Straf and Cycelia take their time. They finish their coffee and snacks, the old man walks up to collect the plates and cups.

「Was the coffee good?」

The old man asks them with a warm smile.

「Yes, as always.」

Cycelia nods, smiling back at the elderly coffee shop owner.

「Well, I've had worse.」

Straf shrugs his hands, the man chuckles at Straf's low praise and nods his head.

「Ahahah… I see. Could I ask something?」

The man looks at Cycelia with a serious face, albeit still gently smiling.

「Um… Yes?」

Cycelia becomes a little confused and unnerved by the man's shift in demeanor.

「You didn't actually do it, have you?」

He asks, with a completely serious face as he stares at Cycelia

「Huh?」

Befuddled and somewhat startled, she blinks at him.

「Your family, princess. It wasn't you, right?」

The elderly man nods as he asks, seeking reassurance.

「What?… Since when? How long did you know?」

Cycelia blinks again, she glances at Straf, who is staring at the man with bored eyes and brows raised.

「From the start.」

The man answers, still with a deathly serious expression on his face.

「Since we entered?」

「No… Since your first visit, princess.」

The coffee shop man gently shakes his head.

「What?- Then why didn't you say anything?」

「Should I have?」

He asks, and Cycelia grimaces, unsure how to answer. Her eyes drift downward to the table for a moment.

「I didn't do it. It was the count! He framed me-!」

She answers his original question, growing more agitated the more she speaks. The man holds his palm out, and shakes his head in silence.

「I believe you, princess. I just wanted to hear it from you. There's no chance a carefree girl like you would slaughter her own family in a misguided reach for power. I didn't say anything because it was simply a joy enough, knowing a member of the royal family was a repeat customer in my humble shop.」

The warm smile gradually returns to his face. As he speaks, he takes a peek at Straf as well.

「Sounds like no one is buying the usurper's bullshit.」

Straf comments, crossing his arms as he's lazily slouching in the booth.

「…In a way, but not entirely. The people are still confused, princess. Some outright refuse to believe it, the others do not question it. Even I was wondering why would a bright young woman like you do such a thing, but it all made sense to me when that maniac started executing people over the slightest violations of his tyrannical laws.」

He nods at Straf, then explains the situation in the capital to Cycelia. She listens attentively with a serious face.

「What did he do, exactly?」

Cycelia's brows furrow as she hesitantly asks.

「Many, many laws were passed that were just nonsense. All of them punishable by death. The first few vaguely made sense… Loitering under the palace walls, gambling without permission… Heavy punishments for relatively harmless things. The laws got progressively worse, and worse. People were dragged off to the gallows, and hanged the same hour they dared to question how long the temporary rule will be.」

「What? Why? Why would he do-」

《「Do you recognize this, princess?」》

Cycelia's eyes widen. The terror of the demon encounter burned an indelible image in her mind. Straf's broad back, and the red-black runic cube in the pointy, gauntlet-like fingers of the demon in their way. She hears its question, as if the demon was right in front of her again. Cycelia places her hand on her face, staring down at the table through her fingers. Though she already knew, and the thought was in the back of her head, the realization shocks her once more.

「It's my fault… Again…」

She gasps, and breathes heavily with a ragged breath.

「Princess? Are you alright?」

Concerned by her reaction, the elderly man asks as he leans in a little. Cycelia shakes her head sideways for a moment, before shaking it up and down.

「Thank you for the coffee… And for everything. Straf, let's go.」

Cycelia stands up, and the man takes a few steps back to let her through. She nods at him as she hastily takes off for the exit. Even Straf is surprised by her rapid departure, and glances at the coffee shop owner with his brows raised.

Ring ring.

「If you see a bearded loser enter, tell him to get lost, old man.」

Straf says as he gets up from the booth, and follows Cycelia out with his hands in his pockets. She stands outside, leaning against the coffee shop's facade.

「You alright, Lia?」

Straf asks as Cycelia is taking heavy breaths. She nods in reply, but otherwise continues catching her breath for a minute or two.

「…Yes. I'm fine now, I just needed some air.」

「Well… It's still not even midday. Want to go check some other places out?」

Straf asks, as he looks for the sun on the blue sky. It still has some way to go to its highest point.

