Chapter 127: Exposed
They had gone too far, leaving the bank completely drained of blood. Even the low-quality blood had been purchased. Jasmine understood their mentality. It was free money, a windfall. Why not spend it all?
Besides, with the current situation, who knew if banknotes would even be useful in the future? Spending it all and running away seemed like the best option.
But they were all fools. In recent years, magic stone surveillance devices had become commonplace, even in Adele’s territory. And the clarity of these devices was far superior to anything in Jasmine’s previous world. This world’s technology followed a magical path, not a scientific one, resulting in some strange advancements.
Although magic stones were expensive, they were affordable for most nobles. Even those who didn’t own them had surely seen them. The vampire bank headquarters was riddled with surveillance cameras, and yet not a single vampire had thought to disable them, their actions clearly recorded.
Perhaps they hadn’t gotten used to surveillance yet. Vampires had long lifespans, two thousand years or more. And surveillance technology had only been developed in the past few years. It was understandable that they weren’t taking it seriously yet. But in a year or two, they would surely learn: before doing anything illegal, disable the cameras first.
Adele had come to watch the show, not to become part of it. She sat in the café, observing the chaos unfolding inside the bank. After witnessing the spectacle, she paid her bill and left. Upon returning to her territory, she read the reports in both the official newspaper and the White family’s tabloid.
The punishments for those involved in the bank incident were swift and severe. All the vampires who had dared to defy the Council of Elders’ authority were sentenced to death. But the Council had tasked the Thirteen Clans with executing the vampires in their respective territories.
Adele couldn’t help but laugh when she read this. Because… many of the nobles involved were from the Thirteen Clans themselves. Tasking them with carrying out the punishments was essentially giving them an opportunity to silence their own people. Faced with loyal followers, they might even secretly release them, allowing them to disappear into the lawless zone beyond the Twilight Curtain.
Jasmine later visited Barbara. Seeing the plan progressing smoothly, Barbara was pleased, but she also informed Jasmine, “Our researchers have discovered the counterfeit banknotes. Although they’re almost identical to genuine banknotes, there are slight differences in the ink. They’re planning to report this to the Council of Elders. I managed to delay them, claiming that we need more evidence before reporting, but they’ll find out soon enough.”
Jasmine nodded. “Don’t risk stopping them. It doesn’t matter if they find out. It won’t affect our plan. Let them report it.”
Barbara nodded, indicating that she understood.
After the institute reported the counterfeiting, the bank quickly implemented a series of policies, including invalidating all existing banknotes and exchanging them for new ones. Adele, always “respectful” of the Council of Elders, immediately sent her low-ranking vampire servants to exchange their money.
And she was clever. She mostly used genuine banknotes, with only a small portion being counterfeit. And she didn’t inflate the amount. The low-ranking vampires returned with the new banknotes, but the amount was less than what Adele had sent. They explained nervously, “The bank said some of the banknotes were problematic and confiscated them. They only gave us back the ones that were deemed valid.”
Adele wasn’t surprised. She nodded and dismissed them. The wealth in her territory was vast. She had sent an entire team to transport her money, dozens of crates filled with banknotes. But only twenty crates had been returned.
Adele smiled.
Although she had included some counterfeit banknotes, the proportion wasn’t that high. The amount returned was clearly insufficient, significantly less than what she had sent. There was no way the bank could have produced so many new banknotes in such a short time. They simply didn’t have enough.
Jasmine picked up a new banknote, examining it carefully. The researchers at the institute were truly skilled. They had designed a new layout in such a short time, even using the issue date and serial number as security features. But their actions were only accelerating the collapse of trust.
The old banknotes were now useless, and people had to exchange them for new ones. But there weren’t enough new banknotes, and the bank was even confiscating people’s money. This news, combined with the recent bank incident, would surely erode people’s trust in the new currency. They would wonder: Will these new banknotes also become worthless one day? Will our wealth be diminished again because of the Council of Elders?
The White family’s tabloid also reported on this, Miss White’s writing sharp and critical, although she didn’t directly criticize the Council of Elders, her dissatisfaction was evident.
