“W-Wait wait wait, this isn’t some kind of trick mirror is it!? I mean… I look so… young.”

 The two of them were standing in front of a full-body mirror in Lilianna’s study, as the woman had decided that the mirror in Lycoris’ room was too small to “take in her full grandeur.”

 He’d thought he was just humoring the tyrant’s request, but…

 Up from the deep blue footwear—that Lilianna had called mary janes—rose a pair of silk stockings, stopping just short of a flared out skirt with bunched up blue frills on the underside, like an upside down rose bouquet wrapped in white fabric. It came together neatly just above the hips, adding an illusion of curves as it tightly hugged around the waist, the buttons and ribbons dotting it all similarly made of azure stone and fabric. Noticeably, there were small openings in the back, on either side just above his waistline. The dress’ upper portion curved snugly over his shoulders, exposing his pale upper upper arms and a bit of his shoulder.

 Covering his forearms were a pair of detached sleeves, accented with more blue frills on both ends; they draped delicately down from his upper arms where more ribbons were fastened, flaring out at the wrists and fluttering about as he moved.

 His silver hair had been meticulously brushed and fastened with flower-shaped buns on either side, the excess trailing down to his waist in twin-tails. Lapis colored string had been used to tie them up, wrapped like annoyingly cutesy bows that gave the impression of wings.

 It was a more lavish outfit than anything he’d ever seen in the Human Kingdom, perhaps even moreso than the attire of the Princess herself.

 It also felt smoother than anything he’d worn, tickling his skin as he turned around and flapped his arms about.

 Most troublingly, he felt his heart race as he looked at himself… …herself? A dark hue appeared on his cheeks as he fidgeted in embarrassment.

 I am not enjoying this! He lied to himself.

 “Isn’t our dear little Lycoris just the most adorable flower?” The vampire’s hands clamped down on his shoulders as she leaned over, an obnoxiously wholesome smile spread across her entire face. “Truth be told, even we are a touch surprised. Your beauty shall most certainly be the talk of the Court.”

 “Court… I’ve never really experienced it myself—outside of running guard detail, I guess.”

 “Indeed, there are many things we shall have to educate you on before we announce you to the Seven Families.”

 “Ugh…”

 “Do not fear, for we shall give you suitable compulsory education so you’re at least presentable.”

 “Do I even need to be?”

 He looked himself in the mirror, exhaling at the thought of being paraded in front of a whole pack of vampires.

 It was a rather terrifying prospect, but…

 He looked at the other silver-haired person in the mirror and briefly wondered if “mother” would protect him, or if she’d cast him to the wolves the first chance she got.

 “Of course. If our position were disgraced by your behavior, you would be cast out onto the streets, or worse. Now, on that note…”

 She stood up straight, her tone shifting as she forcefully straightened his posture with a loud popping sound from his back, “Back straight, shoulders back, and chest forward. Posture shalt be the first of thy lessons.”

 “Aghck!”

 “Any time we catch thee slouching over the next week, thy punishment shalt be… Hmm…”

 “W-Wait, punishment? And what’d be worse than being disowned!? Honestly, I think I’d rather be executed… Why should you care so much if I’m kicked out, though?”

 “Because thou art our daughter, of course. If thou findst that reason alone to be unsatisfactory then… Our authority would be called into question for embracing one of common birth, eschewing our race’s traditions. We would be stripped of our position as Exaltare, pending the Seven’s investigation and sentencing, before a replacement would assume our position. ‘Twould be no kinder a fate awaiting us than thee… in theory, at least; in the history of our kind, this is technically an unprecedented situation.”

 The Exaltare spoke matter-of-factly, but what she was saying sounded rather… extreme. Had she really done something so forbidden? All because he had “potential?”

 Now that I think about it, I never really paid that much attention to politics before… That’s probably why I ended up—

 “In any case, thy punishment… Ah, yes! We shall break one of thy fingers every time thy diligence wavers.”

 “H-Huh!? Are you crazy!?” He gasped in exasperation, and in response—

 “We are quite sane, see?”

 Lilianna gripped her own finger and twisted, not even batting an eyelash as her pinky bruised purple; it looked frail enough that a light breeze might snap it off.

