A sudden commotion arose at the entrance of the funeral.
A priest who had been standing inside the chapel frowned slightly and walked toward the entrance.
The murmurs of the attending vampires grew louder.
“Does anyone know who that is? I heard she’s Mary’s biological mother.”
“She came the day after the funeral. I wonder what she’s after. Could it be the property the priest gave to Mary?”
“That’s right. Mary was the priest’s most beloved child. After he found her, he didn’t hesitate to transfer one of his finest castles into her name. Now her mother’s here to get a piece of it.”
A sharp, aggressive woman’s voice rang out from the funeral entrance.
“I’m Mary’s mother! Why won’t you let me see her? I want to speak with the priest!”
The priest, pushed and shoved by the woman, was visibly aggravated but dared not lay a hand on her—after all, as she claimed, she was Mary’s mother.
Kexier descended from the high platform with slow, unhurried steps. The previously noisy discussions gradually quieted as he approached, leaving only the woman’s shouts echoing through the chapel.
Lorevil, holding the young girl’s hand, walked over with the crowd that had gathered to watch. She was somewhat curious about what Mary’s mother looked like.
Kexier reached the entrance. The attending vampires parted, revealing the woman.
She was dressed in a gaudy purple gown adorned with jewels, her makeup thick and heavy, and her eyes and brows brimming with eager greed.
There was not a trace of grief for her deceased daughter.
She matched exactly the face Lorevil had seen in her previous life from a certain prime-time drama—but Lorevil wasn’t certain yet.
She decided to observe further.
“Father Kexier! What right do you have to stop me? That’s my daughter! Can’t I even see her one last time?”
Kexier stood before her, looking at her as if she were an irrelevant stranger.
“Mary has already found peace. This is not the right time for you to come.”
“Not the right time?”
The woman laughed shrilly, as if she had heard the biggest joke in the world. The piercing sound made even the surrounding vampires frown.
“I carried her for ten months and gave birth to her! Now she’s a rich young lady, and even in death she leaves behind a castle! Why does it all belong to you?”
“Kexier, don’t think I don’t know—you adopted Mary just to use her! Now that she’s dead, shouldn’t her property be returned to me, her own mother?”
As soon as the woman said this, the murmurs among the attending vampires erupted in shock. They exchanged glances of surprise, and their gazes toward Kexier grew tinged with suspicion.
Everyone knew how much the priest had doted on Mary.
If Kexier really had been after Mary’s property, then his adoption of a mixed-blood child would hide a far more vile intention.
Kexier remained expressionless, a faint twitch at the corner of his mouth. Seeing the shift in atmosphere, the woman sneered, convinced she had already secured the upper hand.
Lorevil narrowed her wine-red eyes. Case closed. Whoever invented the concept of face reading—one look at this woman’s mouth and it was diagnosed.
Even if she wanted to scheme for her daughter’s property, causing a scene right at the funeral was beyond shameless.
Mahina kept her head lowered, her long hair covering most of her face. Only her tightly pressed lips were visible, their color pale to the point of transparency.
She knew Mary’s parents all too well.
Those two pieces of trash who had considered their own daughter a burden, abandoned her in the slums when she was young, and then squandered the meager child support money on themselves.
Now, before Mary’s body had even grown cold, these parents had the audacity to come fighting over her property and even slander the priest’s intentions.
Mahina felt a chill rising from the depths of her heart, spreading through her blood to every limb. Even the faint suspicion she had held toward the priest’s indifferent gaze was largely washed away by this sudden wave of disgust.
“Shut up.”
A trembling but firm voice suddenly sounded.
Mahina spoke one word at a time: “Mary never received any love from you. On what grounds… on what grounds do you dare to slander her like this after her death and covet what was hers?”
The woman froze, clearly not expecting to be contradicted by an insignificant human girl.
She looked Mahina up and down with contempt. “Who are you? Do you have any right to speak here? A lowly human dares to boss me around?”
Mahina had only spoken out of a surge of anger on behalf of her best friend, not thinking clearly. Even Lorevil hadn’t reacted in time.
Being called a “lowly human” by Mary’s scumbag mother made Mahina’s blood rush so violently she felt faint.
“She’s with me.”
Lorevil stepped forward, shielding Mahina behind her, and released the full pressure of a high-ranking vampire without reservation.
Good thing she had accompanied Mahina to the funeral. From Lorevil’s experience, this woman’s verbal combat skills rivaled those of certain fairy-tale princesses from online forums.
The woman staggered back half a step, intimidated by Lorevil’s oppressive aura, her arrogance instantly diminishing.
Lorevil swept her gaze over the woman’s heavily made-up face: “Mary’s property was freely given to her by the priest. It has nothing to do with you. Now, either pay your respects quietly, or get out.”
Regardless of whether the woman’s claims were true, Lorevil didn’t want to hear her speak. Women like this, who bullied the weak and feared the strong, would fold under a single combination punch in real life.
The woman’s face alternated between pale and red. She was too afraid to speak, intimidated by the ruthlessness in Lorevil’s eyes.
She looked pleadingly at Kexier, hoping the priest would stand up for her.
Lorevil almost had to suppress a roll of her eyes.
The priest had just been insulted by you—how could he possibly help you?
Kexier remained silent, his gaze falling on Mahina’s reddened eyes, as if lost in thought.
After a few seconds, he finally spoke slowly: “She’s right. You won’t get a single cent of Mary’s things.” He raised his hand to signal the nearby clergy: “See this lady out. If she causes any more trouble, handle it according to the rules of Holy Blood City.”
The clergy, already seething with anger, immediately stepped forward. Ignoring the woman’s struggles and wails, they half-dragged, half-carried her out of the chapel.
The noise gradually faded. The chapel regained its solemn silence.
“Child, don’t get upset over someone unworthy. If Mary’s spirit is watching from above, she wouldn’t want to see you like this.”
Kexier’s gaze returned to Mahina, gentle and compassionate.
Mahina bit her lip, saying nothing, only shrinking further behind Lorevil.
Lorevil watched Kexier turn and walk back toward the high platform, her suspicion growing heavier.
Kexier, as a priest, had been slandered by the woman, and his adopted daughter had just died—yet his emotions showed no fluctuation at all, as if he were a living corpse.
After the ceremony ended, Mahina had fulfilled her wish to see Mary one last time. Lorevil had no reason to stay, so she took Mahina’s hand and headed toward the exit of the residential area.
But two clergy members stopped them.
“The priest wishes to speak with Mahina.”
Lorevil became alert. “We’re leaving.”
Mahina paused in her steps, her gaze flickering. Then she said, “Lorevil, maybe it’s about Mary’s final words. I want to hear it. Before she died, there was so much we never got to say.”
Lorevil met Mahina’s tear-filled eyes and softened. “Alright, I’ll come with you.”
Since Mahina wanted to go, there was no choice—after all, Lorevil spoiled her.
If there was truly some unfinished business, walking away today might leave Mahina with regrets.
The clergy said nothing more. They led the two to the priest’s room, made a “please” gesture, and left.
Kexier turned around. “I intend to give Mary’s castle to the human girl beside you.”
“Why?”
Lorevil was suspicious of the priest’s intentions.
Father Kexier did not hide it. “Because I’m leaving in a few days. This funeral is not only Mary’s final send-off but also my farewell.”
So that was it. The vampires hadn’t come because of the dead Mary after all.