I led the way, Starlight Grace in hand.

    It made little difference.

    Despite starlight grace’s illuminating glare, it pierced the unnatural fog only as much as a dessert fork into a 14 layer cake likely down to just its 10th layer depending on how many of the new hires still needed to display their endurance.

    It’d come suddenly and without warning. A white barrier so thick that the trees were now my worst nemesis, each dipping branch and wayward root trying to make up for the lack of effort in breaking my ankles earlier.

    And yet my reward for navigating it was an even less welcome foe.

    A squatting vampire whose very malice bled into the air I now breathed.

    Unseen crows laughed from their branches. Shadows flickered like stalking silhouettes. And despite the presence of the warming dusk somewhere lost overhead, all I could feel was a chill seeping into my skin, tickling the back of my neck.

    Something ominous was waiting … watching.

    And that meant I had only one concern on my mind.

    “You’re expanding the library … ?”

    Yes.

    I was utterly shocked.

    Beside me, my newly hired librarian nodded from beneath her conjured umbrella of ice.

    Despite the fog being thick enough to absorb the dipping rays of sunlight, she wisely chose to take no chances with whatever magic another vampire had chosen to summon.

    “The details are still being decided,” said Miriam. “I confess this isn’t my forte. Until now, I’ve been able to chisel out my own libraries from existing spaces. Actually building a library is quite daunting, even if it’s just additional wings. However, I’ve done my best to ensure it remains on budget.”

    I nodded, knowing full well the difficulties of working within a budget.

    After all, I had to keep firing stewards until one said yes.

    “I see … that is, well, pleasantly surprising. The Royal Villa is no stranger to being expanded, of course. But this is usually in relation to my father’s camembert cellar.”

    “I believe the king also approved widening the camembert cellar, yes. But not before agreeing to my suggestion to expand the library. I believe he was already considering it, given the issues regarding the lack of space.”

    “The lack of space?”

    I blinked in puzzlement.

    As far as I could recall, the shelves were not necessarily bursting at the seams.

    But then again, I paid them little heed, knowing they contained only the study materials my tutors struggled to find when they mysteriously went missing just before our lessons … or the poetry anthologies which wouldn''t go missing even when they were mysteriously tossed in a lake filled with blood piranhas.

    “The library has no dedicated staff other than myself, but the stewards have kept an organised catalogue. It matches what I see. Most of the shelves are full. However, since I’ll soon be requiring room for new titles, I felt that adding additional shelves was the only practical solution.”

    “My, that’s very proactive of you! Thank you for your efforts. Although by any chance … did you also suggest removing some books as well?”

    “Removing?”

    “Yes. Those with neither historical nor artistic worth. Such as poetry books written at such a young age that they contain words which don’t quite fully rhyme. Or indeed, exist in any dictionary.”

    “Oh! In that case, I did mention that the poetry books took up 54% of the library’s shelves. But the king didn’t see this as an issue. Rather, he was happy to expand the library so that he could have space for transcriptions of every existing work. He wants them preserved for future generations.”

    Hmm.

    How odd.

    I didn’t realise my spine could shudder like that.

    “I … I see.” I offered a bright smile. “As expected, my father is not so easily defeated.”

    “Excuse me?”

    “However, please rest assured that one way or another, there will be additional shelf space. I’ve a literary connoisseur who will shortly help collect some of the poetry anthologies.”

    “Really? Who is it?”

    “The big guy~” said Coppelia, suddenly appearing as she hung upside down from a branch. “He’s a dragon.”

    Miriam blinked.

    “A dragon?”

    “Mmh! She conned him into borrowing some of the poetry books so I could lounge here longer.”

    “E-Excuse me!” My mouth widened. “You are not lounging here! You are my loyal handmaiden, whose duties may be different, but no less important than that of the countess’s!”

    “… You’re not denying you conned him, huh?”

    I raised a hand to my lips, barely covering my smile.

    “Ohohohoho! A dragon is a lawful entity! He has sealed his doom! If he wants to rid himself of them, he will have to pay me a hefty bribe!”

    “Uwaaah~ extorting a dragon. That’s always worked well.”

    “Exactly. As creatures bound by contracts, they must accept whatever fate is agreed by their own words.”

    Miriam listened with a stunned expression.

    For a moment, her lips parted as the first of many questions tried to escape. They closed a moment later as she wisely accepted ignorance instead.

