Volume 2, Chapter 23 – Suspicion

Only a few seconds passed before Estelle’s voice sounded again.

“…Don’t you have any smaller clothes?”

“No.”

Fia, with her back to Estelle, answered decisively.

The reason she had taken Anastasia’s clothes was that she had considered early on that Estelle would definitely not be able to wear her clothes. The elf princess was only 1.3 to 1.4 meters tall, while Estelle was close to 1.6 meters. And with her chest development, if Estelle were to wear Fia’s clothes, it would definitely become a tight crop top.

Although the clothes of the tall Anastasia would not fit Estelle perfectly either, longer was always better than shorter. From her dressing style alone, one could tell that Estelle was a conservative vampire princess. She would definitely not be happy with her skin being exposed.

“Ugh, then there’s nothing I can do. I’ll just wear it for now and change later when we get back.”

Estelle’s hesitant murmur came from behind.

“Miss Anastasia is actually so big, even bigger than sister Noreen… Will I be like this in the future…”

“It doesn’t fit at all.”

“So mature…”

A series of mutterings made Fia’s expression subtle. She could completely imagine the scene of Estelle holding up underwear and comparing it to herself, with the added context of Estelle’s fair skin and well-proportioned, naked body that she had seen while helping her. Fia couldn’t help but feel embarrassed and coughed twice to hurry her up.

“If you don’t hurry, Norton will be here soon.”

“But this underwear is too big. Do you have a breast binder, Fia?”

“No.”

Although Fia herself wore a breast binder, it was always provided by Anastasia. Since Anastasia wasn’t here, it was impossible for Fia to take her own breast binder off and give it to Estelle—it would be like taking off her own underwear and giving it to someone else to wear.

As for whether there were any breast binders in the storage box, Fia could say with certainty that there were none. Such items were always taken out of Anastasia’s personal storage item and were never placed in the box.

And whether Anastasia would store smaller-sized underwear in the box, Fia couldn’t confirm. Just the act of hastily grabbing the clothes on top had already made Fia feel a sense of guilt, let alone rummaging through a girl’s clothes pile. When her fingertips brushed against the fabric, the softness and elasticity of the silk made Fia feel like she was holding a hot potato.

Speaking of which, so women can’t wear underwear that’s several sizes too big for them.

This is the first time Fia has learned this piece of information. Before, she always thought that it didn’t matter if underwear was a bit big, as it just couldn’t be sized up.

“Ugh…”

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With a sound of lament, Estelle thought for a moment, then simply gave up on wearing underwear and put on Anastasia’s white short top and elf-style green long skirt. Fortunately, the long skirt was loose enough that it didn’t highlight anything that shouldn’t be highlighted.

However, for Fia, who knew that Estelle wasn’t wearing any underwear, the scene was a little too stimulating. She didn’t know where to look. It felt like spending even half a second too long would be a great offense—of course, only Fia herself knew this. Estelle, as the person involved, was already in a vortex of embarrassment. The customs of the Bart Duchy’s vampires were similar to humans. Not wearing underwear violated the rules of a lady and was considered indecent.

The sight of her blushing face and her reluctance to leave the carriage was a feast for Fia’s eyes. It was a little cute.

Everything came to an end with Anastasia’s return.

With the breast binder Anastasia provided, Estelle quickly returned to her usual appearance. The reason Anastasia had taken so long to return was that it had taken some time to find Norton. Norton had been leading a team to inspect the [Tears of Life] around the sanctuary. When Anastasia told him about Estelle’s attack, Norton quickly ordered people to go and clean up the bloodstains in Estelle’s room. All of this took a considerable amount of time.

It was worth mentioning that Anastasia also noticed Norton’s suspicious behavior and had specifically observed his reaction. The result was that Norton, upon hearing the news, had been exceptionally surprised, as if he knew nothing about Estelle’s attack. In addition, the soldiers with Norton had been with him the whole time and could provide an alibi, so Norton’s suspicion was cleared.

Now, outside the carriage, a scene of deep sibling affection was playing out.

Norton, having learned of Estelle’s attack, was beating his chest and lamenting that he hadn’t assigned guards to stand outside Estelle’s door. If not for Estelle’s insistence that her injuries were healed, Fia felt that Norton would have tried to persuade Estelle to leave the city and wait for the soldiers from other territories to arrive before beginning the work of cleansing the chaos—that would be a rejection of all of Estelle’s hard work and determination so far, and would surely lead to an argument.

In addition, upon learning that Fia had healed Estelle’s injuries, Norton expressed his gratitude to Fia with an extreme fervor, almost to the point of kneeling. The sincerity in his eyes made it hard to believe it was just acting.

