While Julietta's speech went on at the front of the ballroom, Otto stood behind the marble pillar with his phone in his hand. He stared at the screen as if it might give him the answer.
He scrolled through his contacts once. Then he scrolled through them again. There were hundreds of names: business partners, old colleagues, informants, and soldiers of Harkia. Not one of them could reach the man he needed.
'Alejandro doesn't take calls,' Otto thought bitterly. 'He doesn't answer letters, either. If you want to talk to the Strongest Elder, you have to go through three layers of the Council, and every one of those layers has a reason to say no.'
He pressed his thumb against his forehead and closed his eyes. There had to be a way. There was always a way, even if it was a dirty one.
On the other side of the ballroom, Max was not thinking about anything so serious.
He was enjoying the speech. Or, more exactly, he was enjoying how predictable it was. He had listened to Julietta's speeches many times over the years. The words changed from year to year, and so did the jokes, but the shape of every speech was the same. First she thanked everyone. Then she talked about how far the company had come. After that she said something about dreams and hard work, and she finished with a toast.
'Well, that's high society for you,' Max thought. 'Fake speeches, fake laughs, and fake smiles. Fucking fakes, all of them.'
He looked around the room. Half the guests were nodding as though they cared about every word. The other half were only waiting for the free food. Nobody was really listening, but everybody was clapping at the right moments.
"Ughh..." Max groaned quietly.
"?"
Bell looked up at him in confusion. Then she glanced at the stage, where Julietta was still talking, and understood at once. She turned her eyes back to the speech and said nothing. She knew why he had groaned, and she was not going to tease him about it.
But her mind kept wandering.
'Max told me earlier that he can't stand big crowds either,' she thought. 'That means he has social anxiety, just like me. But that's strange, isn't it?'
She frowned slightly and looked at his face from the side.
'He's a quarter vampire, and he's of royal blood, too. Shouldn't someone like that be used to events like this? And he's also one of the Top 10 Most Wanted Fugitives in America. Well, a former one, but still. A man like that must have gone to a hundred balls and parties. Everyone knows that hitmen use parties to collect information. They listen to rumors and gossip, and they watch who talks to whom.'
She tilted her head.
'So why does he look so uncomfortable?'
The question had been sitting in her chest for days, and tonight it had grown too heavy to ignore. Bell was still holding his arm, so she gave it a small tug.
"Are you all right?" she asked.
"Yeah. Don't mind me," Max replied.
"Hey, Max."
"Hmm?"
"I forgot to ask you something. You're a quarter vampire, right?"
Max blinked. "Yes. I already told you that days ago, Bell."
"Then can you tell me why in the fucking hell you need my help to hunt down that stalker of yours?" Bell lowered her voice and leaned closer so nobody nearby could hear her. "He's already killed five people. Five people with the same eye color as you, Max. Your beautiful amber eyes."
Max's lips curled into a grin. "Wait. My eyes are really that beautiful?"
"Ughh! Don't change the topic!" Bell's cheeks went pink. She was furious, partly because she had slipped and said the word 'beautiful', and partly because she knew exactly how he would tease her about it. "Just answer me. Why?"
"Fine, fine."
Max sighed. He knew why she was asking. Bellatrix, the girl he called Bell, was a chemist and a scientist. She was the kind of person who needed a reason for everything. She had every right to be confused. He was a vampire, after all, and he had asked a human woman to help him catch a murderer. He could almost hear the question in her head: 'Why can't he just kill his stalker with his vampire powers?'
He ran his hand through his amber hair and let out another long breath.
"Well..."
"Well?"
Bell waited with her grey eyes fixed on him. This was the question that had been bothering her ever since that strange week. First Max had told her that he was a Top 10 Most Wanted Fugitive. Two days later he had told her that he was a vampire. And on the very same day, he had told her that his auntie was a witch. She was not an ordinary witch, either. She was one of the few truly neutral ones, a White Witch, as Max had put it.
It had been a lot of news for one person to take in. Bell had accepted all of it, one piece at a time. But this one question had stayed with her through every sleepless night.
"I..." Max stopped and sighed again. "I don't know magic. Blood magic, to be more exact."
Bell said nothing. She waited for him to continue.
"I'm a quarter vampire," Max said. "That's not like being a half-blood, like my father. And it's nothing like the pure bloods, who wield all kinds of magic. They can bend blood, shape shadows, and do things most people only see in nightmares. Me? I didn't get any of that. It doesn't matter that I have royal blood. Quarter vampires are treated like runts. We're the weakest of the litter."
