Chapter 24: Secret Letter

As the sun rose and the moon set, the bustling palace gradually quieted.

The maids, busy during the day, left their posts one by one at night to rest.

Larvia, already in her nightwear, lay on her large bed, humming a tune while swinging her bare legs in the air, clearly in a great mood.

Knock, knock, knock.

Hearing the knock, Larvia hopped off the bed.

“Oh my~ Let’s see which lonely little maid is visiting her queen in the middle of the night~?”

Creak—

“Your Majesty, an urgent letter from Tarrilberg has arrived. They request your prompt reply.”

Sheffield’s face was icy, showing no reaction to Larvia’s teasing words, as if she hadn’t heard them at all.

Her tone remained cool and professional, relaying the situation without a hint of personal emotion.

“…”

The moment Larvia recognized Sheffield, her smile froze.

“Your Majesty?”

SLAM!

With a loud bang, Larvia slammed the door shut, the gust ruffling Sheffield’s neat short hair.

“…”

Sheffield said nothing, but a rare faint smile curved her lips.

Ten seconds later, when she saw Larvia again, the queen had changed into her usual black gothic dress.

Sheffield, too, returned to her usual stoic expression.

Ahem.

Larvia cleared her throat, covering her earlier embarrassment.

“Sheffield, what’s so urgent that you’re here this late?”

Having blanked out earlier, she hadn’t caught a word Sheffield said.

Without a trace of impatience, Sheffield repeated her words verbatim.

“Understood.” Larvia took the envelope from Sheffield’s hand. “Go rest. Unless it’s urgent, don’t come back tonight.”

“As you command, Your Majesty.”

Sheffield bowed slightly and left.

Larvia quickly shut the door, tossing the envelope onto her desk.

“Phew…”

Thinking of her earlier behavior, a rare blush crept onto her cheeks.

She’d checked yesterday—Chloe hadn’t taken the garlic juice. So, whether Chloe got her hair or not, she’d have to come back tonight.

Sheffield rarely disturbed her during rest hours, and knowing Chloe would likely visit, Larvia had let her guard down.

That said, Sheffield’s report was important.

She sat at her desk, picking up the envelope.

“Tarrilberg…”

Seeing the sender’s address, Larvia frowned.

Tarrilberg was a border city at the edge of the human empire and vampire realm.

Years ago, when Larvia ambushed Chloe, it was in the wilderness near Tarrilberg, on the human side.

What happened there?

As she moved to open the envelope, another knock came.

Knock, knock, knock.

“What now? I said don’t bother me unless it’s urgent!”

Larvia set the envelope down, walked to the door, and opened it.

Outside, Chloe stood with hunched shoulders, looking timidly at Larvia.

“…”

“…”

“I’ll leave?”

“No need.”

Larvia pursed her lips.

‘Not here when you should be, but showing up when you shouldn’t.’

“I’m busy right now, no time to deal with you. Wait a bit.”

She turned back to her desk.

Chloe entered, closing the door behind her.

Watching Larvia focus on her documents, Chloe felt an inexplicable irritation.

She climbed onto the bed, slipped under the covers, and peeked out, staring at Larvia’s back.

After a long while, Larvia still hadn’t moved from her desk.

“…What are you doing?” Chloe couldn’t help asking.

“Reading a letter.”

“You don’t read it during the day and wait till midnight? Got a procrastination problem?”

“It was just delivered urgently. What can I do? Unlike you, I don’t get to clock out and be done. Emergencies don’t wait for business hours,” Larvia replied calmly.

Chloe thought back—she had been mistaken for Sheffield at first.

Larvia probably wasn’t lying.

‘Huh, Larvia being serious is rare.’

‘If she dropped that carefree attitude, she’s actually… kinda nice to look at.’

‘But ignoring me like this? Bad review…’

‘Wait!’

‘Why am I annoyed?’

Chloe suddenly realized something was off.

After wracking her brain, she concluded it was because Larvia wasn’t sleeping, leaving her no chance to steal the garlic juice or hair.

She lowered her head, searching Larvia’s bed for hair.

Her efforts paid off. Within minutes, she found several strands of white hair—enough for the transformation potion.

But the garlic juice was a no-go. Larvia was still at her desk, and Chloe couldn’t open the drawer.

Bored, she rolled around on the bed.

“Larvia—when are you done already—?”

“Soon.”

The pen scratched across paper.

“Hurry up—!”

“Why so impatient today?” Larvia’s tone turned playful. “What’re you here for? It’s not even raining.”

“I…”

Chloe faltered.

“Today in class, Silia smelled your scent on me, and… uh, I told her I ran out of bath soap and borrowed yours these past few days.”

“So, I had to come here to pick up your scent again. Yup, that’s it.”

Chloe could barely keep a straight face.

Her spur-of-the-moment lie was riddled with holes, obvious to anyone who thought about it.

She just hoped Larvia was too focused on her letter to notice the flaws.

And that she wouldn’t compare notes with Silia…