"P…"
'Prin…"
"Princess!" Lilith calls out to Rosella, waking her up from her reverie.
"Yes." Rosella acknowledges Lilith's presence.
"Princess, what were you thinking about?" Lilith tilts her head, asked.
"Eh?" surprised and confused by the sudden question, Rosella did not know how to respond.
"You were looking at the window in a daze, so I thought you were thinking about something." Explained Lilith.
"Oh, no, it's nothing." Rosella shakes her head, not wanting to speak about her memories and the whisper. She thought it might be her imagination.
But… who would've thought. The same voice will haunt her every night in her dreams.
"Give me." Reaching her hand to Lilith, Rosella asked for the coat.
She did not remember since when did she have this black coat. But, with the memory she discovered a couple of minutes ago, she felt she knew where it came from.
Even though the black coat was smaller than any other coat in her wardrobe, it covers her completely and gave her the same warmth. But the feeling it gives her every time she wears it is different.
She felt her heart beating fast and a minty smell covering her entire body. It comforts her. So, every time she feels down, she will use the black coat, her treasure.
"How are the preparations ongoing?" Rosella asked after lying comfortably in her desk chair.
"The maids from the First Princess are currently giving the last few touches to the decoration." Answered Lilith.
"They took almost five months to prepare and at the last minute they are still doing something…" murmured Rosella. Her words expressed her dissatisfaction.
Today was her Eldest Sister, Valentina's birthday. Her 24th birthday, to be accurate.
The preparations for her Celebration Birthday Banquet took almost six months to complete. The first month was sending invitations, the second, third, fourth and fifth month were for decorations, food, entertainments, and many other preparations.
Not even the Tournaments need six months to prepare, it only needs three months at most.
Valentina uses one hundred maids and fifty knights to prepare. And Rosella had twelve maids and twelve knights under her, and every year her birthday only takes one week to a month to prepare.
"I feel tired just to hear how many months they need to prepare…" murmured Rosella.
"Who arrived already?" asked, casually, Rosella.
"Well, Borges Kingdom's Eldest Prince with his heralds, Scott Kingdom's envoy, Kelvin Kingdom's envoy, Goya Kingdom's envoy, and Barrett Kingdom's envoys are already here. The Eldest Prince Nicholas and Second Prince Roderick are taking care of the guests. They took them to their respective lodgings." Reported Lilith.
"What about the others?" asked Rosella.
There are ten kingdoms, five ruled by humans and five ruled by supernatural beings, but they have a human shape.
"The other five ruled by supernatural beings send a letter. They won't attend to a disgusting human birthday banquet." Informed Lilith.
"They know... If it was before, they would've sent even a Baron to make a presence, for the sake of saving face. But today they've become like this... They regard Valentina as a disgusting human..." muttered Rosella, coming to her own conclusions. That was close to the truth.
Rosella said nothing more and nodded. Closing her eyes, Rosella reclined in her desk chair and thought about many things.
Lilith, on the side, saw her and did not bother her. She just stood there without moving.
…
After a while, Lilith saw the sun. It is about to go down.
"Princess, it's already sunset, it's time to go."
"Okay."
Rosella got up and took off the black coat, letting Lilith take care of it.
As the younger sister, she had to be present before the birthday lady made her arrival.
The First Princess' arrival is when the sun goes down completely.
"Let's go."
Rosella left the study room and walked slowly down a hallway, reaching the staircases.
Taking a walk through a hidden path, she walked and walked. Lilith was behind her, and for some reason her body shook. She clenched her fists. Her forehead was sweating a little.
"What are you nervous about?" asked Rosella calmly.
Even if she was walking in the front, she felt the rhythmic change in Lilith's heartbeat.
"I don't know." Lilith reddened at her own answer.
"What do you feel?" asked Rosella once again.
"An ominous feeling." Lilith did not know how to explain it.
"What do you see?" Rosella was calmly, her voice resounded in the path they're taking, and her sweet voice expressed as if her questions were just to calm Lilith down.
"A shadow with bloodthirsty red eyes and white fangs. Looking… at its prey… w… with desire and… hun… ger." Lilith tried to sound normal, but her words ended stuttering.
This time, Rosella turned serious.
'Master, if she saw it, it means it's a contracted evil spirit, and its prey can only be her or you.' Luca's voice resounded in Rosella's mind.
'Contracted evil spirit?' Rosella frowned.
'Yes, there are evil spirits born from dark magic. Like the spirits, but the former is rare, almost nonexistence. Depending on the strong feeling the caster have, they can be born with the same emotion. Once born, the caster bounds the weak ones as his or her contracted evil spirit. And they feed them, fulfilling their desire.'
'What about the strong ones?' asked Rosella to Luca.
'They will run amok and hunt their own meals. But they're the smartest, and they hide and don't make unnecessary moves.'
Rosella nodded, and recalls Lilith's words…
… Bloodthirsty eyes, white fangs… Looking at its prey with desire and hunger…
'And this one is weak, right? Lilith could sense its presence close to us.' Deducted Rosella.
'Yes, Master. Someone, with the same desire, contracted the evil spirit.' Luca nodded his nonexistence head in approval and added.
'So, desire and hunger. It had been starving for a while… who would bring a contracted demon to the Cullen Kingdom?' Rosella asked, not waiting for an answer.
'This contracted evil spirit had not only the desire of human flesh, but also blood.' Lulu explains further.
'Do they have a name?' Rosella continues her inquiries. She got a little curious about this kind of demon.
'No, they don't have a specific name, but they're called Bloodthirsty. Because of their victims, both humans, with or without magic's corpse, got their blood drained, making look the corpse like a skeleton.' Luca answered.
Her conversation with Luca and Lulu was slow, and Lilith's body was shaking more and more.
"Pri… Prin… cess." The more they walked, the closer the shadow is. Lilith did not dare to speak more.
Rosella signed.
This is one of Lilith's abilities. Her perception of magic is good, but she can only find these weak existences. She can't feel Luca and Lulu. She can't even find middle level spirits, only low level.
Since she felt it, so far, she knows that this contracted demon came for one of them. But Lilith had no interaction with the guests coming to the Birthday Banquet. So, the only explanation, is that the only prey is her, Rosella.