「I… I want to go to one place in particular. It's not really that interesting… Would you want to accompany me there?」

Cycelia straightens out, bouncing away from the building. She looks at Straf with a solemn face, fidgeting with her fingers in front of her.

「Sure. The only alternative is me sitting still, and suddenly realizing I'm hungry.」

Straf stares at her with bored eyes, and shrugs, adding a tilt of his head to the shrug. Cycelia turns to the street, leading Straf through the crowd. She no longer keeps her head lowered, nor turns it away from the people as she navigates through the masses…

…

An hour later, Straf and Cycelia arrive at a square near a vast pond within the city. A lake, even. Swans and ducks leisurely paddle across the water's surface, painting a picturesque view. A few empty benches face the lakeside, as most people choose to rest at the grass closer to the lake, picnicking on their laid out blankets without a worry in the world, despite the recent political instability.

Cycelia sits down on one of the benches, and Straf joins her. She watches the swans dance in the distance.

「I like to come here when I have too much on my mind.」

Cycelia sighs and tells Straf, without looking away from the lake. She slowly fidgets with her thumbs, gently frowning despite trying her best to hide it.

「I see you are having a good time…」

Lily says with a somewhat frustrated tone, as she sits next to Straf with her parasol over her shoulder.

「Eh?」

Cycelia's gaze snaps to Lily.

「Ah, Lily. Where'd you come from?」

Straf asks, glancing at the sneaky little vampire as well. She scoots uncomfortably close to him.

「Behind… Where else?」

As she replies with a rhetorical question, she peeks her face out from beneath the parasol with a small pout. Cycelia sighs. Perhaps in disappointment, or perhaps in relief.

「It's unbelievable how quickly, and how much can change in so little time…」

Cycelia looks away from Lily back to the lake. A few more ducks swoop in to land on the surface, sending ripples across the lake.

「Hmpf. Are you talking about your family, Redwing girl? You haven't seen any change. You lived your life within a bubble, like a sweet treat beneath a cloche, child.」

Lily scoffs, not bothering to even glance at Cycelia. Her narrowed, disdainful scarlet eyes glare at the unwisely relaxed, and unsuspecting humans resting on their blankets, picnicking with their young.

「I know… But, it was my bubble… Why did it have to change?」

Cycelia sighs with a frown, her voice almost as a whine. She blinks rapidly, and looks down on her hands in her lap. Straf intermittently glances at the two as they speak, not making himself a part of the conversation.

「Tsk. You really are pathetic, princess. Believe me, I strongly wish that your life had not changed as well. Straf and I could take our time together… As much as we need to, and you would remain a happy little princess beneath your glass dome, waiting until the world devours you for its afternoon snack.」

Lily clicks her tongue as she consciously stops herself from getting too harsh on Cycelia. She finally turns her scarlet eyes to her, looking at her across Straf as he sits slouched with his arms splayed on the backrest. She takes a quick peek into Straf's eyes, before returning to glaring at Cycelia.

「…That's right, if my life wasn't upturned, I likely wouldn't have met Straf. Thank you, Lily. I guess every cloud has a silver lining.」

The dark cloud slowly lifts from Cycelia's face. She locks her eyes with Straf, as he looks down at her in silence with raised brows. Though pained, a comforted smile appears on her face, and she leans forward to thank Lily directly.

「What?- It wasn't supposed- Tsk. No matter. You're welcome, I suppose.」

Lily's face twists into surprise that her subtle attempt at nibbling at Cycelia backfired completely. She clicks her tongue and turns her head away with a sour slant to her mouth, grimacing heavily. The ducks quack loudly, splashing in the water to cool off and wash themselves. A relaxing, yet awkward silence begins.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

「Say, Lily… Could I ask you for a favor?」

Straf cautiously asks, staring with his bored eyes at a fish sneaking beneath the lake's surface.

「My… That's a lot of favors, isn't it, Straf?」

Lily's upset pout twists into a sly smirk, as she replies with a rhetorical question. A single elongated fang is showing from her smug smile, as she stares up at Straf with her slit pupils.

