May our Ancestors be kinder to you in death,

Than you were to us in life.

Though all you have wrought is strife,

May they take away our hatred, pain, and grief.

Gaze upon us and weep,

As we build an empire greater than any you could hope to achieve.

—Eulogy for Practisant Jores, The Last King

Setting aside the "excitement" of the encounter in front of the hall and with the witch-like girl, Lycoris still had to endure her first actual class. An affair that was surprisingly difficult, even with all her experience and whatever modicum of wisdom she possessed. Though not because she was thinking about what had just transpired.

Nor was it because she found the material uninteresting. Admittedly it was a little hard to follow along as she was dropped into the middle of language studies, but the real problem with focusing on the subject was the stares and whispering she had to endure from the other students, or otherwise trying to get her attention while the woman behind the podium rattled on about verb tenses. At least, until she had to stop class to demand their silence and threaten to penalize them. Not that it helped with Lycoris's troubles with being the center of attention, though she already implicitly understood why they'd find her presence more interesting than tangents about etymology and archaic speech. Admittedly

she

thought they were quite interesting, if rather pointless.

Especially because learning the way people spoke over twenty thousand years ago was perhaps one of the least useful things Lycoris could think of for ruling an empire, or more importantly, to change her mother's ways. Unless she wanted to start talking like Lilianna, though that didn't seem like it'd do much to win her any favor in particular.

It was also an enlightening experience, considering it explained how Vampires could spend multiple human lifetimes just learning things. There was no shortage of topics, even within a single field of study, to fill the hours with.

It also gave her time to formulate a plan to leave for the campus library the instant class got out, so she could spend the rest of her day getting her footing in terms of schoolwork, trying to find out anything she could about Mizar's situation, and learning why Vampires treated Humans how they did to hopefully gather ammunition she could use against her mother. Lycoris couldn't help but feeling like she was setting a bad example by paying more attention to her phone and the campus map than the lecture, but multitasking

was

one of the things she learned to do in the military.

There was also the matter of Raine's entire… situation, but that seemed like it'd require some visits to places other than the library. And obviously approval from the girl herself. If she tried to force the issue and Raine was seen as ungrateful for trying to turn it down, Lycoris could see that getting ugly pretty quickly… But there had to be some reason that she would endure the treatment at a school that seemed so mismatched for her social position. Even if it was just because she had to endure her family's wishes.

Tragically however, Lycoris's plans went up in smoke the moment class ended, and she was swarmed by children that had all barely maintained their composure during the gruelling four hours. Maybe she should have expected this, considering how her whole life was a giant mystery to these—

"How many servants do you have?" "You're so pretty!" "What's your mom like?" "Have you ever killed anyone before?" "Do you have any friends yet?" "What kind of games do you like to play?" "Are you actually in charge of your own Chitter or is that just a PR guy?" "Have you ever been to school before?" "Don't be stupid of course Her Highness has friends!" "Your dorm is that new tower they were building at the start of the year right?" "Can we be friends then?" "Hey! No fair you just want to get in good with her!"

"Please, enough harassing Her Highness. If you must ask questions, get in line so that she can handle them one at a time."

Stepping in to aid the overwhelmed princess, the surprising familiar face of Arnen Mano smiled back at her after getting everyone to quiet down and take a step back. The two of them had spoken quite a bit during Moonsend, or at least at the initial banquet celebrating Lycoris's first appearance.

Granted much of that was just because Lycoris found it easy to listen to the golden-eyed boy talk animatedly about his family and their lives. Of course, she had only used that as an excuse to avoid wandering around and potentially dealing with less affable people.

His short and wavy light-red hair bobbed as he stood in front of Lycoris and held his arms out, blocking the other students from crowding around her bench. She was certainly grateful, but…

From the other side, a familiar lavender-haired girl crept up behind Lycoris, a cheery smile on her face even as she muttered quietly, "Oh brave and kind Sir Mano, if you're going to play the part of white knight, perhaps you should do it to someone actually defenseless~? Plus, I doubt Her Highness enjoys the thought of people

lining up

to drill inane questions into her skull. I bet you were about to start charging per question, weren't you?"

