Lin Baiyuan averted her gaze from the battered Amaterasu twins, her heart still pounding. She approached Dorothy, the Vampire Princess, and bowed respectfully.

“Princess Dorothy, Miss Hermione,” she began, her voice steady despite her inner turmoil. “First, I need to confirm whether this incident was an internal vampire dispute. This will help us determine the appropriate level of involvement for the Student Council and provide the necessary assistance.”

“It will also allow us to transfer the case to the appropriate authorities for further investigation,” she added, nodding towards Lady Edith, the president of the Black Feather Society, who had just entered the ruined classroom.

In other words, she was passing the buck.

This was a vampire matter, not a Student Council concern. Interfering in vampire affairs could lead to criticism and even punishment.

Dorothy ignored her, a reaction Lin Baiyuan had come to expect.

Hermione, however, nodded curtly. “We’ll handle everything,” she said, her voice cold. “The explanations, the compensation… everything.”

“Excellent,” Lin Baiyuan replied, relieved.

With the Student Council out of the picture, Adele wanted nothing more than to escape this tense, volatile atmosphere. Now that the common enemy had been defeated, the underlying tensions between Dorothy and Hermione were resurfacing, threatening to erupt into another conflict.

Adele had had enough excitement for one day. She just wanted to go home, to the safety of her dorm room, or perhaps the apartment she shared with Celeste. This place no longer felt safe.

Surrounded by predators, she finally understood that she was just a… little bunny.

Her confidence, the bravado that had allowed her to manipulate even Sequence Ones, had vanished.

The more she thought about it, the more terrified she became.

Celeste and Tang Linlang couldn’t help her, and she certainly couldn’t help herself.

Dorothy and Hermione each grabbed one of her arms, their grip tightening, making Adele feel like a doll being fought over by two children. One wrong move, and they might tear her apart…

Even the Amaterasu twins, powerful Sequence Ones, had been reduced to whimpering messes.

And Adele… she had no power at all.

She had stopped Dorothy from finishing off the twins, not out of any misplaced sympathy for them, but because she had seen a reflection of her own potential fate in their broken bodies.

It wasn’t about saving them. It was about saving herself.

But even now, she couldn’t shake off the fear, the lingering terror.

Tears welled up in her eyes, her throat tightening with unshed sobs. Dorothy and Hermione’s grip on her arms intensified, their argument escalating, pushing Adele to her breaking point.

“I… I want to go home,” she whimpered, her voice barely audible.

It wasn’t an act, a calculated attempt to garner sympathy or manipulate those around her. It was a simple, heartfelt plea, the desperate cry of a girl who wanted to escape, to hide from the horrors of this world.

She was afraid, even of Hermione and Dorothy, the ones who had just saved her.

Tears streamed down her face, her sobs echoing through the ruined classroom.

Even the griffon chick, sensing her distress, circled her ankles, chirping softly, as if trying to comfort her.

Hermione, her heart clenching at the sound of Adele’s sobs, stopped arguing, her anger fading. She had been so foolish, wasting time on petty squabbles and insults, forgetting what truly mattered.

Adele was trying to pull away, to escape her grasp.

A sharp pain stabbed at Hermione’s heart.

She loosened her grip, giving Adele the freedom to choose.

Dorothy, hearing Adele’s heartbroken plea, “I want to go home…”, was also affected, though she tried to hide it. But a wave of self-doubt washed over her.

*Why Adele? Why her?*

Why did this girl have such a hold on her emotions?

Why did she feel such anger, such joy, such madness, such tenderness… all because of Adele?

It was baffling.

Dorothy couldn’t explain it.

She tightened her grip on Adele’s arm, just for a moment, making the girl tremble. Then, she lowered her gaze, her pride momentarily forgotten, and released Adele’s arm.

Her fingers brushed against Adele’s sleeve, lingering for a fleeting moment before finally withdrawing, her gaze averted.

*Go,* she seemed to be saying. *Before I change my mind.*

Adele had been terrified, expecting Dorothy to lash out, to punish her for her weakness. But Dorothy had let her go, had granted her a moment of freedom.

She didn’t feel relief, only a sense of exhaustion, a weariness that settled deep within her bones.

Perhaps some forms of love were simply… too heavy, too suffocating.

Adele knew she didn’t have the freedom to love equally.

Or perhaps she was simply traumatized by her encounter with the twins, her spirit broken. Maybe in a few days, she would be back to her old self, bouncing between Hermione and Dorothy, playing her games.

But regardless of the reason, she was desperate to escape.

She wiped her tears and turned to leave.

But then, Celeste called out to her.

“Mas— Adele.”

Adele looked up, her eyes wide and teary, her expression so vulnerable it made Celeste’s heart ache.

Even Celeste, usually so stoic, had tears in her eyes. It seemed that a familiar could, to some extent, share their master’s emotions.

And Celeste, who loved Adele with all her heart, was deeply affected by her master’s distress.

She removed her jacket and offered it to Adele.

Adele, confused, stared at her.

Celeste pointed at Adele’s skirt, the fabric hanging precariously, slashed open by Shiro’s scissors.

Adele realized that even a slight breeze could expose her, could cause the entire skirt to unravel.

Unlike Hermione and Dorothy, who had been consumed by their own rivalry, Celeste was the only one who had noticed Adele’s vulnerability, her need for protection, her desire for dignity.

Tears welled up in Adele’s eyes again.

But Celeste, loyal dog that she was, probably wouldn’t want her master to cry for her.