Chapter 25
I was bothered by Lian Qi’s comment— “This target can’t be whitewashed, can she?” After all, she was a transmigrator from another dimension. I really hoped she could come to like my country, not feel like she was now wallowing in filth with us.
Is Liluo really a vampire? Because we’ve heard too many bad rumors, the place we’re heading to has been demonized. This led to us being extremely cautious when we first entered Liluo’s family manor. It was only after we met the Head Maid, Isabella, that we relaxed a bit.
Head Maid Isabella was a very kind and amiable big sister. She seemed completely normal, not like someone who would kidnap young girls as the rumors said. And this manor was also very normal. The atmosphere was not at all the gloomy, terrifying, bat-infested one we had imagined.
After she invited us to sit down for tea, she asked with a grave expression, “Were you sent by Great General Scarlet Flame to protect Princess Liluo? Is there really an assassination organization targeting her?”
The three of us nodded.
“Is it because of… that rumor?”
Head Maid Isabella’s brows furrowed, heavy with worry.
“When Princess Liluo arrives in a moment, please, you must not tell her that someone wants to assassinate her. She is still just a child.”
“We understand,” I said.
“Regarding that rumor—”
“Do we have guests?”
A childish voice interrupted the Head Maid. I saw Liluo running toward us in the main hall.
She had grown quite a bit since I last saw her, but she was still a little loli. Her skin was pale, and her curly golden hair fell all the way to her waist. I don’t know if it’s because she’s a distant relative of Tristina, but she really resembles her from when she was a child.
“Liluo, look. Three big sisters have come to see you,” the Head Maid said to her with a smile.
Liluo studied us for a long moment, her gaze lingering on me for a long time. For a split second, I worried she would recognize me as the Saintess. However, she eventually pointed at Qifeng and said— “This big sister looks rather delicious.”
The atmosphere instantly became very awkward.
“Please excuse her,” the Head Maid said, looking apologetic.
“I’m hungry,” Liluo said, looking at the Head Maid.
“Your Highness, please drink mine today,” another maid standing nearby said.
And then, we witnessed this scene—the maid sat down in a chair, willingly exposing her neck. Liluo sat on her lap, revealed a pair of sharp fangs, and bit down on her neck.
Drinking blood, right in front of us, without any inhibition. We were dumbfounded.
“As you can see, Liluo is indeed a vampire,” the Head Maid said frankly.
“Eh? Eh? Eh? So it’s really true?”
“But the rumors are not true. Although Liluo is a vampire, she has never killed a single person.”
“We all let Liluo drink our blood willingly,” the maid who was being bitten said, an expression on her face as if she were being tickled. “Because if Liluo doesn’t drink blood, she can’t survive.”
“However, if a normal person loses a large amount of blood, it would be life-threatening. Therefore, we have nearly two hundred maids in this residence who take turns providing Liluo with blood every day.”
“So it’s all… willing?” Lian Qi said softly.
“Then the so-called… ‘no one ever comes out alive’ means…?”
“Because we all stayed here in the residence. There’s no need to leave,” the maid replied.
“So that’s how it is! Then the rebels describing it as ‘being bled to death like animals in a slaughterhouse’ is just truly sinister!” I said indignantly.
“It’s possible… that Liluo’s father controlled ten merchant guilds that are continuously sending supplies to the northern warfront. If Liluo were to be killed, it would be a huge morale boost for the rebels,” the Head Maid mused.
I finally let out a sigh of relief. I just knew Liluo had to be innocent. I watched Liluo sitting on the maid’s lap, sucking blood from her neck, and a new question sprouted in my mind— Why is Liluo a vampire?
Unexpectedly, Lian Qi asked first, “Was she born a vampire?”
I’ve noticed Lian Qi is particularly interested in things like unicorns, vampires, and dragons.
The Head Maid shook her head. “No.”
“Then was she turned after being bitten by another vampire?”
“That’s not it, either. This matter started about a year ago. Liluo suddenly came down with a high fever, and after that, she became a vampire.”
“A high fever?”
“Did she come into contact with anything?” I asked.
“…That day, the Marquis and his wife took Liluo to the countryside by the Lucerne River to play. Liluo touched the ‘unmelting ice’ from the permafrost there.”
“The permafrost’s ‘unmelting ice’…”
I thought to myself, the unmelting ice from the permafrost shouldn’t be a problem on its own; after all, every household has it in their icebox. Unless… something frozen inside it thawed?
“Could it be… there was a vampire frozen in the permafrost, and it thawed?” I said.
“It could also be a virus,” Lian Qi said.
“Eh? A virus?” I looked at her in surprise.
“Yeah. Maybe a prehistoric virus was frozen in the ice, and it suddenly thawed. It could infect people and turn them into vampires.”
“…It’s a good thing it didn’t spread,” I said, lingering fear in my heart.
The thought that the permafrost might be hiding not just dragons but also viruses… I couldn’t help but feel worried.
“If… and I’m just saying ‘if’… if Liluo became a vampire because of a virus, then maybe… there’s a way to cure her.”
“Really?” The Head Maid looked at me with delight. “If that’s the case, Princess Liluo can be saved!”
But when it comes to a cure…
Hmph. It’s all that great demon’s fault! For the sake of so-called “stagnating magical technology,” he killed many learned mages, including the “Father of Modern Magic.” This has led to me having no idea who to ask now.
Should I ask Aijieliya-jie? But… I think I hurt her feelings.
“…I’ll… help you ask around about a cure later,” I had to say to the Head Maid for now.
“Thank you so much. Actually, you’ve come at just the right time. Today is Princess Liluo’s seventh birthday, and we’ve invited many distinguished guests to her birthday banquet. Would you three like to join?”
“Eh? A birthday banquet?”
“Because Liluo is afraid of sunlight, the banquet can only be held at night,” the Head Maid replied.
“A banquet… with so many people mingling, it would be easy for certain people to sneak in.”
Because Liluo was present, Qifeng didn’t directly say “assassins.”
“That’s why we need you to be there all the more. If possible, we’d also hope you could disguise yourselves as guests. That way, we won’t alert the enemy,” the Head Maid said with a kind smile.
I was shocked. “D-Disguise… ourselves as guests? Doesn’t that mean we have to wear formal dresses!?”
Wearing a flowing long dress and high heels, and having to endure the gazes of all the guests at the party… for me, a boy, wouldn’t that be just too shameful!
“But… we didn’t prepare formal gowns beforehand,” Qifeng said.
“That’s alright. We can provide them for you.”
The Head Maid didn’t at all notice my face turning bright red.