Born a Schemer

It wasn't until 45 minutes passed that Dahlia finally managed to slip away and make it back to the debutante. However, after what she had just been forced to witness she had quite a deep blush on her face as she entered the mansion.

'Well, at least it was quick. They may have had a bit of a preamble, but once that guy started going he had the enthusiasm of a jackrabbit and the stamina of a sloth. The dude didn't stand a chance.'

She snickered a little as she had enjoyed making fun of the random noble. Honestly, what she had accidentally peeped on left her with mixed feelings. Other than some novels she's read and some of her 'alone time,' what she had just witnessed was effectively her first sexual encounter. Although she wasn't a direct participant, it had left a whole bunch of thoughts swirling around in her head.

First, the negative. She just saw a guy and all he had to bear, and it confirmed something that had been on her mind for a long time now. She really did feel uncomfortable and even sick when it came to men. Theoretically, she could probably get along with them, but the thought of any kind of attraction was impossible. If there hadn't been any distractions, witnessing the nude nobleman would have absolutely ruined the night.

Thankfully, there were distractions, and they were wonderful. Where before she hadn't thought she might not be able to feel sexual attraction, she had found out this night that she definitely could. It just so happened to be directed at the same sex. Valentina had proven in an instant just how strong Dahlia's attraction could be and even now just thinking of the Archduchess would make her blush.

But she had also learnt from watching the two nobles that she might be very gay and far more interested in sexuality than she first thought. Seeing the young noblewoman in those woods was absurdly exhilarating for her. Her flushed cheeks, smooth skin, bare breasts and gentle pants and moans… To say Dahlia had become hot and bothered might be an understatement.

More than anything though, her thoughts seemed to desperately latch onto every scene she had seen and then replay them only imagining Valentina in a similar way. They had had such a short interaction earlier, but already Dahlia was fantasising of how she wanted to be devoured by the vampiress.

Stepping into the mansion and mixing into the crowd, she ignored people's stares at her as she tried to focus on not being blatantly turned on. Those thoughts kept resurfacing again and again and it was so distracting that she could hardly focus. Looking around she tried to take her mind off things and quickly made some observations.

Her mother, ever the voyeur apparently, was talking to someone else but clearly was holding back laughter as she cast the occasional knowing glance to Dahlia. The Baron on the other hand was in a corner of the hall, seeming to angrily debate with some other patriarchs, all while both gambling and drinking far too much wine. Likely from earlier events, his composure had fallen apart entirely and now he seemed to be using every method he could find to cope.

Though it hadn't happened immediately, when Vincent saw his daughter finally back inside, he stared at her as if she were a blight on humanity. If looks could kill, Dahlia would have died so many times over that she had lost count. Her father didn't approach though. Similar to his wife, he was currently busy with some nobles, but Dahlia could tell that there was an unspoken message telling her to be prepared for the consequences.

Sighing, she looked away and tried to hide from the eyesight of her parents, all while taking in the rest of the debutante. The hall was full of people and plenty were looking her way. Her incredible beauty certainly drew some eyes, but even more than that is that people are nosy and wanted to know more about what had happened between her and the Archduchess.

While Valentina was well known for seducing random women, she wasn't known for protecting them or even showing genuine affection as she had done earlier. The entire series of events between her and Dahlia had been more shocking to some than what had happened to Lord Alcaster. Valentina's penchant for violence was well known, but affection? It was unheard of.

With this all in mind, plenty of nobles slowly began to pluck up some courage and walk forward to Dahlia. The first was a young man.

"Hello, congratulations on getting your aspect! Not meaning any offence, but it's clear you've been waiting for this moment a long time, and I'm sure that… And I… really are… the Archduchess!... might have thought?…"

It wasn't until the words of "it was wonderful meeting you but I must take my leave now" suddenly arrived that Dahlia shook her head and figured out that she was supposedly in a conversation. After the first sentence and a half, everything had blurred together indo a boring mush.

She didn't hold anything against the nobleman. Compared to some people here, he seemed relatively alright, but at the moment Dahlia's thoughts were fully occupied and couldn't be spared for some random noble.

