"Mia?" Arthur looked at Mia, who was desperately trying to shrink into the corner of the bed, and said to her in confusion, "I just want to check how your body is doing?"
"No!" Mia resisted with a flushed face.
"Mia..." Arthur finally understood what Mia was thinking at that moment. He sighed helplessly. "I've seen every inch of your body long ago. Hiding now won't change that fact. Come here, stop dodging."
"I don't care! I just don't want to!" Mia shook her head vigorously.
Arthur sensed something was off. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Mia, are you bothered by what happened last night?"
"Oh, don't mention it! Don't bring up last night again! It was so embarrassing—I could die of shame!" Just thinking about it made Mia wish she could vanish on the spot.
Arthur raised an eyebrow. "But don't you want to know why you ended up like that last night?"
"..." Mia, covering her face with her hands, peeked at Arthur through her fingers. "Why...? There's a reason...? What reason? Tell me the reason!"
Arthur smiled faintly and opened his arms toward Mia, gesturing for her to come over. "Come here, and I'll tell you the reason."
Mia hesitated. Arthur's smile turned sly. He tilted his head slightly and said to Mia, "Well, if you don't want to know, fine, fine. I'll just leave then."
With that, he actually got up to go.
Anxious to learn the truth, Mia quickly scrambled to the edge of the bed and shouted, "Arthur! Come back!"
Arthur turned around to look at Mia. The mix of embarrassment and anger on her face was so adorable it made his heart itch. It struck him deeply.
"Haha!" Arthur burst into laughter, strode quickly back to Mia's side, and pulled the still-slightly-resisting Mia into a tight embrace, holding her close against him.
All her resistance only earned her an even tighter hug. Realizing the futility, Mia's face turned completely red as she glared at Arthur with wide eyes. Arthur, in a great mood, kept grinning. "Alright, alright, hurry up and tell me what's going on! What exactly is the reason?"
Mia was desperate to know the full story. She absolutely didn't want to accidentally go through something like last night again—she deeply hoped such a thing would never happen again.
Arthur finally stole a sweet kiss from Mia's constantly dodging face, then gathered his thoughts and asked, "Mia, do you remember what you drank last night?"
"What else could it be? It was your…" Mia started to answer, but the rest of her words seemed suddenly cut off, as if something had interrupted her, and she couldn't continue.
"Hehehe!" Arthur, realizing Mia had already figured something out, couldn't help but burst into laughter. He lowered his head meaningfully and whispered in her ear, "Mia, a fox's blood is the most potent aphrodisiac in the world! You drank a whole cup yesterday—the effect was doubled, no, tripled…"
Mia stared at Arthur, her face ashen.
"But my blood is special. It only takes effect on the night of a full moon…"
Mia's face instantly turned pale. "Ah~! Arthur, you're not going to tell me that from now on, every full moon night, it'll happen again, are you?" She'd rather die right now!
"Uh, basically…" Arthur frowned and said softly, "You've misunderstood me. What I mean is, only if you drink my blood on a full moon night will it have that extreme aphrodisiac effect. If you drink it on a normal day, it's just a tonic—a tonic that prolongs life. And… it only triggers once. It won't happen again."
Unfortunately, this fact also left him with a tinge of regret.
Hearing Arthur's words, Mia's complexion regained a bit of color. She perked up and stepped closer to him.
"In that case, Mia, now that you understand everything, let's move on to the next step." Arthur sighed with regret and began to undo Mia's nightgown.
"Arthur, what are you doing now?" Mia thought Arthur wanted to continue last night's intimacy and resisted fiercely, trying to keep her clothes on.
"Mia, you've misunderstood me again." Arthur sighed once more. Did she really see him as that desperate? Well, okay, sometimes he did get a little carried away, had a lot of excitement, and especially enjoyed the sensation of running his hands all over her!
"I just want to check and confirm whether your body has fully accepted my blood and become a person with fox blood."
Mia understood, but she still asked, "Do I really have to take off my clothes to confirm it?"
She could imagine that her body was now covered in red and purple marks left by Arthur. If she had to stand naked in front of him now, it would be like directly witnessing the aftermath of last night's passionate encounter… The thought alone made her feel utterly mortified!
