Adele was a very calm person, and she never believed that the vampires' rule could continue smoothly forever. The most important reason was that the vampires were overreaching—just like at Spark Farm, where there were so many humans, yet they were managed by an incompetent low-level vampire.
After Adele crippled his arms, if the humans had banded together, they could have easily executed Okhan. The same logic applied to the rule of the farms, which could easily be overthrown. Not just the farms, but the banks as well.
The vampire population was too small, while the human population was vast, and the land was enormous. Other non-human races were also eyeing the situation greedily. From Adele's perspective, it was only a matter of time before things went wrong.
This wasn't the first time humans had chosen to resist. Throughout history, there had been countless instances of human rebellion, but these were usually isolated incidents—a single farm or bank suddenly being overthrown, only to be swiftly suppressed by the vampires.
Under the powerful abilities of the vampires, those disorganized rebellions were quickly crushed, and after that, humans would face even more oppressive rule. But this time, the human resistance was different. In Adele's view, the previous rebellions were like scattered sand, but now they had become a tightly woven rope, resisting the vampires with a clear plan.
More importantly, they had grown in scale; this was no longer a small, insignificant rebellion.
Given this situation, could they really continue to suppress the resistance and maintain their rule as before? Even if they managed it this time, what about the next? And the time after that? When facing other non-human races, vampires could simply choose to exterminate them, ensuring those who resisted never saw another day.
But with humans, it wasn't that simple. The relationship between vampires and humans was a delicate one—more accurately, it was a one-sided parasitic relationship. Vampires needed human blood. Among all species, only human blood had a special significance for vampires. It was not only delicious but also gave vampires great strength.
If vampires relied solely on the blood of animals like pigs, cows, or sheep, their magical powers and recovery abilities would be halved. Their advantage over other races would disappear entirely. So, vampires couldn't afford to kill all humans. If they did, their own extinction wouldn't be far off.
What's more, the Blake family's vast library contained ancient texts that recorded how, tens of thousands of years ago, in ancient times, humans weren't slaves to vampires; on the contrary, they were the rulers of the world. Many vampires scoffed at these records, refusing to believe that humans could have ever resisted vampires, let alone surpassed them to become the most powerful race.
But if you looked closely at the current structure of vampire society, you'd see that these records weren't necessarily baseless. Many aspects of vampire society, including their social structure and, most importantly, their banking and financial systems, were all created by humans.
The seemingly stable rule of the vampires was, in reality, plagued by internal and external problems.
Regardless of the situation with the vampires, Adele herself disliked this kind of oppressive rule. Call her rebellious or a traitor—it didn't matter. Adele simply didn't like forcing others to submit through brute force.
Perhaps it was because she had spent so much time with Molly that she wanted to walk side by side with her. After realizing her feelings, she knew she didn't want to be Molly's master; she wanted to be Molly's lover.
She longed to see a peaceful society where she and Molly could walk hand in hand without receiving strange looks—a world where they could openly declare their love.
This idea might seem laughable, but it was Adele's genuine wish. Before, when she didn't know that Molly was the human resistance leader Lady Dawn, she had thought of her as a weak individual. Under those circumstances, Adele felt she had to shoulder all the burdens herself, to carve out a path where she could protect Molly and ensure she lived a happy life.
But now that Molly was the leader of the human resistance and a powerful one at that, Adele realized she didn't have to bear everything alone. She could stand alongside Molly and work together to create the world she dreamed of. Once Adele understood this, she stopped hesitating and followed closely behind Molly, afraid of being left behind.
Molly, of course, didn't let go of Adele's hand as she led her into After Dusk. Their presence didn't attract any attention from the non-humans there. After masking her scent, no one could identify Molly's race. Even though she appeared human, the unusual scent kept others from seeing her as one.
As for Adele, her vampire scent was impossible to hide, but the non-humans in After Dusk weren't surprised by the presence of a vampire. After all, there were quite a few vampires in After Dusk. Vampires had their own laws, and those who broke them faced punishment, sometimes even execution. Some vampires would flee before the Council of Elders could send someone after them.
In reality, the Council was rather lenient with rogue vampires, often giving them time to escape, and any pursuit was mostly for show. Only when a vampire committed a major crime, like killing one of their own, would the Council hunt them down relentlessly. Of course, killing a superior, as Adele had done with the school doctor, didn't count—no one cared about that.
