Chapter 6 - The Strongest within

I DO NOT OWN EMINENCE IN SHADOW, HOWEVER I DO OWN ANY OF THE ARTS SHOWN IN THESE FICTS.

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Chapter 6 : The Strongest within 

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Mary massaged her head from the headache that was growing on her, first the stores in Terra were closed(Excluding The small Mitsugoshi store in there), now there was a mysterious attack that occurred while she was inside the train headed back to Oshiana, it was one thing after another! Then there's that mysterious man wearing a mask that had destroyed the doors that connected to each segment of the trains. The man had disappeared with indiscernible speed that was too fast for even she could not follow his movements.

She never learned his name when she tried to ask. However there was more than just his speed and his mysterious presence, something was odd about the man. Like, the very familiar kind of odd.

Mary was sure she'd never met such a man before, yet the way he spoke was awfully familiar. Who was the last person she encountered that spoke in cryptic mysterious ways and emitted such a presence before.?

She would have pieced things together about the man's possible identity if she didn't shake off her thoughts in favor of something more important.

...

Never mind that , it was finally sunrise when she finally arrived back at Oshiana with multiple large bags slung onto her shoulder. A majority of the stores may have been closed, but that didn't mean she wasn't able to buy anything, the recently built Mitsugoshi store in Terra proved helpful despite the establishment being small.

She was able to get what she came there for.

Dresses for both Lady Elizabeth and The Young Mistress.

The Oshiana Festival was going to happen in a few days now, and Lady Elizabeth wanted to participate in it to have fun with Young Remilya, but to do that both needed property dresses, Lady Elizabeth May have her usual dress but the vampire Queen had expressed that she wanted a new change of style. The young Mistress on the other hand was picky and wanted something that resembled an 'Eminence' and had even given her intricate instructions if she wasn't able to find a good one. She wasn't sure why the young Dhampir wanted something like that but she was sure it was because of the books they bought her.

Namely a book named "Kage no Jitsu-...?", what was it again..? Uhhh... "Kage no Jisrukoku...?" Okay, she may have forgotten the name of the book but it was something along those lines, it proved difficult to find something that the Young Mistress may like due to her size, as smart as the little scoundrel was, she was still a child.

In the end, Mary simply let her instincts as an Auntie to do the picking and chose a red-black dress, and had it tailored to add a few details such as yellow patterns and a black long glove on the right arm that connected all the way to the elbow just as her niece had asked. While she bought a Sleeveless Crimson-themed Dress for Lady Elizabeth that had a long ribbon that could be mistaken for a tail if one was far Enough.

She didn't have to worry about a dress for herself as she already had one, it had a corset in the middle that supported the stomach area of the wear. She favored more traditional clothes that resembled her when she was back at the Haven.

With the Dresses checked on her shopping list. She checked her bag filled with other random things she bought, she shoved her hand inside the bag trying to find one of the reasons she went on this little outing of hers, and possibly the most important one.

Another gift for Young Remilya, the girl had just turned six years old two days ago, and had expressed that she wanted a gift. It almost felt like time was passing by too fast, not too long ago she was just four years old.. And now the young mistress had just turned six. She wished time would slow down even just a little bit so that she may enjoy seeing her little niece be a child for some time, she'll simply hide this one and take out the dress for Remilya that's also wrapped as a gift. That other gift is something specifically made just for her courtesy of Lady Elizabeth, they'll give to her later in the Festival.

For now she'll hide it until the time arrives, and have the dress be the gift instead for the time being before they can surprise her.

Lady Elizabeth shared this angle of thought too.

Finally arriving in front of the luxurious apartment's door, a nameplate was imprinted on the right side of their small gate with the name "Vlodquinn" written on it. A made-up surname in order to fit in with the residents, she dug her hand even deeper into the rather large bag, finally getting a grasp on what she was looking for. She examined if the gift wrapping was damaged or tangled in any way, seeing that the wrapped gift was fine she knocked on the door.

"Elizabeth-sama, I'm back!" She announced her presence, inside the apartment she could hear light footsteps making its way to the door, when it opened she was greeted by her Lady wearing a rather simple dress, consisting of a black sweater and a crimson apron-like dress, she was also wearing these things called 'thigh-highs' for some reason. It was her recently bought dress from a month ago that she had taken a liking to, apparently the booklet series 'How to be the best Housewife and Mother of all time 101' written by SD-V – Again, what did that pen name stand for..? – That her Lady reads all the time has mentioned that Husbands find it attractive when their wives wear casual clothing. Her Lady was really taking the role of a mother seriously, and even learning how to be a housewife on top of that. From learning how to cook, doing chores and even laundry, it was blasphemous of her to let her Lady do all of those tasks when it was her job as a subordinate, but her Lady insisted on doing them anyways.

Mary felt happy that her Ladyship was dedicated to her newly found source of happiness other than The Haven.

However.. There's one unspoken rule that Lady Elizabeth must keep, never enter the Kitchen without her permission or guidance. Because dear Goddess Beatrix, Lady Elizabeth could burn down the apartment from just BOILING WATER!

She would have found it comedic if it didn't threaten the shelter they slept in. She can't even begin to comprehend how she's capable of such a feat, they had to replace the stove – Which by the way was another incredible product of Mitsugoshi, they're amazing for thinking up all of these amazing products, they were really helpful for everyday necessities. – because of that, Mary has to be present whenever she tries to cook something. She does help her Lady learn how to cook every now and then, progress... Has been slow, to say the least, she can cook Sunny Side eggs now, but the result is either a burn crisp or not cooked enough, Lady Elizabeth had trouble learning how to cook properly as food was always served for her, she wasn't a cook, she's the one who gobbles them up. But at least she was trying, it just goes to show how far her Lady was willing to go just to be a proper mother and wife.

Before she left for her trip, she had requested for them to take an alternative substitute to eat that wasn't her cooking for the time being, since neither knew how to cook.

Food shouldn't have been a problem for the two since they could just eat at some restaurant or grab some fast food - Though Mary wasn't overly fond of them because of how unhealthy it was, using grease and all.

"Mary! Thank god you're finally back." Elizabeth said with exhaustion, probably from having to deal with Remilya all by herself, she guessed.

"My apologies my Lady, with the Festival just around the corner, nearly all stores in Terra were all closed in hopes of making a stall in the festival." Mary apologized lightly, bowing her head to Elizabeth.

"It's fine, I can tell you had to deal with things on your end too?" Elizabeth waved it off, knowing that Mary was probably tired too, she eyed the bag that was slung onto Mary's arm.

"Say, did you find everything?" She asked, concluding that the bags were probably the dresses and groceries(House cleaning products and food is a must.)

"Indeed! It wasn't too hard to find a dress that fit your description since it was quite popular to a few nobles. The dress the young mistress had requested on the other hand was rather difficult to find.. So I had to follow the compromise she had instead given. How did she even come up with the description she gave me..?" Reading the book without problems and remembering the details they bought for her was one thing, making an actual intricate description of what the base of the dress should be and asking for it to be tailored in case she couldn't find one was another thing.

One thing was for sure, the young Dhampir was incredibly smart for a six year old, however there was one trait that the young girl had that both adults would have rather exchanged for a different trait.

It's that she's too easily influenced.

It was normal for children to try and imitate things they see, such as an adolescent trying to swing a sword after seeing an adult swing one, it was a part of growing up that builds people to who they are now, environmental or integrated or what not. The young mistress on the other hand was..

Well..

"Nay! I am a Sith!"

"Join the dark side mother.. Wait, we're vampires, does that make me a Sith in some way.."

"Would I lose against Rando in a game of tag..? Nah, I'd win."

"If I had a katana, I'm calling it Zandetsu."

"Iamudabonffuumaisword! Is that how I say it? This novel is weird. "

"Auntie Mary! You're a maid right?! Can you stop time? Do you throw knives? I mean it would be really cool if you could do that! Only thing left is to dye your hair white.. Then it'll be perfect.."

"Lanza.. Panza? Panzalel Rampago... I can't read what this says, anyways.. He threw the spear made out of pure spiritual pressure at the newly transformed Ich-"

She has had way too many novels to read from.

Why! Why did they think it was a good idea to buy her all those novels..

"A power within the shadows.. A shadowbroker who pulls the strings from within the shadows, It's.. So cool!"

Ugh.

That certain memory from a week ago reared its ugly head again, they really shouldn't have bought her so many books that could have easily influenced her. Remilya trying to act like a noblewoman was already a red flag when she was four years old, and they simply brushed it off thinking it was a children's thing.

