I became a cannon fodder villain. If I want to survive, I must take care of my baby first.

After being freed from the abuse of her adoptive parents, Marianne's complexion became better and better, and her originally skinny body gradually gained weight. Sometimes, Bei would remind her: "Oh, dear, pay attention to your diet. If you keep eating like this, you will get fat."

Marianne was so scared that she ran to the mirror, pinched her slender waist, looked left and right, and found that there was no fat at all, so she felt relieved.

Seeing how nervous she was, Belinda grabbed Marianne's shoulders from behind and said with a smile, "Don't just focus on eating, do something interesting."

"What kind of activities are considered interesting?" Marianne wondered.

She simply couldn't imagine that there was anything better in this world than having a full meal.

"Of course it's this." Belinda put a can of tea on the table.

"What is this?" Marian opened the jar and took out the contents, only to find that it was a pile of dry leaves with a strange smell.

Could it be some special spice?

"This is called tea." Belinda explained, "It is the most popular drink among the nobles. It has the effect of prolonging life and strengthening the body. Moreover, the production is very small, so it is very precious!"

Marian rolled her eyes. "Isn't this the same rhetoric that Master Sanger uses when doing business? The more useless something is, the more he says it is rare, and he also makes it sound miraculous, like it can cure all diseases. You're not going to get ripped off, are you?"

"Cough, cough, cough, how is it possible..." Belinda coughed violently. After Marianne's explanation, it did seem to be the case. However, her father was a businessman and often used the same method to cheat people... He was selling things and she was cheated by others. If she told others about it, she would be laughed at!

In order to save face, Belinda decided to trick Marianne into believing that the jar of broken leaves was a good thing: "No, this thing called tea leaves is really useful. You see, just soak it in hot water... Ugh, it's so bitter!"

Just as she was about to try this extremely precious tea, she was discouraged by the incredibly bitter taste.

This is the flavor of the tonic her father loves to drink!

Eating those things didn't keep me healthy, but my belly got bigger, and I spent a lot of money.

Belinda often scolded her father for this and told him to buy less of these money-sucking things. Now, she has fallen into the trap.

"That's not how you make tea." Marian didn't laugh at Belinda. She pointed at the tea leaves soaking in the water and said, "Look, they haven't even been steeped yet."

"I just can't see it." Belinda looked left and right, up and down, but couldn't figure it out.

"Let's try making another cup." Marian poured out the tea, put in new tea leaves, filled another cup of hot water, and fiddled with it.

"It's almost the same as mine. Let me try it." Belinda watched from the side and felt that Marianne's way of making tea was not much different from hers.

However, when the tea was brought to her lips, the refreshing aroma immediately conquered Belinda.

The temperature of the tea is just right at this moment. Although it is still a little bitter when you take a sip, it is that bitterness that makes the tea fragrant and has a smooth taste.

It doesn’t taste anything special at first, but it makes people want to take a second sip and then a few more sips.

By the time Belinda came to her senses, she had finished her tea.

"How is it?" Marian asked curiously.

"Delicious!" Belinda gave a thumbs up in praise. No wonder this thing was loved by so many nobles. After drinking it, she felt much more energetic.

But the most important thing is Marian's tea-making skills. The tea that Belinda brewed herself tastes as bad as weeds mixed with water.

"If you like, you can drink the tea I make every day." Seeing her cooking skills being praised so openly, Marian's eyes were filled with indescribable joy.

However, life did not go as planned.

That night, Belinda was sleeping soundly when she heard loud knocks on the door.

"What's the matter, so late at night... Hey, why are you crying?" Belinda rubbed her eyes and opened the door, only to see Marianne looking at her with a worried face.

"It's still too late." Marianne looked at Belinda's filthy body and was so sad that she could only cover her face and cry.

On the night the dragon descended upon the border of the Kingdom of Aslan, a black filth called Withering Dust appeared across the country.

