Admission into the Academy is permitted only at the behest of the Seven. All students are either members of, or have earned the respect of and been endorsed by one of the seven great families and should be treated as an equal.

—Alephertz Academy Student Handbook

Despite Lycoris's best efforts, she couldn't stop herself from imagining the "dorms" awaiting her as similar to military barracks. They were, after all, where she spent a significant portion of her forty-six years of living.

Which is why, upon taking an on-campus teleportation pad from the main building to the student housing, Lycoris was immediately struck dumb. Fourteen mansion-sized houses surrounded a massive circular plaza with a towering fountain with a statue of some ancient vampire triumphantly standing in the center of it, sword in hand. Though it was after nightfall, she could still see the meticulously maintained gardens lining the white stone pathways thanks to the glowing white lanternlight. It was like she had been suddenly transported into a miniature noble's district.

It reminded her of the gardens the Princess would walk during the day, explaining the different types of flowers growing to either her—or later Mizar. The buildings themselves were far more gothic in architectural style, two-storied structures covered in decoration matching the colors of the Seven, and were paired off in sets of two with a smaller courtyard between each. There were wide fields in the area surrounding them, and a dense coniferous forest encircling the area, forming a natural cul-de-sac.

Eight pathways split off from the central plaza toward each of the paired buildings like spokes on a wheel, with the final one leading to and circling around the gazebo Lycoris and Athena stood in, before continuing past back towards the rest of the campus.

Further down the road but still within walking distance was an older, taller, slightly more brutalist apartment complex like ones Lycoris had seen in Condore, and across from it was a freshly paved path leading toward a much newer-looking structure that she could only describe as a miniature Transfixion of Heaven. Or perhaps a particularly spiky mage's tower. Both structures stood out like sore thumbs compared to the gothic noble quarter behind them, but one of them annoyed Lycoris far more than the other.

"Does it really have to look… I dunno,

so evil?

"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean it's literally a four-story tall spire with crenelated spikes sticking off the top of it," deadpanned Lycoris.

"Well those do keep birds from roosting atop it!"

"Is that even a problem here?"

Lycoris didn't wait for an answer before huffing and marching up the pale brick pathway towards the spire.

Even though it was nighttime, and the top of it was unlit, she could see it had a walk out

balcony

wrapping around the uppermost floor. Knowing that it was likely built explicitly for her, she couldn't fathom who had decided that something like

that

would ever be useful. Either her mother had some rather lofty expectations, or a contractor just went with their Vampiric gut instinct rather than follow orders.

At least it means she could use some of her free time to work on that fear. Perhaps eventually she could even practice flying down from there, the grass looked soft enough, but… … …Even just the thought made her head spin.

"Your Highness!"

Athena let go of the bundled-together pile of luggage to dash over and catch her, hovering like a hawk as she squeezed Lycoris's shoulder. "What's the matter, are you still feeling a bout of teleportation sickness? I can carry you in and lay you down if so!"

"I'm fine!" Lycoris shook her off, waving the maid away. Perhaps it was on orders from Lilianna, because Athena was being far more overprotective than usual. Which was already borderline overbearing.

Standing back up on her own, Lycoris marched forward up to the front door of the building and fished the little card out of its envelope to press against the door.

…And nothing happened.

Athena walked up behind her, scooped the card out of Lycoris's hand and tapped it to the door handle. After hearing a small clicking sound, she pushed it open.

"The lock is part of the handle, Your Highness," she whispered quietly.

Not that there was anyone around who could have overheard or noticed Lycoris's ignorance. Though it was more embarrassing than passing out at just the thought of—

Shaking away the thought, Lycoris retorted with a silent pout as her only response, and continued her march into the surprisingly homely ground floor entrance. There was a closet set into one wall of what was a relatively unfurnished room, big enough to serve as a meeting or reception area. Rectangular, too, despite the conical structure of the tower and the winding stairwell on the left side. It spiraled up out of sight, though fortunately there didn't seem to be any windows looking out. Beyond a doorless wall on the opposite end of the living space was a Vampiric kitchen unit, replete with all the technological wonders that Lycoris still couldn't make heads or tails of. Right beside her to the left inside the entryway was a small silver-tiled space, with a trayed shoe rack beside it. She only noticed it then, but the rest of the room was raised a step up from the entrance, on light beige wooden paneling.

