Chapter 79: Locked Up
“What do you mean by that?!”
The Blake Lady didn’t look well. Adele didn’t know which of her words had struck a nerve. She was a proud person herself, bowing to her parents only because they were her blood relatives.
And the Blake Lady should know that Adele had been raised by her own hand, instilled with a pride that surpassed all others. So, Adele abandoned any pretense of filial piety, her tone becoming increasingly confrontational. “Mother, I don’t want an eight-year-old boy, who hasn’t even reached adulthood, as my husband. To be frank, I have no intention of getting married right now, let alone to someone I don’t love.”
“With all due respect, Mother, you seem more concerned about the Blake family’s future than my own happiness. But I don’t like him, and I’m not ready for an engagement. So, Mother, why don’t we put this matter aside for now? When the time is right, the right person will appear.”
Her words enraged the Blake Lady, who lost all composure, shouting, “You don’t like him?! What does that matter?! Do you think you can live in this world based on your own likes and dislikes?! No matter how unwilling you are, you will eventually have to marry and have children with a suitable partner. Even if he’s an eight-year-old boy! Adele! Get a grip!”
Adele pressed her lips together, refusing to argue further. As a consequence, she was confined to her room, ordered to reflect on her behavior and not to leave until further notice.
Her mother’s maids, those known for their physical prowess, not low-ranking vampires, were stationed at every exit. As Adele returned to her room, she sighed with relief. Jasmine wasn’t there, meaning she wouldn’t be confined with Adele. At least she was still free.
Then a tinge of regret surfaced. If Jasmine hadn’t left earlier, wouldn’t that mean they would be locked up together? For Adele, who had just acknowledged her feelings, she wanted to be with Jasmine every moment. Being confined together wouldn’t be so bad.
But she didn’t have that opportunity.
Actually, Jasmine had been in Adele’s room until moments before her arrival. Sensing the hostile presence of multiple approaching individuals, she had quickly slipped out through the balcony. Hiding in a dark corner, she watched as the Blake Lady’s personal maid directed the other servants, surrounding Adele’s room. She knew that Adele must have had a fight with her mother.
But they only confined Adele, taking no further action. So, Jasmine returned to her own room.
The next evening, at the dining hall, she overheard the vampire maids whispering, “I heard Miss Adele had a huge fight with the Lady last night.”
“What did they fight about?”
“Who knows? But it seems to be related to the ball. Miss Adele apparently dislikes the young Green boy, so they had a big argument.”
Jasmine finally understood what had happened after Adele had returned to the ball. Both of them were proud, and Adele was no longer a child. A fledgling with growing wings would eventually clash with its parents.
Jasmine ate her food, unconcerned. After all, the Blake Lady hadn’t harmed Adele. She was completely unharmed. Even ordinary human mothers and daughters had their disagreements. Jasmine remembered that in her previous life, her mother would make her “bamboo shoot stir-fry” (a dish using bamboo shoots to symbolize a beating) when she misbehaved.
Sometimes, she would even use a belt.
Being confined to her room was nothing compared to that.
Initially, that was Jasmine’s thought. She even snuck out to check on Adele, avoiding everyone else. Adele seemed fine. Although confined, she was being treated well. She even had the leisure to continue working on her plans for Spark Farm.
She had even organized a detailed proposal for the three-shift work system, outlining its advantages and disadvantages, and had one of the maids at the door deliver it to her father.
A few days later, a letter arrived from the academy, informing them that Adele had achieved first place again last semester. It was an excellent result. But by then, Jasmine had noticed something amiss: the Blake Lady wasn’t providing Adele with any artificial blood.
Everyone in the castle knew that Adele only consumed artificial blood. The maids wouldn’t forget to provide it, and the Blake Lady was well aware of it. This meant that it wasn’t an oversight but a deliberate act.
Jasmine had a hunch what the Lady was up to. She hadn’t been idle these past few days, eavesdropping whenever possible. She finally overheard the Lady talking to the patriarch, revealing the details of their argument with Adele. The Blake Lady, now calm, recounted their conversation emotionlessly.
