"I was under the impression that you have a fiancée, and if I am not mistaken, you got mad at me for ruining your marriage."

"Y- Yes."

Julia gulped nervously before giving her answer. Julia couldn’t point out what it was exactly, but something about the way Loriam looked at her made her nervous, scared even.

Loriam looked at both Julia and Nemi like a hawk that had just found its prey. Both of them felt the air suddenly become oppressive. though most of it was focused on Julia alone. The atmosphere became so tense that Lily also tried to make herself invisible and became one with the floor.

"And if that is the case, then why are you two considering marriage?"

Loriam’s smile didn’t reach her eyes, which resembled those of a starving predator. Julia couldn’t bring herself to speak.

"…Better than an elf."

Nika murmured, seemingly the only one not affected by Loriam’s stare. Naturally, Loriam redirected her stare at her. Nika, though, didn’t seem to care and only started to prepare another cup of tea for Julia.

"Here you go〜"

Nika beamed happily at Julia, presenting her with the steamy cup of tea. Seeing that Julia didn’t take it from her, she tilted her head for a bit before a look of understanding appeared on her face. following which she started to blow into the tea.

"Now it should be good."

Seeing Nika’s happy smile filled with expectation, Julia couldn’t help herself, and despite Loriam’s fierce stare, she took the cup from Nika and took a sip. The delicious taste and a pleasant warmth warmed her up.

"An elf should have no right to marry my sister."

Nika said matter-of-factly as she turned to face Loriam, who was still trying to stare a hole in her. Nika ignored this fact and continued.

"So, her wanting to marry a vampire while someone barely passable is still better."

"Hey!"

Nemi protested as she was labeled barely passable by Nika. Nika ignored her too and turned her attention back to Julia, who was attempting to invent an invisibility spell while drinking tea. Of course, her attempt didn’t work. The only one who had managed to vanish was Lily, hiding under Julia’s skirt, pretending to be a footrest. And given the shaking of her body, she was also mimicking a massage function.

"A vampire, huh? You sound like a human."

Nika was rather surprised by Loriam’s words. Her whole life, she was used to calling her race of vampires. Why would that make her sound like a human? And now that it was spelled out, Julia too wondered how the word vampire became essentially a slur for all of the vampire kind.

"Sure, traditionally she should have married a noble son of one of the blood clans, but I don’t want to force my child to be with someone she doesn’t love."

Loriam carried on like nothing had happened, ignoring Nika’s perplexity altogether. Leaning onto the sofa, she took a bite of a chocolate cookie. Slightly lifting the pressure that was in the room.

"Who am I to tell her not to marry an elf when that is who she chooses?"

Loriam gave Nika a taunting smile. See, I care more about her. Her face seemed to be saying Nika scoffed at that. She wanted to retort but chose not to when she saw Julia looking uncomfortable.

"I don’t believe she would choose an elf of her own will."

Nemi nodded enthusiastically at Nika’s words. It was in her favor after all.

"I did choose her of my own free will."

Julia’s comment, though, was as if she threw a bucket of cold water on her. For a moment, Nemi looked like she had died. Then she went to look dejected.

"As she said."

Loriam smirked at Nika, who, in turn, clicked her tongue and stopped paying attention to her. taking triumphantly another bite of cookie.

With the atmosphere in the room getting lighter, Lily canceled her footrest disguise and emerged from under Julia’s skirt. Much to Nemi’s dismay, though she said nothing.

"Good girl."

Julia likewise ignored where Lily was hiding and just petted her head. While feeding her a cupcake.

Lily felt a little bad for her choice of hiding place. And was looking at Julia guiltily. I am supposed to protect you, master. She thought as she squeezed her fists. She felt horrible for chickening out like that just because her master’s mother was looking intimidating.

Then it clicked for her. She looked from her master to her master’s mother, then to the other two vampire girls. Because of her relationship with her master, she forgot what vampires were. A blood-sucking monster. She wondered how she could have forgotten that.

The fact that her master didn’t resemble the monster, and neither did her mother, in fact, seemed to play a big part in it. Until today, Lily would commonly growl at Loriam; the fact that Loriam didn’t do anything to her back then seemed like an act of divine grace.

"So, you do intend to marry that fiancée of yours, right?"

Julia froze with all the eyes on her. That was one of the things that she didn’t want to think about. though she didn’t want to avoid it forever either. She knew that she would have to address it at some point.

"Well, you see..."

She didn’t know what to do. Her heart was split between two girls she liked. Nika sighed as she saw her.

"Undecisive as ever."