In the bell tower, in Lily's room, shortly after her return to the city…

Lily slips on her nightgown, and crawls into her bed. She covers herself with the blanket, getting comfortable, and closes her eyes. Not having to breathe, she becomes entirely still, like an abandoned and out-of-place piece of a dollhouse.

A pile of ashes. Confusion. A stake on fire in a pile of burning ashes. Worry. Frightened faces. Eyes of terror. Anxiety. A burning torch. Pitchforks. Confusion. Humans. Village homes. Pitchforks. Terrified eyes. Disbelief. Fear. Terror. Indignation. Outrage. Anger.

Anger. Anger. Anger. Anger. Anger. A terrified face. Red. A head. A man. A man. A man. A woman. A man. Pleasant warmth on hands. A man's back. A man with a torch. Eyes of terror. A searing pain in hand. Hatred. Liquid flowing down hands. Burning village homes.

Something burning. Fleshy bits. An itching on a cheek. An arm. Black smoke. A dirt road. An itching on a cheek. Blood. Sooty clawed fingers. The dirt road. The sky. Empty. Void.

Lily opens her eyes with a displeased groan, and rubs her face with her clawed hand. Frowning, with her mouth slightly scrunched to the side, she flings the blanket off of herself and stands up from her bed.

「No wonder I can't fall asleep…」

She walks up to the tall, but narrow window, and looks up at the moon. The faint, but noticeable hue of the magic lamps on the streets, flooding the city with their own light throughout the night, masked this fact. But now that she's out of it, above them, it becomes apparent and obvious.

「…Another blood moon, huh?…」

Lily quietly remarks, with a light, frustrated sigh. The moon is giving off a pink light, appearing ever-so-slightly red and crescent-shaped. She takes her neatly-folded, ornate gothic dress in hands, and returns behind the dressing screen.

「No sense trying to force it, then… Maybe after I attend to some matters, first…」

She grumbles in resignation as she slips her twin-tailed golden head through the dress collar, and tightens it.

As soon as she's done redressing, she forcefully shoves the empty chest of drawers off the hatch to the lower floors, and swings it open. Lily descends, bearing a sour expression on her face…

…

The next morning, in Straf's room…

Laying on his side, Straf opens his eyes. He throws his blanket off of himself, and sits up on the side of the bed. With a satisfied grunt, he stretches a little.

「Hnhg… Ahhh… This bed is the real MVP. My safety rope keeping me from insani-」

He says, patting the bed with a grateful smile.

「Are you well rested, Straf?」

「Lily… You really ought to stop treating my room like your own. I could probably explain this away, but…」

Straf says with a slanted mouth, looking over his shoulder at Lily, who is sitting on the other side of the bed, also looking over her shoulder at him with her arms crossed.

「…How long have you been here?」

He adds, shrugging with his hands before they land on his thighs with a pat.

「Just a short while. More importantly, I have something of note to tell you…」

She replies, looking at Straf with a serious expression.

「…A blood moon is coming. I have already addressed the matter on my end. The elder vampires will keep the younger ones in check, restraining them in secure locations. This will be paid out of my tax. I'd like you to notify the Redwing girl of this.」

Lily adds, looking at Straf with her half-open, tired crimson eyes.

「Sure thing… But why? She doesn't run the country anymore.」

Straf asks, raising his brows.

「Tsk, that human nonsense again… Then please notify whoever is in charge. Inform them that I will take responsibility for what happens on the night of the blood moon, and I will punish anyone who dares to challenge my law. Regardless if they control themselves, or not.」

Lily requests with a serious face, keeping her arms crossed. Her clawed finger taps on her arm.

「A blood moon is kind of a big deal, isn't it? You said you'll be fine, but what does actually happen when a vampire is not fine?」

Straf asks, standing up from the bed. He places his hands in his pockets, and walks to its foot-end.

「They become mad with hunger. An uncontrollable urge to feed. They will seek blood with reckless abandon, satisfying themselves merely for a moment…」

Lily says, tracking Straf with her tired gaze.

