Volume 2, Chapter 1 – Vivian Valentine

【To the Sovereign of Blood and Thorns, Lady Valentine:】

【I hope that when this letter reaches you, your territory remains as steeped in the scent of blood as ever.】

【I am writing this letter not to exchange pleasantries, but in accordance with Article 666 of the Lilith School Talent Management Regulations – ‘To prevent SSS+ talents from becoming runaway beasts and repeating the tragedy of a century ago, for any high-risk individual whose lineage has been definitively traced, the family from which that bloodline originates bears an inescapable legal obligation to recognize and restrain them.’】

【Lady Valentine, I do not care how many amorous messes you or your sisters have left behind outside the family, nor do I care about your family’s internal rules. However, when the Eye of the Abyss was used to trace the bloodline of this year’s freshman, Stella Darkfallen, certain extremely unpleasant events occurred that forced me to work additional overtime.】

【This freshman’s talent has currently been assessed at SSS+, while the Eye of the Abyss’s examination confirmed that the student possesses traits of the Valentine family’s direct bloodline, with her rank assessed as Daywalker.】

【Lady Valentine, since she is not some rootless weed but rather your offspring who was left outside the family, then according to the regulations, I must cease the process of collaring her and instead require your family to fulfill its obligations of recognition and supervision.】

【Accordingly, I hereby formally demand that you pay for the damage this freshman has caused to our school’s public property. Enclosed with this letter are compensation invoices for the Eye of the Abyss and the Mirror of Desire, calculated according to their depreciated value. Please pay the full amount within three Demon Realm days and dispatch someone to recognize and retrieve your offspring as soon as possible.】

【In addition, as a member of the school board, you are already two months overdue on this year’s school development fund. Please settle it together with the late fees. After all, even for a family as noble as yours, refusing to pay one’s debts is hardly dignified, is it?】

【May Eternal Night endure.】

【—Principal Gehenna Jelansika, Thirteenth National Succubus School of the Abyss】

Eternal Night Corridor, the Valentine residence, one of the oldest territories in the Abyss.

Beyond the window hung a blood moon beneath a sky full of stars. Vivian Valentine leaned elegantly against a high-backed chair carved from obsidian, the fingers of her black lace gloves slowly relaxing.

Swish.

The urgent official letter from Lilith School fluttered down onto the dark red tabletop.

“Heh… Gehenna,” Vivian chuckled softly. “Shorty is still the same as ever. No matter what she’s doing, she never forgets to slip a debt collection invoice into her letters.”

For the Valentine family, illegitimate offspring left outside the family were hardly unusual.

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Long lives and unrestrained desires were bound to leave behind a few traces. Under ordinary circumstances, Vivian’s attitude toward such weeds was indifference, or even disgust.

No matter where one went, illegitimate children had neither rights nor dignity to speak of.

But the words SSS+ were far too interesting, even to her, one of the Seven Electors.

“Daywalker…” Vivian tapped her fingers against the tabletop. Once, twice.

“A rank I’ve never heard of before. Taken literally, it sounds rather interesting. Gehenna shouldn’t have deliberately invented an excuse just to pressure me into paying the fund.”

“Interesting.”

A hint of amusement entered Vivian’s gaze as she turned toward the elderly butler waiting at her side.

“Sebas, Stella Darkfallen… haven’t I heard that name somewhere before?”

The old butler bowed deeply.

“Yes, Family Head. It was in the news sent back several days ago. Miss Cheryl was defeated by this… this student who was originally believed to be a lowly demon.”

“Ah, yes. I remember now.”

Vivian narrowed her eyes slightly.

Just one day earlier, she had been furious over that very matter.

The legitimate heir of the mighty Valentine family had actually lost to an obscure lower-class demon. How could such a thing possibly happen? It was practically the same as throwing the family’s honor onto the ground and trampling all over it.

It had to be a scheme devised by another family, using underhanded methods that could never be brought into the light.

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To wash away that humiliation, she had already issued a secret order to dispatch the family’s most elite deathsworn, the Blackthorn Guard, to the school and quietly dispose of the student named Stella without anyone being the wiser, thereby serving as a warning to the other families.

Vivian snapped her fingers.

“Have someone notify the Blackthorn Guard that the execution mission is canceled. Change it to covert protection and surveillance.”

“Hmm… make sure they’re quick about it. I don’t want to see another joke like last time, when the recall order and the target’s head arrived at the same time.”

“This old servant understands.”

The old butler inclined his head slightly.

“There’s one more thing…” Vivian gazed thoughtfully out the window as a faint trace of moonlight fell into her deep crimson eyes. “Since Valentine blood flows through her veins, and she even possesses talent that Cheryl cannot hope to match, then her victory is not a humiliation. It is… proof of superiority.”

“Only my offspring could possibly possess talent like that. It’s just… who did I mate with to give birth to her?”

Vivian could not quite remember.

Who hadn’t made mistakes when they were young? And she had certainly had rather a lot of women.

“Family Head, you mean…” the butler asked cautiously.

“Pay the amount on the invoice in full. A little money like that is nothing more than a drop in the ocean to the Valentine family.”

Vivian rose and walked toward the enormous floor-to-ceiling window.

Her smile gradually widened, revealing sharp, snow-white fangs.

“Two outstanding daughters, and one perfect heir.”

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“Sebas, go prepare the site for the Laxia Ritual.”

The instant he heard those words, the old butler froze.

The Laxia Ritual.

A tradition known to every member of the Valentine family.

Ancient and bloody.

The heirs would be thrown into a sealed dueling space, and only one would be allowed to walk out alive. Through a secret art, the victor would then completely devour the loser’s blood, talent, and magical power circuits, completing the ultimate ascension.

“But, Family Head…” the butler hesitated. “The journey from Eternal Night Corridor to Lilith School is a long one. Even aboard the fastest nightmare carriage, it would still take several days. And with the Nexus Council meeting about to convene, the struggle for this year’s regency over the vacant throne has already reached a fever pitch. As an Elector holding the crucial deciding vote, you must attend. I’m afraid you won’t be able to leave for the time being…”

“No matter. There’s no need to hurry. We can wait a little longer.”

Vivian was in no rush.

Bloodlines were like fine wine. The longer they matured, the sweeter they became.

Besides…

Who knew what surprises the future might bring her?

“I’m really looking forward to it. I’m already getting a little impatient to see what she actually looks like…”

Vivian turned around and picked up the letter from the table again, gently running her fingers over the unfamiliar name written upon it.

“Stella Darkfallen…”

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She murmured the name softly.

“No.”

“Stella Valentine.”

“My… hmph, daughter.”

Translator Note

Uwaahh! another yuri!!

“She had certainly had rather a lot of women.”

So that means the succubus is flirting with women instead of men?

Also, the student girl who used drugs in the previous volume… her lover was a woman too, right?

Maybe there’s still a chance of yuri for Stella? If yes, with who…? For now I still can’t think of anyone that can be paired with her…

So I still can’t add yuri genre for the novel until we can confirm Stella to have a potential partner…

Anyway, Volume 2: Apprentice of the Night Queen, starts here!!