Volume 4 Chapter 47

Volume 4 + Chapter 47: This Is Way Too Concerned

The newly crowned Vampire Queen, Miu Miu Borgia, had ascended the throne, and the other races all offered their congratulations.

Of course, the truth was that most races had not come to this coronation out of genuine goodwill, for the majority, their motives were anything but pure.

During the ceremony, the Vampire Queen’s so-called “joke” about a political marriage with the Dragon Kingdom had already left many high-ranking races quite displeased.

Next was the banquet hosted by the Vampires.

Before the banquet officially began, there was still a stretch of free time. During this period, the invited guests were free to accept the Vampire’s hospitality or take the chance to socialize.

As everyone gradually exited the palace where the coronation had been held, Xia Yi caught the Vampire Queen’s lip-reading cue—

Rose Garden?

Realizing what was said, Xia Yi paused slightly.

The Rose Garden was essentially Miu Miu’s personal chambers back when she was still a Vampire Princess. Previously, when Xia Yi had followed Xia Lulu to the Crimson Empire’s palace, she had stumbled into the Rose Garden during her little “adventure”… and that was where she first met Miu Miu.

What is she implying?

Xia Yi pondered.

Could it be that Miu Miu wanted to meet her privately and was subtly inviting her to the Rose Garden?

That seemed to be the most reasonable explanation.

After all, the foreign dignitaries certainly didn’t know the significance of the Rose Garden. This must have been a signal telling Xia Yi to slip over quietly without drawing attention.

Given their current statuses, meeting openly would only stir unnecessary gossip.

Ever since arriving at the Vampire palace, Xia Yi had felt that something about Miu Miu was… off. There were many things about her that didn’t match the Miu Miu she knew.

So if there was a chance to see her privately, Xia Yi didn’t think it was a bad idea.

Having made up her mind, Xia Yi followed the crowd out of the palace.

“My… rival… she…”

Princess Yue Liu of the Nine-Tailed Fox Tribe followed behind the Fox Emperor, looking absent-mindedly toward Xia Yi’s direction.

She suddenly felt the urge to go over and question her destined rival about something.

Ever since that shameless bat had uttered such outrageous nonsense, her head had been filled entirely with thoughts of that stupid “marriage” talk.

She had even—somehow—imagined that kind of scenario.

Xia Yi wearing an elegant wedding dress, stepping onto a bridal carriage, receiving everyone’s blessings as she rode off in a lavish procession to be wed…

No. No! Absolutely not!

If something like that truly happened, Yue Liu felt she would personally unsheathe her blade, destroy the wheels of that wedding carriage, drag her rival out—bridal dress and all—and abduct her on the spot!

Her destined battle with her rival had not even begun. How could it be disrupted by something so ridiculous?

But if she walked over to talk with the Dragon Princess right now, would her father misunderstand…?

“Yue Liu, you want to speak with the Silver Dragon Princess, don’t you?” the Fox Emperor suddenly said.

Yue Liu jumped.

“F-Father, I-I… I was just…”

“As I thought, daughter—do you think I don’t understand you?” The Fox Emperor smiled. “You must want to investigate the Dragon Kingdom’s stance, to see what they think of the Vampires, right? After all, this concerns the future of our Fox Clan. It’s only natural you’d care.”

“…Ah? O-Oh! Yes, yes!” Yue Liu nodded frantically.

“Go, then. But this time, don’t start drawing your sword at the Silver Dragon Princess. After you gather information, come back and tell me.”

“Yes, Father!”

The little fox nodded quickly and dashed away.

The Fox Emperor watched her with immense satisfaction. With a daughter so perceptive, the future rise of the Fox Clan—and the downfall of the Dragons—would surely be within reach.

“Where are Serra and Atiya…?”

As Xia Yi muttered, she sensed someone approaching.

Looking up, she saw—it was the little fox.

“Um… ahem…!”

The little fox leaned in on her own initiative, her expression flickering between wanting to speak and being too embarrassed to do so, utterly bewildering.

“What’s wrong, Fox Radish?” Xia Yi asked.

“N-Nothing!! I-I don’t care about it! I’m not concerned about that kind of thing at all!”

The little fox tried very hard to emphasize and defend her stance.

Xia Yi was dizzy—what exactly was she supposedly caring or not caring about?

“What are you talking about? I really don’t understand what you mean anymore.”

“I’m saying… um… about…”

The little fox looked terribly tense, her heart practically lodged in her throat. Finally, in a tiny whisper, she muttered—

“…The marriage…”

“…Hm? Marriage?”

Xia Yi tilted her head.

“You mean… what Miu Miu said earlier?”

“Yes! Yes! What… what is your stance on it?”

The little fox immediately pressed, her cheeks slightly flushed, her pink ears drooping as she stole glances at Xia Yi’s expression.

She was very clearly trying to decipher Xia Yi’s feelings from her reaction.

“Fox Radish, I didn’t know you cared about me so much.”

“No!! I don’t care about those things at all…! You and I are just… destined rivals!!” the little fox insisted. “Our fated battle hasn’t even been concluded yet! How can you be influenced by such irrelevant matters? I only came to confirm whether your heart has wavered!”

“Wavered?”

“That is—will you get married?!”

Married?

Xia Yi froze.

She had never even thought about such things. She had never even considered romance—much less marriage.

Uh…

This…

She couldn’t think of anything at all.

Perhaps because she had simply never given it any thought, her mind had no concept of it whatsoever.

“I don’t have any plans for that right now,” Xia Yi answered honestly.

All she wanted was to become the strongest in swordsmanship, defeat her eternal nemesis Xia Lulu, and wash away her humiliation.

Women, romance—those things only got in the way.

“That’s wonderful!!”

The little fox’s face bloomed with pure joy, as if flowers were blossoming in her heart. Her pair of fox ears instantly perked up.

Xia Yi didn’t understand—was there really a need to be that happy?

She seemed to care about it even more than Xia Yi herself.

“As expected, it was just that stupid bat’s wishful thinking! Now there’s no problem at all!” the little fox declared triumphantly. “The fate between me and my rival is unbreakable!”

“…?”

Xia Yi found herself understanding the fox radish less and less.

…

…

“So this should be the place?”

Following the route in her memory, Xia Yi arrived at Miu Miu’s Rose Garden.

Curiously, she received no obstruction on her way through the Vampire palace. Instead, the palace attendants even helped guide her.

The Rose Garden looked much as she remembered—intricate and winding, like an elaborate maze.

As soon as she stepped inside, the flower bushes parted on their own, revealing a path leading deeper in.

“Miu Miu must be inviting me in.”

Xia Yi followed the narrow passage.

After passing through it, her field of vision opened wide—the heart of the garden lay before her, wreathed entirely by roses.

And there she saw the silver-haired Vampire girl.

“Miu Miu, you—”

Xia Yi had intended to greet her.

But the moment she saw what Miu Miu was doing, her words stopped mid-air, and she fell into stunned silence.