“I’ll be honest. I didn’t think you could do it,” Kagriss said, looking her up and down. Elyss laid nearby, looking confused about their topic, but trying to appear unconcerned.

Camilla smiled, puffing up her chest. “Of course I could do it. Given the effort you put in for me, I wouldn’t be able to face you if I managed anything less, right?”

Kagriss let out a rare laugh at that and reached down to give her a hug, which Camilla returned. After the long hug, Kagriss looked over at Elyss. “You don’t know what’s going on, right? Well, you don’t have any talent at undeath mana after all, so we can’t blame you.”

“Well, I am so sorry I don’t possess that element,” Elyss growled. “Since you know I’m clueless, wouldn’t it be polite to explain?”

Friendly or not, Elyss always kept her barbed tongue out. Camilla quickly stepped in between them before Kagriss could say anything back. Was she being entirely fair and unbiased by cutting Kagriss off? She hoped so, but she couldn’t really since she was on Kagriss’s side no matter what deep in her heart. Therefore, she had to make a conscious effort to mediate in favor of Elyss to keep things fair and ease the guilt in her heart.

“There, there. Elyss, we’re talking about my strength. You know that undead have various strengths depending on how evolved they are, correct?” she asked, softening her voice.

Elyss snorted, reluctantly backing off. “Yes. Lesser, jack, lord, king, right? You and Kagriss are both jack-class. What does that have to do with anything?”

“If there are different tiers, then naturally there is something that separates the tiers. A ceiling, you might say.” After making sure that Elyss was following along, Camilla continued. “Once an undead hits the ceiling of their tier, they can no longer grow stronger by simply increasing raw strength and magical power. Any improvements they can make is either to improve their technique or to evolve. Obviously, evolving is a rare and difficult thing, so many old undead hones their techniques instead.

“Going back to the ceiling…Kagriss had hit hers a long time ago, so her raw power has stagnated. On the other hand, it hasn’t been that long since I evolved, so I still have a long way to go. Or, I should have had a long way to go… if I hadn’t hit my ceiling just now!” Camilla broke into a wide smile, sticking out her chest proudly. She couldn’t help but be happy, and her happiness was so great that she couldn’t stop herself from smiling.

According to Kagriss, it took most undead at least a year, sometimes even decades, to reach the ceiling. The reason why varied, but it remained the truth that growing stronger was an ordeal that grinded at one’s patience.

Taking just months was practically unheard of in Amaranthine Point, and the only reason Kagriss didn’t say it with certainty was because she wasn’t sure if any others had achieved the same. In the end, however, Camilla couldn’t have done it without Kagriss’s help.

This whole journey from Dianene to Celrantis atop Elyss’s back, Camilla had focused on absorbing mana into the core of her being, the collection of spells that sustained her existence. It was Kagriss who sat by her side and isolated undeath mana from the myriad of manas around them, funneling toward her day and night. Camilla owed everything to Kagriss.

At the same time as she was grateful for Kagriss’s help, she also felt a little guilty. Before, she had suppressed that guilt in order to focus on growing her strength, but now that her goal had been reached, she had to confront her argument with Kagriss, the one that occurred nearly half a month ago.

Yet, it still seemed fresh on her mind.

“Kagriss. I… want to apologize,” she said, the smile disappearing. Camilla looked down at the ground. “I know what I did was dangerous.”

The sudden shift in mood sobered everyone, and even Elyss stopped baring her fangs at Kagriss. Kagriss looked at her. “So why did you do it? Would you have done the same thing if I weren’t here?”

Camilla kept silent. Kagriss’s gaze turned frigid, and she hesitated. When Kagriss opened her mouth, about to begin one of her rare lectures, she was stopped cold when Camilla looked at her, eyes angled upwards, and flashed a bright smile that made Kagriss’s heart skip a beat.

“Why are you smiling?” she asked. But although she kept her voice dangerously low, the edge was no longer there. Camilla’s smile grew wider and sweeter, and the rest of Kagriss’s anger disappeared without a trace. “…well…?”

Camilla pressed up against her fawningly. “I won’t do it again. I’ll listen to you from now on and won’t take any more unnecessary risks, okay?”

Behind her, Elyss snorted. “Camilla. Aren’t you in your twenties?”

Both Camilla and Kagriss glared at her. “Who cares how old I am?” Camilla asked, sticking even closer to Kagriss. “As long as Kagriss likes it, I can do this completely without shame.”

“…” Elyss decided to ignore them, turning her back on them and taking a nap. That last stretch of the journey involved her trotting for a solid five days straight. If nothing else, the journey built her stamina up quite nicely.

With the third wheel out of the way, Camilla went back to trying to butter Kagriss up. “I promise. This time is an exception.”

“An exception?” Kagriss asked, her eyes gentle and loving. She was looking deep into Camilla’s eyes, matching her gaze.

“For some reason, I had this feeling that I really needed to get stronger, like something big was coming. I don’t know why or where it came from, but it felt important. If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t do something that you explicitly tell me not to. Although, it turned out fine in the end, right? Thank you, Kagriss!”

Camilla didn’t care if she was acting disgustingly cute and immature. As long as it worked and Kagriss liked it enough to not be upset anymore, her honor and self-respect can rot in the trash for all she cared. Luckily, it seemed to work, because Kagriss breathed out a long sigh and nodded.

“Fine. I’ll forgive you this time. So, what should we do now? Go in immediately?” Kagriss looked out at the city.

Camilla followed her gaze, looking upon the city from the outside for the first time.

