At four in the morning, Valred returned to Drakenhof Castle after a long night of work. As he had done before, he opened the door, retraced his steps, and left the fourteen newly crafted tomb guardians in various locations throughout the castle. When he reached the door to his room, he noticed the usually inconspicuous black cat lying there, eyes closed, fast asleep.
As Valred tried to step over the cat to enter his room, the creature opened its eyes and silently mouthed a soundless meow toward him.
"Yes, I know I'm back a bit late. I'll be more careful next time. And please keep this secret for me—next time, I'll share my tomato fish with you," Valred said with a shrug, addressing the cat.
The cat gave him a rather human-like look of exasperation, opened its mouth to let out a soft "meow," then stood up and gently pushed the door open with its tail, clearing a path for Valred.
"Oh, right," Valred added, almost forgetting something important in his exhaustion. He crouched down to speak to the cat. "Actually, I messed up a bit. Sixteen of the things I took out with me didn't make it back. The skeletal wolves are one thing, but those fourteen tomb guardians—they're my own shoddy work. Could you help me fill in the magical imprints they're missing?"
"...Meow meow meow meow meow! Meow meow!"
"Speak properly!"
"What in the world did you do? It sounds dangerous!"
"Eh, just a bit of a kid's adventure, really."
"If you're a kid, then I'm a cat!"
Despite their heated exchange, both kept their voices low to avoid drawing attention. The black cat, known as Lady Celia, pressed Valred for details, but he refused to budge, insisting instead that she help him cover his tracks. Lady Celia, naturally, wasn't having it. After a lengthy back-and-forth, Valred finally struck a deal—eight servings of tomato fish and two chunks of mana crystals, each weighing at least fifty grams, convinced her to assist.
Lady Celia, a female black cat, had been a fixture of Drakenhof Castle for centuries, dating back to the time of Valred's grandfather. Over the years, she had established herself as both a guardian and a spy for the castle, all while maintaining her status as a beloved pet. Her gentle nature was such that even when Isabella, Valred's sister, had pulled her tail as a child, she hadn't so much as hissed. It was hard to believe that this seemingly ordinary cat was, in fact, a formidable magical creature capable of taking on dragons.
Valred was well aware of her quirks—her laziness, her aversion to trouble, and her insatiable appetite. She, in turn, had witnessed many of his secrets from her feline vantage point. Their relationship was one of mutual understanding and small trades—Valred bribing her with food and mana crystals, while she turned a blind eye to some of his less-than-permissible activities.
After an extended argument with the cat, it was nearing five in the morning. In June, the sun rose early, and the sky was already beginning to lighten. It was only then that Valred truly felt the weight of his exhaustion. As a child, he needed more sleep, and after a night of magical exertion and navigating deadly traps, he was running on empty. The excitement of his discoveries had kept him going, but now, lying in bed, he realized just how drained he was.
After a few moments of scattered thoughts, Valred fell into a deep sleep—so deep that he didn't hear his sister, Isabella, knocking on his door. This left Isabella feeling rather annoyed, as she had wanted to talk to her brother before heading off for her studies.
Isabella took immense pride in her vampire heritage, often looking down on most other vampires—even those from the other three great families.
"The Lahmians are nothing but scheming manipulators who rely on their looks. The Abhorash are muscle-headed fools, and the Necrarchs? They're outright lunatics," she would say.
Thus, the other three renowned vampire families—the Abhorash, known for their martial prowess; the Necrarch, masters of necromancy; and the Lahmians, famed for their beauty and cunning—were all dismissed as worthless by Isabella. Fortunately, she only shared these opinions with her younger brother in private. Not even in front of her mother did she ever let slip such sentiments.
Perhaps she thought Valred was too young to understand—or perhaps it was a matter of trust, rooted in their shared bloodline. Maybe there was even something more beneath the surface. Whatever the case, it left Valred feeling somewhat uneasy around his sister.
Valred's room was divided into three sections: his bedroom, located at the innermost part, featured a large wardrobe; the middle section included a study, a recreational area, a washroom, and a small parlor; the outer section, the smallest, was where his maid, Maya, slept. When Isabella knocked on the door, Valred, deep in slumber, didn't hear a thing. It was Maya, busy tidying up, who eventually answered.
When Maya opened the door and saw Isabella standing there, she instinctively took a step back. Isabella had a temper and never treated the castle's servants kindly. Given that Maya spent a significant amount of time by Valred's side—and was rather cute to boot—Isabella had little patience for her. She often found reasons to pick on the young maid.
"So, my brother hasn't woken up yet?" Isabella asked, her thin brows furrowing with impatience as she looked at Maya, who was dressed in her maid's uniform. Isabella's delicate features, with her faint, arched eyebrows and thin lips, gave her a somewhat sharp appearance, but she was undoubtedly beautiful.
"Yes, that's right—if you'd like, I can wake him—" Maya began, but Isabella cut her off.
"What are you saying?! If my brother isn't awake, it means he needs more sleep. That's incredibly important for him! As his maid, your job is to serve him, to fulfill his every need—not to create more trouble for him!"
"Yes, my lady," Maya stammered, her head bowed. She was so frightened that she likely didn't even register what Isabella was saying, trembling like a startled fawn.
Of course, despite her insistence that Valred needed his rest, Isabella's loud voice ended up waking him anyway. This left the sleep-deprived young vampire rather displeased.
While stepping out now would mean facing his sister, the combination of drowsiness and irritability gave Valred a boost of courage. His sister, who often pinched his cheeks, suddenly didn't seem so intimidating. Thus, clad in his pajamas, Valred rubbed his eyes and opened the door, addressing his sister in a slightly annoyed tone: "You're being too loud, Isabella."
To an outsider, the scene might have been misinterpreted: a doting older sister, protective of her brother, confronting her brother's adorable maid and thus incurring the brother's displeasure.
In reality, however, Valred didn't harbor any special feelings for his maid, who also served as his occasional "meal." While he had grown accustomed to her presence over the years, replacing her would only mean a few days of adjustment, much like a child complaining about a favorite pillow or pen. The attachment was minimal, yet for Maya, even this small bit of consideration was precious—perhaps the one thing that gave her life meaning.
Though it might make Maya seem insignificant, for a girl like her—rootless, without family or support—this was more than enough. Her parents had sold her to the vampires of Drakenhof for five gold crowns, a sum that amounted to a fifth of the cost of the materials Isabella had used for an experiment.
Seeing Valred's slightly annoyed expression, Isabella felt a twinge of frustration. She wanted to pull him into a hug and press his face against her chest as she often did, but she quickly dismissed the thought.
"There are servants here. I must uphold my brother's dignity," she thought, feeling a sense of pride. In this regard, she believed she had bested Maya, who, in her eyes, didn't truly care for Valred's well-being.
Of course, Isabella's comparison between herself and Maya was inherently flawed. She was a vampire noblewoman, the eldest daughter of the Carstein family, while Maya was merely a poor maid—a world apart.