[Vol. 7] Chapter 122: Blessing and Blind Faith
"You maids sure learn a lot in your training… but that thing just now seemed like blind faith with no logic at all..."
Shaking her head helplessly, Violet brought up something she had been curious about for a while.
"By the way, why do you and Mia call Yulia the 'Head Maid'? Isn't she Lucine's personal secretary or something? Is that some kind of insider term?"
Selna tilted her head slightly, her face emotionless, as if she was carefully choosing her words.
"First of all, Yulia is actually the most experienced instructor in the maid training program at the Sainz Academy. She was one of the key figures who helped establish the program, and almost every graduate, many of whom became instructors themselves, was personally trained by her. So, calling her 'Head Maid' is something everyone just naturally agrees on."
"Besides that, she also has another role that most outsiders don’t know about. She is the leader of the Blood Rose Maid Corps, which serves under my clan's second princess, Her Highness Lucine Constantius. Mia and I were once part of Blood Rose too, so it's only natural for us to call Yulia 'Head Maid'."
Violet raised an eyebrow.
"And you're just telling me all this? Wouldn't a normal master be unhappy knowing their maids used to belong to someone else's group?"
"Of course. But since this is information that Lady Violet wants to know, a proper maid would never hide anything from her master, even if it might make it harder for Mia and me to work under you."
The tall girl, calm and composed, bowed her head deeply as a sign of obedience.
"But please believe us, Lady Violet. We are absolutely loyal to you. In Blood Rose, we were only unofficial trainee maids. The reason Head Maid Yulia arranged for Mia and me to be there was to give us a suitable place to gain experience after graduation. Since we were never officially promoted, Her Highness Lucine was never truly our master."
"In fact, the moment we learned that you and the two young ladies would be visiting Sainz Academy, Mia and I immediately submitted our resignations to Head Maid Yulia. As of now, we have no ties to Blood Rose anymore."
Seeing the maid speak so seriously, Violet sighed and waved her hand dismissively.
"Alright, alright… I was just asking casually. You don’t have to be so tense."
Honestly, even if they had been directly assigned from Lucine’s maid corps, Violet wouldn’t have been surprised or bothered at all. A person’s past didn’t necessarily define their present. Choosing a job was just a means to survive. Were they supposed to remain masterless maids forever, wasting their lives away just because she hadn't shown up?
If that were the case, now that would be truly strange. That kind of blind loyalty would be unnatural.
After chatting a bit and getting a general feel for each other's personalities, the atmosphere became more relaxed. Violet then decided to move on to the main topic.
"So, you and Mia are now fully-fledged vampires? Since you two saw me back in the Human United Kingdom, that means you were still human at the time. There’s only one way that transformation could have happened. Who is your first embracer? And what noble rank have you reached so far?"
Although this was considered a very private matter among vampires, the devoted maid didn’t hesitate at all. She calmly answered in full detail.
"As you said, Lady Violet, Mia and I were both turned from humans. Humans may be physically weaker than other races, but they have great adaptability. It’s said that most vampires prefer to choose their successors from among humans. That was the case for us as well."
"A few years ago, during the civil unrest in the Human United Kingdom’s royal capital, when the princes and princesses were fighting over the throne. Her Highness Lucine was invited by Grand Duke Julius to attend a night ball in the Courage City. Lady Yulia, as her personal maid, accompanied her. During a chance encounter while feeding, she found Mia and me."
"Lady Yulia said that our souls seemed to be affected by some kind of extraordinary force, making us valuable research subjects. She also took a personal liking to us, so she proposed a deal on behalf of Her Highness Lucine."
"The vampires would help us become stronger and use their power to track your whereabouts, doing their best to reunite us with you, or at least find ways to assist you, as a way to repay you for saving our lives, Lady Violet."
"In return, we had to accept Lady Yulia’s embrace and become her progeny. We also had to fully cooperate with the vampires in studying how our souls changed throughout the transformation process until the mysterious influence either faded away or was no longer of value."
