Chapter 249: Inside the Underground Palace
The days leading up to the Blood Trial passed quickly for Adele, filled with the warmth and affection of the girls who surrounded her. It was a fleeting respite, a brief moment of peace before the storm.
As the day of the trial arrived, the young vampires gathered at the royal palace, a place forbidden to most, a symbol of the vampire royalty’s power and prestige. Adele, awestruck by the palace’s grandeur, listened as Dorothy, taking advantage of the opportunity, explained the layout of the palace and their destination: a hidden teleportation circle located within an ancient underground palace. Even Dorothy found the palace unsettling, its dark, cold atmosphere reminiscent of a tomb. But whose tomb could it be? she wondered.
The Black Emperor, her ancestor, hadn’t left a body behind; many believed he had simply disappeared, waiting for the right moment to return. Dorothy had heard rumors that the underground palace predated even the royal palace itself, its origins shrouded in mystery.
But Dorothy wasn’t interested in the palace’s history. She had a different agenda, a vision of a possible future she wanted to share with Adele.
“When I ascend to the throne,” she said casually, “Adele, wouldn’t you become the Vampire Queen?” She hoped the idea would take root in Adele’s mind, planting a seed of ambition, making Adele see Dorothy in a new light. After all, compared to the other girls, Dorothy possessed both the highest status and the greatest power. Any rational girl would choose her, wouldn’t they?
But Adele, never one for convention, simply shrugged and replied, “Oh,” her expression unchanged, her heart unmoved by Dorothy’s veiled proposal.
Dorothy, deflated, could only sigh inwardly.
They arrived at the entrance to the underground palace, its age and origins a mystery even to Dorothy. Only the True Ancestors, the ones who had discovered it, knew its secrets. But their status made them unapproachable, their secrets closely guarded. Adele, realizing the futility of her curiosity, quickly abandoned her desire to uncover the palace’s mysteries.
Just then, a familiar, gentle voice spoke beside her, “Are you curious about this place?”
“A little... Whoa, Lady Chen Xi!?” Adele exclaimed, startled by the True Ancestor’s sudden appearance. She hadn’t sensed her approach, a testament to Lady Chen {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} Xi’s power. Even Dorothy, standing beside Adele, looked equally surprised.
Lady Chen Xi smiled, her face a gentler echo of Edith’s. “If you want to know its secrets,” she said, her gaze fixed on Adele, “come find me after the Blood Trial.” Provided you make it that far. She seemed unconcerned with Dorothy, the Black Emperor’s descendant.
Then, like a wisp of smoke, Lady Chen Xi vanished, as if she had never been there at all.