Adele led Molly to the school gate, where many cars were already waiting. Adele found the Black family car and approached with Molly. She elegantly handed her suitcase to the driver, her demeanor making the other young ladies think they should do the same next term.
Look at the Black family's young lady, handing over her suitcase as if it were an elegant cashmere handbag instead of a large suitcase. They were all noble ladies; surely, they could do the same!
After Adele's suitcase was loaded, Molly's suitcase was also stacked onto the luggage rack.
The Black family's car only had two suitcases on it, while the Gordon family's car had five. Adele couldn't resist mocking Gordon again: "Ah, Gordon, are you playing a stacking game? You've piled your suitcases so high. If there were a competition for stacking, you'd surely win first place. Congratulations, this might be the only competition where you can beat me."
"You!" Miss Gordon was furious but couldn't find a retort, so she could only huff, "Next term, I'll be better than you—in both academics and luggage! I'll do better than you in everything!"
"Hmph, you'll never surpass me in either luggage or elegance."
Their eyes flashed with fiery determination before they both turned away with a cold huff. Watching the whole exchange, Molly couldn't help but internally complain: Are these two ladies seriously competing over luggage? And did Adele just imply that while it's okay to lose in academics, losing in luggage would be unacceptable?
And why do they keep using that cold huffing expression? Is it a standard for noble vampires? Honestly, there are way too many tsunderes among vampires…
Molly enjoyed her internal rant, and after the bickering ended, she followed Adele into the car. Soon, they arrived at the airship port.
The driver intended to help with the luggage, but Adele insisted on carrying her own suitcase, leading Molly inside. The driver could only bow and retreat, waiting to return to the residence after seeing Adele off.
He was a servant of the Black family stationed near the school, responsible for communication between Adele and the family during her six years at school. If Adele needed anything, she could rely on him to procure it. He wasn't just there for Adele; when Adele's sister enrolled, he would also take care of the second young lady.
Upon boarding the airship, Molly naturally intended to head to the lower deck where the servants and lower-level vampires stayed, but Adele called out to her, "Molly, where are you going?"
Molly was slightly puzzled. "To my room, of course."
"You're staying with me." Adele didn't give Molly a chance to argue and pulled her toward the upper deck suite. Under the surprised gazes of the staff, Molly followed Adele into the suite. Molly suspected that Adele had purchased the return tickets herself this time. If the Black family's butler had made the purchase, they would have been separated—Adele, as the noble young lady, would be in the upper deck's VIP suite, while Molly would be relegated to the lower deck. But since Adele bought the tickets, she booked a suite.
As they entered, they found a living room with two bedrooms on either side, each with its own bathroom. Adele pointed to one of the rooms. "You'll stay there, and I'll be in the room opposite."
"Yes."
Molly responded and entered her room. Their suitcases had been delivered to their rooms by the staff, and Molly found hers quietly sitting at the bottom of the wardrobe.
The airship wasn't particularly fast or high, but it was stable, feeling much like being on a boat. It would take two days to reach the Black family's dock, so staying in such a luxurious room was quite a treat for Molly, definitely better than the servants' quarters.
With no one around, Molly naturally flopped onto the bed. The bed was clean, soft, and had a faint floral scent. The airship company had clearly gone to great lengths to satisfy its customers, befitting its status as the top airship service.
Molly knew that the airship company was a property of the Elder Council, with all profits going to the council. The reason for maintaining such high standards, despite being a monopoly, was that members of the Thirteen Clans frequently used the service, and even the elders occasionally traveled by airship.
But in contrast to the luxury of the upper deck, the lower deck was abysmal. The best rooms on the lower deck, like the one Molly had used before, were tiny single rooms with a bed and a desk, with communal bathrooms at the end of the hall.
That was already considered good. In the worst lower-deck rooms, six people shared a filthy, cramped space. Molly guessed those rooms were for servants of fallen noble families or for transporting human laborers without owners.
Just being able to board an airship was considered an honor. Most humans in the farms or banks would never leave their assigned areas, let alone board an airship and see the world from above.
After rolling around on the bed for a bit, Molly went out to the balcony. The sliding door had a warning sticker that read: "Strong winds outside. Please keep young vampires indoors. Be cautious of crosswinds, especially at night, and watch your children closely." They probably hadn't considered that a human might be staying in a suite, as there was no warning specifically for humans.
The night wind was indeed strong, and given the airship's height—while not as high as an airplane from her previous life—it was still a significant altitude for the people of this world. Falling from this height would be fatal for most vampires, though the elders might survive the fall.
Molly wasn't concerned about the warning; she opened the sliding door. The night wind rushed in, lifting Molly's skirt, forcing her to hold it down to keep it from flying up and hitting her in the face. The wind was so strong that even the curtains inside were billowing wildly, as if caught in a tumble dryer.
Seeing the bed linens starting to flutter, Molly quickly closed the door. Once the room was secure, she smoothed down her windblown hair and leaned on the balcony railing, gazing at the landscape below.
To be honest, there wasn't much to see. It was nighttime, and although it was prime time for vampire activity, they preferred the darkness, so there wasn't a single light on the ground. Occasionally, a few faint lights flickered, but they looked pitifully dim.
For humans, this was a cruel and hopeless world…
Molly was lost in thought when she suddenly noticed the balcony door in the neighboring room opening. She was startled to find herself face to face with Adele. Well, not exactly face to face—there was a bit of space between them, as the living room didn't have a balcony. But still, they were looking at each other.
—Uh oh…
Molly's first thought was that she was in trouble. After all, she was just a weak and helpless human, and opening the sliding door at night was practically asking for death. And Adele, being a newly adult vampire, shouldn't be opening the door either. Molly tried to think of an excuse or put on an act of struggling with the wind.
But before she could do anything, Adele shouted, "Molly! What are you doing out there?"
Adele's voice was loud, likely fearing that the wind would drown her out, but Molly heard her perfectly. Molly pretended to be struggling to hold onto the railing, then calmly replied, "I'll go back inside now."
As she turned to go inside, she exaggeratedly stumbled a bit. Those two steps seemed to have alarmed Adele, who shouted, "Don't move!" Before Molly could process what was happening, she saw Adele climbing onto the railing and jumping over to Molly's balcony.
For a moment, Molly's mind went blank. By the time she came to her senses, Adele had landed on her balcony, practically on top of her. Molly instinctively let herself be pinned down, her back hitting the ground. If it had been anyone else, they might have gotten a concussion.
Adele clung tightly to Molly, then dragged her back inside and slammed the sliding door shut, even locking it. Molly finally snapped out of her daze. She had been scared out of her wits when she saw Adele jump over, fearing she might fall. Adele was only just an adult vampire, barely stronger than a juvenile, so how could she take such a risk?!
But before Molly could scold Adele, Adele scolded her first. They were both sitting on the floor, too shaken to stand. Adele, sitting in a duck-like position opposite Molly, began to reprimand her: "Molly, what were you thinking?! Do you have a death wish?! Do you know how strong the wind is out there?! How could you open the door and step onto the balcony?!"
"Ah…" Molly opened her mouth but couldn't find the words to argue. She couldn't exactly tell Adele that she had nothing to fear because of her abilities, and that even falling from this height wouldn't hurt her. But before she could say anything, Adele threw herself onto Molly, hugging her tightly.
Adele's arms wrapped around Molly's shoulders and under her arms, clasping behind her back. Molly could feel Adele's body trembling slightly. She… was scared, just as Molly had been scared when she saw Adele jump, fearing she might fall.
"Don't ever do something so dangerous again!"
Molly could faintly detect a trace of tears in Adele's voice.