Chapter 36: Leadership Qualities
Oh no, I went too far.
Jasmine couldn’t help but think to herself. Her top priority now was to escape quickly and return to her empty shell, hiding inside the clothes before Adele noticed anything amiss. After all, she really needed this job. The pay was really good!
Jasmine’s eyes darted around, and finally, she could only think of a not-so-great plan. She sent a few threads down, burrowing into the cracks of the floor. Looking at Adele, she delivered the line she had prepared, “You’re a truly interesting vampire. We shall meet again.”
After saying this, she stomped her foot hard. The floor, already weakened by the threads, instantly cracked. The next moment, the dining hall floor caved in. At the same time, Jasmine used her threads to kick up a massive cloud of dust. Even with her enhanced vision, Jasmine could barely see anything in the dust cloud, and she was certain that the vampires were in the same situation.
With enough dust, she had enough time to slip away unnoticed. Jasmine moved swiftly, returning to her empty shell in a flash and slipping into the clothes. However, the tie at the back was a bit tight, and untying and retying it took a bit of time.
Just as she had successfully transformed back into Maid Jasmine, she sensed Adele’s presence. After the dining hall floor collapsed, Adele had started searching for her. Holding the crying and screaming vampire child in one arm, she found Jasmine and wrapped her other arm around Jasmine’s waist.
Adele’s crimson eyes, even in the thick dust cloud, still emitted a faint red glow. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at Jasmine, and only when she saw Jasmine open her black eyes and look back at her did she breathe a sigh of relief.
Jasmine felt the arm around her waist tighten slightly, and Adele said close to her ear, “Be careful. For some reason, the floor has cracked, and we’re about to fall…” She spoke quickly, but even the fastest speech couldn’t keep up with the speed of freefall. Besides, Jasmine had only broken through one layer of the floor. Before she could finish her sentence, they had already landed on the floor below.
To protect Jasmine, Adele landed on one knee, letting Jasmine sit on her thigh. The vampire child she was carrying was slightly scratched in the process and was now crying loudly. Adele didn’t seem to care much about the child’s injuries. Instead, she asked Jasmine with concern if she was alright.
“I’m fine. With Miss protecting me, I’m perfectly fine.”
Adele sighed, “That’s good.”
She helped Jasmine up and reminded her to be careful of the debris on the floor. As for the vampire child, she had already placed him on the ground. Adele genuinely wasn’t worried about him. Even though he was just a fragile child, he was also a vampire noble. The innate ability of super-fast healing wasn’t just for show. Even if he was injured, he would recover quickly. If all else failed, he could go home and ask his parents for some blood. In any case, he wouldn’t be in any danger right now.
But Jasmine was different. She was a very fragile human. Even a small cut from a paper knife took several days and three visits to the doctor to heal. If she was accidentally injured, how much pain and discomfort would she suffer?
So, in comparison, Adele felt that protecting Jasmine was more important.
The massive dust cloud not only obstructed vision, but also irritated the respiratory tract, causing coughing fits. Jasmine realized that she should pretend to be affected as well, so she coughed a few times. Adele stood beside her, gently patting her back, her red eyes still scanning their surroundings cautiously.
Jasmine knew what she was looking for: the minotaurs and the still-alive White Werewolf. The initial werewolf was probably dead. The remaining one was the White Werewolf whose knee she had shattered, but who was still clinging to life. Jasmine had intentionally spared him.
Vampires were very skilled at using mental magic, which was particularly useful for interrogation. This survivor would definitely be taken away by the vampires for questioning. The airship was currently within the Blake family’s territory, so the final task would fall to the Blake patriarch. The information extracted from the interrogation would be presented on his desk.
Taking advantage of her position as a Blake family maid, Jasmine could easily obtain this information.
There was no way Jasmine would miss such a good opportunity to get information without having to do anything herself.
The moment Adele’s gaze landed on the White Werewolf, her eyes sharpened. Jasmine thought the way her pupils constricted looked a bit like a cat’s when it was startled, somewhat cute. Adele quickly called for the restaurant manager, who had been silent since being kicked by the otherworldly being, as if he didn’t even exist. Now, as soon as Adele called him, he immediately appeared, asking for her instructions.
His behavior amazed Jasmine. She thought to herself that even if this manager were an ordinary person in the modern world, he would still do well. With his ability to read the room, disappear when trouble arose, and respond actively afterward, who else deserved a promotion if not him?
