Volume 1, Chapter 30 – The Tower of Alexia

It was the evening of the third day since seeing Owen off.

Yisi was strolling through the front garden with Camilla. The weather was pleasant, and as night fell, Yisi could clearly see the distant blue pillar of light connecting heaven and earth. Previously, Yisi had thought it was a unique meteorological phenomenon of this world, but after learning about the continent’s history, strange speculations began to arise.

“That’s the Tower of Alexia, isn’t it? I didn’t expect it to be visible from so far away.”

“The reason the Niru Diocese can remain independent within the Kingdom of Hels is precisely because it is protected by the Tower of Alexia. However, the Niru Diocese’s Tower of Alexia is the smallest of them all. Compared to the one you are about to inherit in the Pescia Territory, it’s hardly worth mentioning.”

“No… that’s not what I meant.”

Yisi muttered under her breath, too quietly for Camilla to hear. What she marveled at was the tower’s height, which exceeded a thousand meters. On Earth, the only comparable structure she could think of was the mythical Tower of Babel. Yet in this world, there were twenty-seven such wonders, all known as the Towers of Alexia.

No one knew where the Towers of Alexia came from or who created them. According to the continental history Yisi had read, the towers first appeared a thousand years ago, during a time when humanity faced extinction.

Under the orders of the first Blood Queen, Alvier I, the united vampire clans launched a full-scale war against humanity. In less than five years, they crushed most human nations. Over the next twenty years, the retreating humans were pushed to a corner of the continent. The territory they once occupied, which had spanned two-thirds of the land, dwindled to just one-sixth. On the brink of annihilation, the fragmented human nations finally formed an alliance to resist the vampires.

Even so, the war only shifted from a one-sided slaughter to a slow, grinding erosion by the vampires.

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Then came the Towers of Alexia.

Twenty-seven towers suddenly appeared across the continent a millennium ago. At first, people regarded them as monsters and dared not approach. It wasn’t until an adventurer climbed to the top of one and uncovered its secrets that humanity realized the tide of war could turn.

The Towers of Alexia could absorb magic from the earth’s ley lines and use it for their own purposes. Those who mastered a tower could wield large-scale magic, even altering the weather at will.

The human alliance immediately seized control of all accessible towers and used them to transform the climate into relentless sunlight. Since only purebloods and high-ranking vampires were immune to sunlight, the lower-ranked vampires—who formed the bulk of the forces—would burn to death before even reaching the battlefield. From then on, the scales of war began to tip in humanity’s favor.

Adding to the vampires’ woes, the demon clans emerged to wreak havoc in their rear. Queen Alvier I had no choice but to divert troops to defend her territory. After nearly a century of conflict, the world settled into its current balance: vampires now held half the continent, while humans claimed a quarter.

Because both sides controlled some of the Towers of Alexia, any aggressor would suffer heavy losses without being able to breach the enemy’s cities. This stalemate had kept vampires and humans from open warfare for the past century.

“Sometimes I feel like the Towers of Alexia are a precursor to an alien invasion.”

“Ali…ens?”

Camilla tilted her head slightly, her expression one of utter confusion.

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Yisi quickly clarified.

“Ah, I just mean the towers might not be as benevolent as they seem.”

“In the past, many on the continent believed the Towers of Alexia were evil, claiming they were traps set by other lands. But after a thousand years, such theories have been debunked.”

“True enough.”

The reason Count Pescia hadn’t sent an overwhelming force was likely because the Niru Diocese was protected by a Tower of Alexia. Yisi yawned. She was probably just overthinking things, influenced by too many movies.

A brief silence fell over their stroll. Yisi glanced at Camilla, who walked half a step behind her. The latter’s delicate features always made Yisi want to steal another look. Before her transmigration, she would never have imagined being able to speak with a golden-haired, crimson-eyed beauty like this—let alone have her address her as “Onee-sama.”

“Onee-sama, is there something on my face?”

“Ah, no, nothing. I just noticed that you’re wearing the accessory.”

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Yisi awkwardly averted her gaze. The accessory in question was Camilla’s white bat-shaped hairpin. Yesterday, while passing a stall in the shopping district, a sudden surge of girlishness had overwhelmed Yisi’s male sensibilities, compelling her to pick out some hair ornaments.

Naturally, she’d dragged Camilla into the selection process. However, Camilla had no concept of “preference” or “liking” and even felt that Yisi shouldn’t waste gifts on someone as lowly as her. Left with no choice, Yisi had picked out a matching pair of bat-shaped hairpins—identical in design but differing in color.

Camilla’s was white, while Yisi’s was black.

“If Onee-sama dislikes it, I’ll remove it.”

Her tone held neither shyness nor hesitation, just the same emotionless voice as always. Camilla reached up to take off the hairpin, but Yisi stopped her.

“No, it’s not like that. I was just curious. No need to take it off.”

Yisi hadn’t ordered Camilla to wear it, yet she had chosen to do so anyway. It was a small but positive change, even if it might have been unintentional.

She stole another glance at Camilla. Today, the latter wasn’t wearing her usual cold-shouldered black gown but instead a warm-looking white dress, softening her aristocratic elegance into something more approachable.

A shame, really. Despite her flawless appearance, her unchanging, expressionless face made her seem less endearing.

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Though being called “Onee-sama” in that tone was… kind of adorable.

Yisi couldn’t help but sigh.

“Haaah.”

“Does Onee-sama have something on her mind?”

Camilla’s question made Yisi tilt her head slightly. Perhaps it was her imagination, but Camilla had been speaking more lately.

“It’s nothing serious. It’s just that the blood Nix collected varies in quality. Sometimes, none of it tastes particularly good.”

Regarding blood quality, Yisi had recently noticed something interesting. For example, blood from the same person could taste completely different to two different vampires. In other words, each vampire perceived blood differently. Some blood that Yisi found unpalatable might be deemed delicious by the vampire servants or blood slaves in the mansion.

This realization had finally helped Yisi understand why the Count’s eldest daughter only fed on women. For this body, male blood universally carried a bitter taste. While a small number of female blood samples also had a slight bitterness, they were the exception—a conclusion drawn from repeated experimentation. So far, Yisi had yet to encounter any male blood that lacked that bitter edge.

“Can’t you draw blood from the blood slaves or servants in the mansion?”