Lady Elizabeth once stated that she herself had never acted like this even as a child, so the young mistress inheriting it from her mother is out of the scene. Remilya had to have inherited this trait from somewhere right..?

One person came to mind. Shadow, but it was difficult to imagine the cryptic powerful man being childish.

A creeping feeling suddenly came from his inner being, prompting him to turn around and suppress whatever came out of him.

"Achoo!" John Smith- Cid covered his mouth as he sneezed.

"Milord?" Zeta looked at her Master, never once seeing him show symptoms of any colds before.

"No, It's nothing.." John Smith reassured her as they ventured through the large kingdom with their disguises on. 'Feels like someone was talking about me.'

 ++--------------------++

She was brought out of her thoughts when Elizabeth stood closer to her, examining the wrapped box in her hands.

"Mary, is that the gift for Remilya?" Elizabeth asked expectantly, her vampiric red eyes gleaming in anticipation. Her eyes glancing not at the gift Mary was holding, but what was hidden under the bag, there it is, the signal to guise the dress as a decoy gift, while the one they want to give her will be hidden.

Mary perked up and nodded joyfully "Indeed! It was quite expensive to have it modeled after as per our request. But at the very least it's quite accurate to what we expected!"

Side note, the reason they didn't buy a gift for Remilya on her exact birthday was because they were busy, thankfully the young girl didn't mind it as she understood that her guardians had other things to do.

So now they're trying to make it up with the little girl with something special.

'Wait, speaking of Remilya, where's the young mistress..? '

Mary looked inside the room from where she stood, she saw no signs of the little ball of energy anywhere.

"Elizabeth-sama, if I may, where's the young mistress?"

Elizabeth tilted her head at Mary's question, before finally taking note of the lack of Remilya's presence.

"True.. That's strange, by now she would have lunged at you." Elizabeth and Mary looked back inside their apartment, both wondering why the little girl hadn't announced her presence in any way.

"Remilya! Your Auntie Mary is back!" Elizabeth called to her daughter, there were a few seconds of silence before a familiar magic signature suddenly welled up from within the apartment.

'Oh shit.' Mary cursed inwardly, knowing what was about to come, she started sweating profusely as her guard arose, magic already coursing through her body.

"Oh dear.." Elizabeth could only pity her friend's inevitable fate, she took the bag and gift from Mary without the latter noticing. "I think we both know what's going to happen next."

"Elizabeth-sama please get me out of here." Mary looked at her with a pleading look, her voice shaking in nervousness.

Elizabeth looked back and forth from the Apartment and Mary, as if cursing Mary with misfortune, Elizabeth's new habit of being playful struck at the wrong time.

"Hmm.. What's the safe word?" Elizabeth smiled innocently, giving her subordinate the most teaseful look.

' What safe word?! '

"I- We don't have a safe word! What do you mean!?" The Red-headed maid looked at her Mistress with an incredulous face.

"Still not hearing it."Elizabeth continued on with her act, her not so existent pity turning into a smug teasing act.

"No I'm serious Mist form-" Mary begged her Lady for mercy, she suddenly sensed the destructive inevitable death that was coming for her draw closer. She tried to reverse and run away from her fate, but it was too late.

A friendly greeting came from Remilya In the form of a literal red blur of mist.

By greeting, I meant it as being tackled at the speed of sound.

"AUUUNTTTIEEEE!" "KYAH-" The red blur of pure energy and excitement Impacted Mary with a force that would have killed any lesser being, Mary gasped in pain as her Niece hugged her tightly, the little girl oblivious of how hard she rammed to her Auntie.

' DeargoddessbeatrixshestoostrongGAH- ' Mary fell down to the floor with Remilya still hugging her, she felt that if she didn't instinctively protect herself using magic her ribcage would have literally caved in, vampiric anatomy or not.

"Auntie you're back!"

Remilya nuzzled her head to her Aunt's – Admittedly large chest – without even noticing the pain the Maid was in, if she had a tail, it would be wagging nonstop at her Aunt's arrival.

"H-H-Hellooo, Y-Young Mistress." Mary barely managed to say through her gasping breaths, she slowly recovered from her state by breathing slowly, trying not to upset her already strained upper chest.

Finally regaining half of her bearings, she sent a betrayed look at Elizabeth who was giggling quietly.

' One day, I'll get back at you one day Elizabeth-sama!' Mary cursed at her silently.

'I'll be looking forward to it.' Elizabeth took her threat as a challenge, eager to play around with her friend.

Mary extended one arm out and gave her half-blooded niece a pat on the head, though shaking because of the impact.

Remilya paused from her nuzzling and looked up to her Auntie, eyes gleaming bright with joy. "Auntie! Did you get me one!? Were you able to find what I wanted?!"

Mary breathed out softly, smiling at Remilya while patting her head.

"Of course Young Mistress, although I had to commission a little bit of tailoring here and there to get the image you wanted." Mary pointed to the gift box Elizabeth was holding.

Remilya immediately jumped off Mary and got a closer look at the gift box Elizabeth was holding.

"It's here!" Remilya tried to get her hands on it if not for her Mother putting a hand on her head and preventing her from getting close.

"Nuh-uh Remilya, what do you say to Auntie Mary first?" Remilya paused, before whiplashing back to Mary who was standing up, patting her dress.

"Oh! Uh, thank you so much Auntie!" She rushed back to Mary and gave her another tight hug, apologetic of accidentally forgetting to thank her for all her troubles.

"Mhm, you're welcome young mistress." Mary didn't mind it, and was content that her Niece was happy.

After giving her Aunt a hug, the six years old Dhampir scurried back towards her mother and attempted to pry off the gift from her hands, with no success obviously.

"Moooomm!" Remilya whined.

"Nuh-uh, you won't be touching this box until tonight, we don't want you messing up the dress before we could go to the Festival's opening." Elizabeth chidded.

"I promise I won't touch it! I just wanna see!"

"Nooopee." Elizabeth popped the "P" As emphasis to her daughter, "It would ruin the surprise, trust me, it'll be better if you wait until tonight."

"Ehhhh.." Her daughter pouted, discontent and impatient about wanting to see the dress.

"Okay how about this, I WILL try to imitate one of those techniques from the novels you're always reading If you wait until tonight." Elizabeth winked at her daughter, the little girl immediately became joyful and excited at the notion of seeing her mother's performance of using magic.

"You promise?!" She chirped.

"Lanza Del Relampago all the way if you want." Elizabeth's tone became soothing, referencing one of her daughter's favorite moves from Natsume's (Plagiarized) Novels.

The new mother wanted to be as close as she could be to her daughter as she grew up, because of this, and as part of trying to be the best mother she could be. She took the time to learn the things that her daughter enjoyed so that she may relate and bond with her over them if the opportunity arose, one of these is reading the novels and books Remilya loved to read.

She wasn't only limited to novels and such, she also took the liberty of being more caught up to modern society, including modern ways of conversation and fashion.

After all, wearing that old age dress from the vampire's Era everyday would have been an embarrassing topic if it got pointed out.

Even slang and jargon needed to be learned, since people would say things like "mushy stuff" That would likely lead to miscommunication if the person receiving the comment did not know what it meant.

"Really?!" The daughter of the strongest became more excited, practically bouncing up and down with her inhumane speed.

"Only if you promise~" Elizabeth twirled her finger in a circling motion, easily operating her daughter like a manually controlled vehicle..

Remilya puffed her cheeks and straightened her back, putting a hand on her chest in a ladylike fashion. "I, Remilya, Daughter of Elizabeth Vlodquinn, vows that she'll never touch her supposed gift until tonight!" Remilya said dramatically, standing proud without cringing.

Elizabeth couldn't help but squeal internally from her daughter's adorable shenanigans, while Mary cringed inside, fearing that her Niece might become too engrossed with her acts in the future.

Wanting to play along with her daughter, Elizabeth assumed the same stance her daughter did and spoke lyrically. "And I~ Elizabeth, Mother of Remilya Vlodquinn, will now henceforth watch like a hawk over her daughter's vow."

Mary turned her gaze around and saw their neighbors, enjoying the wholesome interaction between Elizabeth and Remilya.

She returned her gaze to the mother-daughter duo completely engrossed in their act, oblivious to the neighbors watching eyes.

Her brows furrowed and ran a palm across her face. "Nope, I'm too tired for this."