「Yeah… You're really helpful, Lily.」

Straf looks away, sighing as he throws his hands up a little in defeat.

「Huhuhuhu… I am immune to flattery, Straf… Mostly.」

Lily cackles, covering her mouth in a lady-like manner with her pale, clawed, dainty hand.

「Tsk, I mean if you don't want to do it-」

「I'll do it.」

「I haven't even told you what it is-」

Straf looks down at Lily, grimacing quizzically with his brows furrowed.

「I'll do it. Provided I can do it, and that it's not too unreasonable. But…」

「But?」

Straf shrugs his hands.

「…When I come to collect, will you be prepared to pay, Straf?」

Lily ominously asks, still gently smiling and staring into Straf's eyes.

「Molon labe.」

Straf sighs out, and throws his hands up again.

「…Pardon?」

Lily tilts her head, her golden twin-tails jiggle in confusion with her.

「Fine, just treat the favors as a meal ticket or something. Central Straf blood bank IOUs. Private reserve notes. Whatever.」

Straf shrugs, and rolls his eyes. Lily grins, chuckling quietly to herself beneath her parasol.

「Well, what is it then?」

Lily asks, looking back up at Straf.

「You remember Alicia, right?」

「…Who?」

Lily raises her brow as she digs through over a thousand years worth of faces in her head.

「Come on, she's not that forgettable. Lia is the type of girl that most men don't even dream about, because they know they've got no chance. Alicia's main appeal is that they might have a shot. You saw her in that forest, remember?-」

「Tsk, that pest… Damn you damn you damn you damn you damn you damn you…」

Lily clicks her tongue, and curses Alicia out with a snarl, clenching her teeth on full display.

「There we go, I knew you'd remember. What I wanted to ask you is-」

「To kill her?」

Lily cuts in and predicts Straf's next words.

「…No, that'd be counter-productive…」

「Tsk.」

She clicks her tongue and looks away, crossing her arms.

「…I want you to find her party when they get to the city, and tell them to get into the palace tomorrow, as soon as they notice a commotion happening there. Do you remember Greaves? Hard to forget a kid with a dumb name like that… And hair.」

Straf completes his sentence, after Lily's interruption.

「…Was it the small one? Whose head looks like a carrot?」

Lily looks up at Straf with a pout, and he snaps his fingers, then points one at her.

「See!? See, Lia!? I knew I wasn't the only one! Yes, Lily, that's the guy. Tell him I've sent you.」

Straf looks at Cycelia with a grin, and she only blinks back in confusion. He turns his head back to Lily to explain the rest of his request.

「…Is that all? Just finding them, and delivering a message?」

「Yup. I can't leave Lia alone, and your ability to appear and disappear randomly is perfect for this.」

Straf shrugs with his hands and shoulders, smirking at Lily.

「I do not appear and disappear, you simply are not paying enough attention. Ahh… I expected more. This is hardly worth even considering a favor… Very well, I'll do it.」

Lily gets up from the bench, and walks a few steps aside. Straf snaps his fingers and points at her again.

「Oh, hey. When you do that, lurk around the palace as much as you can, as kind of an observer. Be sure to get a good night's rest, though.」

Straf stops Lily for a moment, and cautions her.

「I will. The bell tower is surprisingly comfortable. Well then…」

She turns around to perform a little curtsy, then disappears into a blur towards the rooftops, with only a faint ceramic clatter coming from above, not any much louder than if a cat ran across them.

「…Are you sure she'll be alright, Straf? There's no telling how they will react if they find out she's a vampire.」

Cycelia surprisingly voices her concern for the little vampire, as she looks at Lily's last trackable position on the rooftops.

「She'll be fine. She has 1000 years of experience terrorizing humanity, I think she can manage one day as a postal worker. Any more places around here that aren't just postcard material?」

Straf asks, pointing his hand at the picturesque lake.

