“We shall ask you this only once. Speak truth or die. Has anyone come through these doors since our return?”

 The pair of guards cowered before the woman a full head shorter than them. She’d slammed the gilded doors open and demanded answers before they could even get their bearings and properly drop to their knees in fealty.

 Both of them had stiffened in shock and horror at the sight of the Exaltare appearing for the second time in a single day, torn between averting their gazes and showing deference to the full-figured version wearing naught but a bathing towel.

 “Y-Y-Your Majesty!?”

 His companion immediately dropped to his knee and lowered his head. “W-What he mean to say is… you did, Your Majesty.”

 “Except, you were far smaller?” The first guard unhelpfully added.

 “Did you teleport back, for some reason?”

 Lilianna’s pupils narrowed angrily, her glare forcing the remaining guard to his knees as he became unable to support his own weight.

 Normally she only wove her mana to make herself appear more intimidating during Court sessions, but her fury at present was enough to make her consider willing the torrent of energy into tearing the men into shreds.

 That would’ve been unproductive though. She’d intentionally kept everyone possible in the dark about Lycoris to avoid letting the truth slip out. Killing them for the mistake of assuming her daughter was herself—as strange an assumption as “Lilianna is small today, for some reason” was—would be unproductive.

 Plus, it was just a touch flattering that Lycoris looked so much like her that the guards had confused them.

 She hadn’t expected her daughter to actually leave of her own accord, however. It was somewhat disheartening, the flutters of joy quickly overwhelmed by a tight grip of concern. She thought that Lycoris had started warming up to her… the fact she still had no idea what the girl could be thinking was equal parts frustrating and depressing.

 Her eyes wandered away from the pair of men toward the silent elevators, a frown creasing across her lips.

 Why didn’t she come talk to us? Have we done something to offend her? We haven’t been too pushy, we think. Perhaps it’s because we haven’t spent enough time with her? Mrgh, if only she’d said something!

 To flee the safety of our quarters… She couldn’t have tried to leave the palace, surely. Someone would have noticed.

 “Guard.”

 “Ma’am!”

 “Describe to us, how did she appear whilst leaving? Was she distraught?”

 “‘Sh-She?’ Um… well, you— or, she snapped at us for slacking off, and then started marching off in a huff. When Dahgere here asked you… her, rather, why she was so short, she uh… Yelled at us. So, I guess you seemed angry?”

 “And she was unarmed?”

 His companion, apparently named Dahgere, seemed to have picked up on at least part of what was going on. “I didn’t see any weapons! I apologize for my abject failure to stop her!”

 “Which floor did she go to?”

 “S-She didn’t take the elevator. She just went across to the opposite hall…”

 She must have followed the route we took to the armory. We never actually instructed Lycoris on how to use the elevators, so if she was pretending to be us, that would have given her away in an instant. But if she just went to the armory… she'd need our assistance to open the doors. If she left, clearly someone at the front entrance would have seen her.

 “How was she dressed?”

 “I-In a white dress! And a purple shawl.”

 “You had your… I mean, she had her hair done up in your usual fashion.”

 “We're deeply sorry Your Majesty! Please, we truly thought it was just you!”

 “Shut up Dahgere, you're the one who wanted to…”

 Lilianna ignored the inconsequential words of the sniveling guards, and instead rushed back to her room for a change of clothes and her phone and—

 “…Where did it go?”

 She scoured her room, tore her sheets off of the bed, checked under it, looked in the bathroom, and only after stepping back out and staring at the glass of wine on the bedside table did she connect the dots.

 Don’t tell me she took our phone and ran because she was upset that we drink human blood… The matriarch put a hand to her forehead. No, no she’s too mature for that. Hopefully. But if she does have our phone…

 Lilianna rushed back towards the exit as quickly as she could without actually running, and grasped one of the guards by the throat.

 “Ghagh!?”

 “Phone. Now.”

 Unfortunately, he passed out on his feet. Letting the limp man fall to the ground, she turned to see the other already on his knees, holding his phone out like he was offering up a sacred relic. She snatched it with all the decorum of a street thug and quickly accessed the emergency services on it, entering her obnoxiously long security key into the Tamisrah's online Find-a-Phone service.

 How far did she get…? Please be safe, Lycoris.

 Her phone hadn’t been turned off, thankfully, and was currently in a park situated on the border between the commercial district and the industrial block. It happened to be right next to a certain structure. One whose name had come up in conversation a few days prior.

 Volpini… … …!

 Without hesitation, the Exaltare dashed through the halls, into the stairwell and vaulted over the railing. With a simple snap of her fingers, she silently wove a spell to cushion her landing at the base with a pocket of air. Though she had no observers, she landed with dignity and grace, and sprinted out into the next corridor as part of the same swift motion.