 “What… the hell? Are you alright!? Why did you…”

 His voice trailed off as he watched in equal horror as her pinky spun itself back into position, looking good as new.

 “Such is the majesty of the Aphtangloa lineage. Our constitution is far sturdier than even the purest of the Seven… truthfully, we might survive being decapitated, though it would undoubtedly be a maddeningly painful experience.”

 Acting as though she’d merely swatted away a spider, Lilianna walked over to the opposite wall and back, looking down at him.

 “We would like thee to repeat this motion. Practice walking in a straight line, until thou canst do it without thinking.”

 But he hadn’t even been paying attention, still trembling as he stared at his own hand.

 When Lilianna’s wrapped around and tenderly squeezed, he winced, trying but failing to pull away as she frowned.

 “Lycoris, know that we would never inflict anything we consider genuine harm upon you. You’re our precious daughter, after all.”

 “I…” he trailed off, looking at their hands. Her fingers looked so slender, though he knew the destructive force hidden within them.

 “Rome wasn’t built in a day, we suppose… never fear Lily, she will surely come to accept her inheritance in time. Just meet her halfway,” she mumbled to herself, before clearing her throat, “Ahem… Is there something else you’d prefer as discipline?”

 “Rome…? I, uh…”

 Her floral scent wafted over him as she gazed down earnestly, waiting for his response with bated breath. For such a fearsome ruler, she looked oddly wholesome.

 Just when I think I can let my guard down— no wait, what am I saying? Of course I can’t let my guard down around her! She’s the enemy of humanity, my enemy!

 He shook his head, chasing away the feeling and recentered himself. Even if she was the enemy, she at least seemed willing to capitulate to his demands. He had to take whatever concessions he could get if he were to make it out of this intact.

 “What if you just… correct my posture instead?” he mumbled. “Does it really make sense to break a finger to fix the spine?”

 “Hmm… is that how human nobility does things?”

 “Err… I don’t actually know if they—”

 “Then if that is satisfactory for you, let us begin. Go on Lycoris, show us your walk. We shall give you all the guidance and advice there is to offer on this planet.”

 At her urging, he began walking, self-conscious of how he was moving… which only made him self-conscious of how soft his clothes were again… which nearly distracted him from keeping his back straight.

 He hadn’t even finished a single lap across the stuffy, windowless room and he was already overwhelmed.

 “Thy gait is too wide, and thou shouldst be placing one foot before the other at all times.”

 Freezing mid-step as Lilianna suddenly scolded him in her frigid ruler-voice, he shivered in fear as she rushed over and put her hands on him.

 Though instead of breaking anything, all she did was forcefully readjust his stance, moving his legs for him awkwardly as she rather literally made him feel the motions out of walking “properly.”

 Wobbling a little as he struggled to maintain his balance, he attempted once more.

 He lost his balance and fell again and again, but never once did Lilianna do anything other than attentively adjust his pose when he wavered.

 Hot flashes of embarrassment spread across his face as he wondered what the others would think of him like this, walking in a manner that felt uncharacteristically dainty and elegant, the ruffles of his dress tickling his thighs as his hair lightly bobbed behind him. Even the way he moved and placed his hands apparently had to be carefully calculated, along with the angle of his chin.

 On more than one occasion, he’d caught himself peering over at the mirror again as he walked, spiking his self-consciousness and deepening his sense of shame.

 But Lilianna never lost patience nor seemed to mind at all, even when he’d called for a time-out to recover when his mind overheated from the sheer volume of sensation and information he had to process.

 If anything, she seemed as though she was savoring every minute of it.

 In that manner, he traipsed through his first day of etiquette lessons…

 ＊　＊　＊

 Lycoris woke the next morning with stiff shoulders and sore legs.

 Liliana had him spend a solid four hours doing nothing but walking, sitting down, and standing up, all of which had to be done with exacting precision.

 If he messed up at any point in the process, she’d start him back over from the beginning and walk him through it once more, guiding him with her soft yet firm hands… It was hard to believe that such a capable swordswoman could have fingers without a single callus on them.

 Or that she could even be capable of being anything even resembling “gentle.”

 …What am I thinking, it's just an act. I saw what she wanted to do to my fingers!

