“So, you think… this is your freedom? Covering yourself in filth like something that crawled out of a cesspit, wandering Eternal Night City for an entire night, and then telling me you were simply making use of the time I gave you?”
Klal asked in a cold voice.
Sylvie lifted her mud-covered face.
Her emerald eyes looked calmly at Klal as she spoke.
Her voice remained mostly steady, yet carried a faint trace of grievance.
“After Master left… Sylvie felt anxious and uneasy, not knowing when Master would return.
I thought that when Master came back, she would definitely pass through the city gates… so I took it upon myself to wait near the gates.”
She paused for a moment before continuing slowly.
“The night wind was strong… and very cold.
Sylvie wanted to keep waiting, but… later I really couldn’t hold on.
My consciousness grew blurry, so I had no choice but to find a random place to sleep.”
“When I woke up, it was already the next day and the sky had brightened.
Hearing that Master had returned to the city, Sylvie… was overjoyed and wanted to rush back to Master’s side immediately.
But because I was too anxious, I accidentally fell into a mud pit by the roadside.”
She lowered her head slightly, her voice becoming even softer, tinged with embarrassment.
“That’s why… my body became dirty and dirtied Master’s eyes.
Sylvie… did not intend to appear before Master in such a state, nor would I dare to misuse the time Master granted.”
Klal listened quietly.
Her crimson eyes examined the girl covered in mud who was trying her best to weave a story in a calm tone.
There was no expression on her face, and her fingers had stopped tapping.
Longing? Waiting? Falling into a mud pit?
Such weak, clumsy loyalty.
Every word sounded so reasonable, even carrying a hint of something that could soften one’s heart.
But Klal knew Sylvie too well.
She knew her bone-deep endurance and the real emotions hidden beneath layer after layer.
She was lying.
Yes, of course she could tell.
She was Klal, the Vampire Queen.
Even with her body wrapped in mud, she could still “smell” the faint unease surging in the blood flowing through Sylvie’s veins.
And when she saw that same calm look in Sylvie’s eyes as she apologized—
Klal became even more irritated.
“Oh?”
Klal slowly stood up.
Her bare feet landed silently on the cold floor.
Step by step, with an elegant and unhurried rhythm, she walked toward the kneeling Sylvie.
Her crimson eyes sparkled with wicked amusement, as if she had thought of an interesting new game.
“So… my little Sylvie loves her master this much?”
She stopped in front of Sylvie, leaned down slightly, and used her fingertip to lift the mud-covered chin, forcing her to raise her face and meet her mocking, icy gaze.
“You endured the cold wind at the city gates for an entire night just to wait for my return?”
“You were in such a hurry to get back to me that you didn’t even watch where you were going and fell straight into a mud pit?”
Her other hand slowly brushed across the mud on Sylvie’s cheek, as if petting an animal.
“How very special.”
Sylvie’s emerald eyes remained calm, but a flicker of unease flashed deep within her pupils.
Klal shook her head lightly.
The smile on her face deepened, yet carried no warmth.
“Look at you… like a little dog anxiously waiting for her owner.
A little dog who got herself completely filthy because she missed her master so much… Now that I say it, it really does fit.”
She straightened up and looked down at Sylvie with a condescending gaze.
A playful light danced in her crimson eyes.
“Since you’re so much like a dog… then tonight, you won’t be staying in this shabby little house of yours.”
“My loyal little dog waited all night for me and ended up like this.
As your master, of course I must comfort you properly.
And while I’m at it — personally check whether you’re injured.”
Klal let out a soft laugh and added lightly:
“Go to my room. Now.”
The heavy stone that had been hanging in Sylvie’s heart finally came crashing down.
This was the expected outcome.
But it was also… the inevitable result.
From the moment she learned that Klal was waiting for her in her room, she had understood that the “best outcome” she could hope for was to be thoroughly tormented as usual.
However, fortunately—
It seemed Klal had not noticed the scent on her body.
“…Yes, Master.”
Sylvie answered calmly.
She slowly stood up.
The mud on her body fell off in clumps, making sticky plop sounds.
Klal no longer looked at her.
She simply called out casually:
“Tiana.”
“This subordinate is here.”
In the corner of the room, a vampire woman stood.
Even Sylvie had not noticed her presence until now.
White uniform… a noble? One of the Sixteen Blood Overseers as well…?
“Go prepare the bath. Use the hottest water.”
Klal’s gaze fell on Sylvie once more, filled with undisguised disgust and a twisted interest.
“Clean my little dog thoroughly for me. From head to toe.”
“When I see her again, I don’t want to smell anything strange on her body.”
“After you’re done cleaning—”
She deliberately paused.
The smile at the corner of her mouth became increasingly unsettling.
That disturbing, malicious amusement Sylvie feared most spread through her eyes.
“Bring her to my bedroom.”
“Oh, and one more thing—”
“You can throw away the clothes she’s wearing.”
“Change her into this instead.”
As she spoke, Klal casually tore off a decorative crimson silk ribbon from her own long red dress.
“Just use this.”
She tossed the ribbon casually toward Tiana.
The silk drew an arc in the air and was quickly caught by the other woman.
“My dear little one won’t need those cumbersome clothes tonight.”
“This… will be enough.”
Tiana looked at the ribbon, then at Klal.
Her face flushed slightly.
The Queen… really plays this wildly?
She said nothing and simply nodded stiffly.
“Understood. I’ll go now.”
Klal turned away, no longer paying them any attention.
It was as if she had lost interest in teasing them further — or perhaps she was already looking forward to what came next.
“Hurry. Don’t make me wait too long.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Tiana responded quickly.
She walked over to Sylvie and said in a low voice:
“Please follow me.”
Sylvie stood up silently.
More mud continued to fall from her body with every movement.
She let out a soft sigh in her heart.
At least… she could take a hot bath.
She followed Tiana step by step out of the cold little house, heading toward the Queen’s private bath inside the grand hall.
Just as she was thinking about how to endure the long time ahead—
She caught a glimpse of something.
Tucked at Tiana’s waist was an object.
It was—
The metal syringe.