“Extra! Extra!”
“Witness history! The Human Federation may be entering a state of total war!”
Inside a small nation within the Federation, a newspaper boy was peddling papers all over the streets, shouting phrases about big news.
“Lovely young lady, would you like to buy a copy?”
The newspaper boy noticed a girl staring blankly inside a park pavilion.
“Today is absolutely a day that will go down in Federation history!”
“Are you not curious about this massive news?”
Her hair was a luxurious, deep black, her skin as pale as paper, and her clothing appeared to be a school uniform.
Looking at the girl’s slightly childish appearance, she certainly seemed to be of school age.
Hearing the newspaper boy’s greeting, the girl turned her head.
“Huh…?”
The newspaper boy froze.
In the instant their eyes met—specifically those crimson pupils—
He was stunned by her exquisite, painting-like face; his breath hitched, and his thoughts stalled.
But after she scrutinized him for a moment, she said with a lack of interest.
“Not needed.”
Perhaps it was the favor born from her beauty, or simply because her extraordinary temperament suggested she was the child of a noble family.
Regardless, the newspaper boy read the news to her anyway.
“Did you know? Just the day before yesterday, the Orc Tribe secretly colluded with the Demon Race!”
“As the guardians of the Abyss entrance, the Orc Tribe turned around and conspired with the Demon Race, swallowing the Seventh Legion of the Federation in one gulp.”
As expected, just as the boy had anticipated.
This young lady’s interest was successfully piqued.
“What…?”
She bit her lip unconsciously, complex emotions flickering in her eyes.
“Times really aren’t peaceful lately.”
A depth that belied her age appeared on the girl’s face.
She pondered for a long time, then gave a slight wave of her hand.
The newspaper boy felt his vision blur, and in the next second, a newspaper had landed in the girl’s hands.
She… is a Magician…!
The boy stiffened, unable to stop himself from examining her appearance.
So young, and yet she is already a Magician??
A slightly petite stature, a youthful face not yet stripped of innocence… she looked even younger than he was.
However—
“Kid, is everything written here true?” the girl asked in a rather mature tone.
It even gave off a strong sense of incongruity.
But the boy dared not think too much… because he had heard that the more powerful a Magician was, the more unique eccentricities they tended to have.
Watching the girl deliberately pretend to be an adult in such a comical fashion—
The boy was already convinced in his heart that she must be very powerful!
“Respected Magician, this is firsthand information from the north of the Federation.”
“The authenticity is personally guaranteed by the Avalon Royal Family!”
Upon hearing the boy’s words,
Lilique, who was leafing through the newspaper, frowned slightly with her small nose.
“This is troublesome…”
Her original plan was to head north, avoid the pursuers from the south, and rendezvous with her Familiar.
But now, the Demon Race had appeared in the northern territories.
Lilique stomped her foot in frustration, truly at a loss for what she could do now.
Her uncle had launched a military coup and killed her incompetent mother.
Then, after merely 3 days, the Evernight Kingdom changed its banner; there was not even a hint of resistance, making it the most painless regime change in history.
Afterward, this uncle imprisoned everyone from her mother’s lineage.
And Lilique?
She had been staying at the Evia Magic Academy for years, having no interest in these powers and schemes, only to be lured back by a forged letter written in her mother’s hand.
Not only had she been imprisoned by her uncle for several weeks, she had even been struck by a Curse…
Thinking of this, Lilique touched her stomach, an expression of grief and indignation appearing on her face.
She had only managed to escape with great difficulty, yet she found herself completely unable to lift the Curse on her body.
The effect of this Curse was to strip away her ability as a Vampire to feed!
What an utter humiliation!?
Counting the days, she had been starving for several months now…
A Vampire’s Mana comes almost entirely from blood consumption; as for eating ordinary food or absorbing Mana from the environment… the amount that could be replenished was negligible.
Thinking of this, Lilique looked at the blinding sun outside the pavilion, and a deep, thick fear rose in her heart.
Unable to feed, her internal Mana only depleting without replenishment, she would eventually be unable to even resist the sunlight.
Although being exposed to the sun without defense would not kill a Vampire,
It would leave them in agonizing pain.
