The Genius Son-in-law of the Swordmaster Household—Blessed by Authority

Chapter 105 : Until We Meet Again (1)

Until We Meet Again (1)

Ian escorted Yuria back and returned to Lunabreeze.

By now, it was completely night.

Sophia and Charlotte were in the underground training hall, taking turns grabbing each other's legs as they did pull-up exercises together.

"Sophia. Lady Charlotte."

"Yes!"

"... Yes?"

"Come this way for a moment."

Ian led the two of them to the secret training chamber.

He was going to show them Scarlet, who was sleeping there.

'At the very least, I'd better introduce her to these two in advance.'

He didn't know when Scarlet might come out.

He had left her a note saying, 'Even if you wake up, don't come outside,' but he couldn't be sure she would follow the instructions on the note.

Therefore, it was safer to introduce them in advance so that at least one side wouldn't be caught off guard if they suddenly ran into each other.

"H-Hyuk!!?"

As soon as Sophia saw Scarlet, she jumped in shock and clasped her hands over her mouth.

"Wh-who is this!? This person's face is so, so pale...!? H-hyuk! Don't tell me she's a corpse!? Y-young master, no way...! Did you again!?"

"... Calm down, Sophia. She's not a corpse. ... And again? What are you talking about?"

"N-no... Hmm...!"

Sophia glanced at Charlotte furtively, then trotted over to Ian and whispered in his ear.

"I thought you'd done it again...! Young master... You always kill anyone who picks a fight with you!"

"... Huh? Wait. What do you mean..."

Was she calling me a beast? Ian was about to retort, but closed his mouth.

Come to think of it, the number of people Ian had killed or smashed in front of Sophia had long since passed into double digits.

Of course, each act of violence had an understandable reason.

Bandits, house servants and knights of the Greysel family, rogue adventurers, Hector's group, demonic humans...

Every single one of them had tried to kill or harm Ian and Sophia.

"Ahem!"

Ian cleared his throat and opened his mouth again.

"Sophia. You know... I only did those things because they were the best option at the time."

"Ah, well! I know that! The ones who did bad things first are the ones at fault, and if you hadn't responded like that, we would've been the ones to die! I just thought... that maybe, someday, I'd end up having to help you hide or dispose of a corpse, and for a moment I thought that day was today!"

"... Uh, what?"

Ian blinked his eyes.

What? Help hide and dispose of a corpse...?

Somehow, Sophia sounded a bit like a villain.

Is this alright?

"Hm..."

... Well, as a swordsman, there are times when that kind of temperament can be useful.

It should be okay... right?

As long as Sophia herself is fine with it, it should be fine.

"Hmm."

Ian continued what he intended to do.

"She's not a corpse. I brought you here to introduce you. Her name is Scarlet Ravierre. She was being held captive in a demonic human hideout, and now she's recovering, so she's asleep."

"Recovering? Is she really okay? Her complexion is extremely pale..."

"That's just her natural skin color. She's a vampire."

"V-vampire!? ... A man-eating bloodsucker?"

"That's right. But there's no need to worry. Scarlet doesn't bite just anyone."

"R-really?"

Sophia nervously swallowed.

"Vampires don't bite people? There are vampires like that!? Are you sure you weren't fooled by her, young master!? You can be so thorough, but sometimes you're just too nice! And she's a woman you're seeing for the first time! Didn't you only meet her for the first time at the hideout!? And I heard vampires are good at bewitchment magic! Are you sure you weren't caught by something like that!?"

"... It's not that. But how do you know so much about vampires?"

"There are books in the library. I read them when I was bored."

"There were books like that?"

Maybe I should take a day to explore the library when I have a chance.

There could even be information related to the Goddess connected with Ian's regression.

"... Y-young master Ian?"

At that moment, Charlotte took a step forward.

"Um... do anyone besides us know that there's a vampire here? Do the Heavenly Sword knights know...?"

"No. I secretly brought her in. Other than the three of us, no one knows."

"Th-then...!"

Charlotte bit her lip before speaking.

"T-then isn't that a bit dangerous...! Just in case, when Cheryl or Ophelia come back, maybe we should... tell them as well...!"

"No. Absolutely not."

Ian refused firmly.

"Only the three of us will know about Scarlet."

He had no choice but to tell these two, but it would be better not to tell anyone else.

After all, Cheryl was usually in the caretaker's room and had no reason to come here, and as long as Charlotte was careful, Ophelia also wouldn't have any reason to enter here.

More importantly, Ian didn't know which faction Cheryl and Ophelia belonged to, so there was nothing to gain from letting the story about secretly bringing in Scarlet leak out.

Ian spoke with a serious expression.

"If this story gets to anyone else, you will be the first person I suspect, lady Charlotte. Do you understand?"

"H-hyuk...!"

Charlotte gasped sharply.

"I-I understand... Y-yes!"

Charlotte's round eyes quivered.

"I'll keep it in mind...!"

* * *

The next day.

A clear morning.

The announcement that Gunryong Hall would be closed spread.

Since such a major incident had occurred with demonic humans mixed in among the instructors, a major investigation had started again, just like during Yuria's kidnapping case.

As before, there would be a massive reshuffling of personnel, and those who had taken bribes from or were even slightly connected to the demonic humans would need incredible luck to survive.

