Helen's name suits her well, with eyes as clear and blue as the sea. Previously clouded by darkness, her eyes now shone brightly, like a ray of sunlight breaking through the clouds and falling on the ocean.
Molly nodded. "Alright, Helen. At the first light of dawn tomorrow, meet me at the old school building's back field. I'll teach you how to deal with vampires."
Helen firmly nodded and agreed.
She didn't notice the nuance in Molly's words—she said she would teach her how to deal with vampires, not just low-level vampires. The techniques for dealing with vampires are mostly universal. After all, even noble vampires are just stronger vampires. As long as one can resist their mind control, fighting them becomes much simpler.
Especially since vampires are quite similar to humans in one way—they maintain human forms. They may fight like humans with poisonous claws and sharp fangs, which can be difficult to handle, but once you understand their methods, they aren't so hard to fight. At least, the most numerous low-level vampires are not.
After agreeing on the time, Molly returned to her room. The first thing she did was remove her socks, which had gotten dirty during the altercation with the low-level vampire servant earlier, and soaked them in a basin. She then changed into a fresh pair.
After washing the dirty socks, she headed out of her room again. Since Miss Adele was in class, it was during this free time that low-level vampires could cause trouble for her. Molly needed to go to the supply department to get a new set of uniforms, as Adele's previous one had been ruined, affecting the rotation of her clothing.
As she pushed open the door of the supply department's building, she noticed all the vampires inside turning to look at her. Molly suspected they did it on purpose—they must have sensed her presence as she approached, but only turned to look now to startle her.
Ignoring their stares, Molly walked straight to the reception desk. The building's first floor was arranged like a bank, with staff seated behind counters. Molly walked directly to a counter that seemed less busy, intending to inquire about her request. Before she could sit down, a male vampire servant next to her hooked the chair with his foot, dragging it away. "Hey, this seat isn't for humans. It smells too much like humans—how can vampires sit here?"
Molly glanced at the vampire servant, a low-level male vampire, likely there to handle affairs for his master. She looked at the chair under his foot, unfazed. With a steady hand, she pulled the chair back. Molly's action wasn't gentle; the servant's foot was still hooked on the chair, and when she pulled it, his foot got dragged along, causing him to yelp in pain. Molly, unfazed, sat down, her weight anchoring the chair firmly. The servant had no choice but to retract his foot, glaring at her.
"If you find it unfit to sit, you can sit on the ground or stand. By the way, sir, don't they have human cooks in the servants' dining hall? If we follow your logic, I suppose you don't eat lunch either."
The servant was momentarily stunned—he wasn't as quick-witted as Molly.
Despite Molly's cold persona, she could easily banter with the best of them if she wanted to. But in this world, steeped in a medieval, magical atmosphere, banter didn't quite fit her character. The servant wanted to retort, but the staff behind the counter snapped, "Are you going to finish your business or not?"
Regardless of the world, staff members generally despise customers who waste their time. After all, when there are no customers, they get to relax. The vampire behind the counter carried on with a tone that was neither friendly nor hostile, as she mechanically inquired about Molly's needs. Her attitude wasn't particularly good, but from the demeanor of the other staff, it was clear that they treated everyone this way—vampire or human.
"My master's clothes were damaged. I need a new set."
The staff member handed Molly a form. After Molly filled it out, the staff member, seeing the name "Adele Black" in the student's name section, became noticeably more polite. She quickly stamped the form, handed Molly a receipt, and informed her of the next steps.
"Take this to the third-floor window to get your master's uniform. The cost will be billed along with the tuition fees at the end of the term and will be collected from the student's family next year."
Taking the receipt, Molly left, hearing the servant still struggling with his form-filling as the counter staff scolded him. Filling out the form wasn't difficult; Molly, with her good memory, quickly recalled the necessary details. What seemed simple to her was a challenge for the inexperienced servant.
Had it not been for the school's rule against male students having female servants, the male servants would have been entirely outmatched. In this service-oriented field, female servants generally outperformed male ones in every aspect—whether it was cleaning, cooking, or even helping their masters with their appearance. Molly, having finished with her errand, went straight to the third floor, collected the uniform, and encountered no further trouble.
Because—working people don't have time to make trouble.
The staff at the supply department were all low-level vampires. After initially taking note of Molly when she entered, they treated her the same as any other low-level vampire. After all, employees who dislike their jobs don't care about the status of the person who gives them more work. If the human maids truly longed for equal treatment, Molly would recommend they visit the supply department, where fairness reigns supreme.
After collecting the clothes, Molly returned to her room. The clothes weren't ready to be worn just yet; while in her previous life, she might have put on clothes right out of the box, she knew better now. Clothes for the vampire nobility needed to be washed and adjusted to fit perfectly before they were ready to wear. Molly's sewing skills weren't exceptional, but she knew Adele well enough to make adjustments that would ensure comfort without compromising the fit.
After finishing with the clothes, she let them rest on a chair to smooth out, and then, after a brief nap, she headed to the dining hall for her meal. Finally, she went to Adele's room. She prepared a pot of tea, and as she anticipated, Adele soon returned.
Adele entered the room, looking furious, clearly upset about something that had happened in class. However, seeing Molly, she quickly composed herself, sitting down gracefully on the sofa and sipping the tea Molly handed her.
After a sip, Adele couldn't hold back any longer. "That rotten Gordon! How dare she score one point higher than me on the theory test!" Always top of her class, Adele couldn't bear the thought of someone else outdoing her. Molly sat down on the sofa opposite Adele, which only seemed to aggravate Adele more.
"How dare you sit across from me! Come sit next to me!"
Molly wanted to smile at how childish her master was being but refrained. Instead, she firmly refused, which only made Adele puff out her cheeks in frustration. Realizing she was showing weakness in front of Molly, Adele quickly straightened up, looking proud as ever.
Seeing her expression, Molly knew that Adele was still upset and needed to calm her down. "But, Miss, did you score lower than Miss Gordon overall?"
"Hmph." Adele crossed her arms, lifting one leg over the other, a posture not very ladylike but showing her stubborn pride. She glared at Molly with a look that clearly said, "Praise me." Her expression made it obvious that her overall score was not lower than Gordon's.
"Of course not!" Sure enough, Adele quickly confirmed. "She's a hundred years too early to surpass me!"
Adele had only mentioned the theory test because the first semester of their first year didn't include practical exams. Practical courses would only start in the next semester. Molly had seen the books Adele was studying—she cleaned the study, after all, and sometimes glanced at the titles out of curiosity. The thickest book was The History of Vampires: Glory Forged, which Molly thought could double as a self-defense weapon if necessary. Even a low-level vampire wouldn't withstand a blow from that massive tome.
Aside from common subjects like history, there were other, less conventional courses, such as The Functions of Blood, Farm Management Methods, The Blood Bank Management Rules, and The Complete Guide to Combatting Other Races. Each book was thick enough to make Molly reconsider her academic path if she had been forced to study them.
Fortunately, the school didn't expect students to finish all these books in one semester but spread the curriculum over six years, mixing theory with practical lessons.
Molly learned this from overhearing conversations among the senior vampire servants in the dining hall. Adele was likely aware that she would soon start practical lessons, managing farms or banks assigned by the school, supervising low-level vampires and humans.
This was one reason why Molly believed Adele would eventually become like other vampires. Once she experienced the power of ruling over the weak, could she still be as compassionate?