IWTRAE Chapter 115

Laurus calmly returned the question.

“Are you sure you’re fine not coming with me? I figured you’d want to tag along just to keep an eye on what I’m up to.”

“What—!”

Matteus’s face flushed bright red with anger. Laurus, reading him like an open book, continued with a smirk.

“Otherwise, why would someone like you—merely the son of a nanny—be dressed so finely and attending an auction like a nobleman?”

He’d hit the mark.

‘Bringing up my background… He’s not even trying to hide the fact that he dug into me.’

What was worse, Laurus was acting as if it didn’t matter whether Matteus came with him or not, as if he were the one calling the shots. That left Matteus torn.

‘Does he have something up his sleeve? Why is he so composed?’

He scrutinized Laurus with suspicion, but trying to get any real information out of him was like drawing water from a stone.

Laurus had his reasons for pushing Matteus’s buttons. Given their connection to familiars and followers, they had to be meticulous about everything when dealing with the Lamphas Church.

If they acted like they were depending on Matteus now, and he came back later to investigate the villa, they’d have no good reason to refuse his inspection.

So before they made their escape, Laurus had to be sure the record showed they owed nothing to the Lamphas Church.

And Matteus picked up on Laurus’s intention too.

‘They say old ginger is spicier… No kidding.’*

Still, it wasn’t a great pairing—they were an old man and a child. Hardly ideal for a stealthy escape.

Just as Matteus was about to point that out—

Todd raised his hand.

“I know a hidden passage in this villa.”

Only then did Matteus realize why Laurus had been so relaxed. The vampires likely didn’t know about the secret passage. That meant there was a safer escape route.

Still, hidden passages were often dangerous or treacherous. Todd would have a tough time supporting an elderly man like Laurus on such a route.

“So it’s a trade—information for strength?”

“Precisely.”

Laurus nodded.

After weighing the pros and cons, Matteus agreed to their plan.

“…Fine. Let’s go together.”

“Hmm. I wouldn’t mind going separately, but if you insist, I’ll indulge you.”

‘Ugh!’

Laurus, acting generous and condescending to the end, flashed a benevolent smile. It drove Matteus up the wall. That smug attitude—like he was doing him a favor—was unbearable.

‘All this trouble thanks to that young master’s meddling! Once we get out of here safely, I swear—even if he begs, I’m not sleeping anywhere that doesn’t have a proper bed! No more camping out! No more barns!’

***

Splash, splash.

Their footsteps echoed as they walked across the water, drowning out the distant squeaking of rats.

The three of them were in the underground aqueduct beneath the opera house. When they’d heard the opera house would be used as the auction site, it had paid off to ask Oliver for an old set of blueprints in advance.

Todd led the way, holding a torch, while Matteus supported Laurus and followed closely behind.

Letting a child take the lead in a dangerous place like this—it was humiliating for Matteus.

But Todd was the only one who knew the way. And with the water making the ground slick, Laurus couldn’t walk steadily on his own.

Matteus practically had Laurus slung over one shoulder. As they followed Todd, his silhouette moving steadily ahead by the dim light, Matteus stared at the boy in silence.

‘Tch. If I could just check his eyes, I’d know for sure…’

One distinctive trait of a Van Drake is their golden eyes, which become vertically slit like a reptile’s when they’re agitated. People often cite those eyes as proof they carry the blood of the holy dragon.

Of course, not everyone with golden eyes is a Van Drake—but there were too many suspicious things about this boy to ignore.

If only Matteus could confirm the eye color, he could shake off the nagging uncertainty. But Todd’s hair was a mess, intentionally perhaps, and it constantly obscured his eyes.

And now that they were underground, it was even harder to make anything out.

‘Should I just grab him and check by force?’

As he chuckled to himself over the thought, Todd suddenly came to a halt.

‘Wait… did I just say that out loud?’

The moment Todd stopped, Matteus’s heart skipped a beat.

‘No way.’

Matteus shook his head. It was absurd to think something so dumb.

Still supporting Laurus, Matteus kept moving and quickly caught up to Todd, who hadn’t taken another step.

Wondering why Todd was frozen in place, Matteus tapped his shoulder.

“Why’d you stop? Did you step on something weird?”

“Shh.”

Instead of replying, Todd raised a hand, signaling for silence. His eyes remained locked forward, his small frame tense with alertness.

Sensing something was wrong, Matteus instinctively fell silent too. And soon, he felt it as well—an oppressive dread creeping in.

From the pitch-black depths of the sewer—like a pit straight from hell—someone was approaching.

They glided forward, soundless, their form taking shape from the swirling mist like a phantom. Suddenly, they stood before the group, smiling with glowing red eyes.

“You sensed me? You’re a sharp little thing.”

The grin stretched wide beneath those words, revealing sharp fangs. Golden hair shimmered in the darkness—and above all, an overwhelming magical pressure that made it hard to breathe.

Recognizing the figure immediately, Matteus exclaimed in despair.

“Strigon!”

At the sound of his name, Strigon lifted an eyebrow, amused.

“Oh? I didn’t expect anyone in this era to recognize me…”

In the blink of an eye, Strigon vanished from view—only to reappear behind Matteus.

Startled beyond words, Matteus almost collapsed, his legs going weak. But it was as if invisible threads held him in place—he couldn’t move a muscle.

The pressure was unlike anything they’d felt from the lesser vampires they’d faced before—an overwhelming presence that made it feel like he could crush them as easily as squashing a bug under a fingertip.

As cold sweat dripped from Matteus’s face, Strigon leaned in close, inhaling deeply at Matteus’s neck like he was savoring the scent of a well-prepared meal.

“So faint… A weak trace of holy energy. You must be one of those little lightning bugs.”

Strigon clicked his tongue with disinterest, as if Matteus had lost his appeal. Then, turning his body, he shifted his gaze to Laurus and Todd. The way his eyes swept over them made it clear—he was assessing them.

Neither Matteus nor Laurus dared to breathe. Both stood rigid, paralyzed with tension.

Todd clenched his teeth. They were deep underground—he had hoped that, since vampires instinctively avoided such places, their presence would be harder to detect.

‘How the hell did he find us?’

The answer came quickly.

“Kgh!”

Strigon grabbed Todd by the throat and lifted him off the ground, muttering to himself with a puzzled look.

“Strange… I only followed two threads of magic here.”

‘A tracking spell!’

Todd’s blurred vision darted to Matteus and Laurus. That’s when he finally saw them—faint red threads of magical energy connecting the two to Strigon.

‘Damn it… I knew Strigon loved using tracking spells!’

Even though he’d been right beside Laurus, Todd had failed to notice that he’d been marked. The realization filled him with shame and fury.

But it wasn’t entirely his fault. Strigon’s tracking magic was so subtle, it could even slip past the sensory abilities of a Van Drake.

Unless you were concentrating specifically on detecting it, you’d never know it was there. Todd was still young and lacked experience—so missing it wasn’t surprising.

But this wasn’t the kind of situation where you could afford to rationalize your mistakes.

Not when one mistake could literally tighten the noose around your neck.

Strigon’s tracking magic never failed to find its mark.

But there was one kind of person it couldn’t trace—a Van Drake.

; *Is a proverb meaning older people (or more experienced people) are often sharper, wiser, or more cunning than you might expect.