「…Of course, I am speaking of the effect of the moon at its worst. I'd wager most vampires that are strong enough to resist it, but not entirely so, would simply find it impossible to not prey on someone who lacks the common sense to hide indoors…」

She continues, and plops on her back, rolling closer to the bed's foot-end.

「…Naturally, it's the human's fault. You're a man, aren't you Straf? I'm sure you understand the sentiment.」

Lily adds, innocuously looking at Straf with her head upside-down and hanging off the foot-end of the bed, laying on her back.

「…I'm a little afraid to ask, but what do you mean by that?」

Straf ever-so-slightly leans his head away, squinting his eyes warily at the little vampire.

「Please, Straf. There is no need to act coy. When you are aware that you are in the face of someone pathetically weak while possessing immense power, does the obvious not come to mind?…」

She asks, rolling onto her stomach, propping her head up on her hands. Straf glances aside, and his eyes return with an addition of furrowing brows.

「…I can do anything. You can't stop me, no matter what I will do to you. You can only submit, and hope for my mercy…」

Lily nonchalantly says, quoting the supposed obvious thought. Her crimson eyes look straight into Straf's while he looks back at her with a tight-lipped grimace.

「…The ultimate power and control over somebody, Straf. Stripping someone of their very being, their own will. This is the privilege of the powerful. The demon lord. Kings. Vampires… You practically already are a vampire, Straf. You just don't drink blood.」

Lily shrugs, and smugly smirks at Straf. She makes herself at home on Straf's bed, leaning onto her side but still propping her head up on one of her clawed hands.

「I don't see how. And I'm not sure I see your point. I'm not going to become one, if that's what you're going to conclude this with.」

Straf pulls his hands out of his pocket to spread them, shaking his head a little in confoundment.

「Straf, please… Your immense power aside, you don't really need much to gain absolute control over somebody. Like I said, you are a man, after all. Must I really bring up a crass example? Have you never looked at a woman, and thought,「Ahh, she could be mine with such ease!」Straf?」

Lily scoffs, shaking her head a little before returning to maintaining the eye contact with a smirk.

「What?」

Straf blurts out, with genuine confusion in his voice and on his face.

「She's in a such dark, secluded place alone! No one would know! What things could I do to her, if I dragged her into that alley!?…」

「Wha-?」

Straf stares at Lily with his mouth agape in shock, as she looks up and aside, gesturing with her hand and acting out some scene with an overtly theatrical, highbrow voice.

「…How many hours would pass if I pulled her into that abandoned warehouse!? If there and then, I ripped her clothes and-!」

「Wha-!? Hey! Hey! Lily, what the fuck are you even trying to say!? What sort of a man do you think I am!?」

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Straf shouts and shuts Lily's theater down, pointing his shaking finger at her with panic on his face.

「…Powerful?」

She thinks for a split second, and nonchalantly replies with a tilt of her head.

「Lily! Everyone is making these baseless and severe accusations all the time, I don't need you to join the club! Cut it out!」

He angrily shouts, looking into Lily's eyes with a tight-lipped grimace.

「Now listen here! I may be a virgin, but-」

Straf loudly explains with his index finger raised, and his other fist on his hip, almost as if a parent scolding a child.

「And I am quite grateful for that.」「Hurrrrk!-」

Lily bluntly replies with a non-sequitur, and Straf almost chokes in an outraged gasp.

「Lily! Are you seriously hurling insults at me!? Just like that!?」

Straf asks, completely stunned, leaning away from the little vampire in shock while she looks at him with a tiny, innocent pout.

「No, I genuinely mean that. Non-virgin blood tastes disgusting… Though I'm sure yours would be still quite delicious, Straf.」

「Gah!」

Lily declares, slowly kicking her feet up and down on Straf's bed. Her nonchalant response only shocks Straf further.

「…Either way! I may be a virgin, but I am not a desperate virgin! And I am definitely not that desperate! That would be pathetic, Lily! I'd rather die!」

Straf proudly, angrily declares with his fists on his hips and an indignant frown on his face.

「I see… Indeed, I cannot picture you lowering yourself to such petty means… But my point was about power differences, Straf. I'm sure you understand how vampires see humans, even if you are not one…」

Lily shrugs, and sighs. She props herself up on her elbows, looking up into Straf's eyes again.

