Chapter 22: The Underage Queen

Snowy’s presence made my life in the wooden cabin suddenly brilliant. What was rare was that his schedule happened to coincide perfectly with mine. Working at sunset, resting at sunrise.

My room was on the north side of the cabin, providing a perfect view of the dawn. Hiding in the dim room, watching the first light of the rising sun was as beautiful as a dream—that was the only time I could get close to the sunlight, though it was merely "close."

Before the morning sun had fully risen, Snowy would already be curled up in my arms asleep. Originally, he was quite disdainful of being held by me, but under my relentless "persecution," he gradually understood the principle that "one must bow when under another's roof," hehehe.

Watching the light creep closer to the window, I reluctantly pulled down the curtains, turned on my side, and fell into a deep sleep.

When I opened my eyes, it was already dark. Snowy wasn't in my arms. I got up and searched the room but couldn't find him, so I stepped out to find Rosalie to have my bandages changed.

With a "bang," a plume of thick smoke rose from Rosalie's roof. My lip twitched; here we go again...

Though Rosalie was exceptionally beautiful, she was a total potion-making fanatic. She often spent time alone in her room tinkering with a pile of strange plants, refining concoctions with terrifying odors among her jars and bottles—like that green unidentified liquid I used to drink. Just thinking about it gave me goosebumps.

"Snowy, Snowy..." I searched the surroundings, but I couldn't find so much as a single hair from that heartless little fur ball.

"It worked! It worked! I succeeded!" A feminine cry rang out, and before I could even react, I had a lapful of soft, fragrant womanhood.

"Rosalie?" I held her blankly, completely bewildered.

"The Blood-Augmenting Agent! My formula worked!" Releasing me, Rosalie looked at me with a beaming smile. "Don't you feel like you haven't felt hunger for several days now?"

Now that she mentioned it, I realized that since arriving at the cabin, I had hardly eaten anything.

"I tried several times before, but I lacked a member of the Blood Kind to test it on. This time, it finally worked!" Rosalie prattled on joyfully, entirely oblivious to my distorted expression.

She used me as a lab rat?!

Finally realizing my menacing look, Rosalie tucked away her smile and pulled me into the room to change my dressings.

As we sat down, Rosalie turned to prepare the medicine. "How have you been feeling lately?"

"Mhm?" I looked at her, puzzled.

"For example... have you felt lethargic, dizzy, or... in pain?"

"Vampires..." I started to speak, but remembering a certain perverted vampire’s terminology, I instinctively bit my lip and swallowed the word "vampire." Instead, I raised an eyebrow and said, "Is the Blood Kind really that fragile?"

Rosalie’s eyes widened in disbelief. She circled me, inspecting me from front to back. "Take off your clothes; let me see your back."

I turned around and stripped as instructed.

Silence fell behind me. For a long time, I didn't hear a sound from Rosalie.

"Are we done?" After dressing, I turned to look at Rosalie, only to find her face full of shock. I couldn't help but be curious. "What's wrong?"

Could my injuries have worsened?

"Your wounds... they're gone." Rosalie stared at me blankly.

Gone? What a strange way to put it. Shouldn't she say they've healed?

"I gathered all your injuries to your back, but I've only used half the medicine, and yet your wounds recovered on their own." Rosalie looked at me with an expression of pure disbelief.

"Is it that strange? Don't the Blood Kind have the ability to heal themselves?"

"This wasn't an ordinary wound. If any normal member of the Blood Kind had suffered that attack, they would have turned to ash long ago. But you..." Rosalie looked utterly perplexed.

Clenching my fist slightly, I looked at Rosalie. "Do you know who it was that hurt me?"

"He is a priest of the Inquisition."

A... priest?

I twitched my lips. My Gareth... how could he possibly be a... priest?

"Aurora?" Seeing me dazed, Rosalie nudged me.

"Ah... ha, maybe... I'm just more powerful!" I snapped out of it with a forced laugh.

Rosalie’s face was covered in black lines.

After "robbing" some Blood-Augmenting Agent from Rosalie, I headed back to my room.

Taking off my clothes, I stood before the mirror and curiously turned to look at my back. Indeed, it was smooth and clean; all the previous mottled bruises had vanished.

Suddenly, there was a "thud." I looked back suspiciously and saw Snowy falling out of the blankets, rubbing his head with his little paws.

"Snowy?" I had searched everywhere for him, and it turned out the fellow was nestled in the blankets sleeping.

This unfaithful guy. I had searched all over the cabin for him, nearly listing him as a missing person.