So many rogue vampires still enjoyed various privileges and luxuries, and many fled to After Dusk, a lawless zone where they could revel in the absence of rules.
In After Dusk, there were no binding treaties—just pure survival of the fittest. If you were strong enough, you could do as you pleased. The only other thing you needed was money. Unfortunately, Molly didn't have much of it, so she could only take Adele to a cheap inn.
The innkeeper didn't bat an eye at their request. When Molly said they needed a room for two days, he simply named his price: "Ten yuan."
"…" Molly took a deep breath. For a moment, she considered just knocking out the innkeeper. Did she look like someone with money? That was daylight robbery! But with dawn approaching, she needed to find a safe place for Adele.
Molly could sleep anywhere, even wander around in the daylight. But Adele couldn't. She had to stay in a lightless place during the day, or she'd be in serious trouble. As the eldest daughter of one of the Thirteen Clans, Adele wasn't about to hide in a sewer to avoid sunlight. Molly couldn't offer her better accommodations, so ten yuan it was—at least she could afford that.
Just as Molly was about to pay, Adele quickly pulled out a bank card from her pocket. Despite her sudden departure, Adele hadn't forgotten to bring her bank card. However, the innkeeper looked troubled. This wasn't a bank, so a card wouldn't do her any good.
When Molly saw the card, her eyes lit up. She knew that card must contain a lot of money. Holding back her frustration, Molly gently took the card from Adele and told her to keep it safe, then pulled out a bill from her pocket and placed it on the counter.
The innkeeper took the money and handed them a key. The key was old and greasy, and Molly's brow furrowed slightly as she took it. The innkeeper instructed, "Second floor, left corner, third door."
Molly led Adele up the stairs. The inn was indeed run-down, and as they climbed, Molly could hear the wooden steps creaking underfoot, dust falling from the ceiling. But this was the best environment Molly could provide for Adele.
Following the innkeeper's directions, they found their room. When they opened the door, Molly was met with the smell of mold. She thought for a moment, then cleaned off a chair and had Adele sit down while she rolled up her sleeves and began tidying the room.
Although their feelings for each other had become somewhat mutual, Adele was still used to Molly's care, so she didn't insist on helping. Instead, she sat obediently, watching Molly work.
Molly packed up the original bedding and stuffed it into a worn-out chest. As she closed the chest, she noticed the hinges were loose and made a loud noise when they shut. After disposing of the old bedding, Molly opened the suitcase she had brought and took out the bedding she had packed from Blake Castle, spreading it on the bed.
Once everything was done, Molly dusted off her hands and gestured for Adele to graciously take her place on the bed.
But Adele touched her hair, looking a bit shy. "Molly, I want to take a bath."
Molly bluntly shattered Adele's hopes: "Miss Adele, there's no private bathroom here. If you want to bathe, you'll have to go to the public bathhouse. And there's no one to guard it, so there's a chance some male creature might barge in while you're bathing."
Hearing this, Adele's face paled. As a lady of her stature, she wasn't familiar with such things. But… she really did feel dirty. She had just crawled through a tree hollow, and the damp, decaying leaves had stuck to her. She hadn't noticed it at first, but now that she was sitting down, the smell from the tree hollow was starting to bother her.
Molly sighed. Seeing how restless Adele was, she knew what she was thinking. So, Molly said, "Miss, wait here. I'll fetch some water."
She found a clean wooden bucket, borrowed the inn's kitchen to heat some water, and then carried the bucket back to the room. When Adele saw Molly with the bucket, she finally breathed a sigh of relief. She had been genuinely afraid Molly wouldn't find a way, and she'd have to go to the public bathhouse.
The idea of a public bathhouse sounded intriguing, but the thought of some male creature barging in made Adele's skin crawl. She couldn't help but wonder: How does Molly know about this? Could it be… could it be!
These unsettling thoughts filled Adele's mind, and she looked at Molly with a gaze full of unspoken questions. When Molly finished checking the water temperature and turned around, she noticed Adele's expression.
She couldn't help but slowly raise an eyebrow, questioning, "?"
Molly: What on earth are you thinking?!