"Wh-What? Of course not!" The boy tucked his arms in defensively, frowning in irritation before a smirk spread across his lips. "Her Highness and I met at her debut ball! Ah, but

you

weren't there for that, were you? I dare say we even hit it off quite well, even."

Caught in between the two of them, Lycoris glanced around the room, past the swarm of pastel hair, and saw the unkempt fiery mane belonging to Raine as the girl quietly slipped out of the classroom amidst all the commotion centered elsewhere.

Oh how nice it would be to be her, right about now…

Lycoris mused. The irony wasn't lost on her, considering how she carried herself as a teenage recruit…

"I doubt she even asked you your name," Dahlia shook her head. "Your Highness, shall we withdraw from the classroom now? I'm quite famished, personally. No doubt you're feeling it too after spending so long in your first class. It is quite an experience, unique yet not entirely dissimilar to those stuffy—"

"Now hold on one moment,

Dahlia,

" Arnen snapped back. As he puffed his chest out, Lycoris couldn't help but imagine him as a particularly put-upon rooster. It was kind of a cute mental image… Though he probably wouldn't appreciate her throwing seed out for him at dawn. "Her Highness did in fact ask my name as the first thing she said to me! And furthermore, she's made no assertions about wanting to leave in

your

company either!"

"You're the one who keeps interrupting. All I've done is ask Her Highness for her own thoughts and made a suggestion. What would you prefer, Princess Lycoris?"

Caught in the middle of a sudden argument, Lycoris wasn't sure if she should mediate or abscond. The sudden onslaught of questions after such a long lecture bombarded and left her mind spinning like a galleon with no steering wheel. And in such a situation, there was only one default response that came to her.

In a slightly louder mumble than she meant to, Lycoris grumbled, "I hate crowds."

"…Huh?" Arnen blinked at the non-sequitur, while Dahlia wrapped her wrist boldly around Lycoris's arm.

"Well, there you have it! Come Your Highness, let us quit this place. You needn't humor their demands."

Before Lycoris could even say anything more—or anyone else for that matter—Dahlia rather effortlessly pulled her around the throng of students and out of the classroom. Only as she left the lecture hall did Lycoris realize that there were more students inside that room than had been in class originally. The idea that children had gathered outside of the door and flooded into the room the moment her class ended filled her with a nightmarish dread.

Maybe she should've thanked Dahlia for intervening so forcefully. Even though the girl was an Idra, she acted far kinder to Lycoris than the rest of her family had so far. It might've just been because she was higher on the list than Dahlia was, but why look a gift horse in the mouth? Maybe she could even convince the girl to stop picking on Raine, if they ended up at all… close to each other.

"Blegh…"

"Are you feeling alright, Your Highness?"

"Ah just, thoughts that sit poorly in my stomach."

"Then let us find you something that sits better, shall we? The pavilion will have plenty of vacancies, the lunch rush won't be for another hour or so."

"Very well," Lycoris relented. It seemed that she would be dragged along whether she wanted to or not. Or at least, she couldn't think of a good excuse nor reason to separate from Dahlia. The girl would at least be a source of information in this metaphorical den of vipers, even if she was one.

Led through the hallways—though thankfully not by wrist. Dahlia had let go of her and slowed her pace after they'd gotten clear of the crowd—by the other red-eyed girl, Lycoris wondered how best to actually infiltrate and exploit the Idra's circle of friends. She wasn't trained for subterfuge, her military career focused on front-line combat—and later to give orders from the rear, in a vaguely ironic twist.

Stealing

bread

hardly counted. She might have learned how to pick a lock and toss a flour-bomb as a smokescreen, but neither of those would be useful for taking someone's heart.