 Loathe as he was to admit it, by the end of their training session he had definitely grown more accustomed to moving with elegance and poise. He couldn’t deny she knew what she was doing, nor claim that she was bad at giving easy to follow instruction.

 Though, he still felt a shiver race through him whenever he thought back to how it felt to walk around in those clothes…

 As their private session dragged on, she ordered him to keep practicing and remain in the room while she tended to her affairs as Exaltare.

 It made sense, she was a ruler, so there was no way she could dedicate an entire day to just Lycoris… But being trapped in her stuffy and dimly-lit study made him feel a little stir-crazy. So instead of obeying her draconian demands, he’d taken the opportunity to look around. Regrettably, his plundering of her office’s musty shelves yielded nothing but disappointment. He couldn’t find anything like a map, or diagram of the building, or any records or books at all. The only thing of note that he’d uncovered was a shelf with lined with reliquaries and other little knick-knacks, and a wine cupboard like the one in his room.

 He’d even poked his head in the fireplace, desperate to find a secret passage or a button of some sort, but there weren’t even ashes in it…

 When she returned, she asked him how he managed to dirty his clothing inside her office, to which he cleverly answered that he tripped and fell while practicing, and decided to rest instead of forcing himself to practice when his performance was worsening.

 As a fellow master of the sword, she seemed to understand that too much practice was just as bad as too little—or perhaps she knew he was lying and simply didn’t care—and dragged him off to the bath instead, where she’d forced him to…

 Eugh… never going to go through that again if I can help it.

 He pulled himself out of bed, changed out of the silky nightgown and into a fresh set of clothes, feeling rather proud of himself for picking out an outfit that bore more or less the same general shape as the one from the day prior; though, above the bust line, the dress tapered upwards to the collarbone, where a choker with a winged blue rose proudly stood out. Most of the clothes stowed inside the dresser were some shade of white and blue, and it all looked remarkably expensive.

 He’d skipped putting on separate sleeves, and the straps of his bra were visible, but surely that didn’t matter…

 I have to wear clothes anyways, so why not make myself look presentable? And I’d rather do anything other than have that woman dress me up like a little child again.

 …Though, he’d given up on the whole affair when he came crashing down from his definitely not enjoying dress-up, due to his failure to come even close to styling his hair in the same manner that Lilianna had before.

 Tying a knot shouldn’t have been that hard, but getting it to stay in place and look nice and have both sides match was beyond him.

 Nor did he have any idea how she did those big loose loops with the ribbons, to say nothing of how frazzled his untamed hair looked.

 Clicking his teeth in frustration, he marched over to the curtains and pulled them back, peering out the glass doors for the first time since he arrived.

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 He still hadn’t given up entirely on escaping, though the idea became less practical every moment. Thinking back to the idea of being alone and unarmed in a country filled with vampires, in a body not even half his original size… and he’d somehow have to make it out of the palace first.

 Above were the everpresent dark crimson clouds that blocked out the sun, but below the capital city of Ljosdeyja sprawled outward like a sharpened forest of dark gray trees, made of unfamiliar stone. Some of the towering gothic-style buildings crept up almost as high as the balcony he peered out from at their absolute peaks.

 He couldn’t even see the ground through the faint crimson haze that filled the air, much less the horde of vampires wandering its winding maze-like streets.

 Shutting the curtains and staggering backward, he collected himself as he forced a slow breath out.

 This was definitely beyond simply being “on the third floor.”

 “I know we fought our way to that ritual circle, but… did it really take us that high up? Or is this a completely different section of her palace? Maybe it’s a different building altogether, even… Mmn, if only I could find the floorplans somewhere.”

 Being so high up made the pit of his stomach clench and his mouth dry out—he wasn’t good with heights, especially after Tatyana had cast Fly to get the party over a bottomless ravine.

 Feeling a shiver run through his spine after recalling what happened when he’d looked down into that void, he turned back around and paced back and forth a few times, catching himself reflexively slipping into the graceful mannerisms he’d relentlessly drilled the day before.

 Unsure of what to do as his embarrassment and irritation rose in equal measures, he sat down in one of the lavish ornate chairs lined up against the wall and demurely crossed his legs, plopping his elbow on the armrest and his chin on his fist as he sighed.