After finishing, she explained to the patriarch, “The child is growing up. We can’t control her anymore. But we have to assert our authority, let her know that she can’t defy us. First, we need to correct her aversion to blood. She can’t be so willful anymore. If others find out that the Blake heiress doesn’t drink blood and relies on artificial blood, it will damage our family’s reputation.”
The Blake patriarch hadn’t intended to do this. If he had truly wanted to force Adele to drink blood, he would have done it when she was younger. But after so many years, he had never forced her. However, his wife had a point. Adele had never defied them before, but now she dared to disobey his wife, even refusing to consider an engagement. This was crossing a line.
“Do as you see fit.”
In the end, the patriarch’s words sealed Adele’s fate.
After the Blake Lady left, Jasmine emerged from her hiding place. As she returned to her room, she couldn’t stop thinking about the Lady’s words: “You don’t like him? What does that matter? Do you think you can live in this world based on your own likes and dislikes?” Because she was repeating her own words, the Blake Lady’s tone had been eerily calm, as if she had never uttered those words herself.
But her choice of words betrayed her true emotions. Jasmine could imagine how agitated she had been when she said those words. Jasmine realized that the Blake Lady’s anger stemmed from Adele’s defiance, from doing something she herself had never done.
Jasmine might look like an ordinary young human woman, but she had lived many years in her previous life. Although considered to have died young, combining both her lives, she was middle-aged. She understood the Blake Lady’s mindset and why she was so upset.
Because—she hadn’t been able to rebel.
That was how vampire society worked. The Thirteen Clans seemed to be at the top, enjoying freedom, but in reality, they were puppets, their marriages dictated by others. Both men and women had to accept the partners chosen for them, to ensure the continuation of their race. Their own desires were insignificant.
That was why many vampires, even after marriage, were likely to have affairs. It wasn’t just a few isolated cases; it was the norm. Not only would one partner cheat, but both partners having affairs was common.
Influenced by Jasmine, Adele didn’t want such a marriage. She believed in monogamy. But this concept was foreign to vampires. They couldn’t even rebel because… that was how it had always been.
The Blake Lady might be old, but she had never truly grown up. Even if she were ten or twenty times Jasmine’s age, she wasn’t necessarily more mature. Jasmine might be a chuunibyou, but she wasn’t childish. She understood the world clearly.
Jasmine felt that the Blake Lady was like the mother in the “Butterfly Lovers” movie she had watched in her previous life. They loved their daughters, but they knew that rebellion was futile in this world. And a small, malicious thought lurked in their hearts: We had to endure this. Why should you have a different path?
They had become part of the system, suppressing those who dared to rebel.
From the beginning, Jasmine had found vampire society fascinating. They might be a different species from humans, but once a class system was established, their way of thinking, their customs and habits, were no different from humans in certain historical periods.
Feudal, ignorant, backward, and oppressive.
Jasmine was certain that even if she were reborn as a vampire in this world, she would still be an outsider. Adele, who had grown up under her influence, had also become a solitary soul among vampires.
This time, Adele had truly angered the Blake Lady, who seemed determined to break her of her aversion to blood. She refused to provide Adele with any artificial blood, instead sending her plates of blood-soaked dishes. Jasmine had seen bloody steaks, goblets filled with high-quality human blood, and even blood sugar cubes.
She wanted to force Adele back into her obedient mold, but Adele’s pride was something they had cultivated themselves. How could she possibly submit to such tactics?
Adele refused to eat or drink. The food the Lady had meticulously prepared remained untouched outside her door.
Jasmine knew that Adele would weaken in this situation. How long could a vampire go without food? Jasmine hadn’t calculated it. After all, they could sleep for a year, minimizing their need for sustenance. They could probably go without food for a month or two.
But the problem was, Adele wasn’t sleeping. She was awake every night. When Jasmine snuck into her room during the day, she saw documents scattered on Adele’s desk.
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