Not like it would do any damage to their reputation, Lady Elizabeth has a reputation of being the sweet-beautiful maiden around their neighborhood, her fooling around with Remilya wouldn't bring any scorn as the people here were fond of Lady Elizabeth. That and the residents are generally friendly.

"Having fun there Vlodquinn?" One of their friendly neighbors called out, Elizabeth finally noticed their neighbors and made an 'o' Expression, before blushing in embarrassment.

"My apologies if our noise woke all of you!" She bowed in embarrassment, scratching the back of her head and hurrying Remilya back to the apartment.

Their neighbors simply replied with a wave, unbothered by the noise early in the morning as they saw the relaxing presence Elizabeth exerted whenever she goofed around with Remilya.

Mary entered the apartment and dropped her bags, face planting on the couch without any further hesitations due to her exhaustion from shopping all day yesterday.

"Elizabeth-sama I'm going to take a rest for now, please wake me up three hours before we leave for the Festival." Mary's muffled voice groaned out from within the soft material, Elizabeth had already entered back to their apartment with Remilya in tow.

"No worries, I'll unpack the things you bought for now."

"Thank you.." Mary slowly fell into a deep slumber, uncaring of her sleeping position.

"Aunt Mary looks really tired." stated Remilya, poking the rear of her Aunt. Elizabeth grabbed her hand and dragged her to the table.

"She'll probably be asleep for the whole day, for now help me unpack these things alright?"

"Sure!"

 ++--------------------++

Nighttime fell and bright colorful lights painted the Ocean-side kingdom, brightening the already lively streets as lanterns and lights illuminated, streets and stalls packed with customers, decorations hanging from everywhere and crowds filling up the usually quiet spaces of Oshiana.

Residents and visitors wearing dresses and suits with masks all varying in designs crowded inside multiple buildings, not a single individual wearing anything else other than anything befitting of the Festival.

On Top of a tall building, John Smith angled his glass of wine in different directions, enjoying the scent of the wine he was holding.

"What a sight to see, the carefree atmosphere and the joyful feeling of this kingdom is something else." He took a light sip from his glass, basking under the half-lit moonlight as clouds blocked the light's way.

"Yeah, it's pretty lively down there." The cat-therianthrope agreed

Zeta stood behind him, relaxed and equally enjoying the bright smiles the people wore as if nothing was wrong. There was no segregation of the poor and rich, everyone seemed to be equal in this kingdom, each and everyone of them seemed to have a suit, no matter how worn out or cheap it looked they still blended in well with the crowd.

"Indeed, I suppose I should grace them with my presence later, a festival was to be enjoyed after all." John Smith quoted, Zeta simply nodded, she might as well enjoy herself later too...

But..

Her eyes darted around, normally, being alone with him would have elicited unparalleled happiness within her and would have flaunted it off Alpha just to show off, but the revelation of her Lord having a daughter had turned all of that off.

She didn't understand why he never mentioned his being having an offspring to any of the Shades, they were his most trusted allies and friends, so him not revealing his relationship with the Blood Queen or having a daughter threw Zeta into a spiral. It left her confused and hurt that he didn't even disclose such an important detail to any of them before, she was starting to think he didn't trust them at all.

On one hand, her beliefs and trust within him countered that thought. He probably had reasons for not telling them about the existence of his daughter, it was also probably the reason why he barely reacted to any of their attempts of wooing him – Especially Alpha, who has been growing more aggressive and forward with her attempts last from she heard – Still, he could have at least told them that he was already in a relationship with someone.

She would have never even thought of the possibility of her Lord and the Blood Queen having a relationship, muchless intercourse and SOMEHOW the Blood Queen being Impregnated..

That didn't even make sense! Weren't Progenitors supposed to be incapable of having children? How in the world did that even happen? 'Don't tell me they just had sex without stopping .'

She sighed, praying that this mission doesn't get any weirder or mind-boggling.

Though there was another thing that was on her mind other than the newly revealed existence of Shadow's daughter, why did her Lord show up as John Smith?

It really confused Zeta, why show up in Oshiana dressed up as the widely-known accomplice of the Spirit-Fox, John Smith. Who's real identity is actually Shadow, but that small tidbit isn't really known to the numbers.. Surely he could have just snuck around as his real Identity? Information gathering was one thing, but actively interacting with the crowds as John Smith seemed a little strange for her, then again, this IS Shadow she's talking about so he probably had a reason for it.

But what though? Hiding his real identity wouldn't matter since her presence here practically announced the presence of Shadow Garden, hence declaring his presence as Leader of their organization inside the kingdom too.

Her eyes returned back to John Smith- Shadow, the mask she was wearing hiding her furrowed brows.

"Milord, can I ask a question?" Zeta walked closer to him.

John Smith- Shadow slightly arched towards the side, giving her a side view of his mask. "Go on."

'Well, here goes the hard part.' Not particularly difficult or anything, just hard to ask him about a certain topic. She gulped silently, her ears and tail drooping down.

"Why arrive here as John Smith..?" Start off small, then build up your way to the main topic. That's the angle she'll be taking for now before asking him about his daughter.

"When the wolf hides itself among the sheep, should he appear malignant or benevolent?" John Smith replied with a riddle, causing Zeta to ponder, trying to understand what he means.

"B-Benevolent?" What's with the riddle? He rarely does these whenever he speaks and would usually tell them something cryptic to decode and understand.

"Wrong!" Zeta flinched slightly after he raised his voice, she slowly swallowed, afraid that she might have offended or answered him wrong.

"He shouldn't appear at all, that's the point of blending in my dear Zeta, if you stood out too much you would bring unwanted attention, if you appeared too meek you would also bring attention to yourself, thus, you must be as transparent as you are deadly, and only strike when they least expect it." John Smith lightly tapped the edges of his glass, before sipping all of its content. 'Kind of like the whole float like a butterfly and sting like a bee quote I've seen from somewhere.'

"I'm sure you would understand, after all you're the one who's more specialized in information gathering."

'I mean, come on Zeta can't you see how beautiful this set up is? Your character arc will be based on James Bond levels of spying and being classy, everyone here is literally wearing ballroom clothes! You can't just expect me NOT to show up as John Smith with such a perfect set up, besides, it would also give an opportunity to make a badass entrance as Shadow.'

Zeta put a hand on her chin, still not understanding what he meant, she raised her head and looked at him.

"But John Smith.. Doesn't me being HERE already give away our presence? Even if we wiped out every single one of those First Children and Second Children at the Train and IF these were actually to be the last vestiges of the cult, they would most likely notice that a quarter of their force mysteriously disappeared overnight, which is the time we specifically commence our operations? Something that the Cult figured out years ago?" Zeta points out.

John Smith- Cid froze, his inner fantasies coming to a stop after hearing Zeta.

"Eh..?"

"Eh?" Both parroted each other.

'What did she just say? Eh? EH?! Wait, doesn't that mean my chance to show up as Shadow already got ruined? Also 'Last vestiges' of the cult? I know that Alpha and the others have been dropping hints of them cutting off the whole roleplaying in the shadows because they keep talking about how the Cult has been wiped out or nearly all of them are gone. Is Zeta retiring from this Eminence in Shadow Shtick once her character arc ends? Is Alpha and the others doing the same? Granted, I've barely roleplayed or seen any action for the last two years... But since this is definitely Zeta's Character Arc does that mean I have to make up some bullshit regarding a new threat awakening from its deep slumber so that we can continue on our play? Because there's no way she's having this kind of thing going on just for it to end... Okay, maybe put the 'new threat awakening from its slumber' on my list later. I still have to confirm if I might not be able to play out my John Smith thing here, I seriously want this, it's been years since I've gone as John Smith..'

John Smith turned around, took one stop and disappeared.

Zeta blinked, surprised at her lord's sudden disappearance within just an instant.

"Is that all you really think there is to it, Zeta..?" John Smith rematerialized in front of Zeta, startling the therianthrope.

Her eyes widened as her Lord suddenly closed the gap between them, his taller figure now looming over her. 'O-Oh shit, of course there's more to it than just that, Lord Shadow has always been steps ahead of us even way before the majority of Shadow Garden was formed, damn it you stupid cat!' Zeta cursed at herself, she winced back in fear of possibly doing more than just offending him this time as he's never raised his voice against her or any of the Shades before.

"Is that all you really there is to it, Zeta?" He repeated, his towering figure bringing chills all over Zeta, anger at herself for questioning him, fear that she just offended him... And sexually aroused by how intimidating he was.

