Enya glanced at the maid; she was actually an acquaintance. The first time she had met Henna, this was the maid who had received her.
Looking down at Henna, who was constantly signaling the maid, Enya said with a light chuckle, “Did your time out run out?”
” … Yes.”
Henna had originally wanted to say no, but she realized she had already taken up a lot of Enya’s time. Thus, she took the opening Enya provided.
After getting off the chair, she walked to the side of the table and held her skirt, bowing her head as she curtsied to Enya.
“Thank you for the trouble… Sister Phil.”
“It was no trouble.”
Enya watched as Henna left with the maid.
Henna walked with brisk steps along the streets on the outskirts of the Academy.
The flow of people here was heavy. They were almost all energetic young people; not a single face was filled with weariness, and their clothing and posture were quite proper.
The Vampire Princess wore a red dress and held a small black umbrella, her short legs moving as she walked.
Many gazes fell upon her, locked onto her figure as they looked her over. It was for no other reason than the long, pointed ears peeking through her red hair.
Through a shop window, Henna saw a man standing tall, accompanied by a little girl in a beautiful dress who was picking out toys.
She lowered her dark red eyelashes and whispered softly to herself, “I hope the Commoner District can be like this too.”
“Huh? That… that’s impossible…”
The maid, who had been silently following behind, instinctively retorted after hearing those words. She didn’t believe people in the Commoner District could ever have the same life as those in the Inner City. It was simply impossible!
Why was it impossible? She didn’t know.
Even though she didn’t know why, she still firmly believed it was impossible.
Henna didn’t bother to argue with her.
Striding forward with her legs clad in white stockings and shiny black leather shoes, Henna continued on. Inside the toy store, the little girl pointed at Henna’s retreating figure and spoke to her father.
“Daddy, look! An elf!”
“You’re mistaken. There are no elves in this world.”
The man had never seen one, so he believed elves simply didn’t exist.
Human lifespans were only 70 or 80 years; elves who lived for 1,000 years in stories were far too outside the norm. Therefore, they couldn’t exist.
The girl pouted, speaking huffily, “That is one! That must be an elf! I want to go make friends with her!”
“…”
Henna entered the Academy through the faculty passage.
She was very familiar with this place and didn’t need anyone to lead her around. A smile remained on her face, making her look quite happy.
The maid fidgeted with her hands and asked in a low voice, “Lady Lilith, did I come at a bad time just now?”
” … It’s fine.”
Henna glanced elsewhere, not blaming the maid for suddenly interrupting her.
She recalled the conversation from earlier and let out a long sigh. Although Phil could not analyze the potion, Henna wasn’t particularly disappointed. She had only gone to try; it would have been best if it worked, but failing wasn’t unacceptable.
‘It’s already like this anyway.’
Thinking this, she looked down at her tiny form.
In Henna’s mind, the image of herself from yesterday surfaced — the scene where she had briefly regained her strength after drinking the potion and stood Peerless against ten enemies.
“Sigh…”
She sighed again.
The maid cleared her throat and reminded Henna, “Lady Lilith, that appearance of yours really isn’t suited for sighing.”
“Oh.”
Henna raised her small hand and pinched the maid’s waist hard. Unfortunately, with her current body as a young Blood Elf and her Magic Power and Bloodline sealed, she couldn’t cause any real damage.
Instead of being hurt, the maid looked delighted.
Seeing her enjoy it, Henna felt like her hands had been dirtied. She let out a huff and muttered under her breath, “Didn’t you used to be scared to death of me?”
“The current Lady Lilith is fragrant, soft, and cute! How could anyone be afraid? Everyone loves you too much for that!” the maid said proudly, tilting her head.
Ever since the Secret Medicine turned her into a small Blood Elf, the servants remaining in Asades Castle had lost their fear of her.
It had been replaced by a curious form of admiration.
Weak, harmless, and very cute!
These were the main labels attached to the identity of Lilith.
They used to fear Henna because of the things she had done in the past.
Years ago, when Henna ruled Asades Castle, anyone related to the Blood God Cult at the time was captured — either beheaded or thrown into prison.
The servants and underlings were the most affected; almost 99% of them were imprisoned or executed. Even the guillotine blades had been blunted from use.
Henna was the one who caused all of it.
Even if her starting point was for the greater good, meant to wash away the filth within Red Pine City, the label of Lord Henna being bloodthirsty had already been etched into most people’s perceptions.
Therefore, the vast majority were exceptionally cautious and fearful in her presence, terrified that an unhappy mood from Henna would result in their deaths.
But Lady Lilith was different!
