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In the past, everyone thought Laurus would remain single for life, until he suddenly announced the existence of an illegitimate child carrying his bloodline.
When his name first began circulating in the social scene, the boy had been far too young to be taken seriously. But ten years after the Night of Extinction, he returned as a fully grown man.
His towering physique gave the impression of a walking wall, radiating an overwhelming presence.
Yet what truly left people speechless was the suffocatingly dazzling beauty of his face.
The very first thing he did upon entering the city's underworld was to dedicate a portrait of his grandfather, Count Renfield, to the Holy Nation, and bring in Bernardo, the 'Hero of Light' who had made great contributions during the Night of Extinction, as the bishop of Noctiluca.
Bernardo, once an active holy knight, had been forced to withdraw from the front lines after sustaining a leg injury in the endless wars against vampires. The Holy Nation, unwilling to let his remarkable holy power go to waste, accepted Todd's proposal.
From then on, with Bishop Bernardo's cooperation, Todd drove out the vampires who had entrenched themselves in the shadows of Noctiluca.
Armed with sacred relics imbued with Bernardo's sacred power, he personally led the charge in vampire hunts, a sight utterly unthinkable for a man of noble status.
Whenever there was a report of a vampire sighting, Todd would drop everything and rush over.
To ordinary people, Todd's actions were beyond admirable, bordering on the bizarre.
Many hate vampires. But few burn themselves out with that hatred, especially someone as privileged as Todd.*
"Unless he's a surviving Van Drake…"
"No way. You're saying a child survived back then?"
"How old would Sir Renfield have been at the time? Not even through puberty, and you think he broke through that encirclement? And besides, Laurus publicly recognized him as family. So what then? Are you saying Laurus betrayed the Lamphas Church? 'That' Laurus, of all people?"
"But if that's not it, there's no reason for him to throw himself into danger like that. If he's actually a Van Drake, and taking down a few vampires isn't much of a threat to him, well, that would explain things."
The idea that Todd might be a Van Drake was the kind of wild theory one might hear over drinks, but those who suggested it spoke with such conviction that others began to find themselves half-believing it.
Just as suspicion began to take root, a new rumor emerged.
It was said that Todd had an older sister, delicate in health and several years his senior, and that he lost her during the Night of Extinction.
Only then did people finally understand Todd's obsessive hatred toward vampires.
They pitied him instead, a young man recklessly throwing himself into danger for the sake of avenging his sister.
"If his sister died, that would explain it. They say he cherished her deeply. Before he met Count Renfield, the two of them wandered the world together."
"Come to think of it, Sir Renfield's eyes are a light brown, not those reptilian golden eyes."
Everything was exactly as Todd had planned. Cleared of suspicion and now free to move, he completely drove the vampires out of Noctiluca.
From there, with endless wealth, ruthless methods, and an unrestrained approach, he seized control of Noctiluca and pushed its development forward.
For someone in his early twenties, his maturity and skill were astonishing.
Five more years passed.
The young man who had already seemed complete
grew even more alluring, even the last traces of youthful freshness had ripened into a rich, heady fragrance.
In that time, Noctiluca had made a dazzling revival, as if its fall had been nothing but a lie. Its nights never lost their lights, and it reclaimed its title as the Nation's greatest city of pleasure.
Pax Noctilucana.
The dawn of Noctiluca's golden age.
And Todd, surpassing the underworld, became the undisputed ruler of Noctiluca.
Among its residents, there was no one who didn't owe him their life at least once. Those in the underworld pledged loyalty to him, and ordinary folk revered him.
Nothing that happened in Noctiluca escaped his ears or his grasp.
"Boss."
"What? Does the Lamphas Church need another donation already?"
Todd didn't even lift his eyes from the newspaper, his low voice dripping with boredom.
"I just gave them enough to stuff their mouths full two weeks ago."
It was common knowledge that Noctiluca's bishop, Lapis Ignarius, the Hero of Light, Bernardo, had a close relationship with Todd, its ruler.
It was natural. Todd had appointed Bernardo as bishop, and Bernardo supplied Todd with holy power.
Still, anyone who watched closely could see that their relationship wasn't entirely warm, as if there was some lingering bitterness that couldn't be erased.
The subordinate shook his head. If things were truly bad between them, Todd wouldn't have deliberately called Bernardo to Noctiluca in the first place.
In truth, there was only one thing the two had in common.