'It would totally be such a letdown if the dudes you're going against already know I'm here Zeta! I was even going to go with the "I'll help you without being actively in the front lines" Kind of angle and show up in the final climax!' John Smith- Cid thought.

Zeta gulped, her body shaking before she grit her teeth. Letting her more calculated side to take over, he recounted every possible factor that may account for Shadow's choice of arriving as his other Persona.

Her reorganized thoughts slowly pieced things together when she remembered their conversation back at the train. About the revelation which definitely doesn't hurt her in any way, she began to understand his reasoning for appearing in Oshiana in a different identity.

'I... I get it now! Shadow deliberately arrived here knowing that the Cult was targeting his daughter and the Blood Queen, it makes sense now, if the Cult were to be aware of Shadow himself being in Oshiana, they would most likely hasten their plans and Shadow will lose the element of surprise in his arsenal(Not that he needed it if no one was on the line). There's something else too, the Blood Queen is widely regarded as one of the strongest beings in the world, the Cult knows this so if they're planning on taking her down they would obviously need a plan.'

Zeta paused her thoughts for a moment, frowning as she pondered more.

Judging by how confident this Cult Sect is in their plan – And experiencing first-hand what could likely be their new weapon to use against the Blood Queen – There's a probability that it MIGHT actually work since they're not aiming to overpower her. No, they're planning to incapacitate the Strongest Vampire in history instead of trying to overwhelm her, it may sound insane but if this Project they've been working on has been on the table for years then the chances of it working was not out of the picture, Eta has created drugs and poison capable of taking down a dragon before, even if they didn't have someone on the same level of intellect to Eta(Presumably, she wasn't sure if they actually had someone near the same level as Eta) Given enough time and the right resources, they could make something that would be able weaken or incapacitate the Blood Queen, like intoxication..

Shadow's presence here also adds up,

He somehow knew of their plans and grew worried, worried of the Blood Queen and his daughter. The very same daughter that the Cult is trying to take.. But for what? Well, not that it mattered.

It was something obviously horrendous and nefarious, she had a few theories already up in her alley for that.

It's either because she's the perfect balance between the Vampiric curse and Possession. A vast encyclopedia of knowledge for the Cult to study.

Or

They're trying to use her against him for revenge. Both were distinctively possible, but the former seemed more likely.

Both of which involved his daughter being taken by the Cult.

Zeta gasped, finally grasping the situation.

It all adds up now, she brought her thoughtful gaze over to John Smith.

Why else would he appear in Oshiana under a different guise?

'He purposely arrived in Oshiana without giving away that he's here (As Shadow) to operate without having to worry about the Cult acting out of schedule, so that he can strike when they least expect it.. So that's what he meant by being transparent, not only he'll be able to take the Cult down, he would also be decreasing the chances of endangering the Blood Queen and his daughter to whatever nefarious plots they're planning.'

Zeta stood taller, looking at her Lord with the same admiration and adoration her sister Shades would always have when Shadow does something amazing.

"I.. Understand now. Sorry for my tardiness Shado- John Smith, I finally understand the angle you're taking!" Zeta proudly stated.

What? What angle?

John Smith- Cid tilted his head, before realizing what she meant.

'Ahh! Now you finally get it Zeta! Your character arc literally has so much super secret agent and spy-based lore potential! I seriously want to become a super secret elite agent so it would be really disappointing if I can't do that anymore, I'm sure you can understand that, right Zeta? You like the role of a stealthy information gatherer after all.'

John Smith smirked, backing away from her.

"Magnificent, now then, I shall propose a series of actions we should take for this mission. " John Smith said, raising one hand and gesturing to the lively streets of Oshiana.

Like a switch turning, Zeta became more attentive as her ears perked up, her gaze becoming more sharpened with a sharp glint.

"First, since we'll be hiding ourselves among the residents we will separate to maximize the amount of information we can acquire." John Smith pulled back his hand as he explained, closing every finger but his index and middle.

"Second, I won't be actively taking part in the spotlight until the moment comes as I will be finishing a few tasks before I make my move,... Even though I'm coming along with your character arc just for fun and definitely not because I'm bored ." The last part was heard by no one but him.

"Before I begin with the third, I'd like to point out that we've been talking about MY part, I know I mentioned separating but what would you be doing on your end? You said Alpha sent you here back on the train right?" John Smith asks, reminding himself that he's been taking initiative of the conversation without hearing Zeta's thoughts. ' You gotta tell me when the climax is about to happen.'

"Oh! Uh, after Alpha gave me information about the faction inside Oshiana, she told me to gather as much information as I can before they arrived, and if proved to be possible then, take them all out on my own." Zeta stammered on her first words, not expecting the conversation to glide towards her. But she supposed she should have expected it, they've been talking about him and the vampires the whole time.

John Smith hummed in response.

"I see." He nodded, "Before I continue, do you have any thoughts you'd like to share?"

Zeta looked thoughtful for a moment before answering. "If possible, I'd like to end this before Alpha and the others arrive.. They've already gone through a lot."

'Gone through a lot eh? Well, that makes sense. Trying to keep up with the lore when you have a functional job can be draining. Heh, if not for that I would have thought you just wanted to do your Arc alone.' John Smith- Cid mused.

"Then it's fortunate that I'm here to hasten that, if that's all allow me to continue-"

"There's one more thing." Zeta cut him off, not realizing she just interrupted her Lord due to her thoughts being in another place.

"Hm..?" Not that he minded it though.

"Can I ask.. What would you be doing in the meanwhile? Other than those tasks you mentioned...?" Zeta asked with hesitation, fearing that her question would bring the topic towards a certain Vampire Queen.

John Smith turned to her, his mask hiding his confused expression.

A second later, he smiled. "Isn't it obvious? With what that man is trying to get his filthy hands on, I must make sure what is mine remains untainted."

As if saying something wrong in a conversation, the mood suddenly dropped, Zeta's gaze lowering down as her face became shadowed.

Obviously Cid was oblivious to the sudden mood drop.

'On that note, I'm gonna make that "Belmo" guy pay for even thinking of trying to take away my money. Gettan already did that before and some other dude, no way in hell I'm letting that happen.' He remembered the time Gettan managed to steal away his money, when he tried to retrieve it from the man after beating him black and blue he wasn't able to find the money afterwards, the man even said he entrusted the money to him and yet he wasn't able to find it, man. What a scammer.

It almost felt nostalgic and harmonic however, here he was going as John Smith once again, trying to stop some dumbass trying to steal away his money that Elizabeth promised him..

Why did his heart skip a beat? He wasn't able to expand on that thought as he was suddenly distracted by something itchy, his hand unconsciously traveled to the lower back of his neck, scratching the intensifying itch.

"Gah, fuck why is that spot itching again?" He muttered under his breath, the itchy spot being worse compared to the previous times, everytime he would think or mention Elizabeth the same bite mark that had persisted all this time would itch due to unknown reasons.

Of course, Cid being Cid, never thought about it as he would be distracted by something most of the time, the faint bite mark given to him by Elizabeth also stayed hidden away from his attention as no one ever pointed it out, even then he too was unable to see it, being hidden and all.

While his annoying trance happened, Zeta in the background grew jealous.

Zeta was glad she was wearing a mask that covered most of her face, because her expression grew painful when she heard his answer. Still not expecting him to be taken already, her animalistic appendages drooping down from her sudden mood drop.

"I see.. You must really love her huh.. Is that why you've never reacted to any of our advances before? Because you already have someone you adore?" Zeta weakly muttered, making it difficult to hear for John Smith. Not that he would hear it as he was busy scratching his lower nape.

'Is that why you never told Alpha where you were going all those weeks ago? To save the Blood Queen and your Daughter after catching wind of their plans weeks before the rest of Shadow Garden even made contact with the Cult through their fake contact..?'

She took his silence as confirmation, since it was how he occasionally confirmed or answered in the past, her mood fell further.

While in reality, John Smith- Cid, was too busy scratching the itchy bastard that was the bite mark tilted slightly towards his right shoulder.

"I'm sure you have faith in the Blood Queen's strength, so I assume you'll be prioritizing your daughter's safety?" Zeta's lowered gaze remained towards her feet as she spoke, jealousy threatening to leak out from her voice.

Cid not-so subtly scratched the bite mark, his mouth quivering in annoyance as the itch won't disappear.

He heard Zeta talking about something and blindly responded. "Huh? Yeah sure."

Zeta bit her lip, had it been any of her Sister shades, she would have been fine with it. But no, it wasn't any of her fellow Shades that had the honor of being his wife, not even anyone from Shadow Garden. But instead it was the goddess-damned Blood Queen, the same bitch who nearly killed Beta.

