After leaving the forbidden land, the three of them found a hidden cave to rest.
Elia leaned against the rock wall, closed her eyes, and regulated the magic power inside her body.
Then, Kiz sat down beside her, gently placed her head on her own lap, and gave her a lap pillow.
“Get some sleep,” she said softly.
Elia opened her eyes and asked, “What about you?”
“I’ll keep watch… Don’t worry, blood clan don’t need much sleep.”
“You… all right, thank you for the trouble.” Elia looked at Kiz with the gentlest gaze, then lightly touched her face.
“Don’t be silly!” Kiz’s face flushed again.
Elia smiled at that.
Then she closed her eyes and soon fell asleep.
Kiz looked down at her peaceful sleeping face. Although it was full of exhaustion and covered in wounds, at this moment she was still so beautiful.
After quietly appreciating the sight for a while, Kiz began to gently comb her golden hair. Her movements were very light and soft, afraid of waking her up.
Lisa, sitting across from them, watched this display of dog food, curved the corner of her mouth slightly, and said softly, “You two really have a great relationship~”
Kiz looked up at her and nodded. “Yeah, I guess so.”
Lisa pursed her lips, then sighed. “Before, Lillian also liked to sleep with her head on my lap like this… And every time she woke up, she would say ‘Good morning, Mother’ and then kiss me on the cheek.”
Kiz was silent for a few seconds.
Normally, Lisa would never show her vulnerable side to outsiders, but at this moment, she chose not to suppress her feelings anymore.
“She… she will come back,” Kiz could only say that.
Lisa shook her head and continued, “I don’t know if she can really come back… But you’re right, as long as there’s hope, I can’t give up.”
“Say… You don’t blame Elia, do you?” Kiz suddenly asked.
Hearing this, Lisa was taken aback. “Blame her? Why?”
“Because she couldn’t save Lillian, and she even injured her.”
Lisa shook her head without hesitation. “The Lillian right now needs to be knocked awake by us. So no matter who hurts Lillian, I won’t blame her… As for what you said about Elia not saving Lillian… She did her best. If it weren’t for her, Lillian might have completely disappeared. At least she’s still alive somewhere now.”
Then she looked up at the night sky outside the cave and continued, “I said it before—as long as you’re alive, there’s hope. As long as hope exists, you can’t give up.”
Kiz nodded.
For the rest of the time, the two of them fell silent.
The cave returned to a quiet atmosphere.
By the time Elia woke up, it was already the afternoon of the next day. Sunlight shone in from the cave entrance and fell on her cheek.
She opened her eyes and found Kiz still sitting beside her, watching her.
“Oh? Awake? You slept for almost a whole day,” Kiz said.
Then Elia sat up and stretched her body. “Yeah… I slept that long? Didn’t feel like it…”
“Of course you wouldn’t feel it when you’re asleep… So how are your injuries?”
Hearing this, Elia sensed the magic power inside her body.
“Well… recovered about half. Another two days of rest and I should be fully recovered. Sigh, I’ve never fought such a miserable battle in my life.”
It was true—the original owner had never fought against anyone stronger than herself. After all, in this world, there weren’t many people stronger than her.
Kiz patted her chest and sighed in relief. “That’s good.”
At this moment, Lisa walked in from the cave entrance holding some wild fruits. “Since you’re awake, eat something, Elia.”
Uh… The blood clan picks wild fruits? But it seems like she picked them specially for me…
Thinking that, Elia said, “Thank you.”
Then she took a bite of the wild fruit… It was sour and sweet, the taste was pretty good—far better than the purely sour taste she had imagined.
“So what do we do next?” Kiz asked from the side.
Elia thought carefully. “First, go back to the City of Shadows, then continue investigating… The Holy Grail Order, the ‘Wolf,’ and where Lillian went.”
“While you were sleeping, I already used magic to contact some people to track Lillian. She’s fast, but she always leaves traces,” Lisa said.
During the rest of the time, Lisa brought back two wolves from the forest for herself and Kiz to replenish their blood.
Although Elia the human was there, Kiz wouldn’t suck her blood while Elia was so weak, and neither would Lisa.
After Lisa and Kiz drained the wolves they had each been given, the three left the cave and used Kiz’s teleportation magic to return to the City of Shadows.
At the city gate, the elders of the Lasombra clan, the nobles of the City of Shadows, and Elder Selina, who had arrived from the Vampire Royal Capital, were all waiting.
When they saw Their Highnesses return, everyone came forward. Selina stepped up on behalf of everyone and asked, “Your Highnesses, are you all right?”
Kiz waved her hand. “It’s fine, don’t worry.”
Then Selina approached her and lowered her voice. “Princess, how was the situation in the forbidden land?”
Kiz sighed helplessly. “Lillian was transformed into a new saint, even stronger than Elia. So we lost—a complete defeat.”
Hearing this, Selina’s expression changed. “Then Lady Lillian…”
“She left alone. No idea where she went,” Kiz said.
“Then… Princess, what are the next arrangements?”
Faced with Selina’s question, Kiz turned to look at Elia beside her.
Then Elia stepped forward. “Continue the investigation. Though the Holy Grail Order succeeded with this plan… they won’t stop here. We have to find their headquarters and destroy them completely… What’s certain is that the Holy Grail Order’s headquarters is absolutely not within the Human Empire. Because as the saint, I would never be unaware of such an organization within the territory. And they definitely weren’t established during the time I left the Human Empire.”
After listening to this long speech, Selina nodded. “Yes, I understand. The Council of Elders will send more people to investigate thoroughly.”
Speaking of which… Selina wasn’t the head elder, right? Yet all the work fell to her or was done by her people. What a horse worker elder indeed.
Elia complained in her heart.
Two days later, in the reception hall of the Castle in the City of Shadows, Kiz got straight to the point. “Any news about Lillian from the people you sent out?”
Lisa shook her head. “Not yet… After she left the forbidden land, it was like she vanished into thin air. Our tracking spells have no effect on her… Mainly because her holy light ability is too strong—it can interfere with all tracking magic.”
Elia nodded at that. This was to be expected.
Then Elia added, “By the way, since those people from the Holy Grail Order could enter the blood clan’s forbidden land… it suggests there might be an inside agent within the blood clan.”
Hearing this, Kiz’s eyes widened. “You mean there could be a traitor inside the blood clan?”
Elia nodded. “After all, that place is a forbidden land, isn’t it? Even local blood clan have a hard time getting in, let alone outsiders like the Order. And if there were no traitor, they couldn’t have found the forbidden land entrance so accurately, nor could they have set up the ritual so smoothly.”
Hearing this, Lisa’s expression darkened. “If there really is a traitor… I will kill him with my own hands. Chop him into a thousand pieces.”