When Molly opened the door and saw Anna standing there, a flood of questions almost burst out of her mouth. She really wanted to ask Anna: How can you be sure that Miss Black would blame a fellow vampire doctor for harming a mere human maid? If this human maid was just an ordinary servant to her, wouldn't everything you're doing be in vain, even harming an innocent girl in the process?
But Molly knew that no matter how many choices Anna was given, she would still make the same decision. From what Molly had overheard, she could tell by Anna's tone. Anna was not a sheep raised by vampires but someone whose self-awareness was awakening, who was determined to fight for her fellow humans. Weighing Molly against her other human companions, it was clear which side was heavier.
If it hadn't been Molly, it would have been someone else. Anna would have used the same tactic. She was gambling, using Molly to bet against the doctor. If she succeeded, the towering mountain pressing down on them would be removed.
Molly felt frustrated, but she couldn't blame Anna. This was the best effort a powerless human could make to resist their oppressors. Molly had always been about awakening human consciousness. Anna, without any help, had stepped up on her own, acting as the doctor's pawn while trying to use him to balance the other vampires and ultimately get rid of him. She had already done a lot.
Seeing Anna standing at the door, Molly quickly gathered her thoughts and simply asked, "What's wrong?"
A flicker of hesitation crossed Anna's eyes. Clearly, she was struggling with the decision to use Molly as part of her plan. She glanced at Molly's bandaged arm and softly asked, "How is it? Does it still hurt?"
Of course, Molly wasn't in any pain. If she wanted to, she could instantly heal the small wound. But knowing how a normal human would react, Molly considered her response and then nodded, "A little," she added, "The doctor said it'll heal quickly, just needs a bandage change."
Hearing this, the conflict in Anna's eyes deepened. She murmured, "That's good. I won't disturb you then. Get some rest," and quickly retreated.
Molly felt like dragging Anna back to make her listen to what she was saying. Get some rest? How could she? They were maids; they had to work. If Anna really felt guilty, she could just come over and help her with the chores... Molly sighed, stayed in her room for a while, then changed her clothes. When the time was right, she went to the dining hall to eat and then headed to Adele's room to prepare tea.
She timed it perfectly; the tea was ready just as Adele returned. Molly placed the tea on the table as Adele entered with a smile on her face. "Molly..." Adele began, but before she could finish, her smile vanished. She grabbed Molly's wrist and pulled her close.
With Adele's strength, Molly could have easily resisted, but she didn't. She let herself be pulled close.
Adele held Molly's wrist with one hand and tugged down her sleeve with the other, revealing the bandaged arm. Adele's crimson eyes narrowed like a snake ready to strike. Her voice came out in a hiss, "Who did this?!"
Adele's sense of smell was quite sharp.
Molly thought, several hours had passed since she was injured, and she had applied medicine, changed clothes, and even brewed tea, filling the room with its aroma. Under these circumstances, Molly herself could barely detect the scent of blood, yet Adele had noticed it immediately. As expected of the Black family's eldest daughter.
Molly didn't want to implicate the other human maids, so she chose to lie. After years of maintaining her persona, Molly had become quite adept at lying without showing any signs. "I accidentally hurt myself."
Adele's expression softened slightly at Molly's words. She gently tugged at the bandage, which slowly unraveled, revealing the small, knife-like wound on Molly's arm. Adele tilted her head, "How did you manage to get hurt like this?"
"It was a utility knife. I accidentally cut myself while working."
Adele seemed to accept Molly's explanation. Her posture relaxed, and she even looked a bit concerned, "What a waste... Molly's precious blood, just spilled like that. Such a pity..." Her gaze lingered on the wound, and her head instinctively moved closer as her mouth slightly opened, revealing her fangs.
Miss Black, if Molly recalled correctly, her wound should only smell like antiseptic by now, not enough to make anyone react like they were seeing fresh blood.
Molly pulled her hand back slightly. Since Adele wasn't holding on tightly, Molly easily freed herself, rewrapped the bandage, and pulled her sleeve down to cover the wound, making it invisible to Adele.
Adele looked a bit dazed but quickly snapped out of it. "Hmph, as my maid, every part of you belongs to me. I won't allow you to get hurt so easily!"
Molly nodded, "Understood."
Adele then asked who had bandaged Molly's arm. This time, Molly told the truth, explaining that it was the school doctor. Adele nodded, then followed her usual routine: she took a bath and had Molly dry her hair.
After a nap, Adele yawned and got up as night fell, changing from her nightgown into her school uniform. Today, her hair wasn't tangled, but Adele hadn't slept well. She kept thinking about Molly's wrist, which made her restless, and she felt a growing resentment towards the doctor.
Because... after Molly's arm bled, her sweet blood must have stained her arm, and the doctor got to hold her arm and clean the wound. Molly's blood was so sweet that even dried blood must have been tempting. The doctor might have shown the same greedy expression as she had when seeing Molly's blood.
And then there was the cotton used to clean Molly's wound—it must have soaked up some of Molly's blood. That cotton was now sitting in the infirmary... What if the doctor was a pervert who secretly sniffed Molly's scent? Adele's mind spun with these thoughts, making it hard for her to sleep.
When Molly came to serve her, and after some time had passed, Adele grabbed her school bag and headed to class. As she walked through the hallway, the noble ladies who usually followed her quickly gathered around, sharing gossip.
Adele absentmindedly brought up the school doctor, saying she was curious about him.
"The doctor..."
The noble ladies didn't know much about the doctor. As high-ranking vampires with strong self-healing abilities, they rarely needed medical attention. However, one of Adele's friends, who loved to gossip, smiled and said, "I heard from my maid that the doctor is well-liked among the humans. They say he treats human maids equally. So if a maid gets hurt, she'll go to him for treatment."
Hearing this, another lady joined in, "That makes sense. After all, those lowly humans aren't like us. They don't have strong healing abilities. Without a doctor, they'd be in trouble."
"Treats them equally..." Adele's mind fixated on those words. She found it difficult to do that herself. While she never discriminated between her vampire maids and human maids, she had to admit that was because she saw them all as weak. Bullying the weak was something Adele despised; she believed the weak should be protected.
And Molly was an exception because Molly liked her. Adele found it hard to deal with Molly's admiration for her and naturally tended to be more protective of her. Molly had been with her since she was a child and had never seen the outside world. Bringing her to school, exposing her to new people and experiences, was a way to help her grow.
Hearing her friends talk about the doctor, Adele's curiosity was piqued. She pushed aside the small, prickling voice in her heart that whispered: What if Molly falls for the doctor and no longer likes me?
Adele decided to visit the doctor, partly to thank him for helping her maid and partly out of curiosity about what a vampire who treated maids equally was like.
During lunch, instead of her usual stroll in the rose garden, Adele made her way to the small building where the doctor was. She stood at the door and caught the scent from inside—one vampire, one human. She knocked, and shortly after, the doctor opened the door.
He smiled warmly but seemed slightly flustered. Although the doctor was hired by the school, few students ever visited him. The reason was the vampires' powerful self-healing abilities. If they were ever injured beyond their ability to heal, they just needed to drink blood. The school would provide high-quality human blood, which could heal even the most severe injuries almost instantly.
So the doctor rarely saw vampire students. He looked at Adele, wondering why this proud vampire had come to his small office. Was it really just for a human maid...?