She knew that her feelings were influencing her thoughts right now, and possibly her actions too later, but she couldn't help it, it was uncharacteristic of her to be this jealous and emotional that it even surprised her.

She tried to clear her thoughts, but it was subconsciously seething in jealousy.

"I'll be going now." Her voice became uncharacteristically cold, her tomboyish atmosphere replaced with a cold hatred.

"Huh? Suree okayy..."John Smith- Cid like the occasional dumbass he is, answered without thinking. His voice becoming a satisfied hum as he was now using his slimes to scratch the spot, feeling ecstasy at the realization he can now scratch ANY part of his back without effort.

Zeta's heart clenched further, hearing his ecstatic voice, taking it as a sign of him being happy to see Elizabeth again.

As if on auto-pilot, she bowed to him and dashed away to proceed with her mission, the buds of jealousy blooming like a flower inside of her.

"Ahhh... Hmm?" Cid finally snapped out of his pleasure trip after a few seconds, his expression replaced with confusion behind his mask when he turned around and saw that Zeta had already left.

"I haven't even told her the Third part..." Cid said nonchalantly, before shrugging. "Oh well, she's probably just excited."

"Not that I can blame her though, even I feel excited at being able to go as a super secret elite agent once more, this time, free from the shitty politics and economy." He smiled excitedly.

"Mhm.. Mhm! I should be able to take off a few bucket-list items in this play, maybe visit Elizabeth afterwards- Hmm?" His attention was suddenly grabbed by something, angling his head towards the other side of the kingdom.

He frowned, feeling something inside his body – Or more specifically, in his bloodstreams – Reacting.

It soon disappeared afterwards. Leaving him confused.

His gaze remained towards the other side of the kingdom before sighing.

"Probably just the hype getting to me." He shrugged.

 ++--------------------++

"Is there something wrong my Lady?"

Elizabeth stood still, her Vampiric eyes had a faint glimmer that couldn't be seen by normal humans with all the bright lights coming from everywhere. Her attention stayed immobile, her gaze inclined towards the other side of the city.

'Could it be..?' She continued to gaze, her attention directed to whatever she was sensing.

The loud noise of the festival deafened, every person passing by became a blur of nothingness as she ignored them. The crowd became soundless as she focused.

However, she soon cut it off after what she was sensing disappeared immediately after.

'Must have been a fluke.' She sighed in disappointment, if he was in Oshiana, she would have immediately sensed him because of their special connection.

She turns around and faces Mary, shaking her head. "It was nothing, I thought I saw something interesting."

Mary simply stared for a moment before smiling. "I see.. Also! These corn dogs are quite the delicacy, you must try them!" She handed one to Elizabeth.

Elizabeth took it with curiosity, before taking a bite. "Oh? It is delicious."

"I know right?! The young mistress has quite the eye for delicious foods." Said young mistress was currently busy weaving through the crowds, using her size to sneak through the gaps and make it to the food stalls.

"Look at her go." Elizabeth giggled.

"That trip to Terra was really worth it, the dress really fits her." Mary smiled as well, happy that her efforts didn't go to waste.

"And it only took one promise to stop her from opening the box impatiently." Elizabeth proudly stated.

"My lady, you promised the young mistress to perform a fictional technique, from what I've heard I might add was 'wicked destructive' from the young mistress, please try not to blow up the kingdom by accident." Mary practically begged.

"Oh pssshhh. It'll be fine~" Elizabeth rolled her eyes, it was for Remilya anyway, it should be fine. "Not like I'm gonna use it anywhere near the human population.."

The two can be seen standing near a light pole within the very crowded streets of Oshiana, with the festival's opening going on full blast people were everywhere, music being played all around the streets, stalls and shops filled with customers and buyers.

Despite the aesthetic and theme revolving around ballroom masks, suits and dresses, the festival was more akin to a modern Japanese Festival.

Just like everyone else, the vampire trio were enjoying the festival's grand opening, what was the Festival even about you may ask? It was the 62th Anniversary of Oshiana's 50 year tradition of celebrating something called the "Water Spirit's Blessing" Which was both a legend and a local myth here, it is said that a Water Spirit had taken it upon themselves to protect the Ocean-side from any natural disasters that can occur from the sea as thanks to the Three Heroes for whatever reason. As gratitude to the Water Spirit, the Kingdom celebrates the "Water Spirit Festival" Every 50 years, the fashionable clothing was simply because the legend included a part where the Water Spirit had taken a humanoid form and a liking to suits and dresses followed by wearing masks.

Thus, making it a tradition for people to wear dresses and suits during the festival, it was also the reason why even the poor had fancy clothing.

The masks on the other hand, weren't required and were simply optional. The clothes were the main point of spotlight, not the masks.

Remilya ran back to her guardians with multiple sticks of Apple Candies within her hands.

"Mother! Auntie!" She called out to them, stopping right in front of them and handing out the sweets to Elizabeth and Mary "Try these, it's really good!"

Both women smiled at Remilya, they took the sweets and had a taste for themselves, sure enough the little girl wasn't exaggerating when she said it was good, even if the Festival was uncomfortably loud, the foods being sold were definitely worth the irritation.

They all shared a sweet wholesome smile as they continued to enjoy the rest of the Festival.

Walking to a different block of the kingdom, Elizabeth noticed that there were less people in the more expensive and higher class areas. Which made sense, even if there were no segregation of the poor and the rich, it didn't matter if the former could not afford the expensive prices in the higher areas.

It was not to say that there were barely any people here, it's more like the thousands jumped down to hundreds.

Not that it would be a problem for them since they were stacked – Thanks to being the Queen of Vampires, I guess. – She liked this area far more better, no she wasn't being biased of the rich, she just liked not having music being blasted in her damn enhanced vampire ears.

Thanks to this too, she was finally able to take a good look at her daughter's dress, a sight magnified by the bright lights of the Festival.

Said Daughter was currently taking the lead, going anywhere that picked up her curiosity.

Elizabeth shifted to the left and whispered to Mary while pointing at Remilya.

"That." She added a dramatic effect. "Is a really good dress for her."

Mary also shifted to her Lady, looking like two women gossiping at each other.. Which they were.

"I know right? I'm still baffled by how she came up with the design, it really looks good. " Mary whispered.

"The colors and design really look good too."

"It's like a perfect blend of your dress and Sir Shadow's clothes.." Mary agreed, while Elizabeth raised an eyebrow before realizing she was right.

How did Remilya come up with the design..? Might have been because she described his clothing choice once to her.

"At this rate she might surpass us in beauty when she grows up, Mary." The Blood Queen quipped.

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"Maybe, but that would mean other people than us would adore her." Elizabeth pouted while keeping her voice down.

Mary backed away from her Lady and gave her a deadpan look. "My Lady, sometimes I think you're too much of a mom."

Elizabeth only responded with an incredulous confused look. "What the hell is that supposed to mean..?"

Mary rolled her eyes and crossed her arms while walking. "It means you're too attached to the young mistress."

"To use your own words against you, isn't that a good thing?"

"Yeah but, what would you do if the A young Mistress becomes too spoiled and reliant on you..?"

Elizabeth snorted, proudly puffing her chest out. "Then mama gets to spend more time with her little baby." she stated as if there was nothing wrong about it.

Mary could only look at her with an indescribable look of disappointment.

"My Lady, I'm calling a Mother's meet-up with your friends once more in the next few days." Elizabeth whiplashed towards Mary, looking at her with wide betrayed eyes.

"You- what?! Mary, I thought we were friends?! You know how embarrassing it is for me to be there!" She held both of her arms on her head and gave Mary a "Are you serious" gesture.

Mary closed her eyes, wisely retorting to her Lady. "And you cannot deny that they're just trying to help, your fellow mothers are quite helpful and kind enough to give you tips my Lady, besides I think they need to teach you about being too overly attached to the Young Mistress."

"That's uncalled for Mary! Blasphemy! Mutiny! Insubordination! Betrayal!-" Elizabeth continued to rant after her friend while Remilya remained distracted by the beautiful sights the Festival offered.

Eventually Mary grew a tick and gave her Lady an annoyed cold look. "Fine then my Lady, you know what's also uncalled for?"

Elizabeth put both of her hands on her hips with a "Bring it on" Expression. "Oho? Fine then let's hear it."

"Buying a copious amount of lingerie."

Elizabeth froze.

"Oho? Is there something wrong my Lady?" Mary looked at her with a smug look. "It appears that my words struck true."

