Volume 1, Chapter 44 – Prelude to Collapse

Soon, Yisi and Camilla returned to the mansion.

Contrary to expectations, although the maids of the mansion were in complete chaos, the paladins didn’t seem to care much about Yisi and Camilla’s disappearance. Upon discovering that Yisi had already returned to the mansion, they merely smiled and said, “Next time you go far, remember to let us know,” before riding off to report to Vice Archbishop Owen, who was still frantically searching for them.

Yisi, of course, was more than happy with this outcome. She ordered the servants to prepare breakfast, changed into a clean dress, and headed straight to the front courtyard to enjoy the morning sun. The reason the Pescia territory was perpetually shrouded in clouds was not only due to its proximity to the far north, where cold air easily swept south, but also because of the influence of the Alexia Tower. To allow lower-ranking vampires to go out during the day, Count Pescia had used the Alexia Tower to alter the weather, ensuring it remained overcast year-round.

From a human perspective, however, it was only natural to keep the weather sunny all the time.

Bathed in sunlight, the front courtyard—planted with low shrubs and flowers, and furnished with long stone benches, stone tables, and flagstone paths—was exceptionally quiet.

“No wonder the Count’s eldest daughter has such pale skin—she never gets any sun. Wait, if I keep basking like this, will I get tanned…?” Yisi glanced up at the sun as she sat on the stone bench. The late autumn sun offered only a faint warmth. “This level of sunlight should be fine, right?”

Though she still held onto her past values, that didn’t stop Yisi from shaping herself to fit her own preferences. When it came to skin tone, rather than the healthy, rosy complexion of ordinary people, Yisi preferred something more striking—like a deathly pale or faint purple hue, which carried an indescribable allure.

“Speaking of which, this world probably has monster girls, right…? Ahh, I feel so fired up.”

If given the choice between a human and a monster girl with the same appearance, Yisi would undoubtedly choose the monster girl without hesitation. Yes, Yisi had a terrible preference for non-human girls.

“But can you drink a monster girl’s blood? According to those blood slaves, when they couldn’t get fresh blood, they’d resort to animal blood—sometimes even rats. So, as long as it’s blood, it should work, right? Though judging by their expressions, animal blood must taste awful.”

“Onee-sama, your breakfast is ready.”

“I’ll be right—huh?”

Just as Yisi turned her head, Camilla—wearing thick gloves and an apron—approached, carrying a square metal tray. Behind her trailed two blood-slave maids, who, unable to endure sunlight, held parasols and looked frantic, as if they wanted to snatch the tray from Camilla’s hands.

Confused, Yisi asked, “What’s going on?”

“L-Lady Pescia, the young mistress, insisted on preparing breakfast herself. We couldn’t stop her no matter what!”

One of the maids spoke with a near-tearful expression, desperate to explain.

Ignoring the maids’ anxiety, Camilla’s tone carried a distinctly human-like quality.

“I told you to leave it to me. Just stand aside.”

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“But you mistook sugar for salt.”

“And you added your own blood to it.”

“…”

Yisi, who had been about to dismiss the two maids, immediately shut her mouth. With a clank, the metal tray was placed on the stone table, allowing Yisi to see the full spread of breakfast—white bread and milk, just like usual, with the only difference being a suspicious, paste-like substance. Yisi guessed it was supposed to be porridge, but thanks to Camilla adding blood, it had turned into a dark red monstrosity straight out of a nightmare.

Could this even be considered food? No, more importantly—is it even edible?

Swallowing hard in fear, Yisi tentatively looked at Camilla. For some reason, she got the impression that Camilla was radiating pure joy.

“Camilla… are you actually bad at cooking?”

“I learned basic survival skills. It won’t give you diarrhea.”

Well, that confirms she never properly learned to cook.

Unable to hear Yisi’s inner thoughts, Camilla sat across from her, skipping the bread and milk and going straight for the despair-inducing dark cuisine. She picked up the bowl, scooped a spoonful of the sticky substance, blew on it lightly, and then held it out to Yisi.

Naturally, Yisi didn’t open her mouth.

Camilla blinked, then, as if remembering something, quickly added,

“Onee-sama, ‘Aaaah—’.”

“N-No… I’m not a child.”

Is she copying what I did yesterday?

Yisi didn’t know what to say. Leaving aside the fact that the dish was inedible, even if it were delicious, she couldn’t just open her mouth and let herself be fed in front of the maids. Putting aside the persona of the Count’s eldest daughter, her own sense of shame was a major obstacle.

Dodging Camilla’s attempt to feed her, Yisi subtly glanced at the two maids standing nearby—they looked utterly terrified, as if afraid she would explode in anger.

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Normally, anyone would be angry in this situation… But if I lose my temper here, it’ll crush Camilla’s newfound initiative. She probably doesn’t even realize she’s acting beyond orders yet.

Just as Yisi was caught in this dilemma, a third party interrupted the standoff.

Owen, wearing his white priest’s hat, hurried over to Yisi before freezing at the sight of Camilla’s outstretched spoon. After a moment of stunned silence, he forced a smile that looked like he was about to cry.

“Phew—Lady Pescia, where did you run off to this time? Yesterday, a divine miracle suddenly appeared in Niru City. I thought you might have been caught up in it.”

