Princess Aurelianne lay on the white velvet bed in her silver silk nightgown, tossing and turning on the soft mattress, unable to fall asleep.
Her eyes followed the moonlight as it filtered through the curtains into her pupils.
After pondering for a while, she finally sat up.
She gently pressed her forehead, her mind filled with Vanilla's words.
"That girl is not human."
To be honest, staying in an unfamiliar place and hearing such eerie news made Aurelianne feel somewhat uneasy.
The "human" Vanilla referred to wasn't about the species itself.
Rather, it simply meant that the person...
"I couldn't sense any characteristics of life from her," Vanilla had said to Aurelianne with utmost seriousness in her eyes.
Every time Aurelianne recalled Vanilla's solemn tone and serious demeanor, she felt a chill run down her spine.
Not human, no life characteristics.
Wasn't that basically an undead!?
Aurelianne clutched her blanket tightly and instinctively lay back down, pulling the covers over her head.
She had no doubt about the truth in Vanilla's words.
Aurelianne knew that Vanilla possessed a unique power that allowed her to detect the presence of living beings in her surroundings.
Even those special beings like religious followers couldn't hide from her sight.
Yet she couldn't sense any life force from that girl in the black formal dress.
This could only mean that the other party might be something like a soul entity.
That would also explain why she suddenly disappeared when Aurelianne turned around.
Thinking about this made Aurelianne even more frightened.
Even if she had to face a monster tens of times larger than herself, Aurelianne wouldn't appear this helpless.
But this kind of thing was different!
A person without life characteristics - wasn't that just a dead person?
How could someone who was already dead come back to life?
That seemed impossible.
But then she remembered what Vanilla had said.
"I can't really explain what that thing is either."
She recalled how Vanilla, noticing her fear, had voluntarily tried to comfort her.
"Your Highness, please don't be afraid."
"If anything happens..."
"Master is here."
...
Aurelianne lay in bed, staring at the ceiling.
Undeniably, Vanilla's words had been effective.
Just as she said.
Viktor-sensei's strength seemed to keep everything under control.
He always brought peace of mind to everyone.
Speaking of the teacher...
She sat up straight.
What was sensei doing right now?
Aurelianne looked up at the moon, now hidden behind clouds, wondering curiously.
She got out of bed, put on her slippers, and carefully walked around her room.
As she passed by the sofa, Aurelianne deliberately slowed her pace, glancing sideways.
Curled up like a cat on the sofa near the fireplace, Vanilla had her tail wrapped around her feet and held against her chest.
Only her soft sleeping breaths could be heard.
Aurelianne didn't wake her, tiptoeing even more cat-like than Vanilla herself as she made her way to the door.
She carefully turned the door lock.
A soft "click" made Aurelianne's heart jump.
She quickly looked back to see Vanilla still sleeping soundly, and only then did she relax.
Aurelianne stepped out of the room, gently closing the door behind her.
Standing alone in the desolate hallway, only Aurelianne's footsteps echoed on the warm red carpet, resonating in this soundless tranquility.
The surrounding silence made her feel slightly afraid.
What if she encountered that ghost again?
Would it eat her?
The more Aurelianne thought about it, the more scared she became, and her pace unconsciously quickened.
However, as she walked, she suddenly realized.
She had no idea where to go.
In such a large place, she didn't know her way around at all.
Wanting to find her teacher's room, she didn't even know where Viktor was staying in the first place.
So, where was she now?
Aurelianne's mind was in chaos, unable to remember how many steps she had climbed or how many corridors she had passed.
She only knew that everything was extremely quiet.
Quiet, quiet,
Absolute silence.
The flickering lights around her seemed to fluctuate with her emotions, dimming and brightening erratically.
All this made her heart race, and a suffocating feeling rapidly spread through her, forcing her feet to stop in place.
When the lights finally stopped flickering, Aurelianne realized.
She had returned to a place she had been before.
That room with the nameplate.
The nameplate still read:
'No Entry, Leave Immediately!'
But somehow there was a mysterious sensation drawing her in, urging her to ignore the warning and enter the room.
But Aurelianne's will remained firm, she knew very well this would be wrong.
No, no.
If she went in, it would surely cause unnecessary trouble.
As Aurelianne's thoughts gradually became clearer, she carefully took a few steps back, accidentally bumping into a vase in the hallway.
Before she could react to catch the falling vase, a tall figure instantly appeared before her, steadily catching it.
"Your Highness, are you alright?"
