The trio—Edward, Audrey, and Lilith—shared a pleasant lunch together. Afterwards, Audrey took Lilith ho, while Edward headed once again to the Scarlet Bar, the well-known haunt of the vampires.
—Yes, even though the Progenitor of Vampires, Lilith, seed to hold a favourable attitude toward him, Edward still didn't dare to bring Lilith to vampire territory.
Well…
So things, if others choose not to pursue them, it's grace. But if you insist on waving them in their faces, that's just asking to die.
Probably because vampires preferred to operate at night, the bar was nearly empty during the afternoon. Most of the custors were unsuspecting regular folk.
Judging by the decor alone, the Scarlet Bar was leagues ahead of the Brave Bar in ambience, which made it a favoured dating spot among young n and won.
At the bar counter, Edward lightly knocked on the polished surface.
"Is Viscount Arlde or Countess Akasha in?"
"They're not here," the bartender answered lazily. "They only co in at night."
"Would it be possible for you to share their address?"
"Oh?"
The bartender's eyes lifted slightly, then widened a bit. "Ah, it's you."
He bent down, rummaged through the drawer behind the counter, and handed over a folded note.
"This is sothing the Countess left for you."
Edward unfolded the note. An address was written on it:
132 Lombardi Street, Hillston Borough.
So, she already predicted I'd co crawling back, huh.
"Thanks."
As Edward walked away, the bartender grumbled behind him, "Stingy bastard…digging for info and didn't even order a drink."
———
About ten minutes later, Edward arrived at the address.
Actually, Apparating to the Hilton District only took a few seconds—the rest of the ti was spent locating Lombardi Street among the maze of roads.
This was a comrcial street, but compared to those in the Cherwoord or East Borough, this area was clearly much cleaner and more upscale.
After all, this neighbourhood was ho to the rich and powerful. The roads were spotless, planters lined the sidewalks, and the architecture had a uniform charm—a bit like the preserved tourist towns of the future.
"…This is…a bathhouse?!"
Edward stared at the feminine-looking storefront, the heavy scent of perfu wafting out from afar. All the clientele going in and out were won.
"A woman's bathhouse?!"
Just then, a passing noblewoman said proudly, "This is a private bath—sothing Emperor Roselle invented over a century ago!"
Private bath?
Edward was instantly suspicious.
I bet Roselle had so sketchy reason behind inventing this.
Wait, didn't private bath just an "private hot spring"?
There are hot springs in Backlund?
His thoughts drifted for a few seconds as he stared at the shop. He found himself struggling to move forward—especially when the sign on the door clearly read in multiple languages: "No n Allowed."
Maybe I should have Phoenix help get Akasha…
Just as he was thinking that, the ornate wooden door swung open. A short-haired, strikingly handso Akasha stood in the doorway, waving at him with a smile.
"Co on in."
"Uh…better not." Edward pointed to the sign.
She strode over, grabbed his arm, and began pulling him inside. "It's fine. I'm the owner. If I say you can co in, you can."
As they approached the door, she flipped the sign to its reverse side: "Full for Today."
Inside, the décor was comfortable and elegant. Around seven or eight casually dressed won were chatting and lounging.
When they saw a man walk in, they blinked in surprise—then burst into laughter.
"Oh my, Akasha, is this your little brother?"
"Introduce him to us!"
"Hey there, handso guy~ Wanna join us in the bath?"
Akasha chuckled. "Don't get weird, ladies. This one's a VIP."
She led Edward to a private room connected to a large pool about ten square ters in size. Gentle steam rose from the sulfur-scented water.
She plopped herself into a chair, crossed her legs confidently, and grinned.
"Well? What do you think?"
"About what?"
"My private bath club!"
Akasha gestured grandly. "Every day, beautiful won of all kinds co here to soak, lounge around in barely anything…and drink fresh blood. Ugh, this life—absolute heaven."
Okay. It was pretty clear now. This vampire countess, Akasha, had one obvious passion: won.
Though she herself was female, she seed much more ntally sound than either Emlyn or her brother.
"Such a pity," she sighed. "Life was so good…until I inherited their Beyonder characteristics and suddenly had a bloody vendetta to deal with. Well, guess I'll just avenge them then."
She looked over with a smirk. "So… you ca here, aning you've decided to sign the contract?"
Edward took out the docunt—already bearing his signature—and handed it over.
"Signed and done."
"Oh?"
Akasha skimd it and laughed. "One last reminder—this contract is notarised by a Sequence 3 Arbiter. That ans even if you ascend to Sequence 3, it's still binding."