'They both lived through the Night of Extinction in Noctiluca.'
But that alone wasn't enough to guess at the true nature of their relationship.
Most of what made up "the boss" was shrouded in mystery anyway, trying to grasp it was like trying to find solid ground in the middle of the sea.
Shaking off such thoughts, the subordinate finally stated the reason he had come.
"A figure suspected to be a vampire was spotted near the slums."
At that report, Todd slowly lifted his head.
Black, curly hair fell across his forehead, long enough to cover his eyes.
But just as moonlight could not keep a muslin nightshirt from revealing the body beneath, the strands of hair could not hide the fierce eyes that gleamed through them as he fixed his gaze on his subordinate.
Eyes the thick, rich brown of whiskey clinging to the bottom of a bottle.
Meeting Todd's eyes was like stumbling upon a predator in the depths of a dark forest, the subordinate froze instinctively.
Then, Todd's massive frame began to rise, following the movement of his head. It felt like watching a stone statue atop a cathedral begin to stir, something that should never move, moving.
Even seated, Todd Van Drake's sheer size made other men appear small and frail.
But it wasn't just his build. It was the overwhelming presence that pressed down on the room, smothering something as insignificant as a subordinate's breath.
One might grow used to seeing his large frame, but never to that presence. The subordinate had served Todd Renfield for a long time, yet standing before him still felt like having the air crushed from his lungs.
"When was it spotted?"
"…T-Thirty minutes ago, sir."
Snapping back to his senses, the subordinate bowed hastily and answered with the utmost respect.
"Thirty minutes ago, huh… We'll have to hurry. It'll be trouble if we lose them."
"Yes, sir!"
The moment Todd's words left his mouth, the subordinate rushed to prepare him for departure.
Since there was no scolding for his earlier lapse, it seemed Todd's mood was reasonably good today.
Todd's reactions to reports of vampire sightings were always unpredictable. Sometimes good, usually bad, and more often than not, very bad.
Today, fortunately, he let it slide. But if the sighting had turned out to be a false alarm…
'He probably shouted at him, asking if he planned to just stand there dazed in front of a vampire and offer up his neck…'
The thunderous rebuke would have come crashing down, and even for someone hardened by a lifetime in the underworld, just imagining it was enough to make one's legs tremble.
Though the boss's mood was fair for now, there was no telling how long it would last. Thanks to the subordinate's quick, nervous movements, Todd's preparations to go out were finished in no time.
One might expect heavy armor for hunting vampires, but Todd Renfield was different.
Velvet, black fur, embroidered silk…
As changeable in dress as in temperament, he altered his attire daily. Whenever he went after vampires, he always changed his clothes, as if refusing to let such creatures see him disheveled.
One thing, however, never changed, the pendant at his throat.
Everything he wore was of the finest quality, making the pendant stand out all the more, its once-bright gemstone now clouded like a fake, its style long out of fashion.
Once, an officer in his organization, unable to bear it, had gifted him a new pendant, a perfect, vivid pigeon's blood ruby. People praised the gesture, saying it must have taken considerable influence to procure, and surely the boss would be pleased.
But the gift was never seen again, tucked away somewhere out of sight.
Today, as always, Todd fastened the old pendant to his clothes. The way his hands moved, careful and solemn, was like a soldier offering a prayer before battle.
After checking in the mirror that it was secure, he addressed the subordinate reflected there with a casual question.
"What are the vampire's distinguishing features?"
"They were wearing a hood, so it was hard to tell. But they seemed quite unsettled by the Lamphas Stars all around, so it's likely they're either new to the area or visiting after a long absence."
"Good… good."
Todd's lips curved as he gave his attire a final adjustment.
Even after so many false hopes and disappointments, the word vampire still made his heart pound.
Longing? Joy? Excitement?
No, this was closer to rage.
Not worn down over time, but sharpened over fifteen years, a deep, burning sense of betrayal.
Todd smiled. Perhaps because he had once wept so much over her, now when he thought of her, all he could do was smile.
What about today, he wondered?
Would it be her? Or not?
Leaving his office to head toward the slums where the vampire had been sighted, Todd hummed under his breath, a lullaby.
"If your neck is bitten, you'll never sleep again. Lullaby~, Lullaby~…"
He wanted to sleep.
To take back the sleep that she had stolen from him.
🍓; *Someone who 'burns themselves out with hatred' doesn't just hate, they feel compelled to act on it, even if it costs them.
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