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The explosive power Lucy briefly showed was impressive enough to be called a 'Menorah,' but it was clearly on a different level compared to what had been felt from Strigon.
To Lucy, Laurus was merely a follower she had briefly connected with decades ago, a fleeting bond from the distant past.
Though Laurus had spoken with the assumption that Lucy would be glad to see him again, it was only a convenient lie meant to motivate him to escape.
Todd was firmly convinced that Lucy would never like the aged Laurus.
'A vampire who loves beautiful things would never welcome some dried-up, jerky-like old servant like that…'
He couldn’t understand it at all.
At the same time, another vampire came to Todd’s mind-his own, Vasha.
Would she welcome him just as warmly even if he grew old one day?
When one becomes a vampire’s familiar, they gain eternal life just like their master.
However, this doesn’t mean they stop aging. Familiars still grow old according to their own natural lifespan.
To receive the true blessing of immortality-eternal youth-a familiar would have to share a bond deeper than that of a mere soul companion with the vampire.
But…
That was nothing more than a meaningless fantasy.
No vampire, especially not a weak one like Vasha, would ever perform that ritual for their familiar.
'Useless thoughts.'
Todd muttered with a click of his tongue.
He couldn’t even guarantee his own survival in the present, what use was it to think about some far-off future?
Perhaps Lucy’s reaction was just an elaborate deception.
Maybe she enjoyed toying with hope, only to crush it in the end and leave her victims in despair.
Regardless of Todd’s suspicious gaze, Lucy hurried Laurus along.
“There’s no time to savor a joyful reunion. The place is crawling with vampires under Strigon’s command. If we don’t run now, they’ll catch our trail. Head toward Lamphas’s territory, quickly.”
“Are you saying a Menorah betrayed another Menorah? Don’t make me laugh! What kind of twisted scheme is this?!”
Todd couldn’t hold back and snapped in a sour tone.
Even in this dire situation, his brash mouth showed no restraint.
At that, Matteus’s eyes widened in disapproval.
The frightened young boy who had once clung to him,
asking if the holy knight could save them, that timid child was nowhere to be seen now.
'Damn it… Was I tricked? That explains it… The way he even gave that vampire called Vasha orders like a superior…'
Even Lucy was shocked by the arrogant tone of young Todd.
Her eyes widened as she stared at him.
Only Laurus, who was used to Todd's personality, reacted as if he had expected this, squeezing his eyes shut and rubbing his forehead with his palm.
Lucy, amused, curved her eyes into a smile and playfully teased Laurus.
“You’ve raised quite the cheeky grandson, Laurus. Did your wife have a strong personality or something?”
“W-Well, he’s my grandson… but not really! I mean, I’ve never even been married!”
Laurus nearly jumped out of his skin at Lucy’s teasing. Whether people misunderstood and thought he had fathered an illegitimate child or committed adultery didn’t matter to him.
But the one person he didn’t want misunderstanding him was Lucy. Not her-never her. He couldn’t bear for Lucy to think he was unfaithful, disloyal, or impure.
Still, he couldn’t just blurt out that Todd was adopted and had no blood relation to him.
If he did, that holy knight might instantly realize that Todd was actually of the Van Drake bloodline.
He couldn’t risk exposing Todd’s identity just because his own status as a vampire follower had been revealed.
‘And if Lady Lucy suspects why I’m keeping her natural enemy, Van Drake, so close by… she might question my loyalty…’
With a heavy heart-like eating mustard while crying-Laurus decided to play it off.*
“There were circumstances… I wasn’t able to raise him properly. Please, don’t be angry with him…”
Todd raised his eyebrows in surprise at Laurus’s unexpected reaction.
He’d fully expected Laurus to lose his mind at the sight of Lucy and blurt out everything.
And yet, Laurus was protecting him. Loyal to him.
Come to think of it, as a Van Drake, Todd was Lucy’s natural enemy-a direct threat to her.
Until now, Laurus probably hadn’t given it much thought, assuming Todd was just a familiar of Vasha.
