CHAPTER 74: RARE BLOOD HEALING

"I... believe... you could try doing the same way you did to come here for the first time, Miss Vale..."

Maya’s emoticon blinked twice, then faded from the center of the hologram, leaving only her voice.

I frowned. "The same way? You mean... wishing on a tiny bottle of phoenix tears?"

"Yes," Maya answered smoothly. "If that was how you arrived, repeating the same action may open the path again."

I lowered my gaze, thinking. That tiny bottle... the stupid wish that wasn’t even a real wish... the moment everything changed.

"So it’s possible," I murmured. "I can return."

"Yes," Maya said. "As long as the conditions align, there is a high chance."

My eyes sharpened, not out of suspicion, but because something warm and thrilling was blooming quietly inside my chest.

The bottle wasn’t with me when I arrived here. I never saw it after I transmigrated.

So that meant...

"It’s probably still in my room," I whispered, a small breathless laugh escaping. "Back in my world... it’s probably still there."

A strange kind of happiness fluttered through me, light and bright.

If the bottle was still there...

Then even after I completed the mission... Even after I was sent home... I could come back.

"I can really... return again," I said softly, and for the first time in days, my chest felt lighter.

That warm feeling barely had time to settle before another thought jolted through me.

"Maya," I said suddenly, lifting my head. "Tell me something."

"Yes, Miss Vale?"

"How do I use my flame to heal someone?"

The hologram flickered once, like I’d shocked it.

"Heal?" Maya echoed, voice flattening instantly. "Why do you require that information?"

I crossed my arms, firm. "Just answer me."

A beat of silence. Then... a few seconds after, Maya continued.

"Phoenix flame is... difficult to command," Maya began carefully. "It responds to intent, emotion, and life force. To use it for healing, you must focus your flame directly on the person and—"

"I know that," I cut in. "But how? What should I do? What should I say? Do I need a spell or what?"

"Actually, Miss Vale... based on the data after your flame awakened, it is a rareblood one—"

"Yes, I know until that part..." I waved my hand impatiently. "Continue."

Maya’s hologram flickered, as if adjusting its thoughts.

"Rareblood flames," Maya said, "do not operate through chants or spells. They respond to emotion-based intention."

"Emotion-based? What does that even mean?"

I rubbed my temples. "Maya, I write office romance... billionaire, millionaire or whatever ’naire’ that exist. Not... whatever this magical nonsense is. Please explain it like I’m five."

"Not much information is available from system data, Miss Vale," Maya replied. "But from what I gathered, to fully awaken your flame, your bond with your love partner must be completely sealed... which means both of you must have complete trust in each other. If not, your flame will never reach completion."

I stared at her.

A frown dug itself so deeply between my eyebrows it could’ve been declared a heritage site.

"What does my relationship with my partner have to do with my flame?"

Maya answered without hesitation.

"Rare blood phoenix flames are tied to the heart. Your emotions dictate your power. Your bond dictates your strength. If trust is damaged or incomplete, the flame remains unstable."

I blinked.

Then blinked again.

"So you’re telling me..." I gestured wildly at myself, then vaguely in the direction of wherever Lucian was, "my magical fire depends on my romantic relationship?"

"Yes," Maya said cheerfully. "Congratulations."

I dropped my face into both hands.

"So basically," I muttered, "if my love life sucks, my flame sucks."

"Yes... and no..." Maya replied in a tone so unhelpfully vague it made my eyes twitch.

I slowly lifted my head and squinted at her, the universal expression for ’explain yourself before I threw something.’

Maya’s hologram blinked once, then continued.

"Yes, because your flame responds to the emotional bond between you and Lord Lucian’s romantic relationship."

I groaned.

"And no," Maya added, "because the potency of your flame depends not on romance itself, but on the trust you have in your partner."

I stared at it. Hard.

"So..." I began, realizing this was probably the fifteenth "so" of the day but refusing to care, "so... since at this moment I still don’t completely trust Lucian, I can’t do it? I can’t heal anyone?"

Maya’s hologram flickered.

"You do not trust Lord Lucian, Miss Vale?" it asked, sounding almost offended on his behalf.

I raised both brows. "Is that surprising?"

"Yes," Maya said. "Your recent behavioral data indicates emotional attachment, rising affection levels, and a seventy-eight percent probability of—"

"Stop. Stop right there." I held up a hand. "I don’t want to hear the percentage of my feelings. Ever."

Maya blinked. "Understood. But to answer your question... no, you cannot perform a full ’rare blood healing’ unless the trust bond is complete."

I exhaled sharply, "Understand..."

"Yes... and Miss V–Va—"

Maya’s voice suddenly jittered, her hologram flickering like a glitchy TV.

My head snapped toward the door. "He’s here?"

Maya’s emoticon vanished instantly, leaving only a fading static echo.

"Then I will go for now, Miss Vale. Goodbye."

And just like that—gone.

But Lucian didn’t enter the room, even after ten full minutes passed.

"Where is he?" I muttered, frowning as I headed toward the door. I cracked it open and froze when a voice drifted in.

"No. Do you understand my words or not?" Lucian’s tone was firm and unshakeable, sending a cold ripple down my spine.

Slowly, I closed the door again, leaving only a sliver wide enough for sound to slip through.

"I will not use her flame," he said. "Find another way."

"But my lord..." Sebastian sounded hesitant, almost pleading. "I checked. Using a rare blood healing wouldn’t harm the owner of the flame—"

"No."

Lucian’s refusal hit the air like ice. "I won’t risk her just for my own sake. My mother can wait. My frost can preserve her long enough. I will find another solution."

A beat of silence.

"My lord..." Sebastian tried again, softer this time. "I’m worried that Lady Arienne won’t hold on. The other day she was showing the symptom—"

"It is final."

Lucian’s voice cut through the hall, cold and absolute.

Then I heard his footsteps turn.

Panicked, I shut the door quickly and pressed my back flat against the wall, heart hammering in my chest.

I slid down until I sat on the floor, the quiet of the room wrapping around me again.

Deep thoughts. Heavy thoughts. Thoughts I didn’t want... but couldn’t stop.

He really... never intended to use my flame.

Not anymore.

My fingers curled over my chest, gripping the fabric there as if it could steady the storm twisting inside me.

"What am I supposed to do now?" I whispered to no one.