A shadow vanished and reappeared repeatedly.
Sunlight streaming down the alley drew out that presence.
Of course, sunlight was fatal to vampires, and prolonged exposure could cause instant disintegration.
But that presence was the most noble of vampires, and had already acquired resistance to sunlight.
"Ahh... Have I been found out?"
The man dashed for a while before belatedly leaning against a wall.
He caught his breath, only to soon be consumed by a faint thirst.
At last, he had found blood that could satisfy him, but he could not dare to touch it rashly.
"They say delicious blood is not easily obtained..."
Vampires walk in darkness and subsist on blood.
If it was blood, they could devour anything, but if they cared about taste, they avoided beasts or monsters.
Only human blood held exquisite flavor, and the younger the human, the richer the concentration.
"I finally understand. I cannot endure without drinking that human's blood."
The man recalled distinctly what the ancient vampire had said.
A pureblooded vampire, by their very nature, craved the destiny-laden blood of fate.
Until they drank enough of that blood to their satisfaction, they could not escape their fate, and suffered from thirst until death approached.
"So you were my destiny... kuhuhu..."
The pureblood vampire, Aner Kynesien, tilted his head and laughed slyly.
Unable to suppress his reverent desire, he had come all the way here, only to finally face the blood of destiny.
Now, if only he could drink that blood to his heart's content, he could be freed from this thirst.
"We'll meet again soon. I cannot leave without drinking your blood."
* * *
This time, Alter himself visited Brillie's room.
Brillie harbored doubts about his behavior, but did not openly show it.
Just as she had done before, Alter could also approach first as her fiancé.
"Have you been well without any trouble?"
"What trouble could there be? It's always the same."
"..."
As soon as Alter met Brillie, he asked about that matter without hesitation.
If his suspicions were correct, then a pureblood vampire would be pursuing Brillie.
He would have to indulge in Brillie's blood to his heart's content and satisfy his agonizing desire.
'Is she intentionally hiding it from me?'
Alter sensed a strange discomfort in Brillie's voice.
Normally, there should have been more confidence and firm resolve.
But as her voice sounded slightly vague, he couldn't help but think she was hiding something.
"If you think there's going to be trouble, you should seek the help from the next Sword Saint."
"Our commmander would certainly be able to help well. Ah, that's if trouble arises."
Brillie answered absentmindedly and then added an excuse belatedly.
All she had discovered so far was that someone was tailing her.
It might be a vampire or a werewolf, but that was only a conjecture.
Yet, considering she had been stalked for several days, it was not a possibility she could entirely dismiss.
"Are you really saying nothing happened?"
Alter asked again seriously, his eyes cold.
Of course, Brillie's skills were such that she could face a pureblooded vampire alone.
But the enemy would not attack alone, and he was also given the role of the male lead.
The original events would surely play out, but since this was reality, a bit of worry was inevitable.
"That's true, but... why are you suddenly asking about this?"
"You seem a little tired. I wondered if you might be having some difficulties."
Alter lied nonchalantly while peering into the vague future.
Brillie's martial strength was overwhelming, acknowledged even by the next Sword Saint.
But as Brillie disliked depending on others, she would rarely seek help.
"Really? Well, thank you for your concern, but nothing's wrong. I'm not really tired either."
Brillie smiled gently and replied kindly.
She couldn't trouble her fiancé over a matter like this.
If she was being this obvious, perhaps she should resolve this case as quickly as possible.
"Shouldn't you worry about your own health before worrying about me? Give me your hand."
"..."
Alter hesitated for a moment, then extended his left hand.
At some point, Brillie had started trying to touch his hand whenever they met.
To be exact, it was to check the temperature of his hand, and every time he did, similar words followed.
"See? It's so cold. Maybe you should get a brazier?"
"It helped a little when I caught a cold, but now it makes little difference. It's only better when I get sunlight."
"Is that so? Then we should go out and get some sun now."
"I already took a walk earlier..."
"There's no rule that says you can only do it once a day."
"Even so, more than twice is..."
"Then you can do it three times."
"..."
"If we walk together, won't it be a little less dull? Come on, I'll keep you company, so let's go out together."
As Brillie stood up first, Alter reluctantly followed.
She was right—there was no reason to set a rule about walk frequency.
If he could physically withstand it, it was better to soak up more sunlight.
In fact, his condition was gradually improving, so perhaps he could be a bit more diligent.
'She acts normal toward the male lead, but... am I the only one being fussed over too much?'
Alter looked at Brillie curiously, stealing glances at her.
Being sickly was a clear disadvantage, and as he was younger than Brillie, he couldn't display masculine charm.
