Royal Castle, Nightingale.
Keith, Fanny, Sylvia, and Fei sat in a courtyard on the castle's terrace within the inner ring. They could see the sprawling gardens of the outer ring, the Dark Rose Forest, the mist-covered Bewitching Lake, and the inner ring's central courtyard.
Keith was dressed in a custom maid attire. It was different from the usual Victorian maid outfit as it was customized to fit her fiery personality.
The robes had red and black gothic undertones to them. It was a proper fit for her upper body with her deep cleavage getting revealed while her shoulders and collarbone were covered. At the bottom, at the wavy long skirt, there was an opening that sometimes showed her skin above her knees, teasing the onlookers.
Keith's red hair, coupled with her red and black maid dress, made her look like a proper Devil. She had no complaints for the dress as it truly strikes who she was. Plus, it felt much better than wearing that maid outfit.
Fanny, Keith's daughter, seated right beside her, wore a black dress with similar gothic undertones. She was mostly covered, but a slight bit of cleavage along with her shoulders, collarbones, and arms were exposed.
If her mother looked like a Devil, then she looked like a proper Devil's Advocate.
Beside them, Sylvia's healthy pale complexion complimented her platinum gray hair and eyes. She wore silver purple robes along with a wide brimmed pointy hat. She looked like a proper witch, but with added elegance and sexiness.
Fei on the other hand looked the most feminine and cute among the four. Her small bearings, complimented by her serious demeanor and a white blouse along with black trousers made her appear refined and sophisticated.
Anyone who came across Fei would feel like wanting to protect her and hug her tight. She seemed the perfect person for cuddles and snuggles, and lately, like the rest of the ladies, her charms were getting even better.
The four ladies were gathered here for no particular reason. They were free from their work and decided to have a get-together over tea.
"...I think the war was a necessary evil." Fanny put out her views while eating some cake.
Keith remained silent while Sylvia gave a curt nod. Fei tapped on the table and thought out loud, "It could've been done in a much better fashion. Master rushed things quite a lot."
Keith remained silent again. She only spoke if it was absolutely necessary.
Sylvia didn't stay silent this time. She took a sip of her charred black coffee, flushing her palate with an extreme bitter taste, and said in a soft tone, "His Highness had his circumstances. Whatever he did, he did it properly as per the given situations."
Fanny raised an eyebrow in surprise and thought, 'Look at you, young lady. How much you've changed over the years....'
Fanny's stare did not go unnoticed by Sylvia, and she turned to look at her. "Is something the matter?"
"Yeah. Look at you..."
Fanny was about to repeat what she was thinking, but paused as she felt a spatial fluctuation around her. The other three ladies felt the same and stared at the place of fluctuation.
Space twisted and out appeared a young vampire girl with dirty blonde hair. Her expression was haggard as if she was made to work twenty-five hours a day.
Holding her back collar was a slender hand. The young girl was being presented to the four ladies like a food delivery parcel.
"Get her to talk." A gentle voice said.
All four ladies got alerted when they heard that and stood up in unison. They bowed slightly and stated that it would be done.
Jacqueline was gently dropped on the table by the slender hand. It then went back to the space it came from and the twisted areas had gone back to normal.
The four ladies were amused by the situation. This was the Queen, their master's mother. This was the first time they got any order from her, and up until now, they had been doing whatever they wanted to do in the castle.
Fei took a small bite of her passion fruit cupcake and said, "Aren't you talking already?"
"Huh— oh."
It was only now did Jacqueline realize that she was indeed talking. Not saying the confidential things, but she was talking at the very least.
Sylvia put her coffee cup down and asked calmly, "What did you do?"
The other three ladies looked at her and waited for her to speak.
Jacqueline felt slightly nervous on the inside, but expressed herself as composed from the outside. What was this situation? What was this interrogation?
In her whole life, from being a Rank 1 to being a Legendary, she had never gone through such a process. She had walked the path of thorns and blades, causing great bloodshed to reach where she was now.
She seemed tired because she kept herself locked in a room and cultivated like a madman while fighting her heart demons. She had developed quite a few due to her childhood traumas and in her cultivation journey. Hence, she seemed tired at all times.
The clan was also not supportive of her. If those guys did not support her, why should she listen to them?
She was cultivating peacefully in her room before being summoned by Isa. She then got a task to explore this unknown land and was pissed at them for disturbing her. She had not been doing any clan missions for years, and since it was one of the three greats that instructed her, she had to do it.
She had kept revenge in her mind, to make the clan pay for putting her in such a situation, but of course, at the end of the day, she was a Evure, she had their blood, and wouldn't openly betray them to outsiders.
She did think she wouldn't speak, but it turns out, these guys weren't even interested in knowing about the confidential things and were just asking her a generalized question.
'What did you do?' This could be answered in so many ways.
Jacqueline decided to test the waters through this question and answered, "I don't know. I just got to this world and was kidnapped by the lady that threw me here. I was sitting and chatting with her a while ago, but then her focus shifted elsewhere and she sent me here."
Siiip!
Sylvia felt refreshed by her cup of coffee and having gotten an answer from the girl, nodded her head and asked again, "Did you lose your way home and arrived here?"
"What?" The normality of the question surprised Jacqueline, but she quickly composed herself and said, "Yes. I lost my way home."
"Okay."
The ladies turned silent.
"..."
Jacqueline was taken aback once again from the silence. She couldn't help but ask, "That's it? No more questions?"
"Yes."
"What!?"
.....
A/N: I'm sorry for the delay guys. The chapters are all fixed and updated. The novel's going back to the normal schedule. Also, in case you aren't aware, there's TONS of nsfw pictures uploaded on my patr*on page for the characters. They're free and also paid. Choose whichever you like, and have a good day!