Seeing the obvious receptacle, Lycoris reflexively removed her Mary Janes and put them on the shoe rack, startling herself as orange runes on the tiles alighted at her step, suddenly warming her feet through her socks. When she placed the shoes on the small tray, a small crimson flash slid under them with a brief sizzling popping sound.

"What was that? I didn't break something, did I?" If she managed that in the first few minutes of stepping into what would be her new home…

"No, of course not Your Highness, that's just— Oh right, the Palace has full environmental control, so you wouldn't have encountered this sort of thing before. This little tray here is for cleaning your shoes and keeping them warm while you aren't wearing them," explained Athena, while demonstrating with her own shoes at the same time. "Same with these tiles."

"And the hotel didn't have it because…"

"Well… it was a somewhat lower-class location on the edge of the Empire…" Athena shyly mumbled, as though ashamed she took Lycoris to such a place. "And this sort of thing is more reserved for private residences, besides."

She began the task of taking each piece of luggage off of the tower stack and laying them out on the floor. Once she finished de-stacking them, she lifted up the bottom one and set its wheeled base on one of the trays before laying it out as well, before searching for the suitcase with Lycoris's coats to begin stowing in the ground floor closet.

Leaving her to the task, Lycoris decided to climb up the stairs and investigate the rest of her new abode.

The second floor was evenly split by a long hallway, with one side sporting a miniature armory. Along the back wall was a line-up of several different types of—hopefully blunted—training weapons, and a tiled training space much like the one in her home. The other half was a carpeted quiet room, split lengthwise by a long wooden table and lit by an overhead chandelier. Upon poking her head in, Lycoris saw multiple rows of shelves lining the walls, though most were currently empty aside from a couple of tomes per section.

Climbing up once more, she saw that the third floor was similarly subdivided, though it served a half dozen rooms split between each side of the hallway, with one large bathroom at the far end. Each of the rooms was furnished with the basic necessities, like a bed and dresser, but they were fairly barebones. There weren't even sheets on the mattresses.

At the top of the staircase was what had to be her own personal bedroom. It occupied the majority of the top floor, save for the partially walled-off walk-in bathroom area on one end. Opposite that was a curtain-covered glass door leading out to the balcony.

Obsidian tiles decorated the edge of the circular room, with a soft beige carpet filling in the floor. Painted onto the center of the carpet was the Aphtangloa family crest, as though reminding her of who she was, or perhaps declaring just who this miniature overlord-tower belonged to.

How nice of them to not torture me with a window showing me how high up I am at all times. And at least the bed still looks just as soft as the one back home. Er, I mean at my new—whatever!

Needless to say, it was no less resplendent or luxurious than the Palace she had come from, and similarly she felt rather out of place there. A part of her almost wanted to go back down to the third floor and use one of those rooms instead, and not just because it was closer to the ground.

Unfortunately before Lycoris could turn around and retreat, Athena poked her head out of the stairwell and smiled. "While it does seem a little small, I think the craftsmen did a fine job creating an adequate living space for you, wouldn't you agree, Your Highness?"

"S-Small?! This place is practically a miniature palace! I have no idea why they built such a huge place for just two people…"

"Two?"

"Well, you're going to be staying with me, right Athena?"

The maid shook her head. "The servants all stay in the residency along the path we crossed on the way here. That includes myself. Of course, I shall be over to care for your every need each morning and evening, and will tend to this dorm in your absence."

There was something peculiar about calling this wicked tower a "dorm" like that… and there was the question of why even have so many additional rooms with no one to occupy them. But that was mostly irrelevant compared to Lycoris's actual priority.

The girl curled her toes into the carpet and hugged her arms against her chest as she entreated her maid, "Wh…What do I do if I have a nightmare, then?!"

"Then I'll— oh. I didn't think about that. Surely you must have worked something out with Her Majesty, right?"

Lycoris anxiously shook her head. "I didn't… talk to her much, about it. Or anything, really. I was so distracted that— can't you stay in here with me?"

