Just a moment ago, the atmosphere seemed to be settling nicely, but in an instant, it turned hostile.
Lowell, thinking his job was done, stepped back and started to panic, glancing around, while Kanak narrowed his eyes, showing no intention of hiding his hostility.
Who the hell are you to make that face? You started this, you beast!
You think you can just take my slave while I’m standing here with my eyes wide open? Do I look like a damn pushover to you?
I know it’s dumb to openly show animosity to someone stronger than me right here.
Unless you’re prepared to become a wandering soul again just two days after stepping into this forest, you’d be better off keeping your mouth shut and ambushing him on the way back from the battle in Pahera.
But even though I understand this rationally, I can’t seem to suppress my animosity.
Honestly, I don’t know why I’m acting this way. It doesn’t bother me that you look down on me.
My pride is ridiculously cheap. I can act all high and mighty, but if it means survival, I can kneel and lick someone’s shoes with a smile.
I’ve even used seduction to suck blood before—what pride do I have left?
If anything, my appearance, which could easily make my enemy let their guard down, is one of my few advantages that I’ve gained since becoming this way. There’s no reason for me to be angry about being looked down upon.
‘Elonora would never betray me; there’s no reason to be upset. …She wouldn’t betray me, right?’
Why is it that, even though I believe this normally, in this situation, I can’t answer confidently?
At that moment, Eleonora, who had been standing behind me, rushed out.
My heart sank. The moment I caught a glimpse of Eleonora’s back as she passed by, it felt like my heart was being squeezed tightly.
Her retreating figure stretched as if time had slowed down, slowly and clearly stamped into my retinas.
So this is it. You’re really going to leave me, huh?
Even though she was still within reach, I couldn’t grab Eleonora.
As I blankly watched her move away from me towards Kanak, I found that deep in my heart, acceptance and resignation had already taken the place of denial.
Yeah, I actually knew it all along.
I should be able to believe you now—you’re not going to betray me. But it dawned on me that this feeling came not from faith, but from wishful thinking.
The moment I saw her leap to him after accepting Kanak’s proposal, the first emotions that popped into my mind were resignation and acceptance. Perhaps I hadn’t trusted Eleonora as much as I pretended to.
Well, that makes sense. It’s a natural choice.
Who would want to associate with a vampire? Especially since I am the progenitor of vampires, the number one target for elimination. It’s only expected they’d want to distance themselves if they wanted to survive.
There’s no better place to escape from me than this Mist Labyrinth. It was actually odd that she hadn’t shown any signs of wanting to leave up until now, but until now, it must have been due to a lack of certainty.
There are plenty of people who avoid risky gambles.
Even if one is a bit dissatisfied with their current situation, there’s certainly no shortage of people who stay where they are to guard against the possibility of becoming even worse off.
But now the situation is different. Eleonora has obtained a means to escape from me without risking her life.
Even though Beastmen and Dragonkin generally have bad blood between their races, if they reach out first, it would be a golden opportunity for Eleonora to escape from me.
As Kanak said, that’s a rational decision for Eleonora. It was bound to happen someday.
There’s no chance to gain the understanding of other races. It seems that being alone suits me fine.
In a brief moment, a flood of thoughts rushed through my mind, and when I realized that what remained was emptiness, I finally recognized that I had emotionally attached myself to Eleonora more than I thought.
It was at that point that I came to understand why I was angry.
I shouldn’t have formed attachments and only approached her out of pure self-interest, yet I was the one who opened my heart to her.
Cast away by the world.
Resentment and a desire for revenge against humans.
I found solidarity in our similar situations and projected myself onto her.
Though our races were different, I hoped for understanding, and at the end of that hope, I wished for a glimmer of light.
You foolish, stupid bastard. How many times are you going to get fooled again?
I thought I had long since thrown away any notions of hope, but after passing through the Duchy, I stumbled into allies for the first time, and my head clouded over with flowers.
I closed my eyes quietly. Though the emptiness didn’t even give rise to feelings of betrayal, I still didn’t want to witness that moment when the child who might have crossed over to my side turned away.
The chill of cold metal radiated life-threatening aura.
In this situation, the sound of a sword unsheathing shouldn’t be heard, yet my eyes flew open.
“…What does this mean?”
“Don’t underestimate my master.”
It was a cold voice I had never heard before.
Eleonora had pulled a dagger and pointed it at Kanak’s throat, glaring at him with eyes as cold as winter.
Why? Why?
I was confused. Hadn’t she decided to side with the Beastmen?
“Master, if you command, I will slay this rude bastard.”
While still aiming the blade at Kanak, Eleonora turned to look at me.
It wasn’t the childish tone she usually used when it was just the two of us, but the gaze directed at me was the same as always.
Trust and obedience.
With her unwavering stance declaring she was still on my side, I found myself speechless.
“Why don’t you decline? It wouldn’t be a bad outcome for you either.”
“Don’t misunderstand. I’m here by my own will beside my master.”
When Kanak asked calmly without avoiding the blade aimed at him, Eleonora shot back sharply.
Every word she spoke, every expression and gesture, was soaked in her displeasure.
Has she ever shown such feelings so intensely before?
Seeing her behavior made it easy to understand, but I thought her time as a slave may have frozen her facial muscles to the point where she rarely showed emotions or raised her voice.
This was the first time I realized that Eleonora could express herself so fervently and actively.
“If you slay me, you will no longer be able to stay here. You know that, right?”
Eleonora didn’t respond. She simply growled lowly in a threatening manner as her silent answer.
Something hot bubbled up in my throat.