Even if he was handsome, that was a trait granted to the other male leads as well.
That is, whichever way you compared, he would seem relatively lacking, so perhaps she should keep some distance.
'If it's out of pity, I can understand it...'
Alter hesitated for a moment, then emptied his mind.
In any case, since the crown prince had shown interest in Brillie, breaking off the engagement was unavoidable.
Until the relationship with Brillie was resolved, he would have to go along for now.
'I'll just think of it as a brief break. Don't I have to live my own life, after all?'
* * *
After that day, Aner gave up chasing after Brillie.
He could be mistaken, but if she had noticed his presence, she would track him down at any moment.
For now, it was better to leave it alone and strike at the right moment.
'I know the places she frequents. Now I just have to look for an opening.'
Aner instinctively realized how strong Brillie was.
Her inherent magic power was unusual, and the atmosphere around her exuded an oppressive aura.
If he confronted Brillie now, he might end up being the one to suffer first.
'It's dangerous alone. I'll only have a chance if I attack with others.'
Of course, if a vampire attacked, an ordinary human would die instantly.
Let alone, against a pureblood vampire, even a skilled person would not have an easy fight.
But as his target surpassed that level, he had no choice but to summon other vampires.
'As long as the underlings block the attacks for me...'
Aner was willing to sacrifice even his own kind.
In the end, they were just mongrels, and for his own sake, they should be ready to give their lives.
Vampires had always been passed down as purebloods; it was nothing strange for mongrels to be sacrificed at any time.
'I have to drink the blood while still alive. If she dies, the taste will be ruined.'
Aner licked his lips unconsciously.
He had drunk countless amounts of blood so far, but never had he felt such anticipation.
If he could inhale the scent of that woman's flesh and drink her blood, it would surely be unparalleled bliss.
"Kuuu... How much longer do I have to wait? I want to tear that skin apart. Surely, sweet blood will flow!"
Aner looked out at the duke's mansion, consumed by desire.
While he could move even during the day, mongrel vampires were vulnerable to sunlight.
So he had to attack at midnight, but she only came outside when the sun was up.
If he entered the mansion, he would have to fight countless humans, and that would only risk his life more.
"Heuh... hwa... Stupid fools... This is why mongrels are useless..."
Aner was constantly torn between desire and reason.
He wished he could drink the blood right now.
But if he recklessly charged in, not only the mongrels but he himself could be injured as well.
If he could not suppress his desire now, the pureblood line would be cut off.
"Endure it... If I wait a little longer, the chance will come..."
Aner barely fought off his desperate longing, gritting his teeth.
His protruding fangs trembled faintly.
He was certain that if he did not end this here, he would regret it for the rest of his life.
"I will drink her blood. No matter what..."
* * *
Brillie spent some time looking for any traces of the presence that had been following her, but it didn't appear anywhere.
It was as if it had vanished to avoid being tracked itself.
She judged it relatively safe for now, but she wasn't completely off guard.
'Maybe I should have brought a soldier?'
Brillie thought regretfully, glancing to the side.
Alter was slowly walking, looking at suits and fabrics.
She had gone shopping with him to buy a new suit, but felt uneasy since they had no guards with them.
'Having soldiers around would just make things awkward. But this is the first time we've been out together...'
"Brillie, which do you think looks better?"
"Hmm... I think darker colors would suit you more."
"Then I'll choose this one. The buttons look quite nice too."
"Aren't you choosing something too cheap? Try something more expensive."
"I wasn't thinking about the price..."
"Isn't this one better? Look here. The stitching and the seams are all different."
"..."
In the end, Alter couldn't resist Brillie's assertiveness and accepted her choice.
She was buying him clothes, so he couldn't nitpick over every detail.
On top of that, she had come out personally to show him around, so he ought to just go along.
"It's already getting dark. We must have stayed too long."
"If we leave now, we should be just in time."
Alter left the shopping district with Brillie.
He still didn't know whether Brillie had encountered the pureblood vampire yet.
If not, then an attack would likely come at night.
'In the original story, she was attacked when alone. There are still people around...'
While guarding his surroundings, Alter approached the carriage.
No matter that the sun had set, he did not believe an attack would come under these circumstances.
Perhaps Brillie had already fought the pureblood vampire and was now acting as if nothing had happened.
'Knowing Brillie's personality, she would... wait, what's this?'
Alter sensed a chilling presence and stopped in his tracks.
Because of his exceptional talent with magic, he could precisely detect external magic power.
Moreover, as an alien and ominous aura spread toward him, he realized its true nature immediately.
'Is the pureblood vampire about to ambush us?'
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Yep, now, mama bear needs to protect papa bear or is it baby bear?!
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】