Volume 2, Chapter 15 – The Agreement between the Vampire Princess and the Elf Princess

Estelle’s expression was extremely clear. Fia could even use the candlelight to see her own faint, swaying reflection in Estelle’s blood-red eyes, which symbolized her identity as a vampire.

This girl has some nerve.

The tent was silent for a moment.

Although the core of Estelle’s actions was her inferiority complex, there was a difference between inferiority that led to action and inferiority that led to inaction. In fact, most people would not be as brave as Estelle, choosing to stand at the forefront and face the criticism of others. On the contrary, they would choose to leave that environment and get as far away as possible. In Estelle’s case, it would mean staying cooped up at home because of her single wing, avoiding people, or simply leaving the area, and even wishing she wasn’t a vampire at all, hating the remaining half-wing.

Only a few people could be as brave as Estelle.

Her courage and innocence made Fia feel admiration.

With a little probing in her heart, Fia suppressed her admiration and deliberately teased her.

“Just that?”

Estelle raised her eyebrows.

“If Fia thinks it’s not enough, you can add more until I feel it’s an equal exchange.”

“Still letting me choose freely?”

“That’s right.”

Fia’s voice paused for a moment. She deliberately adopted a scrutinizing and playful gaze, like a slave trader appraising a beautiful slave, and stared at Estelle, smiling.

“What if I said I wanted you?”

“You—” Having never expected Fia to say such a thing, in Estelle’s mind, Dofilia was always a serious and humorless type. However, she quickly composed herself. Her wide eyes regained the composure of a lady, and she responded with a cunning smile that was no less than Fia’s. “I’m afraid I cannot comply. That would not be an equal exchange. I have never heard of trading food for a noble young lady.”

“You’re right.”

Fia shrugged playfully.

She only wanted to test how far Estelle would go; she didn’t actually have any designs on Estelle, as her words might have suggested.

As a result, Estelle was rational and mature, unlike a girl of only fifteen years old.

Fia fell into thought.

She didn’t actually want anything from Estelle, even with Estelle’s stubborn persistence.

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Although according to Estelle, once the chaos in the city was cleared, she would have a lot of treasures for her to choose from, firstly, she didn’t need treasures. Secondly, even if she did get those treasures back, it was hard to say how much of it would actually end up in her hands. The nobles from the surrounding territories wouldn’t send troops to help for free, and the post-war reconstruction of the territory would also be a significant expense.

Estelle would surely find herself in a difficult financial situation later. Taking valuable items like magic tools would make Fia feel like she was kicking a person when they were down. Even if it was a deserved reward, the discomfort would not go away, especially since she really didn’t need that reward, and using [Food Creation] didn’t cost her anything.

If she only took some ordinary gold and silver jewelry to show that she was accepting the reward, Estelle would probably think she was being given charity and that her pride as a noble was being insulted, and she would become furious. Fia couldn’t help but feel that this was a hassle.

In that case—

To both make Estelle give up the idea of giving her a reward and to make the atmosphere of the conversation more relaxed, Fia joked, following up on her previous words.

“So, it’s not that there’s no price, but that I’m not offering enough?”

“I say, you… not only lost your memory, but has your mind gone bad too? You are indeed very beautiful, Fia, but I have no such intentions, and what’s more, as a proud pure-blooded vampire, I am priceless. No amount of favor would be enough for an exchange. If you were a male noble, you would have already been driven away for being rude.”

As she said this, Estelle, with a helpless look, ran her hand through her golden hair. The snowy white neck she inadvertently exposed was hard to look away from.

“Honestly, even if you want to tease me, you should at least make it more believable. I know that same-sex love is common among elves, but when you say it as a joke, not even a child would believe you.”

She saw through me.

Fia couldn’t help but feel helpless. She took the opportunity to move a chair in the tent and sat down.

“Who told you to push the conversation forward on your own without considering what I thought? Do you think I’m short on money, Estelle? I am an elf with a lifespan of several hundred years. The reward doesn’t have to be given right away. What I mean is, you can give me the reward later. That doesn’t violate your principles, does it?”

“Hmm, that’s true. But the feeling of owing someone a favor makes me uncomfortable. Well, you’re right, Fia. There’s no need to rush. After we rescue the people in the city, I’ll have many places where I’ll need money. I might even have to put the territory in debt at that point—let’s do as you said. I’ll repay you a few decades from now. Of course, I’ll make sure to calculate the interest.”

With a major problem in her heart resolved, Estelle seemed a little happy, like someone who had finished a heavy task. She started swinging her legs gently again and asked cheerfully.

“I’ve finished my story about what happened to me. What about you, Fia? We have a long time, you can take your time to tell me.”

“You say we have a long time… If not for the dinner, everyone in the camp would probably be sound asleep by now.”

Although Fia didn’t have a pocket watch, she felt that it was around ten or eleven at night.

