safe in the vampire castle—but that only means physical safety. Mental safety isn't included.
And being scared to death by a rag doll? Even her dad couldn't find a reason to blame her stepmom. After all, it was just a companion sent to keep her company—a sign of deep maternal love! Who would've thought the noble vampire princess would believe a cute little rag doll that said it would eat her?
Now, the big question: Why did her stepmom rush into action right before her coming-of-age ceremony? What interest of hers was threatened by Elena's own ceremony?
But one thing was certain—if her stepmom found out she wasn't dead, she wouldn't let it go!
Unfortunately, Elena discovered that the previous owner of this body was locked in her room every day and knew nothing about the details of her own coming-of-age ceremony.
Ignorance equals danger! Especially in this terrifying dark world.
Elena just wanted to survive. So sorry, but someone else would have to die.
So, Elena sat down in front of her dressing table again, and her blood-red eyes stared into the mirror.
At this moment, the blood words on the mirror had already disappeared, leaving only the smooth surface reflecting Elena's exquisite face—blood-red eyes, white hair, simply unparalleled beauty! Who could compare with the fairy reading a book in front of the phone?!
For years, Elena hadn't dared to look in the mirror, but now she realized she looked so much like her mother. Same soft, straight white hair, same delicate features. The only difference was the color of their pupils—they were otherwise indistinguishable.
Her father deeply loved her mother, and everything belonging to her mother was forbidden in this castle. Even the luxurious makeup mirror in front of Elena was one of her mother's possessions.
Since all of her mother's belongings were forbidden in the castle, there was no way her father would tolerate some strange presence casually intruding into her mother's mirror.
That left only one explanation for why the strange presence and the mirror coexisted—it was approved by her mother.
And during the game of hide-and-seek with the blood doll earlier, Elena had already confirmed that the self in the mirror was on her side.
The second rule of survival in the dark world: Never look in the mirror. This rule was set by Elena's previous body, worried that seeing the strange self in the mirror might drop her sanity to zero.
At this moment, the self in the mirror suddenly smiled at her—and from its wide-open mouth, a set of blood-stained teeth was revealed.
[Nini's sanity -1]
[Your sanity -5]
Only five points? Elena realized her thick nerves had developed a bit of resistance to the weirdness.
"Alright, tell me—who are you?" Elena asked, taking a deep breath.
At this time, four blood-red characters slowly appeared on the surface of the mirror: Bloody Mary.
[Bloody Mary]
[Race]: Undead.
[Age]: Ancient.
[Level]: ???
[Faction]: Neutral Evil.
[Possessions]: All the mirrors in the world belong to her.
[Weakness]: She hates broken mirrors. If the mirror she inhabits breaks, it will put her in a chaotic state. It's said that those who've seen her in a chaotic state have all disappeared.
[Brief Introduction]: At midnight, light a candle, and in a pitch-black room, shout "Bloody Mary" three times into the mirror. You might meet your future self, or you might meet her. She can answer your questions, but more likely, she will make you disappear. It's said that an evil witch once obtained her, and every day the witch would ask the mirror: "Mirror, mirror, tell me, who is the most beautiful woman in the world..."
Elena carefully read the attribute panel.
"Age: Ancient... Aunt Mary, hello." She smiled sweetly.
[Bloody Mary's sanity -0.1]
The "Elena" in the mirror didn't understand why she felt a hint of terror in this little girl's kind smile?