But how can someone like me, born with a predetermined limit, ever hope to make those descendants of the True Ancestor pay?

Celeste’s anger, hatred, and shame ultimately felt like nothing but a cruel joke. Perhaps she was nothing more than a clown, forced to watch as the person she loved was…

In the soft glow of the morning sun, the golden-haired girl rose, tears staining her cheeks. Her eyes, usually bright and clear like a summer sky, were now dull and lifeless.

She brushed the dust off her knees, carefully smoothing away the footprint on her hair. A last shred of dignity.

Head bowed, she stumbled into her classroom, unable to meet anyone’s gaze, not even for a moment.

………………

Adele was known in her class for her good grades in general knowledge and her diligent work ethic. However, when it came to magic-related subjects, her limitations as a Sequence Five half-blood were glaringly obvious.

She was, without a doubt, at the bottom of the class. The weakest among vampires, the weakest among humans. And to make matters worse, as a half-blood, she was accepted by neither. A pitiful creature caught between two worlds.

If you were to ask why she was so weak… well, go ask the author!

As far as Adele was concerned, *I just can’t do it, okay? * This kind of inherent weakness, written into her very being, wasn’t something she could overcome with mere effort.

In the original story, Adele’s first taste of true power didn’t come until after the academy exams, after she had secured her place as the worst student in the entire school. It was during a mission to hunt down a rogue, incredibly dangerous “witch” that she finally found an opportunity to grow stronger.

Until then, she was nothing but a soft, helpless little cake, ripe for the taking.

Since there was no way to become stronger in the short term, Adele decided to embrace her fate as a hopeless case. And what better way to do that than to sleep through her classes?

It was a mystery why school desks seemed to possess a universal sleep-inducing quality. They weren’t as soft as a bed, and the posture was terrible, yet they seemed to amplify drowsiness tenfold. Adele had even begun to suspect that the desks were some kind of magical tool created by a Dream Eater, allowing them to steal the life force of unsuspecting, slumbering students.

The girl slept soundly, unaware that her actions had attracted the attention of another girl in the class.

This girl, dressed in the standard academy uniform, had opted for a tie instead of the usual pink ribbon. With her hair in neat pigtails and an earnest expression on her face, she looked every bit the pure, innocent girl next door. Specifically, the kind of girl next door who was diligently preparing for her high school entrance exams.

She was almost as petite as Adele, but unlike Adele’s delicate, alluring aura, this girl radiated an air of righteousness and determination. An unwavering commitment to justice, even if she lacked the strength to back it up.

The academy uniform, thankfully, allowed for some degree of personalization. Besides the standard shirt and blazer, both boys and girls could choose between a skirt or pants, a tie or a ribbon. Generally, boys wore ties, and girls wore ribbons.

But this girl, who had approached Adele’s desk after class and gently shaken her awake, was different.

She wore a tie. Thankfully, she hadn’t gone as far as wearing pants. Otherwise, Adele would have been denied the sight of her long, slender legs clad in white stockings.

Adjusting her own rather modest chest, the girl looked at Adele with a mixture of concern and disapproval in her eyes. “Adele! You can’t just give up on yourself like this!”

“Huh…?”

Suddenly awakened from her peaceful slumber, Adele was utterly bewildered.

Um, do I know you? Who are you?

Confusion clouded her pink eyes. She scrutinized the girl for a moment, trying to recall if there had been a character like this in the original story.

This was the biggest difference between reading a novel and transmigrating into one. She now had to navigate a complete and complex world, encountering characters who hadn’t been fleshed out in the original story, facing unexpected situations. No longer could she simply observe from a detached, omniscient perspective.

Seeing Adele’s confused and vulnerable expression, the girl bit her lip, a wave of sympathy washing over her. She remembered that morning, watching Hermione drop Adele off at her classroom.

*Poor Adele… taken away by that Sequence One again… *

The girl couldn’t bear to imagine what that Ice Queen, Hermione, might have done to her. The only thing she could guess was that Adele must have been exhausted after last night, which was why she had fallen asleep the moment she arrived at school.

In the past, Adele had been so hardworking, pushing herself to improve her grades, determined to prove that she was just as capable as anyone else, that even a Sequence Five could achieve great things. Back then, even when she was tired, her eyes had shone with a captivating light, a spark of hope that had inspired others.

