Chapter 44: The Blessing Festival
In a way, the head maid was right. The endings for humans who served vampires were never truly good. The head maid’s fate was actually considered decent.
After all, she had worked diligently for the Blake castle for many years. She had been brought to the castle at a young age, around the same age as Jasmine when she had arrived.
Now in her forties, she had worked at the castle for over thirty years. She had been chosen as the head maid at the age of twenty-seven or twenty-eight because of her excellent work ethic and had held the position ever since.
To put it bluntly, even a dog would develop feelings after being raised for so long. The lady might have seemed fair and impartial, but in reality, it was because the head maid was ultimately just a human. It didn’t matter if she was replaced, as there were plenty of substitutes. The lady’s inherent indifference and lack of favoritism towards humans showed that they held no weight in her heart.
In this world, it wasn’t just the lady. It wasn’t just the head maid. Humans who worked hard for vampires would never have a good ending. If nothing unexpected happened, even with Adele’s current protection, Jasmine would eventually meet the same fate as the head maid.
But there were always exceptions. After the incident with the doctor, Jasmine had realized that Adele was different from other vampires. And she, herself, was different from all other humans. She wouldn’t truly submit to vampires or dedicate herself to them. The only reason she was still working for them was for the rewards and information.
The head maid’s voice echoed through the castle, but it was quickly muffled by the maid dragging her away.
The lady yawned, “I’m also tired from the journey. Adele, you should go back now. I’ll be sleeping for a few days. Come see me later.”
Adele curtsied and left the lady’s room with Jasmine. Back in her own room, Adele asked Jasmine to roll up her sleeve and show her her elbow. Seeing the bruised elbow, Adele sighed, “Jasmine, why are you always getting hurt?”
“…” She hadn’t been hurt that many times, had she?
Adele told her to rest and not work for now, to take care of herself, and that she would talk to the maids. Jasmine obediently stayed in her room, occasionally going down the mountain during the day to check on the outpost and see if there were any problems. As the Blessing Festival approached, the vampires became more active. Jasmine instructed the Human Resistance Army to hold back for now and wait until after the festival.
It was a major holiday, and even vampires who had been asleep for a year would wake up to celebrate before going back to sleep. There were many such homebodies among vampires, waking up once a year, celebrating, and then sleeping for another year.
To ensure a smooth celebration, vampires even intensified their efforts to eliminate otherworldly beings. The Blake patriarch also increased patrols within his territory, especially since the airship incident had occurred within his domain. To avoid being mocked by his wife’s sister, the Golden family head, he had to strengthen security.
After resting for a while, when Jasmine returned to work, she found that the head maid had been replaced. The new head maid was a low-ranking vampire maid, but she didn’t show any favoritism towards her own kind. Perhaps because she knew that the previous head maid had been removed for mixing personal feelings with her work, she was very cautious and tried to be fair, even if it was just an act.
As she stood among the maids, listening to the new head maid’s instructions, Jasmine heard the other human maids whispering, “I wonder if the new head maid will be better or…” They were worried. If the previous human head maid had been so biased towards low-ranking vampires, would their situation be even worse now that a vampire was in charge?
Jasmine couldn’t believe how foolish they were. Vampires had sharp ears and could definitely hear their conversation. Why would they say such things in front of her? Couldn’t they wait until the morning meeting was over and talk secretly among themselves? The head maid must have heard them, but she didn’t say anything, simply continuing with her instructions as if nothing had happened.
“The Blessing Festival is approaching. Everyone, please work hard and complete your assigned tasks.” She spoke seriously and assigned tasks fairly. She was indeed good now, but who knew what would happen in ten or twenty years?
But it didn’t matter to Jasmine. At least she could have some peace for the next few years.
Jasmine’s assigned task remained the same: cleaning the courtyard. After days of hard work, the Blake castle was completely transformed… Using the word “transformed” wasn’t quite accurate, because vampires clearly preferred dark, gothic-themed decorations.
The castle was adorned with countless roses: dried flowers, petals, fresh flowers, all hung with black and red ribbons. It was like a giant Gothic castle, a dream come true for any dark lolita enthusiast. Every corner was picture perfect.
The Blessing Festival soon arrived, and Adele changed into her ceremonial attire. It was even more elaborate than usual, a European-style gown with a voluminous skirt, her hair completely styled into an updo, adorned with several roses. Jasmine couldn’t do such a hairstyle, so the lady’s maid was in charge of Adele’s hair.
After getting dressed, the family of four would go to the courtyard to pray and offer praise to the moon. No one had to work that day—except the cooks. Jasmine was also fortunate enough to enjoy a feast at noon, which was the reason she was willing to work so hard for the Blessing Festival.