Norton is genuinely happy about Estelle’s survival. Fia was certain of this.

Maybe I was wrong to be suspicious.

While acknowledging Norton’s gratitude, Fia thought to herself.

Maybe the assassination was indeed the work of the Despair Demon General, and he didn’t kill Estelle because he was just trying to provoke me.

If that were the case, it would be a very tricky situation. She could kill the Despair Demon General countless times, but she didn’t have the ability to pull him out of thin air and right in front of her. If the Despair Demon General chose not to confront her directly, but instead attacked the people in the sanctuary under the cover of night, and then immediately went back into the chaos-covered streets when she reacted, she would be put in a difficult position of having to constantly deal with him.

Thinking this way, those dying people who had been surviving in the ruins without being wrapped up by chaos were all a trap set by the Despair Demon General from the very beginning. The dying people who had not died were hostages. They would tie her down, preventing her from using area-of-effect spells to quickly and thoroughly eliminate the chaos.

In that case, the chaos that had ambushed the convoy outside the city was probably also his doing.

What a cunning opponent.

For an ordinary person, the only option would be to adopt a waiting strategy. They would have to temporarily slow down the cleansing of the chaos and wait for the Despair Demon General to show himself. Although it was a bit clumsy, it was the only option.

Unfortunately, the Despair Demon General had run into her. The city of Oro was large, but with her cleansing speed, she could clean out all the chaos, including the ones in the sewers, in three days at most. If he showed himself in a rush, she could immediately fly over and take him out.

The only thing that was hard to understand in the entire incident was the Despair Demon General’s motive.

If his motive was to cause destruction, then with more than two hundred thousand people in Oro City having died under his destruction, he had already achieved his goal. According to a normal person’s logic, the remaining less than one thousand people should not be able to interest him.

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However, he had still stayed in the castle for several days. Even if he was there to get the [Siren’s Mirror], it shouldn’t have taken him so long. The reason he stayed in Oro City was baffling. The only explanation was that he had some other motive and was waiting for something—on the premise that the Despair Demon General was truly in Oro City.

I’ll let the facts prove my guess. Was it the Despair Demon General, or something else entirely?

After a brief thought, Fia felt her dress being tugged by Liti. The latter pointed to Norton, who was talking with Estelle not far away.

“What’s wrong?”

“This Norton guy gives me a bad feeling… Sister, you have to be careful.”

An uneasy look showed in Liti’s rose-colored eyes. ¹ woa liti..

Fia couldn’t help but tilt her head.

“A bad feeling? What do you mean?”

“Everything. Just looking at him makes me feel uncomfortable all over. I’m usually a good judge of character. This guy definitely has some ulterior motives.”

As she spoke, Liti moved to stand behind Fia, as if she were afraid of Norton.

“That’s because Her Highness Liti is not good at talking with men,” Anastasia, standing on Fia’s other side, chimed in. “Her Highness Liti has been afraid of men since she was a child, whether they are elves or humans. I have already investigated. The assassin who broke into Miss Estelle’s room was someone else. Norton has an alibi.” ² ughhh ssshhhuhssshh anastasia -_

“It’s not that I hate men. It’s just that he feels scary. I feel like he’s hiding something from everyone.”

Liti stubbornly looked up to correct her.

While it was true that due to factors like sensitivity, babies’ reactions to the outside world were indeed more acute than adults’, Liti was no longer a baby. Fia couldn’t help but smile wryly and pat Liti’s head.

“I understand. I’ll keep a close eye on him. Liti and Anastasia, you two should sleep in the carriage tonight. I’ll use magic to cool it down. Also, for safety, Estelle will be sleeping here as well.”

“What about you, sister?”

“Of course I’ll be here too, but I’ll be taking turns on night watch with Anastasia. We still don’t know who the assassin is, so we can’t let our guard down.”

“Then I want to sleep in the middle!”

The middle?

Fia was stunned for a moment, then she understood.

Liti meant she wanted to separate herself and Estelle.

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That actually helps me out.

Unlike the small and underdeveloped Liti, Estelle had blossomed into a beauty. If she were to sleep pressed against Estelle, she would definitely not be able to sleep all night. And with an outsider present, Liti would also wear a nightdress that covered her entire body, making things easier for her.

While Fia was smiling and agreeing to Liti’s request, Estelle and Norton’s conversation finally came to an end. The two of them came to Fia’s side, and Estelle’s face showed an apologetic look.

“I apologize, Fia, for making you wait so long.”

“It’s fine. It’s almost midnight now. Shouldn’t we all be getting some sleep?”

