Chapter 70: Scarlet Family
Leo swallowed nervously inwardly after hearing the young lady’s words, but it was her sadistic smile that made him shiver.
‘That damn butler! Normal girls around her age wouldn’t talk about killing and torturing, much less actually do them! Guildmaster Borus must have known about this and collided with the Scarlet Family! This mission was a death trap!’ He cried inwardly.
“Are you afraid? I can see fear in your eyes.” The young lady suddenly said.
“Not a chance. I’m just a little taken aback by your words. A young lady such as yourself shouldn’t talk about killing and torture.” Leo said as he stared directly into her crimson eyes.
The more he looked at her eyes, the more he was enchanted by its beauty.
“Can you stop staring at me so intensively? It feels weird…” she suddenly said in a low voice.
“Sorry… I couldn’t look away since your eyes are so mesmerizing.”
The young lady’s eyes widened slightly after hearing his words.
“You think my eyes are pretty? I don’t believe you. Everyone else is disgusted by it, including my own family, but they fear it more than they are disgusted.”
Leo smiled and said, “Then they must be blind.”
“…”
The young lady turned silent for a moment before speaking again, “I haven’t introduced myself yet. My name is Lia— Lia Scarlet, and I am the second youngest child in the Scarlet Household. You can just call me Lia.”
Leo nodded, “Pleased to meet you, Lia.”
And he continued, “Can you tell me a little more about my mission now? I am supposed to be your bodyguard, but…”
He looked around the sealed room. What could he possibly be protecting Lia from?
“As you can probably tell by now, you’re not here just to be an ordinary bodyguard. I am also not in danger, so you don’t have to worry about suddenly being attacked by outsiders.” Lia said.
However, this only made Leo more confused. If he’s not here as her bodyguard, what was his true purpose here?
Lia suddenly pointed to her red eyes and continued, “My Scarlet Eyes is a very rare genetic trait within the Scarlet Family’s lineage. It’s so rare that there had only been two people before me that were born with these eyes throughout my family’s entire lineage that has existed for over a thousand years. Those born with the Scarlet Eyes are blessed with immense talent and magic aptitude. It is also because of these Scarlet Eyes that my Scarlet Family has managed to stand at the top for hundreds of years.”
“However, while it is one’s fortune to have these Scarlet Eyes, it is also a misfortune at the same time. While most people call them Scarlet Eyes, it has another name— Vampire Eyes. It was given this name because of its crimson color that is a common trait of vampires, but that is not the only reason. Every six months, my body is overwhelmed with mana, and I will feel an uncontrollable desire for blood.”
“This uncontrollable urge cannot be quelled until I am covered in blood or a week has passed. That is why I am currently inside this secluded chamber and why you’re here.”
Leo swallowed nervously after hearing her words.
“So I am here to give you my blood?” he asked.
“I don’t drink blood. When I say that I desire for blood, I mean the desire to be soaked in blood. In other words, you’re here as a sacrifice.”
“What?! That’s insane! Why would the Adventurers’ Guild send its own Adventurers to their death?!” He exclaimed.
“Actually, we hire mercenaries for the role most of the time. Even though we request for sacrifices, the Adventurers’ Guild has always been reluctant to send their Adventurers for obvious reasons. However, for some reason, they agreed to send you.”
‘That bastard really sent me here to die!’ Leo cursed Guildmaster Borus inwardly.
“Anyways, I have already killed enough people, so my desire for blood isn’t as strong anymore, hence why you’re still standing and talking with me.”
“Wait… You said that it will go away in seven days, right? Why can’t you just wait seven days? Did you really have to kill so many people?” Leo suddenly asked.
“I did not, but I wanted to. Before you ask, it’s because I enjoy it, and I love the sensation of blood on my skin. The thrill I get from killing is just… amazing!”
The sadistic smile appeared on Lia’s face for a second time, sending chills down Leo’s back.
“With that being said, although I can wait out my lust for blood, it takes a heavy toll on me physically and mentally— especially mentally. If that happens, I will occasionally have these episodes where I would go on a sudden ramage, killing everything in sight until I calmed down. It would be problematic if this happened to me while I am in a public area, so the family has decided to quell my bloodlust with sacrifices.”