A sense of anxiety permeated vampire society. This tension persisted for a long time, only easing slightly with the arrival of Blessing Day. Adele packed her bags, preparing to return home for the annual holiday.
Upon arriving at Blake Castle, she noticed something strange about her sister’s expression. She seemed to have something to say but was hesitant to speak. Adele wanted to talk to her, but her father summoned her to his study.
Jasmine, returning to her servant’s quarters, also sensed something amiss.
The head maid, accompanied by several low-ranking vampire maids, surrounded her. Jasmine’s intuition told her that something unexpected had happened, but she couldn’t figure out what it was. So, she maintained her facade as an ordinary human, her voice trembling with fear and helplessness. “Ladies, have I done something wrong?”
For a moment, she suspected that her secret identity had been exposed, but the head maid’s words dispelled this notion. “The patriarch has ordered you to remain in your room,” she said. “You’re not allowed to go anywhere.”
If her secret identity had been exposed, it wouldn’t be the head maid and a few low-ranking vampires confronting her. The patriarch himself would have led the team, coming to apprehend her personally. These low-ranking vampires were no match for her. So… the problem wasn’t with her. It was with Adele.
Jasmine instantly understood.
Honestly, it wasn’t surprising that they had been discovered. Every lord’s territory had informants planted by other clans and the Council of Elders. Even after all these years, Adele hadn’t been able to completely eliminate them from her territory. If they had discovered something and reported it, it was to be expected.
And although Adele had been subtly inciting rebellion among the nobles, anyone paying attention could easily see her hand in it. Moreover, not everyone was trustworthy. Betrayal was always a possibility.
Jasmine sensed Adele’s presence. She was currently in the patriarch’s study.
If it were just her own identity that had been exposed, Jasmine wouldn’t be worried. After all, no one in this world could defeat her in a fight. But Adele was different. She was far weaker than Jasmine, and to the Blake patriarch, she would be no more difficult to deal with than a human. After all, Adele was just a young vampire, not even a hundred years old, while the Blake patriarch was a thousand-year-old geezer.
The logical course of action would be to wait until Adele was imprisoned, then meet with her and discuss their next move. The Blake patriarch was Adele’s father. Even if Adele had done something wrong, he wouldn’t kill her outright.
But Adele was a delicate flower, sheltered and pampered her entire life. The worst hardships she had endured had been because of Jasmine: being injured by the school doctor and being confined by her mother. Jasmine couldn’t bear to see Adele suffer, especially now that they were lovers.
Adele deserved to be cherished, not imprisoned. Jasmine couldn’t bear to see her locked up again. So, she chose to resist.
She took a step forward. The head maid, her face stern, said, “Maid Jasmine, the patriarch has ordered you to remain in your room. You’re not allowed to go anywhere. Are you defying his orders?”
What if I am?
Jasmine stared at the head maid, taking another step forward. The low-ranking vampire maids beside her extended their claws, ready to attack at the head maid’s command. But the head maid hesitated, and the low-ranking vampires, confused, looked at her.
They saw a bead of sweat trickling down her forehead.
Low-ranking vampires had low body temperatures. They rarely sweat. But facing Jasmine, the head maid couldn’t help but break out in a cold sweat. She met Jasmine’s gaze, those black eyes that vampires usually found so alluring. They reminded them of the night sky.
But those black eyes were cold, devoid of emotion. Their intensity made the head maid feel an immense pressure. The previous head maid’s parting words echoed in her mind.
She couldn’t remember exactly what the human had said. She was a low-ranking vampire, not a true vampire. Her memory wasn’t that good. She only vaguely remembered the woman saying, Jasmine… she’s not human! She can’t be human!
Everyone at Blake Castle had dismissed her words as the ramblings of a disgruntled former employee, her resentment and bitterness fueling her accusations. But now, gazing into Jasmine’s eyes, the head maid realized: perhaps those words hadn’t been a joke.
“Lady!”
The low-ranking vampire maids beside her whispered urgently, snapping her out of her daze. She gritted her teeth. “Attack!”
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