The vampire heiress is two-faced

Page 21

"at all costs."

...

...

"My maid, close the coffin for me."

Ludwig said to Coco with feigned indifference.

"...Did I imitate it well?"

Coco gave her a light tap on the forehead: "Miss, why are you always worrying about this?"

Ludwig looked jealous.

"It's all because Coco described it so vividly. It turns out that before Coco served me, she really was the Queen's personal maid."

"Hmph, of course. The skills I use to serve you in dressing and grooming are the result of intensive training I received to serve the Queen," Ruo Keke said with a hint of pride.

"Oh, so even the Queen isn't treated like this." Ludwig stuck out her tongue.

"Unexpectedly, the queen is actually a lovely young girl in private. She even likes teddy bears, which is quite surprising."

Ludwig couldn't help but sigh.

"So, the Queen's disappearance is very mysterious and a great blow to you. From what I've heard, she's just not good at listening to the people's opinions, but she is actually a Queen whom everyone respects."

"Hmm," Ruo Keke replied dejectedly.

Ludwig patted her hair: "Alright, we've arrived in Baling City. Let's end the story time here."

"Even if it's just for Coco, I must find this queen who left without saying goodbye."

The silver-haired girl put her hands on her hips.

"Then I asked her face-to-face why she flirted with Coco and then ran away, saying it was irresponsible. Finally, I announced to her face-to-face that Coco belonged to me."

...

"Pfft."

Ruo Keke, who was initially feeling down because of the heavy topic, couldn't help but laugh, amused by the young lady who was talking nonsense with a straight face.

Although serving the vampire queen is a rare experience and a memorable memory, her current journey with this dim-witted young lady is what she should be most concerned about.

"She can't do without me."

Ruo Keke sighed and followed steadily behind her with her hopping steps, stepping onto the land of Bailing City.

...

Baling is an ancient southern port city, not large in size, and divided into east and west sections by the rivers that flow into the sea.

The East District is filled with high-rise buildings due to economic development, while the West District, separated by a river, still retains its old-fashioned appearance from the last century. Ludwig's destination is located in the older and stagnant West District.

Because this is a relatively open port city with a large flow of people, Ludwig and Rucoco, the two vampire girls, did not attract much attention from passersby. Most people in Bailing City were used to such sights.

"Hoo-ha."

Ludwig took a deep breath.

"The air here smells really good. It's much better than that stuffy place like Shigekawa City."

Passing through the low and continuous old houses in the western district, and following the mountain road to the suburbs a few kilometers away, you can see an old Western-style building nestled in the woods by the roadside.

Upon closer inspection, the entrance to the Western-style building was covered in dust, and much of the wall had peeled away due to weathering.

Ludwig studied her for a moment.

"This is the former residence of the Queen, where she once lived with the Vampire Queen. Although it's not exactly ordinary, it's surprisingly simple. Would a dignified Vampire Queen really live in such a remote place for several years?"

“Perhaps their relationship cannot be measured by material possessions,” Ruo Keke said.

"Hmm... The spare key is buried under the third tree to the right of the main gate."

Following the instructions obtained from calling Torre, they found the spare key left there by the council scouts in case of emergency.

The two pushed open the door and entered the house, raising a cloud of dust that filled their nostrils.

No one has set foot here for a long time.

Torre told Ludwig that although the vampire scouts had already searched the place, they dared not show the slightest disrespect to the Queen's residence. After the search, they left it exactly as it was when the Queen and her confidants left it.

After searching for a while, the two reunited in the living room.

“Miss, this place is very clean and tidy, and there is nothing unusual about it.”

Coco came out of the kitchen and told Ludwig the results of her search.

"There were no spoiled fresh ingredients in the kitchen cupboard, only packaged seasonings and ingredients. But they were well past their expiration dates of one or two years. The living room was also clean and tidy, which means that they were prepared to leave for a while when they left."

Ludwig stroked her chin: "Is that really true?"

“Look at the shoe cabinet, Coco. There isn’t a single pair of shoes missing; it’s packed full. Girls’ shoes are never very durable. If they’re planning a long trip, why don’t they bring a few extra pairs?”

“If you don’t think this is strange, if it can be explained—then look over here, Coco.”

Ludwig then led Ruokeke to inspect the supplies stored at home.

Not only were the tissue packs unopened, but the wardrobe in the walk-in closet overflowing with clothes pointed to a strange fact.

"On the surface, it seems like they left because they were moving back to Mona Castle. But they never took any of their personal belongings that were stored here."

In the dim light, Ludwig's eyes gleamed with a blood-red glow.

Coco gasped.

"Young Miss, do you mean...they don't actually live here? If they did live here, they would surely take their clothes and daily necessities with them when they went on a long trip..."

"No, Coco."

Ludwig shook her head.

"They did live here. But... with the passage of time, it has faded so much that it no longer looks like anyone ever lived here."

Ludwig walked towards the room on the second floor.

