「Lian… Since you've found your brother, does that mean you will be…」

Will steps out from underneath Lian's hand and turns to face her.

「What, Will?」

Lian asks, looking down at abashed Will looking for the right words.

「You know… Going back home.」

He finally asks, deciding to forego any subtlety as he adjusts his glasses. Lian is visibly amused, and gently smiles.

「Well… That was originally the plan… But Shien has a point. It's a long way back, and to be frank, there isn't much waiting for us back on the islands. And since he will be leaving on his little adventure again, I suppose I am not in a rush to go anywhere.」

Lian shrugs with her hand, then places it back on her hips, shifting her weight from one leg to the other.

「So… So you wouldn't mind doing more of the same with us? While we wait for Shien to come back?」

Will keeps adjusting his glasses as they keep slipping off his nose due to his head hanging low.

「And you were against finding a fourth member…」

Greaves scoffs, incredulously staring at Will with his thumbs in his sheath belt.

「Shut up Greaves!」

Will shouts at Greaves, gripping onto his staff and cocking its upper half over his shoulder for a swing. Lian quietly chuckles at the scene.

「I suppose just waiting for 3 months would get tiresome…」

Lian glances at her brother, who is quietly listening onto the conversation with a dour face.

「…We can continue, yes. But I'd like to abstain from some great travels. Unless there is an outstanding reason for you to visit another kingdom, I will not join you if you wish to do so.」

She nods her head, and Will tries to hide his cheerful grin by lowering his head.

「Good.」

He simply says, nodding his head as he adjusts the continuously slipping glasses.

「…They don't have to be actual circuses, Lia, but keep that in mind.」

Straf explains something to Cycelia as they re-enter the throne room with an escort of the cultists, the plumed palace guards, and the young captain of the guard. The palace guards replace the cultists at the pillars, and the captain stands at the throneside as Cycelia sits down in it.

「Ahh… Now. Louche.」

Cycelia calls out to the young man appearing as if he was lost in the throne room.

「Yes, your highness?」

He nods his head, with his hand across his chest on his shoulder.

「Bring your sister to the palace. I can't have a noble live in squalor if I am to make the kingdom a picture of prosperity. Have the maids find a room for her on the ground level. You're free to stay here as well.」

「Ah! Thank you, Queen Cycelia! Milly will be so happy to hear that! Finally!」

Louche bows, and pumps his fist as he runs out of the throne room.

「As for you… Adventurer party, I will not overlook your contribution to my return to power…」

Cycelia turns her head towards Greaves, looking at him, his party, and Shien with a serious face.

「What contributions?」

Straf asks, spreading his hands as he shakes his head with genuine confusion on his face.

「…I will award each of you with 50 gold coins each. Moreover, you are free to stay at the palace for as long as you wish. Shien, was it? Straf told me you will be making a long journey…」

「Yes! We're rich! Now we can buy all the gear we want!」

Greaves pumps his fist after Cycelia announces her reward. Will's glasses almost fall to the ground off his face from shock, and he manages to rescue them mid-air. Alicia covers her gaping mouth. Lian only raises her brows, somewhat unimpressed.

「…Noo, I said we won't see him again.」

Straf corrects Cycelia with his index finger out, but she ignores him again.

「The gold should more than cover all the expenses, and I suggest you stay the night at the palace and get a good night's rest before you leave.」

Cycelia looks directly at Shien as she speaks, and he nods his head.

「Thank you.」

The spearman replies with a notable lack of any honors regarding Cycelia's position, or oratory embellishment.

「You are in the presence of the queen! Have more respect!-」

The man leading the pack of the Dragon Cult yells at Shien. The spearman's black, vertically-slit eyes look at him in confusion as he tilts his head.

「Enough!」

Cycelia shouts at the man, with her hand raised and pointed at him. He is unsure how to react, so he timidly bows low to the ground with his hand on his opposite shoulder. The red cape covers most of his body as he takes a few steps back from Shien.

「Shien is a foreigner, and doesn't know the court manners. More than that, I never wanted to elevate myself above anyone. That still holds true today. Without them, it's likely I would not be sitting in this throne. He has the common respect I expect of everyone, do not lower anyone beneath me without my permission.」

She berates the man without using any sharp words, glancing at Shien every few words. The man keeps his head lowered as he listens.

「Yes, your highness. My apologies.」

「Now raise your head, but do not interfere again. You are free to leave, ask the maids to find you a room. Lily…」

Greaves and his party leaves the throne room with Shien, only Alicia and Will bother to bow. Cycelia gestures her hand upward, and the man straightens out. He picks and occupies a reclusive spot in the throne room, trying to take the attention off himself.

「Tsk, what?」

Lily bluntly asks with her arms crossed, forcing a suppressed, but shocked grunt out of every guard and cultist in the room. Nobody dares to say anything, especially not the man Cycelia just berated.

「You deserve a reward as well… But I don't imagine gold will do you any good, will it?」

Cycelia sighs as she leans onto one of the armrests, with her head on her hand. She looks at Lily with furrowed brows, idly tapping her head with one of the fingers.

