Watching Mefia and Lorin discuss, the Vampire Lolita could only lower her head, curious yet afraid, completely unable to join in.
She silently observed their exchange, then watched as Mefia left without another glance at her.
Master…
Avril desperately wanted to say something but stayed silent. In this unfamiliar place, she felt utterly lost.
“…”
Her slightly evasive gaze drifted uncertainly toward the Maid, Lorin, beside her.
But even facing Lorin—not Mefia—this timid Vampire Princess, who’d never interacted with humans before, didn’t dare speak. She didn’t know how.
Still, though she hadn’t understood their conversation, Avril thought she’d caught one crucial detail.
Hmm…
This person was called “Lorin,” and she also addressed Mefia as “Master.”
So she must be a Slave too?
The naive Bloodkin girl, ignorant of human hierarchies, thought this way.
Her earlier gloom vanished as she forgot her own worries. Though too shy to speak, she couldn’t help feeling sympathy for Lorin.
This girl, like her, had lost freedom and suffered the same fate.
But one thing puzzled the little one.
“Why… don’t you have a Collar?”
Her small, pale hands gently touched the Collar around her own neck.
Master said Slaves must wear these.
Avril couldn’t understand why this Slave named Lorin didn’t…
Silly as she was, she momentarily forgot she didn’t even know this person and blurted out her confusion.
The moment the words left her mouth, she regretted them.
She didn’t know Lorin. What if she disliked her? What if her question upset her?
Meeting Lorin’s gaze, Avril instinctively felt uneasy.
“Hah?”
A soft scoff escaped Lorin. Her usually stern face broke into a rare, genuine smile.
Pity it carried a hint of mockery.
She tucked a strand of black hair behind her ear, sighing lightly at the little one’s curious, fearful expression.
Unlike Mefia, she didn’t enjoy tormenting loli vampires.
Still…
She studied Avril a moment longer.
Adorably clueless, this one.
“I…”
Lorin’s lips parted to explain, but where to start?
The child’s vocabulary was so limited—even “Maid” wasn’t in it. Explaining would be messy.
“You’ll understand later.”
Whether to avoid trouble or spare the girl’s feelings, Lorin didn’t answer.
She noticed Avril’s wary, curious eyes held a trace of sympathy too.
Ah. This child saw her as a fellow Slave…
“Don’t worry. I won’t hurt you.”
She didn’t know what Avril had endured today, but knowing Master’s temper, it couldn’t have been kind.
“Mm… mm.”
Avril’s tension eased. She didn’t press further, her gaze softening toward Lorin.
She nodded quietly, eager for approval.
Her guard dropped only because Lorin promised not to harm her…
“Sigh…”
“Tsk tsk.”
Seeing such innocent charm, Lorin felt irony but merely shook her head, no longer teasing her.
Listen, little one—naivety won’t save you here.
Master will devour you down to the bones.
Lorin kept that thought to herself, still pitying the Vampire Lolita.
She understood the girl’s assumption, but…
“A Maid and a Slave aren’t the same.”
Her whisper was too soft for Avril to hear.
“Come with me?”
Lorin gently extended her hand. Though not overly sentimental, she chose to comfort Avril now.
She reached out without forcing contact, respecting the girl’s will.
This small kindness wouldn’t change Avril’s fate, though.
“…”
“Okay.”
After a brief hesitation, Avril took Lorin’s hand.
Trusting a stranger, she believed.
Her fingers met Lorin’s warm palm—just like Master’s.
But for Lorin, touching a vampire for the first time, she curiously tightened her grip.
Avril’s hand was tiny, easily swallowed by hers or Mefia’s.
Strangely, it held no warmth—only coolness.
Bloodkin body temperature differed from humans. A new lesson, since even Mefia had never met a Bloodkin before.
“Hey, are you really a vampire?”
Feeling the softness of Avril’s hand and seeing her cute face—silver hair, gentle eyes, submissive nature—Lorin struggled to match her to human tales of “vicious, man-eating” vampires.
Only the coldness proved her identity.
“Vampire…”
“I-I am…”
Avril nodded without thinking, then paused, worry flickering in her eyes as she looked at Lorin.
“W-will you hate me?”
Warmth pulsed in her palm.
She’d held hands with her parents often, and with Master—she knew this heat meant human.
And Papa had said…
Humans despise vampires.
“Hate you? Why?”
Lorin didn’t follow the child’s sudden leap.
“Papa said… many humans hate us.”
“…”
“Is that so?”
Lorin blinked her dark eyes, pausing. How to address this?
Regardless of others…
If all Bloodkin were like Avril—adorable and gentle—no one could hate them.
Hmm…
Actually, they’d hunt them instead.
Having served Mefia long enough, Lorin knew the Lor Empire nobles’ appetites well.
They’d gladly trade a decade of life—not even their own blood—to possess such a cute Vampire Lolita for nightly pleasures.
