The key issue was that Adele, for some reason, pretended to be asleep. Molly was at a loss, unsure of what to do. Should she expose the fact that Adele was faking it, or just play along and leave quietly?
After a moment of consideration, Molly decided that playing along and leaving quietly was the safer option. This awkward situation would be best left alone, especially since it was likely to happen again during their stay at the estate. Molly would have to sneak into Adele's room to use the bathroom for the rest of the semester.
Molly resolved to maintain the peace and act as if she hadn't noticed Adele was awake. She prepared to leave the room quietly, but Adele, clearly not on the same wavelength, suddenly sat up in bed. Her crimson eyes shone brightly in the dark room as she threw off the covers and ignited a small flame on her fingertip, illuminating the space.
—There was no escaping now.
Molly realized this with a sinking feeling.
Adele's eyes, now fully adjusted to the light, took in Molly's appearance. Typically, Molly was always dressed in her neatly pressed maid uniform, exuding a refined air. But now, she looked very different.
Having just finished her bath, Molly wore a thin nightgown that clung to her delicate frame, making her appear especially fragile. Her slightly wavy short hair, still damp from the bath, hung straighter than usual, resting softly on her shoulders and giving her a more innocent look. The flickering firelight danced in Molly's eyes, making them seem as gentle as a fawn's.
Adele was so stunned that the flame in her hand extinguished. She even stammered, "Y-y-you…" pointing a finger at Molly, her cheeks flushing pink.
"Why are you dressed like that and coming into my room while I'm sleeping?!"
Seriously? You knew I was coming in, you listened to me the entire time I was in the bath, and now you're acting like I'm trying to seduce you? Molly thought.
"Oh, right. In Adele's mind, Molly has feelings for her, so coming in early in the morning to seduce her kind of makes sense," Molly realized.
"Let me explain," Molly began, but before she could continue, Adele covered her eyes as if to avoid seeing something improper.
But there really wasn't much to see.
Molly was wearing a white camisole nightgown, which might sound enticing, but her chest wasn't particularly large. By previous standards, she barely reached a B-cup, and more realistically, she could fit into an A-cup. This was why Molly had to abandon her dream of becoming a cool, cold, and voluptuous femme fatale. Even though she didn't want to admit it, she had to face the fact that her figure was more on the innocent side.
Adele, on the other hand, had a much fuller figure. In a couple of years, when her features matured, she would undoubtedly become the kind of elegant lady Molly admired. And she was wearing a lacy camisole that left little to the imagination. In the dim light, Molly could even make out the shape of her chest. In this situation, Adele should have been covering her chest, not her eyes.
"Don't explain!" Adele, lost in her thoughts, didn't want to hear what Molly had to say. "Even if you try to do something like this, nothing is going to happen between us! Besides, we just became adults, and what you're doing is wrong!"
While Adele wasn't wrong, the way she said it was... odd.
Molly didn't want to give Adele a chance to keep talking nonsense, so she quickly said, "There's no bathroom in my room, so I had to come here to take a bath. If you don't want me to use this bathroom, I could use another maid's, or maybe... once Mr. Oakham's room is cleaned out, I could use that?"
There was no way Adele would allow that. She saw Molly as her possession, and she wouldn't even let a child stay close to her, let alone have Molly use someone else's bathroom. That would mean others could hear Molly bathing and see her coming out in her nightgown.
"No way!" Adele immediately rejected the idea. She lowered her hand from her eyes, looking conflicted. "Fine, you can keep trying to seduce me."
—Let's be clear, Molly, the Lady of Dawn, was not trying to seduce anyone!
Before Molly could say anything, Adele mumbled, barely loud enough to hear, "Only someone as pure as I am wouldn't be easily swayed. If anyone else tried something, Molly would be the one crying."
Molly was at her wit's end. She decided that the next time she came to take a bath, she would bring a robe, so Adele couldn't see her bare shoulders. Molly thanked Adele for letting her use the bathroom, then quickly left the room. Once she was gone, Adele realized, Molly tricked me again!