 “I wonder what the others would say if they saw me like this… Tatyana… well, I don’t really care what she’d think, at this point,” he half-snarled, exposing his fangs. Even just the mental image of the woman made him want to tear her throat out with his bare hands.

 “Mizar would probably draw his sword on me immediately, grim-faced determination and all… and then would probably fall over laughing after realizing who I was. I’m not sure if that’s better or worse than letting him cut me down. Ugh, probably worse,” he grumbled, chewing on his lip.

 “And Elham,” he smiled, “I can practically hear him saying, hand on my shoulder and all, ‘I’m sure we’ll find some way to fix this, Sir—’”

 Lycoris stiffened, goosebumps breaking out along his arms.

 “W-Wait… what’s… my name? I’m… I can’t remember. Did that monster do this!?”

 He gripped the armrests tensely, the wooden frame cracking as his knuckles whitened.

 “Did I forget anything else? Anyone else? Mizar, Elham, Tatyana, Princess Fawaris, King Albireo—kinda wish I could forget his face though—uhh… Knight-Commander Merak of the First Ray, Commander Alioth of the Second… my commander, Talitha. Liesman of the Fourth, and the Fifth’s Commander… Dubhe. Well, that’s all the Kingdom’s major military personnel at least…”

 He counted through the list of people on his fingers, gradually easing his tension. There were other names he couldn’t remember, other faces, but some of them—like his parents—he wasn’t particularly broken up over.

 Plus, it’d be normal to forget the name of a baker you only met a few times. He couldn’t even really blame that one on Lilianna.

 But the fact that he couldn’t remember his own name, aside from the one Lilianna had given him, was suspect. It was like a knife had simply scraped away the color, leaving behind a blank canvas that’d been painted back over before he realized it.

 Worse still, he couldn’t immediately tell if there was anything else he’d unnaturally forgotten, if anything.

 As he began replaying his memories of their journey from the human capital, the door slowly creaked open.

 “Lycoris, are you up yet?”

 Immediately, he tensed up, sitting rigidly with his hands in his lap.

 “You’re overcorrecting. To be caught vulnerable at all simply won’t do,” she hummed, glancing towards him… her eyes lingering for an uncomfortable amount of time.

 “S-Sorry. Are you… upset? What are you staring at?”

 “Just the adorable face of our daughter~ …But you didn’t touch your hair, and your choice of garment… well, that might still be expecting a little too much. We shall cover fashion dos and don’ts another time.”

 “I tried!” He folded his arms and sulked. “Couldn’t figure out how you did that hair thing though.”

 “You could have at least brushed it,” Lilianna frowned, stepping into the room and walking towards the vanity. “Come here dear, this too is something worth practicing. While it’s rare for a servant to not attend to you, it is still a possibility.”

 When Lycoris relocated in front of the vanity, Lilianna had a wide smile on her face as she applauded the elegance he was demonstrating after just a single day.

 Not like he hadn’t at least known how to behave around nobles before, even if knightly etiquette wasn’t quite so… severe. Or flowery.

 “We are quite proud of you for stepping outside of your comfort zone of your own volition. Or perhaps… you found it wasn’t quite so uncomfortable after all?”

 “No! I just,” he mumbled unconvincingly, “couldn’t stand the embarrassment of being dressed up like a child.”

 “Hm? What was that?”

 “N-Never you mind. So am I going to be doing more walking today?”

 “Of course, practice will continue until it’s second nature—to the point where acting casual requires active effort on your part instead.”

 She brushed his hair in gentle sweeping strokes. A strange sense of warmth filled the air. He briefly wondered if this was how a mother would actually treat her daughter, before shaking the thought away in embarrassment—and mildly irritating Lilianna while hurting his head, as he caused her to tug on his hair accidentally.

 “Lycoris, you must sit still if we are to properly care for your hair.”

 “Ow ow ow… sorry I was… distracted. I still feel pretty sore from yesterday, if I’m being honest.”

 “Hmm… then how about today we bring you to the training hall? It’s important to know how to defend yourself after all.”

 “Did you forget how we met?”