"As you can see, Mia and I accepted the offer."
"As for our noble rank, since Lady Yulia belongs to the third generation of our clan and holds the title of Grand Duke, we, as her fourth-generation offspring, rank between Count and Marquis. I am currently a Count, while Mia has shown a better adaptation and absorption of [Source Blood] and was recently promoted to the rank of Marquis."
After listening to Selna's detailed explanation, the priestess nodded slightly, deep in thought.
"I see... I think I understand the situation now. But there’s something else I’m curious about. Vampires haven’t been active in the outside world for nearly a thousand years, yet that Lucine Constantius person is openly serving as the head of the academy. And there are even vampires like you living in broad daylight here in Sainz. Is Academy City actually a stronghold for conservative vampires?"
"Oh, and one more thing, why aren’t you afraid of sunlight? Vampires running around in broad daylight is just ridiculous. At first, I thought I must have been mistaken..."
"Um..."
The maid tilted her head slightly, brushing a lock of dark red hair behind her ear as she thought for a moment before replying.
"As for your first question, Mia and I don’t have enough seniority in the clan to know all the details, but there are indeed many vampires living in Sainz Academy. I personally know at least a dozen. However, this isn’t actually our clan’s base. Even though Her Highness Lucine is the head of the academy, she only holds partial influence within the board of directors."
"That’s why I don’t think the vampires are truly settling here. It’s more like... just a relatively safe and suitable place to live."
"Hmm... that does make sense."
At the end of the day, Sainz Academy had too much fame and attracted too much attention. If vampires really treated it as their main base and started gathering in large numbers, it wouldn’t be long before someone noticed.
Not to mention, the Austre Empire was already keeping a close eye on Academy City. It was said that the empire held a significant number of seats in the board of directors, making it an unsuitable place for an isolated race to relocate in large numbers.
"As for the issue of sunlight that you mentioned, the vampire race has been working for a long time to overcome this weakness. The reason Lady Lucine wanted to study Mia and me was because she sensed that our case might be a breakthrough opportunity."
"Normally, vampires below the rank of Grand Duke will suffer varying degrees of harm or even death if exposed to sunlight for too long. Dukes will only feel discomfort, and only the six Prince-ranked vampires are completely unaffected. But that’s because their blood power has surpassed the limits of the species, making their condition inapplicable to ordinary vampires."
As she spoke, the vampire girl spread her arms wide, as if openly presenting herself to her master without reservation.
"But as you can see, Mia and I are completely unaffected by sunlight. This is an unprecedented miracle in vampire history. And the only difference between us and ordinary vampires… must come from one single factor."
"Eh...?"
Under Selna’s meaningful gaze, someone who had unknowingly accomplished this miraculous feat could only respond with a dumbfounded ‘Huh?’ expression.
Ahem… well… It sounded a little ridiculous, but when she thought about it carefully, it did seem possible.
Back to the main point.
So far, Selna’s behavior was quite satisfying to Violet. Judging by her words and actions, it was clear she no longer considered herself human but had fully embraced vampire society and its values. Yet despite that, she answered every question without hesitation, showing a level of loyalty that placed her master’s interests above those of her own race.
Her and Mia’s devotion was likely a result of their gratitude toward Violet for saving their lives, which had continued to grow over time. Combined with their exposure to high-level magic, their minds had likely been influenced by the sheer flow of information. This situation was probably similar to the early followers who founded the [Light Worshipper Church], but... their level of devotion was clearly far weaker than these two maids.
The fact that they had been turned into vampires yet suffered no harm from sunlight, along with the way they carried themselves, indicated that both Mia and Selna, whether in body or soul, had been directly influenced by a Law.
Their loyalty toward Violet was no longer just a matter of a servant’s duty to their master. It was much closer to the absolute devotion of a fanatic toward their deity. Something that could only be described as faith. A belief so strong that they would willingly sacrifice everything, even their very existence, without a second thought.