    “Oh, okay,” she said, looking up in thought. “A dragon will collect some of the poetry books. That’s a little bit terrifying. But also a relief. I feared that I’d underestimated the amount of space I require.”

    “It sounds like you intend to make ample use of the library. May I ask what you hope to include that necessitates an expansion?”

    Miriam offered me a look of utmost seriousness. She raised her umbrella to reveal her brows.

    “Work of culture.”

    She fell silent. As did I.

    Instead, through the sign language only learned by those who studied the same subject of impropriety secrets and scandal, an entire conversation passed through our eyes alone.

    I nodded. She nodded.

    “You have done well,” I said simply.

    “Thank you.” Miriam smiled. “I intend to make the library representative of the kingdom’s taste in literature, including both fiction and non-fiction. It will be a place to celebrate all the greatest works admired by commoners and nobility alike.”

    “That is a truly worthy ambition. I believe it is only fitting that we in positions of privilege never lose sight of the common bond which holds us all together–that of tales spoken in whispered tones. With that said, I worry about the consequences of the library’s increased popularity. I wonder if there will be space to quietly read without disturbing others … ?”

    “There will be a private room hidden by a mirror door. Only we shall know of it.”

    I clapped my hands in delight.

    “M-My!! How wonderful! … Of course, discretion is important. If my maids and tutors wished to indulge in the new works, I would never wish to make them feel uncomfortable by being concerned with formality over my presence.”

    “There will be a wide variety of popular gateway works,” said Miriam with a fervent nod. “I’ve already placed a significant number of orders with the funds I’ve been allocated. In addition, I also search for individual books using my own personal network. It was actually how I came to be here.” S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    “Oh? And what book is it that drew you away from the library?”

    “The Icy Duke''s Heart Melts To A Forbidden Flame. The original manuscript.”

    I gasped.

    “Truly? That … that scandalous book which I have never once read? Did … Did you find it?”

    “I did, yes. My maid has it … I think. She comes and goes. But I believe it’s currently in her possession.”

    “I see.” I nodded, my excitement slowly fading. “That doesn''t sound at all reassuring … ?”

    “You needn’t fear. She is reliable, especially in times of crisis. I’m deeply indebted to her–as I am with you as well. Although I understand I’ve been employed to do a job, I admit that I’m also greatly enjoying my present life. It is fun.”

    I offered my finest princess smile.

    “Ohohoho … that makes me very pleased. You needn’t change in that regard. There’s a reason I order every servant to be happy. Joy equals productivity.”

    Then, I flickered away a puff of fog attacking my nose.

    “... Indeed, which is all the more reason to dispose of those who’d stand in the way of your new found contentment–providing we can find them. Are you quite certain this is the right way? I notice we seem to be walking in one direction.”

    Miriam nodded, her expression turning serious once again as she looked ahead.

    “Walking in one direction is all we need. The fog doesn’t extend that far. But to those without an invitation, they will never find the exit. However, I’ve no reason to believe my invitation to Master Harkus’s abode has been rescinded. We should be there soon.”

    “Excellent. And what are we expecting from this particular vampire’s lair, then? A darkened castle teeming with bats and sanguine windows straight from a brochure?”

    “Um, it’s not a castle, no. It’s actually a manor.”

    “A manor? … Is that it?”

    “Yes, although I’m not an expert, I believe most vampires don''t actually own their own castles. They’re quite conspicuous.”

    I didn’t bother hiding my groan.

    All this effort to use my own two feet and not even a darkened castle to use as reference for my goblin foreman to know exactly what not to build on Soap Island.

    “Is it at least a particularly evil looking manor?” I asked hopefully.

    “I would say so, yes. Or rather, it was.”

    “It was?”

    “It’s, well, it might be gone now …”

    A moment of silence passed.

    “Did you blow it up?” I asked, blinking.

    “No, I set it on fire.”

    “Wow,” said Coppelia, dropping down from the branches at last. “She’s just like us.”

    “That’s patently untrue. We’ve never set anything on fire.” I paused as I went through my memories. “... Deliberately.”

    Coppelia giggled. I hardly saw why. Any evidence we’d inadvertently caused the occasional tower or vault to spontaneously ignite was also destroyed in the process.

    And if the master rodent was fortunate, that list would also include his lair.

    Thus–we continued onwards, trundling through the unnatural fog.