But now… had she given up completely?

No… She can’t give up!

Adele, I won’t let you lose that light in your eyes! I won’t let you become a plaything for those arrogant, self-important purebloods!

Adele, I won’t let you fall!

Gathering her courage, the girl straightened her back and declared, “Adele, let me tutor you after school!”

“…”

Seriously, who are you?

Adele didn’t dare to speak, afraid of revealing her ignorance. She hadn’t exactly been speed-reading the novel, nor had she unlocked any time-bending abilities. This girl was definitely not one of the memorable characters from the early parts of the story.

Maybe… my slacking off and sleeping in class changed the plot? After all, if she hadn’t been asleep, this girl wouldn’t have approached her.

But wouldn’t that be a bit too simplistic…?

Adele was experiencing the butterfly effect firsthand. A small change could indeed lead to vastly different outcomes.

But to expect her to work hard, to practice magic and waste her time like the original Adele… that was just too much to ask. Until those crucial plot points arrived, there was no way for her, for this body, to grow stronger.

Adele was well aware of this fact, however much she disliked admitting it. Sometimes, hard work truly couldn’t compete with opportunity.

After a moment of silence, Adele devised a plan to uncover the girl’s identity.

With a slightly ashamed expression and a pitiful look in her eyes, she turned to the girl who had so earnestly offered her help. “Thank you for reminding me… I won’t give up. At least, not now.”

“So… could you please lend me your notes from last class?”

The girl with the pigtails visibly relaxed. That’s the Adele I know! The Adele who refuses to give up!

She’s just tired… That’s why she dozed off…

“Of course! I’ll get them for you right away!”

“My handwriting is a bit messy, but I hope you don’t mind!”

“Not at all.”

With a blush, the girl returned to her seat and began rummaging through her bag for her notes.

Adele soon received the notebook. The handwriting wasn’t messy at all, contrary to what the girl had claimed. It was just… a reflection of her state of mind.

She had spent the entire class not only paying close attention to the lesson but also worrying about Adele, her thoughts a jumbled mess. So naturally, her notes were a bit haphazard, the characters written in a hurried, almost frantic manner.

But the handwriting itself was neat and elegant.

“Tang Linlang… Linlang…” Adele murmured the girl’s name, her brow furrowed in thought.

Suddenly, her eyes widened in realization.

It’s her…

In hindsight, she should have guessed sooner. Most of the elite human students were concentrated in the Sequence Two and One classes, true prodigies all. Only Tang Linlang, with neither a powerful lineage nor exceptional talent, had ended up languishing among the Sequence Fives.

And ironically, she harbored a deep-seated hatred for vampires. But even so, she lacked the power to escape this environment, forced to remain among the lowest of the low.

To be fair, Tang Linlang did have a “lineage” of sorts. She was a descendant of the Tang family, a long line of vampire hunters. And the Tang family… were the masterminds behind the attack that had nearly killed the Vampire True Ancestor all those years ago, the ones who had sacrificed everything to shatter the “false peace” treaty between humans and vampires.

The attack had left the Vampire True Ancestor severely wounded, still recovering to this day. But the price the Tang family paid was even greater. Almost all of their able-bodied fighters had perished. Even those who had survived were left crippled and broken. Their family, once strong and proud, was now nothing but a shadow of its former self, kept afloat by the elderly, the women, and the children.

Tang Linlang was one of the many orphans left in the attack’s wake. She lived for revenge, for the day she could make the vampires pay for what they had done to her family.

But she had no talent. Not a shred of it. It was her greatest sin, her inability to live up to the expectations of those who saw potential in her.

There had been a time when she had wanted to give up, to simply drift through life in a haze of apathy. It would have been easier that way.

And then she saw Adele.

She had been watching her, secretly, from a distance. This girl, a mixed-blood, a Sequence Five… someone she should have despised… but couldn’t. She saw her endure her miserable circumstances without breaking. She saw her bloom like a flower in a world covered in dust, fragile yet strong.

Adele… was the light that had pierced through the darkness of Tang Linlang’s world.

And now, it was her turn to rekindle the fading flame within Adele.