「Hmpf. Of course. Though you can give me a reward for the troubles… Rule over your puppets' petty little short lives in peace, and leave Straf to me.」

Lily says, and a smug grin appears on her face.

「Well… But…」

Cycelia straightens out and lowers her head, tapping her fingers together in her lap.

「But what, Redwing girl?」

Lily disdainfully snarls at Cycelia as she grimaces in her throne.

「…Straf did ask for the m- Marriage coupon…」

Cycelia timidly stammers, still tapping her fingers together, looking away from Straf.

「Tsk. Ahhhhh, what a bother…」

Lily clicks her tongue again, and looks out of the shattered window with a scowl on her face.

「Lia, can't we at least do something about the vampire lamps?」

Straf asks as he points his hand at Lily, who is in extremely sour mood, tapping her clawed finger on her arm angrily with a pout.

「Huh? The lamps? Like what?」

The suggestion throws Cycelia off completely, to the point she even snaps out of her bashful mood.

「I don't know, turn them off, dismantle them…」

Straf shrugs his shoulders and drops suggestions, tilting his head left and right.

「Wh- What!? We can't destroy them! That's the only real defense the capital has left!」

Cycelia's jaw drops and she shakes her head furiously, staring at Straf in disbelief.

If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

「Hey, I'm not saying destroy them. I'm just saying maybe Lily earned the right to visit the capital. You can carefully dismantle the lamps and put them into a museum, or something. Or reverse engineer them.」

Straf scoffs and spreads his arms as he argues for Lily. Cycelia shrinks and her shoulders slump, and she begins twiddling with her thumbs.

「Well… She did, but… I'm not concerned about Lily, I'm concerned about other vampires destroying the town with its defenses down. They may be rare, but they're not gone. Lily is the proof of that.」

Cycelia nods, keeping her head lowered and conceding much to Straf.

「Hmpf. If you are worried about that, Redwing girl, I have the perfect solution for you…」

Lily grins, and her boots clack loudly, echoing throughout the quiet throne room as she approaches the throne. The guards' and cultists' eyes widen, and they grab onto their swords' hilts, but Cycelia stops them from drawing them by raising her hand.

Straf's brows rise when Lily walks up the steps, the captain of the guard beside the throne is staring at her with a tight-lipped grimace, jiggling like gelatin. Cycelia is visibly discomforted, but remains in her throne nonchalantly looking at Lily as she matches her head level.

「Make me a vampire baron of the capital. If I am owed a reward, that is my demand.」

Lily declares with a serious face. Her scarlet eyes stare directly into Cycelia's emerald ones as she speaks.

「Huh!?」

Cycelia blinks, stunned by Lily's words.

「Lily… Isn't that a little too greedy? Let Lia be the queen for a little longer…」

Straf sighs, placing his fists on his hips. He looks down at Lily with an expression not unlike a father, who has to explain to his daughter that she can't actually be a real princess of her country.

「But Straf, there is no contradiction here. I am simply demanding acknowledgment from the queen. Do you not think I can become a baroness by force, Redwing girl? You will keep your throne and your puppets' insignificant, petty lives. You can keep ruling the day, but I demand the rule of the night.」

Lily smugly smirks at Straf, revealing her long fang before her red eyes return to Cycelia, who only grows further and further confused.

「…What?」

Cycelia blinks, completely perplexed by Lily's demand.

「She means kind of a diarchy, Lia.」

Straf shrugs as he explains.

「What?」 「…What?」

Lily and Cycelia ask, staring at Straf with furrowed brows, as his explanation only managed to confuse both of them. Their eyes return to each other after a brief pause.

「So in other words… You want to hold a barony within the capital, without contesting my rule?」

Cycelia blinks, and starts to piece together in her head what Lily meant.

「Something along those lines… My barony will be city-wide. You will not interfere with my rule of the night, and I will not interfere with your rule of the day. In return, of course, I will protect the city within my domain. It is a very simple, and humble demand.」

Lily takes a few steps aside, looking at the windows with a smug smile. Cycelia brings her hand to her face, and starts rubbing her lips with her thumb as she thinks.

「I am not against granting you a barony, but I still don't fully understand how will that work. More importantly, what of the outrage when the people learn a vampire will rule here? What of the vampire hunters?-」

Cycelia asks Lily, and Lily begins to giggle loudly in response, almost forgetting to cover her mouth in a ladylike manner.

「Ahhh, please. The vampire hunters? If you wish for them to keep their lives, order them not to get in my way. If they ignore your command, isn't that treason? Wouldn't it be best if I punished them for it? If you think about it, there is nothing but benefits for you, regarding my demand.」

Lily lets out an amused sigh, and turns back to Cycelia. She gestures with her clawed hand and a large grin as she speaks of the hunters.

「…And should I grant you your wish, what would you do?」

Cycelia asks with a concerned face.