 Even at this time of night, the main hall beyond was full of people discussing recent events and skittering about on menial business. The Transfixion of Heaven never truly slept, even if its Exaltare did on occasion.

 Forcing herself to slow her pace as she came upon the double doors, she pushed them open in a calm yet pronounced display, still radiating palpable fury. Save for the few who collapsed as soon as they felt the weight of her rage, the entire crowd fell dead silent and instinctively stepped back the moment their attention was drawn to her.

 She briefly scanned the attendants. None of the agents nor members of the Seven were present, which meant they’d either already caught wind of Lycoris and followed after her, or were simply not in attendance.

 Lilianna prayed to the Ancestors for an infinitesimally small miracle that Lycoris was undiscovered and still safe. After weighing her options, Lilianna opted to ignore the crowd and simply marched towards the exit.

 Deathly silence followed in her wake.

 As she marched through the hall, all those around her bowed their heads in deference. There was no chance that this wouldn’t spread like wildfire on news sites. No matter what she did, it’d inevitably make waves. That was why she’d told Lycoris to ignore Athena to begin with.

 But better she be the focus of their gaze than her precious little flower.

 She stepped to the side of the elevator hall and pressed the VIP button on the out-of-the-way service lift, opening up a panel to scan her manaprint, which granted her access to a small chamber beyond. Inside was a pulsating pale blue magic circle, runes delicately peeling off of the ritual site and drifting into the air, dancing around like motes of dust as she disturbed their presence.

 Unfortunately, it couldn’t connect directly to the park, but there was at least a keyed destination within sprinting distance. After ensuring the destination circle was empty, she lightly tapped her foot and disappeared.

 ＊

 “Aghck… Auugh… Why…?”

 The sweet taste of warm life filled her mouth.

 “What do you think you’re doing!?”

 Lycoris looked up from the boy’s neck, blood dripping down her chin as her eyes narrowed at the interloper. As the voice of the new arrival triggered hazy memories, her jaw slackened as she dropped the priest with a sickeningly wet thud.

 Tightening his grip on his azure-bladed longsword, the blonde-haired and blue-eyed hero squared off, five paces away.

 “M…izar…?” she whispered hoarsely.

 “Silence, beast. How could you do that to Elham!? I’ll kill you!”

 He charged forward, sword raised.

 Gripped by fear, she swung her massive scythe and cleaved him in two, shreds of scarlet drifting away and scattering into dust.

 “A-Ah… Wait! Mizar, come back! I’m… sorry…”

 She dropped it with a heavy metallic clang, clutching her head as she twisted herself away, only to come face to face with the radiant princess, her bright eyes shining like twin suns and tresses swaying like golden wheat as she slowly walked forward.

 “How could you, Lycoris? He was your student! Your friend! I thought you said you were like an auntie to us!?”

 “Huh!? …I’m… pretty sure I said uncle…”

 “But now… look at you, why did you do that to Elham? To Mizar? How could you betray us!?”

 She shambled like a zombie, gripping Lycoris by the shoulders as her gaze burned into the vampire.

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

 “I… I didn’t… it wasn’t me! They… I was tricked… It’s not—”

 Fawaris cut her off, speaking harshly. “Justice demands retribution, Lycoris.”

 “Wait—”

 But she didn’t.

 Fawaris leaned down, biting into and tearing off a chunk of Lycoris’—

＊

 “AAAAH!”

 Lycoris sat bolt upright, shivering and hugging herself as she looked up and saw a very surprised Seraphine looking down at her, while something tugged at the fabric of her capelet.

 “Don’t eat that, you dumb rodent! Here, look! Fresh greens!”

 “Huh…?”

 Lycoris blinked and took in the unfamiliar scenery. Winding purposefully-laid cobblestone paths twisted through meticulously trimmed grass and around tall deciduous trees like rivers that met up at a large stone public square. At the edge of the paved stones was a grassy slope that led down into a small lake. This was neither the cafe, nor the darkness of that nightmare. It was just a slightly humid park, the summer air causing his hair to cling to his cheeks.

 Turning around, he saw Emma brandishing a bushel of plants as a wolf-sized, brown-furred rodent chewed on his clothing. He blinked, stupefied and still stuck with his heart racing in his chest as he took in his surroundings.

 They’d appeared to be in a park, as it was unlikely he’d somehow been transported to a forest outside of the city. Moreover, he didn't recall seeing any natural forests this far east, and this didn't exactly look natural, as he let his eyes wander up to the tall iron lampposts illuminating the paths.

 Another of the large docile rodents slovenly flopped over onto its side as it munched on fresh grass. A third let its dark gray lizard tail swish slowly as one of the other park visitors scratched behind its little ears, and a fourth clicked its buck teeth and sparked a small jet of fire as it looked on in envy.

 He’d never seen such friendly dracybaras before. They almost looked endearing, compared to the variety he’d encountered in the wilds.