She was pure. Once detached from the name Henna, she was no longer bound by the label of bloodthirstiness; she had become a pure, newborn life.
Now, those in the castle who didn’t know her specific identity were curious if she was an elf, where she came from, and why she lived in the castle.
Henna held her small black umbrella, blocking out the bright, falling sunlight.
She couldn’t really handle the sun anymore.
Exposing herself to the sun wouldn’t make her burst into flames like the vampires in storybooks, but it would leave her weak and powerless.
“Teacher, you’re here.”
“Yes.”
The white-haired Old Principal walked out, wearing a simple white scholar’s robe. A kind smile rested on his aged face.
“Hen — “
“You should still call me Lilith…”
Henna — no, Lady Lilith — turned her head slightly and spoke in a very quiet voice.
With the addition of her soft, sweet voice, those words sounded like she was acting a bit spoiled or aggrieved. Lilith noticed it herself and lowered her voice even further.
“It’s not good if people hear… so Teacher, you should still call me Lilith. I… I can handle it.”
“Very well.”
the Old Principal’s smile grew even more bright. He stroked his beard with a thin hand and began leading Lilith through the Academy.
They walked through the faculty area, where few people passed. When they saw the Old Principal, they all greeted him respectfully.
As for Lilith, they couldn’t hide the curiosity in their eyes as they stole glances at her.
“You don’t plan to live in the Castle?”
“Mhm…”
Lilith nodded. She didn’t plan on staying cooped up in the Castle anymore. Staying there left her with nothing to do all day.
The administration of Red Pine City was a complete institution; it wouldn’t stop functioning just because she wasn’t there.
Furthermore, if she stayed in the Castle, she would be treated as a dress-up doll by her sister. It was better to stay at the Academy for some peace and quiet.
‘If possible, I’d rather live at Enya’s house…’
Lilith looked toward the massive building in the distance; that was the Library.
“Since you’ve decided, I won’t say more. After all, you aren’t actually the age you appear to be.”
The Old Principal didn’t try to persuade her otherwise.
“It’s fine. I can use this chance to stay away from the front stage.”
Lilith fell silent, watching the young boys and girls entering and leaving the Library.
It reminded her of the life she once had while studying in Tarlonde. Back then, she felt that everything was peaceful and beautiful.
Until…
The growth of the body requires time, but the growth of the heart often only takes a single moment.
Suddenly, Lilith saw a familiar figure.
A girl with pale gold, shoulder-length hair was carrying a thick stack of books, walking out with brisk steps. Behind her, a brown-haired girl followed, clutching a few books.
Elqi hurried forward, cradling her books. “Can you not run so fast?”
“Hurry up!”
Rosily didn’t stop. In fact, she intentionally sped up.
Elqi looked at Rosily’s back and took a deep breath.
But when she felt the many gazes around her, she was forced to suppress her frustration.
Ever since they became familiar with each other, Rosily had been teasing her, either intentionally or unintentionally. Yet, Rosily was very gentle with others. Elqi felt both angry and helpless.
‘She’s so mean! How can she be like this?’
Flying magic wasn’t allowed in the Academy; otherwise, Elqi would have chased her while sitting on her staff. Letting out a helpless sigh, she shouted, “Wait for me!”
Rosily had already run quite a distance. She had been planning to speed up more to give Elqi some exercise, but she suddenly jerked to a halt.
She turned her head to look into the distance.
Elqi caught up and followed Rosily’s gaze with curiosity.
Over there stood an elderly man and a little girl dressed entirely in vibrant red.
“Is that… the Principal? Who is that next to him?”
Elqi looked back, but she realized Rosily’s gaze was fixed on the red-haired girl. She couldn’t help but frown.
Elqi leaned against Rosily, giving her a light bump. Rosily turned to look at her, her face solemn.
“Classmate, you bumped into me. Apologize.”
“???”
Elqi’s mouth twitched at those words.
Upon seeing Elqi’s expression, Rosily instantly switched from her serious face to a sweet smile. She turned around and began running again, tossing a sentence over her shoulder.
“Come and catch me! If you catch me, I’ll promise to do anything you ask.”
“…”
Before Elqi could react, silver light shimmered on Rosily’s body, and she disappeared in an instant. Elqi was left standing alone.
‘Dammit, if you’re going to play, play fair!’
She waved her hand, and a staff appeared.
Using Control Wind, Elqi sat directly on the staff. After tucking her legs in, she hovered in the air.
She squeezed her legs together, and the head of the staff tilted up slightly.
Elqi flew forward, hugging the ground, her speed getting faster and faster.