But if Laurus realized that Todd could actually pose a danger to other vampires, especially to his 'Lady', Todd had assumed he’d turn on him instantly.
That thought made Todd swallow an unplaceable wave of nausea.
He couldn’t believe it.
Meanwhile, Laurus, completely unaware of Todd’s inner turmoil, was on the verge of losing his mind from a very different reason, because Lucy might think he had lived a promiscuous life.
‘Do you know how hard I’ve worked to stay pure…?!’
He’d heard that pure blood tasted better to vampires-so for Lucy’s sake, he had stayed chaste his entire life. And now, because of Todd, Lucy might doubt the taste of his blood?
A wave of injustice hit him like a crashing tide.
Then, by coincidence, their eyes met in midair. The moment they locked eyes, they both turned their heads away in unison with such speed it made a sharp sound.
Thankfully, Lucy didn’t seem too displeased. In fact, her eyes sparkled with laughter, like shimmering waves on a quiet lake.
“Not bad. He reminds me of young Oliver.”
“You still remember Oliver?”
“Of course. He was the only moment in my life worth remembering…”
Laurus, who had once tried so hard to recreate the beautiful scenery beneath the sun in paintings for Lucy.
She had watched him silently from behind as he painted, seeing the world revived on his canvas.
Those were the only moments she had ever truly felt at peace.
Now, even wishing to return to those days felt like a selfish desire too great to ask.
The more radiant and beautiful that moment had been,
the more wretched and suffocating life became afterward.
Days that were no different from a bird trapped in a cage, or a dog bound by a leash.
Lucy let out a bitter laugh. Like shattered fragments of dazzling memories, her sharp, mocking chuckle tore through the air. Then, she turned to Todd and spoke firmly.
“Kid. You asked if a Menorah would betray another Menorah, didn’t you?”
She didn’t seem interested in his answer, adding a sarcastic snort at the end of her words.
“Menorah?”
Yes, Lucy was known as a Menorah.
There had been a time when Lucy herself believed she was one. But she had eventually discovered the truth-that a fifth Menorah did not exist.
Even so, she continued to carry the name of Vassenar.
Why?
Lucy lowered her gaze. The despair of someone born bearing original sin shadowed her long lashes like moonlight.
A bitter self-mockery escaped her lips like a faint groan.
“I’m not a Menorah. I’m just… a leftover.”
***
Lucy’s earliest memory began with Strigon.
She remembered nothing of her human life, from before she became a vampire. But that wasn’t unheard of among vampires.
Becoming a vampire made the soul heavier. That’s because vampires don’t just consume blood, they also steal souls.
If someone skipped the lower stages and became a high-ranking vampire from the start, the weight of that transformed soul became even harder to bear.
Unless one was born with a particularly strong mind and soul, it was nearly impossible to endure that weight without losing one’s sanity.
Lucy believed she was one of those unfortunate cases.
To vampires, human life was like a previous incarnation.
Some clung to that past, while others saw it as irrelevant to their current self.
Lucy was the latter.
She had never been particularly curious about her past as a human and treated the gaps in her memory with indifference.
However…
'Everyone calls me a Menorah… so shouldn’t the memory of my mother-the one who made me-be the first thing I remember?'
She tried to recall the face of the vampire lord who created her-her 'mother.'
But it was as if someone had violently slashed the portrait of that woman with a knife. No matter how hard she tried, the image wouldn’t come back clearly.
To make matters worse, when Lucy awoke, her mother had already fallen into a deep slumber. There was no way to ask her face-to-face how she had become a vampire.
The only one Lucy could rely on was Strigon, the one who claimed he had been entrusted with her protection.
“You were born weak, Lucy. That’s why you need protection. Your mother entrusted me with that role.”
🍓; *This simile adds a vivid, slightly comedic or exaggerated image to express discomfort or emotional pain.
TL/N: Uh-huh, so I assume the Vampire Lord is a woman, and I’ll use she/her pronouns from now on.
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