Alexei’s stare lingered on the wooden box for several seconds... then, he looked over at Tyvan.

Tyvan either wasn’t paying attention or was purposely ignoring him. Not surprising.

So... Alexei looked over to Shay.

But she didn’t have any idea what was going on, either!

“O-open it?”

Ivy rolled her eyes.

Shay cleared her throat. “Ahem. You should open it.”

Alexei gave her a weak smile before opening the box.

Inside was a pink, circular sphere that gave off a pleasant, fruity scent-- even from all the way across the table.

It was... a pill?

A martial artist style pill? But it wasn’t like the horrible-smelling Chi Burst Pill made by the Arrow Group.

Alexei held it up to examine it: a perfect sphere, glossy, almost translucent, and... cute? Shay didn’t know how a simple geometric shape could look cute, but it was. That was an even better indicator of its high grade than its sweet and floral scent! --going by her xianxia fics, anyway.

“The pill’s main ingredient is a rare fruit cultivated by ❴The Kingdom❵’s horticulturist,” Tyvan explained. “It was designed for use by someone of your unique biology.”

(Ooh. He was talking about Heidi. That was neat.)

“Hmph. My unique biology,” Alexei let out a little laugh, shaking his head. “My physical body may be different from that of a common mortal’s, but it remains held together by hopes and dreams of the future.”

“It’s held together by mana,” Tyvan replied. “❴The Towers❵ released an interesting, if misguided, thesis on the topic one or three years prior.”

“A dreadful notion that lacks both nuance and a sense of romance,” Alexei frowned.

“Romance and honor,” Tyvan returned. “Arbitrary concepts congruent to self-imposed weaknesses.”

“Yet such rhetoric marks our shared humanity from the rabble and rabid~”

They glared at each other... maybe? Alexei’s kindness, (if she could call it that,) had left his eyes.

And Tyvan...

Tyvan’s expression didn’t change in any way Shay could tell. Maybe he was always ready to fight?

“Guys?” she said.

“Gentlemen,” Ivy said-- louder and more certain.

Tyvan went back to eating as if the glaring match never started. That left Alexei staring at him awkwardly until he looked back down at the pill in his hand.

He popped it into his mouth, swallowing it with a mouthful of water. Then, he closed his eyes... and... breathed in.

After a few seconds, he furrowed his brows, but he opened his eyes with renewed interest. He picked up his fork, speared a crispy potato... and he brought that to his nose.

A grown adult sniffing a potato was not cute. Or something about the way he did it made it weird.

Alexei took a bite, chewing cautiously.

Then he... visibly relaxed.

It was... a happy-to-eat face. Shay looked over at Tyvan and his expression was surprisingly similar.

“Lady Voss,” Alexei said, “What... has happened to me? The smell... it’s no longer overpowering.”

Ivy gestured over to Tyvan.

Tyvan dabbed at the corners of his mouth with his table napkin.

“Over the period of... two or three meals by civilian standards,” he said, “you’ll be able to consume and process common fare-- so to speak. And, naturally, it will pass as well. I advise you to return to your room before then.”

“This...” Alexei said... “This is nothing short of amazing! Tyvan-- err... Lord Valorum, Lady Voss, the magic!! It’s so-- are you... is it possible for you to produce this pill to--”

“❴The Kingdom❵ lacks the personnel to manufacture these pills on a commercial scale,” Tyvan said.

Alexei winced, his disappointment hitting him like a punch.

“But, this pill... it could change everything. The Hunger. The Hunt.”

Shay wanted to say something on Alexei’s behalf. His excitement! His happy-to-eat face! Tyvan should have understood.

“Alexei,” Ivy said, “You’re afforded this privilege because you are currently a guest of Elysium.”

That...

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

Shay understood what Ivy left unstated.

It was obvious how the pill she made was super-valuable for a vampire like Alexei. And there were probably tens (maybe hundreds) of vampires in Archangel whose lives it could change.

But if ❴The Kingdom❵ started selling pills, that could possibly be seen as them breaking their neutrality. Everyone would probably think they were in support of Alexei.

“But vampires prey on humans to survive!” Shay blurted out, “If we start making that pill, wouldn’t-- wouldn’t that be better for everyone, overall?”

“Even if we had the personnel,” Tyvan said, “considering the scarcity of the resources required, it would remain a luxury product.”

“That’s perfect!” Alexei said, “I’d be more than satisfied with--”

“ ❴The Kingdom❵ is not going to play into your political manoeuvrings, Alexei,” Tyvan said.

Shay found it a little sad that Tyvan cut off everything Alexei said. Alexei seemed like he might have been important in his own circle, but he was less than dirt at Tyvan’s dinner table.

