Author's note: this is from Aldus's point of view

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"When will we go to see Vesper?", Serina asked, and I felt my body tensing on an instinct.

Damned memories. I hope that after I'm done dealing with that witch I will be able to suppress the reflex of shrinking every time someone mentions her name unexpectedly. But I should have seen this one coming. I was the one who brought up pheromone control and it was logical that Serina will bring up Vesper.

Luckily, Serina didn't notice my tension as she continued talking, "I hope Vesper can help me to get the hang of this soon and we can go for a stroll in Paris. I want to have an espresso in one of those bistros that have seating on the street. It will be nice to sit and watch the people walk by…"

Serina's chatter gave me time to compose myself and respond to her query about Vesper.

I was amazed that until a minute ago we were talking about people who plotted against her and how she died, yet now Serina was daydreaming about sipping coffee in a bistro. Well, at least her cheery attitude is easily awoken.

"I will see to arrange another meeting with Vesper as soon as it's convenient for her. Until then, you need to keep on practicing. You made wonderful progress, but it's not enough. You need to fine-tune it and as much as it's useful to release pheromones on demand, it's more pressing that you can shut it down when fear strikes. Only with that, you will get to relax in a bistro and watch people…"

I was more thinking about going to London and sorting out those malicious girls, but I didn't want to spoil Serina's mood again. She knew why she needed to master control over her pheromones, but she chose to focus on positives. Serina is amazing like that.

…

We agreed on a plan.

Serina will continue practicing her pheromone control and draw for me images from her memories of her last night as a mortal, while I will do investigations and contact Vesper.

Immediately, I instructed my people to find out everything from the past of Ruby, Willow, and Adele. In addition to that, I requested from my people to follow them. I want to know with whom those three are in contact, what they are eating, and even when they sneeze. I want to know everything.

I also got my connections in Venice to start digging for information if any werewolf had a job around the time of the Carnival. This was a long shot because I couldn't be more specific without risking to tip them off that I know something. If it's a loner, he might escape or lay low, and if it's a pack they might even take him out due to his indiscretion. It's not that they would care that he killed a human, but they will punish him for being caught. No one will believe that he was identified by the victim herself.

I looked for the murderer previously, but I ended up empty-handed.

With Serina remembering that night, I became aware why the search so far yielded no results; I was looking for a human instead of a werewolf. I can only hope that my previous investigation didn't tip them off and that the trail didn't go cold.

As for Vesper, I didn't contact her. I knew that Vesper was eagerly waiting to put her hands on me, and she will want to see us the moment I get in touch, but I needed at least three more days for my potion to be ready. After our meeting the last time, I would be foolish if I went without additional preparations, knowing that I will be walking into a trap.

In order to appease the curiosity that bubbled inside me, I went to my lab to resolve at least some of the questions that sprouted from my talk with Serina.

In the lab...

"It's been a while since you requested rabbits, Master…", Krob said.

He was silently observing me from the side and would dispose of dead creatures (after I dissected them), and bring me new ones.

"I need live test subjects, Krob, and there is a high probability they will die. I can't use humans as too many disappearances might draw attention…", I mumbled while looking at my research data from the seventeen rabbits that I fed Serina's blood.

The first five died on spot, but as I reduced the dosage, I started noticing the effects.

Only seconds after ingesting Serina's blood, the specimen's energy and strength increased. It was like I fed them a strong adrenaline-like stimulant.

It didn't take long before my specimens died an excruciating death as their organs shut down, unable to keep up.

I thought at first that Krob brought me weak creatures, sick or old, but the dissection showed me that they were at their prime. Every one of them. How odd. Each rabbit I checked had healthy organs in a perfect state and no diseases. Even in a controlled environment, that would be difficult to achieve.

For my next specimen, I took a blood sample from the rabbit before giving it a drop of Serina's blood.

The creature's eyes lit up and his fur shined with luster. He bounced in his enclosure for a few seconds and ran around vigorously before he fell sideways and started convulsing, just like the other specimens. The heart rate that was strong and steady became erratic and then it stopped. He was dead.

I took another blood sample and compared it with the one I took before the rabbit ingested Serina's blood.

As the results showed on my screen, my eyes widened as I took in the information. The second sample was absolutely superior to the first one. Even the slight iron deficiency was gone.

It was still early to come to any definite conclusions, but from the data gathered, I was able to comprehend that Serina's blood can enhance other creatures with an effect stronger than the most potent vitality tonic I can create, even if it's just for a few minutes.

Heck, the vitality potion I make can temporarily stop the aging process and modify the outward appearance to look younger, while Serina's blood actually turned the biological clock backward. This is amazing!

Sure, sure, the specimens died after enjoying those brief moments of enhancements, but still… this is amazing!

This definitely added credibility to Serina's memory of a werewolf losing control over his beast after tasting her blood. But seeing that the death of rabbits was postponed as I reduced the dosage, I had to wonder if that werewolf died. That would be a pity, as I want to punish him myself. Actually, if he is alive, I would bring him here and dissect him. He would die while doing a big favor to science.

I felt the urgency to locate the werewolf who attacked Serina. If he is alive and aware of what happened after he got a taste of Serina's blood, it could bring us trouble. I need to get my hands on him (or on his body).

What the heck is Serina? I never heard of a creature whose blood can reverse the aging process. OK. Maybe unicorns, but Serina is definitely not one, and unicorn's blood needs to be refined or else it would just be a gross growth serum.

Well, if Serina is a type of creature that can make others forever young just by ingesting her blood, it's no wonder that her species is well concealed.

Ah, I need to look into her family! I forgot to get my people to investigate that, starting with her grandparents. That all is assuming Serina was not adopted. Birth certificates are easily forged, and some creatures are known for letting their young grow up in a different environment. I should get blood samples from her parents to confirm they are really her parents and if any of them has these mysterious traits.

I wondered if my parents know of such creatures as Serina. Other than my parents, there are the royal advisors and the knowledge keepers. Maybe we should schedule a trip to Lemuria.

I dismissed those ideas. It is known that creatures have a possibility of developing unique traits, and maybe this unusual blood is Serina's trait that is not common among creatures of her type. I will start with Serina's parents and the history of her family and see where that takes me.

Looking at the vial of Serina's blood, my mind stirred with the possibilities.

Her blood could be the elixir of life (literally) that keeps mortals forever young and brings other creatures to their peak condition. It could be also a miraculous drug that heals all diseases. On the other hand, it could also be a potent poison.

I could imagine warlords using this to create private armies, loyal due to the promise of eternal youth, and celebrities paying millions for the 'fountain of youth' stimulant.

This could go wrong in many ways if the secret is out as I was playing with fire, but my work is already tainted with secrets that could get me killed, and one more or less won't make a big difference.

I told myself to focus on research and to see what uses Serina's blood can have, and think about the consequences later.

The scientist in me urged me to figure out the right dosage, and stabilize it… Ah, so much to do!

"Krob!", I exclaimed.

"Yes, Master?"

"Two more rabbits.", I demanded.

"Coming right up…"

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