Lycoris sighed internally as they continued out into a courtyard that connected two of the buildings, an open-air pavilion in the middle serving as a gathering space. There were several rows of cloth-covered picnic tables laid out, some already occupied by conversing students, and at a longer table on the outside edge there were bowls of scarlet punch neatly lined up behind a woman in a white apron.

Lycoris didn't recognize her personally, but the moment she made eye contact, Dahlia lit up in recognition and slowed her walking pace, giving a polite wave as she guided the Princess towards the booth. "Good day, Yulina. How fortuitous that you're the one serving drinks today."

The blonde maidservant bowed politely before the two of them. "Good day, Lady Dahlia, Your Highness. I see the two of you have already made fast friends."

"Greetings… Yulina," Lycoris gave a polite smile as she continued to take in what was going on. It looked like just a regular picnic, but nothing could ever be so simple for nobles, Vampire or otherwise.

"The usual for me, Yulina."

"Of course, my Lady."

The adult turned around and scooped a ladle of crimson liquid from one of the bowls into a large cup, which she then set aside on the table before turning around to look expectantly down at Lycoris.

Under the scrutinizing gaze, Lycoris leaned to the side. "Dahlia?"

"Yes, Princess Lycoris?"

"I know this is some form of buffet but…" she glanced at the different bowls of crimson color liquid, "the options all look the same."

Dahlia nodded with a smile, "Yulina, today is Her Highness's first day of school. Can you go over the flavors on offer?"

It was almost alarming how helpful she was being. Though she was also being rather assertive on Lycoris's behalf. That was fine for now, while she got her bearings in the academy, but she wasn't looking forward to having to tell the girl that she wasn't Lycoris's personal spokesperson.

Considering their entire hierarchy and how cut-throat the Seven could be, it was clear that Vampires grew attached to power and authority as quickly as Humans.

The serving lady—who was apparently Dahlia's servant and just

happened

to be on "lunch" duty that day—rather helpfully gestured to each bowl of non-alcoholic, bloody juice, and not only listed out what flavors they were, but also described their flavor profiles… in words that were almost comically hard for Lycoris to follow.

I never did understand why sommelier's liked to ramble about their wines. How in the world is a normal child supposed to understand any of this? …Then again, every noble I ever met just smiled and nodded like they were just pretending to—oh.

A wry smile curled on her lips, and Lycoris interrupted by clearing her throat while Yulina was still halfway through describing how the particular distillation technique when applied to a certain blood type affected the ombre of

fruit punch.

"Excuse me, this is all terribly fascinating but… perhaps I could just ask if there's any… pomegranate flavor? I'm quite thirsty, and wish to speak with Dahlia while there's still daylight. …That feels rather odd to say," she looked down, a frown as she put her finger to her chin. It'd been a while since daylight was something to be savored.

Athena's anxiety made sense before, and even more so now.

"Oh, of course, my sincerest apologies, Your Highness." The woman bowed deeply before turning around and scooping her ladle into the exact same bowl she'd dipped into for Dahila.

"Ohoho, it seems even our tastes are the same, Princess~" Dahlia herself chuckled daintily as she picked up both of the cups, casually circling around Lycoris and leading her towards the tables.

"Shall I inform your friends when they arrive, Lady Dahlia?"

"Only if Her Highness is fine with it. I'm curious what she wishes to discuss, I must admit."

"I would prefer some privacy, admittedly," Lycoris muttered quietly. It was something she had grown accustomed to, and seemingly in short supply at Alephertz.

With ears no less sharp than Lycoris's own, Dahlia smiled serenely as she shot a brief look toward her servant, who nodded in understanding. "Then privacy we shall have, Your Highness. Follow me, I know a good spot."

