As expected of a prestigious school for nobles, the welcome ceremony was held with great attention to detail. The students were seated in an auditorium that resembled a chapel, though instead of a crucifix, the front of the room featured a large stained-glass window. The crystal chandeliers cast a kaleidoscope of colors across the hall.
In front of the stained glass stood a podium, where the dean was giving a passionate speech. The first row was occupied by the school leadership. Jasmine's actions were bold, but she was confident in her abilities. Her stealth skills were impeccable, even a sharp-eyed werewolf couldn't detect her, and she had suppressed her scent so well that not even the vampires could pick up on her human aroma.
Plus, some of the new students had brought human servants with them, so their human scents likely overshadowed her own.
Jasmine only paid attention to the beginning of the dean's speech. She quickly grew bored, realizing that no matter the world or species, teachers' speeches were essentially the same: study hard, don't waste time, make your parents proud, and contribute to society.
She soon tuned out the speech and focused on observing Adèle instead. To be honest, Adèle was easy to spot, even among other silver-haired students. To Jasmine, Adèle stood out as unique.
Vampires came in a wide range of hair colors—red, blue, green, purple, gold, white—a rainbow of shades that almost made Jasmine dizzy. It was said that their hair colors were linked to their family's abilities, though Jasmine had never seen proof of this.
Adèle was seated near the front, in the second row, which made sense considering her high status. Jasmine wasn't surprised by this. After all, Adèle was a member of one of the Thirteen Clans, the ruling families of the vampire world. The Thirteen Clans formed the High Council of Elders, composed of the most respected vampires from each family. Or as Jasmine liked to put it, thirteen ancient vampires who just hadn't died yet.
However, Jasmine believed that the Black family was one of the weaker members of the Thirteen Clans. After living with them for so long, she felt she had enough experience to say that with confidence.
After observing Adèle, Jasmine glanced around at the other students. Just as Anna had said, everyone was dressed to the nines, their uniforms complemented by carefully applied makeup. Jasmine couldn't understand why such a formal event was necessary for a simple entrance ceremony.
She found it boring and turned her attention back to Adèle. Adèle, as usual, sat with perfect posture. The light from the chandelier highlighted her silver hair, making it shine like a beacon. Top lighting really did enhance beauty, and even Jasmine had to admit that Adèle looked stunning.
Despite not wearing any makeup, Adèle didn't pale in comparison to the other vampires. Instead, she stood out as a unique presence.
The dean's speech dragged on, followed by the principal's address, and then a speech from the head of year. Just as Jasmine was about to yawn from boredom, the head of year announced, "Next, we have the new student representative, Adèle Black, to give a speech."
Jasmine perked up immediately. She hadn't expected Adèle to be the student representative. The head of year even emphasized that Adèle had the highest entrance exam score among the new students. As Adèle rose to the podium, the hall erupted in applause.
Perched on the beam, Jasmine clapped silently, her hands coming together without making a sound. She was proud of Adèle for being so exceptional, beating out several other members of the Thirteen Clans to become the student representative.
Adèle stood at the podium, her expression composed, and delivered her speech without hesitation. It was a short speech, encouraging everyone to study hard and enjoy their time at school.
After her speech, she bowed slightly and returned to her seat. With that, the formal part of the ceremony ended. The principal and other faculty members left, leaving the students to mingle and get to know each other.
As the teachers exited, the students stood up and began to form groups, chatting with each other. Several girls approached Adèle, offering compliments and flattery.
Jasmine recognized two of them—they had visited the castle to play with Adèle before.
Some other girls gathered around a blonde vampire, who Jasmine guessed was also from one of the Thirteen Clans. Despite their long lifespans, vampires seemed to have a synchronized cycle when it came to having children. It was almost as if they felt compelled to have kids when others around them did. This led to situations where even long-lived vampires would attend school at the same time as their peers.
The blonde girl cast a disdainful glance at Adèle and then approached her, delivering a challenge. "Don't get too full of yourself. It was just an entrance exam, and being good at written tests means nothing. I'll take first place in the next exam."
Her tone and demeanor were strikingly similar to Adèle's, leading Jasmine to wonder if all vampire children were raised to be this prideful. Adèle wasn't one to back down. She retorted, "We'll see if you're capable of that. Don't spend your life stuck as a perennial second place."
The two girls stared at each other for a long moment before turning away in unison, moving to different parts of the room. The other vampire girls quickly aligned themselves with either Adèle or the blonde girl.
Even with their supposed superiority, vampires weren't all that different from humans, engaging in the same social games and power struggles. It was amusing to Jasmine—despite their age and experience, they acted like kids playing dress-up. Perhaps it was because vampires took longer to socialize, only entering school at eighteen, compared to human children who started at seven. Vampires were coddled and protected by their parents until they were old enough to defend themselves.
Jasmine finally understood why the vampires had dressed up so much today. This wasn't just an entrance ceremony; it was their first real social event among peers. Jasmine observed for a while longer, noticing a few pairs of vampires who seemed to have hit it off, their faces flushed with excitement.
Ah, young love.
Jasmine's attention returned to Adèle, curious if she too would take an interest in any of the male vampires. But, as expected, Adèle was more focused on outshining her peers than finding a romantic interest.
Yes, that was very much in line with Adèle's personality.
Seeing that there wasn't much else to watch, Jasmine quietly slipped away from the rafters. On her way back to the servants' quarters, she encountered the vampire maid who had caused trouble the previous day.
The maid noticed her too, her eyes glowing red with anger as she stood up and approached Jasmine. Jasmine quickly assessed the situation—there were about ten vampire maids in the room, with no humans in sight. They had likely driven the human maids out. At the same time, Anna descended the stairs, hesitating as she saw the tension in the room. She wanted to help but was too scared to act.
Jasmine remained calm despite facing a room full of vampire maids. She noticed that the maids seemed to be rallying around one in particular, a vampire of higher rank than the others, though not quite an elite. This must be the maid that Anna had warned her about, the one who served the older girl from the Thirteen Clans.
The low-ranking vampire maid's intent was clear—she wanted to make a statement, either to earn favor with the higher-ranked maid or to redeem herself after being humiliated by Jasmine the day before.
As the maid approached, Jasmine had already analyzed the situation thoroughly. The maid snarled, "Yesterday was a fluke! How dare you, a mere human, think you can trample over us vampires? How ridiculous!"
Jasmine corrected her, "I didn't trample over you," she said calmly as the maid stared at her in disbelief. "I just pinned you down."
Furious, the maid's nails grew longer, sharper, and darker, a clear sign of a vampire's poison-laced claws. Jasmine knew that being scratched wouldn't be the end of the world, but it would draw unwanted attention. Sighing, Jasmine grabbed the maid's arm and promptly flipped her over, slamming her onto the ground.
Jasmine smirked internally, thinking, Over-the-shoulder throw, complete!
She had been waiting for a chance to do that.