Sylvie and Nia froze at the same time. The demand was too unexpected, too loaded with hidden meaning.
Utia’s finger continued lightly tapping her cheek, a malicious glint flickering in her crimson eyes.
She seemed to relish the moment—relishing the shock, shame, and struggle flashing across Sylvie’s face, and the disbelief and fear etched on Nia’s.
“What’s wrong? Not willing?” Utia’s voice carried a deliberate note of grievance.
“Your big sister made quite a big concession, you know~”
Her gaze swept over Nia, then down to the trembling Lynla in her arms.
“Or perhaps… you think these little blood livestock aren’t worth even this tiny sacrifice?”
“…I understand.”
Sylvie replied calmly.
If a simple kiss on the cheek could secure Nia and the others’ safety, it was hardly anything at all. In fact, it was exactly as this woman had said.
It was an absolutely worthwhile trade.
She released her tightly clenched fists and took a step forward.
Utia’s smile grew even brighter. She even tilted her head slightly, fully presenting her flawless profile to Sylvie.
Sylvie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them again, the emerald depths held only a deathly calm. She slowly rose onto her tiptoes.
Just as her lips were about to brush Utia’s cheek, Utia suddenly shivered. Then, without warning, she turned her head.
“Just kidding~”
Utia laughed lightly as she stepped back, evading the kiss. Her crimson eyes sparkled with the thrill of a successful prank.
“Your big sister isn’t going to bully cute little Sylvie that much~ Hehe.”
She turned and walked toward the alley’s entrance, her scarlet skirt swaying in the night.
“That’s all for today. Your big sister still has proper business to attend to, but remember…”
She glanced back one last time.
“You owe me one. Next time, it won’t be this simple.”
Her figure vanished cleanly into the alley mouth.
She had come suddenly and left just as inexplicably.
Sylvie stood there in a daze, blinking twice. Her small face flushed slightly from the embarrassment of being teased.
“That… wicked woman.”
“Little Syl!”
“Sylvie sis!”
Nia and Lynla called out as they hurried over—one wrapping her arms around Sylvie’s waist, the other clinging to her legs.
“Are you hurt anywhere? Or feeling unwell? I’ve heard those nobles can make someone sick with just a glance! Or even curse them!”
Nia reached out, fussing over this and checking that, her face full of worry.
Only Lynla held tightly to her leg, her tiny body still trembling. The fear from that eerie gaze lingered, refusing to fade.
“It’s not that exaggerated…” Sylvie regained her usual composure, smiling helplessly as she crouched down and pulled the small body into her embrace.
“No matter what, she didn’t make things difficult for you two. Lady Utia teasing me isn’t exactly new.”
And as she had said, human “rats” had slipped into the city. She had real work to do—she probably wouldn’t randomly pick a blood livestock to amuse herself midway, right?
After all, the Queen had only just punished her…
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry… Lynla caused trouble for Nia sis and Sylvie sis… I’m sorry…”
The little girl’s crying echoed clearly in the quiet alley, laced with deep self-blame.
She buried her small face in Sylvie’s chest, her shoulders shaking with sobs.
Sylvie gently stroked Lynla’s back, her voice soft.
“Lynla didn’t do anything wrong. You don’t need to apologize. It’s okay.”
“I’m sorry, little Syl… It’s always you having to deal with trouble because of us.”
Nia hung her head, her words heavy with complicated guilt.
Sylvie shook her head.
“It’s okay.”
This place was the only spot in the cold city of Eternal Night City where she could feel “light” and “warmth.”
It was her sanctuary, the anchor for her numbed emotions.
Sylvie would not allow anyone to taint them…
But… had that woman really just come to tease her and then left?
That really didn’t seem like Utia’s style.
As Sylvie pondered this, Nia suddenly tugged at her sleeve.
Her face carried an unnatural flush, and she fidgeted, twisting her fingers. Her eyes darted up occasionally, misty as they glanced at Sylvie before quickly dropping again.
“Is something wrong?” Sylvie asked, puzzled.
Nia pressed her lips together, her cheeks growing redder as she stammered out a few words.
“Um… little Syl, actually… I could do it too… you know… not just the cheek… or whatever.”
“…Hm?” Sylvie tilted her head, her expression pure innocence.
“N-Never mind…”
“Ugh…”
…
At that very moment, far away on a distant rooftop.
Utia stood alone on the edge of a towering eave. The howling chill wind of Eternal Night could not cover her inherent coldness; if anything, it only made her seem more isolated, like frost itself.
She gazed indifferently at the figures of the girls deep in the alley, a faint smile on her lips.
“How nauseatingly heartwarming…” she murmured to herself. In an instant, the smile vanished, replaced by a layer of frost.
Without turning, she called out.
“Wouldn’t you agree, Sulga?”
As her words fell, a male vampire emerged from the shadows—unsmiling, his face cold and grim.
“Human emotions are complex and ever-changing, but most of the time, they are nothing more than meaningless mental waste… I cannot comprehend them.” His voice was numb, devoid of feeling, like a cold machine.
“Of course you can’t understand.” Utia gave a mocking snort.
“With that heart of yours long since hollowed out completely, what could you possibly understand about emotion?”
“My heart beats for the Queen.” Sulga’s voice remained perfectly steady, without a ripple.
“That is enough.”
“Hmph…”
Utia turned, fixing Sulga with an icy stare. Her voice lowered gradually, carrying a dangerous edge of hostility.
“Why were you following me?”
“Because Her Majesty the Queen does not trust you.” He answered truthfully.
“Tch… Compared to those humans, you’re the one who seems more like a rat in the gutter.”
Utia was utterly furious.
She had been this close! She could have seen even more of Sylvie’s flustered, helpless side!
She had already planned exactly how she would tease her!
Then she had felt it—a gaze brimming with danger, locked onto her.
He was warning her… He was actually warning her?!
“Such a mood killer…”
Utia’s crimson eyes narrowed dangerously, her tone thick with displeasure.
“The Queen’s orders were for you to assist me in capturing the humans, not to monitor my every move.”
“Monitoring is necessary. You should not get too close to Her Majesty the Queen’s blood livestock. That is… overstepping and defilement.” Sulga’s voice stayed flat, without fluctuation.
Utia snorted coldly.
“So what are you going to do about it?”
Sulga fell silent for a moment, then turned his head toward a direction in the Eastern District. Real killing intent gleamed in his eyes.
“The ‘rats’ have been found. Near the black walls of the Eastern District. I can smell it—the decaying scent of humans, along with silver and gunpowder.”
He paused, as if carefully savoring the air, then continued.
“Three humans, all trained combatants. Levels… one at fifth, two at fourth. Weapons… ‘knife,’ ‘sword,’ ‘gun.'”
Utia listened quietly to his report. When he finished, she added a mocking jab.
“Has anyone ever told you you’d make a perfect dog? Oh, wait—sorry, you already are.”
Sulga seemed entirely unaffected by her sarcasm, simply continuing in his expressionless tone.
“They are yours to handle… I have other tasks.”
With that, he turned and vanished cleanly back into the shadows.
“Tch, always dumping trouble on others.”
Utia turned her gaze toward the Eastern District.
Under the shroud of Eternal Night, the air was thick with cold despair. Yet at the edge of the darkness, something seemed to stir, restless and eager.
“Humans… Let me see how much you’ve grown in these past years.”
As her icy words faded, Utia’s figure likewise melted into the darkness.