Chapter 315: This Milk is Simply Delightful
Magical light flowed through the luxurious Mingyao carriage, illuminating the immaculate compartment.
Leather seats were arranged within, with an elegant crystal tea table standing on the floor. Atop it sat a pristine white porcelain teacup filled with steaming milk.
Through the windows, one could clearly see the train gliding through the high skies.
Below, magical tracks materialized dreamlike in mid-air, guiding the train as it soared between blue skies and white clouds.
Passing through brilliant rainbows, feeling the crisp, cold air, they continued their journey toward the distant Kingdom of Kant.
Birds flew cheerfully in flocks across the sky, chirping merrily.
Sunlight poured down, painting gentle arcs along the edges of the clouds.
In this comfortable compartment, Aurelianne sat alone on the leather sofa, her noble bearing requiring no explanation.
Occasionally, Teacher Viktor would come to check on her, but he spent most of his time immersed in other carriages.
Who knew what he was doing.
However, she wasn't the only one in the first-class compartment.
At this moment, Vanilla, the cat-eared maid, was busy working within Aurelianne's line of sight.
Dressed in a black and white maid uniform, she skillfully prepared tea and poured milk for the princess...
As she worked, her cat ears twitched, and her tail hung down, swaying gently from side to side.
Aurelianne carefully observed every subtle movement Vanilla made.
'Does she really enjoy these menial tasks?'
Aurelianne watched the happily working Vanilla, her mind filled with doubts and complex emotions flickering in her eyes.
A demi-human maid... huh?
She hadn't had much interaction with demi-humans before, mostly just surface-level understanding.
She only remembered the demi-human team that followed her during her training in the Adventurer's City.
From that time, Aurelianne had gained some understanding of these demi-humans' discipline and combat capabilities.
And after that?
Before Aurelianne could continue her thoughts, Vanilla had already prepared fresh tea and milk.
She carried the white porcelain teapot, stepping silently and gracefully to Aurelianne's side.
Vanilla curtsied slightly, pouring warm milk into the teacup before the princess.
White steam rose from the cup, swirling in the air, carrying the fresh aroma of milk.
Vanilla gave another small curtsy and said:
"Your Highness, please enjoy."
Aurelianne thanked Vanilla with a slight nod.
Trying milk prepared by a demi-human for the first time made Aurelianne quite curious.
She wondered what milk prepared by a cat-girl would taste like.
Aurelianne lifted the teacup and took a small sip of the milk.
As the rich milk flavor filled her mouth, Aurelianne set down the cup to savor it properly.
Though still somewhat unrefined compared to experienced human maids, Vanilla's preparation was quite impressive.
Especially for a demi-human, it was exceptionally well done.
Demi-humans' hands weren't naturally suited for such tasks.
Their hands were meant to be hunting weapons, natural claws.
Considering demi-human physical characteristics, such skill was remarkable.
Aurelianne looked at Vanilla and asked:
"Vanilla, you..."
"Why do you have such a name?"
She was curious.
Demi-humans usually didn't have names.
But this delicate cat-eared girl before her had her own unique name.
— Vanilla.
And not just Vanilla,
Even those demi-human guards, each of them had their own names.
This point made Aurelianne feel somewhat strange.
Why did demi-humans need names?
Vanilla stood respectfully to the side, bowing slightly as she explained to Aurelianne:
"Because my master once said I had a pleasant vanilla scent about me, so he gave me this name."
"These were all personally bestowed by my master."
Aurelianne froze upon hearing Vanilla's explanation.
M-Master?
Seeming to notice the princess's curiosity, Vanilla calmly explained.
"I was rescued by my master from demi-human traffickers."
"He granted me wisdom and the talent to become a mage."
"But unfortunately, perhaps due to my insufficient talent, I'm still only a magic apprentice even now."
At this point, Vanilla showed no disappointment, just a simple smile.
Aurelianne grew increasingly surprised as she listened.
When she heard Vanilla say she was a magic apprentice, Aurelianne was even more amazed.
To become a mage required constant study.
However, for demi-humans who struggled even to read, the effort required to learn magic might be ten times, or even dozens of times more than that of ordinary human mages.
Yet Vanilla had become a magic apprentice, which proved her intelligence.
While chatting with Vanilla, Aurelianne could sense this wisdom.
However, demi-human traffickers...
At this thought, Aurelianne's eyes dimmed slightly.
When Vanilla mentioned the traffickers, a barely noticeable flash of fear crossed her eyes.
Though the petite cat-girl appeared relaxed, that momentary dread didn't escape Aurelianne's notice.
If not for Viktor and the Kravina family,
These free demi-humans might have been sold to some dark corner of the world.
Demi-human traffickers were utterly despicable.
Aurelianne had heard Teacher Viktor explain before.
