Still in a dazed state, Kiz felt something tightly wrapped around her. She opened her eyes and looked down…
She saw a fair arm draped across her chest, and the palm was resting quite impertinently against her collarbone.
The owner of that arm… the blonde Saint, was pressed tightly against her back, her steady breath brushing against the nape of Kiz’s neck.
Kiz was stunned once again before her memories came rushing back like a tide.
Last night, this demon Saint had climbed into her bed and threatened her not to move. Then, she had simply fallen asleep while holding her.
It was morning now, and the demon hadn’t woken up yet.
Kiz tried to move the arm away. However, as soon as she touched Elia’s wrist, she immediately pulled her hand back because…
“Mmm…” Elia let out a lazy hum. Instead of loosening her grip, her arm tightened even further.
Kiz was nearly squeezed breathless.
“Le—let go…” she protested in a small voice.
“Don’t move…” Elia buried her face into the nape of Kiz’s neck, mumbling groggily, “Let me sleep for another 5 minutes…”
“If you want to sleep, then sleep, but let go of me first!”
“No.” Elia’s voice was much clearer now. It was obvious she was already awake and was just pretending to sleep.
She even nuzzled Kiz’s neck with her nose.
This caused Kiz to shudder all over.
“Wh—what exactly do you want!” Kiz’s voice turned into a sob again.
“I just want to hold you.”
Despite her words, Elia eventually loosened her grip.
However… she rolled over to lie facing Kiz. At this moment, the distance between them was so close that they could feel each other’s breath.
Kiz looked at the small face that was just as cute as her own. Her heart beat so fast it felt like it would jump out of her chest—she didn’t know if it was from fear or something else.
“Morning, Kiz,” Elia said with a smile as she opened her eyes.
“…Morning.” Kiz turned her face away, refusing to look at her.
“Did you sleep well last night?”
“What do you think!” Kiz finally couldn’t hold back and turned to glare at her. “I couldn’t sleep at all being held like that!”
“Well, I slept quite well.” Elia propped up her upper body, her golden hair falling down like a waterfall. “Your body is nice and cool. It feels good to hold you, like a human-shaped ice pack.”
“You’re the ice pack! Your whole family are ice packs!”
Kiz sat up grumpily. She clutched her pillow and was about to get out of bed, but before her feet could touch the floor, Elia grabbed the ribbon of her nightgown from behind.
“Where are you going?” the Saint asked.
“To wash up! To change! To eat breakfast! Where else would I go!”
“I want to go too.”
“Then go! Why are you grabbing me!”
“Because I want to go with you.”
Kiz’s face instantly flushed red. She shouted, “You… you are simply unreasonable!”
“Thank you for the compliment.” Elia finally let go and climbed out of bed. “Shall we go wash up together now?”
“No! We’ll wash separately!”
Kiz jumped off the bed and dashed toward the bathroom attached to the master bedroom without even putting on her shoes. She slammed the door shut with a loud *thud*.
The sound of the door locking followed shortly after.
Elia looked at the closed door and chuckled.
‘Heh, teasing this vampire girl is really too much fun.’
She stretched and walked back to the side room.
The scent of flower petals from last night still lingered in her bathroom. She quickly washed up and changed into the white dress from yesterday.
Her long hair was a bit messy.
With a casual thought, she used magic to condense a light breeze to comb through it.
By the time she finished tidying herself and returned to the master bedroom, she found that Kiz had just stepped out of the bathroom as well.
Today, the little Princess had changed into a new Black Lolita Dress. The design was even more intricate than yesterday’s, with a red ribbon tied at the collar.
She was sitting at the vanity, adjusting her bangs in the mirror. Her movements were as elegant as a true noble lady… well, though her status was higher than any noble lady, considering she was a genuine Princess.
However, the corners of her eyes still showed some lingering redness and swelling.
“All changed?” Elia asked, coming up behind her.
Kiz glared at her through the mirror but said nothing.
“So, what are the plans for today, Your Highness?” Elia asked in a mock-respectful tone.
Kiz sighed, set down her comb, and stood up. “I have to handle administrative affairs in the morning. You stay in the room. Don’t wander off.”
“Can’t I go with you?”
“No!”
“Why not?”
“Because…” Kiz stammered. She couldn’t very well say, ‘Because I’ll be so nervous with you around that I won’t even be able to look at the documents.’
“Because you aren’t a member of the Blood Clan. It isn’t appropriate for you to appear in the Administrative Hall.”
She finally squeezed out a reason.
“But I’m your servant. Isn’t it normal for me to follow my master?” Elia asked, tilting her head.
“That’s only when I need you! Right now, I don’t!”
Elia stepped in front of her, looking down slightly into her blood-red eyes. “I think you do. What if an assassin comes to attack you?”
“This is the Vampire Castle! Where would an assassin even come from!”
As she spoke, Kiz took a step back.
“What if?” Elia pressed forward a step. “Besides, the Blood Contract says I must ‘protect’ you. I have to be diligent in my duties, right?”
Kiz opened her mouth, but she found herself unable to refute.
“Whatever! But remember, in front of outsiders, you have to listen to me!”
After saying that, she stomped toward the door in a huff.
“Understood~” Elia followed after her.
—
The Administrative Hall of the Vampire Castle was located on the third floor of the main tower.
It was a spacious circular room with a long table in the center. Several Blood Clan officials were already seated there, waiting for the Princess.
“Your Highness.” Upon seeing Kiz enter, everyone immediately stood up to salute.
