Episode 27

“The same tea leaves, but slightly different. It’s highly likely they’re the cause of your declining health. I’ll request a detailed analysis from the council.”

“So, that guy was right?”

Rosanna recalled Raymond’s piercing green eyes. Though she didn’t trust him, his comments had left her uneasy enough to order the butler to compare the tea leaves. The results confirmed his suspicions.

“Called him over to repay a debt, and now I owe him even more.”

That day, Raymond left her only with doubt, refusing any compensation. Now she owed him double—no, triple the original debt.

Rosanna flopped onto the sofa in the living room.

“Butler, that… tea steward, what’s their name? Bring them here.”

“Actually, they’ve been on leave since five days ago. They said they were returning to their hometown to care for a sick mother. Their leave has ended, but they haven’t returned to work.”

“What?”

“They’ve even cleared out their boarding house room. According to the landlord, it seems they eloped with a lover, but the circumstances feel suspicious.”

“Why… without a word? Was it money?”

“We paid them over twice the average salary.”

“It couldn’t have been because they disliked me… So why?”

“It’s likely related to the suspicious tea leaves. Someone else must be behind this. They weren’t the type to harbor ill will toward you.”

“Ugh, this is giving me a headache.”

Rosanna shut her eyes. She knew she needed to find the culprits who orchestrated this, but she lacked the motivation. What she really wanted was to waste some time… with Kyle.

It had been a while since she’d seen him.

She worried about Kyle. Was he sulking somewhere, looking like a pitiful abandoned puppy? He was probably still holding onto hope for their accidental meetings. Yet, she’d unintentionally stopped visiting the cathedral, which might have hurt him. Humans were fragile creatures, like glass figurines—both their bodies and hearts.

As she pondered whether she should go comfort him, the butler continued speaking.

“This is sufficient evidence of targeted hunting. We can move the council.”

“And then?”

“Crow will begin the investigation.”

The culprits weren’t going anywhere. Rosanna decided to wait and observe before taking action herself.

“Fine. You can go.”

“One more thing, my lady.”

Rosanna opened her eyes and looked up at the butler.

“Once you’re on the Holy Cross Order’s target list, while immunity isn’t guaranteed, discretion is permitted. If you’re attacked, you’re allowed to defend yourself. It’s self-defense, so even if your true identity is exposed in front of others, the council will handle the aftermath.”

“That’s the best news I’ve heard all day.”

Taking this as permission to be less cautious, Rosanna sat up.

Her period of self-reflection was over. She was ready to act on her own plans.

* * *

Late at night, the seminary dormitory was pitch dark, with no candlelight illuminating the halls.

A figure emerged from the bushes, pointing at the building’s windows one by one. When her finger stopped, Rosanna confirmed the target location. With a light leap, she stepped onto a protruding windowsill.

The fourth floor. Fortunately, it was a hinged window without a latch.

Rosanna opened one side of the window and slipped inside. The interior was a double-occupancy room, with furniture arranged symmetrically around the window like a mirrored reflection.

On the right side, a man lay snoring loudly, half his blanket kicked off. ‘A roommate with bad sleeping habits…’ Rosanna turned to the left. There, Kyle lay sleeping on his back, soft snores escaping rhythmically from his lips.

After scanning her surroundings, Rosanna found a stool and placed it beside Kyle’s bed. It was the perfect spot to observe him closely.

“Hmm.”

The snoring stopped, and Rosanna noticed the man was awake. Their eyes met.

“Kyle… Oh? No, who are—”

Before he could finish, Rosanna moved with a speed faster than a blink, clamping a hand over his mouth. His eyes widened in shock, fully awake now. He looked like he was about to resist.

‘Should I test my condition? If my powers don’t work, I can always knock him out with a blow to the solar plexus.’

Instead, Rosanna decided to enthrall him. His body lost its tension, and he relaxed under her control.

“Every night, once you fall asleep, you won’t wake until dawn unless someone disturbs you. Understand?”

He nodded. Rosanna snapped her fingers, and at her signal, his body slumped forward, completely overtaken by sleep. She caught him and laid him gently back onto the bed.

“The interrupter is gone,” she whispered, settling onto the stool she had prepared. Her gaze fixed on Kyle.

He truly slept deeply without even dreaming, just as she’d been told. The small commotion hadn’t disturbed his rest at all.

“Now I can watch to my heart’s content.”

Rosanna observed Kyle for a long while before reaching out to touch his hair. She ran her fingers through the soft, silky strands, occasionally twirling them for fun.

Kyle didn’t wake, so her touches grew bolder. Her hand moved down, tracing the gentle curve of his forehead and along the bridge of his nose until her fingers brushed against his lips. She pressed lightly against his soft lower lip, recalling the brief kiss they had shared before. Kyle let out a faint groan in response.