 The ones he was used to were much more vicious. Their bodies were covered in venomous quills rather than soft fur, and they attacked anyone that drew too close to their nests or feeding grounds.

 “It’s okay, Lycoris. She’s just getting a little too friendly. Dracybaras don’t attack people.”

 “Er, I’m pretty sure they—”

 Lycoris cut himself off before he could finish his thought. He couldn’t say that he’d seen wild monsters, considering the pair of women were operating under the assumption that he was a sheltered noble girl.

 Admittedly, it didn't require that much acting on his part, considering how unfamiliar he was with what the two of them considered mundane.

 “They’re… much softer than I imagined.”

 “Are you alright, Lycoris? That was… quite a scream.”

 Seraphine gently patted him on the back, the realization that he’d been sleeping on her lap slowly sinking in as his face darkened. He hugged his knees and pressed his face against them to hide his embarrassment, but unfortunately it only gave time for the weight of that strange and awful dream to sink in instead.

 Nothing good would come from letting himself sink back into that quagmire. He tried to force the images of his friends out of his mind, instead focusing on his mission to rescue Athena. He needed to get his bearings. Hopefully he hadn't wasted too much time.

 “Just… a nightmare.” He glanced around once more, then up at Seraphine. “Where are we?”

 “Pulia Park, it’s right by the cafe, don’t worry~ Emma and I brought you over after you collapsed. Are you sure you’re okay…?”

 She gave Lycoris a concerned frown.

 In response, he simply nodded his head and stood up, wobbling a little on his feet. The dracybara that’d been lured away from his clothing turned back around and stared blankly as it chewed on grass instead.

 He regarded the creature with some amount of trepidation, remembering the gouts of flame that Tatyana had barely held at bay with a wall of water. But as he had his staring match with the creature, he felt a hand gently push him forward, causing him to stumble toward the jumble of creatures loitering around the food-bearing Emma.

 As he approached, the rest of the rodents slowly lifted their heads to look at him. He raised his hand and waved nervously, though they didn’t react.

 “Here, give this to one. They love it when you rub their chins, by the way.”

 “Huh? Oh, uh, okay.”

 Emma handed a bundle of leaves to Lycoris, as one of the dracybaras got up and wandered over to start munching it right out of his hands. Lycoris had never been great with animals to begin with. He had more than one sore memory about horses taking offense to him during his time as a knight.

 But the dracybara had no reaction other than a slow blink when he nervously reached forward to give its scraggly fur a pat.

 It was surprisingly warm, and unsurprisingly coarse. Thankfully, it wasn’t venomous.

 The reptile-adjacent rodent shuffled closer and bumped against him, its tail slowly tapping the ground behind it as it pressed back against his hand.

 “O-Ohh…! I think it likes me!” He looked up excitedly at the women accompanying him, forgetting his earlier concern.

 “Hehe, someone’s little miss popular~”

 “Hahh, Lyco’s too cute, it’s not fair! Makes me want to have a kid. Do you think her mom would get mad if we signed on as her guardians?”

 “Sera.” Emma glared at her.

 “I was joking! …You know I know better than to mess with nobles.” Seraphine scratched her cheek. “Besides, you can’t tell me you don’t agree.”

 “Mmm, I know what you mean. I’d love it if we had a well-behaved girl like her,” Emma sighed.

 Surrounded by the dastardly snuggly and soft animals, Lycoris quickly found himself trapped in a world of rapturous bliss. It was as though the creatures had evolved for the specific purpose of luring little girls into their lairs with their cuteness.

 It wasn’t until several minutes of cuddly critter heaven passed that he remembered why he’d even left the palace to begin with.

 “Agh! What am I doing!? How long was I even out for?”

 “About twenty or so minutes. We considered contacting your mom on your phone, but…” Emma trailed off, twisting her head away as a dracybara started bumping into her cheek.

 A quick flash of anxiety rushed through him as he patted his pocket for the phone.

 “To be blunt, we didn’t wanna risk pissing off your parents. Could get us disappeared after all, haha… hah…” Seraphine cleared her throat rather pointedly.

 “Ah, yeah… that’s… I guess Mom might do that, especially if she knew you both uh… A-anyways I should probably go! If I keep her waiting any longer then, well…”

 “Good news is, it's just right over there.”

 Emma dug her way out of the dracybara pile and stood up to gesture across the park toward the south exit, just beyond which was a street lined with unlit buildings. It seemed there were parts of the town down here that slept at night as well.

 “I hope we didn’t cause you to be late. Neither of us expected you to pass out like that.”

 “What even happened?” Emma asked. “You didn’t seem to have had any sort of allergic reaction. As far as I could tell it was just shock. Are you sure you’re feeling alright?”

 “Yes, I’m fine. I should really hurry though.”

