So, what happened next? Naturally, Molly carried Adele to bed, and they spent quite some time together before the sun began to rise. Molly could feel the warmth of the sun outside by the time Adele finally fell into a deep sleep.
With Adele peacefully asleep, Molly quietly left the bedroom, moving through the living room to the small study. Sure enough, on the desk was a letter written in Adele's handwriting. Molly opened it and saw that Adele had detailed everything that had happened during her visit to the underground fortress.
Molly knew Adele well and understood that in her absence, Adele must have been extremely anxious and needed to do something to distract herself. Adele disliked feeling helpless or panicked, so writing down everything clearly and methodically was her way of calming herself.
As Molly read the letter, she found that her guesses had been mostly accurate. Adele indeed met her grandmother. Adele hadn't described her grandmother much, only noting that "it was the first time I've met her," and that "she is still young and beautiful, much like my mother."
Vampires truly had an advantage in this area—a two-thousand-year-old being still looked like a young and beautiful noblewoman. It was ridiculous. If it weren't for Molly's overpowered abilities, she could easily imagine a future where she aged while Adele remained as radiant as ever.
Molly shook off the thought and continued reading. Adele had also speculated that the Vampire Council likely suspected her of selfish and self-serving motives, believing she was trying to create a new world centered around herself.
This aligned perfectly with the selfish nature of vampires.
It wasn't surprising that the Council thought this way—judging Adele's motives by their own self-centered standards was exactly what they would do.
Adele had expressed her anger at this assumption in the letter, even adding a small note above the line where she explained the Council's thoughts: This is slander! I'm not like that! She had even added three exclamation marks to emphasize her frustration.
Adele had also described the structure of the underground fortress, confirming Molly's guess that it was indeed a thirteen-story building. The only thing that stood out was the walls embedded with magic stones. When Molly read this part, her eyes practically turned red with envy.
Money. It was all money.
How expensive were magic stones? Molly's annual salary barely covered one, and here they were, used to decorate walls and ceilings, even forming a false starry sky. Molly felt an overwhelming urge to break in and pluck those "stars" one by one.
This was a fantasy world with magic, and magic stones were crucial magical resources. They could be used for a myriad of purposes, from the simplest tasks like generating electricity, wind, or fire, to creating complex magic arrays. Not only could they store magic, but they could also be crafted into various magical tools.
Aside from magic stones, the most precious items in this world were special ability-infused gems, like the Eternal Night Gem that Molly had once crushed. Such treasures naturally possessed unique powers. Vampires had many such gems, at least according to the records. However, the impoverished Black family didn't seem to possess any particularly powerful gems—Molly hadn't seen any during her years at the castle.
But perhaps, there were some treasures that Adele's grandmother had taken away. Molly wasn't entirely sure about the lifespan of vampires but estimated it to be around two thousand five hundred years. According to known records, the oldest vampire lived to be two thousand eight hundred years old.
Molly was skeptical about this, given that Adele's grandmother, at two thousand years old, was still a marginal figure in the Vampire Council. There were likely even older vampires among the Council members. And as for how Molly knew Adele's grandmother was a marginal figure, it was simple—if the Council members were as terrified of death as they seemed, they wouldn't have risked meeting an ambitious young vampire like Adele.
They would prefer to hide away like mice, only daring to peek at the world above.
Molly had thought things through clearly as she finished reading the letter. She folded it up and slipped it into her pocket, planning to ask Adele later if it needed to be destroyed to avoid leaving any evidence.
Adele slept soundly, and when she woke, she found Molly beside her. Molly had already prepared tea, waiting for Adele to wake up and enjoy it. Afterward, Molly quietly slipped out of the room, waiting nearby. She couldn't stay in Adele's room because she knew that sooner or later, other vampires would come looking for Adele.
As expected, it wasn't long after Adele began drinking her tea that there was a knock on the door. The living room door wasn't locked, so when Adele called out, "Come in," a low-level vampire maid entered, prepared to serve tea and sugar cubes. However, she was surprised to find that Adele was already enjoying her tea.