Arthur's eyes lit up at Mia's words. "I'm not trying to embarrass you on purpose, Mia, but it's necessary. It's a process that must be done. Unless… you want to drink my blood again to ensure success…"
Before Arthur could finish his sentence, Mia, her face flushed crimson, resolutely yanked down her nightgown and squeezed her eyes shut as tightly as possible.
Arthur's blood might smell fragrant and taste delicious, but she was terrified of last night repeating itself. Despite his repeated assurances, she feared the worst-case scenario…
When Mia's bare body was fully exposed before Arthur, his azure eyes suddenly dimmed. Though he knew deep down what state her body should be in, the visual impact far exceeded his imagination.
Tsk, tsk, tsk! Arthur marveled inwardly. A masterpiece—truly a masterpiece!
Mia's chest was covered in the kiss marks he had deliberately left… Irregular traces extended from her neck all the way down to the lower half of her body hidden by clothing, disappearing into tantalizing forbidden territory.
Red and purple spots dotted Mia's light wheat-colored skin like natural tattoos, vividly stimulating Arthur's vision and stirring the deep desire within him.
But for now, he could only admire. Otherwise, a furious Mia would surely keep her distance from him forever, and his future "bedroom" happiness…
Mia didn't need to open her eyes to know where Arthur's gaze was fixed—her body was being stared at by a scorching beam of heat. Her face burned red as she anxiously shouted at Arthur, "Arthur, no peeking! Didn't you say you just needed to confirm? Do what you're supposed to do!"
"Haha!" Arthur laughed with delight. "Mia, don't you want to see what your body looks like now that you've become a fox person?"
"No! You check for me!" Mia kept her eyes closed, turned her head away, and ignored him.
Smiling, Arthur stopped pressing her. He reached out, wrapped an arm around Mia's shoulders, and pulled her close.
Slowly, he buried his face into her bare shoulder, feeling the trembling she tried but failed to suppress. Glancing up at Mia, Arthur, now in a playful mood, lowered his head and pressed his lips to one of the marks on her shoulder, gently sucking.
"Ah! Arthur?" As expected, Mia was startled by his unexpected move. She opened her eyes and tried to push him away.
"Now is when it really begins," Arthur said with a smile, tightly hugging the struggling Mia. He extended his hand.
"Mia, stop moving. If you keep squirming, you'll get hurt. I don't want to accidentally injure you badly." Under the influence of his magic, the hand Arthur extended transformed—his fingers lengthening into thin, razor-sharp blades.
Mia glared at him furiously, as if silently demanding: Why didn't you start sooner? Then she obediently quieted down and stopped struggling.
Expressionless and completely unafraid, she watched as Arthur brought the sharp blade closer to her shoulder, curious about how he would confirm she had become a fox person.
The blade neared her shoulder, its keen edge flashing. Blood instantly gushed from the wound. Only after the blood flowed did Mia feel a faint stinging pain in her shoulder. But she ignored the pain entirely, staring fixedly at the bleeding cut.
The bright red blood didn't flow for long. Mia watched as her wound gradually began to heal on its own. When Arthur wiped away the blood with his hand, the skin on her shoulder looked as if it had never been cut—not a single trace of injury remained!
"Oh, excellent, excellent! Mia, your body has fully accepted my blood. You are now a human with fox lineage." Arthur said while pulling her clothes back up for her.
"Arthur, that's all it takes to confirm?"
"Mm, yes. Pretty simple, right?" Arthur smiled faintly. "Alright, Mia, lie back down on the bed and rest for a bit. That'll help your body recover faster."
Arthur gently laid Mia down on the bed and tucked the soft quilt over her.
"Okay, I have some business to attend to. I'll come back to keep you company later. If you need anything, just tell Jenny and Tina." With that, Arthur turned to leave—but a sudden force yanked hard on his clothes, pulling him back.
Arthur, who had been hoping to slip away, gave a wry smile without turning around, inwardly sighing at how quickly Mia had remembered.
"Arthur..." Mia's furious voice rang out. "You could've confirmed it without making me take off my clothes...!!!"
Mia's angry roar echoed out of the room and all the way to the courtyard.
Jenny and Tina, who were giving Little Bit a bath in the courtyard, exchanged a glance.
"Sounds like Miss Mia is full of energy today!"
"Woo—woo!"
Little Bit kicked vigorously in the large tub, shaking off water droplets.
It didn't care whether Miss Mia was energetic or not—it hated baths and just wanted to escape this ordeal!