"Perhaps we can speak with the Professor Dorn that Her Majesty's sister spoke of?"

Lycoris nodded shyly, a knot slowly untangling inside her heart.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

＊　＊　＊

"Absolutely not. Why even make such a request? There shall be no such bending or breaking of rules, especially not without proper reasoning given."

"But she can come if I call for her, right? Why not simply allow her to stay closer at hand?!"

"If you've an issue with how the rules are, you are welcome to bring it up with our Dean."

Inside the faculty housing, maid and princess stood inside a cozy room not dissimilar to Lilianna's study—though it didn't have nearly as pleasant a scent. Reclining in a simple cushioned chair by the fire, a Vampire that could only be described as "wizened" raised an eyebrow as his dull purple eyes peered up from a pair of reading glasses. His hair showed what was apparently clear signs of aging, pitch black at the roots with wispy darkened strands that crept and poked through the forest of green that flowed down the sides of his head and his back. Wrinkles creased around his knuckles and all over his face and likely body too, though he was wearing fine brown robes lined with golden embroidery.

Stamping h

er foot, Athena huffed, "You shall show proper respect to Her Highness, Lycoris Aster Apht—"

"Respect? You two are the ones who barged in here and immediately began making demands before even attending a single day of classes. Has she even dressed up in the school uniform yet?"

"She is the Exaltare's flesh and blood!"

"And I'm tenured."

"Oh, Mama did warn me about that…" Lycoris mumbled from behind Athena.

"And you think that means you'd be spared her wrath?!" Athena raised her voice almost hysterically.

"Girl, I

taught

her. I know the current Exaltare better than you do, and she knows how much knowledge we lose with my death. If you want to go huff and puff, blow down that eyesore speared onto our campus instead." He gave Lycoris a side-eye as he inclined his head and spoke down to Athena, despite being the one sitting.

Lycoris stepped around from behind Athena, forcing herself to lock eyes with the elderly Vampire. There was an intensely intimidating presence behind those spectacles, the sort that only came with extreme age and wisdom. She wasn't expecting to change his mind, however she still wanted to know and asked, "Why? Our arrival was only just as the sun set, I'm afraid I've had no chance to familiarize myself with campus rules, but… it feels arbitrary. If the rule on where Athena is permitted to sleep can't be adjusted, then I assume there must be some justifiable purpose behind it."

"Hnmm." The old man stroked his jaw, focusing his whole attention on her. "I expected the good cop, bad cop routine to be reversed, I must admit. This academy is here to teach its students to carry themselves throughout their lives. Independence is one such matter. This is an academic institution, not a daycare for coddling children. No doubt the past half-century has been quite comfortable for you, Your Highness, but at some point you have to accept there are rules not even you can—"

"

Silence

," Lycoris spoke before her mind caught up with her mouth and tightly clenched hands. Selin's eyes widened in surprise as he held his tongue, allowing her to continue in a seething whisper, "You know

nothing

of the life I have lived. Do not ever speak as if you know me again. Unlike my mother, I do not really care what Vampire society stands to lose from your life or death. I am fatigued from travel, and am already perplexed by Rosa, the size of my 'dorm,' and these keycards besides. I wish for nothing more than a quick answer and to be on my way, so

answer the question.

"

The elderly Vampire opened his mouth again, then closed it with an annoyed stare pointed toward Lycoris. After several minutes of tense silence, his shoulders loosened slightly and he snapped his fingers, causing a small "ripple" to spread throughout the room.

"Like a fledgling that knows not how much venom to inject, truly an imperious broodling has found her way to my doorstep," he sighed and closed the book he had been holding in his hand, setting it on the table beside his no-longer steaming mug. "I don't know if I would call it

justified,

but it is for the sake of diplomacy. To permit the students time to scheme and one-up each other in a 'safe' manner, that doesn't lead to permanent injury. Usually. Those keycards are part of that. Losing your means to get around campus puts you rather permanently at someone else's mercy. Having us adults hovering over your shoulders at all times would unfairly skew things."

"That's… incredibly messed up!" exclaimed Lycoris. But it wasn't beyond the realm of possibility given the cutthroat nature of the Seven and what she knew of Vampire politics.