Eleonora, are you truly not going to leave me? Will you be by my side?
…I don’t know what to say.
My dry lips moved, but I couldn’t find the words and they stuck together again.
But Eleonora didn’t rush me. She merely gazed at me with clear eyes, as if she were saying waiting was also my choice.
“…It’s okay. Put the knife away.”
Would Eleonora truly obey my words? Am I really not just imagining all of this?
As I barely managed to utter that uncertain response, she immediately sheathed her dagger and stepped back three paces.
However, she still stood firm in front of me, growling once more threateningly at Kanak.
You’re doing all this for me.
You’re choosing to stay by my side, rejecting a chance for a safer and happier life.
I’ve never once considered it was my right for you to save my life.
Everyone lives for themselves every moment.
It’s true that I saved Eleonora’s life once, but the relationship of a slave without any enforceable contract breaks the moment either seeks a better opportunity.
If nothing big happens and everything proceeds smoothly, I had considered a longer-term relationship, and if it had come to that, it would have been ideal. However, I had also resolved within myself that I could abandon her if it came down to it.
So Eleonora could have willingly done the same. I distinctly understood that I didn’t want to acknowledge the possibility of that on the surface.
However, just now, Eleonora had kicked away the opportunity that had come to her. She had a chance to escape from me and chose to reject it.
Was it because she couldn’t fully trust Kanak’s persuasion? If that was the case, she could’ve remained silent; there was no need to openly show animosity first.
– Don’t misunderstand. I’m here by my own will beside my master.
To someone else, it might be a trivial statement. Yet that one line echoed in my ears.
You’re a Dragonkin and I’m a Vampire.
Aside from the vampire of the Duchy, no one who knew my identity stood by my side.
Even someone I thought was a friend cast me aside the moment they learned of my nature.
But you, a being that isn’t even a vampire, say you want to follow me, who lives off the blood of humans?
Knowing that the moment you take a misstep, you will meet a terrible and painful end?
I reached out a trembling hand towards Eleonora.
I wanted proof. Proof that you would really be by my side.
The moment my hand rested on her head, Eleonora looked up at me with wide, surprised eyes.
Just as my confidence was about to shrink away again, her tail began to sway gently.
A gentle breeze wafted from her swaying tail, melting away the winter.
In the lonely cold, I had clung to the last flicker of hope, only to finally welcome the true spring.
The moment I withdrew my hand, a hint of regret passed through Eleonora’s gaze.
It was impulsive, but this was enough.
A deeply emotional and subjective judgment.
An uncertain expression of affection with no binding power whatsoever.
But I had become stable enough not to waver anymore.
Because I realized you would never leave me first.
From now on, it wasn’t just a desire to trust you; it was because I could now trust you.
The spring you suddenly brought has already begun to melt my winter.
“I’m sorry.”
At that moment, Kanak rose from his seat and bowed his head.
The leader of the Beastmen bowed to me, a vampire.
It was sudden. Moreover, it was a gesture that couldn’t be taken lightly, even aside from emotional matters.
“I doubted whether a slave not bound by a contract would truly follow your orders. Although we are in a situation where we could use any helping hand, it wouldn’t do to accept a proposal without being cautious, only to have it backfire on us later.”
In the resistance, injuries never cease. We fight at least once a week, so there’s no time to recuperate.
Most of the Beastmen stationed at the base were originally non-combatants, so it’s hard to expect physical labor.
However, in this environment, there’s an abundance of tasks to tackle, and even though we’re rotating our available troops, there’s still always a shortage of hands.
Thus, even borrowing the labor power of even one Dragonkin would be immensely valuable. Even a little girl can outperform most Beastmen soldiers in simple brute strength.
—So Kanak explained.
“I thought perhaps that they were forced to follow a vampire out of a lack of choices. Even after accepting the offer, if that individual stole our supplies and fled just to save themselves, it would be a tremendous loss. However, judging by her attitude, it doesn’t seem likely.”
“…But it couldn’t be entirely false flattery either.”
“If you came willingly, we might have had to consider the chances of you betraying us again, but I can’t deny that I was prepared to accept the outcome based on the results. Nevertheless, since it has been made clear that that girl is following you, if you still intend to negotiate with us, I will waive payment through currency for a month as a gesture of apology.”
“What a brazen move. You’re a real piece of work.”
Even in the face of my insult flung at him, Kanak did not retort. Maybe he thought revealing his intentions without concealing them was a bare minimum of sincerity?
Although I still didn’t like it, ultimately Eleonora hadn’t been swayed, so I was able to regain my composure.
Sunk costs are sunk costs. I needed to remember that while not forgetting my grudges, I must also look after my immediate interests.
As much as I wanted to beat Kanak to death, I knew that was impossible for “me” right now.
Kanak was the one who had caused this, but at the point where the other side was bowing down, turning him down would leave me in a worse situation.
I stole a glance at Eleonora. Although it was the line of work she hoped for, if she accepted the proposal, she’d have to face these beasts.
Food supply is a significant matter, but if she were to refuse to work with those smelly beasts out of discomfort, I would respect her wishes.
However, Eleonora slightly nodded, conveying that she was okay and told me not to worry.
Just after aiming a knife at him.
I barely suppressed the feeling of something starting to sour again and glared at Kanak.
“Alright. But this is the last time.”
We’re in a hurry as well, so we’ll let it slide this time. Simple truths make everything unnecessarily complicated.
But if you pull another stunt like this again.
Then I won’t forgive you. Not until every one of the Beastmen in this land is dead.
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