"Ah-choo..." Molly, who was being talked about by Adele, couldn't help but sneeze. She wiped her nose, puzzled: What's going on? Could it be that I've lied about being sick so often that I'm actually going to get sick?
"Lady Dawn, are you alright?"
Facing the concerned question from the person beside her, Molly shook her head. "I'm fine. Let's keep moving."
As someone who had become exceptionally powerful, particularly in terms of physical strength, Molly found the idea of getting sick laughable. Her body was as strong as an ox—she hadn't been sick a single day since birth. In fact, unless she intentionally allowed it, she hadn't even sustained minor injuries. Headaches, colds, and fevers were completely out of the question.
The only thing that ever troubled her was the occasional discomfort during her period, but even then, she was usually full of energy. Despite this, Molly would still report being sick two or three times a year and head down to the village at the foot of the mountain.
At first, she did it purely to rest, to take a break from her non-stop work schedule. If she didn't find some excuse to rest, Molly would have mentally burned out—not physically, but emotionally. Even though her body didn't tire, working endlessly without a break was exhausting for the mind.
In her first couple of years at the castle, Molly hadn't thought about faking illness until she noticed other maids reporting their illnesses and being sent to recuperate at the village. It was then that she realized this could be a way to take a break.
In this era, there weren't any real doctors—at most, there were people with a rudimentary knowledge of medicine who prescribed barely effective treatments. Molly often marveled at how primitive these methods were. The school physician at the vampire academy seemed to be the only one who genuinely understood medicine.
So, aside from Molly, the other servants sent down to recover were genuinely ill, sent away to avoid spreading their illness to others, forced to care for themselves while worrying if their job might be taken by someone else during their absence. Many never returned because they either died from their illness or were replaced.
Given this, the castle's servants didn't want to get sick, nor would they ever use illness as an excuse to rest. The castle was filled with overachievers, working tirelessly to serve the vampires, terrified of being reassigned to the farm or the bank.
Under these circumstances, no one ever checked on the sick in isolation unless they hadn't returned at the agreed-upon time, at which point someone would go check to see if they had died. If they had, arrangements would be made to dispose of the body.
Over time, Molly stopped worrying that anyone would come to check on her while she was pretending to be sick. When she first started faking illness, it was purely to rest. Once she realized no one paid her any mind, she began using her "sick days" to travel long distances. As she grew older and started rescuing others, her "sick days" became a necessary tool for slipping away when the human army needed her presence.
A few days ago, Molly had learned from an outpost in the village below Black Castle that the human army was searching for her. Since they had no idea where she might appear, they were spreading the word through nearly every outpost.
Upon learning this, Molly used her usual excuse of being sick and successfully disappeared for five days.
With the transportation methods of this world, even sneaking aboard a floating ship would make it hard to travel round trip within five days. But Molly was different—she could rely entirely on her legs. Her speed was astonishing. After learning of the situation in the morning and reporting her "illness" to the head maid that night, she arrived at the human army's base before dawn the next day.
Even Molly, with all her strength, couldn't help but rub her knees after the journey. Sometimes, Molly wasn't entirely sure of her own abilities, but experiences like these showed her that she might just be some sort of monster.
If she had to compare, Molly figured her strength was akin to a weakened version of that bald hero from an anime in her past life. She might not be able to split mountains with a punch, but she could definitely create a crater if she tried hard enough—she had tested it, after all. In short, she was incredibly strong.
When Molly arrived at the human army's base, she discovered that they had encountered a small setback while attacking the White Family's fifth stronghold. They had planned to launch the attack during the day when the vampires were at their weakest. Although this tactic might seem underhanded, the survival of their race was at stake, and they were willing to do whatever it took.
However, a significant problem had surfaced: the fifth stronghold of the White Family was a massive cash cow for the vampires, doubling as their largest entertainment city. It housed casinos, dance halls, and other such facilities, bringing in a fortune each year. Simultaneously, it was one of the most brutal places for humans, who were forced into various forms of labor, including the vilest of services.
