Return

It didn't take too long. Aerine was still amazed at how her contractor managed to easily resolve the issue that had been stressing her for the past few days.

Before he left, Lucian patted Aerine's head and reminded her to be more careful. Although it was quite a surprise, Aerine was still very grateful because of his concern. 

Her impression of his contractor was good in the first place, but there was still lingering fear within the deepest part of her heart as he was a powerful devil, but at this moment, this fear had lessened significantly. 

"Wait, we are here for... five days?" Divine asked with a little uncertainty. 

"That seems to be the case," Ronald answered her, in a rare agreement. 

The three of them were confused; their memories were fragmented as though the past few days were but a fleeting dream. 

This time, Aerine stepped in and tried to make it 'clear' for them. 

"We've really been with her for five days now. I don't know why it's making all of you confused." Aerine casually waved it off, which was really a good improvement in her social skills. She then gave them the footage that they recorded. 

The three all watched it, and while there were still creases on their foreheads from how strange it was that they couldn't seem to recall what they did the days prior, the video made them convinced. 

Looking at them, Aerine couldn't help but sighed in relief. She was not a good liar; fortunately, the evidence was too real to be ignored. And they didn't ask her more about it. 

When they left the strange town, Lucian had only teleported them to a more similar location. The three were forced into a deep sleep that day and only woke up today. 

The corruption of Hell's aura, although they were only exposed to it for a few days, made their memories vague. Aerine also thought that this was already the best scenario. 

What happened was best kept a secret, even to those involved, excluding her. At least, Aerine was originally part of the supernatural world. 

They were also in a desert, close to the border, so if they do have some recollections of that day, the location they were in wouldn't be so suspicious. And the horror of that place could only be suspected in their dreams. 

During the duration of their stay, the three also began to stop paying attention to their fragmented memories as they all enjoyed the last few days of their trip. 

Aerine, on the other hand, still felt a lingering fear because of what happened. Though she played with them, she didn't enjoy it that much as she was still cautious of her surroundings. 

She sometimes looked at the staff's faces or any anomalies. Fortunately, the trip concluded safely this time. And unlike in the strange town, there was transportation there that they could use. 

Aerine knew that no one from the production company would fetch them, as the driver who sent them to that strange town was problematic to begin with. 

A few hours later, when they finally returned to the city, Aerine let her guard down a bit. She also became at ease at once. That trip was really exhausting. 

However, it wasn't that it only gave her horrors. Thinking of her contract, Aerine couldn't help but smile. She got to know Lucian much deeper, aside from him being her contractor, and that really left a deep impression on her. 

Now they were back. Aerine set her mind again to her goals. 

"Welcome back," Mils greeted her after she entered the mansion. She had a smile on her face, but after seeing Aerine's expression, Mils' smile gradually faded, and she frowned, realizing something was wrong. 

"What's wrong?" 

Aerine pulled her to the side as they sat in one of the seats there, and she began to tell her what happened on the trip. Although she didn't delve too much into the interaction between her and Lucian. 

She really wanted to vent out what happened and relax her mind from it. And Mils was the perfect person for it. 

After her story, Mils blinked; she seemed to still be processing what she told her. 

"So... Uhm, Master really came to save you?" She leaned forward and whispered; her face contained her disbelief. 

Aerine found it reasonable; even she found it surprising at first. 

Mils exhaled and stared at Aerine's face for a moment before she was finally convinced. She then grasped another important matter from the story, and her face quickly changed from that of solemnity and anger. 

"Someone from here set you up?" She narrowed her eyes and roamed her eyes around. After a while, she shifted to Aerine and sighed. "I'm sorry; it's because I didn't ensure your safety enough." 

Aerine quickly shook her head and grasped Mils' hand. 

"No. It's not your fault. I'm also careless and quickly let my guard down." 

She acknowledges that part of her was at fault, but the blame was all on the one who devised this sinister plan to begin with. 

Mils also didn't argue over who to blame, and her mind seemed to also think of that perpetrator. 

Her eyes glowed a bit, and she scanned the place. She seemed to want to catch that person, but Aerine also didn't dissuade her from it. Aerine wasn't that kind to let someone who wanted to harm her get away with it. 

If her contractor hadn't been kind enough to save her, Aerine might have been trapped in that town forever, relieving the same day over and over again. If anything, Aerine also wanted to know who it was. 

What the tragedy taught and continues to teach her is that if she wanted to ensure her safety and accomplish her goal, Aerine needed to be strong enough to protect herself. 

Her contractor was reliable and powerful; Aerine knew that. However, she couldn't just always depend on the possibility that he would always save her. 

Aerine couldn't rely on others too much. 

"You're back as well?" After entering the room, Aerine was greeted with quite a playful tone. 

Aerine slightly halted in her steps and looked at who greeted her; it was Blythe. She was leaning on the bed, her phone in her hand, while she watched Aerine with a smile. 

After a second, Aerine reciprocated the smile, albeit small, before she continued to her bed. 

They weren't close, and Aerine sensed that Blythe only saw her as a competitor without intentions of making friends with her. Although she continued to greet Aerine with friendly remarks every now and then. 

Aerine didn't know what her motives were, though. So, while she didn't ignore Blythe, Aerine also didn't want to interact with her too much. 

It wasn't only because she sensed the danger surrounding her; Aerine was also new to social interactions, and Blythe was rather complicated for the current her.