The Hunt

After being called out for using a false pretense, the leading werewolf didn't get angry. He even glanced at Adele, remarking, "You're quite observant," before turning to his companions and shrugging. "See? I told you that trick wouldn't work. These vampires aren't that gullible."

"That's on you. If you had remembered the name, it might have worked."

While they continued their casual conversation, one of the vampires lost patience. A fully grown vampire lunged forward with sharp claws, closing the distance in the blink of an eye, only for the werewolf to draw his sword and block the attack.

"Attacking in the middle of a conversation? That's not very gentlemanly. I thought you vampires prided yourselves on your noble etiquette."

"There's no etiquette to be had with the likes of you non-humans!"

"That's not necessarily true."

The werewolf signaled to the robed figure behind him, who slightly opened her robe to reveal a small child standing at her side—a young vampire, no more than six or seven years old. The child stood frozen in fear, unable to make a sound as the robed figure's hand gripped his neck. The child trembled, tears streaming down his face.

Seeing the boy's face, the noblewoman who had earlier cried out, "My child!" shrieked again, "My child!" She tried to rush forward but was stopped by her husband, as the robed figure tightened her grip, making the child's suffering even more apparent.

The robed figure appeared to be female, judging by her build and the black-painted nails. Though her body was entirely human-like, the overpowering scent of a snake emanated from her. Molly speculated that she and the other vampires could smell it too.

How did she manage to hide that snake scent while remaining undetected from daylight until now?

Leaving aside the robed figure's oddities, this group's tactics were despicable—using a child to threaten vampires. But it was an effective strategy. Vampires had extraordinarily long lifespans; for example, Molly had learned that Adele's parents were over six hundred years old. Yet, despite their longevity, having children was exceedingly difficult.

Just look at Adele's family. They had been around for centuries and had only two children. Although the two were born relatively close in age, there had been no offspring for many years before that. Given the nature of vampires, it was likely they wouldn't have any more.

Lower-tier vampires were more fertile, but their offspring were only low-level vampires, whom the nobility barely considered their kin.

However, precisely because vampire children were so rare, all noble vampires were protective of them. Not only were they seen as the future of their families, but also as the budding future of all vampires. These ancient beings, who had lived for so long, couldn't bear to see a young life wither before them.

Even the adult vampire who had charged at the werewolf clenched his teeth but reluctantly stepped back.

"Hmph, you vampires sure are protective of your young ones, even if they aren't your own," the werewolf sneered, glancing around and spotting two more children in the room. They had no intention of dragging the children from their parents' arms just yet—that would provoke a mass backlash.

While they weren't necessarily afraid of these vampires, the discovery of the child had been a lucky break. If they hadn't found him, they would have simply fought the vampires head-on. They had a mission to complete, and doing so without bloodshed was preferable.

However, they couldn't reveal their true objective too soon. They needed to gradually escalate the situation, so the vampires wouldn't realize their target until it was too late.

The werewolf scanned the room again. He couldn't harm the children without inciting a revolt, but he could still make an example. That's when he noticed someone else—Molly.

Amid the vampires, she stood out like a grain of white rice in a sea of ink, impossible to miss.

"Well, well, what do we have here? A human? Step forward and let me take a look."

Adele, shielding Molly, stepped back, signaling Molly to retreat. But the werewolf played dirty, signaling the robed figure behind him. She tightened her grip on the vampire child's neck, causing him to cry out in pain.

Seeing this, Adele's heart clenched. On one hand, she had been taught from a young age that she must protect other vampire children, just as many had protected her when she was a child. On the other hand, the child represented the weak, and Adele saw herself as a protector of the weak.

But… Molly was also weak. How could she let Molly be in danger?

Molly gently patted Adele's shoulder. "It's okay." She stepped out from behind Adele and walked forward. Adele, unwilling to let her go, instinctively followed, but the werewolf raised his sword toward her. "You, stay where you are."

