Chapter 93 – The Vampire and The Cloak

    [Cattleya POV]

    “I knew I could do it,” I just could not stop myself from talking under my breath, even as the rain started to come down on top of me.

    Mother thought that I could not manage, but she could not have been more wrong.

    ...

    Even if I failed the first time... This time, I have a secret weapon.

    A new set of eyes.

    It did not take long for me to arrive at the wall surrounding the town... well, calling it a wall was certainly generous; in reality, it was much closer to a humble fence. More just to give the idea of safety without providing any tangible defence, if anything.

    In no more than a single leap, I jumped up onto the wall before hopping off on the other side and immediately making my way into the forest. In the back of my mind, I was hoping to take the chance to grab a quick drink, but as I made my way through, there simply were not any animals around.

    It was a shame, to be sure, but thankfully, I had a stockpile that would last me more than a few days after those wolves provided me with a generous donation, even if it was not of the highest quality. I do not have the chance to be picky; as for human territory, what they provided me with may as well have been a gourmet meal with just how little mana everything has. That being said... I would have preferred an animal with some more... palatable meat, even if not as dense in mana. No matter how desperate I was, I couldn’t bring myself to eat that; a lady has to have standards.

    In my disappointment, I decided that it would be better to hurry towards my hideout in order to get out of the rain. There was not any issue with being out in the rain per se, but it certainly was not the most pleasant way to spend the day if I had any choice in the matter. So, if I did not have to, then I would not subject myself to it.

    My hideout quickly came into view, hidden in amongst the trees; on the outside, it looked to be nothing more than an old, dilapidated shack that had long been left to the land, but little would people know that on the inside, it was...

    ...

    ...

    I just picked up the pace and got inside without wasting any more time. Thankfully, the roof was more than capable of keeping the inside dry.

    As soon as I was comfortably inside, I reached to remove my coat; however, my hand ended up gasping onto something I was not expecting.

    “What?”

    As I looked down, I saw an unfamiliar cloak that was draped over my shoulders.

    ...

    ...

    “Of course!” I shouted as I eventually recalled where the cloak had come from, “It is only proper manners for me to wash this before I return it. It must have just slipped my mind.”

    I do not know why I spoke out loud at that moment, but it seemed to quell whatever I was feeling inside my chest, so the was no need for me to concern myself with it any longer than that.

    But still, before doing anything else, I made sure to hang the cloak up somewhere to give it a chance to dry.

    I need to remember to get this cleaned before meeting the two of them.

    I stacked up all the notes I had previously laid out on the table and set them aside before pulling out a new blank sheet in order to try to put together a lesson plan.

    “I need to make a good impression after all.”

    However, writing a lesson plan turned out to be a little more difficult than I had expected. I had been taught before, yet I never had to teach anyone. All the information I needed was inside my head, but putting it to paper was an entirely different story.

    After only a brief moment of hesitation, I decided that the best thing to do would be to just start writing whatever came to mind when it came to the basics of magic. The actual content of the lesson likely did not matter, as I suspected that Kierra already had a basis in magic and was just entertaining my offer of a lesson because...

    ...

    “Why... did she accept?” My pencil fell to the table as the question came over me.

    If she was lying about not knowing what magic she could use... why would she agree to a lesson where I could easily find out?

    If she really did not want anyone to know, then this does not make any sense.

    ...

    ...

    Maybe not everything is a lie... Or maybe she already knows exactly what I am looking for!

    What if her magic has nothing to do with what she can see? She could be intentionally leading me towards a dead end... but why?

    ...

    She even agreed to watch the ships with me in return...

    ...

    Something here must be wrong.

    ...

    I once again picked up the pencil but decided to pull out a new piece of paper and start the lesson plan from the beginning. This time, specifically trying to recall when I was first introduced to magic many years ago and put that experience into writing... with more than a few improvements included.

    Maybe she is testing me.

    That would make sense.

    She wants to see what I know and will use that to decide how she should continue.

    ...

    Well, little does she know, her adorable test is nothing compared to what I have been put through.