She just wondered if this incident would affect his job, considering the state of the dining hall.
While Jasmine was lost in her thoughts, Adele had already put her hands on her hips and started issuing orders, “First, detain that surviving werewolf. Then, reassure the other vampires and tell them to return to their rooms. After we reach the port, I will report the details to my father and arrange for everyone to stay on the ground.”
“But… but there are still minotaurs…”
Of course, the manager had to obey Adele’s orders. In the current situation, Adele’s commands took precedence even over the captain’s. However, minotaurs weren’t something a vampire like him could easily handle. Hearing Adele’s words, he immediately stammered hesitantly, wringing his hands.
His demeanor reminded Jasmine of the spineless people from her previous life, making her frown. She truly disliked people like him.
In contrast, Adele’s actions made Jasmine’s frown relax. Adele looked at the restaurant manager and first reprimanded him, “Manager, you need to understand that it is your responsibility as a restaurant staff member to protect the guests. But when those otherworldly beings were wreaking havoc earlier, not only did you not step forward, you even hid among the crowd and remained silent. If you don’t want to be held accountable by the Council of Elders, the best thing you can do now is to redeem yourself.”
After saying this, Adele turned to Jasmine and told her to stay put and wait for her. Then, she jumped from the relatively intact floor onto a large piece of rubble. Her movements were graceful, like a butterfly flitting among flowers, each action pleasing to the eye.
Of course, as she moved, she didn’t forget to pick up the vampire child from the ground. Standing on the rubble, she looked down at all the vampires, took a deep breath, and addressed them, “Those who can still move, stand up and eliminate the remaining otherworldly beings. Otherwise, they will continue to harm others. If I’m not mistaken, there are more of them below the dining hall. We are currently high in the air. If we don’t deal with them quickly, they might decide to take us down with them, and none of us will survive.”
“If you don’t want to be buried with them, pick up your weapons and follow me to eliminate them.”
The vampire child in Adele’s arms was still sobbing. His mother struggled free from her husband’s embrace and took a few steps towards Adele, “My child…” Adele stretched out her hand and tossed the child towards the woman. The woman was startled, then she quickly stretched out her arms and hugged her child tightly.
Adele’s words were inspiring, but now that they were safe, they had other thoughts: They could wait for rescue, there was no need to risk their lives.
Their expressions didn’t escape Adele’s notice. Adele took a deep breath and continued, “I thought all of you, as nobles, were true warriors. Are you now going to hide behind others like weaklings? Fine, just stay behind me. I will protect you pathetic weaklings.”
She looked at them with disdain, “You’re disgracing the name of nobles.”
Adele’s contemptuous expression clearly stimulated some of the self-proclaimed noble vampires. The first to stand up was a young lady in a ladylike dress. She quickly tore off her skirt, tied it up, and said to Adele with her head held high, “There are no weaklings among nobles. The glory of my ancestors was earned through their strength. I will not hide behind you and wait for protection.”
—Oh, there are quite a few vampires with a backbone.
Jasmine observed coldly, silently commenting in her mind.
After the young lady stepped forward, a dozen other vampires, both male and female, followed suit. Led by Adele, they first eliminated the minotaurs on this level. Adele found the White Werewolf, grabbed him, and threw him to the manager, instructing him to keep a close eye on him.
After all the minotaurs on this level were dealt with, Adele announced that those who were incapacitated should return to their rooms.
The vampires who had helped Adele deal with the minotaurs returned to their families, preparing to leave with them first. Adele also hurried back, grabbed Jasmine’s hand, and after agreeing to meet the other vampires at the stairs in five minutes, she quickly led Jasmine back to their room.
Jasmine didn’t say anything, just followed Adele, her hand being held by Adele, all the way back to their room. Upon reaching the door, Adele opened it and, after entering the room with Jasmine, pushed her onto the sofa.
Before Jasmine could say anything, she saw Adele collapse onto the floor as if she had lost all her strength, hugging Jasmine’s leg. She rested her head on Jasmine’s thigh. Her normally silvery-white hair was now covered in dust, and even her fair face had traces of it.
Adele’s voice was muffled, “Jasmine, I was so scared… You don’t know what happened. I’m so glad you’re okay… What would I do if something happened to you…” Adele’s words were jumbled, showing how truly frightened she had been.
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