Volume 2, Chapter 11: Children of the Night, Part 1
“......What can we do for you?”
It was late at night, and cold. I called the four children to the garden near the back gate.
I’m alone without anyone nearby. A feeling of contempt is coming from the four. These guys...
“I am going to a [Tea Party]. You guys will be coming with me.”
When I say so, they all showed similar reactions.
Noah is quizzically staring at me. Ninette looks like she finds it bothersome, stifling a yawn. Fontaine is happily crushing ants beneath her feet on the stone. Christina’s expressionless eyes opened a little at my mention of a [Tea Party]
I give a thin smile to Christina, the apprentice maid.
“Yeah, Christina. After this, we’ll be headed to the [Moonlit Tea Party]”
“ ... Ho-, ... How absurd, you don’t have an invitation. Besides, if you tell someone else...”
“Millaine-sama compromised with me and said that bringing four people as attendants would be alright.”
As I said so, and showed the letter of invitation, Christy snatched it away to read, and then turned to me with an even bigger look of disbelief on her face.
“We... are currently busy.”
Noah, the butler apprentice seems intrigued, but is being obstinate, while Ninette nodded along to her twin brother despite not understanding at all.
How could you be busy?
“Ninette. If you’ll be my guard, I’ll give you this sword.”
“Eh!?”
I passed Ninette the sword she sold away, and her eyes sparkled as she stared at it in wonder.
“Oy, Ninette.”
“Yes. Noah, this here is for you.”
“ ... ...”
When I handed over a gold pocket watch, Noah made a face like he had just bitten into a particularly bitter bug.
Well, that makes sense. Ninette didn’t realize, but all of this was evidence of their [Embezzlement]. Therefore, he is being cautious of me, who easily returned it to him. So I, the [Sucker Child], was being calculatedly seen as a ticket to an effortless future.
Although an honest apology would do...
“Would you like something as well, Fontaine?”
“Hmm? No need. Will there be candy?”
“Tea and delicious sweets as well, if the rumors are true. Please eat plenty.”
“Got it, I’ll go.”
Hmm, at least Fontaine understands.
“Thank you for coming.”
Vio had guided the back gate guards away as two Oberu family carriages came in. How clever of them, not using a large carriage, the [Origin] is much harder to find when tight corners can be cut.
“All of you. Get into the carriage.”
I must say, the butler’s hand which is helping me up smelled quite like a [Beast] as I got into one of the carriages.
Those children. I wonder what their faces look like now.
Nervousness? Delight? It doesn’t really matter. They boarded the back carriage, to keep face for Father.
Enjoy tonight’s trip.
Could this be you all’s final chance...?
The carriages we boarded were shaking. It was completely isolated from the outside, but I felt like we were moving several times the speed of a normal carriage.
I wonder if this can be commercialized... It’s probably impossible. The thing that is taking us to our destination without so much as turning is certainly not of [Human] make.
The carriage arrived without incident.
“Welcome, we thank everyone for coming.”
Doll-like beautiful butlers and maids were lined up on either side of the center aisle, on which a beautiful lady wearing a deep purple dress having the smell of a [Beast] greeted me.
“I am Millaine, Count Oberu’s eldest daughter.”
She had an enchanting smile that gently melted the hearts of people that saw it.
The four people behind me were also staring into those jewel-like purple eyes, that they’d forget themselves for a while can’t be helped.
Now then... were you bewitched the moment you met her?
＊
How strange... Millaine thought as she saw today’s guests.
Yurushia, who was called the golden princess, was even more beautiful than the rumors stated despite her age. The moment her figure appeared from the carriage, even the butlers and maids who were used to Millaine were shaken.
Even Millaine forgot to scold the servants, so breathtaking was her beauty.
Millaine was frustrated as soon as she became aware that she was [Charmed] by the entrance. Yurushia had not moved, and Millaine had recovered before her attendants.
{... As expected of one called a [Saint]. I may need to use stronger magic than usual...} (TL: These are thoughts, btw)
Millaine’s expression fell.
Impossible. In both looks and charm, the [Human Being] Yurushia was not inferior to Millaine.
“I am Yurushia, third daughter of Duke Verusenia.”
Holding the hem of her dress, a dark blue dress with white frills that seemed to be made for [Dolls], slightly bending her waist, her graceful bow was the very definition of [Princess], the count and countess who had just arrived were also charmed by the greeting.
