At night, pale moonlight enveloped the Drago Manor.
In the hall on the first floor of the castle, Cyan and Seraphina were discussing family matters.
“Seraphina, although I acknowledge your contribution in finding ‘Clever Hand’ to cooperate with us, they are, after all, only dolls. It is truly inappropriate to use them as our core personnel.”
Lin Shu stood quietly to the side, listening to their conversation.
‘Cyan is far too traditional and conservative.’
‘Unless a bug occurs in the thoughts Eve implanted into the dolls, they will be absolutely loyal to the Drago family. That is certainly better than temporary members who pack up and run at the first sign of trouble.’
“Aunt Cyan, I understand your concerns. So, what about the proposal we mentioned a while ago?”
“I still need more time to consider it.”
Cyan looked up and said, “By the way, I received an invitation from the Murphy family. They hope we can send Lin Shu over to assist them.”
“Another requisition, is it?” Seraphina said with a fake smile.
Seeing that Seraphina did not immediately voice a strong objection, Cyan’s expression softened slightly.
“This is a very good deal for our family, Seraphina. I hope you can consider the family’s interests.”
She placed a special emphasis on the word “family.”
Seraphina did not answer. Instead, she silently picked up a tall glass from the table.
Lin Shu kept her eyes fixed on Seraphina’s movements.
Ever since the day Seraphina mentioned that the Head of the Family was becoming an obstacle, Lin Shu had expressed her willingness to support Seraphina’s decision.
If Seraphina could become the Head of the Family, many things could proceed normally without being restricted.
To this end, Lin Shu and Seraphina had been secretly preparing. Aside from using Eve’s dolls as insurance, they had sent away most of the guards who would normally be in the hall.
Everything was ready; they were just waiting for the signal of Seraphina breaking the glass.
Seraphina swirled the liquid in her glass and said nonchalantly, “Of course, I will consider the family’s interests.”
She relaxed her fingers, and the glass fell.
*Clatter!* The crisp sound of glass shattering echoed through the hall.
‘It’s starting.’
With a thought from Lin Shu, all the flowerpots in the hall burst open. Over ten vines grew out of the soil, lunging straight toward Cyan.
At the same time, the dolls waiting on the second floor rushed down, restraining the panicked maids and guards. The rest of the dolls leaped down into the hall, pointing their weapons at Cyan.
Cyan was in disbelief, her voice trembling. “Seraphina, what is the meaning of this?”
“My meaning is quite clear, Aunt Cyan,” Seraphina said with a smile. “Let me be the Head of the Drago Family.”
Cyan was furious. “Are you really going to pull this stunt just as the family is about to face a turning point?!”
“The biggest obstacle to the family’s turning point is you.” Seraphina raised her parasol, pointing the tip at Cyan. “When Father and Mother were here, the Drago family was never this timid or conservative.”
“Ever since they died on the battlefield and you took over the family, the first thing you chose to do was become a subordinate to the Teppes.”
“Do you have any idea how much I have sacrificed for this family?!” Cyan roared, her sore spot having been poked.
She thrust both hands forward, and countless blood-red threads shot from her fingertips. In an instant, they covered the floor of the hall, turning it into a pool of blood.
At the same time, Cyan’s lower body seemed to melt, merging with the blood pool on the floor.
Sharp blood spikes grew from the crimson ground, piercing the dolls that were attacking Cyan and rendering them immobile.
“You’ve changed, Seraphina!” Cyan waved her hand, and blood spikes instantly shot toward Seraphina.
“Ever since you brought that human back, you’ve lost your ability to distinguish right from wrong!”
Seraphina leaped gracefully, opening her parasol and releasing blood bats to scatter the blood spikes. “Oh? Is that so?”
Cyan’s figure merged into the blood pool, moving at high speed, causing the vine nets Lin Shu wove to miss time and time again.
Although Cyan was indecisive in her decision-making, her strength was formidable.
“Little darling, come to my side!” Seraphina shouted to Lin Shu.
Just as she finished speaking, Cyan’s figure darted through a gap in the vines, heading straight for Lin Shu.
‘This is bad!’ Lin Shu was startled.
Lin Shu hurriedly retreated, trying to dodge.
Seraphina also realized that the target was Lin Shu and desperately tried to wrap a vine around Lin Shu’s waist.
But Cyan was too fast.
“Ugh!”
Lin Shu’s vision blurred, and her neck was suddenly clamped by a massive force. A feeling of suffocation followed.
Cyan’s upper body separated from the blood pool, appearing behind Lin Shu.
She choked Lin Shu’s neck with one hand, and the sound of viscous blood dripping echoed behind Lin Shu’s ear.
“Let her go.” Seraphina’s expression instantly turned grim.
“Seraphina, you never used to attack your family,” Cyan’s stern voice rang out from behind Lin Shu.
“Even when your father and mother were so strict with you, you never resisted. But now?”
“I TOLD YOU TO LET HER GO!!” Seraphina screamed frantically.
Countless rose vines suddenly erupted from behind her, sharp thorns growing in an instant. They gathered into a single pillar, stabbing straight toward Cyan’s heart.
Cyan grabbed Lin Shu and dodged to the side. The vines struck a pillar in the hall instead.
The hall shook violently, and the impact caused the ceiling and chandeliers to crash down.
“Have you gone mad? Are you trying to tear down the castle?!” Cyan rebuked.
Her hand gradually tightened. Lin Shu’s breathing became more and more difficult, and her hands hung weakly.
Seeing this, the murderous intent in Seraphina’s eyes was replaced by panic.
Cyan sneered. “You wouldn’t listen when I tried to speak to you nicely. Did you really have to force me to do this?”
“I realized long ago that your feelings for this human were unusual, but I never expected you to actually harm your family for her sake!”
“Seraphina, the moment you care about a fragile existence, you gain a weakness.”
Lin Shu’s breathing became increasingly labored, and her vision began to turn black.
Cyan tilted her chin at Seraphina. “Drop your parasol.”
Seraphina’s pupils trembled violently.
Lin Shu looked at her, shaking her head with great difficulty.
Seeing that Seraphina was still hesitating, Cyan raised her left hand. A blood spike suddenly erupted from the ground, piercing through Lin Shu’s forearm.
“Ahhh — ” Lin Shu’s face twisted in pain.
“Don’t hurt her!” Seraphina cried out in despair. “Fine, I’ll drop it.”
She loosened her grip, and the parasol fell to the ground with a *thud*.
“Since you are family, I can forgive this act of rebellion…”
As Cyan spoke, she took a breath.
It had been a long time since she had used a large-scale blood pool skill, and the precision required for the control was making her feel a bit exhausted.
But to suppress her niece’s rebellion, she had to persevere.
At that moment, the blood on Lin Shu’s arm emitted a sweet fragrance, which was incredibly attractive to the exhausted Cyan.
Instinctively, she reached out to catch a bit of the blood flowing down Lin Shu’s arm and licked it.
“!”
Cyan instantly felt strength returning to her body. Is this the blood of a familiar?
“Watch closely, Seraphina. In the eyes of the Kindred, humans are nothing more than food.”
Cyan opened her palm, and Lin Shu’s blood actually floated into the air, gathering into a sphere of liquid.
The blood slowly drifted in front of Cyan. She tilted her head back, opened her mouth, and swallowed elegantly.
“…Gulp!!” But when she was halfway through swallowing, her heart suddenly constricted.
‘Something is wrong! Is there… poison in the blood?!’