Imperial Capital City of Jeffer, 1 a.m.
Maximilian, the Head Butler of the Trandafir household, is silently sipping a cup of tea, sitting straight on a beige couch. He is certainly satisfied with the taste of the drink since he is confident in his work.
He is currently in the living area of a mansion inside the noble district of the capital. In one of the mansions that are intended solely for rental, servants are separated from the payment, and one has to pay for them separately.
He and the mistress he has been serving did not hire servants to manage the property since Maximilian alone could handle all the tasks.
When the water level in the cup reached the surface, the old vampire put his cup and saucer down on the glass table so elegantly that they only clinked once.
His centuries of service to the Trandafir have made his muscles memorize all the specific movements to perform every task perfectly. Like how he cleanly and uniformly places the cup and saucer.
He had done his fifth cup and was ready to prepare one more exactly an hour later if the one he was waiting for had not come out of the underground yet.
For every hour his Mistress, Elise Trandafir, has not opened the door, Maximilian boils some water, prepares some utensils, and brews high-quality tea for himself to kill time.
His body and mind were accustomed to moving all the time in the castle where the members of the Trandafirs’ main branch reside. So he is not comfortable with laying around and has to take action not to rust his whole existence in order to serve his masters and mistresses again without any signs of deterioration.
The whole mansion, not just the living area, is notably dark. Almost all the magic lights embedded in and hanging from the walls and ceilings do not give off light. 𝒃𝙚𝙤𝙫𝒆𝒍．𝙘𝒐𝙢
Only the moonlight coming from the curtainless glass windows gives brightness to the dark and melancholy estate. At least guiding non-nocturnal people to stroll the dim mansion.
Vampires do not need much light to sense the darkness since it is running in their roots. They preferred less lighting at night; even a candled chandelier was enough for their vision.
They are nocturnal races and tend to do activities when the sun sets. Their senses enhance while their weaknesses lessen at the same time.
Suddenly, his enhanced hearing grasped the low sounds of footsteps coming from the hallway behind the walls. Maximilian immediately recognized the rhythm of the steps and concluded they were made by the mistress.
He got up from his seat and stood elegantly in place. He is about to meet his mistress and does not want to show his disrespect to his master’s only daughter.
The clicking heels get louder for every step they make. Then a figure of a silver-haired woman manifested from the arched opening of the living area, carrying a blonde girl soundly sleeping on her arms.
“Seems like you’ve satisfied your desires, Milady.”
Maximilian gracefully lowered his upper body before his mistress, Elise Trandafir. But he noticed that she reeks of the blood of two people.
Elise in a black dress stepped into the living area carrying a girl on her arms like a princess, though the girl in question is sleeping.
The gait remained unwavered despite carrying a fully grown adult. Her numbers are more than enough to lift a ton with ease.
“I had to wait until midnight before she woke up. But my patience has been rewarded with the best dessert.”
She wore a satisfied and pleased face while looking at the sleeping face of the girl. If one does not know the context, one would assume Elise was about to take the snoozing girl to bed.
“If the Lady is enjoying herself, I am happy too.”
Maximilian rose up and struck a gentleman’s pose. Elise turned to her nobleman’s daughter’s mood and looked at him neutrally and professionally.
“Change of plan, I will be the one who will fetch her to the inn.”
“May I ask why, Milady?” Maximilian asked a naturally situational question.
According to the original plan, after his mistress got what she wanted, she was going to put the girl to sleep before erasing all her memories of the event. It would reflect on them if the girl remembered the things his mistress did to her.
Fully heal the wounds that Elise inflicted on the girl, like the bite mark of her fangs. People would recognize a bite made by a vampire after all.
Once it was done, the girl was supposed to bring it all back to her inn, safe and in one piece. It was to prevent any further concern among the girl’s colleagues and to avoid being suspected regarding the issue.
Maximilian was supposed to bring the unconscious girl back to the inn where her party is currently lodging.
“Why do you ask?” Elise repeated the question, then turned her eyes to the sleeping face of the girl. “Because she asked to.”
Maximilian eventually realized what his mistress had done. Though he already knew the reason, he still voiced his thoughts.
“You told her the plan…?”
“Of course.” Elise proudly declared. “I have confidence in myself.” Then she stared back at the old man with a cold expression. “Or are you doubting about my abilities?”
Maximilian suddenly felt cold running through his spine. He could not do anything but act according to his reflex.
“I never ever doubted all the abilities that you possessed, Milady!” Maximilian quickly put a knee on the floor and exclaimed. “Not believing in you is absolutely the same as not believing in the noble family of Trandafir!”
He must not doubt every little word of his mistress. He did not think his verbal actions would lead his mistress to believe he was disbelieving her strength.
All he could do was nothing but correct his mistakes as well as condemn himself.
As Maximilian is prostrating himself, Elise just looked down on him and chuckled as if enjoying the sight of one’s suffering.
“Hmph. You are already forgiven. You may stand up.”
“As you wish, Milady.”
As ordered, Maximilian raised his body and fixed his posture. His former straight bladed posts have not changed at all.
“I will be going now.”
“Take care.” Maximilian could not stop his mistress from doing as she pleased.
Elise started to walk again, still with the blonde girl resting on her arms. She stopped to remind the butler of another thing.
“By the way, do not include this incident in the records.”
Before the two set out on their journey to the empire, Maximilian was ordered by his master, the lord of Trandafir, the father of Elise, to make a detailed record of every event that happened during the duration of their trip.
Moreover, the Lord made him sure to prioritize listing the actions that her only daughter has done. That’s what Elise is pissed off about since her father is getting annoying every time she gets out of his sight.
“…I understand.” Maximilian bowingly replied as his mistress graciously exited the mansion through the front door.
He truly wanted to follow the orders of his master, but Elise is still his master as well. It was his redemption to atone for his mistakes earlier.
Once the presence of Elise has gone from the premises, Maximilian rests his back against the couch he sat on before. He looked up at the ceiling and entered his mind.
There were things that kept bothering Maximilian since the return of his mistress from the dungeon. One of those was a matter that he cannot casually say in front of her.
Firstly, the scents that are faintly lingering around Elise are mixtures of sweat, saliva, and blood. Maximilian perceived the scents of two people and concluded they came from his mistress and the girl.
By the time he smelled it, he finally realized how sweet the blood of the girl was. That was the reason why his mistress was so obsessed with it, to the point where she actually did kidnap her.
A Greater Vampire like him cannot smell the blood from a person as sharp as the Trues. But once the blood surfaced on the skin, its fragrance would explosively reach the nostrils of the nearby bloodsuckers.
The reason why there was a tint of his mistress’s own blood lingering on her skin and dress left a confusion in the head of Maximilian. His only speculation was that she got into a fight with the girl.
However, that thought seemed impossible for various reasons. The girl was tied, and her magic was sealed by an artifact.
He cannot forget that the girl was only at Level 200, not even half of his mistress. If they happened to clash, his mistress’s victory is undoubtedly guaranteed.
So Maximilian blew off that possibility and left the case a mystery.
The other thing, which was Maximilian, baffled the most—the way his mistress was dressed. She still wore the same dress as before, but a single article is visibly missing in action. Given how her dress notably detailed the shape of her body.
“Why she’s not wearing a brassiere…?”