“Do you want to drink something in the meantime?"

  Charlotte was once again at ease, having forced René to let one of his patients die while he was helping Isabel.

  Unlike a typical doctor, who was essentially just a priest relying on the power of God, which was nothing more than a lottery with life, René took a more practical approach.

  Cra was exhausted from the day's events and her constant cshes with the priest. She quickly agreed, and Charlotte wasted no time fetching a bottle.

  "What is inside?" Cra asked as she examined the ceramic carafe.

  Charlotte opened the lid, and as soon as the thick scent of blood and wine escaped the bottle, Cra’s interest was piqued.

  Amidst the chaos raging through the city, Cra and Charlotte started drinking the blood-wine as if nothing was happening while watching René work.

  Meanwhile, René finished closing the dagger wound, using vampire blood to help stabilize it and prevent excessive bleeding.

  "It is time to have some reserves of blood for yourself in case you end up running from the hunters," Charlotte remarked.

  Cra started considering how to secure a steady supply of blood. She knew Isabel alone would not be able to sustain her needs, but creating stockpiles would be difficult. She could not drink from just anyone, and the constant use of silver made it even harder.

  "Once René is done, we will leave the city and hide until the situation improves and the hunters return to Rome. Then we will either come back or move somewhere more secluded," Charlotte said.

  "Most of the elders have left for Croatia to fight for control over vast European territories, competing with other vampire lords spread across the continent. The majority of hunters are in Italy, but that does not mean there are none elsewhere."

  Cra was intrigued by how Charlotte seemed to know so much, but given that she was a vampire, she had a hunch it came from years of wandering through France and living in Italy.

  As they finished the bottle of blood-wine, both Cra and Charlotte were already drunk and growing increasingly curious about René’s progress.

  Just as they went to inspect the doctor’s handiwork, René rose from the bedside and looked at the two of them sitting in the corner before stepping forward.

  "I am done. The wound is stitched and will not bleed unless she moves too much. It is a deep wound, so it will take a long time to heal, and there is a risk of infection."

  "Really? You are already finished?" Cra jumped up and moved closer to check on Isabel.

  Unfortunately, Isabel was lying directly under the sunlight, allowing René to see her condition more clearly. But that did not stop Cra. She picked Isabel up from the bed and prepared to leave.

  Cra wanted to ask more, but before she could, the door burst open. She and Charlotte immediately sensed the scent of blood and silver entering the house. All four of them knew this would not end well.

  "Cra, go through the window. René will handle the situation downstairs. The Church most likely knows I live here and help René with healing people, so they will not attack me."

  Cra wrapped herself and Isabel in a torn bnket she had found earlier and leaped out of the window onto the roof.

  After moving a few houses away, she reached the edge of the city and hid in the side alleys to wait for nightfall.

  She wanted to be patient, but as she id Isabel on the ground, her condition started to worsen little by little. At the same time, a beggar stumbled into the same alley to hide. Unlike Cra and Isabel, however, as soon as he noticed them, he started screaming.

  "A vampire!"

  Before the beggar could take a single step away, Cra caught him. The other people rushing toward the alley stopped in their tracks as they saw what happened next. A hand burst through the beggar’s chest, clutching his heart.

  Everyone froze in terror. The beggar, still alive for a brief moment, looked down in horror to see his own heart in Cra’s hand before she squeezed it until it burst, letting it drop to the ground along with his lifeless body.

  Cra had killed him so quickly that he had not even been able to scream.

  As soon as he fell into the mud, the onlookers realized the truth. Cra was a vampire. Her white hair and pale skin, while somewhat normal in the Italian summer, now stood out unmistakably.

  Panic spread like wildfire. The moment people saw her, they ran in every direction, shouting warnings.

  Cra did not even sigh. She swiftly returned for Isabel and disappeared into the alleyways. Staying in the city was too risky, and with priests everywhere, she decided to leave immediately.

  Upon reaching the city gates, she saw that the exit was crowded with people and carriages trying to flee. She hid in the shadows, quietly gathering information about the situation.

  The guards refused to let merchants leave, but as the desperate crowd pushed forward, they struggled to control them. Even when they tried, they did not thoroughly search the carriages.