“Teacher Catherine, is there a bathroom and a change of clothes in Mentor Vivian’s room?” Lorevil asked Catherine, who was sitting on the sofa flipping through an ancient tome.
Catherine recalled that night at the ball with Lorevil. Although the drug’s effects had been in full swing at the time, she remembered exactly how shameful she must have looked in Lorevil’s eyes. After she had sobered up and seen the damp stains on her dress and her torn collar, Catherine could easily deduce what had happened.
Furthermore, Crassus had used a drug that kept the mind conscious while the body moved against its owner’s will, something the cold and restrained Catherine found impossible to accept. If Lorevil had been the one to take advantage of her, Catherine would have resigned herself to it.
But instead, she had been the one to tear open her own dress, clinging to Lorevil while searching for “water” to drink, licking her incessantly.
Seeing Catherine remain silent for a long time, Lorevil blinked in confusion. ‘Does Mentor Vivian never bathe in her own room?’
That would explain why Vivian looked so disheveled, even if her snow-white hair seemed relatively fresh. Even if she was a cute young girl, Lorevil wouldn’t like her if she didn’t bathe and smell sweet and soft.
“There is. Go behind that bookshelf and turn right. That is Mentor Vivian’s bathroom. Don’t touch anything other than the bathing supplies,” Catherine said, finally snapping out of her daze. Seeing Lorevil’s shocked expression, she realized the girl might have misunderstood something, but she didn’t bother to explain.
She would let Vivian take the blame for this one. Everyone already thought Vivian was a reclusive madwoman anyway.
Lorevil walked toward the bathroom Catherine had pointed out and pushed the door open.
The reclusive “madwoman” crawled out from a pile of books, carrying a volume half the size of her own body. She walked over to Catherine’s side and dropped the book with a heavy *thud*.
“This is what you were looking for. It contains records regarding the legend of the Blood Lake and the origin of the Vampires.”
“Leave it there. I’ll look at it after I finish this one.” Catherine didn’t even look at Vivian, her icy-blue eyes scanning the obscure and difficult ancient Vampire script.
The young girl found this normal. Vivian shook her head and looked around, noticing that Lorevil was missing. “Where is your student?”
“Don’t you know that when the bloodline awakens, a Vampire expels impurities and undergoes a complete transformation, almost like being born again?” Catherine glanced at Vivian.
Stage 3: Bloodline Awakening. It involved unlocking a talent, further physical strengthening, expelling bodily impurities, completely crossing the threshold of actual combat, and a massive increase in recovery abilities. It could be said that this heaven-sent physical cleansing happened only once in a Vampire’s life.
“And… what does that have to do with my question?” Vivian’s eyes rolled in confusion.
“Of course it does,” Catherine said, rubbing her temples. “She asked me where your bathing area was, so I told her. I did mention that she shouldn’t mess with your things, though.”
“That’s good, then.” Vivian let out a sigh of relief. Despite her appearance, the books on those shelves were treasures she had scoured from old bookstores and libraries one by one. She would be heartbroken if even one was lost.
“Wait,” Vivian said, catching the second half of Catherine’s sentence. “You’re saying she went into… my bathroom to bathe?”
“Yes, is there a problem?” Catherine looked up, her face filled with doubt.
Vivian felt like her world was ending. She had just finished bathing 1 hour ago. She knew all too well about Lorevil’s pursuit of Catherine. ‘Will Lorevil let her lust run wild and do something strange with my underwear?’
Lorevil, who was already at the bathroom door, naturally didn’t hear their conversation. She pushed the door open instinctively.
And there… her eyes immediately landed on a pair of white panties hanging on the rack by the bathtub, still slightly damp with water.
***
After finishing her bath, Lorevil walked out of the bathroom. With a flash, Vivian’s petite body appeared right in front of her.
“Tell me, did you…?” Vivian had intended to interrogate her, but before she could finish, a faint blush stained her pale face.
“Yes.” Lorevil assumed Vivian was talking about what she had seen when she entered, so she nodded.
*Huff, huff, huff.*
Vivian breathed heavily, her head tilting back as her eyes closed, and she fell over backward.
“Mentor Vivian, are you alright?” Lorevil rushed forward, catching Vivian’s fragile body and half-kneeling to check her condition. ‘Could it be malnutrition caused by a lack of vitamins?’
Damn it! She should have realized that a body this meager was the result of staying in here reading books all day and skipping meals.
Vivian recovered from her intense shame and indignation. At the same time, she caught the enchanting scent wafting from Lorevil’s body after her tempering. She sniffed the air, feeling slightly intoxicated by the fragrance.
“I… you…” Vivian’s mind was racing, her words becoming incoherent.
“Have some candy.” Lorevil pulled a piece of candy from her pocket, peeled the wrapper, and pressed it into Vivian’s warm little mouth with her finger.
*Slurp.*
Vivian’s saliva coated the candy as it dissolved like sweet cream. ‘Is this a bribe?’ Vivian felt that Lorevil was incredibly bold, trying to buy her off with a single piece of candy. She figured the girl wanted her to keep quiet about the “dirty things” she had done to her underwear in the bathroom.
“S—Since that’s the case, I’ll forgive you this time, for Catherine’s sake.” Vivian didn’t even know what nonsense she was spewing, and by the time she realized it, it was too late.
“Thank you, Mentor Vivian.” Lorevil was a bit baffled. She had simply taken out a high-quality candy given to her by Fini to feed Vivian, but she hadn’t expected such a strong reaction.
Thinking everything was settled, Lorevil let out a sigh. However, the sensitive and suspicious Vivian took notice of it. ‘Is it possible that my underwear wasn’t enough to satisfy her? Or is she planning another sneak attack later?’
She had completely forgotten that she was a Stage 6 Vampire who struck fear into others.
However, Vivian hadn’t noticed earlier, but now she saw that Lorevil’s appearance after her awakening was breathtaking. Beneath her silver-white hair was a stunningly beautiful face, made even more translucent by the steam of the bath. Crystal-clear water droplets slid down the ends of her hair.
Her already delicate features had gained a hint of bewitching magnificence after the awakening. The corners of her elegant eyes were slightly upturned, carrying an unconscious laziness. Yet, those eyes remained clear, resembling a lake formed from melting snow—a marvelous contrast.
‘So the awakening makes someone this beautiful… and did Lorevil just hold me while I was fainted?’ Vivian’s gaze seemed glued to her, sliding from the top of Lorevil’s head down to the hem of her bathrobe.
“Wh—Why isn’t your hair dry yet?” Vivian’s breathing quickened. She jumped from Lorevil’s lap to the floor, her voice rising as she tried to hide her loss of composure. “Don’t you know it’s easy to catch a cold? I’ll go find you a towel.”
Her short legs scurried over to the bookshelf. She pulled out a dry towel and, without a word, pressed it against Lorevil’s head, rubbing it around haphazardly.
A trace of confusion appeared on Lorevil’s beautiful face. ‘What’s wrong with Mentor Vivian? Why is she suddenly being so caring?’
Besides, a Stage 3 Vampire’s body wouldn’t catch a cold that easily.