Finding Adele wasn’t a difficult task for Hermione. In fact, it was surprisingly easy, thanks to the Amaterasu twins’ blatant disregard for discretion.

The Ice Queen stormed into the academy’s security office, demanding access to the surveillance footage. The images of Adele being abducted in broad daylight, practically snatched from under Hermione’s nose, filled her with a rage that bordered on madness.

And the realization that Adele had been so close, that she had been looking for Hermione when she was taken… it tore at Hermione’s heart.

The Student Council members rushed to the security office, eager to appease the enraged Ice Queen, to negotiate, to offer assistance.

But Hermione was already gone.

The vice-president, her heart pounding, reviewed the footage Hermione had been so fixated on. When she saw the Amaterasu twins, two of the most powerful Sequence Ones in the academy, her shoulders slumped with relief.

This was an internal vampire matter. Let them fight amongst themselves. It would only benefit the Student Council, and the academy as a whole, if they weakened each other.

As for Adele… well, the vice-president felt a pang of sympathy for the poor girl, the academy’s newest heartthrob. But there was nothing she could do. Adele was a half-vampire, after all.

Even in times of peace, there was an unspoken tension between the races, a deep-seated mistrust. Individuals might betray their own kind, but entire races rarely did.

As her beloved president often said, “Mercy towards foreign races is cruelty towards one’s own.”

………………

Hermione followed the trail of clues from the surveillance footage, leading her to the classroom where the Amaterasu twins were holding Adele captive.

The sight of the closed door, not a sliver of light escaping from within, filled her with a dread that chilled her to the bone.

She imagined the horrors Adele might be enduring, the blood and tears, the violation of her innocent body…

Her vision blurred, her mind reeling. A low growl, a sound of primal rage, escaped her lips, like a wounded lioness defending her cub.

The Ice Queen was supposed to be elegant, composed, in control.

But what good was elegance, what good was power, if she couldn’t protect those she cared about?

“Aaahhh!”

Her scream, filled with fury and despair, shattered the classroom windows, ice shards exploding outwards.

Kuro and Shiro, caught off guard, scrambled to defend themselves. They hadn’t expected Hermione to react so violently, to unleash her full power from the start.

Ice shards, sharp as razors, sliced through their defenses, drawing blood. And the blood itself seemed to freeze, Hermione’s magic spreading like a virus, invading their magical circuits.

If Hermione succeeded, the twins would suffer severe injuries, a type of “true damage” that bypassed all defenses.

“Fuck!” Kuro cursed, using a particularly vulgar phrase common among vampires.

Hermione’s ruthless attack had caught her completely off guard.

Shiro’s mood was equally dark.

They had underestimated Adele’s importance to Hermione.

Adele, however, was unharmed, her initial shock and fear giving way to a wave of relief and gratitude as Hermione stormed into the room.

Hermione had deliberately avoided hitting her with her ice magic. And the griffon chick, despite its gluttony, had flown to Adele’s side, its tail swishing through the air, creating a golden circle that deflected any stray ice shards.

Adele’s eyes widened in amazement.

*That little winged kitty is so powerful!*

She didn’t know the griffon chick’s name, but “kitty” would do for now.

The griffon chick, as if sensing Adele’s admiration, tilted its head proudly, then nestled in Adele’s arms, ready to enjoy the show.

Unlike Winona, its stoic owner, the griffon chick was playful and curious, its mischievous nature tempered by a surprising kindness, a protective instinct towards those weaker than itself.

Adele: *…So, I’m the weak one now?*

Well, she couldn’t argue with that. She was probably one of the weakest beings in the entire academy, even weaker than some magical creatures!

It was no wonder the griffon chick had deemed her worthy of protection.

Adele was touched, but also slightly embarrassed.

The area around the classroom was now deserted, a fifty-meter radius cleared by the sheer intensity of the battle between Hermione and the Amaterasu twins.

Adele, the prize they were fighting over, watched the spectacle unfold, her heart pounding with excitement.

Her Snow Princess had come to rescue her!

She preferred that title to the more distant “Ice Queen”, even though another girl, a girl Adele would rather forget about, had already claimed the “princess” title.

Hermione, her silver-blue hair flowing behind her, emerged from the cloud of dust and debris, her ice-blue eyes blazing with a mix of love and rage. But when her gaze landed on Adele, her expression softened, like ice melting into spring water.

Adele’s eyes overflowed with tears. “Hermione…” she whispered, her voice choked with emotion.

She tried to climb off the table, her legs shaking, but she stumbled, almost falling.

Hermione’s heart clenched at the sight of Adele’s torn clothes, her skirt slashed open, revealing her bare thighs, a fresh cut marring her cheek. Fury and protectiveness surged through her.

But Adele’s safety was her priority.

She unleashed a wave of ice magic, pinning the twins in place, then rushed to Adele’s side, scooping her up in her arms, a princess carry.

Their eyes met, their hearts pounding in unison. A spark, a jolt of electricity, passed between them…

*Shit! The chastity curse!*

The tender moment was shattered by a surge of pain that ripped through Adele’s body.

*Dorothy, I’ll kill you!*