"Guh..?! H-Hey, they're for Shadow-kun when we meet again!" She weakly defended.

"And once more, is Sir Shadow the type to like such things.. Hmmm??"

"I-I'm technically his wife, so I'm sure!" Elizabeth sounded a little too desperate on this line, in Mary's opinion.

"Is that your opinion or is it from the hit series of books 'How to satisfy your husband : The Guide through' My Lady..?" Her smug smile became worse, Elizabeth mentally sweatdropped, contemplating on when did her friend become such a menace in the ways of words.

Mary's smug expression slowly melted away when she asked Elizabeth a question. "What are you even gonna tell the Young Mistress when she accidentally finds them? I understand trying to please him, but please do be subtle."

Elizabeth looked like she was thinking about what to say before looking at her with such simplicity. "I would tell her 'If it works, you'll get a younger sibling, make sure to root for mama, yeah?' Is what I say." Twirling her finger in the air for emphasis.

Mary could only look at her with a more disturbed complexion. "Yeah, no. I'm definitely calling up a Mother's Meet-up again."

She loved her Ladyship, really, she already got beheaded once for her loyalty to Elizabeth and would again just to prove it. But when she does shit like this? No, just no.

As much as she supported her Lady, she needed to learn the Modern Era's common decency and common sense! By the goddess Beatrix she knows she needs it.

She can't exactly blame her, being in a slumbering state in the form of a literal heart artifact would obviously cause her not to be able to catch up to the world's progression, but when your mindset is still stuck during the old age era's then that makes more complications than she'd like to admit.

Among the likes of listening quite too literally to booklets and magazines that tell you how to please your man.

She sighed internally, the things she does for her Lady..

While they were bickering, Remilya went towards a small game stall where you had to shoot down small targets and win a prize, obviously the little girl had money given to her by her mother.

While the little girl was distracted, a clean and well-mannered man who could be classified as an "Ikemen" walked up to Elizabeth and Mary while they were bickering.

They stopped arguing when they saw the man approach them.

"Oh my, two beautiful flowers standing out amidst a sea of crowds." The man greeted them with a cheesy pick-up line, something commonly done amongst nobles. "Red hair like the brightest of roses, beautiful crimson eyes and unmatched beauty, I take it you are Elizabeth Vlodquinn? A friend of mine, Mrs. Bakronfreend, mentioned you once to me."

Elizabeth made an "o" Expression, more surprised than anything, while Mary simply frowned. Bakronfreend is one of Lady Elizabeth's friends and a member of the weekly Mother's Meetup, him mentioning her means he's likely a higher-class noble considering the aforementioned woman was of the same status.

Elizabeth smiled sweetly at the compliment, and clapped her hands together. "Ah, such a compliment for someone like me, you are..?" Elizabeth questioned.

The man gasped slightly, mostly likely because of his ill-mannered lack of introduction. "Ah! Where are my manners? I'm esteemed Baron, Dawom Anizer."

Mary frowned even more, making sure to hide her apparent distaste of the man.

'A noble? A baron at that, this might become complicated.' There wasn't really much threat that he could pose to them but, judging by his introduction he's probably hitting on her Lady Elizabeth. Something the woman is probably aware of, the real pain in the ass would likely come from when she rejects his advancements, as rich as they were they weren't actual nobles in Oshiana. And as far as she knew, nobles can be a crybaby when they don't get what they want.

"Nonsense! I thought Mrs. Bakronfreend was simply joking with me when she said you were beautiful, but here I am proven wrong, but what a crime it is to see not a single gentleman holding your hand in this Grand Celebration of the Festival." Ah, there it is. The plastic words of noble bullshitery as Mary would like to call it.

Elizabeth gave Mary the side-eye and sent a silent message between the two of them.

'Pssst.. Pssst! Mary, is this what they call being 'hit on'..?'

'Yes Lady Elizabeth, he is indeed hitting on you, or flirting.'

Elizabeth made a small gasp, totally ignoring the baron – It's not exactly the first time someone has flirted with her, over the course of five years in Oshiana, multiple people have tried hitting on Elizabeth, who thankfully, didn't notice as she was oblivious to them, this was the first time someone was straight forward with their attempts at wooing the Blood Queen.. Mostly because Mary scared them away secretly, this time she wasn't able to do so.

'What do I tell him?! Even if I'm the Blood Queen I'm too unfamiliar with this! This is the first time someone has hit on me!(Shadow did not count, as it was Elizabeth who was the one chasing after him.)'

'It would become quite the pain if you rudely reject him, just tell him you have someone you already love, very SUBTLY.' Mary inwardly sighed, mostly done with this shit.

Elizabeth turned back her attention to the Baron, gave him a smile and the man returned it.

Before she suddenly put him off. "I'm quite unfamiliar with how people flirt, but I can tell this is one. My deep apologies but I have someone I already cherish."

'My Lady I said be subtle!' Mary cursed internally.

The Baron's smile flinched, as if suddenly taking damage.

"A-Ah, I see.. But I do ask, what kind of man would he be to let his beloved wander alone?" The Baron persisted. Mary's guard suddenly rose up, if this man was about to do what Mary was thinking then it might elicit an unsavory reaction from her Lady, something that might later on include a body bag being thrown in the ocean.

"Huh?" Elizabeth only tilted her head, still not quite catching up.

"Surely he's someone unbefitting of your elegance and beauty, would you like to spend the Festival with someone more.. Worthy? My beautiful queen?" The man jested at the last line, merely being a wordplay of courting.

But oh boy did he fuck up big time.

Mary immediately sensed her Lady's mood drop down in record time.

The same innocent smile remained on Elizabeth's smile, harmless outside but internally.. Bloodlust suddenly started to bud.

Mary can vaguely see every nearby light and lanterns slowly turning red, the area also started to develop a small black fog, still unnoticeable to the normal human eye, but not to Mary.

At this moment, one word filtered into Mary's thought.

Oh fuck, she's pissed .

But before a massacre could happen and ruin the Festival, a certain close friend of theirs intervened.

the Lady of a Duke, Lelaine Omadolcnte. Mother of Rand Omadolcnte came to the scene, brandishing a plastic smile of her own.

She immediately got in between Elizabeth and Dawom, giving them both a greet, all smiles and cheery.

"Greetings Baron Anizer, I didn't expect to run into you today." She started it off by grabbing his attention. Elizabeth stayed immobile with the smile still on her face.

"O-Oh! Lady Omadelcnte, such a coincidence to see you here." The Baron staggered on his words, not expecting the Lady of Duke to appear before him.

"It is! Unfortunately this conversation will be cut off as I have to grab a few friends of mine." She grabbed each of Elizabeth and Mary's hands, dragging them away while the Baron became flabbergasted.

Seeing that he wasn't following, Lelaine stopped nearby the Stall Remilya was playing at and examined her friends.

Mary looked at their friend with a grateful smile. "Mrs. Lelaine! Thank you for your help, I wasn't able to intervene in time.I fear something terrible would have happened if that continued on."

"I know, fortunately I arrived just in time, I already knew the conversation would spiral from there when I heard that man badmouth Elizabeth's cherished one." Lelaine spared a glance at her friend, said friend was practically emitting pure bloodlust, thankfully disappearing now due to Lelaine's rescue.

Elizabeth finally snapped out of her anger and took a deep breath. "It was a bit sudden but, thank you for the help, Lelaine!"

"No problem, even I would be furious if someone spoke Ill of my beloved husband." She waved it off, before turning away. "I'd love to spend my time with you two and have Rand play with dear Remilya, but family matters are.. Quite literally in the way so! Cha-cha! The sea-side is beautiful, visit it later!" With that, the eccentric woman ran off to somewhere inside the crowd.

Elizabeth didn't fail to notice the paper that was secretly slipped in her hand. The vampire frowned, sensing something off about Lelaine as her usual eccentricity felt forced.

She shrugged it off, hiding the paper under her thigh-highs.

It was the Festival, she didn't need headaches ruining it.

Slowly letting her anger fade, the two of them rendezvoused with Remilya, exploring around the Kingdom and sightseeing, playing around and going to stalls and stores that looked interesting.

They spent most of the night enjoying themselves, until they eventually arrived at a higher vantage part of the Kingdom, where trees were still a little prominent and close to the sea, it was more of a cliff if anything else, stalls were also here but there were barely any people here, the perfect place to take a break from the loud music and bright lights of the festival.