His voice was calm, but his eyes were fixed on the floor.
"I don't have any mana or magic in me, either. I've tried to learn it. I've tried even the weakest and simplest spells that a child could cast. Nothing happened. It turns out I'm just not capable of it."
For a moment, neither of them spoke. The noise of the party seemed to move farther away.
"Oh," Bell said softly. "I see. I understand now."
She looked up into his amber eyes. She didn't see weakness there. She saw a man who had carried this for a long time without telling anyone. Her grip on his arm tightened.
"Don't worry, then," she said firmly. "You don't have magic, but you have me. I know more about illegal chemical weapons than anyone should, and you already know that. If your stalker is as dangerous as you say, I'll find a way to beat him with science. And also..."
She paused.
"Max."
"Yeah, Bell?"
She suddenly pulled his head down, and before he could say another word, she kissed his forehead.
Max froze.
His amber eyes went wide. His mind, which was usually fast and full of jokes, went completely blank. A second later the heat rushed up from his neck to his face, and then all the way to the tips of his ears. He was blushing so hard that he was sure even the old aristocrats could see it from across the room.
He tilted his head away and lifted his hand to hide his face. He couldn't look at her. There was no way he could let her see him like this.
Bell burst into laughter, but she covered her mouth to keep it quiet. Her shoulders shook. This was perfect. After all the teasing he had done tonight, the jokes about her being anti-social and the pats on her head like she was a puppy, this was the sweetest revenge she could have asked for.
"Your ears are red," she whispered.
"They are not."
"They're really red."
"It's the lighting."
"Sure it is."
Max grumbled something under his breath that sounded a lot like a curse. Bell grinned from ear to ear.
"THAT'S ALL!"
Julietta's voice rang out across the ballroom, and everyone turned toward the stage. She was raising her wine glass high over her head, and her golden hair gleamed under the lights.
"ENJOY THE PARTY!"
The crowd raised their glasses in answer, and a roar of cheers filled the hall. The violins started up again. The waiters began moving through the guests with fresh trays, and the lively sounds of conversation returned.
"Seems like the speech is over," Max said. His ears were still red.
"Yeah. Finally," Bell said, and she stretched her neck with a small sigh. "That was a long-ass speech, not gonna lie."
Then her eyes brightened, and she looked up at him. "So, should we go and meet her, Max?"
She was excited. She had been curious about Max's godmother ever since he first mentioned her. After seeing that grand entrance, she was more curious than ever.
"Yeah, we should go now," Max said, and he took a step forward. Then he stopped. "Wait, never mind. Let her come to us. It looks like she's already spotted me."
He was right.
Up on the stage, Julietta was scanning the room with her turquoise eyes. The moment she saw a familiar head of amber hair in the crowd, her face lit up like the sun coming out from behind a cloud. She handed her microphone to a staff member, lifted the hem of her violet gown, and began to hurry down the steps.
"Wait, Madame, your..." a female servant called after her, trying to keep up.
Julietta didn't even turn her head. She was walking faster and faster.
"Your wine glass..." The servant looked down at the glass in her own hands, then sighed and shook her head. "Sigh. Never mind."
The guests parted to make room for the Host as she crossed the floor. She was a queen heading straight toward her target, and her target was a tall man who had suddenly gone pale.
"Oh no," Max said under his breath.
"What?" Bell asked.
"Brace yourself."
"For what?"
Julietta was close enough now. She lifted both arms, jumped, and screamed with all her might.
"MAAAAAAXXXXXX!!!!"
"Argh..." Max groaned again. This time it was the groan of a man who knew exactly what was coming and could do nothing to stop it.
Then he was swallowed by a hug.
Julietta threw her arms around his neck and pulled his face straight into her chest.
-BOING!
"Maaaaaaxxxxxxx!!!! Kyaaaaaaaaa!!!!" Julietta squealed. She hugged him tightly, rocking from side to side, and her voice was bursting with joy. She was genuinely happy. Her favorite nephew was finally standing in front of her after so many years, and she was not going to let him go anytime soon.
She nuzzled her cheek against his face and squeezed even tighter.
"A-auntie!" Max's voice came out muffled. He waved his arms in the air, struggling. "I can't breathe!"
"My baby boy! You got so tall! No, wait, you were always tall. You got so handsome! No, wait, you were always handsome. You got so..."
"Auntie!"
Bell stood beside them with her eyebrow raised.
She watched this scene for about five seconds. Then she looked at Julietta's arms, which were still wrapped around Max's head. Then she looked at Max's hands, which were still waving helplessly. Something small and sharp stirred in her chest, and she did not like how it felt.