“A divine miracle? What miracle?” Yisi smoothly sidestepped the question, first pressing a hand down to signal Camilla to lower the spoon before continuing, “You mean those demons?”

“They were indeed related to demons, but for the demons, it must have been divine retribution! Praise the Goddess—this is the first time in my life I’ve witnessed the wrath of the Goddess Ymir with my own eyes.” Here, Owen suddenly paused, giving Yisi a look as if she were an idiot. “It was a holy light that enveloped the entire city. Were you underground at the time, Lady Pescia? From what I heard, everyone in the city fell to their knees before the Goddess Ymir. There’s no way you wouldn’t have noticed.”

Wait, a holy light that covered the whole city?

Yisi raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

“You mean that golden magic circle spinning in the sky? The one that shot down pillars of light to burn the demons?”

“Yes, that’s the one! But it wasn’t just a ‘golden magic circle’ or ‘pillars of light.’ To be precise, it was the Goddess Ymir protecting her faithful by purging the filth with sacred judgment.”

…So it was just [Holy Light Array.]

Yisi rolled her eyes. If the church’s believers knew they were worshipping a vampire, it would probably shake their faith to the core. She struggled to maintain her cold expression, suppressing the urge to tease.

Yet Owen’s impassioned speech continued.

“The Paladin Commander has finally left his home. Yesterday, the number of people coming to the temple to receive sacred relics was ten times—no, a hundred times—the usual amount! Even now, the temple’s entrance is packed to the brim. It’s only a matter of time before people from the neighboring Kingdom of Hels come to Niru City to register as believers. If the Archbishop could see this, he’d be overjoyed.”

Alright, alright, enough with the speech. You’re practically spitting everywhere.

Yisi glanced at Camilla, who was staring at Owen with undisguised disgust while carefully moving the tray farther away.

Fortunately, Owen’s monologue soon turned into a self-absorbed monologue, allowing Yisi, Camilla, and the two maids to ignore him entirely.

Under Camilla’s insistence, Yisi finally relented, slowly opening her mouth to let Camilla feed her the spoonful.

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It’s way too sweet.

Though the blood wasn’t as overpowering as it looked, the sheer amount of sugar made Yisi want to spit out the red porridge immediately.

“Cough—Camilla, how much sugar did you add?”

“One jar?”

“…”

Yisi turned her gaze to the two former blood-slave maids, who trembled under her stare.

“W-We tried to stop her…”

Looks like I’ll have to save myself. From now on, Camilla is never allowed in the kitchen.

Yisi attempted to redirect the focus to the bread and milk.

“Camilla, how about some bread instead? I’m not in the mood for this today.”

“If that is Onee-sama’s command…”

Though she didn’t say it aloud, a flicker of disappointment crossed Camilla’s face, making Yisi nearly blurt out, “Fine, I’ll eat all of Camilla’s cooking!”

Of course, for the sake of her own life, she restrained herself.

Once the food switched to bread, Yisi ate much faster. Though being fed by Camilla under the maids’ watchful eyes filled her with indescribable embarrassment, there were less than five days left until the hostage exchange. Compared to a momentary collapse in character, Camilla’s feelings were far more important. Besides, Camilla was her nominal younger sister—the second daughter of House Pescia. To most people, this was just a display of sisterly affection.

Although I myself feel very ashamed.

At some point, Owen snapped out of his excitement, raising an eyebrow as he watched Camilla hold up a crescent-shaped piece of bread that Yisi had bitten into. His eyes were full of bewilderment.

“Ahem… Sorry to interrupt your sisterly bonding, but I didn’t realize Lady Pescia was so fond of her sister?”

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“Huh?”

“Ah.”

The first sound came from Yisi; the second, a dazed realization, came from Camilla. Like someone abruptly awakened from a beautiful dream, Camilla jerked her hand back as if burned, dropping the bread onto the table.

One of the blood-slave maids chimed in.

“…Not just the young lady, but the second young lady is acting differently too. She never used to step into the kitchen—always seemed unapproachable. Not like now, where she’s actively preparing breakfast for the young lady.”

“Heh, it seems life in the human world has influenced Lady Pescia. This is proof of the Goddess Ymir’s grace. Now that I’ve confirmed Lady Pescia wasn’t affected by the divine punishment, I can rest easy. There are only five days left until the exchange. When the time comes, Lady Pescia will return to her own territory. I’ll take my leave now.”

“Mm.”

Yisi didn’t watch Owen leave, instead turning her worried gaze to Camilla, who had lowered her head deeply. Ever since the maid’s comment, Camilla seemed deeply shaken, lips pressed tightly together, her earlier cheerfulness completely gone. Yisi could practically feel the oppressive weight of gathering storm clouds.

“Camilla, what’s wrong?”

“…I’ve done many things without orders. I apologize, Onee-sama. It seems there’s something wrong with me…”

“No, no, there’s nothing wrong at all. I like Camilla just the way she is now.”

A sudden chill ran down Yisi’s spine, prompting her to correct herself hastily.

But Camilla only stood up, her voice heavy with exhaustion.

“Onee-sama, please give me some time. I need to rest.”

Unable to think of anything else to say, Yisi exhaled after a long silence, recognizing the change in Camilla.

“…Alright. Call me if you need anything.”

“Mm…”

Without another word, Camilla walked straight back to the mansion’s main building.