In a certain sense, what the head maid said wasn't entirely wrong. All humans who serve the Blood Clan rarely have good endings, and the head maid's situation was already considered one of the better ones.
In reality, she had worked diligently for the Black family castle for many years. She had been brought to the castle at a young age, around the same age as Molly when she first arrived.
Now in her forties, she had worked at the castle for over thirty years. Due to her excellent work abilities, she was selected as the head maid at around twenty-seven or twenty-eight and had held the position ever since.
To put it bluntly, after so many years, one would develop feelings even for a dog. The mistress appeared fair and strict, with no tolerance for mistakes, but in truth, she viewed the head maid as merely a human. Replacing her didn't matter, as there were plenty of others to take her place. This underlying coldness, with no partiality toward humans, showed that humans held little value in her eyes.
This sentiment wasn't unique to the mistress, nor was the head maid's fate uncommon. Those who worked hard for the Blood Clan seldom met a good end. If nothing unexpected happened, even though Adele was currently protecting Molly, she would eventually face the same fate as the head maid.
However, there are always exceptions. After the incident with the doctor, Molly had realized that Adele was different from other vampires. And she, too, was different from everyone else. She wasn't genuinely subservient to the Blood Clan, nor did she sincerely work for them. The reason she stayed was to earn rewards and gather information.
The head maid's voice echoed through the castle but was quickly silenced by the maid dragging her away.
The mistress yawned, saying, "I'm tired from the journey, Adele. You should head back. I'll be resting for a few days; come see me later."
Adele bowed and left the room with Molly. Once they were back in her room, Adele asked Molly to roll up her sleeve so she could check her elbow. Seeing the bruise, Adele sighed, "Molly, why do you always end up getting hurt?"
"…" Not really, though. How many times have I actually been hurt?
Adele instructed her to take a break from work and take care of herself, assuring her that she would handle everything with the other maids. Molly, obediently, stayed in her room, occasionally venturing down the mountain during the day to check on the outpost. As the Blessing Festival approached, the vampires had become much more active, so Molly instructed the human army to stay put until after the festival.
This was a significant holiday. Even vampires who had been asleep for a year would wake up to celebrate and then go back to sleep. The number of reclusive vampires was surprisingly high—they would wake up once a year, celebrate, and then sleep for another year.
To ensure the Blessing Festival went smoothly, the Blood Clan intensified their efforts to eliminate outsiders. The head of the Black family also increased patrols within his territory, especially since the airship incident had occurred there. He didn't want to be mocked by his wife's elder sister from the Golden family, so he reinforced security measures.
After resting for a while, Molly resumed work and found that a new head maid had already been appointed. The new head maid was a low-level vampire. Despite being a vampire, she didn't show favoritism toward her own kind in her work. Perhaps aware that the previous head maid had been dismissed for failing to separate personal feelings from work, she was particularly cautious, ensuring that everything was done fairly, even if it was just for show.
As Molly stood in line, listening to the head maid lecture the other maids, she overheard the human maids whispering, "I wonder if the new head maid will be better or…" They were worried that if a human head maid had already shown bias toward vampires, things might become even more difficult now that a vampire was in charge.
Molly wondered if they were foolish. With the sharp hearing vampires had, the new head maid could definitely hear them clearly, yet they were talking openly. Couldn't they wait until after the morning meeting to speak in secret? The head maid must have heard them but said nothing, maintaining her usual expression as she gave orders.
"The Blessing Festival is approaching, so I ask everyone to work a little harder and complete your tasks diligently." She gave a serious speech and distributed tasks fairly. For now, she seemed to be doing a good job, but who knows how things might change in ten or twenty years?
But none of this mattered to Molly. At least things would be peaceful for the next few years.
Molly's assigned task didn't change; she was still responsible for cleaning the courtyard. After the recent flurry of activity, the Black family castle had been renewed… though "renewed" might not be the right word, as the vampires clearly preferred a darker aesthetic, leaning more toward Gothic style.
The castle was decorated with a large number of roses—dried flowers, petals, and fresh flowers—along with black and red ribbons draped and hung for decoration. The whole place looked like a grand Gothic-themed castle, a dream for lovers of the dark aesthetic, with every corner perfect for dramatic photos.
Soon, the day of the Blessing Festival arrived. Adele changed into her festive attire, a grander and more elaborate gown with a wide skirt and European-style design. Her hair was completely pinned up, adorned with several roses. Molly wasn't skilled enough to do this hairstyle, so one of the mistress's maids handled it.