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

With that, she began walking off of the paved stones and waded through the field of brilliant blue flowers, graceful enough to not disturb or trample on any. After a minute or so, her destination became clear as Lycoris saw a small circular table set out in the courtyard filled with trees and taller bushes covered in flowers, giving it some natural privacy. As she looked around, knowing what to try and spot, Lycoris saw there were several other similarly arranged locations, each with a different breed of flower covering its bushes, as though marking them as separate "rooms."

Some were even already occupied, though she couldn't clearly make out who or how many children were sitting at them. Which must have been the point.

As Dahlia stopped at this particular table, she set down the two cups at opposite seats and pulled out one of the chairs. But instead of sitting down, she moved to the other side while swiping a small plastic card propped up on top of the table and flicked her fingers along the surface of it, before tucking it under the cloth covering. The surrounding bustle from the campus all seemed to grow muted as the rustle of leaves and wind and chirping of birds filled the space as white noise, the artificial sunlight overhead growing softer.

"Please, sit," Dahlia gestured to the seat she'd already pulled out, still standing patiently.

With a nod of thanks, Lycoris sat down on the sun-warmed cushion—or perhaps it was just a clever bit of magic to simulate the sensation, though remarkably accurate for creatures that burst into flames if they were exposed to the Goddess's actual natural brilliance—and turned her attention from the surrounding horticultural marvel to the lavender-haired girl.

"Forgive me for, ah, gushing a little, but it is hard to contain my anticipation at getting to speak to Your Highness in such a manner so swiftly. I thought this would at least take another week," Dahlia tittered as she sat down as well. "Admittedly, I thought you'd hate me because of the attempted

bridge burning

my uncle got up to."

Lycoris blinked, almost astounded at how forward Dahlia was being. Perhaps it was just a case of like respecting like? It was hard to imagine, but… well, she was a far cry from the sort of person her mother was, even if the public didn't see Lycoris in that way. It could be the same for Dahlia and her uncle.

Dear Goddess, Cedric is her

uncle

?

Her eyes stared into Dahlia's for a moment.

"Well, I will say that my first impression of you was less than favorable. There was, explicitly, a girl on the floor being harassed, after all."

The Idra's expression soured, "Yes, well, it's the only way to really get ideas through that thick little mass of hair she has covering her head. Besides, she's of common blood, not even a noble aside from adoption into a lesser vassal family of the— …well, a former vassal family I suppose."

"What does that matter?" Lycoris raised her cup to her lips, glancing past it at Dahlia. It was something she'd been genuinely curious about. After all, even those who abused others typically had a

reason

for it, regardless of how bad of one it was.

"Wh… Bh… Your Highness?" Dahlia blinked, as stupefied as if Lycoris had just admitted to being born a human.

"Please, Lycoris is fine. We're having a private chat, aren't we? I assumed that's what the obfuscation ward was left on the table for." She didn't actually know if that's what it was, but she had seen Elham and Tatyana perform similar magic when they needed some privacy. And what was a formal conversation without a dash of reckless bluffing?

…That's something we both learned from Elham as well, isn't it?

She smiled internally, tapping a finger against the crystalline brooch around her neck in place of the necklace beneath her blouse. Catching herself almost sinking into reminiscence, Lycoris traced a napkin across the corner of her mouth and hummed, "Perhaps I have been too sheltered, as I do not see much distinction between commoner and noble, aside from their personal wealth."

"She's a

commoner,

Lycoris! As in, you know, no better than a freshly turned

ghoul slave

." Dahlia's hands gripped the tablecloth as she began to work herself up. "But even besides that, she's lanky and malnourished, she cares nothing for appearances at

Alephertz,

an academy that's prided itself for tens of thousands of years on being the birthplace of all Tenebreimen's greatest rulers! Her very presence here is an affront to our Ancestors that built these grounds."

Lycoris sighed, placing the cup back on the table and lightly pouting. "Who was it that actually laid the stones, though? Was it noblemen of the Seven? Or was it those serving under them? If she has earned a place here as per the rules, then who are we to judge what her background is?"