 “Of course not, we remember quite well how you expertly danced to our every step.”

 “Mrgh…”

 “Worry not, we shall simply be practicing today, there will be no sparring.”

 Somehow, that only deepened Lycoris’ frustration.

 “Why would I be worried abou-ack! What’d I do now!?”

 This time it was Lilianna who’d tugged on his hair.

 “Your mind was beginning to wander again. It's time we show you how to style your hair, since you liked how we did it up so much before~”

 “I didn’t say—”

 “Now now, no need to be shy. Pay attention.”

 Liliana walked Lycoris through the process, as calm and patient as before, guiding her daughter through each step and watching Lycoris practice with the other side until they perfectly matched.

 ＊　＊　＊

 As they walked further and further away from his room, the hairs on the back of Lycoris’ neck stood on end, while the tension mounted on his shoulders.

 It would’ve been incredibly embarrassing to admit his nervousness, so instead he focused wholly on walking in a graceful manner… despite the fact Lilianna was in front of him. Be that as it may however, he could practically feel her gaze upon him, as though she had eyes in the back of her head…

 They’d traveled through a multitude of halls, out a large set of doors, past more strange iron doors—after Lilianna made him stay back while she cleared the way first—before they traveled down at least one spiraling staircase, across a grand ballroom, and through another few halls.

 The entire time, Lycoris didn’t encounter a single other person; he wondered if it wasn’t because Lilianna was intentionally scaring off anyone who was in the way for his sake.

 The ominously silent tyrant made no attempt to strike up smalltalk as she led the way.

 He wasn’t sure what to say either, admittedly; the trip felt more tense than when the Hero’s party had to sneak through an abandoned mine to cut through a mountain range, all shivering from the cold and uncertain whether geolle poachers were waiting around the next corner to ambush them.

 All he had to focus on was the same pale ochre hallways and ornamental red carpets stretching onward, the bright lighting fixtures overhead doing nothing to create a warm or welcoming atmosphere like torchlights would.

 He’d wondered what purpose the rows of presumably vacant rooms served, but just as he considered asking, the two of them stopped before a pair of ornate adamantine doors, their alloyed ash-gray bodies radiating an imposing aura.

 Whatever laid on the other side was obviously important.

 Lilianna brazenly approached, as only the rightful owner of this palace and territory would, and placed a hand against the doors. A pulse of magic rippled out, and slowly they slid into the walls as beyond, the room reinforced with yet more adamantine lit up, one “lightbulb” at a time.

 He shivered from the sudden temperature drop as the two of them stepped inside. As the entrance sealed behind them, quartz glass display cases that stretched from floor to ceiling gradually filled with jade-colored light one by one, all manner of strange and unfamiliar tool placed on display.

 It looked like a treasury—or perhaps armory would be more accurate. It certainly smelled like one, with the cold tang of steel filling his nostrils.

 The matriarch ignored the grand display of weapons however, gently grasping Lycoris’ hand and instead leading him to one wall in particular where several weapons were arranged that he could only describe as “bat themed.”

 All of them were made of polished orichalcum, their black luster glittering in the light, though the manner in which the sharpened edges of the blades had been tempered gave them a sinister scarlet gleam. And of course, they were all fashioned like bat wings or had a wing-shaped crossguard, or ruby eye-shaped pommels or some such.

 “Please, pick whichever catches your eye, Lycoris. Eventually you’ll learn the basics with everything, but every young vampire must start somewhere.”

 He resented her choice of words—in particular the notion that he was a vampire—but, garish as their designs were… he could tell they were well-maintained and expertly crafted, the lustrous black metal armaments inspiring equal parts awe and dread.

 Humans didn’t even know how to properly smelt orichalcum, the only weapons made of the stuff they had were either plundered from plainstriders or piscin, manufactured by geolles discontent with the oppressive rule of the vampires, or were legendary treasures like the Hero’s—

 He spun around, looking around the room.

 Not there. Not there. Not over there.

 There wasn’t any sign of Mizar’s sword.

 In fact, when he turned back around to look at the assortment of weapons she’d laid out for him, there weren’t any swords at all.

 “Where’s his sword…?”

