Elric stared at his hand, his voice low and thoughtful.
"You know… when I entered the Vampire Realm and met Lucien, I felt a chill run down my spine. It was like—if he wanted to—he could kill me on the spot. That kind of pressure… And when I mentioned the Demon Lord to him, he didn't even flinch. Not a hint of fear or hesitation. He just looked at me and said, 'If the Demon Lord steps into the Vampire Realm, that'll be his end.'"
Ishara lowered her gaze, placing a hand under her chin, her brows furrowed.
"Well, I think we need to be cautious around the vampires too… What a headache."
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Zara looked at Lilith and blurted out without thinking,"Yeah… you're right. I'm a new vampire."
Lilith burst into laughter, clutching her stomach."Ahahaha!"
"Eh?" Zara blinked, puzzled, a small frown forming between her brows.
"S-Sorry," Lilith said, trying to catch her breath as she wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. Then she gave Zara an amused look, lips curled in a teasing smile.
"You do know that vampires are born, right? Only humans who marry a high-class vampire have a chance of turning. Even then, most of them just become dhampirs. So… how exactly are you new to this?"
Hearing that, Zara was left speechless. After a moment of thought, she stammered,
"Ah… th-that's what I meant. I'm a born vampire… I just awakened now."
Lilith made an exaggerated wow expression, her mouth forming an "O."
"Ohhh, that's it, huh? So you just awakened."
Zara quickly nodded, trying to play along. "Yeah… I just awakened."
Lilith leaned in slightly, a curious glint in her eyes."Then you must already know how to control blood, right?"
Zara closed her eyes for a moment, exhaling softly.
Why is she asking so many questions…?
She forced a wry smile, her teeth clenched slightly."Yes, of course. I know how to control blood. I'm… an expert, actually."
Lilith tried to stifle a laugh, her shoulders trembling from the effort.
"Then I'm afraid I have to break your little fantasy," she said, eyes gleaming with amusement. "Only vampires from a Progenitor family can become experts in blood control. And I'm pretty sure… you're not one of them."
She stood up from the sofa with a graceful stretch, then placed a firm hand on Zara's shoulder.
"Don't worry, you can tell me the truth. I know you're not a vampire. But if you were human… then how did you become a high-class vampire? That's what I'm curious about."
Leaning in close, she whispered near Zara's ear, her breath sending a chill down her spine,"Don't worry. I won't do anything to you."
Zara squeezed her eyes shut tightly.
I might've believed that… if she wasn't gripping my shoulder like she was about to snap it in half.
"Okay, okay! I'll tell you—just stop squeezing my shoulder!" Zara exclaimed.
Lilith immediately let go, her expression shifting to one of innocent confusion.
"Squeezing? When did I ever do that?" she asked, feigning ignorance. Then, with a mischievous glint in her silver eyes, she added, "Alright, now spill it. I'm really curious."
She sat back down on the sofa, resting her chin on her hands as she stared intently at Zara, those silver eyes practically glowing.
Feeling that gaze, Zara instinctively looked away, her cheeks tinged with a faint blush. She quickly shook her head, trying to chase away the thought.
Am I going insane? I just… thought she looked cute just now.
"Ahem—yeah, you guessed right. I was human…" Zara admitted, her voice trailing off into a sigh.
Hearing that, Lilith's playful expression shifted slightly. A small frown crept onto her face.
"So you're saying… a dhampir bit you, and then you become vampire and just happened to fall into a magic circle?" she asked slowly. "And when you woke up… you were here?"
Zara nodded, keeping her gaze low.
I can't tell her about Fluff… right?
"Can I go back to my world? Please?" Zara asked softly, her voice laced with desperation.
Hearing that, Lilith glanced at her with a lazy posture, stretching her arms above her head before replying casually,"Well… you can't go to the human world right now."
A bad feeling surged in Zara's chest. Her heart thudded.
"Why not?" she asked, her voice tense.
Lilith turned her head slowly toward her, silver eyes gleaming with something unreadable.
"Tomorrow, the Progenitor has placed a restriction. No vampire will be allowed to leave this realm—and since you're one of us now, you can't go out either."
Zara shot to her feet, panic rising in her chest.
"But my house… it's not here! My life isn't here!"
Lilith tilted her head, her tone nonchalant."Hmm, well… you can only leave after ten years."
Zara's face went pale.
"Ten… years? What about my family? What will my friends think? How will they react?"
Lilith stood and walked over, placing a hand on Zara's shoulder with a surprisingly gentle touch.
"Okay, calm down, beauty. There's a time difference between the two realms. Ten years here is about… one year over there, give or take. And anyway, you're a vampire now—eternal life, remember? You've got time."
As Zara slowly began to calm down, wiping the corners of her eyes, her gaze unintentionally drifted toward Lilith—
Only to find her casually unbuttoning her shirt.
"Ahhh! W-What are you doing?!" Zara yelped, her face instantly turning bright red.
Lilith paused mid-button, then looked at her with a confused blink."Hm? Oh—relax. I'm just changing. why are you so fluster,"