"Need I remind you of whom it was that allowed her to be here?"

"The same as your friend Iris," retorted Lycoris with a small incline of her head, sharp eyes glaring through Dahlia for a moment. "My education in the arcane is… lacking, to say the least, but after I… erm, crushed her arm, I saw her quite literally

rewind time

to restore it. I have little need for healing arts personally, but that sounds like a special gift worthy of standing alongside girls like us." It tasted like poison in her mouth to speak of herself in that manner, but Lycoris entirely believed in the sentiment. There was something undeniably special about that so-called "commoner."

Which is perhaps why Dahlia looked like she

couldn't

believe what she was hearing. "That's not something a common-blooded person can do, even if they're gifted. Even I have studied little of entropic spellcraft. Are you sure it wasn't some form of deception?"

"As I stated, I don't know enough to give a qualified or certain answer, but… How are you even so certain of her blood, anyways? Do they make publicly posted blood tests somewhere here that I happened to miss by virtue of being the 'special little princess' or some such?"

Dahlia suppressed an indignant snort, "Hardly. It's obvious from how she carries herself with hunched shoulders and shuffling steps, like she's terrified to make a noise lest she be caned. Plus, there's all her notebooks. Only someone with blood

that

thin would need to rely on external notes, rather than her own memory."

Lycoris

did

have a remarkably flawless memory, if she closed her eyes and thought back to any given moment in time. At least, anything that occurred over the past year. Everything from before she first dueled Lilianna was like trying to gather fog with a colander. General concepts and events were easy enough, she could obviously recall aspects of her training and what life in Dauwen was like, but a shroud covered the faces and names of so many of the people she once knew.

"I didn't realize there were that many differences… I know Athena can't sprout wings like mother or myself, but…" the silver-haired girl trailed off as she fell into quiet contemplation, mumbling to herself as her unfocused gaze stared at the half-empty cup in front of her. "Emma and Sera didn't seem that different from anyone else I've encountered. I suppose Sera was far more incapacitated than Athena was by that bit of poison, and I never really asked if they knew anything about magic."

It wasn't as though magic was the first thing that really came to Lycoris's mind, in general. She'd been a swordsman. The only thing they could do was channel mana through their bodies or blades.That was what she recalled, at least. Reminiscence was an unpleasant affair.

"Hmm," Dahlia frowned.

Before Lycoris could ask what was wrong, she saw the girl was staring behind her at something with narrowing pupils. After a moment, she sighed and beckoned, and the lady from before—Yulina—approached with a basket under her arm and a silver pitcher in her hands.

"We asked for privacy, Yulina," she hissed. "What is the meaning of this interruption?"

"My sincerest apologies, My Lady, but a batch of baked treats arrived from the kitchens and I thought to bring you some along with a refill. The conversation did not appear to be particularly intense… if I have erred, you may punish me as you see fit."

"No, it's alright."

Dahlia leaned back in her seat and folded her hands over her lap, silently smiling at Lycoris as the maid refilled their cups and laid out a tray to arrange small cookies and other tea snacks on. Neither of them spoke as the maid worked, though Dahlia seemed far more comfortable in the silence than Lycoris felt. Being left to stew with thoughts of her life in Dauwen was why she had tried to drown herself in ale once before. Being made to sit with them once more was an unpleasant coincidence.

The conversation overall had gone… more or less how Lycoris expected, though much more cordial than she initially anticipated, considering Dahlia's temperament.

Once the maid had finished setting the table properly and left the two of them alone once more, Dahlia plucked one of the cookies off the meticulously arranged tray and bit into it, wasting no time in resuming where they left off.

"I recognize the name Athena, but not the other two. I take it these are more of your retainers?"

"Oh, ah… s-sort of?" Lycoris blinked at the display. "…Why eat cookies if all we need is blood?"

The question had sat on her tongue for a long while, but she had been quite grateful that her mother and Athena seemed perfectly fine with her doing things other than drinking blood out of a goblet. She'd chalked it up to them humoring her recently-turned brain and demands.