Snowy lifted his head groggily, then suddenly his round, pitch-black eyes widened.

I stared back at him.

After a long moment, he blinked and suddenly "whoosh"—he raised his two little paws to cover his eyes. His body, once a white snowball, turned a bright shade of pink.

I froze for quite a while, then looking down at my disheveled state, I finally couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Adjusting my clothes, I leaned over to pick Snowy up and gave him a squeeze. He was very soft and squishy.

"Snowy, oh Snowy, have I seen you somewhere before? Why do you look so familiar?" I rubbed his furry little head, talking to myself in confusion.

Snowy paused, then guiltily averted his gaze, refusing to look at me.

"Mhm?" I raised my hand again to mess with him.

He made a "guji" sound and actually nuzzled against my chest.

Eh? Acting spoiled?

I looked at him with amusement and stopped the interrogation.

With my injuries healed, my first thought was naturally to go home. However, Rosalie always avoided me and refused to tell me the path back to the human world, even threatening me not to wander alone in the Demon Realm.

In my sleep, I felt a tickling sensation on my face. I frowned and waved my hand, muttering, "Don't play, Snowy..."

"Snowy?" A voice with a slight upward lilt sounded by my ear.

I quickly opened my eyes only to see Alastor sitting by the bed, looking at me with a mournful expression. "We haven't met for a few days, and you've already forgotten me..."

I sat up, caught between tears and laughter. "What are you doing here?"

Hearing this, Alastor’s face fell. "The month is up; I’ve come to fetch you."

"Taking me back to the human realm?" I grabbed his sleeve, looking overjoyed.

"There are some matters here yet to be handled. I’ll take you back to the castle first to see Her Majesty the Queen." Alastor narrowed his deep blue eyes and smiled.

"I want to go home." Instinctively, I didn't want to meet the Queen.

"Sol has led the vampires of the Sabbat into the Demon Realm. The gates to the human world are temporarily unable to open."

Sol? That perverted vampire? Didn't he go to find Malachi? Why is he acting up and attacking the Demon Realm?

Pulling Snowy out of the blankets, I reluctantly bid farewell to Rosalie and followed Alastor back to the castle.

"What is this thing?" Alastor stared curiously at Snowy in my arms.

"My Snowy," I answered smoothly.

"Snowy?" Alastor stared at the fur ball with a weird expression for a long time, then suddenly burst out laughing. "You couldn't be holding a grudge about the fact that Byron White nearly killed you in the bar, could you?"

I shrugged noncommittally. Thinking back to that cold, silver-haired man who was like a block of ice—although this name was a bit of a slight against such a man who was like the clear wind and bright moon, I didn't want to admit I did it on purpose. After all, that cold-faced Judge nearly made it so I couldn't even be a ghost, just because that strange little girl said, "I don't like her."

"Don't worry, Byron White has gone missing. You won't see him this time even if you wanted to," Alastor added.

Byron White is missing?

I wasn't sure if it was my imagination, but I felt the round body of the little fur ball in my arms stiffen slightly.

The Queen's castle was a massive ancient fortress, looking like a medieval building. Its walls were covered in green vines. As I followed Alastor inside, the castle felt icy cold. There wasn't a spark of fire in the giant fireplace. I could vaguely see a small silhouette sitting on a luxurious, gold-painted antique wooden chair.

"Your Majesty," Alastor gave a slight bow.

The Queen slowly turned her face. I looked at her in shock—I had seen her before! She was the little girl I saw at "Night Charm," the one being held in the arms of the white-clothed Judge, Byron White!

She... is actually the Vampire Queen?!

The Vampire Queen is an underage little girl?

My mouth hung open in extreme astonishment.

A pale, thin face, exquisite features, and glass-colored eyes—she was truly a beautiful child.

But her appearance was so far removed from the word "Queen." In my mind, a Vampire Queen should be charming, seductive, and arrestingly beautiful. How could she look like this underage girl?

"Alastor, you’re back." Her pale lips pursed slightly into a smile—a very innocent grin. "Did you find White?"

Sitting on that large, heavy gold-painted chair, she looked even more petite. Under the hem of her black lace dress, her bare, lily-white feet didn't even reach the floor; they were swinging gently.

"No." Alastor’s smile faded.

She lowered her head slightly, her pale face hidden in the shadows, making one feel an indescribable heartache for her.

I felt Snowy move uneasily in my arms.

"Aurora."

Hearing the Queen's voice, I quickly looked up, only to see those glass-colored eyes staring at me without blinking.

"I am very glad to meet you."