“The academy leadership basically wants you all to enter the Vampires’ ancient secret realm for real combat training.”
Vivian swallowed her chewed candy and explained seriously.
“But don’t worry, there are protective arrays set up by the elders inside the secret realm. It’s very safe. At most, you’ll encounter some low-level Blood Beasts, just to test your combat abilities.”
“Of course, this is just the leadership’s preliminary idea. It hasn’t been implemented yet.”
Hearing this, Lorevil let out a sigh of relief, her hanging heart settling down.
‘Safe is good. What I fear most right now is some evil god or mysterious girl inexplicably appearing and stabbing me to death with a knife—’
She really didn’t want to experience that kind of death again.
—
Thorn Headquarters.
Second-floor office area.
“Many unfamiliar Vampires have appeared in the slums outside the city. A scout tried to tail them, was discovered, and almost exposed us.”
Ira stood before Lorevil with a grave expression, her voice full of concern.
Ira had made a special trip back to the slums yesterday. Several ordinary members had mentioned to her that they kept seeing unfamiliar Vampires wandering the slums recently.
They didn’t come out during the day, only moving about sporadically at night. They didn’t speak to the locals, and no one had seen their leader.
She and her sister were now on the right track.
The people in the slums also had a source of income, but this undercurrent of Vampires gave her a bad feeling.
It was as if some Vampires wanted to do something unfavorable to the slum-dwelling Vampires.
So, Ira told Lorevil about the seriousness of the matter.
“Vivian mentioned earlier that the City Lord has entered closed-door cultivation, temporarily creating a power vacuum in the city. Perhaps these Vampires want to cause trouble in the slums, which are the easiest to control.”
Lorevil’s expression also darkened. She tapped her fingers lightly on the desk, sinking into thought.
The bottom-rung Vampires in the slums already lived in hardship. If these people offered a few benefits and spread some rumors to incite them, it could easily trigger major chaos in Holy Blood City.
Moreover.
They weren’t officially registered.
Even if someone went missing or something happened, no one would investigate deeply.
“Have the ordinary Thorn members you’ve gathered these days pay attention to movements inside and outside the city.”
Lorevil looked up at Ira, speaking seriously.
“The coachmen are to keep an eye on the movements of unfamiliar Vampires on the various roads. The tavern staff should listen and observe more. Other members lying low in various places should also be on standby. Report any news to me immediately.”
“Yes, Lady Lorevil.” Ira nodded quickly.
She turned and walked swiftly out of the office, heading straight to the intelligence department stationed on the first floor to relay the orders.
Ordinary Thorn members were spread throughout every corner of Holy Blood City. These hidden eyes among the common folk were precisely the ones to play their role now.
Watching Ira’s retreating back, Lorevil sorted through the tangled mess of clues.
The slums, the Catherine family? The secret of the Blood Lake, the Red-Dressed Girl?
Lorevil couldn’t make sense of it yet.
But one thing was certain: beneath the calm surface of Holy Blood City, a storm was quietly brewing.
—
Night deepened.
In the bedroom of their own mansion, Noxia slumped by the bed, so exhausted she could barely lift a hand. “Lorevil, I really can’t take it anymore.”
She looked pitifully at Lorevil, who had just entered, and pleaded, “Can we change it to three sessions a week? I really can’t hold on.”
Just on the second day, Noxia couldn’t get up in the morning due to the soreness all over her body.
Her arms and thighs were aching.
She almost didn’t manage to prepare breakfast for Lorevil, finally having to instruct a servant to do it.
“You want a day off?” Lorevil was somewhat puzzled.
She remembered Elini’s plan was supposed to be progressive. How could it have tired Noxia out to this extent?
But seeing her wife like this, Lorevil felt a bit sorry for her.
“Let me check your training results first, though.” Lorevil walked over and sat on the edge of the bed.
She needed to confirm if Noxia had really been training seriously and wasn’t just trying to be lazy.
Once Noxia sat up properly, her clear eyes looked at Lorevil. It was as if she was saying, ‘Go ahead, I’m ready.’