“Still not waking, huh?”

Her exploration continued. Her fingers tapped his chin, then traced circles around his Adam’s apple. She had heard this was a symbol of masculinity. Did that make Kyle particularly masculine among human men? Some humans referred to seminarians as timid bookworms, which seemed contradictory. It wasn’t something worth pondering further.

Rosanna decided she liked Kyle’s Adam’s apple—the way it jutted out, the way it moved when he spoke.

Her hand drifted lower to his collarbone, her fingers sliding into the hollow and tracing back and forth. The movement must have tickled him slightly, as Kyle stirred faintly in his sleep.

Rosanna withdrew her hand from beneath his cotton pajamas. She didn’t stop out of guilt but because she decided to wait. There was no need to rush; tonight wouldn’t be the only opportunity.

Present pleasures were sweet, but future delights were even better. Rosanna had learned that the rewards of patience with Kyle were even more satisfying.

Thus began her midnight visits.

* * *

Raymond arrived at the meeting spot. The surroundings were barren, the silence oppressive. Every time Noel summoned him to an isolated location like this, Raymond couldn’t help but suspect a trap. Perhaps this time, Noel planned to kill him in secret and frame it as a vampire attack.

It wasn’t an outlandish thought, especially if the hardliners within the Holy Cross Order had conspired together.

Noel despised vampires and viewed dhampirs as equally impure. To him, they were tools to be used for his goals, never comrades.

There were rumors that Noel had been the sole survivor of a village massacre.

In remote regions or weaker nations, the peace treaty was practically nonexistent. These barren lands were ignored by both sides. Peasants born there lived in poverty and fear, and parents could only weep silently when their children disappeared in the night, leaving nothing but bloodstains behind.

Some still lived as though they were in an era of barbarism.

Raymond understood Noel’s hatred. In many ways, they were similar. Both harbored a burning desire to eradicate vampires and their progeny.

But Raymond had no intention of accepting Noel’s disdain. Nor would he allow himself to become a victim.

“Raymond.”

A voice pierced the silence, drawing Raymond’s attention. He followed the sound to a ruin—a crumbling stained-glass window, an altar barely holding together, and a crucifix.

Noel stood there.

“Follow me.”

Raymond walked past the altar, finding Noel crouched down. Lifting a dusty rug, Noel revealed a hidden door.

“Basement?”

Noel said nothing and took the lead, with Raymond following close behind. The cold air carried a faint metallic tang of blood that stung his nose.

This was a torture chamber. He could sense it even before they arrived. Noel’s claim about meeting Breeder had been true.

At the end of the corridor, they reached an underground chamber.

“Long time no see, Breeder.”

“You’re here. I missed you earlier since I was at headquarters.”

Raymond glanced around and spotted something hanging from a hook. It appeared lifeless—little more than a corpse. Recognition dawned as he realized it was the same high-ranking vampire they had captured ten years ago.

This vampire had once adopted human orphans from a northern island nation, training them as circus performers. When he tired of them, he drained their blood. Outwardly, he had played the role of a noble dedicated to the ideals of ‘noblesse oblige’. It was from this monster that Raymond had rescued Nina.

After falling under the protection of the Holy Cross Order, Nina had absorbed medical and engineering knowledge with her brilliant mind. She had since used that knowledge to experiment on her former tormentor.

“Wasn’t that supposed to remain at headquarters?”

“They deemed there was nothing more to extract from it. It was brought here for disposal. Nina wanted to witness its end.”

Watching an enemy’s life snuff out was something Raymond had long desired as well. He often wondered what he’d feel on that day—relief, triumph, emptiness? He wouldn’t know until it happened.

“So, you’re hunting a new high-ranking vampire to replace it.”

Raymond’s gaze shifted to Noel, now standing beside Breeder.

“I heard you had something important to discuss.”

“It seems the target is playing house with a seminary student. I think we can use that to our advantage.”

“A seminary student?” Noel interjected.

“Breeder himself has reviewed the situation and made his decision. All you need to do is follow it,” Noel said curtly.

Breeder raised a hand to cut him off.

“I understand your concerns, but the intent isn’t to endanger anyone. All we need to do is sow mistrust between them. The timing and method will be left to the team’s discretion.”

It was clear—they were to create discord. Whether by planting doubts in the seminary student about the vampire’s identity or making the vampire suspect that the student was tied to those targeting them, the goal was to unravel the bond between them.

“So you’re suggesting we target the lover to mentally destabilize the vampire,” Raymond said.

“Lover? A monster couldn’t possibly love a human. At best, the student is just a plaything,” Noel sneered.

Raymond ignored him.

“The target is currently invested in the seminary student. Monitor them and wait for the right moment. Kyle, that seminary student, will be the key to the hunt.”

“Understood, Breeder,” Raymond replied.