Unwavering 13 (Overlord, Zanac!SI)

Shalltear was... bored. And frustrated. And incredibly confused.

This Kingdom was just what she had expected (in most part) as the livelihood she had as a diplomat was plain at best, and very unnerving at worst due to the many petty plots unfolding among nobles. Then again, she was a 'novelty' and one that represented a new foreign element for many in this court to play with.

And she absolutely hated it.

As much as she was keen to play and tinker with silly mortals' minds, that didn't mean she was keen to be constantly challenged by some morons trying to portray themselves as 'high and important'. They were not. They were pests with fancy clothes and neat titles but nothing else to make them stand out to other bugs.

The King was no different in that regard, but at least he wasn't trying to bribe her with niceties and good gestures. The same couldn't be said for the supposed former crown prince as he tried to secure a potential 'alliance with Nazarick'. His desperation for help was sweet to abuse with the right words, but Shalltear was keen to not pursue that path as it jeopardized her main goal: Prince Zanac and his... odd attitude towards her.

While the vampire immediately took notice of the new Prime Minister's overall cautious but friendly attittude towards many, there was no restrain in regard to some contempt he bore towards Shalltear. Did he know who she truly was? The possibility grew more likely through the rare interactions she spent with the busy royal.

He was mortal alright, and quite a pest himself, yet Shalltear had a good eye and had listened to her father's advice: listen and witness. The Prince didn't even hide away that some of that awareness was filled with background confidence over his abilities.

He clearly feared her to the point of keeping some distance when possible through politeness, but Shalltear loved to be close and personal with her preys and... this one was the funniest one in her current task. Albeit she would have wished for him to be more present for her to stalk, the business of the kingdom was not something he clearly had predicted to tackle.

Rather, the job was bestowed to him after some affairs tied to his family- which would explain his older brother trying to secure her 'assistance'. As amusing as it was to make the tall fool squirm for help, Shalltear was aware the true winning side was the one of the younger prince.

Not much because he was 'stronger', but rather because he knew he was weak and he had wisely stacked his team. His bodyguard was fairly strong which granted him a degree of physical protection not many in Re-Estize could pride about, and he also had a solid legitimate front through his bond with his sister.

Oh, Princess Renner was by far Zanac's true weakness at court. Even though he tried to limit conversations tied to his sibling, it was clear through the more frequent talks Shalltear engaged with the blonde that she was... an interesting element to rely upon.

The girl was infatuated with her brother, something so despicably sweet that also added to her personality that reminded Shalltear of... someone else. Someone she quite disliked due to her deep obsession for one of the Supreme Beings, but alas cared not much about beyond their 'competitions' over bodily shape.

In her creator's defense (as he had told her), flat was justice and she had a more 'normal feminine shape' than Albedo. Did it cease the thoughts of inferiority for her lacking frame? No, and it wasn't going to change as far as she could tell.

As her boring days at the kingdom hardly saw anything interesting going on for her, Shalltear contemplated more about her target's potential thoughts and plans about Nazarick.

Was he a threat? No. In fact, the prince was more interested in strengthening the kingdom's economic and leave the troops' drilling to face issues with other kingdoms. In his own words: "Nazarick didn't do anything to deserve aggression and its defensive stance is something I am aware of."

This was indeed perplexing. Out of the entire cast of nobles the vampire lamented about, Zanac stood out as the least disappointing. Did that make him as interesting as Peroroncino had made him to be for this mission? Not yet, Shalltear decided.

She had plenty of time to further study him and he seemed to be willing to entertain a somewhat 'cordial' attitude towards her. Limited teasing also yielded some amusing results, but Shalltear was wary of being as brazen as she would be in the Great Tomb.

So, when she heard that Zanac was going to spend some time in the royal library, Shalltear saw it as a chance to check on him. Instead of going through the main door to the room, she stealthily entered from one of the windows and then make it seem like that silly blonde of a bodyguard had failed to do her job right.

But as this early bit succeeded as intended, the next bit made her plan somewhat fail. To be particularly specific, the prince was currently unconscious and resting his head on a book. A frown adorned her face as she took a seat right in front of him.

Rolling her eyes, Shalltear decided to slowly remove her mask and let her illusion spell falter.

It was so frustrating to keep it for so long that she was glad that times like this existed. Times where she could see her prey within his weakest moment. Fragile, feeble, and... tempting.

Raising a finger, she leaned closer to tap at his nose. Boop, and she could have him killed with ease. It would be so simple, so easy, and yet so damning at the same time. While Shalltear knew of her strength, she also knew of her own weakness: her faulty patience.

Even as she kept on staring at her future victim with a bored look, her mind was constantly giving her view of potential ways to take care of the prince. Each view more gratifying, to the point where she got a tad bit hungry.

Shalltear planned to retreat but, not before getting a sample of the sleeping prince. With her digit still tapping at his nose, the vampire drew a tiny shallow cut, enough for just some drops of blood to pour out for her finger to cup and bring back to her lips.

Her bored look briefly broke as she got a taste of the blood, surprised by how yummy it was. Not the tastiest, but enough to leave the girl smiling.

"I guess you're a tasty target~."

And with that comment, she was off to her room through the very window she came from, ready to get some tasty meals from the newest victim her minions brought to her room to consume.

Yet, with just a tempting taste from her prey, the seed of intrigue had been sown in the cheeky vampire's bind. After all, she was quite the greedy thing.

AN

Next time... A Lemon!