The voice that echoed in the silence frustrated Millaine and her comrades.
“Millaine-sama, what about the other participants...?”
“No, it was such an effort to bring you here, Yurushia-sama, that no others could be invited today.”
With the finest feast in front of them, those useless snacks would only be obstacles. In that sense, the servants that she brought would not even serve as an appetizer, until now, they had never eaten children who hadn’t tasted bad, so they had usually sent them back, but perhaps as thanks for their service, these children could be granted to the butlers and maids.
Yurushia, who holds the highest protection out of the royal family, even though she could have brought out her knight escort, she only brought such thinly flavored children with her.
Although she was likely smarter than her age showed, ultimately, she was still a child.
As proof, the four children that called Yurushia master were off receiving the hospitality of the beautiful servants, smiling as though they were about to melt away.
Millaine felt her heart leave its cage at this.
Of course. There was no human being that could meet [Their] eyes and bodies that could still go on normally. The three of them were among the [Noble Grade], and their status was far higher than anyone else here.
“...”
Suddenly, they felt sweat begin to appear on their back... Looking around, they saw Yurushia quietly staring at Millaine with a [Doll-like] smile.
“Is something the matter?”
“Nothing. I’m glad I don’t need to worry about the children. But you know... Millaine-sama, why were you so concerned about having me come here...?”
“ ... That is... our apologies.”
The graceful smile of Yurushia surprised Millaine so much that she had already instinctively apologized.
Until now they had scoffed at the attitude of the [Pretend Nobles], and had never bowed their head to anyone else.
Why was it...? To the entertainers and guests, the [Words] of Yurushia placed herself [Lower] than Millaine.
Unforgivable. Her... Me.
{ ... Such an Inferior Human...}
Though, something was strange.
What was this sense of discomfort? What was this strange feeling?
Like leaving something unbuttoned, only to notice at the end of the day...
Or like wearing only one shoe, but not noticing...
Where was that feeling coming from?
Was it coming from her? After sending the letter of invitation to her? Or maybe... because she came from this country?
That’s absurd... Impossible.
Before Millaine came to this country, she already had a plan.
This Holy Kingdom was a place where [Saints] and [Heroes] were born; the [Holy] power even reached into the dirt. Because of this, the public had strong faith, and it was said to be difficult for [Beasts] or [Dark Creatures] to live here.
That was why she came.
In the center of the Holy Kingdom, nobody would think that the [Nobles] would actually be infiltrated by a terrible [Monster].
Carefully... slowly, from behind the Holy Kingdom’s back, she would slake her thirst for blood.
“ ... ... ”
When Millaine came out of her thoughts of the past, Yurushia was sitting across from her at the table, her back resting in the chair, filing her nails with something like a stone with an uninterested look.
The red tea in front of her had already gone cold.
“You guys, replace Yurushia-sama’s tea.”
Millaine hurriedly ordered the servants, but a thought suddenly crossed her mind.
Why would the servant make the mistake of leaving someone’s tea long enough for it to cool? She immediately realized why.
Those good looking butlers and maids who had captivated hundreds of daughters were captivated by the cold beauty of the young Yurushia. They had stopped working, freezing to stare at her.
{How awkward...}
So many people were unable to fight against her [Charm], looking with bloodshot eyes, their drool falling, their appearance as [Human Beings] had become impossible to maintain.
If those lesser servants went crazy, they may not be satisfied with only those four other children.
The atmosphere that had begun, the Count and his wife began to move, but the atmosphere was stopped.
“Changing the tea is unnecessary.”
The [Princess]’s voice was dignified and cool.
Yurushia let out a deep sigh, and while looking away from Millaine murmured while still polishing her nails.
“Ever since I boarded the carriage, I’ve been neglected and left alone. If I am still being neglected now, why did I even come in the first place?”
“ ... G-greatest apologies.”
Millaine lowered her head to Yurushia while grinding her teeth and fangs.
She was rapidly reaching her limit. It would have been best if the [Top-grade] prey called Yurushia had been completely [Charmed] and she thought that whether it was done in small stages or all at once would have been enjoyable either way, but, with the atmosphere she had caused with her tricks, a person like the transcendent Millaine could no longer allow herself to lower her head.
