After several days of flying, the airship finally arrived at the port of the Black family's territory. From there, they switched to a limousine and managed to reach Black Castle just before dawn. Adele was quickly surrounded by her mother's maids, who took her away to wash up and rest. Once Molly and the others were dismissed, she made her way back to her small room.
Molly kicked off her shoes and lay down on the bed. Though the bedding had a slight musty smell from being unused for a long time, there was no choice but to wait until daylight to air it out. Unfortunately, with the weather being overcast lately, there was no chance to sun the bedding. After lying down for a while, Molly got up again to change her sheets and bedding. Once done, she took a hot shower, dried her hair, and lay back down on the small bed.
On the bright side, after leaving Spark Farm, at least she no longer had to share a bathroom with Adele, and she didn't need to borrow Adele's bathroom to take a shower. Now she could bathe as comfortably and as long as she liked, without worrying about Adele overhearing the sound of her showering.
The past few days had been quite good for Molly. After all, she had eaten and slept well on the airship, making her reluctant to return to Black Castle. Molly had a good night's sleep and didn't wake up until 6 p.m. The days were short now, and it was already pitch dark outside by six. The castle was filled with the sounds of servants going about their duties.
Yawning, Molly got out of bed and changed her clothes. She thought to herself: Vampires should prefer winter, with its long nights and short days. But in reality, they despised winter because it was simply too cold.
After changing, Molly headed to the dining hall to have a meal. Since she had slept in, there were few servants left in the dining hall, and the food was already cold. Molly sighed. There was no one to blame but herself for oversleeping. She quietly enjoyed her meal. The food at Black Castle had always been good, far better than what she had at Spark Farm.
However, after Spark Farm hired a new chef, the quality of the food there had surpassed even Black Castle's and was almost as good as the airship's cuisine. The new chef was particularly skilled at making desserts, which Molly adored. And at least the meals at Spark Farm were served hot. Returning to the castle to find her first meal cold was disappointing, but Molly still managed to eat most of it, leaving only a little bit that she couldn't finish. She placed her plate in the designated area before leaving the dining hall.
As she exited the dining hall, Molly noticed the entire castle was bustling with activity. She was a bit puzzled until a passing maid noticed her and said, "Molly, you're back? The head maid said to find her if you're awake. She's in the main hall, overseeing the preparations."
Molly nodded and thanked the maid before heading straight to the main hall.
The new head maid was busily directing the preparations, but Molly couldn't understand why the castle was being redecorated. Vampires only celebrated one holiday, the Blessing Festival. They didn't observe birthdays since they lived for hundreds or even thousands of years. Celebrating a birthday every year would be too much trouble, so there were no birthday balls. Balls themselves were rare events since many vampires, especially the older ones, often fell into long periods of sleep, only waking for the Blessing Festival. It was hard to gather enough people for a ball under such circumstances. So what was all this about?
Seeing Molly approach, the head maid paused her work and walked over to her. She first acknowledged Molly's recent efforts with a serious expression, though her relaxed demeanor showed a hint of kindness. The current head maid was certainly better at maintaining appearances than the previous one.
Molly bowed her head. "It's all for the sake of the young lady; it's no trouble at all."
Her words were formal, and the head maid nodded approvingly before assigning Molly a new task. Molly had expected that she wouldn't have much time to rest after returning to the castle.
The head maid tasked Molly with cleaning and decorating a specific corridor in the castle. This job was much easier compared to the tasks the previous head maid used to give her. Molly readily agreed, though she was still curious. "Ma'am, I apologize if this is inappropriate, but may I ask what the decorations are for?"
The head maid didn't find the question inappropriate and explained, "We're preparing for a ball. The lady has invited many noble guests to attend, and it will be held once the young lady returns. The ball is scheduled for next week."
Molly nodded in understanding and excused herself. She first went to the storeroom to collect cleaning supplies before heading to her assigned area.
So they really were planning a ball, Molly thought. She hadn't expected it since, as she mentioned before, it's hard to gather enough people for a ball. If a ball is held and no one shows up, it would be quite embarrassing. And holding it in the middle of winter? Molly doubted many people would come.
Unless the lady had absolute confidence that the nobles would attend.
Molly frowned as she wondered what the lady could have used to attract the nobles. Could it be that the Black family head had made some significant discovery? As she swept the floor, Molly mused to herself: It couldn't be that they discovered I'm the leader of the human resistance and are using the ball as a pretext to hunt me down, could it?
—That's impossible.
But if that day ever came, Molly imagined herself saying in a dramatic voice, "Haha, you didn't expect this, did you? Yes, it's me, the one who has been hiding among you all with the guise of a harmless maid. Now that you've discovered me, I won't pretend anymore. But can you really defeat me?" It would be pretty cool if things turned out that way.
As Molly swept the floor, she continued to daydream about the scene.
What she didn't know was that the lady did have absolute confidence that the nobles would attend the ball, but it wasn't because of any "human resistance leader." It was because of her precious daughter, Adele. Before the last semester had even started, the lady had visited the Golden territory to discuss suitable suitors with her sister.
Miss Golden was also of an age to start considering marriage, and the Golden family head, who wasn't skilled in these matters, was at a loss. Traditionally, this should have been handled by the lady's brother-in-law, but as a man, it was difficult for him to approach it from a woman's perspective, so he left it to the Black lady.
The lady made it clear that if she found the most suitable match, it would be for her own daughter, and her niece would come second. The Golden family head agreed—after all, even the second choice of the Black lady would be better than what her husband might choose. News of the two young ladies looking for suitors spread like wildfire among the nobles. With such an enticing prospect, no noble could refuse.
Even those who weren't part of the Thirteen Clans would want to see if they had a chance. Eligible men in the Thirteen Clans were few, and considering those who were to inherit their families, the remaining choices were even fewer. Perhaps… there might be a chance.
Even if they couldn't become the official betrothed, developing another kind of relationship wouldn't be bad.
Being a lover wasn't unacceptable either.
Vampire lives were long, and it was rare for them to bind themselves to one person for eternity. Even the seemingly loving Black couple had had lovers before Adele and her sister were born.
But lovers were just that—when it came to the family lineage, they would never have illegitimate children. It was already difficult for vampires to have children, so having one out of wedlock would cause significant problems. That's why they were so diligent about contraception. After Adele was born, they became a loving couple again, focusing on their family.
When Adele woke up, her mother's maids dressed her properly before bringing her to her mother's room. In the sitting room, her mother's maid had prepared tea and placed it in front of Adele. Adele instinctively looked around and asked, "Mother, where's my sister?"
"This time, our conversation isn't suitable for her."
The lady took a sip of tea and first inquired about Adele's life on the farm. Adele, in a formal tone as if reporting to a teacher, recounted her progress in detail and praised the advantages of the three-shift work system, which allowed for better work after proper rest.
While the lady was interested in the "three-shift system," her focus was still on Adele's potential suitor. Smiling nostalgically, she said, "I can't believe how quickly time has passed. You're already nineteen this year. It feels like just yesterday that you were born from me."
It wasn't just "like yesterday"—the lady was several hundred years old, and twenty years was but a blink of an eye in her long life. With a vampire's extraordinary memory, she must remember every detail of the past nineteen years. But Adele, still a young girl, was drawn into the past by her mother's nostalgic tone.
She remembered her mother singing lullabies to her when she was little and thought of the years spent growing up with Molly. Indeed, before she knew it, she was already nineteen, having spent thirteen years with Molly.