Currently, the three of them were playing a game where you would sculpt a piece of clay to resemble whatever they were given.

Needless to say, Elizabeth was absolutely terrible with it, being too overly clumsy with her hands. Mary fared well, while Remilya hammered through the game with ease.

Finally getting tired Elizabeth excused herself and walked through the trees and found a good view of the kingdom, the cliff was not too high, but with the amount of wooden benches and railings implied that this was likely a popular sightseeing spot.

She took a seat on one of the benches and slumped, visibly tired of today.

She saw someone else sitting on one of the benches, the person left and forgot to take what looked to be a small box with an inverted.. Glass? The box was pretty small, small enough to be unnoticeable.

She was about to tell the man about it when she was suddenly distracted, making her forget about it.

"You look exhausted, Elizabeth-sama." Elizabeth flinched from her friend's sudden arrival, before slumping back, Remilya was also there with another treat in her hands.

Mary took a seat next to her Lady and relaxed too, while Remilya just jumped on her mother's lap.

"Mhm.." She nodded, before looking at her daughter and patting her. "Say.. Did you have fun today? Remilya?" She asked her daughter.

"Mhm, I really loved it."

"That's good to hear.. Hopefully this was enough to make up for not being able to celebrate your birthday two days ago." Elizabeth cooed while apologizing.

Remilya shook her head. "Hmm, it's fine mama.. I wanted to enjoy the Festival with you and Auntie too.."

"And we did enjoy spending it with you too, Young Mistress." Mary quipped from the side.

Just like earlier, they all shared a smile.

Suddenly a flash of blinding colorful lights filled the skies, fireworks exploding one after another.

"Look Mama! It's the festival's opening!" Remilya pointed to the fireworks.

Both Elizabeth and Mary perked out of their slumped states and enjoyed the beautiful sight made by the fireworks.

"Beautiful.."

"It's pretty."

They continued to watch and enjoy the light show in silence, until Remilya spoke.

"Ne, mama." She turned to her mother, still sitting on her lap.

"Mhm?" Elizabeth looked down at Remilya.

"Can I.. Ask for another birthday gift..?" The girl meekly asked, lowering her head. Probably to hide her embarrassment or excitement.

"Sure!" Being the sweet mother she was, Elizabeth accepted without a thought. "What is it?"

"Since.. The festival's end will be in the next three days.."

"Mhm..?" Elizabeth nodded again, curious where the conversation was going.

"And there will be lots and lots of music and dances.."

"Mhm!?" Elizabeth got a little excited because of that, did her daughter want to dance in the Festival? Hehe.. That sounded cute. Mary seemed to think the same as well as she remained quiet on the side, still watching the fireworks.

...

"Can I see papa..?"

And just like that, the cheerful atmosphere brought by the enjoyment of the Festival came to a halt, as if time stopped by and everything became still.

Everything went quiet for Elizabeth, Mary almost had a whiplash because of how fast she turned her attention to Remilya.

"The festival is ending in three days.. And I wanna spend it with him too.. You always said he's busy with something, my friends have their own papas spending their time with them.." Remilya looked away. "And I've never really seen Papa before.."

Elizabeth swallowed a heavy feeling, her complexion turning worried masked with a fake smile.

For all the intelligence that Remilya had at her age, she was still a child inside, and was not able to discern the emotion her mother had.

"I-I suppose so.. Maybe play on the stalls for the time being? Me and Auntie has to talk first." She diverted the topic away.

"But mama-"

"Auntie and Mama have to talk first."

"..." Remilya visibly pouted and frowned, nodding and walking towards the stalls, but still expectant of her mother's answer.

When her figure disappeared, she waited a little bit more to see if she was actually gone.

The two vampires remained in their seat for a few minutes, time coming to a slow as the inevitable drama that was about to happen slowly approached.

Elizabeth clenched her fists, drawing blood from them, looking at herself with disgust before leaning back on the wooden bench.

She took a deep breath and sighed.

"What a fucking terrible woman and mother I am." She sighed.

The sudden shift in mood caught Mary off-guard.

Everything was cheerful just a moment ago, but now? It felt like something just died.

"Elizabeth-sama..." Mary weakly called out to her Ladyship, wincing from her uncharacteristic use of profanity.

"It's not your fault.." She wanted to continue what she was going to say, but found that it would be making things worse.

Mary already knew where this sudden self-hate stemmed from. Two years ago, Elizabeth said that she would visit Sir Shadow and have him meet Remilya, but not too long ago.. She suddenly had a change of heart.

She wanted to refute that part about her being a terrible mother.. And wanted to do the same as well to her proclamation of being a terrible woman but.. Her reasoning made that difficult, it was frustratingly reasonable and unreasonable at the same time.

"And a coward too, who would have known." She looked towards the skies where the fireworks continued to fire one after another, her expression looking agonized. "I can still remember what I said before.. Six years old and I'll have her meet Shadow-kun, she's six now and here I am contemplating whether I should let her meet him or not."

A permeating silence keep in between, before Mary talked again.

"My Lady I-" But she was cut off.

"Mary, during one of the Mother's meetups.. Someone told me something that made me rethink everything."

She paused, looking at Mary with pained eyes.

"My relationship with Shadow-kun... it's not actually a relationship is it? It's more of a one-night stand with a month of getting to know each other."

Mary remained quiet, listening to Elizabeth as she rambled on.

"Sure there were confessions and stuff but.. That was just it wasn't it? I left the moment I got pregnant with his child, in pursuit of The Haven , and when we found out that it wasn't possible in this era.. By all rights I should have returned to Midgar and stayed with him, and given birth to Remilya in Midgar instead of here. But I didn't , I didn't because I was afraid of her getting caught up in his fight against those.. People, to keep her pure and with a normal childhood." Her voice kept wavering, a faint rustle came from the bushes behind them, but it went unnoticed as Elizabeth cried out.

"But that doesn't really mean anything at all, does it? Why should I worry when my.. My.. I can't even can't call him husband because there was barely anything that happened between us! I merely chased after him when he was quite literally in his public persona, attempting to gain his love the women that love him in his organization far more deserved, Remilya was merely an accident because we were both DRUNK! A happy accident and miracle sure, but that wasn't marriage, that wasn't love, it was quite literally me tricking him unintentionally!" Elizabeth rambled on, her voice getting more agonized and tearful with each word. Mary felt helpless to do anything because there's quite literally nothing she can do to help the situation get better.

"Oh and what's worse! I actually did trick him in the end, hiding the fact that he and I did the deed, completely hiding the fact he had a daughter with me because.. What?! I wanted to surprise him?! Surprise him with what? Child support?! What was I thinking? Would he be happy?! 'Oh look Shadow-kun, we have a daughter now that you have barely no RECOLLECTION OF! '" Puppeteering and changing her tone into a mocking one while she spoke, she emphasized more than she should have.

"IF that wasn't enough, I accidentally used Charm on him! Maybe even marked him as well!"

Mary frowned even further because of that, Vampiric Charm is something a vampire can use to hypnotize a human and make them either an obedient slave or have them forcefully admire and love the vampire unconditionally. Mark as the name implies, is when a vampire leaves a bite mark on someone that will persist no matter how it is tried to be removed, it usually allows the vampires to know the location or sense the one they marked through the bite mark.

If Sir Shadow was a simple man, he would have turned into a mindless man who could only think of Lady Elizabeth, the mark would have turned him into a vampire later on.

However knowing his strength, all the vampiric charm and the bite mark would do to him is simply be an annoyance to him, either his heart skipping a beat when thinking of Lady Elizabeth followed by a little tinge of excitement and an uncomfortably itchy spot of where he was bitten.

It was the first time Mary heard of this, Lady Elizabeth never mentioned this before in her stories.. If what she said was true then that complicated things more. Forceful manipulation of someone's love to adore you unconditionally is.. Not true love, or any relationship in particular, that's just slavery.. Even if it didn't work on Sir Shadow it was still way too low.

Goddess, this made everything even worse.

"Now here I am.. I almost declined her on instinct Mary! I keep saying to myself that I'm doing this because I want her to have a normal life.. BUT NO! That doesn't even matter because her father is quite literally the strongest entity in this world who was able to illuminate the entire solar system all those years ago.. But " She stopped for a moment.. Her tears starting to fall down, she was now resting both of her hands on Mary's shoulder, the woman could only watch in pain as her Lady broke down.

