#Episode 17
Todd, with his hand on his waist, rolled his eyes. Over his figure, Vasha repeatedly saw the familiar image of the adult Todd from her dreams overlapping.
The grown-up Todd Van Drake was a man who seemed to have gloomily smeared vulgarity, elegance, and nobility onto the word ‘violence.’
Even with his frivolous behavior, he always exuded a natural pressure that weighed down on others, as if he was born to be a ruler.
This was the same for young Todd. The burning flames lurking in his distinct golden eyes conveyed an irresistible force.
Young Todd shouted angrily,
“You’re not a high-ranking vampire, are you?”
Although he was just a kid, Vasha awkwardly laughed at his formidable aura.
She had no intention of lying and thought she would be found out eventually, but now that it had come to this…
Cold sweat broke out.
“…Did you notice that?”
“Damn it!”
As soon as Vasha acknowledged it to him, Todd jumped up and down in rage. Judging by his height, it was hard to believe that he had been a wounded person who couldn’t even walk properly.
Was his anger overpowering his pain, or had he recovered to the point where his state had improved? Either way, it was terrifying.
Todd’s smooth, round forehead throbbed with veins, showing just how angry he was.
“I knew it! There’s no way a high-ranking vampire would make a normal human brat their familiar!”
“What do you mean by ‘brat’…?”
Before Vasha could retort to Todd’s harsh words, Todd lunged at her.
Luckily, Vasha dodged, or he would easyly have grabbed her by the collar.
Todd shook Vasha by the shoulders as he sat on a stump.
“Did you know that I was a Van Drake? Did you propose this knowing that?”
“How could I know that? I didn’t know.”
Vasha, genuinely unaware, looked at Todd with clear eyes to convey her sincerity.
Todd was flabbergasted by her innocent face.
‘She thinks she can charm her way out like a typical vampire, but theres no chance for that! Does she think It will be okay just because she’s being cute?’
Unable to step outside at sunset, without a hideout… She’s at the bottom even among lower-ranked vampires!
‘No, let’s not get mad…. Maybe she just temporarily doesn’t have a hideout for some reason. Even lower-ranked vampires can become high-ranking if they accumulate enough blood… Yeah, it’s not that bad of a hand.’
Todd couldn’t accept the fact that his soul-betting result was this miserable.
‘First, I need to understand the situation calmly. Getting angry won’t help…’
Recalling his heir lessons, he took deep breaths repeatedly.
Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale.
After a few breaths, his anger seemed to subside.
Forcing himself to calm down, Todd spoke nonchalantly.
“Fine. You might not be a high-ranking vampire. Then, to what extent are you?”
“Hmm….”
Vasha fell into thought, as if gauging something, and then held her left and right palms facing each other a certain distance apart.
“If this is a lower rank and this is a higher rank.”
Vasha demonstrated by holding her left palm still and moving her right palm close to the left.
“About this much…?”
“……….”
Todd silently stared at the minimal distance between the two palms.
In the awkward silence, Vasha chuckled awkwardly.
“Hehe.”
“What’s with that ‘hehe?’!”
Todd erupted like a volcano. There was no way he could hold back!
Look at that brazen face, not even realizing what she’s done. Trying to get through this with some cute and innocent act! Does she not realize she’s dealing with a kid who’s not even in puberty?
While others might have let it slide, Todd wasn’t having it. He shouted so loudly his face turned red.
“Is this the time to talk about being picky! If you’re a vampire, act like one and devour a bunch of people to accumulate strength! What nonsense is this about being moderate!”
“Calling it nonsense is too much….”
Vasha pouted.
“Besides, eating that won’t make me significantly stronger…”
Todd felt like he was about to explode at Vasha’s frustrating words. This clueless vampire!
“Haven’t you heard the saying that drops of water gather to form a rainstorm?”¹
It was hard to tell who was the vampire and who was the vampire hunter when their talks keep going. Vasha, feeling exasperated as if she were talking to a militant vampire, asked in annoyance.
“Are you really a Van Drake? What kind of Van Drake are you?”
“If I were the original Van Drake, I wouldn’t be saying this. But I’m a Van Drake whose family was exterminated by humans, left alone, and eventually became a vampire’s familiar.”
Todd crossed his arms and sneered. His golden eyes blazed with a mix of hatred and anger as he glared at Vasha. Grinding his teeth, Todd muttered.
“How dare you deceive a Van Drake into making a familiar contract…”
“I didn’t deceive you…”
“You knew I mistook you for a high-ranking vampire and didn’t correct me. That’s deception!”
“Uh…”
Vasha had no argument for that and stayed silent. Todd, radiating a gloomy aura, mulled over the absurdity of the situation.
“You can perform the [Binding Contract] but claim to be a lower-ranked vampire? How is that possible?”
“Um… I just happened to acquire the [Binding Contract]…”
Vasha’s honest answer sounded like complete nonsense to Todd.
‘How can you just happen to acquire a high-level spell like the [Binding Contract]? Why not just say you were a high-ranking vampire who somehow became a lower-ranking one?’
Although Todd unknowingly guessed correctly, he continued to rack his brain, trying to deduce the truth that Vasha was hiding.
‘She seems to be a lower-ranking vampire, but…’
But there were too many suspicious aspects, like she knowing how to perform the [Binding Contract] and the unusual magical power she displayed when Todd first summoned her.
‘What is her true identity?’
Todd narrowed his eyes at Vasha, who wasn’t about to reveal her secrets easily. Even though vampires and familiars are soul companions, it was unreasonable to expect them to share all their secrets right away.
Todd had no intention of revealing his true intentions to Vasha either. However, he couldn’t help but feel frustrated.
His contractor was a moderate lower-ranking vampire!
Todd had planned to use this vampire to wreak havoc in the human world and revive the Vampire Lord, but how could he achieve such a grand goal with a lower-ranking vampire?
Everything seemed on the verge of falling apart.
However, breaking the [binding contract] was not an option.
So, what could he do? He had to make the best of what he had.
Making a firm decision, Todd nodded as if he were doing Vasha a favor.
“It seems there’s no other choice. You must become a high-ranking vampire.”
“That’s not something I can just do at will…”
“Even if it’s not possible, you have to! Damn it, it’s a disgrace for a Van Drake to have a lower-ranking vampire as a familiar. Other vampires would laugh at me!”
As Vasha tried to back away timidly, Todd pressed her further.
Todd wasn’t just picking on Vasha for no reason. For the sake of his survival, Vasha needed to become stronger.
Todd’s words about other vampires laughing at him were an understatement. The reality was much more dangerous.
If other vampires discovered the existence of the last remaining Van Drake, they would be desperate to eliminate him. If they couldn’t kill Todd, they would target his familiar, that weak lower-ranking vampire. If the contractor died, the familiar would also die.
Todd had no intention of dying so meaninglessly. He needed to raise Vasha’s rank as much as possible before other vampires discovered his existence.
‘At least five years… no, I just need to hold out for two years. Once I pass adulthood, I’ll be able to grow strong enough to go on hunts myself.’
🍓 :
¹ Means that small, seemingly insignificant actions or events can accumulate over time to create a significant impact. It emphasizes the power of collective effort and how minor contributions can lead to substantial results.
