novelzi Chapter 54
Chapter 54
The next morning, Adele woke with a groan, her head pounding, her body stiff and sore. She rubbed her temples, trying to massage away the lingering fog in her brain.
“Ugh...”
Why do I feel so terrible?
She should be feeling refreshed, revitalized. She finally had the big, beautiful house she had always dreamed of. But then, her gaze fell on the arm wrapped tightly around her waist, the sleeping face of the girl beside her, and her cheeks flushed crimson.
Celeste... That silly dog!
I told her to be my pillow... Not to use me as hers!
Adele raised her fist, ready to deliver a swift punishment to Celeste’s... well, anywhere would do at this point.
But as her fist descended, it softened, transforming into a gentle caress. Her fingers brushed against Celeste’s cheek, smoothing back a stray strand of golden hair.
Celeste was like sunshine. At least, that’s how she used to be. Now... she was Adele’s captive sun, a source of warmth and comfort that shone only for her. She would burn down the world for Adele, wouldn’t she?
Adele’s eyelashes fluttered, a strange mixture of emotions swirling within her. She shook her head, trying to dispel the unsettling thoughts that had taken root in her mind.
I’m overthinking things...
She hadn’t slept well last night. And while Celeste’s clinginess was partly to blame, Adele suspected there was something more...
She had had a nightmare. But for the life of her, she couldn’t remember what it was about. She only knew that it had been something... unsettling. Something that had filled her with a sense of dread.
Maybe it was a dream about those other girls tying me up with fluffy ropes and keeping me locked in a cage...
Ahem. Stop it, Adele. Get your mind out of the gutter.
Morning had arrived, beautiful yet fleeting.
Celeste, roused by her master’s stirring, reluctantly opened her eyes and sat up in bed.
Adele, true to form, delivered a swift kick to Celeste’s backside. It was a playful gesture, more adorable than forceful.
She still couldn’t quite understand Celeste’s reaction to being kicked. That look of pure joy... It was baffling.
“Well? Are you just going to sit there? Go make me breakfast, you clumsy oaf!”
“Yes... Right away, my dear master~”
“Hmph.”
Adele couldn’t help but smile at Celeste’s enthusiastic response. “Master”... She liked the sound of that.
“And Celeste?”
“Yes, Master?”
“Next time, make sure you have a proper maid outfit ready. Here, at home.”
“Home?” Celeste echoed, her brow furrowing in confusion. It wasn’t the “maid outfit” part that had caught her attention. It was the word “home.”
Adele blinked, not quite understanding why Celeste seemed so surprised.
“Yes, home... Here, in this house.”
Celeste’s expression faltered slightly, a flicker of disappointment clouding her eyes. She had been so excited, so happy...
But she was just a pet, a plaything. Talking about “home” and “belonging”... it was presumptuous, to say the least.
“Yes, Master. I’ll prepare a maid outfit,” she said, forcing a smile.
If Adele had heard her thoughts, she would have scolded her, telling her never to say such foolish things. Celeste had a long life ahead of her. A long life spent by Adele’s side.
As her walking blood bank.
As her pet.
As her familiar.
And as... well, that remained to be seen.
But Celeste needed to understand one thing: her life wasn’t hers to give away. Not without Adele’s permission.
Adele’s gentle caresses ended with a soft kiss to Celeste’s cheek, the warmth lingering long after she had pulled away.
And then came the ultimate reward: Adele, in an attempt to make amends for her earlier overindulgence, personally fed Celeste her breakfast.
It was a moment of pure bliss for Celeste, a memory she would cherish forever.
But their breakfast idyll couldn’t last forever. Soon, it was time to get ready for school.
They packed their bags and took the elevator down to the basement parking garage. Celeste drove, with Adele, of course, riding shotgun.
Adele stared out the window, watching the city awaken, her thoughts a jumbled mess.
To avoid attracting unwanted attention, and to prevent Hermione from targeting Celeste again, Adele asked Celeste to stop the car a short distance from the school. She would walk the rest of the way.
Celeste understood. She was too weak, too insignificant to challenge Dorothy and her faction. She couldn’t even openly stand by Adele’s side without risking her wrath.
She bit her lip, her cheeks flushing with shame and anger.
I’ll change this... I swear it.
No matter how long it takes, no matter the cost.
As for Adele... well, she didn’t want Hermione to get jealous and make Celeste’s life even more miserable.
Why can’t they just sit down and talk things out? Like, who gets to sleep with me on Mondays, who gets Tuesdays... Heehee~
But she only dared to entertain such thoughts in the privacy of her own mind. Even then, it felt... wrong.
The image of Hermione, her icy demeanor replaced with a shy blush, asking to spend the night... It was too strange, too out of character.
Shaking her head, Adele pushed those thoughts aside and headed towards the school, blending in with the crowd of students.
Reaching her classroom was a surprisingly uneventful experience. After what had happened to that Sequence Three vampire, no one dared to mess with her.
Dorothy, meanwhile, had earned the nickname “The Protective Princess.”
It seemed that in everyone’s eyes, Adele was still just the Princess’s blood bag...
But Adele didn’t mind. She lived by a simple code: “Don’t mess with me, and I won’t call my girlfriend.” And right now, no one was messing with her. It was... peaceful.
Except for one thing: Tang Linlang was missing. She hadn’t shown up for morning classes.
As Adele was starting to worry, a flurry of footsteps echoed through the hallway, arriving just as the bell rang.
Adele turned, her face brightening with relief.
Linlang!
She scanned Linlang’s face, her worries easing as she saw that the other girl seemed unharmed.
But then, their eyes met, and Adele felt a strange, unsettling sensation wash over her. Linlang was smiling, but there was something... different about her. Something that made Adele’s blood run cold.
It was as if every vampire instinct in her body was screaming at her to run.