"Autumn didn't explain anything to you before turning you into her Bloodbound?"
Camellia crossed her arms. Her tone was clearly irritated, though her face showed a strangely eager curiosity.
"Bloodbound? What's that?"
Ethan blinked, bewildered.
"So did Autumn force you into it, or did you willingly become her Bloodbound?"
The library was quite dim, so it was only near the entrance that Ethan finally got a good look at Camellia's appearance.
Camellia was petite, probably just 4 or 5 centimeters taller than Autumn. But her frame appeared far more fragile and delicate than Autumn's.
It was obvious she had no fondness for sunlight. The curtains on both floors of the library were drawn shut, blocking out every inch of sunlight, leaving the space dimly lit by candlelight.
Camellia showed all the signs of someone with albinism. From her flawless white skin to her long white hair, even her eyebrows and eyelashes were snowy pale. Her irises were a light ashy grey.
But what if she avoided sunlight because, like other Vampires who drank human blood, she was one of them?
The book titles stacked on the table in the center of the library certainly hinted at Camellia's connection to the Vampire Community.
Yet Ethan felt no sense of danger from her presence. The so-called Bloodbound mark on his neck - which Camellia had named - wasn't reacting with any pain or heat while he stood near her.
Right now, Ethan couldn't draw any clear conclusions about what Camellia truly was Vampire or human, danger or ally.
And Ethan had made a promise to Autumn never to reveal anything about the Vampire Community of Harmony Town to anyone. So he kept silent in response to Camellia's question.
"So irresponsible! Autumn really deserves a severe punishment. I need to go prepare my instruments. Goodbye, Ethan."
Ethan froze when he heard words like "punishment" and "instruments."
No! He didn't want Autumn to be punished in any way. He had been the one to willingly offer his neck to her that night.
"Handcuffs… check. Chains - five meters should be enough, she's only 1.53m tall anyway. And a whip - definitely need a whip. Now which one should I use…"
Camellia muttered to herself as she gently pulled the two-toned door of the library shut.
Before Ethan could even speak up to defend Autumn, the library door had already closed.
Only now did he realize that Camellia's library was nestled way up in the attic of Harmony High.
The sign labeled Library had completely vanished. The doorknob was gone too. With its outer surface painted the same color as the surrounding wall, the library door now looked like part of the wall itself.
Wait… if there was no handle, then how had Ethan entered the library in the first place?
He reached out and touched the door. It was ice-cold, like it was made of concrete and brick instead of wood.
He knocked on the door. The sound and the feeling under his knuckles were exactly like knocking on a solid wall.
The door - or rather, the wall - gave no response when Ethan tried pushing it.
He quickly opened the Harmony High campus map on his phone, checking the PDF titled New Student Handbook. According to the map, the school's official library was located on the first floor and surrounded by a landscaped courtyard.
Seeing there was still plenty of time before the first afternoon class, Ethan ran down to check out the first-floor library.
This library matched the map exactly. It had full modern facilities, bright natural lighting, and, in addition to rows of bookshelves, there was a computer area with more than twenty terminals for student use.
Then what exactly was Camellia's Library?
The attic level, where Camellia's library had been, wasn't marked on the school map at all.
Thousands of questions swirled in Ethan's head from yesterday until now. So much so that he barely noticed the intermittent pain coming from the Bloodbound mark.
During Friday morning classes, Ethan's mind was completely scattered. He couldn't focus at all during Mr. Evan's math lecture. The equations and numbers on the board kept dancing, warping into symbols that looked like they belonged to an alien civilization.
He couldn't stop thinking about what Camellia had told him the day before:
Bloodbound?
Mistress?
Punishment?
Should he just call Autumn right now and ask her about the Bloodbound mark?
Should he warn her about the punishment Camellia had mentioned?
Rengggg!
The bell signaling the end of the morning session rang out. The entire class stood up to greet the teacher, following the lead of class president, Lucas. Then, like bees escaping a broken hive, the students of 11D rushed out of the classroom to grab lunch.
Ethan, however, remained seated, lost in thought. He didn't even notice Lucas and Simon approaching.
"So it's settled, you'll join the dance team for the 'Kiss You, Bite You' cover performance in place of Royce, right Ethan?"
Lucas waved his hand back and forth in front of Ethan's blank stare, trying to snap him out of his daze.
"Ok."
Ethan replied mechanically, his mind still floating elsewhere.
"What's your exact height and weight, Ethan?"
"I'm 1.78 meters tall and weigh 62 kilos. Wait, why are you asking?"
"The dance team needs your measurements to prepare the outfits, of course."
Lucas replied while tapping away at his phone.
"What dance team?"
"Seriously? I just said it! The 'Kiss You, Bite You' cover performance. Crimson Veil. 'Boyfriends Wanna Bite' idol show. Ringing any bells?"
Lucas enunciated each word loudly and clearly, as if Ethan didn't understand Vietnamese.
"Nooo! I don't know how to dance. Find someone else!"
Ethan panicked. It seemed that while lost in thought, he had unknowingly signed a contract with the devil.
"The team hired a professional choreographer, okay? After a few sessions, anyone can dance."
"But…"
"Ethan, come on. You're the only guy left in 11D who meets the height requirement."
Lucas sighed.
"You already refused to participate in taking care of the Femme Fatale girls. You gotta make it up somehow, or our class's Harmony Points will drop into the negatives."
"Harmony Points?"
"Merit points."
Simon answered curtly, looking completely exhausted.
It was the first time Ethan had heard Simon's voice. Apparently, even he had grown impatient with how clueless Ethan was about everything.
Lucas pulled out his phone and showed Ethan a stats screen in the Harmony High Online app.
According to the rankings, class 11D currently sat dead last among the 11th-grade classes.
"It's all because you and Royce completely ghosted during the event 'Take Care of the Girls for Vietnamese Women's Day'. That's why we're in this disastrous state."
Lucas grimaced, looking more defeated than ever.