"Sir! Tell me, can I really become like you?"
"What?"
"Miss Maria said that people can be made like you and promised that I would become one of you if I wanted to."
"Miss Maria talks too much," Alexander continued, seeing the maid's disappointed face. "According to our legends, a person like you can indeed be turned into a vampire like us. But no one knows how."
The maid froze.
"And if... if you find out, can I become a vampire?"
"Do you want that?" Alexander asked, already knowing the answer.
"Yes!"
Living among beings who had enslaved her, Stefania feared them less and respected them more. Powerful and strong, they were unlike any others in their behavior and actions. If a person discovered they were endowed with the Bright Force of magic, it became impossible to communicate with them.
Magicians treated ordinary people like dirt. And while noble lords only considered peasants and townsfolk as dirty grass-eaters, magicians often didn't even regard those from whose environment they themselves came. In this same village, everyone was powerful magicians, yet no one treated her or the other captives poorly. And no one forced them to work excessively. On the contrary!
Their masters themselves, from top to bottom, worked hard, and no one slacked off! The relationships among the vampires themselves were so strange that the girl couldn't always wrap her head around it. Starting with the fact that among their leaders were women, and men obeyed them! Also, no man ever tried to limit the village women who held no important positions. Only closer to spring did the girl understand that women were considered equals here!
Of course, there were exceptions, but those vampires who behaved as the captive girl was accustomed to had already left the community and fled, showing their treachery and stealing common money. Unconsciously, she began to envy the simple and friendly relationships among the village residents. And upon learning that she could become like her masters, Stefania wholeheartedly desired this, and not a day passed without her praying to God for the blessing to become a vampire.
"If this is your wish, then you shall become."
The joyful girl bowed and with a smile on her lips went to the chapel.
The chapel in the village was already standing. Having made a big mistake with the local church, the vampires tried to smooth things over as much as possible, though relations with the bishop were hopelessly spoiled. Whether mages or not, people who forgot to create a bright place for themselves during the construction of their homes were rejected by him.
All that remained was not to anger the locals even more. Yet, in his speeches, the bishop had not yet cursed the new inhabitants of the barony, and they did not forget to make offerings. Cold neutrality suited both sides. Entering the chapel, the girl felt herself touched by a bright sign, habitually caught a wink from the monk, who was one of the vampires, and began to thank Demura.
Igor, smiling at his only true parishioner, quietly withdrew to the corner and began to read. Scouts who had robbed thieves found various scrolls among their possessions, some of which were quite valuable in content. And the guy who played the monk became the analytical center of intelligence and its archivist — just what a person who had to stay in one place for a long time needed.
Leonid was dissatisfied. And who wouldn't be in his place? Essentially, they made him a caregiver. A children's nanny! Well, what can these little vampires do in battle with goblins? Scare them with magic fangs? No, of course not; they possessed strength and magic just like all adults. No one deprived children of blood or knowledge. And they performed tasks alongside adults. So what?
If you're ten years old, you'll still behave like a child and be carefree, no matter how much knowledge is poured into you along with human blood! And, most importantly, parents will protect you! And what kind of battle is this? The kids will rush ahead, proving to themselves and others that they are adults. Parents will try to cover them. And him, Leonid, to manage all this and ensure that no one gets killed? Whatever the Triumvirate thought when sending children on a hunt, their decision was frankly immature!
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