「First? I would destroy those unsightly things outside. Straf is right. Dismantle them, if you want to keep them in one piece. Or two. If any vampire, or otherwise night creature wish to reside within my domain, they must obey my laws. The laws would honor my master, of course.」

Lily glances at the window again, then her eyes return to Cycelia. She shrugs her shoulders, smugly smiling at her.

「And those being?…」

「They would not be allowed to drain blood of humans that didn't attack or disrespect them. They would pay a small tax in human currency, which would force them to have an income in a human currency. This means my subjects would eventually work with yours…」

「…The vampires would coexist with humans?」

Cycelia quietly asks with disbelief in her voice.

「I know how ridiculous that sounds… But it was my master's ideal world. He said that without humans, the vampires would eventually go mad with hunger and die out. Tell me, Redwing girl… Do you hate cows, pigs?」

Lily asks, glaring into Cycelia's eyes.

「What? No, of course not, why would I?」

Cycelia shakes her head at the bizarre question.

「Exactly… As humans have no hatred for cattle, neither should vampires have hatred for the human chattel. You would do very poorly without livestock, and so would we…」

Lily tilts her head and shrugs her shoulders, gesturing with her hand.

「That's pretty ironic, Lily. Half of your sentences are like, grrrr human scum! Shut up and die, human worm!」

Chuckling, Straf grins at Lily with his brows gently furrowed as he imitates her.

「Tsk… Aside from my personal feelings, which are very well founded, Straf… My master's ideal world does make sense, despite how unattainable it may seem. At night, the vampires would do labor for the human society of the day, while the humans would feed the vampires with their consent, in return for the money they earned with ease, through their vampiric superiority…」

Lily emphasizes her words as she replies to Straf, before turning her attention back to Cycelia.

「…And the capital would never truly sleep.」

Cycelia blinks, slowly piecing together more and more of Lily's idea.

「Are you grasping it yet, Redwing girl? Two parallel rulers of societies, that can't live without each other. That was my master's ideal world. He had hoped that eventually after the demon lord's victory, he would mellow out. The utter destruction of humanity would not sit well with the vampires, and the demon lord knew. He would have a rebellion on his hands sooner or later, ironically, with the vampires backing the humans.」

Lily continues glaring down at Cycelia, and she returns to ruminating again, rubbing her lips with her thumb for a moment, in silence.

「When you put it that way…」

Cycelia says, after a brief pause. She lowers her hand and looks Lily in her crimson eyes.

「…I would like to see your master's ideal world come to fruition too.」

Cycelia smiles at Lily, and nods. Her unexpected warmth surprises Lily, and her eyes widen for just a short moment before she collects herself.

「Hmpf. It's useless trying to save your face, you have no choice. I will not change my demand.」

Lily arrogantly pouts, walking off the throne's steps. She crosses her arms as soon as she makes the last step.

「I think your idea is good, Lily. I will order the lamps not be turned on for now, so… Please don't destroy them…」

Cycelia timidly requests, and Lily looks over her shoulder at her.

「…Very well. I will grant you a grace period. I want them gone. I will make the bell tower my temporary throne, Straf.」

Lily proclaims as she starts walking in the direction of the door. She abruptly stops in her tracks.

「…One more thing, Redwing girl… Do not think for one second that I am beneath you. A human baron may be your subject, but a vampire baron is far, far above you. The vampire hierarchy is simply much, much higher than your pathetic and ephemeral one.」

Lily adds, and then leaves in silence. The echoing clacks of her boots is the only sound accompanying her departure. Cycelia sighs in relief, and so do most of the guards and cultists.

「Isn't she cute? She likes you.」

Straf grins with his fists on his hips as he looks at the doorway.

「Huh? You think? But it seems to me like she barely tolerates me…」

Cycelia slouches in her throne, exhausted by the figurative weight of the crown.

「Naaahh, she's like a cat. A cat will stare at you like it hates you with every fiber of its being, turn its head around and leave the room when you enter, and probably throw some fragile and expensive things off the shelves, but disappear for a day or two, and it'll be meowing all over the place looking for you.」

Straf waves his hand dismissively in front of himself as he chuckles with a broad grin.

「Is that so?… Straf, I still have work to do today. I don't know how much gold that maniac burned through, and he killed so many people, that he was practically running the kingdom alone. Could you come back tomorrow, when I properly get a grasp on the reins?」

Cycelia asks, looking up at Straf while fiddling with her medallion. Somewhere along the way, she managed to clean her golden, gem-encrusted crown of the blood, and change her clothes to exact same shirt, albeit a clean one. Her long eyelashes flutter over her emerald eyes as she awaits an answer.

「…Yeah, I guess I can. Too bad the turn-based battle plan didn't work out. Maybe some other time.」

Straf shrugs with his hands, and places them in his pockets as he walks towards the door.

「See you tomorrow, Straf.」

「Yeah, yeah. Remember to build tall, not wide, Lia!」

Without bothering to turn around, Straf gives Cycelia a back-handed wave, and leaves the throne room…