The silence of the forest was absolute, broken only by the rustling of leaves stirred by the wind.
Aria, who had just regained consciousness, noticed she was kneeling on the ground with a rough, foul-smelling bag covering her head.
The ground beneath her was damp, covered in soil and dry leaves. All around, the breeze carried a subtle scent of wet wood. She had no idea how long she’d been there or who had brought her, but it was clear she wasn’t at Hugo’s mansion or any other familiar place.
Then, a childish voice—with a sharp, mocking edge—cut through the stillness.
"Well, are you ready to talk?"
Immediately, Aria felt the bag being removed from her head, allowing her to see where she was.
She didn’t answer right away. Instead, she took a few seconds to assess her surroundings.
Judging by the chilly air and the absence of any structures nearby, Aria deduced that she was in a forest likely far removed from civilization.
The voice behind her grew impatient.
"Come on, don’t play dumb," it insisted with a hint of irritation. "How about, instead of wasting my time, you tell me what I want to know?"
'What do you want to know?' Aria wondered, confused—after all, no one had actually asked her anything.
Calmly, Aria tilted her head slightly.
"What do you want?" she asked softly.
The voice let out a slight sigh.
"Me? Well... I want a lot of things, really... but right now, I want to kill you."
Aria fell silent as she tried to make sense of that declaration, since if that truly were the intent...
Several seconds passed without a word from her. Then, her captor spoke again.
"Well... aren’t you going to say anything?" the voice asked, a slight laugh lacing its tone. "I was expecting you to at least beg for your life, or cry, or something."
"If you really wanted to kill me, I’d already be dead," Aria replied, her tone remaining completely unruffled.
A brief silence ensued between them. Then, a click of the tongue broke the stillness.
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"Heh. Well, you're a strange little girl," the voice remarked, a mix of disbelief and amusement in its tone.
"Do you know who I am?" Aria asked, ignoring the comment.
"I'm the one who asks the questions around here," the voice shot back immediately.
Aria’s question had been rather bold—but she needed to confirm something.
'It seems my captor is rather impulsive…' Aria concluded silently as she nodded.
For a short moment, her captor seemed to size her up. Then, she asked another question.
"Are you hiding your mana?"
"My body isn’t capable of handling mana."
"So you’re useless, incapable of defending yourself on your own?"
"Yes."
The answer came immediately, devoid of any emotion.
This response appeared to unsettle the voice slightly—perhaps it had expected a different reaction.
"Hmm… you're so boring," it murmured, then asked with curiosity, "Why don't you turn around?"
"Normally, when someone is kidnapped, the captor doesn’t want you to see their face."
The voice laughed heartily, as if it had just heard an excellent joke.
"Hahaha... Well, that does make sense. But..."
Suddenly, Aria felt small, cold hands grab her head and twist it abruptly.
It wasn’t a violent move, but it was certainly sudden.
"That logic only applies to weak humans," the girl said with a smile full of mischief.
Aria watched her silently, processing the information.
Before her stood a girl with a youthful appearance—perhaps of the same apparent age as Aria. She had straight, dark hair that fell to her shoulders, catching a slight reddish tint when the light hit it.
Her eyes were a deep scarlet, glowing with a supernatural gleam. Her skin, pale as the moon, contrasted strikingly with her dark attire—clothes that looked both light and elegantly crafted.
But what was most striking of all was the energy she radiated.
An aura of a powerful, predatory presence.
There was no doubt about what she was.
She was even smiling openly, revealing her small fangs.
'She's a vampire,' Aria thought immediately.
Instead of frightening Aria as such a revelation might have before, knowing this brought her a great sense of relief.
If her chances of dying had once been around 90%, they had now plummeted to a mere 1%—thanks to an explanation Esmeria had given her before she and Elizabeth completely withdrew from Hugo’s mansion.
The vampire squinted with interest.
"Well, you’re not even surprised."
Aria said nothing. She simply stared back with her unchanging expression.
The girl tilted her head, as if trying to decipher something in Aria’s face.
"You're a really strange human..."
Aria didn’t react to the comment. Instead, with a smooth, unhurried motion, she stood up.
The vampire frowned.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm going back to the mansion."
For a moment, the vampire fell silent. Then, she burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! How funny. You really are peculiar—just as the rumors said."
Her laugh wasn’t mocking so much as a genuine mix of amusement and surprise.
'So there are already other vampires who know about me... Esmeria was right,' Aria concluded as she watched the vampire.
Still wearing a slight smile, the girl crossed her arms and fixed her gaze on Aria, attempting to intimidate her once more.
"You know, you’ve intrigued me. Maybe I should make you mine."
"Enough games," Aria replied immediately, wiping the smile off the vampire’s face. "Since you brought me here, you should at least take me back to the mansion."
The vampire’s expression changed completely; she now looked annoyed.
"Hey, hey... have you lost your mind? Why would someone like me listen to you?"
"Because it’s not a request. It’s an order."