 “We made sure to remove all the swords in advance. As we surmised, you immediately gravitated back toward the ‘familiar.’”

 “What’s wrong with that? Worried I might trounce you in a rematch?”

 The woman shook her head and exhaled. The gesture seemed almost exaggerated when she did it, as though exhaling itself was exhausting.

 “Hold out your arm for us, dear.”

 “…?”

 He did so reluctantly, unsure what to expect. Her tone didn’t sound particularly upset, but still… was she going to scold him for talking back to her…?

 But all she did was adjust his “grip” as though he were holding a blade, and then stepped back and drew her own thin sword from behind her head, like a magic trick.

 Holding it out above him, she lightly bonked his head with the flat of the crimson steel.

 “Do you see the issue now, Lycoris?”

 Of course he did, the moment they were far enough apart for him to be in his previous striking distance, it became obvious.

 His reach had become downright diminutive compared to when he was a… normal human.

 It’d be a tough road re-learning how to use a sword… and Lilianna had already grasped that and purposefully taken steps on her own to circumvent the issue.

 A shiver ran up his spine as he wondered just how wholly trapped in her web he was.

 He pushed the thought aside, examining the wall with disinterest as he idly wondered what option would get the biggest rise out of the vampire. Even looking past the overwrought designs, many of the weapons were completely unfamiliar to him. He wasn’t even sure how to begin holding some of them, much less actually wield them.

 Something familiar but impractical…

 “If that’s the case… this one, I guess.”

 He reached for a large curved scythe, though strangely the chine appeared sharpened as well, rather than just the belly. The crimson gem set over the blade’s ring seemed to stare back at him, a stylized red and black wing curving from its opposite end.

 It looked heavy, unwieldy, and rather impractical—especially given that the snath had no proper grips for holding onto. An ideal tool for irritating the tyrant, but also,

 “I used to be a farmer after all, I know how to use one of these pretty well.” Lycoris turned to see the reaction, but bewilderingly, she seemed ecstatic.

 “Ah, the classic choice! And a wise decision after taking into account your issue of reach. Very good.”

 “Wh…Huh? I mean, wait. Shouldn’t you be…” he trailed off, wrapping his hand around the cold metal.

 “Hmm?”

 “I mean, it's heavy, right? And why use a scythe over a halberd or spear!?”

 Though, when he pulled it off the wall, it was… astonishingly light. And as he held it aloft, the blade clicked and slipped down, the heel shifting as it locked into place as a long-hafted battle-axe.

 “True, mastering the scythe on its own requires far more precision and dexterity than a more straightforward weapon, but modern innovations have resulted in a weapon ideal for both crushing blows and slipping around an enemy’s guard to reap their heads from behind. Many Exaltare past have used the classical scythe, though we were taught and raised using twinblades; thus, we never really grew close to the modern variant like our predecessor had.”

 “But when you fought me you were only using one— oh.”

 Lilianna put a hand to her lips, chuckling demurely while patting Lycoris’ head.

 “Don’t worry dear, we’re sure you’ll catch up to mommy one day. Shall we take your trick-scythe back to the training hall and try it out?”

 “W-Wait, slow down. If you’ve never used it before, then how could you actually teach me how to use it?”

 “When did we say that? We know full well how to, but it simply isn’t our forte. Moreover, did you not say that you had prior proficiency with it?”

 He exhaled in exasperation—and quickly straightened back out as he caught himself slouching—before bouncing the haft of cold metal in his hands. He’d lost basically all his muscle mass, and yet despite its imposing size, the axe… or, scythe, really was as light as a dagger.

 Is orichalcum really that miraculous? I guess it has to be. Makes sense they’d make their weapons out of it, and why I was so outclassed against ma—

 He vigorously shook his head, scrambling to think about his companions’ names and faces instead. Even thoughts of Tatyana, Goddess purge her soul, were preferable to what he’d almost stumbled into.

 Stay focused, Lycoris… how are you letting her get to you this easily!?

 “Lycoris?”

 “…Y-Yes, let’s hurry. We wouldn’t want you to waste all your free time!”

 “Did we not say we had extra free time today? Well as they say, no sense carving open a geolle to check their value, let us return to our private wing at once.”