This thing will corrode everything it touches like an infectious disease. If someone is unfortunately infected, the body will slowly rot, then spread rapidly until it spreads throughout the body, and finally turns into a pile of charcoal.

Marian was a dark magician. Before she was eroded by the withering dust that night, she felt something was wrong and immediately got up to wake Belinda up, but she was still a step too late.

Fortunately, there was not much withering dust on Belinda's body, and it spread very slowly. In order to avoid infection, she locked herself in the room and slept all day, hoping to delay some time.

But everyone knows that doing so may be effective, but it is only temporary.

If the dust of decay on Belinda's body cannot be completely removed, sooner or later she will turn into a pile of charcoal and disappear completely as the rumors say.

Master Sanger was very anxious. He sought medical help everywhere, but this disease with no cause could not be cured at all. Most of the remedies he found were useless. He spent a lot of money and tortured Belinda a lot.

Seeing his daughter's health condition deteriorating day by day, and having tried all kinds of methods but to no avail, Master Sang was becoming increasingly worried and haggard.

Marianne was so anxious that she wanted to cry, but she could only watch and could do nothing.

Fortunately, news came from the capital at this time that the withering dust that was spreading across the country was actually a harmful substance released by the dragon.

The dragon must be killed completely to rescue those who have been harmed.

His Majesty the King is already gathering an army of magicians, but due to time constraints, once this team is formed, it will go directly to the border to fight the dragon.

"Master Sanger, there is something I want to discuss with you..." Marian thought for a long time and finally made up her mind. She found Belinda's father and was about to say something, but was interrupted directly:

"My daughter said she doesn't want you to get hurt again."

He raised his head, and his face, which had become haggard due to overwork, showed an extremely determined expression:

"It's okay. You have to trust the Knights and His Majesty the King. They have the ability to quell this disaster, and Belinda will be fine. Besides, your magic has no combat capability, so you'll just die if you go."

Marianne was silent.

Master Sanger was right. She could only hide and would be of little use in a head-on battle with the dragon.

But every time she saw the dark area on Belinda's body getting darker and darker, Marianne felt indescribable discomfort in her heart.

Every time Belinda woke up and saw her, she would smile and say everything was fine, but how could it not be painful to have one's body slowly decaying?

The feeling was the same as when Marianne was abused by her adoptive parents. The scars on her body would never heal, and she fell asleep in hunger and pain every day. Even when she fell asleep at night she had only nightmares.

Even if Belinda didn't say it, Marianne knew that she was actually very afraid of dying.

But she was more worried that Marianne would die because of her.

Although she could not personally participate in the war against the dragon, Marian still paid attention to it every day.

The number of troops organized by the king is increasing rapidly. Almost all the knights who are good at magic fighting skills are participating in the war. Good news comes one after another, and people seem to be about to see the dawn of victory.

However, the fact is that the number is far from enough.

In order to defeat the dragon, you must form a team composed entirely of magicians.

Otherwise, before the army reached him, some people would have died in the flying withering dust.

Moreover, most people are not like the Knights, who can skillfully use magic to fight, and some people's magic has no combat capability at all.

His Majesty the King had no choice but to issue a compulsory conscription order, requiring capable magicians to go to the battlefield.

There were many nobles with large populations who met the requirements, but they bought people's hearts with money and made the common people who were living a hard life voluntarily go to the battlefield to fill the gap in numbers.

Originally, based on the conditions of the Sanger family, Belinda's father could have found someone else to replace her in the same way. Although doing so would make him feel guilty, it was Belinda's wish to protect Marian. For the sake of his daughter, Master Sanger was willing to be a bad guy.

Unfortunately, before he could take action, other nobles had already found the Sang family.

As a nouveau riche, Master Sanger had wealth that surpassed most nobles, but he lacked power and status.

And especially at times like this, power becomes more important.

Because of the invasion of the withering dust, Belinda did not have time to find a good husband for Marianne.

Her current status is that of a slave being bought and sold.

The Sanger family was the criminals involved in the slave trade.