Aris, who was extremely displeased by this incident, would investigate everything thoroughly as if she had obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Scarlet woke up a little less than a week later.

As usual, Ian went to check on Scarlet's condition, but her bed was empty.

Wondering where she had gone, he looked around.

― Swish!

― Shaaak!

Red blood vessels shot out from the ceiling like venomous snakes, instantly suspending Ian in the air.

"... What are you doing?"

Scarlet was suddenly right in front of Ian.

"You are..."

― Charrk!

As soon as Scarlet checked Ian's face, she released the restraints.

"You survived?"

― Swish!

"Ugh!"

Scarlet grabbed Ian's chin and forcibly turned his head.

She was checking his neck.

"No marks...?"

There were no bite marks.

"What are you looking for? The marks from where you bit me?"

"..."

Scarlet quietly took a step back.

"As I thought... I bit you, didn't I?"

"You remember?"

Scarlet frowned and rubbed her forehead.

"I remember you pulling me down from the cross... But after that, it's all blank. When I woke up, I felt full. From the circumstances, I thought I'd completely eaten you. ... I was so starved I couldn't control myself."

Ian smiled faintly.

"I almost died, for sure."

Scarlet narrowed her eyes and stared at Ian.

"What in the world happened? I need an explanation. I have a lot of questions."

"I figured as much."

Ian gestured alternately to the chair and the bed.

"Take a seat, wherever you like. I'll explain it to you calmly."

"..."

― Clatter.

Scarlet sat down in the chair.

Ian sat on the bed.

"Don't worry about biting me. I let you do it on purpose."

"On purpose?"

Ian nodded.

"Your condition was that serious. It was the surest treatment method. Since you're a vampire."

"... But you couldn't have handled the amount of blood I took, someone as small as you."

Even an enormous adult wouldn't have been able to handle it at all.

No matter how noble or good one's blood was, it was nearly impossible for a single human to endure the hunger of an ancient-class vampire alone.

Ian replied calmly.

"I had a way. I don't think it should surprise you that much."

There were all kinds of special abilities in this world.

He imagined someone who had lived so long would have seen plenty of unique abilities.

She probably had encountered humans who survived a vampire's bite before.

"... Is that so. Maybe not."

Scarlet looked at Ian intently.

Her eyes wavered slightly.

There was almost no one who could endure the hunger of an ancient vampire by themselves.

Even trolls, who could regenerate most wounds in the blink of an eye, would shrivel up instantly if bitten by an ancient vampire.

If someone possessed immense holy power like a Saintess or a pontiff of the Holy Kingdom, perhaps they could endure it easily.

They possessed vitality that was nearly immortal.

But because their blood had the attribute of light, like the sun, vampires—whose life originated from darkness—could not drink their blood.

In other words, Ian didn't have the recovery power of holy energy either.

So what kind of ability had allowed an ordinary human to withstand the hunger of an ancient vampire all by himself?

Even more so, a boy who looked so ordinary?

Scarlet, even in her thousands of years of life, had never seen a case like this.

How...?

"..."

A complicated expression spread across Scarlet's face.

"Don't ask too deeply about that. Even if you ask, I can't tell you."

Even though Scarlet had been Ian's close comrade in his previous life, there was no way he could reveal the Authority of Projection or his regression right now.

It wasn't that Ian didn't trust her, but it was an issue that she still didn't trust him yet.

They didn't have that level of trust. If he babbled something carelessly, crucial secret information could leak out.

"... Alright. If you say so."

Fortunately, Scarlet accepted it without fuss.

"I read your letter."

She picked up the note lying on the table and waved it.

On it were written things like where this place was and to please wait here after waking up.

"The blood... You didn't drink it."

Ian gestured to the cup on the table.

He had left it there, thinking she might be hungry when she woke, but she hadn't touched even a drop.

Blood tends to quickly coagulate like jelly, so he had replaced it every day.

"I didn't know whose blood it was."

"It's mine. You can drink it."

"Later. Questions come first."

"Fine. Ask anything. I'll tell you what I can."

"Alright..."

Scarlet leaned back in the chair and crossed her legs.

"I have no idea who you are. It's definitely a face I'm seeing for the first time. But you know my name. And you even rescued me. There are so many things I can't understand that I'm not sure what to ask first."

"Once you sort it out, ask one thing at a time."

"Then let's start simple."

Scarlet crossed her legs the other way and asked.

"How do you know my name?"

"I can't answer that."

If he lied and made something up, she would find out quickly, and it would harm trust. Telling her the story of a previous life was also not possible now.

Scarlet's expression bunched up.

"That's the most important question. You won't tell me?"

"Sorry."

"... You certainly saved my life, but if I can't learn anything about you, I have no choice but to remain on my guard. You know that, right?"

Ian nodded.

"Fine, I'll let it slide. It can't be helped."

"Thank you."

"Next question. Why did you save me?"

This one was easy to answer.

"That's simple. I hate demonic humans. If possible, I want to wipe every last one of them off the face of the earth."

One of Scarlet's eyebrows lifted slightly.

"Even if you hadn't been the one captured there, I would have rescued whoever it was. Anyone who's a prisoner of demonic humans is likely to become my friend."

Scarlet smiled.

"I like that."

The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

It was a moment when Scarlet's heart opened just a little.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=

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