Lorevil naturally wouldn’t refuse. She placed her hand on her wife’s fair, tender thigh. She could clearly feel a thin layer of muscle outline, no longer just soft fat like before.
“Not bad at all.”
Lorevil praised generously, reluctantly withdrawing her hand. “It seems you really have been training seriously.”
“Of course!”
Noxia raised her chin proudly.
“However, we did agree on five sessions a week.”
Lorevil teased her on purpose. Seeing her wife’s face instantly fall, she quickly added, “Alright, alright, seeing how hard you’ve worked, how about we change it to four sessions a week? Leave one day in the middle for you to rest and recover.”
“Really?” Noxia’s eyes lit up, a spark of life returning to her tired face.
“Of course.” Lorevil nodded, then remembered something and added, “But you still need to control your diet a bit. You can’t binge just because it’s a rest day.”
“But I want to eat delicious food.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, Noxia’s face fell, and she pouted.
She had been craving food terribly today, thinking that being this tired and not getting to eat tasty snacks was too much.
“Even though you can’t have snacks, you can go buy some fruit on the street. Eating a moderate amount of fruit is fine.”
Lorevil patiently coaxed her.
Noxia was stumped by Lorevil’s words and could only nod sullenly.
Having fruit to eat was better than having nothing.
“Think about the weekend date and the coupons.”
Lorevil smiled and ruffled her hair. “This weekend, we’ll go to that cosmetics store to buy the face masks and shampoo, and then go eat the blood-berry cake you’ve been wanting. How does that sound?”
“Mhm!”
Noxia nodded, afraid Lorevil would take back her words.
This was one of the good things about her wife. Even if she was a bit unwilling in her heart, she could sense Lorevil’s genuine desire for her to get in good shape.
It was only afterwards that Noxia realized—whether it was Lorevil’s patient guidance or the weekend promise—it was all to make her keep going.
“Since Lorevil says so, I’ll persevere a bit longer. I just can’t let Elini come again on the weekend.” Noxia said hesitantly.
“Don’t worry, making you train seven days a week—even the Mighty King wouldn’t dare train like that.”
Lorevil shrugged and stood up, pulling her to her feet. “Let’s go eat now, Noxia. I’m starving.” Lorevil walked to the dining table and sat down, waiting for Noxia to bring the dishes.
One portion was Noxia’s nutritional meal, full of bland vegetables without a hint of oil or meat.
It was practically grass.
The other portion was her wife’s specialty: blood-berry tenderloin steak, blood-marrow baked mushrooms, and sweet wine soup.
It looked extremely delicious.
Under her wife’s envious gaze, Lorevil used a knife and fork to cut into the tender, juicy steak, brought it to her nose for a sniff, and let out a long sigh.
“Lorevil, you know I’m adjusting my diet, and you’re still tempting me.” Noxia’s mouth watered profusely. Her little tongue couldn’t help but lick the corner of her lips as she spoke indignantly.
“Sorry, Noxia. It’s just that your cooking is too delicious.”
Lorevil’s eyes held a hint of apology.
After all, she was the one who had somewhat forced Noxia to accept this.
Seeing her wife only able to eat bland vegetables, Lorevil did feel a bit bad inside.
To be honest, her behavior was really too unfair to her wife, who was working so hard to follow the exercise plan.
“Fine, I forgive you.”
Hearing Lorevil’s words, Noxia snorted, then focused on dealing with her vegetables, which had a bit of sauce on them.
Elini’s dietary plan was nutritious breakfast, staple food for lunch, and light dinner. That’s why Noxia seemed a bit pitiful.
After dinner, Lorevil didn’t tease Noxia anymore. She helped her somewhat weary wife wash up and then upstairs to sleep.
—
And at that moment, in a corner of the slums, several unfamiliar Vampires were conversing in low voices.
“When do we move?”
“Wait a bit. Crassus says we’ve been too active these past few days and have attracted the attention of Vampires from other factions.”
“What if the master is dissatisfied with the long action timeline…”
After a brief exchange, the several Vampires seemed to have agreed on a time and slowly dispersed.