Vampire Royal Court.
Xueli put on her robes as usual, combed her hair, and briefly organized her appearance. She could no longer hide her condition.
She left her room, her steps still steady, yet much slower than before. The walk to the council chamber, which used to take only six or seven minutes, now took nearly ten.
Her condition was in a continuous decline. Many people knew this; it had long ceased to be a secret.
When Xueli arrived at the council chamber, she was rarely late — five minutes behind schedule. The moment she took her seat, several elders exchanged glances.
She saw them clearly — some were searching, some were worried, and of course, some held a faint air of dissatisfaction.
The meeting proceeded as usual, with reports being heard and decisions being made. Today’s discussion involved border trade matters.
In the past, Xueli had always been able to quickly clarify the interests involved and provide precise suggestions.
But today, those numbers, profit margins, and clauses flowed through her mind like water, and she could not grasp the main points.
“Your Highness?”
Suddenly, a voice rang in her ear. It was the reporting official, his tone carrying a hint of doubt and a sliver of anxiety.
He was waiting for Xueli’s instructions, and it seemed this was not the first time he had tried to get her attention.
Xueli finally snapped back to reality, realizing she had been distracted — for about twenty seconds. A full twenty seconds. Moreover, she had not entirely heard what the other party had just said.
The council chamber fell into a dead silence, and every gaze was focused on her.
“I apologize… I didn’t hear you clearly,” Xueli said very slowly, her voice halting. This was the first time she had admitted to the problem so clearly.
The silence lasted for a few more seconds. The brief void was filled with an invisible pressure that made it almost impossible for her to breathe.
The gazes of several elders became even more complex; someone even furrowed their brows imperceptibly.
“…Please repeat the last part,” she spoke again. Her voice was slightly steadier than before, but it still carried a hint of undeniable sluggishness.
The official quickly complied, reading the key passage regarding the export status of the nine special products once more. He deliberately slowed his speaking pace, as if accommodating Xueli’s poor state.
Xueli fixed her gaze on the parchment scroll in front of her, struggling to concentrate.
However, the familiar words seemed to be shifting, making them exceptionally difficult to read. She tried to construct a map of interests in her mind, but she failed.
Under the table, she used her left hand to lightly pinch the back of her right hand. The slight pain allowed her to remain somewhat lucid.
“…Regarding the definition of transportation losses.” After a long period of contemplation, she finally spoke.
It was an extremely safe proposal. But she knew in her heart that if it had been her former self, she could have offered a much better solution.
The elder in charge of trade nodded without speaking, but a look of realization flashed in his eyes.
The meeting continued. During the subsequent topics, Xueli mostly just listened, only giving brief responses when she absolutely had to take a stance.
The meeting dragged on for fifteen minutes longer than the estimated time before it finally concluded.
When the elders and officials left one after another, Xueli remained in her seat. Her eyes were half-closed, staring hollowly at the carved patterns on the long table.
“Your Highness… do you have any other instructions?”
An attendant on the side stepped forward, asking carefully.
“No… there are no more.” Xueli was slightly startled, then stood up somewhat sluggishly and left the council chamber.
In the hallway on her way back, she encountered two low-ranking female officials. They stopped from a distance to salute, bowing their heads.
As Xueli walked past, she still caught their unavoidable surprise and the traces of their private whispers.
It felt as though something was pressing against her chest, making her breathing heavy.
She did not quicken her pace, continuing at a stride that was slower than usual. Her chest felt as if it were stuffed with a clump of water-soaked cotton, heavy and sodden.
That twenty-second blank space just now… and that haltingly spoken “didn’t hear you clearly” replayed in her mind over and over, bringing a subtle and persistent sting.
But she hadn’t done it on purpose.
It was just… her strength only seemed enough to maintain the posture of “sitting there.”
Anything more — listening, thinking, analyzing, or giving the responses expected of “Lady Xueli” — that strength was already gone.
She had originally planned to handle other matters, but at this moment, she had canceled them all. She changed direction and headed straight toward her room.
The air here was too cold.
She had never felt this way before, but now, the chill seemed to cling to her skin, draining her energy bit by bit until she didn’t even have the strength to walk anywhere else.
Her footsteps fell on the smooth, cold floor, making almost no sound.
The dim, almost negligible light of the blood clan’s “daytime” filtered through the stained-glass windows, falling on her pale face without a hint of warmth.
She only felt tired.
A sense of powerlessness seeped from the depths of her marrow, making even the act of thinking about “why it was so” feel like an ordeal.
Arriving at her door, Xueli struggled to push it open.
She walked inside and paused by the door. Her gaze drifted uncontrollably toward the bedside — where a grey shadow lay quietly.
Her fingertips curled unconsciously, then slowly relaxed.
From the moment Flora left that day, leaving those final words and watching the carriage disappear, it seemed as if something inside her had completely shattered.
‘It’s fine if it’s broken.’
The thought surfaced light as a feather, yet it made her fingertips tremble slightly.
‘If it’s broken… I don’t have to force myself anymore.’
But what happens after it breaks?
An inexpressible, uncontrollable exhaustion surged from the bottom of her heart, filling her body and spirit.
Was it because of Flora? Or… was there another reason?
In the past, she could still barely endure it, but now she didn’t even have the strength to “endure a little longer.”
It wasn’t just physical fatigue, but rather that the energy of her heart had long been severely overdrawn. As for when it started to run low, she couldn’t say for sure herself.
So why did it have to explode at this particular moment?
Then there was that plush doll.
Since she had opened it, it had been placed by the bed. It seemed that the tighter she held it, the more that weight and fatigue actually deepened.
Yet she could not put it down.
That expression, those eyes, that delicate sense of softness — it was too real, almost identical to her memories.
More importantly, there was the warmth that came from pressing it against her chest. It was so warm, so comfortable.
It was as if there were some invisible adhesive binding her and it together, making it difficult to separate.
She moved involuntarily to the bedside, her right hand gently cradling the grey bat doll as if she were holding a fragile treasure.
She climbed onto the bed with little regard for her image, tucked herself under the covers, and curled her body up. The bat doll emitted a faint heat in her arms.
It was truly warm.
Just like that morning.
Xueli looked at the bat doll’s face once more.
Those slightly glowing red eyes held no hint of eeriness; instead, they reflected a rare sincerity. The curved corners of the mouth, outlined with fine white thread into a soft arc, held a pure and gentle smile.
That kind of purity felt as though it had never experienced the erosion of wind and frost, as innocent as a child.
Xueli closed her eyes, her breathing gradually becoming steady.
A faint, lingering scent enveloped her — like a meadow dried by the sun, mixed with a certain cold mana.
It felt as though it were Flora’s scent.
…It was probably just a hallucination.
How could a plush doll truly carry her scent?
But this hallucination allowed her curled body to relax just a fraction without her realizing it.
‘Just for a little while.’
She spoke to herself, and also seemed to be whispering to this silent, smiling witness in her arms.
‘I’ll steal just this little bit of time first.’