"But in actuality.. I'm just a selfish bitch who kept her own daughter away from her father because I wanted something to keep, something I didn't want to lose after what happened to The Haven, after what I did. And yet.. There was literally no need to worry about things! I'm the strongest vampire and he's the strongest man! Not only did I rob him of the right of being present to most of Remilya's early childhood, I'm also CONTEMPLATING delaying their meeting!" Her voice came back on full volume as she bent out her anger at herself.

"Isn't that great?! Aren't I a wonderful woman because of that?! No! I'm a lying selfish coward of a bitch, that's what I am.." She slowly became quiet, her tears now falling down without stopping. She pulled her legs to herself and hugged them.

"I'm scared Mary.. Scared that he'll hate me, scared that Remilya will hate me.. Scared that they will take her away from me.. I seriously love them both-" Whatever she was going to say died in her throat when both vampires heard something behind them.

They turned around and immediately grew horrified.

Remilya was standing there, with three small wrapped gifts in her hands. Her eyes wide as plates, tears threatening to fall.

Her complexion switched from either trying to cry or being angry.

Mary swallowed heavily, Elizabeth grew pale,

When had she been standing there?

How much did she hear?

Was the thought that the vampires shared.

Elizabeth hyperventilated, she.. One of her fears was starting to become real.

How, how did Remilya get behind them without her noticing?

Then she remembered her daughter's unique ability to completely hide her presence.. Her heart sunk further

There's no way right? There's.. There's no way right..?

By the goddess Beatrix, please tell her Remilya didn't hear anything!

Elizabeth immediately wiped away her tears and weakly called out to her daughter "R-Remilya.. L-Listen to Mama.. Nothing I said was real!"

Mary also joined in trying to calm the situation down. "S-She's right young mistress, n-none of that was real."

Remilya's wide eyes of tearful and betrayed expression darted between the two of them.

She sniffed, her foot shifting slightly angled towards the opposite direction.

Elizabeth knew what was coming, goddess she wished she didn't.

"No.. No no no.." She silently begged her daughter not to run away, to not hate her. She slowly reached a hand out, trying to keep her away from running.

Remilya dropped the gift boxes, putting an arm on her eyes to wipe tears. Before disappearing in a burst of speed in her Mist Form that surpassed Mary in speed, something that shouldn't even be possible for someone her age.

"Remilya!" Mary cried out in worry.

While Elizabeth grew even more horrified.

"REMILYA! Please come back!" She tried to pursue her daughter, but almost immediately stopped when she lost track of her daughter's signature.

Elizabeth dropped to her knees, before crying out in full force. Mary could only grit her teeth in regret for not being able to stop this, everything had been going so well then this happened.

She hoped that it wouldn't get any worse than this.. They even forgot to give her the gift they wanted to give her..

...

Unknown to them, the box left by the man was a small camera connected to a certain lab where a man with plans maliciously smiled.

An opportunity just showed itself for him..

It was time for things to be set in motion.

Omake 1 : Chuunibyou in the makings (Canon)

Timeline : After Remilya asked Elizabeth if she was allowed to play with Rando

A four year old Remilya frowned greatly, examining the contents of the book she was reading VERY thoroughly.

"You've been looking at the same page for half an hour now, Remilya-tan." Rando said from beside her, the two were currently at the Omadelcnte Household's Garden, both of which were chilling under a tree with sweets next to them.

The half-vampire had been looking at the same page of a book she'd been reading for half an hour now, prompting her friend to call out to her attention, both out of worry and curiosity.

"No, it's just.. There's something about this particular line, it feels like it's awakening something inside me.." Remilya gripped her chin, looking very thoughtful.

Rando tilted his head, what did she mean by that? Getting closer to the girl and taking a peek at the book she was reading, he found out it was the hit novel "Kage no Jitsuyorku" made by the very talented Natsume Kafka, an author he himself is a fan of.

Upon a closer observation, he noticed that the girl was revising a line over and over.

Rando pulled back away and gave Remilya a deadpan look. "Remilya, pardon my words but what in the goddess' name are you even doing? You've been circling your thoughts around a single line-" He didn't get to finish his sentence when Remilya slapped a finger on his mouth, silencing him of his right to speak.

"Shh.. I think i'm.. Finally getting it." She placed down the book and stood up on the chair.

Rando pulled away and watched his friend with an unimpressed look, however he would be lying if he said he wasn't curious at what Remilya was doing.

Resting a hand against her mouth and clearing her throat, Remilya took a deep breath.

Before she stretched an arm out and opened her palm.

"I am Shadow, he who lurks in the shadows! To hunt the shadows!" She suddenly screamed out, startling the boy.

The boy looked around and hoped that no one heard Remilya being noisy in the garden, he didn't want to get scolded because of his friend.

He shot a glance at Remilya who.. Looked unbelievably satisfied and peaceful.

"What were you even trying to achieve??" He asked incredulously

Remilya, however, did not answer him. She stood still in a trance, looking as if she'd suddenly become an Honored one, enlightenment achieved with words.

"I.. Don't know why but, I feel like a part of me just got completed."

"You're weird sometimes, Remilya." Rando sighed.

 ++--------------------++

Omake 2 : How to be the best Housewife and Mother of all time 101 (Canon)

Timeline : The Timeskip between 4 years old to 6 years old Remilya.

Elizabeth swallowed nervously, in her life as the Blood Queen, she was always in a constant threat against other Progenitor Vampires and alike who wished to either kill or control her. One of which was Crimson, her former subordinate who snuck human blood in her food causing her to go on a rampage dozens of centuries ago.

She was strong, she knew that very well, and was afraid of her strength. Thus allowing her to face threats with ease and free of fear.

That did not apply to this situation, she wanted to get out of here as soon as she could, she'd never been so afraid of such a terrifying ritual she had never seen before in her life.

Mother's meetups.

Or in other words, a gathering of mothers across different neighbors to discuss and share tips to one another in their daily lives.

You'd be asking 'Why be afraid? It's literally just a meeting between mothers, nothing too dangerous.'

But that's where you're wrong! These terrifying women have such a way with words that it causes Elizabeth to go crazy.

To make things worse, she's unable to relate to most of their discussions!

"Whenever I try to get his attention, he'd usually walk by and ignore me.. Have I been doing something wrong?" One of her fellow mother's asked.

"Men can be oblivious to our advances, that's why you must be FORWARD." Lelaine advised.

Several of the mothers also agreed with her opinion, whispers and gossips circling around the small house they were in.

Elizabeth's crimson eyes darted around, feeling out of place. Everything was mostly deafened for her as she tried to shrink, figuratively, away from the other's attention.

"How about you Mrs. Vlodquinn, has there been any progress on your side?" One of her new friends, Adila, asked.

"Eep." Elizabeth most certainly did not say that.

"You're shaking, Eliz, don't be so nervous, we've literally been doing this for months now." Lelaine rested a hand on her shoulder, giving her a comforting smile.

"M-My apologies.. I'm.. Still trying to learn what it means to be a wife and a Mother still, even cooking is such an arduous task for me.." Elizabeth shyly admitted.

Fortunately for her, the other mothers simply found her embarrassment adorable, considering she was by far the youngest looking member of their group.

"That's no good, Eliza-chan!"

"You'll get there eventually, Eliza-chan."

Most of them encouraged her, it was these kinds of attitudes that made Elizabeth appreciate them more, since they were really supporting and kind.

Although, It became a little more embarrassing when she's literally older than all of them, yet here she was being looked upon as the youngest member of their group.

Such embarrassment!

Lelaine hummed from the side, before she suddenly had an idea and grabbed something from her bag, she took out a small booklet and handed it over to Elizabeth who was looking down at the floor in an attempt to hide her embarrassed red face.

"Here, this should help you." Elizabeth looked away from the floor and placed her gaze on the small booklet with the title "How to be the best Housewife and Mother of all time 101"

"This is..?"

"It's a guide that should help you, so even if our advice isn't enough you have something to follow." Lelaine smiled.

"Lelaine-san.." Elizabeth looked at her as if she was an angel.

Somewhere near the door was Mary, guarding the door so that her Lady wouldn't attempt to run away. Needless to say of the amusing sight of an Embarrassed Elizabeth, she also enjoyed it when her Lady made deeper connections with others than just her and Sir Shadow.

Still.. Why does she feel like she needs to stop her Lady from getting her hands on that booklet at all cost?

Hmph, no matter.

It's probably nothing.

It wasn't nothing, as it turned out to be a pain in the ass for her as Elizabeth would later find a section of the booklet where it had a guide to seduce your husband, thus increasing the goddess damned amount of lingerie and suggestive clothing in their closet.