The Empire's ban on demi-humans entering its borders was partly to ensure humans maintained absolute majority and superior status within imperial territory.
But on another level, in a sense, it was to protect these demi-humans from being exploited by certain profit-driven criminals as blatant means of making money.
However, many people only saw the first part.
In the Empire, human supremacy reigned.
This caused many imperial nobles to maintain an air of superiority when dealing with other races.
Other intelligent races at least wouldn't willingly put themselves in danger.
But demi-humans were different.
They were like beasts, lacking rationality.
They easily fell into human hands, to be used as tools and enslaved like livestock.
If demi-humans were allowed within the borders, nobles would become even more brazen.
Without fail, every corner of the Empire would see these inferior demi-human slaves.
Even garbage dumps would be littered with starving, worthless demi-humans abandoned everywhere.
Even now with imperial orders banning demi-human trafficking, people still risked this path of no return for high profits.
Because where there was demand, there was a market.
Where there was a market, there were profits.
As long as noble masters needed this cheap labor and could provide sufficient rewards, these traffickers would dare to take the risk.
Though demi-humans were indeed cheap, that was relative to what you compared them to.
Aurelianne still remembered what Teacher Viktor had said:
"For demi-human traffickers."
"Capturing ordinary demi-humans is as simple and easy as making bread."
"But the price is much higher than selling bread."
So, Aurelianne had always kept this matter in mind.
Thinking of this, Aurelianne's gaze fell on Vanilla again.
She was curious about the vanilla scent Teacher Viktor had mentioned.
So, she opened her mouth:
"May I smell..."
BOOM!
BANG!
The words hung unfinished in the air.
The entire train car suddenly shook violently, as if heaven and earth were being torn apart.
The delicate porcelain teacup on the table crashed to the floor, shattering into countless pieces.
White milk splattered straight out, forming a terrifying pattern of flowing lines.
Aurelianne froze on the sofa, utterly confused.
Just as she was about to stand and see what had happened, Vanilla suddenly pressed down on her shoulders.
Aurelianne tried to break free but found Vanilla's strength far exceeded her expectations - her resistance was completely ineffective.
She often trained in swordsmanship, making her stronger than ordinary girls.
Yet she still couldn't match the tiny cat-girl before her.
Was this the strength of the demi-human race?
Then, Aurelianne saw a ring of green magical light encircle Vanilla's eyes.
Subsequently, one of Vanilla's eyes began to glow faintly green.
This was from surgery Viktor had performed on her, incorporating the magic of the [Lurking Undead's Eye], granting her corresponding abilities of the [Lurking Undead].
"Please don't move, Your Highness."
"If there's danger, I will notify you immediately."
As these words fell, the green light grew stronger, scanning the surroundings.
The moment the green completely covered her eyeball, Vanilla felt the world around her sink into an utterly thick darkness.
Looking through the train car's hazy outlines, scattered colored spots dotted the outside.
Her gaze followed those spots deeper until she observed a mass of even darker presences.
Vanilla's initial gentleness and cuteness gradually faded from her face, replaced by sharp fangs and a deep growl.
The muscles in her face unconsciously tensed, as if facing a great enemy.
"Your Highness, please remain seated here."
"We will handle what comes next."
...
The ministers began trembling uncontrollably in their compartment, fear rapidly spreading across every face,
Some even buried their heads in their clothes in terror.
Why were they so afraid?
Because the train had just experienced a violent jolt.
The ministers weren't just worried about this turbulence, but whether the train could continue forward.
Because they were currently flying above the [Nagaburnah Valley].
Once they crossed this deep gorge, they would be completely outside the Empire.
Now, the train was traveling on magical tracks between the valley walls,
Below lay a bottomless terrifying chasm, constantly sending up horrifying howls from bottom to top.
No one knew how deep this valley truly was, but everyone understood that if the train fell in, their only fate would be to be ground to dust.
The demi-human guards quickly began to move, darting back and forth between train cars.
The crisp sounds of bone and thin iron striking their armor echoed through the hall as they coldly warned the diplomats:
"Stay in your seats, don't move."
"Or face the consequences."
What the hell was going on?
Seeing these demi-human troops mobilize, the ministers grew even more terrified.
Something unexpected must have happened for these demi-human guards to take action.
"Where's Viktor, where is Viktor!"
"We want to see Viktor, why is this happening!?"
Suddenly, as if an extreme northern wind had pierced through glacier ice, a numbing chill ran down these ministers' spines, instantly enveloping them.
The turbulent protests ceased abruptly, as if completely frozen in ice.
Gwen approached from another car, bringing a bitter cold wind.
Her face was frost-like, her voice devoid of emotion yet as cold and indifferent as an abyssal chasm:
"Now, everyone."
"Silence."
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