"

'Why live for eternity if you refuse to live well?'

"

"…" Lycoris tilted her head. "Vampires don't live

forever

though, right? Lilianna's father mentioned— er, my grandfather, I suppose… mentioned his wife passing before I was born."

"You suppose…? It's a quote, Princess. A famous one at that, from Elaine Aphtangloa, the fourth Exaltare. One of the only surviving pieces of literature from the early days of the Empire is her autobiography."

"Oh. Mother neglected history in favor of more practical things."

"Like an appreciation for common-bloods?"

"Like how to use a

sword.

I held my first arming sword when I was only twelve." A mildly impressive metric by Human standards, but most likely downright ridiculous by Vampiric ones.

Ridiculous enough that Dahlia forgot her noble composure and grace for a moment, as a chunk of cookie fell from her fingers onto her lap. "You… I

knew

Her Majesty the Exaltare was as much a warhawk as the rest of her family. And yet, that changes nothing in how flummoxed I remain by the Drimus's ways. How in the world does one teach a

baby

how to swing a sword?!"

"Dunno, you'll have to ask her," Lycoris smiled, picking up and sampling one of the sugar-laden treats. Biting into it felt like she was going to burn out the taste buds in her tongue, but in a good way. It was a far cry from the far more complicated flavors of the pastries Athena got for her, though just as sweet. "As for Agave, he doesn't… I mean, I was born an Aphtangloa. It almost feels stranger to call him grandfather than not."

"Fair enough, there are infinitely many Idra that I am only logistically related to, while having no emotional attachment."

Their conversation continued on for far longer than Lycoris had intended, as she realized that Dahlia was strangely similar to herself. Rather than feeling like she was speaking down to a kid, it felt more like addressing someone who knew as much—if not a little more in some cases, and less in others—as she did, who shared most of her same grievances, and who may have seen the world in a light unique from her own, but that was what made picking her brain for her perspective so interesting. The only other person she had ever really gotten to sit down and have a relaxed conversation with was her mother, who always had an agenda, even if it was just ensuring Lycoris was happy and sated.

There was Athena, too. But trying to get that maid to relax was like squeezing soap from a stone at times.

Long after the two of them finished their slow, relaxed lunch, clouds had lazily drifted over the sinking sun. It had yet to drift beneath the horizon as the two stood up in unison, but both were satisfied and feeling the urge to stretch their legs and run about before day turned to twilight. There was something Lycoris meant to do with her afternoon, but she couldn't remember what the plan was. Though she didn't even get as far as putting a finger to her cheek in contemplation before Dahlia spoke up after stretching her arms,

"Incidentally, have you signed up for any extracurricular activities yet, Lycoris?"

"Huh? No, no of course not. I'm not even sure what options there are."

"Would you like to accompany me to mine, then? Given your sporty nature, I have a vague suspicion that you might enjoy skyebollr far more than I, fuhu~"

…Whatever it was, it probably wasn't so important that it couldn't wait until tomorrow.

"Sure, I'm not doing anything else with my afternoon."

"And if you don't enjoy it, we can ask my other friends for their recommendations as well. I believe Iris does workshop, and the twins do fencing."

Even just hearing the word "friends" made Lycoris's heart skip a beat. How strange it was, feeling so immediately accepted. Even if it was clear that Dahlia was being at least mildly deferential to her, given the difference in their positions. She had never hit it off with someone so quickly, not even Mizar. And Elham was practically a stranger for the first several months of their journey, though Lycoris regretted being so distant and gruff with the good-natured boy.

And, a part of her was eager for the sort of acceptance that she never received as a Human. A different sort than what the guards of the Palace or her mother offered. It wasn't fealty, nor unconditional love, but mutual companionship.

Dahlia held out her hand with a scintillating smile, and Lycoris readily grasped it.

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