Unlike Dianene, Celrantis was not a walled city. At least, not in the traditional sense in that the wall was for defense. It wasn't very thick and sturdy, but was ornate, looking like one big piece of artwork. What walls existed wasn’t organized in concentric rings either. Instead, the walls sectioned off the city into different districts. Camilla knew from prior experience that each district was dominated by a race, although there was a lot of mixing among them.

And finally, the city was not governed by an elected council, but was ruled solely by the vampire lord Victoria, her mother, as well as Kagriss’s future mother-in-law.

Celrantis, her long awaited destination.

After a moment of taking in the view, Camilla smacked her cheeks. “No, not now. Let’s rest outside for a bit. I want to go in looking alert, giving my best impression. And…you too, Kagriss.” She blushed.

Kagriss didn’t seem to get it at first, but her eyes widened when she did. Although Kagriss didn’t blush, she did avert her gaze.

They ended up leaning on Elyss together and taking a little nap. No one kept watch, for this close to the city of the notorious Duke Victoria, no danger dared lurk, thanks to the hunting squads that systematically eliminated all dangers nearby. Eventually, the strong learned to stay away, and the weak were no danger at all.

☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Camilla sat at the side of one end of a long wooden table designed to accommodate many guests. However, as there were only four people plus one lion present, the table was oversized. Next to her was Kagriss, and across from her sat another vampire, Ismelda. Elyss sat, attentive, behind them.

At the very end of the table, sitting in the seat facing the door, was Victoria, holding a glass of blood in her hands. She made for a very cliched sight. There was no way she could get any more “vampire” than she was already, dressed as she was and holding what she did.

Camilla kept her thoughts to herself and tried not to be nervous at being face-to-face with her mother in person for the first time in a while. Although she had met her a few times through their blood ancestry, something always seemed lacking. Not to mention for some reason, in the last month, Victoria cut contact entirely, always claiming to be busy whenever Camilla tried to reach her.

Now that they finally saw each other again, Victoria became someone unfamiliar. The eyes she used to look at Camilla were strange, hungry, making Camilla squirm inside.

Camilla didn’t understand why Victoria looked at her like that. She was supposed to be the one looking hungrily at Victoria. She was the one with something to ask from her mother. So why was Victoria looking at her like a hunter at prey?

But the moment her discomfort showed itself physically when she sat back in her seat from the invisible pressure, Victoria blinked and the hunger was gone, replaced by the confident, proud gaze of an untouchable ruler.

The change was so absolute that it made Camilla question her eyes. Perhaps…it had just been her imagination. After all, there was no reason that Victoria would need to ask anything from her. Yet, the pressure that she felt from that hungry gaze was definitely real.

She looked over at Kagriss, who returned her gaze evenly. Kagriss raised an eyebrow, as if to ask, “what’s wrong?” Elyss didn’t make any movements either. Helpless, Camilla just shook her head and turned back to their host, who watched that entire brief exchange.

The corner of Victoria’s lips raised up. “I’m glad you managed to make it here, dear Camilla.”

“Just…Camilla is fine,” Camilla said.

“Alright, alright.” Victoria looked hurt. It looked so genuine that if Camilla didn’t already know of Victoria’s acting skills, she might’ve been fooled. Seeing the lack of reaction, Victoria burst into laughter, and the awkward atmosphere defrosted at last. “So, Camilla. Congratulations on making it here. Was it hard?”

Camilla shook her head. “Not particularly. We avoided battle where we could, so outside of missions we knew we could handle, we didn’t fight much. Elyss carried us most of the way, so it might’ve been hard on her.”

“That’s boring.”

“I don’t want an interesting life,” Camilla replied, grabbing Kagriss’s hand. All she wants is to settle somewhere with Kagriss away from troubles. Although, if trouble looks for her, she won’t run either. Kagriss’s hands were cool and soothing.

“Oh? Do you think your life so far has been interesting?”

After a moment’s thought, Camilla nodded. “Unfortunately, yes. But I don’t regret it.”

At her words, Victoria averted her eyes, looking down, but that eye movement was so slight, so brief, that Camilla once again doubted her senses. Normally, she would’ve brushed it off, but combined with the pressure she felt earlier, something was definitely off about Victoria. But she doubted that Victoria would reveal anything even if she asked.

What could Victoria possibly be feeling guilty or uncomfortable about anyway?

Seemingly done with her for now, Victoria moved on, nodding at Kagriss, looking her up and down. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“It has.”

“You don’t speak much, do you?”

Kagriss didn’t reply at first. What was she supposed to say in response to a question like that? She was going to just ignore it, but at the last moment she remembered that the person speaking was her future mother-in-law. Right before enough time passed that a reply would be considered late and awkward, she nodded. “Yes.”

“It’s no fun talking to people like you.” Victoria sighed. “Anyways, thank you for accompanying Camilla up until now…”

“And I always will,” Kagriss said, staring evenly at Victoria. “She’s safe with me.”

Camilla’s heart warmed at her words at the same time as she winced about the situation. It was so similar to the kind of story where a fiancée meets with their future mother-in-law. The two women did not get along, resulting in a power struggle within the household.

Fortunately, the situation didn’t devolve further. They exchanged a few more quips at each other, with Victoria belittling Kagriss’s strength and Kagriss flaunting her and Camilla’s love. Finally, Victoria eyed Elyss.

“You’re Elyss, right?”

“I am.”

“Are you another silent one?”

Unlike Kagriss, Elyss had no qualms about being rude, so she just ignored Victoria. The smile on Victoria’s face didn’t waver though. She just sighed and shrugged. “Well, a friend of Camilla’s is a friend of mine, so make yourself at home here.”

“Thank you.”

And that was that for introductions. Without preamble, Victoria jumped right into the topic they gathered here for.