Chapter 53: The Queen Is Waiting

Time returned to the present.

Sylvie walked out of the room.

When she prepared to leave, she stopped once again in front of Cassia’s door.

Dust floated and danced slowly in the air under the pale moonlight.

The cold, clear light enveloped both the girl’s figure and face in an oppressive atmosphere.

She stood there motionless for a long, long time.

Sylvie slowly reached out her hand as if intending to push the door open, but hesitated.

Her five slender fingers wrapped in silver moonlight curled slightly before she eventually withdrew them.

She let out a deep breath and mocked herself in a low voice.

“Sylvie… what exactly are you hoping for…”

With that, she turned and left the place.

Nothing particularly special happened in Eternal Night City that day.

Everything continued to run in an orderly manner according to its established rules.

The previous Great Purge and the rumors about human intruders had not affected the blood livestock here in any noticeable way.

There was no resistance, no unrest, and not even much whispered discussion.

The blood livestock living here had long since learned to maintain complete silence under absolute terror.

Pain and death were the norm.

Any small ripple would quickly be swallowed by an even deeper stillness.

However, today there were still a few small, fortunate things that occurred.

For example, in a somewhat hidden blood livestock dwelling—

After enduring the night’s cold as usual, when they woke up this morning, they discovered a thick, warm, and soft quilt covering their bodies.

Who had brought it?

They had no idea.

They only knew that the quilt carried a faint, familiar scent that inexplicably brought them a sense of peace…

…

Sylvie walked lightly through the narrow passage leading to the central area.

Occasionally, low-ranking vampire enforcers on patrol passed by her.

Their crimson eyes lazily swept across her pale face and the brand on her neck.

After confirming she was “harmless,” they indifferently looked away.

Should I go back…?

She lowered her head, thinking as she walked.

Sulga had told her that the Queen had left the city to handle some affairs and would not return for several days.

What Sylvie found curious, however, was—

What matter required the Vampire Queen herself to handle personally?

Having followed her for six years, Sylvie understood Klal’s extremely arrogant and conceited personality very well.

She rarely left Eternal Night City and disdained personally dealing with the so-called affairs of the city.

Most of the time, she simply sat upon her throne, admiring her eternal kingdom, or… immersed herself in certain obsessive interests born from her long life that only she knew about.

Lost in thought as she walked, by the time she came back to her senses, she realized she had unconsciously arrived at the foot of the long staircase leading to the vampire grand hall.

She lifted her head and looked at the massive structure standing in the darkness.

The black stone fortress was swallowed and outlined by the darkness of Eternal Night, as if it were about to merge completely with the blackness.

Unpleasant memories involuntarily surfaced in Sylvie’s mind…

I’d rather not… go back.

Honestly, she would prefer spending another night being held by that woman Utia than returning to that place where she would be tormented by madness and sickness all night long.

She lowered her head, staring at the steps beneath her feet, and stood there without taking that step for a long time.

It was rare to be able to stay away from that place for a few days.

Why force herself to return to that land of suffering?

Since the Queen probably wouldn’t return for several more days anyway, she might as well use this time to try finding the syringe-like instrument that Shiluo had mentioned.

It might have fallen somewhere in that alley, or perhaps been picked up by some other blood livestock.

Thinking of this, Sylvie slowly withdrew the foot she had been about to step forward with.

She began recalling the sudden loud explosion she had heard coming from the Western District earlier.

That was most likely the place where Shiluo and her companions had encountered Utia.

She might as well try her luck there…

The Western District was a relatively chaotic area within Eternal Night City.

The buildings were low and dilapidated, the alleys intricate and maze-like.

It served as a gathering place for many wandering blood livestock.

Patrols here were also relatively lax, and accidents and disappearances occurred frequently.

Sylvie skillfully navigated through the labyrinth of small alleys, heading toward the Western District.

Finding the location where the battle had broken out was actually quite simple.

When a serious incident occurred in an area — be it violence, death, or a major disturbance like the one caused by Shiluo’s group —

Usually within a single day, nearly all the blood livestock in that area would move away.

They would seek new places to live as far from trouble and danger as possible, afraid of being caught up in it.

This survival instinct had long become commonplace in Eternal Night City.

Sylvie was all too familiar with it.

Sure enough, the closer she got to the general area where she remembered the loud explosion occurring, the quieter the surroundings became.

The figures that should have been huddled in corners or ruined houses had disappeared.

The ragged clothes that used to hang out to dry were gone.

Even the scattered bits of daily trash on the ground had decreased.

All that remained were empty alleys, debris blown about by the wind, and a tense silence.

“Is this the place…?”

Standing at a crossroads, Sylvie stopped and began carefully observing her surroundings.

If I were those humans who infiltrated the city… the first choice for a hiding spot would be…

She murmured inwardly and turned her head toward an alley beside her.

Sure enough.

On the ground at the entrance of the alley, there remained a clear scratch mark that looked like it had been left by the kind of stone dagger Shiluo carried at her waist.

She squeezed her way inside.

However, after searching around, she still failed to find any “syringe,” let alone any kind of “instrument.”

Had it really been taken away by Utia?

Or had it been swept away by something else during the chaos?

Just as Sylvie was about to give up—

“What are you looking for.”

Behind her, a voice as mechanical, numb, and ice-cold as ever rang out.

Sylvie’s body instantly stiffened.

Trouble has arrived…

The momentary panic was quickly suppressed.

Her expression returned to its usual obedient calm.

She turned around and looked at the man in the white enforcer uniform behind her.

She did not lie.

She openly admitted it.

“Sylvie is looking for something.”

Sulga’s inorganic blood-red eyes stared at her coldly, showing no emotional fluctuation whatsoever.

He spoke, asking only one short question.

“What.”

“Sylvie knows that intruders have entered Eternal Night City, and those intruders may have brought some things from the outside with them.”

Her emerald eyes showed not a trace of panic as she lifted her head and calmly met Sulga’s scrutinizing gaze.

“And things from the outside are very precious in Eternal Night City.”

“Sylvie thought… while she has this period of free time, if she could find one or two items, perhaps she could offer them to her master.

Because these past few days, Master’s mood… has not been very good.”

Sulga silently watched her.

Those blood-colored eyes remained completely emotionless, like two bottomless pools of blood.

He neither exposed her immediately nor scolded her.

He simply continued to observe her in silence.

Time seemed to freeze in the quiet.

After a long while, Sulga finally spoke again.

“Meaningless… This is not a place you should be.

Return to where you belong.”

“Yes, Lord Sulga.”

Sylvie responded immediately, without any hesitation or argument.

She gave a slight bow, then turned sideways, preparing to leave past Sulga and head back toward the grand hall.

However, the moment she brushed past him—

Sulga’s voice, cold and utterly devoid of warmth, rang out once more, clearly drilling into her ear.

“Her Majesty the Queen… is waiting for you…”