Evelyn went back satisfied. Annan set off with Lemon and Klein.
Annan was beginning to realize how tiresome the Southlands' rain could be... It wasn't even the Rainy Season, nor were they in the southern reaches of the Southern Kingdoms, yet the sky was almost never clear.
They traveled by day and night, dealing with bandits along the way, and drew ever closer to the Blood Council.
The Stuart Family's former territory lay on the outskirts of the Blood Council. That alone showed how much higher their standing was than the Morel Family's.
There was a downside, too. As they neared the Blood Council, they encountered more and more vampires. Villages and towns populated by vampires began to appear. It went without saying that the area around the Stuart Family's former territory was full of watchers...
After traveling a little farther, they reached the Blood Council just before dawn.
An endless black Veil covered the land, turning the approaching dawn back into the depths of night.
The moon had taken the sun's place, hanging high in the sky and shedding silver light.
Annan stopped and looked at the line where dawn had been forcibly cut off from night.
"Our progenitor maintains the eternal night that covers the Blood Council," the Crimson Princess said proudly.
Count Pedro turned into a bat and flew ahead to scout.
"How do we get in?" the Crimson Princess asked Annan. "Will you keep pretending to be Oroda?"
"I don't think that identity will be of any use in the Blood Council."
He was still studying the Veil. Dawn was breaking outside it, while inside, night remained, with stars visible overhead.
Count Pedro returned and said there was a small city ahead.
"That's Lace City... I went there when I was little," the Crimson Princess said,