As she spoke, Fia gave Estelle a look. The people who were lying on the side of the road were looking at the carriage.

Estelle smiled wryly and shook her head.

“Fia, you should go to bed first. The night is when vampires are most focused. I want to finish what needs to be done tonight. Although I don’t want to admit it, the reality is that the work my father used to do, I now have to take over. Asking His Majesty the King for assistance, raising money and supplies for the city’s restoration, and appointing officials—only I can do these things.”

Estelle paused, glancing at the soldiers around her, and deliberately lowered her voice.

“And there’s also that elusive assassin with an unknown motive. There are too many things to do. I won’t be able to rest easy if I’m idle.”

“I will guarantee Lady Estelle’s safety. It was my carelessness to think we would be safe once we arrived at the sanctuary. As Lady Estelle’s aide, I have failed in my duty. Please give me another chance, Lady Estelle. I will guard your door all night and not let any suspicious person through.”

Norton lowered his head, full of guilt.

“No, I won’t be going back. I will stay here until all the chaos is gone.” Estelle pointed to the carriage.

Norton tried to say something, but Estelle cut him off before he could speak, saying earnestly.

“No one can guarantee that the assassin will only come for me. Their next target could be you. So from now on, Norton, you cannot act alone. You must always have more than five guards with you. And for non-official matters, try to stay within my line of sight as much as possible. With my father and sister Noreen gone, you are my only living relative. I cannot lose you too.”

“Sister Noreen…”

At the mention of Noreen, Norton’s expression became grim. He then clenched his teeth, and his fists were also clenched tightly. A strong hatred surged in his eyes.

Estelle gently patted Norton on the shoulder. Her blood-colored eyes also showed intense hatred and anger.

“This blood debt for the extermination of our family, I will make them pay. No matter who caused the disaster that day, be it Darkborn or chaos, I will kill him with my own hands to bring comfort to the souls of my father and sister. I swear this by my Blood Oath!”

As if in response to Estelle, the dark red pattern on the back of Estelle’s right hand flashed for a moment. This was proof that she had made a Blood Oath.

The hatred for the extermination of her family, a blood debt to be repaid with blood. The logic was simple and easy to understand.

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Fia did not interrupt the two, who were immersed in an atmosphere of hatred. With the territory in ruins and waiting to be rebuilt, they needed hatred as a source of strength.

After a moment of silence, Estelle took two steps back and gave a serious command.

“Go and gather everyone in the sanctuary. Forbid them from acting alone. Even when they sleep, they must do so in a designated location. We don’t know who the assassin is, so we must minimize our vulnerabilities as much as possible.”

“Okay.” The handsome Norton’s eyes showed a determined look. “What about you, Lady Estelle?”

“I will be here to handle official business. Fia and Anastasia can guarantee my safety. Have someone bring a table and chairs over.”

“I understand. I’ll go do it now.”

After agreeing to Estelle’s command, Norton walked over to Fia’s side. The determination on his handsome face turned into gratitude. He bowed deeply to Fia.

“Thank you, Your Highness the Eldest Princess, for your rescue. I will repay this debt a hundredfold in the future.”

“You’ve already thanked me once. You should hurry up and do as your sister says: go gather everyone together. Be careful not to leak the news of Estelle’s assassination.”

“I will bear that in mind.”

After a deep look at Fia, Norton turned and left with the nearby soldiers.

Just in case, Fia used [Wind of Exploration] to scan Norton’s back. Although the mana reaction on his body had reached the Third Tier, not the Second Tier that Estelle had mentioned, it was still not a strong enough power. Anastasia had obtained an alibi for Norton, so she had no reason to openly suspect him again. Liti might find him repulsive, but that was just a feeling, not concrete evidence.

Of course, I still have to remain vigilant and observe Norton’s movements in the future. ³ good… sigh… glad you not dum too.

I’ll find a chance to discuss a strategy with Estelle during my night watch.

Fia thought to herself.

There were many things she lacked knowledge of. For example, what kind of person was the Noreen everyone talked about? What was the definition of “fulfilling revenge” for a Blood Oath? And what exactly had happened in the castle before the magical disaster? What were the people doing at that time?

The Despair Demon General had refused to talk about who caused the disaster. There must be something worth looking into there. Maybe if she figured out these things, everything would fall into place.

Letting out a soft sigh, Fia urged the yawning Liti to hurry back to the carriage to sleep. After saying a few words to Estelle and Anastasia, she also returned to the carriage.

Anastasia would take the first half of the night watch, and Fia would take the second half.

All the things I don’t understand, I’ll deal with them after I’ve had a good night’s sleep and am well-rested.