#Episode 59
As Vasha pondered deeply, she suddenly noticed something strange and asked.
“But didn’t Menorah disappear about forty years ago? It seems to me that the butler is about the same age as the count’s child… So when exactly did you meet Menorah?”
“I had the brief chance to meet Lady Lucy before she vanished. I was about thirteen at the time.”
Oliver, not Laurus, who’s responded. Oliver then smiled at Vasha, though it looked awkward as if he wasn’t used to smiling.
“It’s the end times…”
Todd clicked his tongue, muttering, just because someone meets a vampire doesn’t mean they all become followers. Most people, in fact, feel an aversion.
To have met Menorah as a teenager and become a follower of vampires—that clearly showed he had a predisposition.
“Birds of a feather flock together. The impious stay with the impious.”
“Isn’t that why we’re all here together now?”
Laurus quipped with a grin at Todd’s sarcasm, suggesting that since Todd was also a vampire familiar, he too could be seen as impious.
Despite Laurus’s pointed remark, Todd didn’t back down.
“If you think about it, I was involuntary. You, however, were all voluntary.”
“Hey, that’s not fair! I gave you a choice too, in my way.”
Vasha, feeling wronged, immediately countered.
But Todd wasn’t having any of it. His eyes narrowed sharply as he recalled the moment he made the contract with Vasha.
She had appeared at a critical moment, like an ominous high-ranking vampire giving him the ultimate choice between life and death. Of course, Todd naturally assumed she was a high-ranking vampire.
But to think she was a low-ranking vampire he would end up nurturing!
Todd lowered his voice with a sneer.
“You’ve deceived me about more than just a few things in this contract, so keep quiet.”
“I didn’t deceive you! If you insist, well… I was involuntary, too.”
“What was involuntary?”
“It’s complicated.”
“Sure, that means it was nothing important.”
As Todd sneered, Vasha bit her lip in frustration, gritting her teeth.
In the past, how much frustration had he felt over the restrictive [Binding Contract]? But he couldn’t go over every little detail, and so his resentment only grew.
As Vasha and Todd continued to bicker, Oliver, who had been silently watching, suddenly intervened.
“But for someone who claims to be involuntary, you seem pretty devoted to Lady Vasha. Even back in the garden….”
“Ah! Ah! Ah!”
Todd cut him off, squawking like a crow before Oliver could finish. He glared at Oliver, who was at least four times his age, and yelled at him.
“Be quiet!”
It seemed Todd had grown up quite privileged, given how easily he could speak so bluntly to an elder.
Looking back, Todd was not only the young master of the Duke’s family, but the entire Van Drake family believed they were humanity’s only hope against vampires.
So it wasn’t too surprising he grew up with such a self-important, arrogant attitude.
Laurus and Oliver, who were well aware of Todd’s background, merely shrugged it off when the young boy spoke so rudely to them.
Vasha glanced nervously between Todd and Oliver, who were now engaged in a silent power struggle like cats with their fur bristling.
‘This seems to be about me….’
Unable to hold back her curiosity, Vasha asked cautiously.
“Can’t you just tell me?”
“No way!”
Todd refused with a face so determined it seemed impenetrable. Vasha pouted and grumbled.
“Whether I ask you now or find out later, it’s the same, isn’t it? I can just ask Laurus when you’re not around.”
“Of course, I’d never hide anything from Lady Vasha.”
Laurus, lifting his head high as if to mock Todd, solemnly declared. At Laurus’s response, Todd gritted his teeth and warned Vasha.
“Don’t even think about finding out. If you do….”
“If I do?”
When Vasha widened her eyes and questioned him, Todd faltered. He had said she couldn’t know, but he hadn’t thought further than that.
Noticing Todd’s unease, Vasha pressed him, leaning in closer.
“Well? What will happen if I find out?”
“Ugh….”
Todd, feeling intimidated by the intense red eyes suddenly close to his face, quickly pulled back.
Todd scrambled to come up with an excuse, but his mind went completely blank.
Cornered, Todd blurted out without thinking,
“I’ll… I’ll starve!”
“Ugh.”
Vasha frowned.
Only after saying it did Todd realize how ridiculous he sounded, and his face flushed with embarrassment. Starving himself? He wanted to disappear from sheer shame, embarrassed at the childishness of his threat.
‘What am I, a whining kid?’
At the edge of his vision, he saw Laurus and Oliver struggling to hold back their laughter, biting their lips to avoid smiling. Judging by their reaction, he could only imagine what Vasha must think of him.
Despite all his knowledge and attempts to appear mature, in her eyes, he probably seemed nothing more than a childish novice.
<Just because I once cared a little about your meals, you think it would be a big problem for me if you starve? Don’t be ridiculous!>
Just imagining Vasha’s sneering expression made Todd feel like he was hanging by a thread.
Though he came from the lineage of a bold hunter known for his courage and composure, in this moment, he couldn’t bring himself to look at Vasha. His defiant gaze turned away in protest.
Seeing this, Vasha sighed, then grabbed his cheeks to force him to face her.
“Don’t say things like that. You need to grow up strong and healthy.”
Her voice was soothing, and the warmth in her gaze surprised Todd.
Everything about her reaction was the opposite of what he expected. Rather than mocking him, she looked at him with gentle concern. Oddly enough, Todd felt even more embarrassed and a flush of shame gripped him.
Unaware of Todd’s emotions, Vasha continued to coax him.
“I didn’t realize it bothered you so much. I won’t ask about it again, okay? I could even swear on it, if you want.”
“…That’s not necessary.”
Todd grumbled, pushing her hands away from his cheeks, though his ears were turning red. Desperate to move on from this topic, Todd cleared his throat and addressed Laurus.
“So… when I said I needed a swordsmanship instructor, what was your intention in introducing the butler? Is he supposed to find me an instructor?”
“No, I was actually recommending Oliver as your swordsmanship instructor.”
“The butler?”
Both Vasha and Todd widened their eyes in surprise at Laurus’s suggestion, and even Oliver raised an eyebrow, equally taken aback.
In disbelief, Todd looked at Laurus, voicing his frustration.
“Are you kidding me?”
“Of course not.”
Laurus replied smoothly, and Todd abruptly stood up, circling around the butler, inspecting him carefully with a sharp gaze.
“Oh… Now that I look closer…”
Todd assessed the butler’s upright posture and aura, eventually nodding in approval.
“Hmm… Seems decent. At least you didn’t recommend some weirdo.”
“Naturally,”
Laurus replied nonchalantly, as if his judgment could never be wrong. While Laurus and Todd continued discussing, Oliver remained quietly in place.
As the conversation progressed rapidly, Vasha, who had been standing there in a daze, suddenly snapped back to attention and hastily interrupted.
“Hold on! I haven’t agreed to this yet!”
How long had it been since she took on this cover identity, and now they were already talking about swordsmanship training?
Knowing Todd’s personality, he would certainly throw himself into it wholeheartedly. With an instructor, he might grow even stronger sooner than expected, possibly even quicker than the vision she had in her dream. And if that happened, he’d want to act on his revenge even faster…
If she couldn’t grow into a powerful vampire to support Todd’s vengeance by then…
Considering his hasty and stubborn nature, he’d probably turn to waking the Vampire Lord as an alternative.
Although she possessed the [Dagger of Condemnation], which would prevent Todd from stabbing his heart like in the dream…
‘But he could come up with another method I don’t know about.’
And that was the real issue.
🍓;
*Involuntary means something done without a person’s conscious control or intent. It refers to actions, movements, or events that happen automatically or unintentionally.
*By the way since I haven’t know the Vampire Lord are man or women I will use he/him to refer Vampire Lord.
