Translator: Nox

Chapter: 14

The girl who had been staring at me moved her wheelchair closer.

"Nice to meet you. I’m Luna of the Draugr bloodline. If it’s not too much trouble, may we talk for a moment?"

Luna asked with a bright smile.

Since I had no reason to refuse, I nodded.

"Yes, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Ella, the mistress of the New Moon Palace."

For a moment, Luna looked as if she’d been slapped across the face.

I hesitated at her reaction.

"…Ella. That’s a lovely name," she said, gritting her teeth.

She practically spat out my name like it was her mortal enemy, then added,

"My name, Luna, comes from 'Lunaris,' the night of Lilith. I was named that because I resemble Lady Lilith very much."

Resemble Lilith?

Looking more closely, I could see a slight resemblance.

But she didn’t have Lilith’s overwhelming aura or her sharp, blade-like beauty.

Luna just looked like a frail little girl.

"It’s a shame that you have blonde hair, Ella. You don’t resemble Lady Lilith at all," Luna said with a sly smile, eyeing my hair.

I was now certain—she was here to pick a fight.

"Ah, is that so?"

I replied slowly, giving Luna a once-over and then chuckled.

"That’s strange. You don’t seem to look much like her either."

Luna’s lips parted in shock. She stared at me like she couldn’t believe what she’d just heard.

"How could you say something so rude?"

Oh, so when she says it, it’s fine, but when I say it, it’s rude?

"I’m just stating a fact. You might look similar at a glance, but you're totally different. Like a leopard and a house cat."

Luna staggered, clutching her chest as she shrieked,

"Don’t speak carelessly when you don’t know anything!"

"Alright, I get it. Then I’ll be going."

Her reaction was too extreme—I was starting to feel scared to poke further.

"Lady Lilith didn’t have legs!"

I froze mid-step, thinking I had misheard.

Luna continued with a triumphant expression,

"She had no legs below the knees. She was just like me. You didn’t know that, did you, even though you claim to be her daughter?"

"Ah… I didn’t know that."

I forced a smile, trying to suppress the boiling rage.

"But seriously, who says something like 'your mom didn’t have legs' to her daughter? Is that considered polite in your bloodline?"

"What did you say?"

Luna’s face went pale.

I stared coldly at her, who looked like she was about to faint.

"Watch your mouth. Say something like that again, and I’ll make sure you regret it."

—

I stormed off, fuming. I wanted to kick a rock or something, but the road was so neatly paved there was nothing to kick.

"Ugh, what the hell was that?"

Hearing me explode, Sion chuckled from behind.

I spun around.

"Did you just laugh?"

"No, it’s just…"

"You dare laugh behind my back? Come here."

I tried to grab him as he dodged me, but I couldn’t help laughing too.

Then I put on a stern face.

"Sion, how can you laugh when I was insulted like that?"

"If we’re being technical, didn’t she get the worse of it?"

"Still, she said mean things! I was just defending myself!"

"She just wanted to say that she resembles Lady Lilith more because she’s in a wheelchair."

I pouted and glared at Sion.

"Well, I still didn’t like it."

"My apologies."

I poked his side.

"That’s right. You should always take my side no matter what!"

"Yes, I’ll do that from now on."

With Sion obediently agreeing, I felt a little better.

Realizing we had gone to the opposite side of the palace, I turned around.

Sion gently took my hand.

"Are your feet okay?"

"We barely walked anywhere."

"But you’re wearing new shoes. If it hurts, I can carry you."

"I’m fine."

As we chatted casually—

"Stop right there, you half-breed!"

I turned reflexively to see a boy with chiseled features drawing his sword and yelling.

"How dare you insult Lady Luna with your filthy tongue! I, Kanis of the Wolfhedin bloodline, shall punish your cowardice!"

What the… Did she go crying to someone already?

Sion leaned in and asked,

"Shall I cut him horizontally or vertically?"

"Wait, let me handle this."

Having Sion step in wouldn’t be satisfying. Wolfhedin… that meant he was from bloodline D.

Cracking my knuckles, I asked,

"So, rock boy. Are you sturdy?"

"How dare a half-breed like you doubt the strength of a true bloodline!"

Hmm. He’s a vampire, so he should be tough enough.

"Then try surviving this."

I unleashed the power stirring inside me toward him.

—

The next day, the Empire’s strongest knight summoned me to his office.

"You mustn’t destroy the imperial palace walls, Lady Ella," Dante said solemnly.

"I’m sorry, Sir Dante. It wasn’t intentional."

I really didn’t mean to pulverize the wall. Next time I’ll aim for an open space.

"I’ll consider it an accident this time. However, the repair costs will be charged to New Moon Palace."

"…Yes."

He pulled a few documents from a massive stack and stamped them. Probably the bill.

"And turning Young Master Kanis into mashed potatoes…?"

"I’m sorry, Sir Dante. That wasn’t on purpose either."

Dante gave me a long look… then chuckled.

"Lady Ella, lying is a bad habit."

"He started it!"

"Still, you shouldn’t do that to people."

I pouted, unable to argue. How was I supposed to know a vampire could be that weak?

"The Wolfhedin bloodline will likely file a formal complaint. I’ll try to mediate, but please prepare your response."

"…I’m sorry for causing trouble."

I felt really bad. He already looked so busy, and now I’d added to his workload.

"You may go. I hope we meet again under better circumstances."

I bowed in apology and turned to leave—but paused.

"Um… is His Majesty doing alright?"

Dante looked surprised, then smiled gently.

"Thanks to you. He’s recovering."

Yes… he really did have a beautiful smile.

—

After leaving the office, I leaned wearily on Sion.

"Sion, Sir Dante scolded me."

"You’ve had a hard day. Let’s go home."

He naturally took my hand and started walking.

"But does Sir Dante really handle imperial duties too?"

"He’s His Majesty’s only blood knight."

A blood knight—

A human who forms a contract with a vampire and gains special abilities.

In the original story, they were just humans who clung to vampires and died early.

But in reality, it’s the empire’s top-tier job!

It guarantees long life and a high salary. Very popular.

"You’ll need your own blood knight soon."

"But do I need one when I already have you?"

Sion paused, then smiled softly.

"There will be times when I must leave your side. So you’ll need someone else too."

"True."

I can’t expect Sion to always be with me.

Feeling oddly lonely, I mumbled,

"Even if I have a blood knight, I’ll still trust you the most."

Sion stopped in his tracks and stared at me.

"Princess, please don’t tempt me like that."

"Huh?"

"I’m trying to convince myself to tolerate the useless people around you. Don’t push my patience."

"…"

I quietly shut my mouth. I think I finally understood why Sion put up with Claude.

—

When we returned to the New Moon Palace, Claude was waiting, pale-faced.

"Y-You’ve got a visitor…!"

"It’s okay. I invited them."

Reassuring the trembling Claude, I turned to face today’s special guest.

"It’s been a while, Lord D. Have you been well?"