Kiz gave a slight nod and walked to the head of the table to take her seat.
As for Elia, she consciously stood half a step behind her.
The officials glanced at Elia, but no one asked any questions.
“Let’s begin,” Kiz said calmly.
At this moment, she was a completely different person from the pouting little Princess she had been moments ago.
Elia stood behind her, silently observing.
‘Interesting… truly interesting.’
Kiz reviewed the documents quickly, her questions were sharp and to the point, and her instructions were concise and clear.
Occasionally, when an official raised an objection, she could convince them—or rather, suppress them—with just a few sentences.
That noble and cold aura was definitely not an act.
At that moment, Elia recalled the memories of her body’s original owner.
In those memories, Kiz had once led the Blood Clan armies to invade the borders of the Human Empire multiple times, leaving fields of corpses in her wake.
She had then sucked the Imperial Grand Marshal dry.
It was said that the female Marshal of the empire was a powerhouse capable of using 10th Tier Magic, yet she couldn’t even last 10 minutes against Kiz.
The original owner of Elia’s body had felt that powerful Dark Mana even from the Holy Kingdom’s cathedral.
But by the time she reached the battlefield, all she saw was a shriveled corpse and a white-haired girl standing atop a pile of bodies, licking the blood from the corners of her mouth.
The Kiz of that time had a gaze as indifferent as a true monster.
And now… Elia looked at the little Princess in front of her, who was frowning slightly because of an error in an official’s report.
This current Kiz had been trembling last night because she was held in Elia’s arms, and this morning she had been stomping her feet in anger because she was being teased.
The contrast was so vast it made one unable to help but think…
“Elia.” Kiz interrupted her thoughts.
“Yes, Your Highness.” Elia stepped forward.
“Go to Archives Room No. 3 and get the seventh file on the third row for me,” Kiz said without looking up. “The one with the red cover.”
“Yes.” Elia gave a bow and turned to leave the Administrative Hall.
The moment the door closed, she heard Kiz’s cold voice from inside: “Continue. We were just discussing the organization of the border patrol units…”
‘Tsk, that was a fast switch.’
The archives were on the same floor as the Administrative Hall. Elia quickly found the file Kiz had mentioned.
As she reached the corner of the hallway, she heard two Blood Clan maids talking in low voices.
“Did you hear? Her Highness brought the Saint into her bedchamber last night…”
“Really? I thought she was just staying in the side room?”
“The side room is part of the bedchamber! Besides, someone saw the Saint coming out of Her Highness’s bedroom this morning!”
“Oh my god… could it be that Her Highness is…”
“Shh! Lower your voice! Do you want to die!”
The two obviously didn’t notice Elia’s approach.
It wasn’t until she walked right up to them that they jumped nearly a foot in the air, their faces turning pale as they bowed. “L—Lady Saint…”
“The files are quite heavy. Could you help me carry them?” Elia’s tone was gentle and polite, and her smile was as harmless as an innocent young girl.
However, the two maids backed away repeatedly in fear.
“N—no need! We still have work to do!”
With that, they fled the scene.
Elia raised an eyebrow.
It seemed rumors traveled faster than she had imagined.
When she returned to the Administrative Hall, the meeting was nearing its end.
Kiz took the file and flipped through it quickly. She then said to the officials, “That’s all for today. Execute the plan as we just decided.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The officials then left one after another.
Once only the Saint and the Princess remained in the Administrative Hall, Kiz leaned back against her chair and rubbed her temples, letting out a heavy sigh.
“Are you tired?” Elia asked.
Kiz kept her eyes closed and said, “A little. Sigh… I have to handle these annoying matters every day… It’s so frustrating.”
“Then why not let someone else do it?”
“Because I am the Princess,” Kiz said helplessly. “While Mother is in her deep sleep, I must take on this responsibility.”
Suddenly, Elia reached out and poked her cheek.
“What are you doing!” Kiz jumped in surprise, shouting.
“Nothing. I just think you look quite funny when you’re pretending to be an adult,” Elia said with a laugh.
“I’m not pretending! I *am* an adult!”
“Ah, right. After all, you’re already a 400-year-old grandmother.”
“I am not a grandmother! For the Blood Clan, 400 years is equivalent to a human being 16 years old!” Kiz slammed her hand on the table in anger.
“Oh. I’m 19 this year, so I’m considered a child too. Since you said your age is equal to 16 in human years, aren’t you still pretending to be an adult?”
Despite everything, Elia’s current body didn’t look 19 at all, but her memories told her that was her age… it was quite impressive.
Kiz: “…”
She realized she was completely unable to win an argument against this demon.
“Let’s go back for breakfast!” She slammed the table again.
“Alright. I happen to be a bit hungry too. By the way, what do the Blood Clan eat? Surely it isn’t blood…”
“We have normal food!” Kiz interrupted her. “The Blood Clan only needs blood to maintain our power. It isn’t like we can only drink blood!”
“So, did you drink blood this morning?”
“…I did.”
“Was it tasty?”
“What does that have to do with you!”
“Just asking.”
“It was tasty! Happy now!”
“What did it taste like, specifically?”
“It tasted…”
Kiz chose not to answer the demon Saint’s question anymore. Instead, she glared at her and said, “If you ask one more thing, I’ll bite you!”
Elia blinked and said, “Though, honestly, are you even strong enough to bite me?”
Kiz: “…”
She turned and left, while Elia followed behind her, laughing.