CA – Chapter 38
Chapter 38
A bright, round moon hung in the night sky. Its pure, white light cascaded down, draping the capital city in a layer of white gauze. The uniquely designed and magnificent buildings hid behind this veil, hazy and dreamlike.
Tang Qiu was wandering near Lucille's manor. The night was deep, and the streets were empty. Occasionally, a drunken man or woman would stumble out of a tavern, only to collapse in a corner and curl up to sleep.
She had been wandering here for nearly two hours. The night wind was chilly, and her hands, hanging at her sides, were red from the cold. Tang Qiu slowly came to a stop and looked up at the round moon in the sky, her gaze profound. Even though she had no memory of her time as a werewolf, she could feel the moon's influence on her.
She raised a hand, clenching it as if to grasp the moonlight. Her knuckles ached and swelled. It felt as if a beast was sealed within her body. The moonlight was awakening it, exciting it, causing it to struggle and thrash, trying to break the seal.
Erin had said she saw Eva and Jillian transform into werewolves with her own eyes. This meant that a full moon wasn't a requirement for the transformation.
The beast inside a werewolf shouldn't be sealed away.
Tang Qiu stared at her own palm, lost in thought. Although she didn't know how important Lucille was to her werewolf form, with Lucille not around, it was better for her to stay away from the Holy See around the time of the full moon, just in case.
As she was deep in thought, a sudden chill ran up her spine, as if she were being watched by something dangerous. Tang Qiu lowered her hand and calmly turned around. With a thud, a heavy object fell in front of her.
It was a young girl in a magnificent dress. Her face was pale, and she was unconscious. Bloodstains were clearly visible on the side of her fair neck.
"Hey, little lost lamb." A teasing voice sounded by her ear. Lola stood on a rooftop, looking down at Tang Qiu. She slowly and deliberately wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth. Her crimson eyes were somewhat dim against the backlight. She let out a low chuckle, her gaze lingering on the side of Tang Qiu's neck.
Tang Qiu narrowed her eyes, the corners of her lips turning up slightly. "I remember you," she said softly.
"Not going to take out your staff?" Lola crouched down, tilting her head as she looked at the calm, blonde priest standing her ground. She was a little surprised by her composure.
Tang Qiu raised her hand, gesturing at the distance between herself and Lola. "Would taking out my staff scare you?" she asked with a half-smile. At this range, given a vampire's speed, she was already in close quarters.
Lola raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "You're sensible." She leaped down from the roof and walked up to Tang Qiu, licking her lips. "You should be glad I just had dinner."
She reached out and pinched Tang Qiu's chin, leaning in slightly. Her sharp fangs were faintly visible. "So now, all I need is a little dessert."
The oppressive feeling of a vampire so close made Tang Qiu's body stiffen for a moment, but then she slowly relaxed. She sighed and said softly, "You'll regret this."
Because her body sensed danger, the aching in her knuckles grew more intense.
Lola thought Tang Qiu was bluffing and chuckled. She pressed her thumb against the side of her neck, through the fabric of her priest's robes, and was about to lower her head to tear the collar open when a sudden cold wind swept past. Her eyes flickered, and she agilely dodged away from the blonde priest.
Lucille's figure suddenly appeared in front of Tang Qiu. She raised a hand to catch a longsword that flew toward her a step too late, then crisply sheathed it and tossed it aside.
The familiar scent soothed Tang Qiu, whose consciousness had begun to struggle. The tips of her hair, which had turned snow-white, slowly returned to their original gold. She looked up, staring fixedly at Lucille's back, the tension she'd been holding finally easing. Rubbing her sore wrist, she asked suspiciously, "Did you show up at this exact moment on purpose?"
The timing is a little too coincidental.
Lucille, who had been staring coldly at Lola, paused. She turned her head and explained earnestly, "No."
"Did you really go back to Edry?"
"No."
Tang Qiu lowered her hand and glanced at Lucille, raising an eyebrow. "Then where did you go?"
Lola watched the two of them casually chatting in front of her. Her gaze first fell on Lucille, then shifted to Tang Qiu. Hearing her question, she finally had a chance to interject. "She was following me."
"I sensed it after I left Vandent." Lola sized up Lucille, a hint of mockery in her curved lips. "Following an Assamite... didn't your parents tell you what the Assamite are best at?" Her use of "parents" here referred to the one who had given the vampire their first embrace.
