“Say, have you and Laura known each other for a long time?”
“…Yeah, probably for about 200 years,” Kiz replied.
“200 years… That really is a long time.”
“It’s… it’s alright…”
“And she knows you quite well.”
Kiz turned her head quickly to look at her, only to find the Saint’s expression was very calm. Her tone was equally steady.
But Kiz felt something was off, so she asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, I was just asking.”
Afterward, Elia walked over to the window with her back to Kiz, falling silent.
‘Is Elia… is she angry?’ Kiz thought to herself.
‘But why is she angry? Is it because of Laura?’
Kiz stood beside Elia and asked softly, “Elia, are you… jealous?”
Elia’s pupils contracted slightly, then she turned her head and flashed a smile. “Jealous? Why would I be jealous?”
That smile was incredibly sweet, but Kiz felt a slight chill run down her spine.
“I-I was just asking… just asking…”
“Oh… just asking…” A second later, Elia reached out and pulled Kiz into her arms, then lowered her head to whisper in the Little Princess’s ear.
“Then congratulations, you guessed right… I… am jealous~”
Before Kiz could speak, Elia added, “Because you’re so close to Laura… You have a past I don’t know about… friends I’m not familiar with… and then you act so intimate with her right in front of me…”
Her fingers roamed across Kiz’s back.
“I don’t like this feeling. I really don’t.”
“Elia…”
“Do you know what I was thinking when I saw you smiling at her?”
Kiz shook her head, indicating she didn’t know.
“I was thinking how nice it would be if I had known you 200 years earlier.” Elia’s fingers stopped at Kiz’s waist, pressing down gently. “That way, your entire past would belong to me.”
Kiz was completely stunned. No, “stunned” didn’t cover it; her brain felt like it had completely short-circuited.
“Scared?” Elia asked with a smile.
“Truthfully… a little,” Kiz admitted honestly.
“Oh? Is that so?” Elia turned as if to leave.
However, Kiz grabbed her sleeve. “Wait.”
Elia paused and looked at her with a playful smile.
Kiz lowered her head, her fingers tightly clutching Elia’s cuff. Finally, she whispered, “I didn’t smile at her…”
It was Elia’s turn to be stunned.
“What did you say?”
“I said, I didn’t give Laura even a single smile! I-I only smile when I’m facing you! I… I also cry!”
“Laura… is just a friend. Even if we’ve known each other for 200 years, she’s just a slightly better friend… so don’t… don’t be angry anymore…”
Elia stared at Kiz for a long time.
Then, she pulled Kiz back into her embrace, holding her very gently this time.
“I understand.”
Kiz, her face buried in Elia’s chest, let out a muffled “Mm.”
Neither of them spoke for a while.
However, Elia failed to notice that a very faint, thin smile had played across the corners of the small face buried in her chest.
That smile was certainly not one of happiness, softness, or joy…
On the third day after Laura’s departure, Elia discovered a letter in Kiz’s study… She didn’t look on purpose!
The letter had simply slid out of a book on its own!
It happened to land right at her feet! It was a complete coincidence.
So, Elia picked up the letter, intending to put it back.
But the recipient’s name on the envelope made her freeze.
It read: “Vampire Queen—To Be Opened Personally.”
‘Was this… a letter Kiz wrote to the Vampire Queen?’
She shouldn’t peek at this… After all, it was Kiz’s personal property, a private letter written to her mother who was still in a deep slumber.
Elia herself hated it when others poked through her private letters, so she figured Kiz would feel the same.
However, she couldn’t take her eyes off the envelope.
The corners were slightly yellowed, showing just how old it was.
What struck Elia as strange was a thin crease at the seal, looking as if it had been opened and resealed many times.
Holding the letter, Elia remained silent for a long time.
In the end, she chose to put the letter back where she found it.
This was Kiz’s secret.
If Kiz wanted to tell her, she would say it herself one day.
And if Kiz didn’t want to tell her… then she had no right to know.
Sigh… it was a letter that had never been sent.
A letter written many times but never reaching the recipient’s hand.
Elia sighed and closed the book. After tucking the letter back between the pages, she turned and left the study to return to their room.
“Where did you go?” Kiz asked without looking up.
“Just for a walk. Honestly, your Vampire Castle doesn’t have many interesting places. I’ve been to the Garden countless times. The dungeon? To interrogate and torture prisoners? The bathroom? I don’t feel like bathing right now…”
As for the Abandoned Wine Cellar… ‘Darn it! Forget it, forget it!’ She didn’t want to remember that extremely shameful memory!
“You…” Kiz wanted to snap at her, but when she thought about how her verbal retaliation might lead to being treated like a doll again, she retracted the countless Zuan-style curses in her mind.
When night fell, Elia’s movements as she held Kiz were much gentler than before.
“Whoa! What’s wrong with you? Did you take the wrong medicine? Why are you so soft today?” This actually made the Little Princess feel a bit uncomfortable.
“I’ll do as I please. What is it to you?” Elia asked with a smile.
“Haa…” Kiz tried her best to calm her emotions, avoiding any outbursts that might lead to her own suffering.
But she didn’t try to break free from the hug either.
“Hey, are your nails getting long again?”
At an unknown hour, Kiz looked at Elia’s hands and asked.
“Hmm… it seems so… but I never cut them. If they get too long, I use Magic to shorten them. Trimming them with sharp tools doesn’t fit The Lord’s will.” Elia touched the nail of her index finger.
“We Blood Clan don’t cut them either. After all, they are claws that can be used as weapons. Who would throw away their own weapon?” Kiz said.
“Then do you file your nails yourself?”
“Of course not! There are specialized maids responsible for their care!”
“Oh. Then don’t call the maids today.”
“Why?”
“I’ll do it for you, as a return for you helping me with my nail polish.”
Kiz asked suspiciously, “You aren’t trying to take another chance to bully me, are you?”
“How could I? Am I that kind of person?” Elia said with an innocent face.
“You definitely are.”
“…So do you want me to help or not?”
Kiz hesitated for a moment before extending her hand. “Help…”
Elia then gently stroked the edges of the nails with her fingers.
“How do you usually care for them?” she asked.
In a momentary impulse, she had offered to do this for the Little Princess… but she really didn’t know how! Even the Original Owner had never done this personally, and her past self as a guy was even more clueless…
Oh well, she would just have to wing it.
“Use a special care oil, applied once a day,” Kiz said, taking a bottle of transparent liquid from a drawer.
Elia took the bottle and poured a bit of the oil into her palm, then gently applied it to Kiz’s nails.
Her movements were very soft, completely different from how she usually bullied Kiz.
“Why… are you being so gentle today?”
“Is it a bad thing?”
“It’s not that it’s bad… it’s just a bit strange.”
“Then how about I take a bite out of you? That way it won’t be strange anymore.”
“No! No! I’d rather die than that!”
Elia simply smiled at this, then continued tending to Kiz’s nails.