 He had no idea if his mother had caught on that he was missing. If he was lucky, she’d have just gone straight to bed and not even noticed her phone was gone—though that was probably wishful thinking.

 And of course, it went without saying that he didn’t want Athena to be stuck there any longer than she had to be.

 “Thank you both for your assistance.”

 Though, they really only just wasted his precious time. He couldn’t exactly blame them for that, from their perspective they were just safeguarding a lone child after all.

 He offered them a polite curtsey and turned around, trying his best to ignore the cuddly rodents pressing against his sides.

 “Wait!”

 He turned back around, a confused and worried frown spreading across his face. “Yes…?”

 “Maybe this is a dumb idea, but,” Seraphine smiled, holding up her phone, “wanna trade contact info? Maybe we could hang out again sometime… after that curse gets sorted out, I mean.”

 “H…Huh? Um, that would be… uh.” He started to panic. What does she mean ‘contact info?’ Like… my home address? But that’s just the palace…

 Fortunately, Seraphine seemed to pick up on his hesitation. “No good, huh?”

 “N-No it’s just… I’m not sure what you meant,” he mumbled shyly.

 “Oh, it’s just a phone address, for messaging and stuff. Want me to help walk you through the process?”

 “Sera,” Emma warned, “you know that’s a bad idea. Getting involved with nobles is nothing but trouble at best.”

 “But she’s cute! I thought she might want to at least have a texting buddy while stuck at home.”

 “Ahaha… Um, my mom might get mad at me though, I’d have to ask her first, I think.” Lycoris awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

 “Then how about we do this.” Seraphine crouched down in front of him and spoke slowly and deliberately, “five-eight, two-seven, three three six nine. That’s my number. If you ask your mom and she says it’s okay, feel free to add and text me. We’ll be digital pen-pals~”

 “Uhm… five eight two seven three three… okay. I’ll try to remember.”

 “Hope to hear from you soon then.” Sera cheerily patted him on the head.

 “Right. Bye, then. Thank you for looking after me.”

 “Take care of yourself, don’t go causing any trouble for your mom that we wouldn’t.”

 Turning his back on the women waving farewell to him, Lycoris was left with quite a bit to mull over as he walked through the dimly illuminated park.

 They were quite the nice pair of women, to the point that on multiple occasions he’d completely forgotten that they were abominable creatures, their mere existence an affront to the Goddess. Neither of them really acted like they were cast out of Her light and wallowing in the shadows, waiting to feast on innocent humans.

 If they dyed their hair brown, hid their eyes and ears, and put on cotton dresses or tunics, they’d pass perfectly as ordinary humans.

 …That’s a chilling thought.

 Setting aside the notion of vampires lurking throughout the Kingdom, he was left wondering if the two of them were an exception, or if that was how all the creatures he’d been slaying his whole life behaved.

 Athena may have acted overbearingly servile towards him and his mother, but maybe when not in the presence of literal royalty, she was also… normal. He’d certainly met more than one human who had a bad case of nerves when dealing with nobles or knights, after all.

 As his footsteps crunched the gravel below, he looked toward the crimson clouds through the boughs of the trees.

 He’d slain humans before too, but those that fell to his blade had obviously been wicked, rejecting the Goddess’ light and defying the order of human society as they attempted to wreak havoc.

 Vile mages who’d try to raise the dead, or empower themselves through human sacrifice, or who lied and stole and killed others for their own personal gain. Some were apprehended and faced trial, while others might’ve been sent to the gallows.

 But both directly and indirectly, he’d taken the lives of wicked humans.

 Given what Lilianna had told him of the nobility and the Seven Families, he’d assumed that he wouldn’t be able to trust anyone—that his belief the entire race consisted of nothing but backstabbing egotists was correct.

 But Emma and Seraphine were quite obviously just people.

 “Are they really… monsters?”

 They did drink blood, human blood, but that was simply how they were. Much as he loathed and wished to deny it, it really did taste better. If they were raised to believe that was normal, then obviously they wouldn’t question it.

 Could it be possible to teach them the error of their ways?

 Was it really fair to label them as monsters without even trying?

 An uncomfortable thought settled in the pit of his stomach. He looked back down at the ground and began sprinting toward the row of darkened structures, hoping that he could outrun the ideas sprouting inside of him.

 Hopefully, confronting whoever had kidnapped Athena would be able to realign his moral compass.

 The dark and gloomy building loomed tall before him, a set of stairs nestled just between it and its neighbor that led upward like a lolled out tongue, guiding him up into the belly of the beast…

 With his thoughts wholly consumed by Athena’s rescue, the strange encounter with Emma and Seraphine, and and a burgeoning sense of anxiety and confusion, he paid no heed to the figures lurking in the unlit first floor winery, staring at him through lightly tinted windows.