She stepped forward and tapped her finger on Julietta's shoulder.
"Excuse me, Ma'am," Bell said politely. Her smile was very, very polite. "Could you please let go of my dear boyfriend?"
The air changed.
"A-ah! Sorry, sorry!" Julietta pulled her arms back at once. She stepped away and smoothed down her dress, and then her eyes went wide as the last word reached her ears. "Wait. Girlfriend???"
She turned to Max with her mouth slightly open. "Girlfriend?!"
Max gasped for air and straightened his jacket. His hair was a mess, and there was a faint lipstick mark on his cheek. He cleared his throat, trying to recover what little dignity he had left.
"Yes. Girlfriend. Let me introduce you." He put one hand on Bell's shoulder. "Bell, this is my godmother, Julietta. She was my mom's best friend. And Auntie, this is Bellatrix Laurentina Ahlgrymm. My girlfriend."
"Ahlgrymm???"
Julietta repeated the surname slowly. She looked at Bell from head to toe, and her turquoise eyes narrowed in thought. Then her face brightened with understanding.
"Ohhhhh. You're one of Otto's children. You must be the chemist girl. Your father talks about you a lot."
She leaned a little closer and studied Bell's face. The look in her eyes was warm, but it was also sharp. It was the way an older woman looked at someone who might become part of her family. She was sizing Bell up, and she was doing it carefully.
Bell stood straight and met her gaze. She didn't look away.
"I thought you didn't attend parties, Miss Ahlgrymm," Julietta said.
"Well, it's true. I don't," Bell said. "But since this is our third date..."
She turned her head and looked at Max, who suddenly became very interested in the chandelier. Then she faced Julietta again.
"I agreed to come. And you can just call me Bell. Or Lauren. Or Tina. Whatever you like."
"Tina?" Julietta repeated, amused. "Why Tina?"
"It's my middle-middle-middle name. Don't ask."
"I see," Julietta said, but her smile was slowly fading into a frown. Her eyes moved from Bell to Max and back again. "I see... wait. Wait a second. Max! How and when in the hell did you get a girlfriend?!"
"Auntie..."
"I swear, I thought you never would! You're already thirty-two years old, for goodness' sake! I was starting to think I would have to find you a wife myself!" She put her hands on her hips. "And how old is this girl, by the way?"
Max sighed. It was a very long sigh, the kind that carried years of being nagged by the same person.
"Seriously..." he muttered. Then he lifted his head and answered. "I may be thirty-two, but I can still get a girlfriend, Auntie. And she's twenty-five years old. So you don't need to worry. I'm not a fucking creep, and I'm not a fucking pedophile."
"Language, Max!"
"You're the one who asked!"
"I know, I know. I trust you." Julietta waved her hand, and the frown melted into a gentle smile. "I was just curious, Nephew. You can't blame an old woman for being nosy."
She turned to Bell and bowed her head slightly, a graceful motion that made her golden hair slide over her shoulder. When she straightened, her eyes were shining.
"Anyway, let me introduce myself again, properly this time. I am Julietta Francine Del Albero, the owner of the Alberian Peninsula Beauty Corporation, or ALPEBCORP for short. I am Max's godmother, and also the best friend of his late mother, Arkeninna D. Hoffman. God rest her soul."
For a brief moment, her smile softened with sadness. Max lowered his eyes, and his hand, which had been resting on Bell's shoulder, tightened just a little. Bell noticed it. She said nothing, but she moved a little closer to his side.
Then Julietta shook off the sadness, and her bright smile returned. She lifted her chin proudly and placed one hand on her chest.
"And I am also already fifty-nine years old!"
Max burst out laughing.
He had known this was coming. Julietta never hid her age. She loved announcing it at every party, just to watch people's faces. It was her favorite game, and she was very, very good at it.
Bell, on the other hand, stood completely still.
She blinked once. Then she blinked again. Her eyes moved slowly from Julietta's smooth, glowing face to her slim waist, then to her golden hair, and then back to her face. There was not a single wrinkle on it. Not one. This woman looked younger than Bell's own cousins. She looked like she could go to a nightclub tonight and be asked for her ID.
'Fifty-nine,' Bell thought. 'Fifty-nine. That's older than my father. That's older than half the people in this room. That's... that's...'
Her brain simply refused to do the math.
Her mouth fell open, and her jaw dropped as low as it could go. The tiny glass of champagne she had been holding almost slipped from her fingers.
"W-WHAT?!"