Since first becoming Vlad Dreka's thrall, she was the first victim who gave her trust, yet was deceived by him and fell into the abyss?
Elaphia couldn't remember.
For nearly two centuries, she had wandered the streets like a shadow, constantly bound, driven by bloody commands to betray the trust of one innocent person after another.
What did their faces look like?
Elaphia couldn't see clearly.
It was a face full of hatred and loathing, twisted by betrayal. Countless shadows slowly spread across that face, gradually extending to the entire visage.
So clear yet so blurry, as if all the victims deceived by her honeyed words had converged there.
In the past, she was always betraying, constantly watching the shadows, forever bound.
Freedom.
But it was this very thought that sang in Elaphia's heart.
Thus, even if the future was dim, it was still colorful, like the thin mist on the river surface under the moonlight.
Freedom!
Once upon a time, she had also longed for freedom so desperately. Because of this dream-like yearning, the 'rat hole' often became her home.
In the dark, damp dungeon where rats scurried about, this was where thralls who had made mistakes often went. The unfortunate ones who had just become vampire thralls would usually become obedient after spending a few days with old William.
The lich interrogator William would always pick torture instruments stained with blood spots with his withered fingers. The punished thrall would be hung upside down on a cross, enduring countless torments and tortures.
But Grand Duke Dreka would never kill any escaping thrall. Crushing a thrall's will to resist bit by bit was his greatest pleasure in life.
Such pain, such pleasure.
Elaphia had been dead underground for a long time.
She examined Patunasankus. This was the most radiant girl she had ever seen, like a lake shrouded in thin mist, hazy and beautiful.
The girl's eyes were as blue as the lakeside, and the lakeside seemed to become the frame for her slender silhouette. Her dandelion-colored hair danced in the wind, like light spirits beckoning to her.
Yet Elaphia couldn't bear to look at her.
It was as if she feared disturbing the sleeping beauty, feared she would age in terror, feared her elegant and gentle face would transform into a convergence of curse and hatred.
Elaphia glanced up and saw a blurry shadow moving through the clouds. She simply closed her eyes, letting darkness envelop her.
After playing the final long note, she stood up. She put the violin aside and waited quietly.
In the lingering echo of the finale, Patunasankus came to a standstill. Her flowing dress gathered close against her legs, like a blooming dandelion closing back into a bud.
A gentle breeze swept by, causing her to suddenly feel dazed.
Vaguely, she sensed something, standing motionless by the lake, gazing long at the dandelion girl beneath the water's surface. A mist formed in her eyes, a gift from the lakeside, making her blue eyes shine even more.
This unprecedented feeling confused her greatly, because she had a very strong impulse to reach out and touch the delicate cheek of the girl beneath the water, the cheek kissed by the wind.
The lake water rippled gently. When her fingertips touched the surface, they created waves upon waves. Willow leaves fell, floating on the lake surface.
Patunasankus instinctively reached out her hand, then stopped, watching the silhouette from her memory disappear in the lake's ripples.
A ray of moonlight cast small specks of light at her feet. The warm, moist evening breeze blew her hair, gently lifting the willow leaves over her head.
Applause, powerful applause. Elaphia suddenly began to clap.
The evil dragon turned her head, blinking, looking very confused.
"Now I understand why Evelyn particularly liked watching the Princess dance. If it were me, I'd probably never forget it either," Elaphia said. "Just sitting by the lakeside with closed eyes would be enough to savor your dance. ...It seems Evelyn really knows how to enjoy things."
Patunasankus suddenly heard Elaphia say in an unusually soft voice.
"It's just a bit of a pity."
"Hmm? What do you find pitiful?" Patunasankus asked curiously.
Elaphia looked up, crimson flashing in her eyes.
"It's just a pity that such dancing won't be seen again in the future," Elaphia said.
She knew clearly that according to the pre-arranged plan, the so-called agreed plan with the Duchess would certainly fail. She had no intention of helping the ferocious beast break the curse.
It was all just a pretense.
Elaphia looked at Patunasankus before her, trying to imagine the girl's face filled with hatred and disgust after being betrayed.
But Elaphia could never associate the girl's face with hatred and loathing. She couldn't do it at all. All she could imagine was a girl with dandelion-colored hair.
Elaphia frowned, shaking her head vigorously, as if trying to drive the other's image from her mind through this action.
"Why are you suddenly shaking your head?" Patunasankus asked, noticing something unusual about her.
"Nothing, just making a small adjustment to my state," Elaphia suddenly pointed at the sky. "Look, she's coming."
A howling sound came from the night sky. A black shadow became increasingly clear. Elaphia knew Evelyn had arrived. It was normal; surely anyone who had watched the girl dance would not easily forget such a figure.
But this didn't prevent Elaphia from betraying the other's trust.
Just as she had always done in the past.
Soon, she too would join those victims.
Patunasankus noticed Evelyn's arrival earlier than Elaphia. The ferocious beast's bone wings were in a closed position. The evil dragon knew clearly this was a sign of an imminent dive.
The ferocious beast's aerodynamic posture needed improvement. If it could manipulate the bone wings 5° more to the left, it would achieve optimal speed.
Hearing the shriek from the night sky, Patunasankus watched as the ferocious beast approached. The black shadow gradually covered her position, and she could almost hear the ferocious beast's indistinct roar.
Patunasankus looked back at Elaphia, who remained completely unmoved.
How is this different from what was agreed upon?
"...?"
In the last moment before being captured by Evelyn, Patunasankus tilted her head, her golden ahoge bouncing up and down.
The evil dragon showed no fear; she had always been indifferent.
Patunasankus looked curiously at Elaphia. In the young woman's eyes, she saw pain, and also herself completely covered by the ferocious beast's shadow.
—I'm sorry.
The evil dragon seemed to hear the young woman say.