Molly despised these practices because the vampires had incredibly loose sexual morals, often engaging in relationships with humans, even draining their blood during these encounters. In the so-called "City of Eternal Night," humans frequently died in the vampires' beds, drained of blood.
Their corpses, naked and pitiful, were hastily wrapped in rags and tossed into mass graves outside the city. The number of such deaths was beyond imagination. It was no wonder the human resistance wanted to attack this "City of Eternal Night" and liberate it from its crimes.
While the city's name typically suggested a bustling metropolis with lights that shone as brightly as daylight, for the vampires, it was a bitter irony, as the city never saw daylight at all. It was more fitting to call it the "City of Eternal Night."
This perpetual darkness was maintained by a magical artifact located in the central tower of the White Family's castle—The Jewel of Eternal Night.
According to legend, the Jewel of Eternal Night was a gift from the Moon Goddess to the vampires. As long as magic powered it, the artifact could keep the area within its reach in perpetual darkness, impervious to sunlight. After several generations of research by human researchers under the vampires' rule, its range now covered an entire city.
Though, by this world's standards, a city was more akin to a moderately-sized town in Molly's previous life. Even so, maintaining this constant darkness for a city-sized area required an enormous amount of magic, likely costing billions each year. Given the value of money in this era, Molly's monthly salary was a pittance compared to the annual cost of running the Jewel of Eternal Night.
This small artifact was the main obstacle to the human resistance's plans. As long as the Jewel of Eternal Night was active, the vampires would always have the upper hand.
But the commander of the human resistance, known by the codename "Commander," was determined to destroy it. That's why the outposts had been searching for Molly, knowing that her power was unfathomable. The Jewel of Eternal Night was beyond their ability to destroy, but Lady Dawn might be able to do it.
Molly accepted the task from the Commander and also discussed some matters concerning the Spark Farm with him.
Once their discussion was over, she set off alone, racing toward the City of Eternal Night. When she arrived at a village outside the city, it was still daytime. Molly contacted the outpost and learned that the human resistance was hiding in a nearby valley, ready to launch their attack at any moment.
"Wow, that's one big black bowl." Standing on a mountaintop, Molly gazed at the city a dozen kilometers away. Although it was daylight and the sun was shining warmly, dispelling much of the winter cold, the City of Eternal Night was shrouded in darkness.
The black protective dome formed by the Jewel of Eternal Night was hemispherical, just as Molly had described, resembling an overturned black bowl. The dome was semi-transparent, and even from this distance, Molly could see the dark mist being released from a room in the central tower of the castle.
That must be where the Jewel of Eternal Night was located.
Molly knew so much about the Jewel of Eternal Night and its functions because the vampires had ruled for so long. The White Family had proudly informed all vampires about the artifact's capabilities, encouraging them to visit the City of Eternal Night. It was similar to how certain cities in the future would flaunt their high-tech wonders—not only keeping them hidden but also widely promoting them.
Additionally, some confidential information obtained by the Black Family head made it easier for Molly to gather details.
After signaling the human resistance members hidden in the valley, Molly set off alone toward the City of Eternal Night. It was during her time on the mountaintop that she sneezed, which led the people around her to worry about whether the powerful Lady Dawn might actually be sick.
The human resistance had heard of Lady Dawn's immense power, but few knew just how strong she truly was. Over the past few years, Molly had been less active, and with the influx of new members, most of them had only heard of Lady Dawn's power without witnessing it firsthand.
Some even quietly questioned their comrades, "Can Lady Dawn really destroy the Jewel of Eternal Night?"
They had tried numerous methods before, including posting bounties at the Hunter's Guild and sending in small squads to sabotage the artifact, all to no avail. When they heard that a mysterious and powerful Lady Dawn was on her way, their spirits lifted, but when Molly arrived, they saw that she appeared quite ordinary.
Even the rare human mages noted, "I can't sense any magic from her..." So, where did Lady Dawn's power come from?
A few began to doubt, and the image of the powerful Lady Dawn started to crumble in their minds. However, just then, the observers shouted in surprise, "The black dome has been lifted!"
Lady Dawn—terrifying indeed!