"If that is all, please leave." He turned back and picked up his book once more. "I would like to enjoy the rest of my evening in peace."

"I… but…"

Lycoris looked down at the floor, unable to muster up a rebuttal. She certainly didn't

want

to kill him just because she was angry. The fact such an impulse came to her already left her feeling sick enough. Like her rational mind was being whispered to by a completely distorted subconscious voice that she had never heard before her mother embraced her.

Choking down the impulse, a wry smile creased across her lips. She'd gotten attached to the comfort and warmth of home, but just as she had implied by her little emotional outburst, before that Lycoris had lived a life that these Vampires would likely consider hell by comparison. Nightmares were nothing new to her, and she still had quite a comfortable place to retreat to. What was she getting all anxious for?

Lycoris puffed her chest out as she rallied herself, marching out of the room ahead of Athena. I can do this. Independent? I already lived one entire life! I'll show him just who's 'independent' around here! I don't need Lilianna. I don't need Athena, I'll be just fine on my own!

＊　＊　＊

"AaaaaAAAHHHH!!"

Lycoris screamed as she sat bolt upright in bed, staring at her shaking hands covered in phantom bloodstains, choking out raspy breathless sighs and teary-eyed gasps.

Scrambling and flopping gracelessly out of her bed, Lycoris rushed around the room in a confused haze before remembering she wasn't in the Palace. Sleepyheaded confusion replaced with anxiety-overloaded dizziness, she ran back to bed and swiped her phone off of the end table, her fingers freezing over her mother's name briefly, before swiping down to Athena and dialing her up instead.

Several heartpounding moments later, she heard a groggy,

'Athena speaking…'

"Athena! I…" Lycoris frowned before she even got three words deep. What was she even supposed to say? That she had a nightmare? That much was probably obvious. It wasn't like she could ask Athena to run over, given the bizarre school rules.

'Your Highness…?'

A small sigh came from the other end of the speaker,

'It's alright. I'm here for you. It may only be for a few minutes, but I'll be right there. You'll have to come down and let me in, don't forget.'

"Alright…"

It was no good. Lycoris had learned what it meant to be loved, and could no longer numb herself to the pain and distress she had once been able to shake off effortlessly. Or perhaps it wasn't that it was effortless before, but she simply had no means of measuring her own emotions, deadened as they had been.

It was a stupid thing to begin with. What kind of students would coordinate a night raid on each other? And how would they even get in to each other's dorms in the first place with the keycard system? Surely it'd be fine to accommodate personal staff… At least one! It wasn't as if each student was permitted more than one personal attendant anyways. And if she could let Athena in for a checkup, why couldn't the maid stay with her?! The fact Athena's card was disabled during certain times felt like unnecessary tedium.

Making a decision that was probably foolishly reckless, Lycoris stood back up and wandered toward the curtains covering the glass doors and pulled them back, exposing the balcony beyond. Rather than think about how high up she was, Lycoris instead looked up at the transposed night sky. A strange sense of nostalgia took hold of her, as she slid open the doors and stepped out to the balmy moonlit balcony. A cool breeze caught and pulled at her hair and nightgown, but her attention was on the moon.

It'd always calmed her down to look at it. She had learned once that the light it cast was a reflection of the Goddess's, and something about the silvery sheen was calming. Plus, it was convenient for lighting the alleyways before she gained the ability to see in pitch black darkness. Which made it that much easier to trawl the streets and figure out where good marks typically hung around. A skill she only truly picked up after…

"From street urchin to princess… I wonder if Vampire society has any sort of stories like that?"

"Your Highness!"

Her attention was pulled back down to reality as she heard Athena shouting from below. Unfortunately, Lycoris's immediate instinct was to look down at the source of the sound, but seeing the woman far below on the ground below stripped away all of the relief she'd built back up.

Assaulted by wooziness, she flopped backwards onto the magically heated tiles and curled up on herself, whimpering and waiting for her maid to arrive and comfort her. Until she remembered that she would have to go down and let her in herself, the miserable sense of urgency struggling against her twisting stomach.

It was not an auspicious start to her school life.

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