Tang Qiu was a little surprised. Her gaze shifted between Lola and Lucille before finally settling on Lucille's face. Lucille pressed her lips together, watching Lola coldly. "The Assamite are skilled in stealth and assassination," she said, her expression blank, "but not in direct combat."
Facing a Gangrel of the same level, she was indeed at a disadvantage. The smile on Lola's face vanished. She glanced behind her, starting to look for an escape route.
A bouncing Light Ball appeared in her field of vision. Lola frowned and looked up. The blonde priest waved her Light Staff at her with a friendly smile.
Her escape route cut off, Lola seemed to give up, dropping her offensive stance. She crossed her arms and looked curiously at the vampire and priest standing together. "Is she your blood thrall?" she asked with interest.
Before Lucille could answer, Tang Qiu had already denied it. She toyed with her Light Staff and said with a grin, "Actually, I'm her keeper."
Lucille: "..."
Lola gave her a meaningful look. "You're very bold."
When Lucille had stepped in to save her, Lola had already mentally grouped the two of them together. So, Tang Qiu didn't care about hiding her relationship with Lucille. Besides, she preferred the title of "keeper" to "blood thrall."
Besides, she had no intention of letting Lola leave safely today.
Tang Qiu had assumed Lucille was thinking the same thing, but the reality surprised her again. Lucille actually took a small step back, signaling with her eyes for Lola to leave.
Lola didn't seem surprised by this outcome. She sized up Lucille once more and said with a light laugh, "I haven't found the answer to what you want to know yet. I can only tell you that I was born in Rose Manor."
Rose Manor... Lucille's expression flickered, as if she had thought of something.
After Lola left, Tang Qiu thoughtfully stroked her Light Staff. She glanced at Lucille, who was looking down, lost in thought, and gently poked her in the waist with the staff. "May I invite myself to your manor?" she asked with a smile.
She truly had a stomach full of questions waiting for Lucille's answers.
If the enigmatic Erin made her want to keep her distance, then the equally enigmatic Lucille sparked a desire in her to investigate.
It was related to the fact that she couldn't leave Lucille's side right now, but it was also about Lucille herself. She had to admit, at Marquis Davis's banquet in Edry, the first time she met those dark red eyes, curiosity had already begun to stir, sprouting its first shoots.
When one person develops a desire to understand another, perhaps an emotion called "caring" appears alongside it.
Tang Qiu frowned, ignoring the strange thought that had popped into her head, and followed Lucille into the manor.
The fireplace had just been lit, so the room was still a bit cold. Tang Qiu took off her black cloak and hung it on a rack. Her gaze swept around the room before she chose to walk over and sit on the edge of the bed. "Have you been following that vampire ever since you left Vandent?"
Lucille leaned against a nearby table and gave a soft "mm," her eyes lowered to the floor, clearly distracted.
"Is there something strange about her?" If she remembered correctly, Lucille had already seen that vampire back in Kafu Town. At the time, she hadn't seemed to think there was anything special about her.
But after just a few short days, upon meeting her again in Vandent, Lucille had apparently changed her mind.
What had happened to this vampire?
Lucille was silent for a moment, then shook her head slightly. "It's nothing," she said dismissively.
This meant she didn't want to talk about it. Tang Qiu paused, sensibly choosing not to press the matter. She looked up at Lucille, who was still lost in her own thoughts, and her gaze swept over her from head to toe, deepening slightly.
No one spoke, and the atmosphere in the room grew quiet. Tang Qiu's questions remained unanswered, and she was contemplating whether it would be better to leave when a shadow suddenly fell over her. Lucille had approached at some point and was now bending down, taking her hand from where it rested on the bed.
"Your hand is a little cold." Lucille's brow furrowed. The blonde priest's body temperature was always warm, but now her hand felt almost as cold as her own.
Tang Qiu blinked and said with a smile, "It's too cold outside. I haven't warmed up yet."
Seeing the gloom in Lucille's eyes, she thought she wanted to drink her blood and considerately turned her wrist over. But to her surprise, Lucille simply let go of her, got onto the bed from the other side, and leaned against the headboard, showing no intention of feeding.
Tang Qiu glanced back at her, a little surprised. Just as she was about to say something, Lucille spoke first. "That vampire's aura is a bit unusual."
