My lady had a break the next day after exams. But it wasn’t quite a break since the mages from the congregation had come knocking early in the morning. Their faces showed nonchalance under the grey robes, and their hands held a letter in a rich cloth envelope bedecked with gemstones. They were here for no good, I knew, but my lady welcomed them inside the mansion without a second thought. She couldn’t even refuse them since her graduation was at stake.

Arabell had joined us in the great room to welcome the guests, and Igal was standing beside me, a slight distance away from the couches. The room was no different from before, except that my lady had removed the portraits of her ancestors in the room and burned them to dust. Of course, I had instigated the deed and manipulated her into burning them, but the result didn’t change.

The mages were old, and I noticed their stern faces held deep wrinkles. They were worried underneath all the pretense, and even my lady, who was not undead, knew the fact well. She just sat leisurely in the head seat, waiting for them to break the stillness in the room.

The mage closer to her spoke, “This humble servant, Toara, greets noble Valorat.”

Her wrinkles hadn’t eased since she had stepped into the manor, and her eyes uneasily scanned the locale, pausing at my face for more than a few seconds. She felt something, and I couldn’t pinpoint whether it was suspicion or worry.

Of course, I didn’t give two pieces of bread about it. She tries something fishy, and I’ll send her head rolling down the streets.

“I’m not worthy of earning your respect, honorable mage,” my lady replied, her hands tied before her as a matter of respect. “What brings the mages from the congregation to my manor?”

The second mage, who had removed his cowl now, raised his eye. Once he noticed my gaze, he immediately lowered his head and continued sipping the coffee in his hands.

Toara handed her the letter and continued, “Did the news not reach you yet, noble Valorat?”

“I hear too much gossip instead of news, honorable mage. Filtering the truth among the rumors is an idle chore, and I don’t indulge myself in pointless deeds. If you are here to test me, I kindly request you not waste my time. The situation of our manor is dire, and I am too busy handling the corrupt maids.”

The second mage clicked his tongue and earned a glare from Toara.

“Prince of Rynak was assassinated in the capital,” Toara said grimly. “And we haven’t been able even to find his body, let alone the killer. Rynak emperor, his blood brother, seeks a response from our kingdom for such a horrendous deed. Our king is already sick and hasn’t woken up for days now, and the crown prince is trying his best to mitigate the hatred of Rynak empire with our help. The skirmishes at Coln are resurfacing, and once the Yvenaught bastards get the information, they’ll be here to pillage our rightful lands.”

“What does the news have to do with me?” my lady asked, her voice almost faltering. She knew about the demon summoning ritual, but I didn’t expect her to waver this easily.

“It’s not the news itself, noble Valorat,” Toara hesitated and passed her a letter. “Prince Rynak had liked you for a long time. He wanted to make you his royal concubine, and even the emperor, his brother, knew this fact very well. So, in the emperor’s recent letter, he had asked us to send you over to his kingdom, to his royal harem, so that his brother’s wishes might be fulfilled.”

I laughed loud enough to attract their surprised gazes and my lady’s amused one. Igan almost shivered beside me, while Arabell was horrified after listening to the mages. I had never expected to see so many varied emotions today. Then again, this was probably another death flag, and I wasn’t taken aback to see the conspiracies of the world take down my villainess.

“Didn’t his brother like me?” my lady raised her brows. “Why does the emperor want me in his harem?”

“This… I do not know, noble Valorat,” Toara said. “He will resume scuffles at the borders if we don’t hand you over to him. Thousands of lives will be lost again, and the raging flames will burn our border. The common people, our brothers, and sisters, will be forced to live in misery, and the kingdom will not be able to repel the threat of the Yvenaught empire completely.”

“How is that my problem?” my lady asked, folding her hands before her. “I don’t want to marry any royalty, so lives lost or not, I am not taking a single step out of the kingdom.”

“Preposterous!” the second mage bellowed, and Toara smacked the man’s head, even though they were almost of similar age. The woman seemed more sensible than the bearded mage, and this didn’t surprise me again. Mortal males lacked the brains to think, after all.

“Do you care when the moths in your place die?” my lady asked, and I smiled.

“But lady Valorat, these are people…” Toara said, quite conflicted.

“Commoners, honorable mage,” my lady corrected her sternly. “And I don’t intend to help them out. Skirmishes at the border are not my concern, and if you intend to force me, then I would like His Highness to hand me the decree. Since I am the heir,” she paused and glanced at Arabell, who nodded in approval, “this is equivalent to sending the troops under Marquis manor to Rynak empire. Are you trying to sell the kingdom, honorable mage?”

“This…” Toara glanced at my lady with an aggrieved look. “I never thought about this, lady Valorat.”

“Then please do,” my lady said and squinted her eyes. “Your kindness would benefit no one. Not a single commoner would thank you for the deed. Instead, they’ll curse you for bringing harm to them, even though you were trying to help out. That’s how they are. Acting like they are being oppressed and blaming everything on us when things go awry. Haven’t you seen enough of it if you were once a commoner?”

Toara lowered his head, and the mage beside her was fuming with rage. My lady was right, so he didn’t rebuke her openly. His nails, though, had already hurt his palms.

“I understand, noble Valorat,” Toara’s gaze toward my lady changed to that of reverence. “You will face a lot of hatred from the public for plunging them into this war.”

“I can handle that, honorable mage,” my lady replied.

“Joane was a wonderful mage,” she said with a smile and got up. “I repaid her debt, lady Valorat.”