Adele felt annoyed. Molly had somehow managed to change the subject yet again. Adele sat on her bed, resisting the urge to roll around in frustration, trying to suppress the unladylike thoughts. But the image of Molly kept popping into her mind.
Vampires have exceptional night vision, so Adele had seen Molly clearly, even in the dark. Molly's skin, unlike Adele's pale complexion, had a warm, yellowish tone. But to Adele, it was the most pleasing sight she had ever seen.
Especially since Molly had just bathed, her face was a rosy pink, looking as delicate as a freshly peeled egg. Adele had never eaten an egg before, but she had seen Molly eat them, and they looked just like that.
Adele concluded once more, Molly is definitely trying to seduce me!
With that thought in her mind, Adele couldn't fall asleep. She tossed and turned in bed for a long time before finally dozing off. When she woke up again, it was already dark. She could hear Molly in the other room boiling water. Still a bit groggy from her lack of sleep, Adele yawned and crawled out of bed.
She changed out of her nightgown and into a black dress, quickly fixing her hair with a ribbon. Since it wasn't a complicated hairstyle, Adele managed it on her own. Among the vampire ladies, she was definitely the most self-sufficient.
When she left the bedroom, Molly had already brewed some tea and added several cubes of artificial blood sugar. Adele sat on the sofa, and Molly placed the tea in front of her. Adele picked up the cup, holding it elegantly as she gently blew on the reddish-brown liquid, the fresh aroma of the tea filling the air.
It was indeed a pleasant scent. The Black family's tea was of excellent quality, and Molly was skilled at brewing it. With the flavorless artificial blood sugar added, this cup of tea was Adele's favorite thing to consume.
She took a sip, savoring the blend of sweetness and tea, with the artificial blood giving her the strength a vampire needed. Although the power was neither pure nor plentiful, it was still a precious supplement for someone like Adele, who was often deprived of blood.
As she drank her tea, Adele couldn't help but glance at Molly. Speaking of the best supplement, Molly's blood was the best.
After the incident with the doctor, even though Adele had been unconscious, the feeling of fullness she woke up with was real. She hadn't needed to consume any artificial blood for several days afterward.
If only I could drink Molly's blood again...
Adele set down her cup and looked at Molly. "Molly, can I drink your blood?"
Molly turned to her, her face expressionless. Calmly, she refused, "No."
Although Adele had expected Molly to refuse, she still pouted in disappointment, her expression overly dramatic with mock sadness. "But why? Why not? I felt so awful yesterday, and today too..."
"Speaking of which, it seems the servants in the estate are waiting for you. They're a bit lost without their master," Molly said, steering the conversation back on track. Adele, realizing she had important matters to attend to, quickly finished her tea, only to burn her tongue in the process.
She stuck out her tongue, fanning it with her hand, then hurried off to the main hall to meet with the servants. Molly didn't follow, as she needed to clean Adele's room. Adele had wanted to bring Molly along but decided against it, as that would mean letting others clean her belongings and room.
After weighing her options, Adele reluctantly chose to leave Molly behind.
"Molly, come quickly when you're done."
"I will, Miss."
Adele hurried down the hall, wrinkling her nose in anticipation of the servants' scent. She had braced herself for the foul stench of blood, but to her surprise, the smell in the estate had lessened considerably, becoming just barely tolerable.
Adele was puzzled. When she arrived at the main hall, she found the servants standing obediently. Upon seeing her, they all bowed in unison. Adele raised her hand to stop them. "There's no need to bow every time we meet. A simple nod will do. Spending so much time on formalities is inefficient."
She walked toward the stairs, stopping in front of the servants. Before she could say anything, Bella stepped forward and began reporting the events of the day, presenting the cloth-wrapped ashes. "Miss Black, these are Oakham's remains."
No matter what kind of vampire they were in life, all that remained after death was the same gray ash. It was like the residue left behind when paper burns. After inspecting the ashes, Adele nodded and immediately appointed Bella as the head maid. To give Bella authority, she emphasized, "If anyone has any objections, speak up now."
The servants remained silent, heads bowed.
Satisfied, Adele nodded, but then a thought crossed her mind. Wait, did Molly change the subject again?