Chapter 142. Caught Red-handed!
Amidst my constant stare over my reflection, two knocks suddenly came from the door, surprising me greatly as I looked towards the door with shivers… how do I turn back to human form?
‘Err… system, help me?’ I tried calling the system but there was no reply.
“My lady, are you awake?” Tanya’s voice echoed as I immediately jumped onto my bed, hiding in the blanket while I search for a way to return back to human.
It was troublesome since vampires are actually not really liked by humans a lot, they aren’t really enemies but ever since that one battle against vampires in the historic times, people seem to discriminate against vampires.
‘How do I change back…’ I mumbled while desperately trying to think of a solution. There should be a way to transform back to a human—I just hope it is not by taking the blood of another human because that would definitely not be fun.
There must be a way… I wonder if I imagine myself turning back into a human, would that work? I mean, the entire concept of magic is based on one’s imagination—so theoretically, if I imagine myself turning into a human then would that work?
“My lady, I am coming…” Tanya said.
‘No time to waste…!’ I told myself inside before imagining myself becoming a human, closing my eyes desperately as a soft blinding light flashed towards my eyes. It work—ed… or so I thought until the blanket was opened where Tanya and I stared at each other eye-to-eye.
“My lady…?! Who are you?” she looked at me shocked as she backed off to the wall.
“Eerrr… I am still Ayumi,” I showed a bitter smile.
“Who are you to impersonate my lady?! My lady would never be a vampire!” she said before a fireball appeared on the tip of her finger which surprised me, “You who kidnapped my lady should vanish from the face of the Solia (earth)!”
Immediately, the fireball came blasting towards me who had no time to react—but instead of hitting me, the fireball somehow vanished upon coming into contact with me. It was as if it never existed in the first place… I was surprised until I remembered one of the skills of the Empress Vampire, [Anti Magic].
“Tanya, wait! Come here!” I said before all of a sudden, my body flew towards her with my two wings flapping in her direction. Her face paled upon seeing her magic becoming ineffective against me… to think I was caught in this form—this situation is bad.
Without hesitation, I closed the door and locked it before looking at Tanya in the eye as she backed off with fear, “Where is my lady?! Where did you kidnap her?!”
“Let me explain, Tanya!” I said before she looked at me with a frown, “How can I prove myself that I am your master?”
“Then what is my favorite flower?” she asked before adding, “Only my lady would know about my favorite flower, if you really are my lady then you should definitely know what it is!”
“Your favorite flower is Lotus,” I answered which surprised her.
“How about my favorite snack?” she asked.
“Cookie,” I answered without hesitation which shocked her as she touched my cheeks confused as she stood frozen for a few moments before asking.
“Are you really my lady…? How did you turn into a vampire?! Did a vampire come here and bite you…?!”
Her question and confusion were logical, imagine this, your best friend suddenly turns into a vampire who looks completely different from his or her original look. Naturally, they would be suspicious which is why I can understand—also that part where turning into a vampire when one bites you…
“Err… I just woke up like this, I did hear a voice in my dream which told me that I have acquired a secondary race which is called Empress Vampire but other than that… I know nothing,” I lied without flinching—well, it is kind of the truth though.
“Empress Vampire, what is that?” she asked before looking at me in the eye as I sat back on my bed exhausted, “Can you turn back into a human, or are you forever stuck like that?”
“I can turn back into a human, but I still don’t know how to turn back to my original form which is a bit annoying since Mother and Little Sis is coming here today…” I showed a bitter smile before she nodded several times.
I really wish the system could help me at this time, especially [The Library] which should be the collection of knowledge but somehow, it doesn’t want to respond which makes everything even more complicated as I laid my back on the bed.
“I have to say though, this form is a lot powerful and comfortable to be on—I think I could use this when going incognito or adventuring in secret,” I giggled before she pouted.
“My lady, you aren’t allowed to go adventuring,” she said before adding, “Sorry for being impolite but it does spook me out when you are in that form, my lady… it is adorable but the mana fluctuating around you is a little too terrifying…”
“Well, that’s enough about me. I’ll find a way to return back to my original form, in the meantime, please gather all the data of the town within the past month and also pass me all the legislations that need reviewing… I want to work on them within these few days before we head off to that village,” I instructed before she stood up.
“As you wish, my lady,” she said before leaving as she locked the door. Haa—it would have been better if Tanya never saw me in this form but now that she knows, I can only hope that she keeps a secret from others since I definitely don’t want to be known as a vampire… well, yet.
‘Now, the main issue… how to turn back into a human’ I mumbled inside before all of a sudden, a window appeared which irritated me.