The Evernight Kingdom even had related punishments—
Using the sun to continuously shine upon a depleted Vampire, eventually driving them to become a madman through extreme suffering.
Even though Lilique’s bloodline was extremely noble and she possessed a certain resistance to sunlight, she absolutely did not want to suffer such pain.
But… the only solution was to replenish her Mana through feeding.
And this brought her back to that detestable Curse!
After having her feeding ability sealed, even if she were surrounded by soft, delicious cakes, Lilique could only drool on them.
Even if she drank actual blood, she could not derive any energy from it… the effect was no different from an ordinary human eating a bowl of spicy blood jelly.
Continuing like this was certainly not a solution.
She had already realized this while she was imprisoned.
Therefore, after managing to escape the dungeon, Lilique immediately used Teleportation Magic to send her Familiar to the north.
She had hoped that it could obtain sufficient Mana in the outside world, rendezvous with her, and then feed that Mana back to her own starved self.
But…
Even such a careful and detailed plan had failed!
Who on earth attacked Vera!?
Lilique screamed in her heart… her soul was completely filled with despair.
However, fortunately, her Small Bat, Vera, had only fallen into a state of suspended animation.
And before it was injured and went into suspended animation, it had marked that damnable attacker for Lilique.
But to be honest, Lilique currently lacked the confidence to avenge Vera.
She was so hungry that her chest was touching her back, so weak that even walking was a struggle maintained only by willpower… and the other party was a formidable foe capable of defeating Vera!
Thus, for the last 15 days, Lilique had been wandering the central region of the Federation, not daring to make contact with this mysterious powerhouse.
“Magician?”
The voice of the newspaper boy came from the side, interrupting Lilique’s internal conflict.
Looking at his nervous appearance…
A way to break the deadlock suddenly arose in Lilique’s mind.
“Kid, things are chaotic in the north right now, aren’t they?”
She asked, feigning indifference.
“That is correct, my lady.”
“Then, how about this…”
Lilique removed a Gemstone from her hair clip, her heart aching.
“Since you seem to understand the local situation well, help me find a Carriage heading directly to the far north, and keep the rest of the money as your reward.”
“Also, the Carriage must have a roof!”
“A roof!!”
Lilique extended her hands and gestured above her head, as if to emphasize how important this was.
Watching the newspaper boy cheerily leave as he clutched the Gemstone…
Lilique nodded in satisfaction, her plan already forming in her mind.
The more chaotic the north was, the more it actually worked in her favor!
First of all, the north was the only place she could go.
Aside from the Evernight Kingdom in the south, the Eastern Mythical Tribes and the Western Sea-Born Race… these two major factions had always been on good terms with the Vampires; there was no need to think twice about the fact that warrants for Lilique’s arrest were already plastered on every street corner of their cities.
That left only the Human Federation in the Central Plains, and the Orc Tribe in the north…
They were either hostile to the Vampires or had no dealings with them at all, and would not pay any attention to the arrest warrants issued by the Evernight Kingdom.
Therefore, Lilique’s original plan had been to traverse the entire Human Federation alone and reunite with her Familiar.
Ultimately, they would hide in the Orc nation of the north, bide her time, and wait for an opportunity for revenge.
But after that, Vera was attacked by a powerful foe, and the plan failed… Lilique had essentially been forced to give up.
During the time she spent wandering the central Federation, she had actually been pondering ways to rescue Vera.
However, the situation was different now—
The Orc Tribe colluding with the Demon Race was undoubtedly an excellent opportunity for her!
The more chaotic the north became, the greater her chances of rescuing Vera.
Faced with a Demon Invasion, that mysterious powerhouse would absolutely have no time to attend to other matters!
And at this very moment, it was the perfect time for her, Lilique, to strike!
Thinking of this, she gritted her teeth, cursing the strong man who attacked Vera hundreds of times more in her mind.
Just you wait…
Once she recovers her Mana, she would definitely transform this guy into a Blood Slave!
She would use the harshest tortures of the Vampires to torment him day and night!!
“A-choo.”
“Your Highness? Have you caught a cold?”
“Wait… I’m not cold…”
“Don’t, don’t rub against me!”