“They haven’t lived here for a long time. It wasn’t just ‘two years ago’ when they moved to the vampire castle, but at least three or four years ago. They left.”

“Traces of life can be faked, but the essence of life cannot. This place has been disguised as a place where people have always lived for at least a long time. As time goes by, such disguise will only become more and more hollow, and will be full of loopholes in the details.”

"Therefore, there was at least a one to two-year gap between the Queen's return to the castle and her departure from this mansion. During this period, we don't know where they went, but it's definitely impossible for them to have lived here."

Even though vampires are used to darkness and cold, Ludwig's words sent a chill down Ruco's spine.

"So...Miss, in your opinion, their disappearance over the past year or two might be the key to understanding the truth behind the Queen's disappearance? Perhaps the Vampire Council knows about it—"

Ludwig puffed out her cheeks:

"Hmph, your good teacher Torre won't tell me these important clues. He insists that he won't tell me until I'm crowned crown prince or even crowned queen. I'm not going to give in to him. This is a matter of a mediator's professional dignity."

Ludwig stopped at the door of the room on the left side of the second floor and pushed open the wooden door.

"This is her room."

If Coco looked at the wooden sign hanging on the door, there was a line of words written on it in delicate handwriting:

[Lingxi's Room]

She murmured the words aloud and exclaimed in surprise.

"Young Miss, you still have doubts after all..."

Ludwig turned around with a smile:

"Don't forget, Coco. This mansion doesn't belong to the vampire queen."

"The limited information provided by the council clearly states that the owner of this mansion is the vampire princess, Yang Lingxi."

"The role that His Majesty the Prince, who also disappeared, played in the Queen's disappearance remains a mystery. All the clues make it hard for me not to think in that direction."

She fumbled around for a while and then turned on the light.

"The vampire scouts will not conduct a thorough search of the living quarters because they dare not offend His Majesty, but I will not mind 'offending' him."

Ludwig said.

What clues might you give in your room?

The silver-haired girl surveyed the room and gave a cold snort.

"Don't let me find out, Miss 'Mastermind'."

Chapter 24 Hidden Secret

This girl's dormitory has been preserved almost exactly as it was when its owner left. The dusty desk and bed sheets silently speak of their loneliness.

But the astute Ludwig noticed that many of the everyday items, decorations, and small pieces of furniture placed here were placed on top of the existing furniture.

For example, her modern dressing table was out of place with the surrounding antique furniture, and it hadn't been used for very long.

"It looks like... she moved in later, and there was someone else before her."

“But the records say this has always been His Majesty the Prince’s room,” Ruo Keke said.

Ludwig scratched her head:

“There have been two completely different lifestyles in this room. If it has always been her, it’s like she’s a completely different person. Even if it’s a fake, it wouldn’t be faked so clumsily.”

They were completely baffled by this boudoir, and after searching around, they still couldn't find any noteworthy clues.

Just before Ludwig was about to lose patience, her eyes lit up:

"Hey, what is this?"

She noticed something was off about the space in the desk drawer. She pulled the whole drawer out, and sure enough, she found a hidden compartment at the very back.

To Ludwig's further surprise, the mechanism in this interlayer was covered with far more dust than other areas.

Coco leaned closer and said, "Miss, it seems the vampire scouts haven't discovered this secret."

Ludwig remained noncommittal: "That's not right. I suspect that the elite vampire scouts wouldn't have missed this place. It's not that they didn't notice it, but rather that they were bound by outdated ideas and dared not venture too far into Her Majesty's residence."

Ludwig said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Otherwise, how come His Majesty's wardrobe didn't even show any signs of being rummaged through? Especially those inner..."

Coco coughed lightly twice.

"I guess it's probably because the scouts are mostly men. Even if the target isn't a princess, the scouts would probably be too embarrassed to rummage through a young girl's wardrobe."

...

Ludwig pulled out a hidden compartment, inside which was a diary with a leather cover. The cover had the character "Yang" written on it.

Just as they were excitedly flipping through the diary, a blow extinguished their hopes.

The diary has been mostly torn out, with only a few fragments remaining.

"How could this happen?" Ruo Keke said.

“You have a guilty conscience…that’s why you destroy your diary. The consequence of not being able to destroy your diary is that someone will strip you bare,” Ludwig said.

But since it is a hidden secret diary, the things recorded in it... even just a few words, might become the key to solving the case.

Ludwig and Ruoke flipped through the diary. Only the corner pages of the book still showed traces of writing, indicating that whoever destroyed it did so in a hurry.

Given that the scouts had searched the place that the king himself had destroyed...

[September 1, sunny.]

The great pandemic has been over for more than a month now.

[She gave Hilly a new doll, and she was not...heartbroken.]

February 26th, cloudy.

She said she wanted to go back to...the castle...the Queen. But she'd already lived for...years; she should get more used to modern life.

After all, she once said that she didn't actually... dislike school life.

Whatever happens, take it slow. After all, we have an unlimited amount of time.

[2 month 29 day]

I have...this...body.

I'm becoming less and less like...