Thus the night continued and her memory continued to fail. She just couldn't keep track of every 'Lady Lacklustre' and 'Count Couldn't-Care-Less.' Like the first noble, some approached her and seemed decent enough, but while the conversations went in one ear and out the other, Dahlia did notice something. Considering she had read obsessively in the past, she was aware that nobles were known to scheme here and there. What she hadn't expected was for it to be so blatant and omnipresent.

Perhaps it was like culture shock and 'normal' things stood out far more, or maybe it was because Dahlia liked to psychologically profile strangers for fun, but standing in the middle of the debutante was beginning to feel more and more claustrophobic.

She was already not used to crowds and based on how quickly she was getting tired, it looked like she was an introvert. But in addition to that realisation, there was a second source that kept adding to her anxieties and making her exhausted. It was all the schemers. So many nobles, even the ones that seemed kind, all had a look in their eyes that screamed of schemes and hidden machinations.

The more she noticed it, the harder it was to unsee until it was beginning to drive her insane. Even in places where there were no signs of hidden plots, Dahlia felt absurdly paranoid.

'Are they plotting with me in mind, or just in general? Wait, if this girl is nice, does that mean she wants to use me later? And if that guy looks at me one more time from across the room I think I'll have to go and make a break for it…'

Anxieties mounted and extreme paranoid thoughts encroached on her in every moment. It was all she could do to prevent herself from screaming from the growing frustration. Making matters worse is that about half the conversations she overheard were debauched, racist, sexist, cruel, or something similar. It was like the society she wished to escape to and join turned out to be a hell rather than a heaven.

Until she had to leave and head home towards a different hell, she coped with her current circumstance the only way that came to mind. She let her mind wander and immediately her escapism led her to a much happier place. Her thoughts quickly drifted away to greener pastures and a smile broke onto her face.

In case it wasn't obvious, a certain red eyed woman was the first thing that came to mind, and along with her smile a small blush had formed as well. First her mother came, then she had her magic to distract her. It wasn't until now that she could finally set time aside to think things through a bit.

'Ok, so. I think there might be something wrong with me. I mean, why was I even so attracted to her in the first place? Was it because of her appearance? Her voice? Maybe the way she beat the shit out of that brat? Hmmm… or maybe it was how her eyes seemed laced with desire and how her voice and actions were so passionate and soothing…'

The truth was it was all of those things. By this point Dahlia had begun to secretly rub her thighs together beneath her dress, lost in a heat and desire she was barely able to contain. Just thinking about her and what had happened made Dahlia crave more. She had only had the slightest taste but she was addicted and already desperate for more.

'Maybe it's good that she left as soon as she did. Any more time and I think I would have done something really stupid.'

She thought back to those last moments before Esmé arrived. How her hand caressed her and her arm wrapped around her waist. At the time, all she wanted was more. She wanted to be dragged in and possessed. To be held close and devoured by those beautiful red lips.

Just thinking about it had her even more flushed than before and she bit her lip imagining the possibilities. The noble who she was 'talking' to at the time seemed rather flustered by the sudden change in her expression, but she really couldn't care less.

She kept trying to think about the situation pragmatically. Asking if this would be a positive in the long run and whether she needed to change her target to someone who more closely matched the original 'grandma' profile. Those thoughts were quickly dismissed though.

Not only did she have no desire to change targets, her priorities had become totally messed up by this point. She hardly cared about freedom or escape. Certainly once she sobered up from the initial lustful high she would fix her priorities, but for now all that mattered was becoming Valentina's.

This was another point to note. For some reason, despite being desperately needy, she had never come to think of the archduchess as 'hers.' Instead, she readily placed herself as a possession belonging to Valentina. There was something intoxicating from the mere thought of being owned and dedicated to the vampiress. Something deep within made her want to achieve that goal.

The way those eyes had looked at her earlier seemed to have something similar in mind. While Valentina's expression had a gentle passion, it also had a strong intense possessiveness as well. Being on the receiving end of both of those combined had effectively put Dahlia in heat and she just wanted to feel that feeling more and more.

'Hmmm, if she's going to be coming back in a few days or a week or something, then I should create a new plan. Screw the old notes I made, I found who is going to take me away from my parents. Now I have something just as important to figure out. How am I going to make her even more possessive of me and desire me more?'

Dahlia let out a low, slightly unhinged laugh as she started thinking through how to best bring out the most possessiveness and desire out of her future partner.

'Hehe, well, I guess it turns out I was born a schemer too, huh?'