"Of course, if you reach angel status, then yeah…it won't hold anymore."
"No problem."
Akasha tucked the contract away. "Alright then, we're officially partners now."
She leaned back with her hands on her waist. "So, where's that Marauder demigod hiding? Let's go kill her tonight!"
"Not exactly sure yet," Edward admitted.
"Huh?" Akasha frowned. "I'm telling you now—I'm not good at tracking people."
Edward began explaining:
"The last confird location was in the Northern Borough, on Böklund Street. She was severely wounded and sealed in the sewers. If she wanted to escape, she'd either need help digging through the walls or abandon her body and possess another creature."
"She had been grooming a student on the Marauder pathway, though clearly with ulterior motives. I suspect she was planning to parasitise her student for rebirth."
"From what I know, she's so heavily injured that she probably only has one chance left to possess a new host. What I'm certain of is—she hasn't possessed her student yet."
"After that night, I didn't return to Böklund Street, in case I spooked her. So I don't know if she's still down there."
Akasha rubbed her chin. "From what I know, people on the Marauder pathway are very alert. She's most likely already abandoned her body and escaped the sewers."
"I think so too. What I'm unsure about is what she possessed."
"Marauders are getting rarer. Since she taught her student herself, I doubt she'd give that up unless she had no other option."
Akasha nodded thoughtfully. "Give the student's information. I'll do so digging."
"Her na is Hazel Macht. She lives at 39 Böklund Street, Northern District."
"I'll swing by there tonight."
Edward added, "Oh, and you might want to check out rats, stray cats, or stray dogs. Given the situation that night, if she didn't choose her student, then she didn't have many options. It was late—there weren't any other people around."
Akasha's eyes lit up. "Smart."
In the original story, the Marauder demigod of the Jacob family did exactly that.
Only, in that case, Klein had ambushed her and blown up the sewer with explosives, forcing her to hurriedly possess a rat.
But that night shouldn't have been that urgent…
Then again—maybe it was.
Edward realised: I didn't see it as urgent, but she might have.
Once her presence was exposed, even if no one ca to kill her, just getting reported to the Church would be enough to screw her over.
So, it's entirely possible she did the exact sa thing as in the original story.
After all, she doesn't know others are working off "spoilers."
That's the problem with ignorance bias—you assu what you know, everyone else knows too.
Akasha smiled slyly. "Well then, now that business is done—want to show you around? Plenty of beautiful won here today."
"No thanks."
"Don't tell you're into n?"
"Absolutely not!"
She raised an eyebrow. "Even Arlde, that idiot obsessed with suits, finds excuses to swing by here all the ti. And you aren't interested?"
"I already have a girlfriend."
"Ohh~~ A pure-hearted, devoted lover~"
She laughed. "Just like my dad. Too bad…because of that, he had a chance to run, but he chose to die with my mom instead."
"If it were ? I'd run for sure! Die for love? Sure—but only after I got my revenge."
Edward nodded solemnly. "I agree with that mindset."
Akasha smirked. "Mmm~ Not bad. If I were a guy, I'd probably like you."
"???"
What the hell kind of conversation is this?
"Co on, I'll walk you out."
The two strolled down a long wooden corridor. On either side were private bath rooms, and the sound of won splashing in water could occasionally be heard.
Edward kept his eyes straight ahead, resolutely minding his own business.
Then, a familiar figure appeared in front of him.
Bernadette!
She had changed into a light, flowing dress—perfect for a hot spring soak. Her long hair cascaded loosely down her back, her usual sharpness replaced with a languid ease.
The mont they locked eyes, both paused in surprise.
Edward instinctively wanted to hide.
It felt like getting caught at a nightclub by his daughter.
But then he quickly ca to his senses:
One: I'm not Roselle "the cheater" Gustav.
Two: I'm here on official business!
Why the hell should I feel guilty?!
Bernadette curled her lips into a faint smile. "What a coincidence."
Edward kept a calm expression. "Mm, I'm here to et with the owner."
Smack!
Akasha slapped him on the butt and leaned in with a playful grin.
"Hey, this one's unfamiliar. Your friend? Introduce us?"
"…"
Akasha's eyes sparkled with mischief. "Ohh~ Don't tell she's your…"
"She's not," Edward interrupted. "She's a friend. Her na is…"
Bernadette narrowed her eyes and said calmly, "Bernie Huang."
———
[Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps motivated.
Reviews
All reviews (0)