A somewhat familiar voice rang out, and Aurelianne shook her head in response.
Such incredible speed...
She hadn't even had time to react.
So who was it?
Aurelianne caught sight of the figure before her, dressed in an elegant silk robe, emanating a steady presence.
His features carried an indescribable dignity and gravitas.
Most notably, beside him stood an ornate cane with a jewel-encrusted top.
This cane was fresh in her memory.
The moment she saw it, Aurelianne immediately recognized who it was.
"Count!?"
Count Laurien placed the vase back on its stand, then picked up his cane and turned to look at Aurelianne.
The moon, previously hidden behind clouds, gradually emerged, its pure silver light illuminating Count Laurien's pale face.
The only vibrant feature was his blood-red eyes, identical to his daughter's, gleaming brightly.
"My apologies, Your Highness."
Count Laurien began to explain:
"This is my wife's room, and because it's dangerous to enter, I specially requested a powerful mage to set up a barrier."
"If you're a mage, it's easy to be drawn in by this magical power."
"But as you can see, most people living and working in this manor aren't mages, so others don't need to worry about being affected by this magic."
Aurelianne nodded in understanding.
So that's why she was drawn to it.
But this made her wonder about something else.
This explanation seemed different from what the maid had said earlier?
Hadn't they said the mistress liked peace and quiet, and that's why they put up the sign prohibiting entry?
At this point, Count Laurien clearly didn't want to say more, and looking at her calmly, he said:
"Your Highness? Are you lost? I can take you back."
Aurelianne shook her head slightly and said in a gentle tone: "I actually wanted to find my teacher's room."
"Ah, you mean Councilor Kravina, you must know him."
Hearing this, Count Laurien nodded.
"Of course, I prepared Councilor Kravina's room myself."
"I can take you there."
Aurelianne quickly nodded, very pleased.
"Thank you, Count, you're really helping me out."
The two continued walking along the magnificent corridor.
With the Count leading the way, Aurelianne's earlier fear gradually diminished as she anticipated seeing Viktor-sensei soon.
They walked on the exquisite red carpet, occasionally exchanging conversation.
"Count, why were you there just now?"
"Well," Count Laurien replied somewhat awkwardly:
"My daughter can be quite mischievous and easily slipped away from the maid accompanying her. If we can't find her, I get worried."
"After all, it wouldn't be good if she caused any trouble for everyone."
Daughter?
So, that would be the girl without life characteristics that Vanilla mentioned?
Upon hearing this, Aurelianne's face once again showed signs of panic.
Honestly, she really didn't want to encounter that ghost-like girl again.
Hearing the Count say his daughter was missing made Aurelianne even more eager to find Viktor quickly.
As they walked, Aurelianne suddenly felt a dense magical aura.
This made her pause briefly.
Someone was using magic.
Thinking back to what Count Laurien had said.
Among the mages here, besides herself and Vanilla the magic apprentice,
It could only be Viktor-sensei.
Aurelianne's heart began racing as she quickened her pace toward the source of the aura, eventually breaking into a small run.
Seeing her urgency, Count Laurien also hastened his steps, following closely behind.
"Your Highness, please slow down!"
He called out loudly.
Aurelianne ran ahead, turning around a corner in the hallway.
And the moment she turned that corner.
Aurelianne froze.
In the corridor before her, terrifying and fierce flames were burning.
Viktor-sensei, whom she had been thinking of day and night, stood amidst the endless flames.
The crimson fire light around him seemed to transform into long serpents, constantly writhing around him.
Heat and scorching temperatures mixed together as the flames burst into brilliant red flowers, enveloping the serpents within.
Opposite him, a white-haired girl with invisible legs cowered against the wall.
Aurelianne's mouth fell open in shock:
"Tea—"
Before she could call out to Viktor, Count Laurien beside her instantly rushed forward.
The top of his ornate cane split open three centimeters from the tip, and he tossed aside the remaining shaft.
A silver flash of cold light twisted rapidly behind the flames, speeding toward the layers of encircling fire.
Count Laurien stepped through the flames, swinging his sword with one hand to cleave through the fire before him.
The force suddenly burst outward to both sides, creating an extremely wide open space around the white-haired girl.
Count Laurien stood within, raising his sword to face off against the surrounding flames, keeping them at bay.
He looked at Viktor this way, cold sweat dripping from his brow, and said with a grave expression:
"Councilor Kravina."
"This might be a misunderstanding."
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