[The Library] The system has finished updating, here are the results of your previous queries: [How to transform back to a human]
Answer: To transform back into a human, the only thing you need to do is to imagine your human form and wish to return to that form. |
“Are you kidding me…? That was literally what I did last time!” I said while punching the window.
[The Library] False! You imagined yourself turning back into a human but not imagining your original human form and also not wishing to return to that form. |
I felt a little irritated seeing the window answer back but endured myself as I followed its words and imagined my original human form which was that of Ayumi Windsor’s before saying inside, ‘I want to turn into a human again.’
And lo and behold, a blinding light blinded my eyes, dissipating as I then walked towards the mirror with a little bit of heaviness before seeing my original form once more. Indeed, this form was a bit heavier and weaker to be on compared to the vampiric form, but it was more convenient since it was human.
“I should take a bath first…” I mumbled before taking a towel from my closet and walking towards the bathroom where the bath was already full and steaming hot—it would turn on by itself time-based and turn off once it detects it is full, pretty high technology.
After entering the bath, I soon undressed myself, washing myself a bit and all those stuff before jumping into the bath where I fell asleep for a few moments and the same routine. The entire bath part ended and I was now sitting on my bed, dressed in a simple white noble dress while waiting for Tanya.
“My lady, may I enter?” Tanya asked.
“A minute,” I said while walking towards the door as I unlocked it before opening it as Tanya could be seen covered in a pile of documents. I felt my inner self collapse upon seeing all the documents that I have to look through today, “That sure is a lot of documents… shouldn’t that be worth two weeks?”
“Aaah… you are back to normal now—and yes, it is worth two days my lady…” she answered which made my eyes widened as she placed the documents on my desk where I grabbed her shoulders.
“Is this for real… are you sure this is two days or two weeks’ worth?! How did the councils manage to come up with this many documents for me, are they all sadistic?!” I complained before realizing my manners, “Ehem… you heard nothing, right?”
“Uhh… Yes, I heard nothing!” Tanya said while whistling a bit.
“Anyway, do you mind bringing my breakfast here while I do all these documents? Tell the chefs, I want the usual meat and vegetables,” I said before she nodded as she bowed down and left while I sat down on the chair and started doing my work.
The work was a lot and even with three hours, I only managed to get through around eighty percent of what I needed to. Tanya and Raeliana did help a bit, they arranged the finished ones while Raeliana also gave me her opinions about stuff. The breakfast was also absolutely great as always, it would be worthy of having a Michelin star if it was in the modern world.
And another five hours soon passed by as the central bells started to ring as I laid my back on the chair, exhausted before the sound of someone running through the hallway entered my ears, turning towards the door, Lia and Faron could be seen rushing here with panic on their faces.
“My lady, the mistress has arrived!” Lia said before all of a sudden, a white ball suddenly came flying towards me. Instinctively, I stood up and caught the white ball who was none other than the enthusiastic Bella hugging me tightly.
“Elder sister!” she said.
“Bella, that was dangerous! Don’t ever do that again, it is not good for you as a lady!” I scolded before she looked away with a pout.
“Elder Sister really cares a lot about manners, it is annoying!” she complained which looked adorable, but I have to act like a responsible elder sister especially since I was no longer Ayumi Ai, the original Ayumi Windsor was someone who really cared about manners a lot, “Right! You look thinner now, elder sister! Do you not eat a lot here?”
“You do understand you are being rude, right? And to answer your question, yes… I do eat the minimum I have to eat—rather, how about you… do you eat your vegetables?” I pinched her cheeks before she started looking away, “How many times have I told you to eat your vegetables?”
“They taste bad!” she complained.
“It doesn’t taste bad, also, they are the hard work of our citizens which is why we shouldn’t waste them. Do you understand, Bella?” I looked at her straight in the eye before she poutingly nodded as a smile blossomed on my face as I turned towards Lia and Faron, “Where is Mother, is she in the living room?”
“Yes, my lady…” Lia answered as I nodded, stretching my arms a bit before standing up with Bella on my arms, she was still a bit pouty from being scolded but it was nature. Children will hate vegetables, it is normal indeed but I still want to act my part and slowly get her used to it.
After standing up, I looked at Tanya and the others with a nod before saying, “Let’s head to the living room then; Tanya and Raeliana, can you please tell the chefs to make a meal using a little bit of wasabi and of course, a meal that doesn’t have it since the spiciness may be a little bit too much for children.”
“As for Lia and Faron, please guide us to where Mother is,” I said before all of them bowed down.
“Yes, my lady!” all of them answered before all of us left the room.