“Vampires are nocturnal creatures. For us, this is the middle of the day.”

“Then when you set off tomorrow morning, won’t you be ‘pulling an all-nighter’?”

“Hah, it seems you’ve forgotten, Fia. We vampires don’t need to sleep for half a day to recover our energy like humans do. We just need a short nap to stay focused. Choosing to depart in the morning is just for the sake of the soldiers in the team who are not vampires.”

Then are they afraid of garlic, crosses, and silver?

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A question rose in Fia’s heart, but these things sounded like they had teasing value. Fia didn’t ask the question—I’ll ask Anastasia or Liti about it in the morning.

“Speaking of which, even though you lost your memory, you haven’t changed in your thoughtfulness for others, and you’re more flexible than before. The old you would definitely have agreed first and then found another way to return the item to me. Meeting a Dofilia with a different personality gives me a sense of novelty. The current you is more approachable. At least, in the past, I would have never dared to sit on the bed so unladylike like this.”

It seemed that the former elf princess and Estelle had not been very close. Fia could probably imagine the scene: the two of them conversing with the polite rhetoric of nobles, being polite but with an unspoken barrier between them that prevented them from opening their hearts.

“A lot of different things have happened to me as well.”

Fia spread her hands and recounted her own experience.

Starting from being hit by the Unsinkable Moon on the battlefield, until she parted ways with Claire. Omitting the magical details, such as losing her magical memory and Claire’s power to destroy the Unsinkable Moon, Fia told Estelle the story one by one.

“You repelled a Moon Dragon by yourself?! Fia, you’ve become this powerful…” Estelle’s eyes showed admiration and longing, but her blood-red eyes soon became dim. “The distance between us is getting wider.”

“I am a few decades older than you, Estelle. Isn’t this difference in strength natural?”

Even though that wasn’t the case at all, Fia still tried to comfort her.

“If I had your power, I could probably deal with that chaos all by myself.”

Not just deal with the chaos, but take care of the entire city as well.

Fia complained inwardly.

As if remembering something, Estelle’s eyes suddenly lit up, and she straightened her back. The way she looked at Fia was as if she were looking at a priceless treasure.

“If, if I give all the rewards I promised the nobles to you, will you help me deal with the chaos? A Seventh-Tier magic caster would surely be more efficient than a group of soldiers. Most importantly, you are right here. We don’t know how long it will take for the troops from other nobles to arrive. Maybe… maybe my sister Noreen and my father are still alive, waiting for me to rescue them in the castle!”

By the end of her sentence, Estelle had already gotten up from the bed and hurried towards Fia.

Her slightly swaying blood-red eyes were full of sincerity and pleading. She was just short of grabbing Fia’s hands.

Here it comes.

Fia had thought of this possibility during their previous meeting. Estelle might have placed her hope in her, hoping that she, a “Seventh-Tier magic caster,” would help her overcome this difficult time.

The reason Estelle had only brought it up now was probably because she thought that Fia had not only lost her memory but also her magical abilities, and that even begging would be useless. So, upon hearing that she still had her magical abilities, she finally made her request.

If Estelle had requested her help right from the start, Fia would have probably thought for a moment before refusing. But now, Fia had other ideas. Anastasia had said that at their current speed, they would be back in the elf territory in about half a month at most. This meant she had half a month to spare. With her magical abilities, she could probably resolve the chaos in the city in just a few days. Even if she helped Estelle with this, it wouldn’t delay her important business.

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More importantly, now that she had learned [Flight], she could fly back to the elf territory with Anastasia and Liti. Even if Anastasia and Liti’s bodies were not as strong as hers, which would prevent her from flying too fast, it would still save more time than taking a carriage.

Of course, what made Fia change her mind wasn’t just the time. The change was more from the fact that Estelle had piqued Fia’s interest. Even though the difference in their strength was like heaven and earth, Estelle still made Fia feel a sense of respect.

Regardless of the true nature of Estelle’s actions, she was ultimately thinking of her people. And she did not run away from the criticisms of others who called her a bastard. Her courage and unyielding persistence, even if Fia found it a bit naive, still made Fia admire her. It was easy for anyone to talk, but those who could truly put their precious character into practice were few and far between.

It was like how anyone could possess the trait of “gentleness,” but not everyone could act on it. They knew what to do, but because of various considerations—awkwardness, finding it too much of a hassle, or thinking it would get in their own way—they chose not to. This was the most basic difference between the shining protagonists and the inconspicuous side characters in a story.

And now, Estelle was the protagonist, and the petty nobles who slandered her were the side characters.

Watching Estelle walk all the way to the end, trampling all her opponents underfoot, was a kind of pleasure. Most importantly, she wanted to help Estelle, to help this girl who could do something she couldn’t. Her efforts had earned her approval.

However, Fia did not agree right away but first confirmed something.