Tang Qiu's expression flickered, but she didn't speak.
Lucille seemed to be thinking about how to describe it. After a moment, she continued, "The first time I saw her, her aura was between the sixth and fifth generation."
"But when I saw her in Vandent, her aura was already closer to the fifth generation."
It was a subtle change, one that a priest like Tang Qiu, who didn't know much about vampires, would never have noticed.
Lucille hadn't been entirely sure at first, which was why she had followed her—to confirm that she hadn't been mistaken.
"You mean she's getting stronger?" Tang Qiu was a bit baffled. She thought for a moment and asked, "The first time you saw her, could she have been in a weakened state? For example, if she'd been hungry for a long time, so her aura was weaker."
If a vampire goes without feeding for a long time, their strength will wane.
Lucille dismissed Tang Qiu's idea.
"Then that's very strange." Tang Qiu frowned. She didn't know much about vampires, but she knew that their abilities were fixed after their transformation and wouldn't change.
Every vampire abided by this immutable rule.
Lucille lowered her gaze. "...She is indeed very strange," she said in a low voice.
Her tone was inexplicably downcast. Tang Qiu looked at her, puzzled. After a moment's thought, she leaned in slightly and asked with a smile, "Why are you telling me this?"
Lucille looked up and met her gaze. The priest was backlit, but her eyes were very bright. She was silent for a moment before looking away. "Didn't you want to know?" she said softly.
"But you clearly didn't want to talk about it just now." Tang Qiu had seen Lucille's refusal plain as day.
"...It's nothing to tell you."
After she spoke, she waited a moment. When she didn't get a response from Tang Qiu, she couldn't help but glance over. She found the blonde priest flipping through a book of poetry she had left by the bed. There was a faint gentleness in her expression, the corners of her lips were slightly raised, and the orange light enveloping her made her look even softer.
Lucille stared at Tang Qiu for a while and noticed some changes about her. She reached out and stroked the hem of Tang Qiu's robe. "Are these a priest's robes?" she asked in a low voice.
Although they were still snow-white, they were now embroidered with delicate patterns in silver thread, making them look nobler than a cleric's robes.
Tang Qiu casually set aside the uninteresting book and relaxed against the bed. "Mm," she confirmed. "I was promoted to Priest after returning from Vandent."
The familiar scent surrounded her, intoxicating her. She unconsciously leaned closer to Lucille. Tang Qiu's eyes were half-closed, and she felt drowsy.
Lucille looked at Tang Qiu, who was practically leaning on her shoulder. She glanced out the window and asked, "Don't you have to go back to the Holy See?" The full moon was tomorrow night.
"No need." Tang Qiu had originally planned to leave, but the person next to her smelled so good, and the room was gradually warming up. She didn't feel like going anymore. "...I'll go back after the full moon."
A Priest had more freedom than a cleric; she could be gone for two days without arousing suspicion.
Everything could wait until after the full moon.
Past midnight, not a single soul could be seen on the capital's streets. The knights guarding the city gate, however, were still full of energy, their eyes fixed ahead, vigilant for any possible incident.
Erin tightened her black cloak, peeking around a wall and staring eagerly toward the city gate, her expression a little tense. Inside her hood, a gray furball was sleeping soundly.
Two slender figures suddenly appeared at the city gate. The guards were instantly on alert. Just as they were about to question their identities, one of the girls impatiently raised her hand and chopped the back of a knight's neck, knocking him out instantly.
She repeated the process, taking down all the knights on guard here. Then, she turned and looked around, as if searching for something.
Erin's eyes lit up. She ran out from behind the wall, waving her hand. "I'm over here!"
Eva looked over in the direction of the voice, crossed her arms, and said bluntly, "Let's get this straight. The payment for escorting you to the Gru Empire is forty bottles of Holy Water of Light."
The wealthy Erin waved her hand magnanimously. "Done."
Exchanging forty bottles of Holy Water of Light for two werewolf bodyguards made her feel incredibly secure.
Vera had already left the Bill Empire. Erin had used witchcraft for a long time but couldn't divine her next destination, only that she was generally heading toward the Gru Empire.
The Dark Key was something Erin had to obtain. No matter how difficult it was, that key could not fall into the hands of other witches.
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