{Good enough... now, it’s time to eat}
With her head still down, her fangs grew out of her lips, Millaine saw, out of the corner of her beautiful, Oni-like eyes, that something small rolled by.
“I’m returning you this claw sharpener. It’s too small.”
“Wha-”
A large piece of ruby, about the size of an adult’s fingertips.
It was one of the gems concealed in the small box sent to Yurushia, a jewel of enough value that it could buy an aristocrat’s mansion, but it was so casually tossed onto the ground.
This caused Millaine such anger that she even felt dizziness, but Yurushia with her clear voice multiplied it further.
“Hey... did you know that a few years ago, a neighboring country, Taterudo, had some turmoil involving vampires?”
Those words, not only Millaine, even the faces of the Count and his wife hardened.
“ ... Yurushia-sama, what are you talking about?”
At the impersonal cold voice of Millaine, the four children who were in a dreamy state shook as if waking from a dream.
The butlers and maids stared at her without expression, only Yurushia, at the center of all of the glares, continued to speak without breaking a smile.
“It’s just a monologue. There was supposedly a strong vampire, but I heard that it was quickly subdued. To be defeated by mere humans, vampires are no big deal, after all.”
During the monologue, the facial expressions of the Count and wife distorted... they quietly trembled as their thirst for blood rose.
The thirst for blood coming from Millaine was especially impressive.
The anger turned into hatred, the overflowing malice caused the surrounding luscious lawn to decay in an instant.
“What... are you trying to say?”
Yurushia’s complexion did not change with the killing intent, throwing a letter from her pocket onto the lawn, the [Invitation].
“The fragrance of a rose, it can’t disguise the stench of a [Beast].”
At that time, the beautiful maids’ and butlers’ faces distorted into those of beasts, letting out sound as their intimidating fangs were born at Yurushia.
“Hiieeee!”
The four children, finally knowing the reality around them, hugged each other, trembling while shedding tears.
They were only able to keep their sanity at this feast of nightmares because their [Master] Yurushia was not scared... but that was it.
Wearing a calm smile, their master was a saint, they hoped she would earn enough time for them to escape on their own.
“You noticed from the start...? The title of [Saint], I’m glad that it wasn’t a sham bought with noble gold...”
“Hmm? That title was something that was given without my permission. That title is so embarrassing. I just wanted a peaceful life...”
Yurushia ignored the facial expressions of the children let out a sigh.
“Then, little miss. This will be nice and [Easy] if you just give me your blood...”
The old vampire calmly offered a compromise... Count Oberu’s smile reached his ears as he laughed.
“Saint-sama seems to have a lot of leeway. The three of us have the advantage in experience, hundreds of vampires, and the three thousand [Runts] that make escape impossible...”
The Countess gracefully licked her bright red lips with a long, lizard-like tongue.
That Yurushia, even if they had the rumored power of a legendary class of [Saint], would be hard-pressed to survive taking on this number.
Millaine knew the ability of her two [Companions] well.
The wife and Millaine are two hundred years old. The Count is an ancient vampire that has been alive for five hundred years. Mere human beings could not hope to defeat such things alone.
Millaine knew that it would be possible for the other two to run away if just one of them remained to fight.
Hence Millaine had a feeling of anger in her heart towards the Count and his wife, who had escaped the country at the very start.
“Well then, catch me if you can.”
Yurushia’s words sounded like that of a child having fun as she clapped her hands down, the wife, who noticed that she answered as if she would [Escape], was at a loss for words.
With such a strange atmosphere, Yurushia pointed her friendly smile towards her servants.
“You guys, good luck. I’ll forgive you if you successfully escape from these people.”
Her bright voice multiplied the effect of her heartless words, Yurushia spread out her little arms to stretch.
“ ... [Let There Be Light] ... ”
Without any fear or tension, nobody could react to her all-too-natural action.
As the vampires noticed that Yurushia had casted Holy magic and went on guard, they saw an unbelievable thing.
A light that was neither dazzling or white, but was darker than mere darkness, a [Black Light] that spread as if ink had been dumped on the world, even the vampires could not have foreseen this newly dyed night.
In the confusion, everyone heard the echo of the merry voice of Yurushia.
“[Now. I’ll be the seeker, fufufu.]”
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