Hati lunged at Sefina.
A claw swept down, carving a horrific wound into Sefina’s side. Blood instantly stained her dress.
Sefina frowned and raised her umbrella, her body dissolving into a swarm of bats as she fell from the sky. This wolfkin’s strength was immense; a head-on clash wouldn’t guarantee victory. Her family members were still struggling on the ground. With too many casualties, she wasn’t confident they could eliminate all five of them.
She couldn’t afford more losses. She had to retreat and preserve their strength.
She shouted, “All members, retreat!”
Sefina landed on the ground, slicing through the air with the tip of her umbrella to create a crimson spatial rift out of thin air. She slammed the parasol into the ground, and vines erupted from the earth, toppling every cross in sight.
With the suppression lifted, the vampire warriors broke away one after another, racing toward the red spatial rift Sefina had summoned.
“They’re escaping!” the nun with the lantern shouted.
*Bang! Bang! Bang!* The marksman fired continuously.
But the vampires were already seasoned in taking circuitous escape routes to avoid being hit by the lethal silver bullets.
Sefina stared at the nun, her heart filled with irritation. If it hadn’t been for that nun breaking her initial bat swarm circle, they might have killed them all. Sefina’s hand shot forward. A thick thorn extended at high speed, rushing straight for the nun.
*Pshhh!* The sound of flesh being pierced echoed.
The vine impaled the nun’s chest, a large patch of bright red staining her clothing. Her face was filled with terror as her hands went limp, and the sun-radiating lantern dropped to the ground with a *clatter*.
As the sunlight faded, the surroundings plunged back into the pitch-black night.
“You bastard!!” Hati dived from the sky, throwing a punch at Sefina.
Sefina turned, and the red spatial rift vanished the second her figure disappeared into it. She had left the battlefield.
***
The temporary spatial tunnel transported Sefina and the remaining vampires to a safe location in the wilderness.
“Phew…” Sefina let out a sigh of relief.
Tonight’s ambush had failed. Not only had she failed to kill them all, but she had also exposed Lin Shu. Sefina’s mind buzzed as she rapidly calculated her next move.
“Mistress!”
“Mistress, your wound…” the other vampire warriors reminded her with concern.
Sefina looked down and saw that the deep gashes Hati’s claws had carved into her side and right arm remained. Blood soaked her dress, and she could even see the raw flesh. There was no self-healing, just as if she had been hit by their silver bullets.
Once her tensed nerves relaxed, Sefina felt a sudden, searing pain radiating from the wounds. She gripped her hem tightly, forcing herself to stand straight.
“It’s fine. At least we know their team’s composition. I killed the girl with the lantern, so there will be one less threat next time.”
The situation was dire, and time was tight. At the very least, she couldn’t give them time to react and send word back to the Holy Race.
“Since they hired experts specifically to target vampires, fine. We have a countermeasure as well.”
Sefina thought of Eve. Her puppets didn’t have vampire traits, so they might not be affected.
***
Lin Shu’s eyes snapped open, staring at the familiar ceiling. Her heart hammered in her chest as if she had just woken from a nightmare. She sat up abruptly, realizing she was in her own room.
Where was Sefina?
Lin Shu turned her head toward the window and saw that it was pitch black outside; it was already night. She struggled to piece together the last bits of her memory, recalling Sefina’s final embrace. It was that forced command that had made her return and sleep for a whole day against her will.
Why would Sefina do that…?
Lin Shu grew even more uneasy. ‘She must be hiding something important from me. Since she won’t tell me, I’ll go find her myself.’
Lin Shu rolled out of bed, changed her clothes, and rushed downstairs. The maid guarding the castle hall was startled to see Lin Shu in such a hurry.
“Where did the Mistress go?” Lin Shu asked.
“Miss Lin Shu, the Mistress went to a tavern in the capital. She said she would be back soon,” the maid said, reciting the script Sefina had prepared.
“Then I’m going to the capital to find her.”
“Wait, you can’t go!” The maid panicked, immediately grabbing Lin Shu. “The Mistress gave orders — you aren’t allowed to leave.”
“Why?”
The more the maid tried to stop her, the more Lin Shu felt there was a secret hidden behind it all. Lin Shu firmly shook off the maid’s hand and headed toward the manor’s stables. The maid followed in a panic, trying to stall her, but Lin Shu was determined to leave.
Without clearing up the questions in her heart, it felt like a stone was blocking her chest, and she couldn’t stay at the manor in peace. Sefina had trusted her so much before; why was there suddenly a rift between them?
Lin Shu led out a black horse, mounted it, and grabbed the reins, charging toward the manor’s gates. She knew the way to the capital.
As Lin Shu galloped down the road, the wind whistled past her ears. But she hadn’t gone far before a figure blocked her path. When she recognized the familiar face, Lin Shu was shocked.
“Liya?!”
Liya was dressed in plain clothes, standing in the middle of the road with a resolute gaze. She spread her arms, blocking Lin Shu’s way.
“Lin Shu, thank goodness. I was just coming to find you.”
Lin Shu yanked the reins. The horse neighed, rearing its front hooves as it stopped in front of Liya.
“Why are you here?”
“Don’t worry about that right now, Lin Shu. Listen to me…” Liya cried out urgently. “Sefina is lying to you! She’s just using you as a replacement. You can’t stay by her side anymore. To her, you’re nothing more than a fake projection!”
In her haste, Liya spoke loudly and quickly, clearly no longer caring about her noble lady’s decorum. After having the butler investigate, she had finally obtained the results. The Drago family indeed had a highly valued maid in the past.
That maid was also human, with black hair just like Lin Shu’s. But later, due to an unknown incident, that black-haired human maid disappeared and never appeared again. Having obtained this information, Liya was certain that Sefina was using Lin Shu as a substitute.
If that wasn’t the case, why would Sefina have bothered to snatch Lin Shu away from her?! It didn’t matter how the maid disappeared; what mattered was what Lin Shu thought.
Liya looked at Lin Shu anxiously.
Lin Shu’s heart skipped a beat. She pulled the horse back a few steps and asked hesitantly, “What do you mean… Why would you say that?”
If Lin Shu hadn’t seen the portrait in that room the other day, she would have simply avoided Liya and ignored her words. But she had seen it, and a seed of doubt had been deeply planted in her heart.
That human maid who looked like her, and the “past” Sefina had mentioned before. Lin Shu was indeed suspicious, because she had never received a definitive answer.