Adele's face was youthful, but vampires' appearances often didn't match their actual age. As long as they didn't look like children, they were considered adults by non-humans. So, the werewolf remained cautious, stopping Adele in her tracks.

Adele gritted her teeth, nearly biting down in frustration, but had no choice but to stay put.

Molly stood between the vampires and non-humans, the only human in this space, caught in the middle.

The werewolf stepped closer, examining Molly with curiosity. "A human among vampires? How did that happen?"

"As you can see, I'm a human and a maid to the young lady. That's how I'm here." Normally, even a maid wouldn't be allowed into a vampire's dining hall, but Adele was both willful and had the means to back it up. The restaurant manager was no match for her.

This explanation didn't seem quite right to the non-humans. They weren't sure if Molly was telling the truth, but it sounded plausible enough. While they didn't know much about vampire customs, they did know one thing: high-ranking vampires would usually employ lower-level vampire maids, not human ones.

The werewolf sneered, glancing at Adele. This one looked the part but was clearly from a declining noble family, not the target they were after.

He continued, "I hear life under the vampires is pretty rough, what with them drinking your blood and all."

"It's not too bad." Molly spoke the truth. Her life was actually quite comfortable. Although Adele often begged to drink her blood, she had never succeeded. Plus, Molly's treatment was excellent—she was even allowed to dine in the restaurant. No one could say she was treated poorly.

The werewolf clicked his tongue, then extended an offer. "How about working for us? If you're a maid, you must be good at cooking, right? Our team's great, but we're missing a chef. Don't worry, all you'll need to do is cook. We won't ask you to sacrifice anything else."

As a professional maid, Molly could handle most tasks, but cooking wasn't one of her strong suits. In her past life, she relied heavily on takeout and instant meals, with her only cooking skill being tomato and egg stir-fry.

Besides, these non-humans were poorly dressed, clearly not well-off. Why would she abandon Adele to join them? Molly wasn't crazy.

So she shook her head. "No, thanks. My employer treats me well."

The werewolf's smile faded. "You'd rather have your blood sucked than cook for us?"

"Not really," Adele hadn't sucked her blood, but the werewolf misunderstood, thinking Molly was reconsidering. Then Molly added, "But you guys look pretty poor. I'm better off sticking with my employer."

Instead of being offended, the werewolf found her amusing. She was direct, saying exactly what was on her mind. He even laughed, "Interesting, really interesting! You're right—we're a poor lot. That's why we're here."

He shifted his focus away from Molly, looking at the other vampires. "I've got a proposition. We need some money. I know you probably didn't bring much, so we're going to kidnap you and ransom you to your families."

Molly had guessed as much—it was all about money. The vampires controlled over seventy percent of the world's wealth and resources. Even when some vampires secretly traded with non-humans, the currency was still vampire money.

The non-humans weren't particularly clever, unable to escape the economic trap the vampires had laid. They could only resort to the most primitive method of obtaining money—hunting. They targeted the airship for a good old-fashioned robbery.

But Molly suspected there was more to it. She caught the scent of something foul, like a sewer. These well-equipped, well-coordinated non-humans wouldn't risk it all for a small sum. They probably didn't even know who was on the airship or if they could get any money out of them.

And these well-armed non-humans wouldn't live in a sewer just to avoid detection. Only hunters with a specific target would go to such lengths, and Molly had a hunch about who their target was.

The vampires on the airship probably included their prey.

Molly concluded that their target might be Adele. As a member of the Thirteen Clans, the bounty on the Black family's heads was so high that even Molly occasionally felt tempted. If these hunters had gone to such lengths to infiltrate the airship, it wasn't just for some small fry. Only a big target like a member of the Thirteen Clans would justify such an effort.

The werewolf extended his hand toward the vampires. "Now, why don't you start by telling me about your families?"

Non-humans: The bounty on members of the Thirteen Clans is sky-high!

Molly: Is that so?