IWTRAE Chapter 120

120

Matteus's eyes widened as much as physically possible.

Only after hearing Laurus's words did a chilling possibility hit him.

'That vampire ran into the young master… and still made it here in one piece? If that’s the case… is the young master alright?'

Until now, he had been completely confident in his young master's safety.

But now, Matteus's heart pounded heavily in his chest.

There was no way the young master would have easily revealed any information to the vampire.

Of anyone, Matteus knew the young master's character best.

And it's not as if his mental fortitude was weak enough to be easily manipulated by a vampire, either.

'Don’t tell me… that vampire defeated the young master… and tortured him for information…'

Just imagining that something might have happened to Bernardo made Matteus feel like a blade had sliced through his heart.

These ominous thoughts kept growing, refusing to settle.

But Laurus didn’t have the luxury of worrying about Matteus’s anxiety.

He continued speaking, trying to persuade Todd.

“Despite knowing the full situation here, Lady Vasha still came to help us. Tell me, Lord Todd—does the Vasha you know seem like someone who would act without a plan?”

“…”

Todd slowly shook his head.

She did have her reckless sides, but she wasn’t the kind of vampire who’d march into a death trap without a reason.

Come to think of it, Vasha had been trying to get Todd to run the entire time.

She was fully aware that if she died, Todd would be next.

She’d repeatedly boasted about how confident she was in escaping, which clearly meant she had some secret ace up her sleeve.

“Even so, the enemy is a Menorah… I’m not sure how much any of this will actually work…”

Still, Laurus had a point.

Todd, whose emotions had been boiling over, began to calm down under Laurus’s confident persuasion.

Come to think of it, this wasn’t the time to be worrying about Vasha.

“We have no choice.”

The stubbornness that had been holding firm finally slipped through Todd’s clenched teeth.

Resignation filled his lowered, youthful face.

And when Todd raised his head again, his eyes gleamed like those of a wild animal.

“Looks like… we’re really in a tight spot if I want to make it back to her.”

“What are you…?”

Before Laurus could fully question Todd’s cryptic words, three vampires suddenly appeared behind them.

“These the ones? The ones Father told us to capture?”

“An old male and a young one… only one of them looks remotely edible.”

“I don’t know what Father is thinking. Those two wouldn’t even be enough for a snack.”

“If he said to capture them alive, he must see some use for them. What, you doubting Father’s orders now?”

“Of course not.”

The three—clearly lower-ranking vampires—chatted among themselves.

They didn’t seem to even consider the possibility that Todd, Matteus, or Laurus might try to run.

To them, the trio were nothing more than prey already caught in the trap, death closing in.

But from their careless chatter, Todd was able to piece together a rough idea of what was going on.

“No wonder… I knew it was strange that Strigon let us go so easily.”

In vampire clans, higher-ranking vampires could command the lower bloodlines.

Humans were no big deal—they could just send others to capture them.

As for Strigon himself, he likely stayed behind to enjoy slowly tearing apart the bold little vampire who dared to face him.

Just picturing Vasha in Strigon’s clutches made Todd’s eyes burn with rage once more.

Matteus also clenched his jaw tightly and drew his sword.

“Damn it. Escaped a tiger just to run into a pack of wolves…”

Bernardo’s safety was still uncertain, but first, he had to survive here if he wanted to find out what happened.

Nothing was confirmed yet.

Resolving himself, Matteus pointed his blade at the vampires, muttering to Todd and Laurus.

“I’ll cooperate for now… But if anything’s happened to the young master—even if you make it out of here alive, I’ll make sure you die by my hand.”

The polite, respectful demeanor Laurus had been shown just moments ago had vanished without a trace.

In its place now stood something more akin to Bernardo’s guard dog, brimming with deadly intent toward anyone who dared harm his master.

“Hmph. You think I’ll let you walk out of here alive?”

Despite the open hostility radiating from the well-built knight, Todd merely scoffed.

He wasn’t scared in the slightest.

Even with a vampire in front of him, he hadn't flinched—so a mere paladin’s underling wasn’t going to intimidate him either.

Todd glanced briefly at Matteus.

Judging by the way he held his sword, it was clear his swordsmanship wasn’t particularly impressive.

And since he served Lapis Ignarius, it wasn’t likely he’d be using any exceptional holy powers, either.

'Maybe I can just use him as a meat shield.'

In any case, Todd had no intention of dying easily.

He cautiously reached for the dagger at his waist—the same one he’d smeared with his own blood earlier.

'Still, they were ordered to bring us in alive. That means they won’t come at us recklessly… If it’s just these three low-level vamps, I might be able to take them out if I find the right moment…”

One downside of the command magic vampires use to control their bloodline is that lower-ranking vampires have no way to communicate directly with higher ones.

So even if Todd killed these three, Strigon wouldn’t find out Todd’s true identity.

Just as Todd was calculating their chances and planning his move—everything was suddenly upended.

A fourth vampire appeared.

“Strigon ordered you to capture these humans?”

“…Yes, Lady Lucy.”

The lower vampires instantly bowed their heads in deference toward the unexpected figure.

A vampire with flowing purple hair—elegant, orchid-like.

It was none other than Lucy van Vassenar, a Menorah.

***

Lucy’s eyes passed calmly over Todd, Laurus, and Matteus, one after the other.

Her gaze was evenly distributed, each of them given only a passing glance.

Just like the lower vampires before her, Lucy paid them little actual attention.

It was the same way one wouldn’t bother speaking to livestock or food.

She swept her hair behind her shoulder with an annoyed flick and clicked her tongue.

“They don’t seem like much… I just don’t understand Strigon’s orders sometimes.”

“I’m sure Father has his reasons.”

One of the lower vampires—who had also spoken earlier—answered politely, almost as if trying to soothe her doubts.

“We are Father’s hands and feet. It is our duty to carry out whatever he commands.”

“Is that so?”

Lucy replied flatly.

While the vampires conversed, Todd used the moment to calm himself and reassess the situation.

The first thing he needed to figure out was how powerful Lucy really was.

But...

'Is it because I just met Strigon? The difference is jarring… I really can’t believe she’s a Menorah.'

To Todd’s senses, she didn’t feel any stronger than the lesser vampires standing next to her.

Confused, he sharpened his focus and scanned her again—but nothing changed.

'Is she really Lucy, the Menorah?'

Even more suspicious was the attitude of the other vampires.

They treated Lucy with a strangely casual air—bordering on disrespect.

When Lucy questioned Strigon’s orders, they responded with clichés about “deep meaning” and “being his limbs.”

But in tone, it sounded more like they were chiding her for making baseless complaints.

Even if they were loyal servants of Strigon, Lucy was still a fellow Menorah.

Normally, if a Menorah even hinted at disrespect toward someone like Strigon, subordinates would fall silent—pretending not to have heard.

Nobody wanted to risk angering a high-ranking vampire.

Lower vampires were mere tools to the Menorah. Their deaths meant nothing.

And no Menorah would start a war over one or two dead subor120