There was a whole roasted suckling pig, and many other delicious dishes. Jasmine ate to her heart’s content, thinking that vampires should have more holidays. They only had one Blessing Festival. They should have more, otherwise, how could they repay the humans who worked for them?
Vampires were even worse than capitalists. Capitalists at least allowed for occasional breaks, even if it was just 007 work. Vampires, on the other hand, worked year-round, with only the Blessing Festival as a day of rest.
After eating and drinking their fill, some human maids planned to go to the village outside the castle to have some fun. It wasn’t just the nobles in the castle who celebrated the Blessing Festival. The low-ranking vampires in the village would also celebrate, and there would be a festival that day. The maids wanted to join in the festivities.
The human maid who was friends with Jasmine asked her if she wanted to go.
Jasmine shook her head. She wouldn’t go. She had accompanied Adele to the village to watch the festivities many times over the years, but she didn’t find it very entertaining. When it came to celebrations, these vampires couldn’t compare to humans in her previous life. The celebrations in that era were truly grand, with fireworks lighting up the sky. Now, it was just people holding torches and dancing, at best a bonfire party. Why would she bother?
It was worth mentioning that Jasmine was indeed having the Human Resistance Army research gunpowder, but progress was slow.
Just as she was about to go back to her room to sleep, she saw Adele and the second miss coming to find her. Seeing Jasmine, Adele quickened her pace, and the second miss behind her also sped up. They had already changed out of their ceremonial attire and were now wearing casual clothes. Adele looked at Jasmine with bright eyes, “Let’s go out and have some fun!”
Jasmine’s gaze fell on the second miss, and a hesitant expression appeared on her face.
Setting aside whether she wanted to go out or not, judging from Adele’s demeanor, it was clear that even if they went out, they would have to take the second miss, the little tagalong, with them. No way. Jasmine didn’t like children, not even in her previous life. She didn’t even like quiet children. After all, even the quietest child could be noisy sometimes, and she never knew when the child she was taking care of would start acting up.
And the second miss was far from a quiet child. She was a typical brat, the kind whose parents were so powerful and untouchable that she had been spoiled rotten. Jasmine could understand the lady’s thinking. Since Adele was going to be the heir, they would let their younger daughter live a carefree life.
Although the patriarch had considered making the second miss the heir, he had never acted on it, and as the head of the family, he was always busy with work. Basically, the children were raised by the lady. It was the complete opposite of the Golden family, where the mother was busy with work, and the father took care of the children.
Adele seemed to have guessed Jasmine’s thoughts because she was being quite obvious. Her dislike for taking the child along outweighed her determination to maintain her persona, causing her displeasure to show on her face. Adele thought for a moment and said to Jasmine, “Don’t worry about her.”
She didn’t elaborate on how she wouldn’t have to worry, but Jasmine knew that Adele was a woman of her word, so she stopped paying attention to the second miss. But even without the child, Jasmine didn’t really want to go.
She had already stated her reason: it wasn’t fun. But Adele was her employer, and even though it was a day off, she still had to consider her feelings.
The final blow came when Adele added, “Don’t worry, I’ll cover all the expenses.”
“Okay.”
Jasmine agreed without hesitation. Why hadn’t she said that earlier? If she had known she wouldn’t have to spend any money, Jasmine wouldn’t have hesitated for so long. It was common knowledge that things were always more expensive during festivals. Jasmine was poor, and all the money she earned had to be handed over to the Human Resistance Army. Her personal savings were pitifully small.
Seeing Jasmine agree, Adele smiled slightly. She urged Jasmine to change her clothes. Jasmine returned to her room, chose a casual outfit, and came out.
Adele took her hand, and together with the second miss, they headed down towards the foot of the castle. But the journey wasn’t smooth. Most castles were built on mountains, and the Blake family castle was no exception.
As an “ordinary human,” how could Jasmine display any abilities beyond those of a normal person? So, she walked very slowly, even slower than the second miss, the little tagalong. The second miss looked displeased, “She’s so slow. It’ll be dawn by the time we reach the foot of the mountain. What are we going to do then? Stay in the village?”
The human maids who were going out together were actually walking at a similar pace to Jasmine, but they didn’t mind if it was daytime. They could stay in the village for a night, play for a while after dawn, and then return to the castle. They could even take a nap then. But vampires couldn’t do that. They had to reach the foot of the mountain quickly, have fun, and then hurry back.
Adele also felt that Jasmine was too slow. She walked up to Jasmine and, while saying, “I don’t have any ulterior motives,” she scooped Jasmine up in her arms.
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