After changing, the family of four needed to gather in the courtyard to offer blessings and praise under the moonlight. On this day, no one was required to work—except for the cooks. Molly was fortunate to enjoy a feast at noon, which was why she didn't mind working hard for the Blessing Festival.
There was a whole roasted pig, along with many other delicious dishes. Molly ate her fill, her mind thinking that the vampires should have more holidays like this. They only had one Blessing Festival—shouldn't they have more to show appreciation for the humans who worked for them?
Vampires were even worse than capitalists. Capitalists might demand a 007 work schedule, but at least there were occasional holidays. Vampires, however, worked year-round with only the Blessing Festival as a break.
After eating and drinking her fill, Molly had no work for the day. Some of the human maids, taking advantage of their time off, planned to visit the nearby village. Not only the castle's inhabitants but also the lower-level vampires in the villages would celebrate the Blessing Festival, with festivities to mark the occasion. The maids wanted to join the fun.
One of the maids who was friendly with Molly asked if she wanted to join them.
Molly shook her head, declining the invitation. She had visited the village festival with Adele several times over the years and didn't find it particularly enjoyable. When it came to festivals, the vampires' celebrations couldn't compare to the human festivals of her past life, with fireworks lighting up the night sky. Nowadays, it was just torchlight and dancing, at most a bonfire party—what was the point of going?
It's worth noting that Molly had indeed started having the human army research gunpowder, though progress was slow.
She was about to head back to her room for a nap when she saw Adele pulling her younger sister along, coming toward her. Adele quickened her pace when she saw Molly, and the younger sister followed suit. They had already changed out of their festive gowns into casual clothes. Adele looked at Molly with a determined expression: "Let's go out and have some fun!"
Molly's gaze shifted to the younger sister, and she hesitated.
It wasn't that she didn't want to go out, but with Adele clearly intending to bring along her younger sister as well, she wasn't keen on the idea. Molly didn't particularly like children, not even before her time-traveling. Even quiet children had their moments of chaos, and she didn't know when the child she was with might start acting up.
Moreover, the younger sister wasn't a quiet child—she was a classic troublemaker. Even in her past life, she would have been the kind of child with indulgent parents who was spoiled rotten. Molly had a pretty good understanding of the mistress's mindset: since Adele was to become the heir, the younger daughter could live more freely.
The head of the family might have considered making the younger sister the heir, but it was never seriously pursued, and as he was often busy with work, the children were mostly raised by their mother. This was in stark contrast to the Golden family, where the mother was the one who was busy, and the father raised the children.
Adele seemed to pick up on Molly's reluctance, which was quite apparent. Her reluctance to deal with children outweighed her commitment to maintaining her persona, showing on her face as clear displeasure. Adele thought for a moment and reassured Molly, "Don't worry about her."
She didn't specify what she meant by that, but Molly knew Adele was a person who kept her word, so she stopped focusing on the younger sister. But even without the little one, Molly wasn't too keen on going.
The reason had already been mentioned: it wasn't fun. But Adele was her employer, and even though it was her day off, she still needed to consider her wishes.
What ultimately swayed Molly was Adele's final comment: "Don't worry, I'll cover all the expenses."
"Alright."
Molly agreed without hesitation. She should have said that sooner! If she had known she wouldn't need to spend any money, she wouldn't have hesitated for so long. As everyone knows, things sold during festivals are always expensive. Molly was poor, and all the little money she earned went to the human army. Her personal savings were pitifully small.
Seeing Molly agree, Adele smiled a little. She urged Molly to change clothes, and after selecting a casual outfit, they headed out.
Adele took Molly's hand, along with her younger sister, and they began walking down the castle's slope. But the journey wasn't entirely smooth; most castles were built on mountainsides, and the Black family's castle was no exception.
As a "normal human," Molly couldn't show any signs of being anything other than ordinary, so she walked very slowly, even slower than the little sister. The younger sister showed her displeasure: "She's walking so slowly. By the time we reach the foot of the mountain, it'll be daylight. What will we do then? Stay in the village?"
The human maids who went out together were moving at a similar pace, but they didn't mind the daylight. They could spend the night in the village, enjoy the morning, and return to the castle later. There was still time to sleep. But vampires couldn't do that. They needed to reach the village quickly, have their fun, and then hurry back.
Adele also felt that Molly was too slow, so she walked up to her and said, "This isn't about anything personal," before scooping Molly up in her arms.