「Yes, there's somewhere I'd like to take you to. Let's go, Straf.」

Cycelia stands up and starts walking back to the busy street as she continues looking towards the lake. Straf follows, and they merge back into the crowd…

…

Meanwhile, on one of the main highways leading to the capital city…

「…I've gotta tell you son, I've never seen something like that before. And I've seen some things in the 63 summers of my life!」

The wagon driver looks over his shoulder at Millie and Louche, staring at the wheelchair packed onto the wagon amongst the other passengers. The wagon rocks uncomfortably up and down, left and right as it rides along the mostly even road.

「Well, my sister can't go anywhere without it! Literally!」

Louche leans towards the driver, and speaks in a loud voice over the clopping horses.

「Well that's a handy contraption in that case, hahaha!- Ah, son of a bitch! Toll booths again!?」

The driver laughs, but his laughter is short lived, as he spots a barricade on the road in the distance. He reigns in the horses to slow their trot, and rides up to the guards as one of them approaches with his palm out.

「Inspection. Who's with you on the cart? Any women?」

The guard announces, then asks as he looks up at the wagon.

「Just three ladies… How much is the toll? I was tired of getting ripped off by them 20 years ago, and I still am-」

「No toll, just hold your horses until we let you leave.」

「…No toll? That's strange.」

The driver furrows his brows and mumbles under his breath as the armored guard walks to the rear of the wagon. He climbs up, and looks at the passengers. Most of them are peasants, and all but one of the women are elderly…

「Green?」

「Nah, blue.」

He answers his partner below, as he stares into Millie's eyes. She blinks nervously at him, and his gaze shifts to the wheelchair packed away nearby.

「…What the fuck is this?」

The guard on the cart asks, as he starts chuckling with his fist on his hip, halberd in the other hand.

「What?」

The other guard asks, walking up closer.

「Heheh, come take a look, you won't believe this shit.」

The guard on the wagon peeks down at his partner, leaning out of the cart as he grins. His partner climbs up and squeezes past the passengers, then looks at the wheelchair.

「Hahahaha, what the fuck? What is this? A dinner table chariot?」

His partner asks, they glance at each other, and both burst out in belly laughter.

「Stop laughing, it's a wheelchair!」

Louche demands with a frown, glaring at them.

「Hahah… It's a fuckin' what?」

The guard wipes a tear away from his eyes, still grinning ear to ear.

「A wheelchair! It makes it easy for my sister to move around! She can't walk without help!」

He explains in a raised voice, and the guards look at each other again.

「So he straps a horse to it, hup hup!」

The guard places his armored hand on his friend's shoulder, and says. They explode into another fit of laughter, and climb out of the cart. Louche grits his teeth. The guards let out amused sighs as they shake their helmeted heads, and they pull the spiked barricade away, then wave the wagon through. The driver whips the horses with the reins, and the wagon carries on…

…

By evening, before the sun has set, at the capital's gate…

The guards are lazily waving men past, and taking quick glances at the faces of the younger women, before waving most of them past without any questions. A man approaches them, causing the guards to raise their brows and look up at him in surprise.

「Woah. You're pretty tall, aren't you? Who are you?」

The guard looks down and up the man to fully appreciate the height difference, smirking at him nervously. His partially smug, partially nervous smirk turns into an outright fearful grimace when they lock eyes.

「…I am Shien, the Beast Hunter.」

The tall spearman answers, glaring down at the guard with a serious face. The guard's partner walks up to check what is going on, and why his partner is so frightened. One look at Shien's face is enough to answer all his questions without an unnecessary word.

「…Is there a toll? There were a few toll booths on the way here, none of them take money. Why?」

Shien asks, still glaring at the guard.

「We- Uh… N- No, there's no toll… Man, what did you eat to grow like that?…」

The guard stammers, shaking his head. He whispers a comment to himself as he looks aside.

「Mutagenic chimera, razortail salamander, eastern thunderbird… And a few others not worth mentioning.」

Shien bluntly answers. The guard's surprise face snaps up, not expecting the spearman to have heard his comment.

「Uh, that's uh… Well, go on through…」

The guard nervously waves Shien past, and he nods his head, then enters the city. The guards stare at his back as he towers over the crowd he's walking amidst.

「…What a fucking freak, did you see that?」

「Cat eyes? What is up with that?」

The guards whisper to each other, when Shien disappears behind one of the buildings…