The cold wind howled, pouring wildly through the dilapidated window, bringing with it the darkness of Eternal Night into this cramped room.
Yet this icy night wind still failed to numb Shiluo’s thoughts; instead, it made her increasingly alert.
After all, sharing a room with the once bloodthirsty Vampire Queen—any normal human couldn’t possibly relax their guard.
Of course, except for that girl named Sylvie.
Whoosh whoosh—
The cold wind fluttered the somewhat dirty and tattered curtains, gently lifting Cassia’s long silver-white hair, which shimmered like gems under the cold moonlight. Her delicate skin almost blended with the moon’s glow, pale with a sickly hue.
Cassia huddled alone in the corner, waiting for her strength and wounds to recover. Her eyes had never once shifted from Cassia’s body from beginning to end.
No—Shiluo’s eyes had never once shifted from Cassia’s body.
But Cassia was the complete opposite; from beginning to end, she never glanced at Shiluo even once. She truly just sat on the bed, motionless like a frozen sculpture, so light that even her breathing couldn’t be heard.
Silence spread. After half a day’s rest, Shiluo finally recovered a bit of strength.
She spoke, breaking this eerie tranquility.
“Six years ago, on that day six years ago, they said the proud Cassia Fironiya was defeated by a new Vampire Queen, her body thrown outside to feed the blood beasts… But you’re here now.”
Shiluo’s voice was unusually clear amid the howling wind, carrying an incomprehensible confusion.
She propped herself against the wall, slowly standing a bit straighter. Though her leg injury still ached, at least she was no longer dizzy.
Cassia by the window—or rather, Cassia—still showed no reaction, as if Shiluo’s questions were just irrelevant gusts passing by her ears.
“Why?” Shiluo shuffled forward a small step, raising her voice a bit.
“If you’re still alive, why hide here? If you were defeated, why… didn’t the new Queen, Klal, finish you off? With the vampires’ ways, it’s impossible to leave a threat like you alive.”
Shiluo’s barrage of questions was like stones tossed into deep water, failing to stir even a ripple.
That pale profile remained serene, her blood-red eyes emptily gazing at the darkness outside the window, as if something there was worth her attention.
Shiluo’s brows furrowed tighter and tighter.
This complete disregard frustrated her more than any arrogant response—and brought a trace of inexplicable unease.
She unconsciously followed Cassia’s line of sight. Outside the window were only ruined streets and dim buildings in the distance.
What was she looking at?
Just as Shiluo puzzled over it, a somewhat hurried set of footsteps echoed from the stone path downstairs.
The moment those footsteps sounded, Shiluo clearly saw a faint gleam flicker in Cassia’s empty blood-red eyes, so weak it was almost imperceptible.
She moved.
Her head slowly turned, her gaze drawn by the footsteps. But when she saw the owner below was just an ordinary blood livestock hurrying along, that gleam extinguished like a candle blown out, vanishing into the emptiness.
Her form froze again, now with an incomprehensible… disappointment?
In that instant, a thought struck Shiluo.
That look… that expression of anticipating something’s appearance, only to dim instantly when the expectation fell short…
She was too familiar with it!
Wasn’t that exactly how she looked every time she took out her pocket watch during missions to miss her sister?
An absurd guess suddenly surfaced in Shiluo’s mind.
Almost without thinking, she blurted out, her voice shocked and incredulous.
“You couldn’t be… waiting all this time for that girl named Sylvie to come back, could you?”
The moment the words fell, the air in the room seemed to freeze.
The cold wind still poured in from the window, the curtains swaying, but that silver-haired woman, seemingly fused with the moonlight’s silence—her body trembled slightly.
Then, Cassia slowly turned her head.
Those blood-red eyes were no longer empty but trembled faintly. For the first time, they truly, clearly focused on Shiluo’s face.
Shiluo clearly saw an emotion swirling in her eyes that she hadn’t anticipated.
It was… panic.
………
“You ‘come closer’ to Sister, and Sister won’t make them pay the price. How about it? A very good deal, right? Hum hum hum…”
“…”
Sylvie lowered her brows, her mind undergoing a fierce internal struggle, before carefully lifting her gaze to look at Utia.
“Lady Utia… you must keep your promise.”
Utia’s smile deepened on her face. She nodded affirmatively, replying with a pleased laugh.
“Of course. Though Sister’s personality is a bit wicked, there’s one thing Sister can guarantee… Sister never goes back on her word.”
Another silence followed. After a long moment, Sylvie’s weak voice came.
“…Okay.”
With difficulty, stiffly, almost forcing herself inch by inch, she shifted her body toward Utia’s open embrace, which seemed to invite her in.
With each inch closer, the mix of sweet, cloying incense and cool bodily scent belonging to Utia grew more intense.
Finally, her cheek stopped just as it nearly touched Utia’s bare shoulder, their distance no more than a centimeter.
“There.”
Sylvie’s lowered voice unconsciously trembled a bit. She turned her head away, avoiding the pale, alluring curve so close at hand.
But Utia was clearly dissatisfied.
“Ah la, is it because tonight is too cold? Sister’s embrace is empty and chilly… Someone’s sincerity isn’t quite there.”
“Guh…”
Damn it.
It’s just getting a bit closer, right?
What’s there to be afraid of!
Sylvie psyched herself up inwardly, gritted her teeth, steeled her heart, and reached out her arms to directly encircle Utia’s slender, enchanting waist.
Utia let out a sigh that was almost satisfied. She likewise tightened her arms, fully drawing Sylvie’s thin body into her cold yet soft embrace.
Utia’s embrace was incredibly cold, yet carried the fullness and softness unique to a mature form.
Sylvie’s thin, slender body was completely enveloped—even embedded within—her cheek forced to press tightly against the cool, smooth curve, her nose tip only able to rest against that pale, cold skin.
She gently rested her chin on the top of Sylvie’s hair, her blood-red eyes squinting pleasurably in the darkness.
Her voice carried a satisfied hoarseness and gentleness.
“Yes… just like this… A bit tighter. Let Sister properly feel how intoxicating this sacrifice you have to make for protection is, hum hum hum…”
She could clearly feel Utia’s heartbeat—of course, the other could also clearly sense her own heart pounding fiercely at this moment.
The arms around her waist tightened even more. The force wasn’t great, but the posture was as if to thoroughly crush her into her body, filled with an indescribable ambiguity and a peculiar sensation.
“Is Sister’s embrace comfortable?” Utia whispered in her ear.
Sylvie shook her head.
“Cold like hugging a block of ice…”
“Hum hum hum… What an unappealing way to put it, but…”
She slightly adjusted their position, making them fit even more closely, leaving almost no gap. Sylvie felt like a prey wrapped by a venomous snake.
“This is the ‘price’ you wanted, oh~”
“Tonight, sleep just like this, in Sister’s embrace. Have a good… rest.”