    Eventually, the white barrier thinned along with the oaks attempting to headbutt our faces and the silhouette of our destination revealed itself. Yet far from the sight of even a slightly evil manor to roll my eyes at, what appeared before my innocent eyes was instead a squatter’s dream paradise.

    There, beyond a line of trees, was the clear remains of a hovel.

    A hazy dusk hovered over the shell of a building made prettier by whatever flames had recently engulfed it. Every window and doorway was a peek into rooms furnished by ashes, while the rooftop was a chasm entirely.

    Here and there, shafts of timber so charred that even the flames had turned their nose away had crashed through an entire section of the wall, revealing a gallery of portraits now boasting images of the barren wall they hanged upon.

    All except for one.

    Pwam. Pwam. Pwam.

    A new portrait as colourful as a rainbow.

    And it was being hammered into place against the least scorched part of the wall by a ruffian covered in a layer of sweat.

    Amidst the ruins of a vampire’s illegal abode, hoodlums no different from those learning to harvest wheat were diligently hard at work.

    However, while this would normally mean pillaging the burned hovel to its last melted spoon, they were instead sweeping up the ashes with brooms, replanting ceiling beams and lifting away the burned furniture.

    I took a step back, Starlight Grace lowering by my side as I looked on in shock.

    “... Is this the vampire’s lair?”

    Miriam nodded from beneath her umbrella.

    She stayed within the fog, but shared the same look of discomfort I did

    “It is, yes … a foulness corrupts the very air. I regret that I was unable to see it burned to its foundations.”

    “Being burned to its foundations would have been worse. It’d mean that whatever replaced it would look even more ghastly.”

    “Excuse me?”

    I pointed at a stack of tables and cabinets sitting upon the grass.

    Each was clearly waiting to be carried into the hovel. Furniture that had been plundered from different barns, with few sharing the same size, colour or workmanship. The only similarity was the lack of varnish and care over their condition.

    “2.5/10,” I declared. “Why … I can scarcely believe the disrespect on display! You went through the effort of doing away with whatever mould was feeding upon the walls, and this squatter responds by refilling the open space with mismatching furniture!”

    Indeed, I was utterly incensed!

    If my librarian decided to take a moment from her busy schedule expanding the Royal Villa, then I didn’t expect such charity to be repaid through hiring command brigands as decorators!

    “Oh.” Miriam blinked as she dared to lean a few inches forwards. “You’re right. The wardrobes do rather stick out against all the ash and burned walls, don’t they?”

    “They do more than stick out. This is a betrayal of expectations. Here I was, wondering what scheme would require any self-respecting vampire to require the use of forest bandits as goons … and it turns out that they were simply the ones with the most agreeable pricing options!”

    “In that case, I believe Master Harkus must have negotiated a very favourable bargain. These men have had their minds dominated.”

    I threw up my arms in disbelief.

    “... So why would he choose these? Why not an interior designer? Why not a child tasked with matching the same two colours?”

    “I’m not entirely certain. But while Master Harkus has always been frivolous, he has never been aimless. I fear there’s a deliberate reason for this.”

    “Incorrect. There is no reason for a lack of standards. And a vampire who’s lived long enough to know this has even fewer causes to disregard it. Now, where can I find this master of hoodlums?”

    “Um … well, given the exorbitant amounts of darkness I can see lifting from the manor, I believe he likely has a crypt below.”

    “I agree with vampire girl,” said Coppelia, her neck craning as she blinked at the orange sky. “You can’t see it, but it’s like a cloud of evil. It’s amazing.”

    “I’ve no doubt it is. It takes a true scoundrel to keep a royal entourage waiting while he loiters in a crypt. The fact he isn’t here to welcome us with a dramatic speech is his worst crime yet.”

    Miriam shook her head.

    “I don’t believe he’ll offer such a pleasantry. Not while the last light still lingers. He’s likely still resting. Although we can go many nights without sleep, most higher vampires choose to actively treat the daylight hours with disdain.”

    I clapped my hands together and smiled.

    “Is that so? … Then it seems we’ll need to remind this vampire of his responsibilities as a host.”

    “Yes, I agree.” Miriam paused “… Out of curiosity, what does that actually involve?”

    I offered my warmest smile.

    “Ohohohoho … why, that’s simple. I intend to wake the dead.”

    Miriam blinked.

    She looked at Coppelia as she began stretching her legs. Then at me as I began stretching my arms.

    A moment later–she let out a tiny groan.