Chapter 33: The Days Carola Is Away from the Castle Are a Little…

Carola had left the castle.

Phyllis lay in bed, feeling somewhat weak.

Before leaving, Carola had found Phyllis and fed on her blood quite aggressively.

She had been drained to the point of fainting again.

Fortunately, Carola’s Gift had granted her a fairly powerful recovery ability.

Otherwise, she would not have been able to withstand Carola’s almost daily blood sucking.

After waking up again, Phyllis sensed through the Master-Servant Contract that Carola had departed.

Within her range of perception, there was no trace of Carola’s presence.

*Gurgle—*

Her stomach growled restlessly.

Phyllis rang the bell by the bed and prepared to get up for a meal.

As she opened the bedroom door, the castle suddenly felt empty.

Usually, Phyllis found Carola’s yandere nature terrifying and wanted to stay away.

But now that Carola was actually gone, Phyllis felt… unaccustomed to it.

‘I must have been psychologically manipulated, meow!’

Phyllis shook her head, trying to toss the terrifying thought aside.

‘How could I possibly miss that yandere Blood Princess!’

Phyllis arrived at the dining room, and this time, nothing unexpected happened.

However, the Puppet Servant had not yet finished preparing the food.

Phyllis opened her System interface.

She checked her attributes.

[Status Window]

Name: Phyllis

Race: Catkin

Stats: Strength: 25, Defense: 15,

Agility: 50, Intelligence: 13, Luck: 7, Charisma: 25

Status: Healthy

Talents: Cat’s Agility (Advanced), Night Vision (Advanced), Keen Smell (Intermediate)

Skills: Claw Strike (Expert), Stealth (Adept), Combat Skills (Adept)

Special: Master-Servant Contract; Protection of the Cat God; Carola’s Gift

Thanks to several instances of Carola’s blood sucking, Phyllis’s own attributes had grown significantly.

She was now more than twice as strong as she had been before.

Still, Phyllis occasionally felt conflicted.

While this method of growth—randomly increasing attributes through Carola’s feeding—was easy, it always made her feel as though she were selling her body for power…

An enticing aroma wafted from the dining room’s partition. Phyllis sniffed the air.

It smelled wonderful!

The Puppet Servant brought out the dinner.

It was still Phyllis’s favorite fish dish.

The cod was pan-seared to perfection, its skin golden and crispy, garnished with broccoli and parsley.

The meat was tender, white, and juicy.

The aroma of the food practically solidified into a hook, tugging at Phyllis’s nerves.

“I’m digging in, meow!”

Phyllis shouted for no particular reason and then began to eat in large gulps.

“Mmm, yum, meow—”

Soon, Phyllis finished her dinner.

She stood up, walked out of the dining room, and headed through the long corridor.

Her footsteps made very little sound on the floor.

“I should be happy, meow…” Phyllis muttered to herself.

“Carola is gone. I’m free for three days… maybe even a week!”

Phyllis looked up at the castle ceiling.

It was too quiet.

When Carola was around, her presence was always felt throughout the castle.

Even while sleeping, the mere thought of Carola being there gave Phyllis a sense of security.

But now that Carola was gone, it felt as if she had taken Phyllis’s heart with her.

It left her feeling somewhat distracted.

‘Am I really falling in love with Carola, meow?’

Phyllis couldn’t help but find her current behavior strange.

‘I’ll go read a book!’

Phyllis planned to go to the library to distract herself from these unusual emotions.

“Jarvis, what do you think it feels like to love someone?”

Phyllis put down her book and asked the library’s administrator, the ghost Jarvis.

“The feeling of loving someone?”

The translucent form of the ghost Jarvis drifted slowly between the bookshelves.

Hearing Phyllis’s question, he took a moment to reflect.

“I believe it should be a resonance of the soul, a pull that transcends reason. Like the moonlight longing for the ocean, or the moth longing for the flame.”

“You’re speaking too high-mindedly! I don’t understand…”

Phyllis curled up in her chair and shook her head.

“I read in a book before that someone said you’ll just know when you’re in love.”

The ghost Jarvis switched to a simpler explanation.

“But what if that person is… a bit scary? Very controlling, and always forcing you to do things you don’t want to do?”

Phyllis continued to ask.

“Fear and attraction often coexist, Miss Phyllis. The most dangerous flowers are often the most beautiful. Besides…”

Jarvis paused.

“If that fear contains the Master’s desperate protection, how would you measure it? I have never seen the Master favor a creature so much. Perhaps she truly loves you?”

“I…”

Phyllis touched the life-saving Magic Tool collar Carola had given her.

Her voice trembled slightly.

“I… I don’t know…”

“Time will give you the answer, Miss Phyllis.”

The ghost Jarvis bowed elegantly.

“I heard there might be some unrest in the Blood Tribe. Now that Carola has gone there, I’m really worried about her. I…”

Phyllis used the book to hide her blushing face.

“I kind of miss her, meow…”

“What did you say, Miss Phyllis?”

“Nothing, meow!”

Phyllis tried to hide her thoughts.

“Perhaps you should read this book. If the Master’s trip to the main city is truly related to some unrest, knowing this information might help you.”

The ghost Jarvis caused a thick book to float off a shelf, landing gently on the desk in front of Phyllis.

Phyllis looked up.

The title of the book was *Social Structure and Power Succession of the Vampire Race*.

Phyllis opened the book and began to read.

The Blood Tribe was currently led by the Ventrue Clan, one of the thirteen clans.

Its members were countless.

The thirteen clans were: Brujah, Gangrel, Malkavian, Nosferatu, Toreador, Tremere, Ventrue, Lasombra, Tzimisce, Assamite, Followers of Set, Giovanni, and Ravnos.

The noble ranks were divided into Duke, Marquis, Earl, Viscount, and Baron, followed by ordinary members of the Blood Tribe.

The lowest existences in the Blood Tribe were the Blood Slaves and Blood Cattle.

They were creatures enslaved or conquered by the Blood Tribe through various means.

Well, if Phyllis had been forced into service through the Master-Servant Contract at that time, she would have been considered a Blood Slave.

“But now…”

Phyllis didn’t know what she counted as, but Carola wanted her to be her lover.

Since she had heard the visiting vampires address Carola as a Duke, did that make her a Duchess?

*Cough, cough…*

“How did she suddenly become part of the highest tier of the Blood Tribe?”

As Phyllis read, her mind wandered aimlessly.

“Jarvis,” Phyllis suddenly spoke up.

“What exactly is Carola’s… status in the Blood Tribe?”

“The Master holds the special title of ‘Blood Princess.’ Having awakened the Original Blood, the Master’s combat power should rank within the top ten of the Blood Tribe…”

The ghost Jarvis explained smoothly.

“But why is she here? Instead of living in the main city of the vampires?”

This was something Phyllis didn’t quite understand.

Logically, someone as noble as Carola should be in the main city.

Why come here to watch over the Scarlet Dungeon?

Even with this castle.

“The Master moved away by choice…” the ghost Jarvis replied.

“Why?”

“Because of the Original Blood. It makes the Master both the clan’s greatest weapon and its greatest potential danger. If she stayed in the main city, the Master would be under constant surveillance, so…”

Jarvis’s voice carried a hint of reminiscence.

“So that’s how it is.”

Phyllis continued reading.

‘I wonder if Carola has arrived at the main city yet?’