After waiting for a short while, two thin books and one thicker volume were placed beside me.
"This volume is the history book taught to all vampires, my lady."
She pointed to the first book, then moved to the other two in order.
"This one is a compilation of the fundamentals necessary for using sorcery. And this one is The Dominion of Shadows, a basic technique that vampires of the Kujo family are capable of using."
"I see..."
I opened each of them and flipped through a few pages. Most of the contents were only short explanations followed by almost entirely colored illustrations.
I opened another one. The result was hardly any different.
Only the history book should have been dense with actual content, but even so, it had been summarized far more concisely than I expected.
In the end, I decided to skim through it first to grasp the rough outline before turning my attention to sorcery.
There was nothing strange about the history book.
Everything in it was simply the history of humanity as I knew it—ancient times, wars, the Industrial Revolution, the World Wars, and the development of Japan into the present era.
There was not a single line about vampires or sorcery, nor even the slightest trace of a supernatural world.
If I had read only that book, I would have concluded at once that this world was no different from my old one.
Compared to these two thin books, it was hardly interesting at all.
So I slid the history book aside and picked up the volume on the fundamentals of sorcery instead.
In short, various forms of negative emotions give birth to curses, and those who can see curses are people with the aptitude to use sorcery.
The book also included illustrations of curses. Their appearance resembled the kind of evil spirits commonly seen in horror films, except far more twisted and disgusting.
It also mentioned Domain Expansion, an advanced technique used by sorcerers.
From the brief explanation, it was a technique that created a space saturated with the user's cursed energy, to the point that the rules within that area tilted completely in favor of its owner.
Reverse Cursed Technique.
Unlike normal techniques, which rely on power born from negative intent, Reverse Cursed Technique was described as turning that power inside out until it became a force with the exact opposite effect.
The book explained briefly that its most common application was restoring the body and healing wounds, though it could apparently be used in other ways as well.
By the time I reached that point, I began to understand that the sorcery system in this world was far from simple.
So I opened The Dominion of Shadows next.
The first page did not begin with an explanation of how to use the technique. Instead, it began by describing the origin of those who could wield it.
We vampires are a form of life fundamentally separate from humans. Our bodies, instincts, and even our relationship with the outside world all differ in ways that are unmistakable.
And among all of our defining traits, one of the most important is the absence of a shadow.
I looked down at my own feet again.
There really was none.
Even though the lights in the library shone clearly from above, my body cast no shadow at all.
The book continued.
Because of this, we are able to directly impose cursed energy upon external things, causing the shadows of objects, places, and even other living beings to respond to our commands.
This is the foundation of the Dominion of Shadows.
This technique is centered on controlling shadows, and the very fact that vampires possess no shadow of their own is the reason it came into existence in the first place.
After finishing that section, I lowered my gaze to my feet once more, then gradually gathered the negative emotions within myself and guided the cursed energy flowing through my body to converge there.
Before long, a black aura began to gather around my feet.
A shadow, appear.
I did not understand exactly how cursed energy worked in any scientific sense.
But I simply imagined that I ought to have a shadow there.
In the very next moment, a shadow was created beneath me.
Not only that—after a period of trial and error within the library, I discovered that I could increase the mass of the shadow, causing it to transform into a black liquid that moved according to my will.
Though it looked soft and shapeless, it was strong enough to lift my body with ease.
I called for the librarian.
"Please put these books away, and take me somewhere I can practice sorcery."
"Yes, my lady."
I was led to the basement of the mansion, which had been decorated in a plain style quite unlike the Japanese atmosphere found throughout the rest of the residence.
Even so, the place was no less spotless than any other part of the mansion, despite seeming like the area that few people ever reached.
When I arrived at a branching passage, I found a large sliding security door.
Beyond it was a square, empty chamber—featureless, with only a single pane of glass along one wall, likely arranged so that people could observe from outside.
The maid stopped at the entrance and allowed me to step inside alone.
I began training immediately, without waiting for any signal.
I created a shadow from the tip of my feet, then slowly increased its mass. What had once clung to the floor gradually rose upward, gathering into a floating black sphere in the air.
After that, I reshaped it into a katana and swung it with all the strength I had.
The instant the blade cut through the air, I could feel the pressure around me shift slightly from the speed of the slash alone.
I also tried splitting the shadow into numerous needle-like projectiles and fired them at the wall in front of me.
They looked both fast and violent, yet the wall did not show so much as a scratch.
A proper training ground indeed.
1
I trained until dawn, until finally I emerged from the basement under the care of the maids.
"It is time for breakfast, Lady Kujo."
As always, Sebastian brought the meal to me himself.
Blood.
I did want to ask if there was anything else to eat, but thinking about it, that would have been far too strange.
If a young lady who had lived on nothing but blood all this time suddenly asked for a different menu, even Sebastian would surely begin to suspect something.
In the end, I could not escape the same meal as always.
This time, it came in the form of blood soup.
I slowly lifted a spoonful while observing its smooth, slippery texture.
Only when I looked closely did I realize what it was.
Coagulated blood.
I wanted to throw up.
But it tasted infuriatingly good.
So in the end, I could only close my eyes and continue eating in silence until it was gone.
"Are you dissatisfied with the new chef's work, my lady?"
"No... I think it tastes good."
If it had not, what exactly would you have done to that chef?
"I heard that you are now able to use the Dominion of Shadows, Lady Kujo. Allow me to offer my congratulations."
I gave him a small nod.
"And moreover, this is the first time in many generations that the Kujo family has been able to use that technique once again."
"Hm? Wasn't the Dominion of Shadows the family's original technique?"
"Yes, it was. If we speak of three or four generations ago, users of the Dominion of Shadows still appeared."
Sebastian continued.
"But after that, children of the Kujo family began to be born with Heavenly Restrictions. Their cursed energy vanished, exchanged instead for overwhelming physical power."
"Then does that mean I do not have a Heavenly Restriction?"
"No, my lady. You too were born with a Heavenly Restriction. It was simply of the opposite kind."
"..."
I waited for him to explain.
"It means being born with a body so frail it was nearly on the brink of death, in exchange for an excess of cursed energy."
"Fortunately, you are a vampire. The bodily weakness was canceled out by the extraordinary regenerative ability of your bloodline."
"What about those who came before me... where are they now?"
"They are all dead, my lady."
Sebastian looked at me with a calm, emotionless gaze.
"Have you truly forgotten, my lady, that a pure-blood vampire like yourself can only exist as a single one at any given time?"
That was bad.
I had spoken without thinking again.
"Sorry... How could I have forgotten something like that?"
Sebastian looked at me for a moment longer before saying no more.
"It is all right, my lady."
The gaze of a vampire was enough to make me tense.