“You’re not asking me to protect you, but to clear all the chaos in the city. Won’t this affect your reputation? Some nobles care about their fame being stolen by others, for example, if I solve this—”

“How can you disregard human lives for the sake of reputation?!”

Estelle frowned slightly, looking a bit angry.

I had underestimated Estelle a little.

Facing the aggressive Estelle, Fia raised her hands with a wry smile, surrendering.

“I understand. I agree to help you. But my time is limited. I can only stay here for ten days at most—no, one week. After that, whether I have resolved the chaos or not, I must set off to return to Silvar. Understood?”

“Th-thank you! A week is enough time to do many things. As long as you are here, we won’t be completely wiped out!”

With a gentle breeze, Estelle stepped forward excitedly, grabbing Fia’s hands. The distance between them was instantly closed. Fia could even smell the fragrance from Estelle’s collar.

A vampire’s body temperature was lower than an elf’s. Estelle’s hands were exceptionally cold—yet also burning hot.

As if this thanks was not enough, Estelle said hurriedly.

“The Claire you mentioned just now, I have a way that might be able to solve the curse on her.”

“Huh?” Hearing about a way to solve Claire’s curse, Fia immediately became serious. The reason she was in such a hurry to return to the elf territory was to clear the obstacles to lifting Claire’s curse ahead of time. If a solution to the curse was right in front of her, she wouldn’t have to rush back. Fia immediately stood up. “What is it?”

“You said that Miss Claire has two curses on her, one to be forgotten, and one to be feared, right?”

“Mm.”

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Getting Fia’s confirmation, Estelle’s expression relaxed a little.

“In our vampire magic theory, a curse is just another form of magic. But because people can’t clearly explain how curses work, in popular magic theory, curses and magic have always been considered parallel existences.”

“If we apply our vampire magic theory, the curses intertwined with Miss Claire’s body are very likely mental interference-type magic. And this magic doesn’t work directly on Miss Claire but works through Miss Claire on the people around her. While this can’t explain why people forget Miss Claire after a while, it can perfectly explain the trait of Miss Claire being feared.”

“Mental magic works directly on the soul, and the soul has the characteristic of becoming stronger after not dying once. If a mental magic is used on the same person too many times, the target of the spell will gradually become dull to it until they are completely immune, unless the intensity of the interference is increased later on.”

That sounds plausible.

Even if there was only a one percent chance of it working, it was much simpler than begging a god. Fia didn’t mind trying. She couldn’t help but ask.

“Then what is Estelle’s solution?”

“If one can isolate themselves from mental communication with the outside world, they can be exempt from the curse of being feared. However, there is a huge flaw in this: they will lose contact with the elements and become unable to use magic. But even so, it is still a solution. We have such an item in the Oro family castle. It is a treasure granted to our family by the founding emperor, the first king of the Bart Duchy, called the [Siren’s Mirror].”

Estelle said with extreme seriousness.

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Night.

If people were to look up at the sky, they would surely find a vampire flying under the moon in the cloudless plains—and not just a vampire, but a giant fairy with glowing wings.

To be more precise, it was the fairy with glowing wings holding the vampire in her arms, soaring through the plains.

This was naturally Fia and Estelle.

Although Claire would be unable to use magic once she wore the Siren’s Mirror, with her there, Claire would have no need for magic, and she could protect Claire. Therefore, after Fia heard Estelle’s description of the [Siren’s Mirror], she immediately set off. Since the Second-Tier Estelle had not yet learned flight magic, she had to be carried by Fia.

No one knew if chaos would corrode the Siren’s Mirror, so it was important to act quickly.

As for the origin of the Siren’s Mirror, it was a treasure that the founding emperor of the Bart Duchy had granted to Count Oro along with his fief, to commend his contributions in the war of founding.

Estelle knew so much about the Siren’s Mirror because Estelle’s mother also bore a curse. Although it was different from Claire’s curse of being feared—Estelle’s mother’s curse was a charm curse—it still caused her mother countless troubles.

The reason people thought Estelle was not the Count’s biological daughter was because the charm curse had caused Estelle’s mother to suffer for many years, which led people to believe that Estelle was a bastard from who-knows-where. The contempt people had for Estelle’s mother, combined with the fact that Estelle was born with only one wing, gave rise to the rumor that she was a bastard. But in reality, both Estelle’s mother and the Count himself insisted that Estelle was their biological daughter.

As irrefutable proof, Estelle’s mother had obtained the Siren’s Mirror long before Estelle was born. And ever since Estelle’s mother put on the Siren’s Mirror, she was no longer troubled by the curse. The only thing that was a pity was that Estelle’s mother passed away from a long-accumulated chronic illness before Estelle had a chance to grow up.

While maintaining her [Flight], Fia listened to Estelle recount her past. Because flying too fast would make it difficult for Estelle to breathe, Fia had no choice but to slow down, even though she wanted to get to Oro City as soon as possible.