Autumn's voice usually had a childlike tone, but when speaking to Marina, it became even more cutesy and whiny.
"See? Mom, do you believe me now? It's not that my skills are bad."
"Hmm. That is strange. I'll try again later."
Marina's icy blue eyes closed halfway as she let out a soft sigh. She massaged her temples with slender fingers, clearly drained, even an unsuccessful attempt at "manipulation" had cost her quite a bit of energy.
Autumn quickly scooted closer to her mother like a fawning little fox. Marina gave her a smack on the leg just as Autumn tried to pull both feet up onto the chair.
"Put your legs down. Sit properly, young lady. You're a girl, act like one."
Autumn obeyed immediately. Then, pouting and sulky, she raised both hands toward her mother.
"Look at this, Mom. My fangs won't retract anymore, and my claws are stuck too."
It was only then that Ethan noticed just how different Autumn looked from her usual self.
Aside from the obviously extended fangs and razor-sharp claws, her once-clear brown eyes now had a reddish hue. Her pale porcelain skin was laced with faint pinkish-purple veins at the neck, forehead, and jawline.
To be fair, Autumn's current appearance was a bit terrifying, strongly reminiscent of the bloodthirsty Vampire that had attacked Royce and Ethan in that dark alley.
Autumn was wearing a white nightgown with puffed sleeves, frilled and styled in a lavish Victorian fashion. She truly looked like one of those classic Vampire ladies straight out of old Gothic films.
"Open wide. Let me see."
Marina examined Autumn's elongated fangs closely.
"Do you remember how many milliliters of blood you drank?"
"Maybe… about 200 ml?"
"Autumn, be honest with me."
"I really don't remember!"
Her voice distorted as Marina pinched her puffy cheeks firmly between her thumb and forefinger.
"Fifteen hundred! You must've drunk at least 1500 ml or more, sweetie. That's why your fangs, nails, eyes, and skin are looking exactly like those of a blood-addicted Vampire. Tell me, how do you expect to go out in public looking like this?"
Ethan suddenly recalled how, just a few days ago, when he offered to treat her, Autumn had asked for an Oolong Jasmine Milk Tea from 2High, size 3XL, 1500 ml, Full Topping. And that was after she'd already downed a 500 ml cup offered by Andrew the Detective. So Ethan wasn't all that surprised anymore about Autumn's blood-drinking capacity.
"You're my daughter - the daughter of a Blood Culture teacher, no less! You even took the Blood - Drinking Certification Exam and passed, theory and practice both. So why didn't you apply a single thing you learned?"
"I… I'd lost so much blood myself at that point, Mom. I wasn't fully conscious…"
"You almost killed Ethan. If we had been even a little later, that boy would've died. You've studied Vampire History, you know what kind of consequences it would bring to the Community if a human dies from blood loss."
"But Mom… Royce pulled Ethan away in time, didn't he?"
"You think saving someone who's lost more than 1500 ml of blood is a walk in the park? We spent the entire night just to pull that boy back from Death's grasp."
"Excuse me… may I ask… where is Royce now? How is he doing?"
Ethan quickly took the opportunity to ask about Royce's condition, hoping it might shift Marina's attention away from scolding Autumn so harshly.
"Royce had to be hospitalized. His wounds stopped healing, so he needed proper medical attention."
Her tone did shift, distracted by Ethan's question. But it wasn't long before Autumn was once again facing the wrath of a Tiger Mom.
"Look at Royce and learn from him! Even in that condition, he still refused to drink a single drop of human blood. He wouldn't even accept a transfusion!"
"He's him, and I'm me. Royce and I are built completely differently. I don't have his natural healing ability. You gave birth to me, you should know that better than anyone!"
"You've been arguing back a lot lately, haven't you? Do you know what used to happen to disrespectful children back in the day? They were locked in coffins!"
"And exactly what year was 'back in the day,' Mother?"
Autumn's reddish-tinted brown eyes sparkled with mischief. She turned to Ethan and whispered just loud enough for him to hear:
"Hee hee. My mom hates being asked for dates or time periods. She always hides her real age."
"Seventeen…"
Marina cut herself off. Her face flushed slightly. Autumn's cheeky jab had clearly hit a sore spot. The aloof, elegant aristocratic aura vanished, leaving behind a thoroughly pissed-off Asian mom.
"You! You are so grounded! You'll cook dinner for an entire month. No, scratch that! Every time I let you near a stove, you blow up the whole kitchen. Your punishment will be… no bubble tea, none at all, not even homemade, for one whole month, starting today!"
"Noooo! Let me cook instead, please! I promise I won't destroy the kitchen this time. Pleaaaase!"
Autumn wailed dramatically. She'd clearly realized how deeply she'd messed up. Maybe this time she'd finally learn her lesson.
Gurgle!
Ethan's stomach made a loud, obnoxious growl, slicing right through the family drama. It had been ages since he'd been so hungry that his body made actual sound effects. His last meal was lunch… on Friday.
"Autumn, take Ethan to the dining room. The poor boy hasn't eaten in days!"
"D… Days?"
Ethan blinked, his face slowly draining of color. A terrible realization crept in. Something very important… might've been missed.
He turned to Marina quickly.
"Ma'am… What day is it today?"
"Today is Monday, the 29th of September. You've been asleep since Friday night. You slept through all of Saturday and Sunday. You were too weak, so we let you rest. Why, dear?"
Ethan froze.
He didn't want to believe it.
"I… I just missed the qualifying exam for Harmony High's math team. It was held on Saturday, the 27th of September!"
"Shall I ask the School Board and Harmony's Principal to let you retake it, Ethan?"
Marina asked calmly.
"No, that wouldn't be fair to the other students. I can wait and take it again next year, when I'm in twelfth grade."
That meant he'd missed his only chance this year to qualify for the National Math Olympiad team.
Now, he'd have to wait until Grade 12 to try again, just like Mr. Evan, his math teacher, had advised earlier. But… How was he going to explain this to his parents?
"See that? That's what integrity looks like in other people's children, Autumn!"
Autumn glanced awkwardly at Marina, who stood at a distance with her arms crossed, eyeing her sternly.
"Autumn, I'm starving. Take me to the dining room, will you?"
Knowing that if they stayed any longer, the conversation would inevitably turn against her and Marina would definitely scold her again, Ethan quickly grabbed Autumn's hand and led her out of the sitting room.