The maid was taken aback, as it was rare for a noble to make their own tea. Though she hadn't encountered many nobles in this mansion, she had heard other maids talk about their masters and knew that it was almost unheard of for a noble to rise, dress, and make tea all on their own, like Adele had.
Noticing the maid's odd expression, Adele asked, "Is something wrong?"
The maid quickly lowered her head. "No, nothing at all," she stammered before asking, "Miss, would you like more tea? Perhaps you'd like to try the sugar from the capital? It's quite popular and known for its excellent flavor."
Adele responded with a noncommittal hum before adding, "I brought my own, so there's no need." The maid nodded; it wasn't uncommon for nobles to have their own preferred flavors. So, it wasn't unusual for Adele to decline the capital's sugar.
Once the maid confirmed that Adele had no other instructions for her, she relayed the message from the Vampire Council: "Miss, the Council members have instructed me to inform you that there are no further matters for you to attend to. If you're not in a hurry to leave, you're welcome to stay in the capital for up to a week, but they request that you depart within that time."
Adele nodded, indicating her understanding, though in truth, she had no intention of staying even one more day. After all, she had already promised Molly a more intimate reunion once they were back home. With that in mind, Adele was eager to leave.
After finishing her tea, Adele packed her belongings and made her way out, meeting Molly at the prearranged location, and together they left the city.
As they departed, Molly couldn't help but look back at the city. The sight of thirteen concentric walls encircling the capital was undeniably impressive. It was reminiscent of how she had once pressed her fist to her heart—a gesture shared by many others. Even the purpose was the same: the walls were built to protect what lay within.
Molly found it difficult to comprehend why, after reigning supreme for millennia, the vampires of the Council were still so fearful. But those walls, impressive as they were, held little significance for someone as powerful as Molly. She could easily punch through all thirteen layers, even creating a hole large enough to punch through twenty-six at once.
Upon returning to Adele's territory, Adele slowed down her expansion efforts, knowing that she had already drawn the Council's attention. Expanding too quickly would only push them further. While the expansion slowed, the spending did not.
The vampire traitor who had been working with Adele was making a fortune and was eternally grateful to her, considering her his savior.
One day, the vampire traitor delivered a package to Adele. He placed a letter on her desk and was rewarded handsomely. As he counted the money, he couldn't help but comment, "I mean no offense, but Miss Black, I still don't see the point in dealing with humans, even if they're favored by the Council."
"You don't understand."
Adele's simple response was enough to shut him up, but before leaving, he asked, "Miss Black, is your goal to overthrow the Council?"
Given that they were in the same boat, Adele didn't see the harm in telling him. She took the letter he had delivered and replied, "What if I said yes?" Her crimson eyes gleamed with a dangerous light, signaling that if his answer displeased her, Molly would ensure his swift demise.
But the vampire merely shrugged. "It makes no difference to me. After all, I make more money working for you than I ever did with the Council's airship company. If my main client becomes the new ruler, I'll be even happier."
Adele didn't respond, simply waving him away. After he left, she spread the documents on her desk and showed them to Molly. "Here, it's what you asked for."
Indeed, these documents were what Molly had requested. She had long been curious about the humans responsible for creating the current vampire banking system and inventing the airships. During their visit to the capital, she hadn't sensed any human presence, leading her to suspect they were hidden in the fortress. But on second thought, the Council members would never allow humans so close to them, given their paranoia.
So, she figured they must be kept elsewhere.
Adele had enlisted the vampire traitor to gather information on these individuals. As a high-ranking official in the airship company, he had access to a wealth of information and had no qualms about betraying the Council. It didn't take long for him to deliver the information to Molly.
"Well, what do you think?"
Adele leaned in, resting her head on Molly's shoulder as they both looked over the documents. They discovered that many of these researchers were quite elderly, with the oldest nearing eighty. They had been well-fed and well-treated by the Council since they began their work, as were the humans involved in the banking system.
Given their comfortable lives, would they really abandon everything to join the Human Resistance?