「…Still, you seem to be bothered by being a virgin, even if you are not desperate. Did the Redwing girl not offer you her hand?」

Lily asks with a slanted mouth, and half-open crimson eyes.

「She did. But I am not going to play favorites. It's all or none.」

Straf nods and shrugs his shoulders as he explains.

「Hm?」

Lily tilts her head in light confusion, furrowing her brows gently.

「Say, Straf… Would you consider becoming a vampire, if your problem could be solved?」

Lily casually asks, her half-open scarlet eyes look into Straf's with a serious expression on her face.

「Lily, I thought I already told you-」

Straf sighs, and replies with his annoyed mouth aslant. He stops himself mid-sentence, and his brows furrow.

「Wait, what problem?…」

He thinks about the few previous topics in the conversation, warily looking at Lily. She tilts her head again in silence. His eyes then abruptly widen, and he takes a few rapid steps back with a massively troubled expression on his face.

「Lily, I don't think I like where this conversation is going, so I'm not taking a part in it! I'm going to see Lia, and I'm going to the bank!…」

He explains, backpedaling towards the door while pointing his finger at Lily on the bed. He reaches for the door, but stops himself again. He looks at Lily over his shoulder with greatly furrowed brows.

「…Are you feeling alright, Lily? You're kind of weird since yesterday.」

He asks, with a concerned tone and face, with his hand held out towards the door handle.

「…Am I?」

Her eyes widen, her brows furrow, and she asks.

「Yeah. You're creeping me the fuck out, honestly.」

Straf nods his head in response, warily watching Lily as she turns her face to the window, and wistfully stares at it.

「…I see.」

Lily curtly replies after a long silence. Her tone is neutral, and face completely devoid of the previous expressions, looking almost like a blank canvas, and almost matching its color, too. Still looking at the window.

「Straf, do you mind if I sleep in your room? I was working through the night, preparing for the blood moon. It would be rather tiresome to return to the bell tower…」

Lily asks, resting her head on her forearms.

「Tsk… I really want to avoid picking up more accusations, but I suppose if I'm not here, it's fine. Be sure to properly rest, Lily. I think I like you more when you're normal.」

Straf shrugs, and relents. He opens the door and exits, but peeks one eye in.

「Goodnight, Lily.」

He adds, and softly shuts the door. Lily sighs, and moves to the center of the bed. She lays down, without bothering to cover herself with the blanket…

…

A few moments later…

Straf enters the throne room devoid of guards. He sees a familiar sight on the throne.

「Somehow, I knew I would find you here.」

He says, grinning at Cycelia on the throne.

「Ah… Straf… I'm pitiful, aren't I?」

Cycelia smiles softly at Straf with a self-denigrating comment.

「Nah, it could be worse as far as grasping for authority goes. You could be a food critic… You really like this fancy chair, don't you, Lia?」

Straf asks, stopping in front of the steps with his fists on his hip, grinning a little up at Cycelia.

「Well… It feels wrong to leave it empty. Even if I don't rule from it.」

She shrugs, dejectedly smiling in response.

「Listen, Lia. Lily says a blood moon is coming again, for some reason. She also said that she has it under control, and any vampire that acts out is going to get nailed. Really makes you wish you had those vampire lamps now, huh?」

Straf scoffs, spreading his arms.

「Really? She's sure?- Ah, Straf. Sir Vinis wants to see you, he should be somewhere on the lower floors. Something about the economy…」

「Oh, great. The economy. I technically answer to that pr- Pretty swell guy, huh? I'll see him when I'm done with my own matters, probably in the evening.」

Straf sucks air through his teeth, heavily scrunching his mouth to the side. He shrugs, throwing his hands up in resignation before returning his fists to his hips.

「Busy week… I'll see you later, Lia. Let me know how the Academy business is progressing.」

Straf snaps his fingers, and turns to leave, pointing his finger at Cycelia.

「Sure…」

She nods, and lets out a gloomy sigh as her dainty, thin fingers tap on the armrest. She looks through the tall windows with sullen, emerald-green eyes…