My lady appeared confused, but she didn’t find her answers as Toara dragged the second man and walked out of the manor. Arabell and Igan saw them off while my lady pulled me back before I could follow them out.

“Is my mongrel jealous?” she asked with a smug. “Many men want your woman.”

I laughed and ruffled her hair. “Alas, I am not mortal but undead.”

“It’s fine,” she smiled. “You already belong to me.”

I pulled back my hand. “Did you know that mage, my lady? It appears as if she came here against her will.”

“I don’t know,” she stared out of the window overlooking the front gates. “She might have been Joane’s comrade or perhaps her mage-in-arms.”

She paused and turned around. “She wasn’t helping me, anyway! I want to marry you. Why are you so eager to hand me over to another man?”

“No mortal deserves you, my lady,” I smiled. “You are the product of my machinations, after all.”

“That’s why we should get married already!” my lady’s face bloomed. “Didn’t you ask me to take responsibility before? We even slept together multiple times!”

Something crashed at the entrance, and I saw Arabell’s horrified face. I sighed while my lady just glared at her. It was my lady’s mug, and coffee had spilled to the floor now.

“What now?!” my lady asked with a frown.

“That… Did you sleep with Rudolf, Letitia?!” Arabell asked. “Are you pregnant?!” she was blushing furiously, and her speech was incoherent.

Misunderstandings weren’t mine to address, so I turned to Letitia.

“Solve this on your own, my lady,” I patted her head and walked out after bowing at Arabell slightly.

“B-brother-in-law…” she looked between the two of us and bowed her head in embarrassment.

“Rudolf, please,” I sighed and paused my steps. “And no, she’s not pregnant. We are not getting married too.”

“Rudolf!”

I shrugged and walked out of the room.

The boisterous atmosphere between the sisters resumed, and a smile crept to my lips as I walked toward the western courtyard. All mortals yearn for family, and Letitia wasn’t any different. Perhaps, she just didn’t want to accept the fact, so she stubbornly refused everyone after her family failed to give her warmth. Not that I minded her normal self, but alas, there would be no role for me to fulfill if she became an average person instead of a villainess.

Then again, as long as I got enough bread, there was always a reason to stay.

The evening was peaceful, and so was the dinner, with all the exotic dishes cut down. A simple lifestyle wasn’t something nobles of the world preferred, but there were no coins to spare for additional bread. Letitia hadn’t found any money in the manor accounts either, and I reasoned the money was well spent in helping the first prince live a wasted life.

“Igan, this is amazing!” Arabell said with a mouthful of soup. She had forgotten her noble mannerism lately, and my lady reminded her with a stare.

“I can hardly believe you were a soldier,” she continued after a sheepish grin at my lady.

“Times change, lady Arabell,” Igan's face was equally happy, as she filled my lady’s plate with rice. “I hope they change for the better to our manor.”

Meisie had locked herself in her room again, and my lady had commanded the maids to make sure she ate well. I felt it was a waste of bread, but Letitia begged to differ.

“I will start baking from tomorrow,” my lady said, which earned her a hearty laugh from Arabell. “What’s your problem?!” she asked in annoyance.

“I don’t really want to taste your meals, Letitia,” Arabell replied earnestly. “I’d rather not let you anywhere close to the kitchen. I hope you remember the mess you made when you were baking a cake for the crown…” she paused after glancing at Letitia’s threatening gaze. The rest of the words were unsaid, and my chuckle earned me a smack.

The amiable dinner wasn’t something I was used to, so I quietly finished my bread and retired for the day. I was becoming moody; I realized as I was writing my journal. [Refluengence] was doing its role, yet I somehow knew it wasn’t just because of that. It was hard to understand the feelings of mortals but almost impossible to understand those of the undead.

Why? Because we learn to ignore them to live an unending life.

A knock made me stuff the journal inside my cupboard, and I walked to the door.

“Took you longer than usual, Rudolf,” my lady stood there with a smile, her white nightgown almost touching the floor. “Why did you leave before me?”

I ruffled her hair. “Just wanted to think some things through, my lady.”

“Have you thought them through?” she repeated my words, carefully gauging my expression.

“Not yet,” I beckoned her inside, and she shut the door behind her. “But soon I will.”

“You haven't been your usual self lately, Rudolf,” Letitia said, taking a seat on my cot. “There is no amusement on your face nor the usual mischievous glint in your eyes.”

I leaned against the door and watched her for a while. She shifted uncomfortably under my gaze and slapped my right hand, which was closest to her.

“What?!” she glared at me, rubbing her reddish cheek with the back of her hand.

“You are beautiful, my lady.”

“What?!” There was disbelief on her face.

“You are beautiful, Letitia,” I repeated with a sigh.

Silence descended in the room until Letitia got up and stepped out of the room without a single syllable. I didn’t stop her either because I was more conflicted than her. The feeling of attachment was breaking my shell, something which had taken me centuries to perfect.

Then again, the undead never lied, and Letitia knew the fact well.

When the door was forced open again, I saw Letitia’s eyes were damp, and she jumped into my bosom, her smile too bright and beautiful for an undead like me. I noticed her petite body in my arms as she wrapped her frail arms around me.

“I thought you never cried, Letitia,” I placed my chin over her head.

“I don’t, my undead,” she said, wiping her eyes on my shirt. “I really don’t.”

“Aren’t you a liar, my lady?”

“I am,” she said, hugging my wait with all her might. “But I’m glad you aren’t one.”