Beast King's Crippled Mate-Chapter 240: Banquet of Sacrifices (II)

The unsuspecting villagers ate the chicken soup with relish. She already told Jade to make it as tasty as possible, because she wanted to guarantee their deaths.

Aria sat at the same table with her mother. Anastasia didn’t drink the chicken soup as per her daughter’s request. She couldn’t help but ask, "Aria, am I not allowed to eat the chicken soup you make? This is the first time you cook, so I am curious."

Aria smiled at her mother and shook her head, "No, Mom. It’s only for the guests and servants. I can cook you something else later."

Anastasia swallowed her saliva as she could smell the aroma coming from the chicken soup at the next table. She had never smelled something so aromatic and tempting, but since Aria didn’t want her to eat it, then so be it.

Anastasia decided to change the topic instead, "Aria, about your dress..."

"What about it?" Aria rolled her eyes. "I know what you have in mind, Mom. But I refuse to change it. I haven’t attended any party for so long. This dress will get dusty if I keep it in the wardrobe forever."

"Still, it’s too much. Can you see that the villagers barely could afford any proper dress? They are wearing the best thing they have in their closet right now," Anastasia pointed out, and Aria scowled immediately.

She observed the dresses the peasant women wore and tried her best not to frown.

She was disgusted because these filthy creatures entered her mansion with such dirty and patched dresses. But she couldn’t say a thing because they were still eating the poisonous chicken soup.

’Calm down, Aria. They are going to be your sacrifices in three days. It’s better to act civil for now.’

*

Aria was cutting her steak when she saw a filthy old widow peeking from the window. She rolled her eyes and excused herself.

She kicked open Lady Jade’s room and yelled at the frail old woman, "Why are you peeking at them like that? Don’t you realize that the body you use right now was one of the missing villagers? One of them might recognize you!"

"I’m sorry, Aria. I just... want to see if there is a beautiful young woman in the banquet I can use as my new body," Lady Jade said.

"And? Have you found one?"

"Yes, I’ve seen a red-haired woman in her early twenties sitting near the window with her family. She is beautiful, seems lively, and has a sweet smile. I want her body as my new host."

"Then you need to give me the antidote, so I can give it to her," Aria said. "Unless you want your soul to be moved inside the body of someone with her guts dangling out of her ass."

Lady Jade gulped. She took out a vial with a clear liquid inside and said, "Just let her drink this, and it will get rid of the poison immediately."

Aria snatched the vial and smiled, "Alright, this will be our deal. I’ll give you that body, and you will continue to serve me from now on. After all, you still need me forever."

"F-forever?"

"Of course. Don’t you realize that your body has started to decay? All you did was live inside a corpse, and they are bound to rot eventually. It is a slow, but certain process. You’ll need me to move your soul from one body to another."

That statement destroyed all of Jade’s plans.

She thought she could get the body of this young woman, kill Aria, then return to the Kingdom of Beastmen with a new identity and slowly creep into Gale’s heart.

But now that she knew her life was fully dependent on Aria, she had to change her plan.

’No, it’s not the end. I can always poison her, and threaten her with the antidote. She will have to do everything I told her to in exchange for the small antidote to cure her very slowly.’

Aria almost burst out laughing when she heard the scheme in Jade’s head. It was so stupidly predictable that she didn’t even need to read Jade’s mind to find out.

’Well, she is very useful. I will still need her in the future. Let’s just play along for now,’ Aria thought.

"Alright, I will give this to that girl. Once those villagers die in three days, I will bring her to this mansion, and then move your soul to hers."

"T-thank you, Aria. I didn’t know what I would do without your help!"

"Hm~ isn’t it obvious? Without my help, you will be thrown straight to hell," Aria chuckled. "You are an evil bitch after all."

**

Aria returned to her room and told the servant to bring that specific woman Lady Jade wanted.

When the young woman walked in bashfully, Aria quickly understood what Lady Jade wanted.

"M-milady, m-may I know why did you call me? D- Did I do something wrong?" the young lady asked while lowering her head. She was very lively with her family at the table, but she seemed to be the nervous type whenever she met someone new.

Her demeanor, the way she stuttered her words, and her fidgeting reminded Aria of a certain crippled bitch. On top of that, this young woman was beautiful, so it gave off the cute vibes that made men want to protect her at all costs.

’I see what you want to do, Jade. You want to find someone similar to Swan, and then return to the Kingdom of Beastmen with a new identity and start an affair with Gale, right?’ Aria grinned. ’I don’t understand her. She’s been executed by Gale, and now she still wants to return to him? How absurd. But oh well...’

"What’s your name?" Aria asked kindly.

"M-Meredith, Milady..." Meredith replied.

"And how old are you?"

"T-twenty..." Meredith squirmed uncomfortably, as she felt like she was being interrogated. "M-may I know if I did something wrong, Milady?"

"No, you didn’t do anything wrong. I just want to ask you to come and live in this mansion for a while."