“And the city is okay with this…?” Leo couldn’t believe it.
“Of course. The Scarlet Family is incredibly influential, but that is only a very small reason why everybody turns a blind eye to us. My potential— they want to use my talents to fight against the vampires and monsters. It is the biggest reason why they are allowing a monster like me to exist.”
Leo was speechless after hearing this information.
‘This world is truly…’ he sighed inwardly.
“Humans are desperate to get rid of monsters and vampires. It’s been like this since forever.” Lilith calmly said.
“So what’s going to happen now?” Leo asked Lia a moment later.
“My bloodlust will go away in three days, so try your best to survive until then. I don’t mind being around you, so it would be a shame if you were to die by my hands.” Lia said with a calm expression on her face.
“I can defend myself, but I can’t hurt you. Is that correct?” he asked her.
She nodded, “Although I personally wouldn’t mind it even if you hit me back, my family won’t share the same sentiments. They will definitely execute you for hurting me, the future of the Scarlet Family and possibly the future of humanity.”
“Of course, you wouldn’t be able to hurt me even if you wanted to. Did you think that my family would hire someone who can harm me to be a sacrifice? That would be too naive.”
“…”
Leo was utterly speechless by now. He couldn’t believe that he would be in such a situation shortly after his last incident. It was almost as though this world was trying its best to kill him at every corner!
‘Is this your way of dealing with me, who doesn’t belong in your world?! I never asked to be here, either!’ he sighed inwardly.
Lia returned to her bed shortly after.
“Tell me about yourself,” she said to him after lying on the bed in her white one-piece dress.
“You want to know about someone you’re about to kill?” he asked her with a bittersweet smile.
“If I know more about you, perhaps I will be less reluctant to kill you. Of course, I have no control over my body during my ramage.”
“Fine… What do you want to know?”
“I don’t know. Just tell me everything.”
Leo took a deep breath and began telling her about his life. Of course, he was telling her about the life of ‘Leon’, somebody he made up with Miss Camille.
“I am just an ordinary guy from an ordinary family who has spent the majority of his life reading books. I became an Adventurer when someone noticed my talents and decided to make me one.”
“How old are you?”
“I am currently 18 years old.”
“When is your birthday?”
“April 29th.”
“So you’re older than me by 3 months… What school are you attending?”
“I’m not a student. I am a full-time Adventurer now.”
“Do you have any magic affinity besides dark?”
“I have Wind Magic Affinity as well.”
“You also have a second magic affinity beside Dark Magic Affinity? How surprising.” Lia mumbled.
Leo raised his eyebrows and said, “You make it sound like you also have Dark Magic Affinity.”
“Because I do. Besides my B-Rank Dark Magic Affinity, I also have an S-Rank Gravity Magic Affinity.”
“What about you? What rank is your Dark Magic Affinity?”
“S-Rank.”
“…The Adventurers’ Guild sent someone with S-Rank Dark Magic Affinity as a sacrifice? Have they lost their mind?” Lia sounded surprised for the first time.
“What about your magic talent? Is it also S-Rank? I didn’t bother looking through your information because I expected to kill you long ago.”
“My magic talent is also S-Rank…”
Lia sat up on her bed and turned to look at him with raised eyebrows.
“S-Rank Magic Talent and S-Rank Dark Magic Affinity, not to mention that you also have a second magic affinity… Did you offend someone you’re not supposed to? Otherwise, why would they send someone like you to your death? Normally, they would nourish someone like you to fight for humanity like me.” Lia asked.
Leo shrugged, “Don’t ask me. I also have an unjustified bounty on my head.”
“You’re a lot more interesting than I thought. Well, no matter the reason, I’m glad they sent you. It’s been a while since I had such a long conversation with someone.”
*Knock* *Knock*
Their door was suddenly knocked on.
“Young Lady, is everything okay in there? Do I need to send in the next sacrifice?” Edwin’s voice resounded.
Lia looked at Leo and showed a very subtle smile on her face before responding, “There’s no need, this one is still alive.”