The Fake Heiress Turns Out to Be a True Tycoon!-Chapter 74 - Almost Became a Worshipper of the Wicked

Chapter 74: Chapter 74: Almost Became a Worshipper of the Wicked God

Chapter 74 -74: Almost Became a Worshipper of the Wicked God

Lydia Patterson was visibly stunned when that gust of Shadow Energy slammed against her face.

It wasn’t that the wind hurt; on the contrary, aside from a slight chill, it didn’t feel like much of anything.

She was mainly shocked by her grandmother’s sudden shift in demeanor.

This, this, this…

“I… Scarlett, she… she likes me… She used to follow me around every day…”

For the first time, Lydia realized just how clumsy her tongue could be.

Scarlett Jennings couldn’t even be bothered to look at her. Her delicate, refined face was as cold as ice.

The old lady glanced between her granddaughter’s flustered state and Scarlett’s frosty demeanor. Recalling what Scarlett had just said, she immediately understood everything and felt a surge of frustration, like iron that couldn’t be forged into steel.

“That girl from the Garrison Family was only looking out for you because of me, because of the bond I had with her grandmother. Do you really think she likes you?!”

The old lady’s bluntness left Lydia stunned once more.

“Looking out for me? You… you asked her to?”

Even if Lydia wanted to deny it, she couldn’t bring herself to doubt her grandmother’s words.

It wasn’t as if Scarlett would deny her feelings to the point of dragging Lydia’s grandmother into some elaborate act, right?

Suddenly, her heart sank.

“Grandma, what’s really going on here? Why…”

She couldn’t understand why her grandmother, who should have passed on, was still lingering instead of moving on to reincarnation. And why would she go so far as to ask someone to watch over her?

Besides, from Scarlett’s abilities, it was clear she was well-versed in Mystical Techniques.

For someone like that to be watching over her, what reason could there possibly be?

The old lady couldn’t bear to see her precious granddaughter so visibly distraught. Sighing, she reluctantly recounted what had happened.

After she died, she had been unable to move on because her family was still constantly on her mind.

Her spirit had lingered in the household, occasionally watching over her son and granddaughter in the quiet of night. Even though they could neither see her nor sense her presence, she cherished every glimpse she could steal of them.

That was how things were—until one day, over six months ago.

She discovered, to her alarm, that her granddaughter had somehow become tainted with a potent and malignant Shadow Energy.

But it wasn’t just any Shadow Energy. This one resembled a lethal death curse, its venomous weight unmistakable.

Though she was a ghost, she was still a novice spirit. Having remained confined to their home, pampered by incense offerings, she had virtually no mana to speak of.

Seeing her beloved granddaughter being consumed by Shadow Energy, she panicked but had no idea what to do. All she could do was follow Lydia to and from school every day.

And that’s how she unexpectedly encountered Scarlett Jennings at the school.

At first, Scarlett thought the Shadow Energy clinging to Lydia originated from her grandmother. Out of kindness, she had offered a few words of caution.

After all, it wasn’t uncommon for spirits unwilling to part with loved ones to unwittingly burden them with Shadow Energy by staying too close.

But she hadn’t anticipated that her passing remarks would lead the old lady to latch onto her.

Once the grandmother learned Scarlett was a Garrison, she immediately invoked the friendship she had shared with the late Garrison matriarch, persuading Scarlett to help cleanse her granddaughter of the Shadow Energy.

“We were lucky to have run into that Garrison girl. She understands these things, and I had no choice but to beg her for help,”

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the old lady explained,

“At the time, you had clearly come into contact with something vile. That Shadow Energy was a marker placed on you, meant to ensure your untimely death so it could take over your body.”

Lydia could hardly believe that something this sinister was lurking just beneath the surface. And all the while, she had been totally oblivious.

Or maybe not entirely.

Thinking back, she did recall feeling off during that period—difficulty sleeping, a persistent chill in her body.

But at the time, she hadn’t paid it much mind.

Realizing she might have been the target of malevolent forces, an icy dread clawed at her heart.

“What was it? Is… is it still around?”

The old lady looked lovingly at her granddaughter, her gaze filled with warmth and reassurance.

“With the Garrison girl around, it’s been taken care of. Otherwise, Grandma wouldn’t even think about getting in line for reincarnation.”

Scarlett, seeing the conversation had gotten through to Lydia, finally spoke,

“The thing that marked you wasn’t a simple ghost—it was a Wicked God. These entities typically reside in carvings or small icons used in rituals. They don’t usually claim lives outright; instead, they seek tributes.”

“Unlike offerings made to benevolent deities, the tributes demanded by Wicked Gods are far more vicious, starting small with dead chickens or ducks.”

“But over time, their demands escalate. They’ll begin asking for living creatures to feed on their blood and flesh. As their power grows, so too will their desires, eventually leading them to demand livestock like pigs or sheep.”

“And then, as the host family’s ambition grows, the Wicked God’s demands rise further… until it turns to killing humans.”

“Unfortunately, the entity you encountered was one that had already claimed several lives.”

“My guess was that its host family had become so terrified of its bloodlust that they abandoned it outdoors. Enraged by the betrayal and already drunk on human blood…”

Scarlett’s gaze turned piercing as she looked at Lydia,

“And then, you happened to stumble onto it. Perhaps you even left a drop of your own blood behind.”

As Scarlett’s words settled, Lydia’s face turned deathly pale. Her voice trembled as she stammered,

“I… I did… I was hiking with friends and tripped on a stone carving… I cut my palm on it…”

Thinking back now, that stone carving might well have been the Wicked God itself. Even knowing the ordeal was over, Lydia couldn’t shake the creeping terror that rose within her.

Scarlett nodded slightly,

“The Wicked God, having already developed a lust for blood, marked you as its new target and placed the curse upon you…”

“I only managed to lure it out after keeping watch on you for some time. Your grandmother didn’t want to scare you, so she insisted I keep you in the dark about what was happening.”

Saying this, Scarlett shot an almost irritated glance toward the old lady.

It was precisely because of the grandmother’s pleading that Scarlett had refrained from letting Lydia know the true danger she was in—even when school gossip began to circulate wildly, Scarlett had turned a blind eye.

But she had never expected that her silence would mean Lydia mistook her intentions so radically.

If she had known, Scarlett would’ve let the Wicked God torment Lydia openly, so she could appreciate its malevolent “affections.”

Faced with Scarlett’s look, the old lady ducked her head apologetically, a sheepish smile full of guilt and charm spreading across her face.

Then she turned to admonish her granddaughter,

“You young people are so full of yourselves, always assuming people have secret crushes on you. Hurry up and apologize to Master Garrison—she’s the one who saved your life!”

Lydia felt those words like a sharp slap across her face.

Wasn’t it the height of arrogance?

During that time, she had basked in the teasing of her peers, carried a misplaced sense of superiority, and treated Scarlett with unearned condescension…

Now, looking at Scarlett, Lydia could only wish she could turn back time and slap her past self into humility.

“Scarlett, I’m s—”

But before she could apologize, Scarlett was already pivoting on her heel, ready to leave.

“No need for apologies. Just don’t let me see you again.”

With those words, Scarlett walked away without hesitation.

Lydia watched her cold, unyielding figure vanish into the distance. This time, the truth hit home.

Scarlett had never cared for her—not even a little.

Yet… why did her heart feel so empty?

Like loss, or maybe regret…