“I... am a prince bereft of a kingdom,” Alexei bemoaned.

He placed his left palm over his heart. Holding his right arm up, he rolled his hand out melodramatically.

“By the insidious machinations of the heartless Marquess, I have been abandoned by my people-- nigh forgotten!! WOE IS ME!!”

“Lord Protector,” Ivy said, looking at Tyvan, “There’s a subtle flavor in the green bean salad I find hard to place.”

“I used a hearty dash of mustard powder,” he said.

“Hm. I like it.”

“I love the ribs!” Shay added. “It melts in your mouth-- but it doesn’t... feel heavy, if that makes sense?”

“That is wonderful to hear,” Tyvan said with a soft smile. “I was worried I hadn’t added enough acid to the braise.”

Mmmmm. Yup. That’s what she came for. Tyvan’s smile.

“I agree,” Ivy said.

Bonus points!

Alexei’s stomach started rumbling shortly after that. He excused himself, leaving Shay’s imagination to wonder how long it’d been since he last used a toilet.

He didn’t look much older than Tyvan or Ivy... but that wasn’t anything to go by. According to vampire lore, they didn’t age after they were turned.

His passing, as Tyvan artfully described it, wasn’t going to be pleasant.

So with Alexei gone, Shay felt it was okay to ask certain questions.

“Um. Who is... The Marquess?”

“It matters not,” Tyvan said.

“He has no idea,” Ivy smirked. “I don’t either. The vampire clans go through leaders like Tyvan goes through ties.”

“I sense I’m being mocked,” Tyvan said. “Shay, am I being mocked?”

“Don’t baby him, Shay,” Ivy winked. “He’s got to figure out that sort of thing on his own.”

Shay pursed her lips, not quite sure what to say. She was trying to get points with Ivy, but-- but it was Tyvan!

“I... I like his ties, though?”

“Thank you,” he said. “But I noticed your answer dodges my earlier question.”

Rats! He noticed! AND he called her out on it!

“Don’t worry about Alexei,” Ivy assured her. “Bickering, feuds, and power struggles happen all the time amongst his people. He’ll recover.”

Shay looked down at her nearly finished plate.

“Is what’s happening now... worse than usual?”

“Meh.” Ivy returned a casual shrug-- like it had nothing to do with her.

“I’m unfamiliar with any precedents set in Archangel,” Tyvan said, “but I trust in The Masquerade. Eventually, the clans will return to discrete operations.”

“...When I left earlier,” Shay said, “I went to check on my dad. He’s a police officer... and he had a run-in with some vampires.”

“Concerning,” Tyvan said. “I assume you resolved the situation.”

“Y-yeah. Thankfully, I had Raia with me,” she said. Her shoulders rolled up as a shiver tingled her spine. If she and Raia had been even a minute slower--

Bad thoughts. Bad hypotheticals. Scary stuff.

“Won’t this kind of thing keep happening, though? Until... we can stop The Marquess or whoever?”

“That is... unfortunately, beyond our purview,” Tyvan said.

“But isn’t that what we do?” Shay frowned, “We’re called ❴The Kingdom❵. Shouldn’t we do something about the... unrest? Like, we can, right?”

“We have a certain responsibility to keep the relative peace,” Tyvan said-- actually putting down his utensils for the first time during the meal. “Thus far, the infighting within the ❴Eminence❵ faction is reasonably self-contained. We, ❴The Kingdom❵, need greater justification to intervene.”

“Tyvan, people are getting murdered in their homes!”

“Erm...” Tyvan hesitated before leaning forward. “Anyone we know?”

“TY-vaN~!”

Ivy calmly and deliberately picked up her glass of water. She took a graceful sip.

It was weird how someone could do something so... normal, but still command everyone’s attention.

“And how would you resolve the situation?”

Shay wiggled her fingers-- “Well, uh...”

“Do you wanna round up all the vampires, tear off the roofs of all their houses, and put a dozen bullets in everyone who doesn’t want to play nice?”

“Well-- no! But...”

“But what?” Ivy frowned, “Why wouldn’t you?”

Shay gulped. “That’s... taking away their rights-- that’s not a middle-ground. It’s... it’d just be an abuse of power.”

Ivy tilted her chin up. And... she closed her eyes, giving a single nod.

That was good! That was good, right?

“Despite our name,” Ivy said-- “which I didn’t choose, by the way... ❴The Kingdom❵ doesn’t reign over the other factions. We won’t step in unless there’s a risk of a multi-faction conflict. Like-- it’s the numbers that matter.”