by Geli Cake
"Stop it!"
Haylan squeaked.
There must be a word to describe the urge to do something even more when told not to. I continued teasing him for a bit longer before picking up Haylan, who was now practically a snowman.
'I don't care. He's cute.'
Ugh, this so healing…
Having been up all night, I recharged my energy by hugging Haylan. Haylan, who had been struggling, quickly gave up and went limp in my arms as soon as he realized he couldn't overpower me.
Haylan no longer openly tries to stop my reckless behavior. Does this mean he finally acknowledges me as an older brother figure?
Mr. Luke had cleared the snow from the servants' quarters to the mansion. This was my first time coming this way. While we were walking along the snow-covered path, a slightly different route than usual, Haylan tugged on my sleeve and said,
"My legs hurt."
It seemed Haylan didn't like the snow. I enjoyed the feeling of walking on the snow and liked the new path, so I thought it would be nice to take a full lap, but…
At his words, I extended my arm, and Haylan snuggled into my embrace, lightly wrapping his arms around my neck.
'Is that a greenhouse?'
I didn't know there was a building like that over there. Judging by its state, it didn't seem to be in use…
At the end of the path, there was a glass greenhouse that looked like it had been abandoned for years. The broken and dilapidated greenhouse in the middle of a barren garden was incredibly desolate.
It must have been a cherished space for someone, but having been neglected for so long, it had become faded and forlorn, ignored by everyone. Whether it's a person or a building, it seemed like they needed attention. Just then…
[Would you like to view Haylan's memory?]
Huh? Is there something here?
I blinked stupidly and pressed "Yes." After a sensation of being sucked into something, the scenery changed.
'Wow.'
A red carpet was laid out in the center of a glass greenhouse decorated with white flowers. I was so engrossed in the vividness of the scene, as if I were actually there, that I couldn't stop looking around.
A woman with white hair pulled up in an elegant style was walking along the carpet. I soon realized she was Christine, and Odin was standing at the end of the carpet.
This was Christine's wedding scene. Her hair color seemed to resemble her mother's, while Haylan must have inherited his hair color from his father's side. It was full of smiles.
The sunlight was bright, the weather warm…
It was a simple wedding, but the couple was smiling so happily, as if they had the whole world, that their happiness seemed contagious.
However, the peace was shattered in an instant. Blood flowed like a river over the white tiles, and bodies lay scattered around. The magic music box, oblivious to the sudden silence, continued playing its beautiful melody. And the only one who survived was…
[Main Story Progress: 10%]
[A 'Trauma' section has been added to Haylan's character profile.]
[Bad Ending No. 11 Red Rose has been removed.]
"...."
It started snowing again. The falling snow blurred the footprints behind me. I felt Haylan's hand, gripping my sleeve, tremble slightly.
"Shall we go back?"
"Yes."
I adjusted Haylan in my arms and thought,
The snow instantly blankets the world in white. I wish it could cover your wounds without a trace.
Staring at the desolate landscape for a moment, I walked backward, stepping on the fading footprints.
─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───
'Why is this working now?'
Holding the book and modifying the magic circle this way and that, I made a slightly bewildered expression as the magic circle suddenly started working correctly. This was because the completed magic circle wasn't as neat as I had hoped.
But it was complete for now. I'd think about it again if there were any problems when the second sample came out.
'Since he said it's urgent, I should send the blueprint to Odin this week.'
Speak of the devil, as I was redrawing the blueprint to make it easier to understand, I heard a knock.
"Guest, there's this at the door…"
One of the servants brought me a letter, saying it had suddenly appeared at the front door.
Odin's name was on the sender's section.
Today wasn't a supply day, was it? There wasn't even a stamp…
[Magic detection successful!]
I was puzzled to detect a transportation spell cast on the letter itself.
'Does he have money to burn?'
Even in this world where magic existed, the main modes of transportation were still trains and carriages. Goods were transported by ships, and letters were delivered by postmen.
Teleportation and transportation magic existed, of course, but their efficiency was extremely poor because the mana consumption increased tremendously with distance.
"He must have been really desperate."
Tsk. I roughly calculated the distance between Jenette and the mansion, then shook my head, unable to comprehend. That money would be enough to revive me three times over.
Anyway, I closed the door with my back and checked the contents of Odin's letter.
「I recently received information that vampires are tracking blood that's being diverted outside the temples.
I heard that you also procure blood from a nearby temple, so please be careful with blood procurement for the time being.」
Odin's name wasn't mentioned in the original story. So the letters he sent arrived as "Suspicious Mail," but in reality, those letters had nothing to do with the game's strategy.
This was because the "Half-Hunt" in vampire society wasn't really connected to the situation at the mansion. The player's goal was simply to escape from Haylan and the mansion.
'No wonder he was in such a hurry.'
That was enough reason to burn 3 million Solra. I nodded after reading the concise letter, skipping even the greetings.
In the original game, the timing of receiving the Suspicious Mail varied depending on the amount of information the player had gathered. Since most users took about a month of in-game time to roughly figure out Haylan's identity, it seemed I was on the right track.
After quickly relaying this information to the head butler, I had the opportunity to witness an unexpected sight.
"You must drink it once a month."
"I said I'd drink it on my own if you leave it."
"Have I not seen you secretly dispose of it before? Now that procurement will be difficult for a while, you absolutely must not throw it away. I'll stay and watch."
"Are you going to keep bothering me?"
Haylan glared at the glass filled with dark red liquid with a disgusted expression. When would I ever get the chance to see a vampire who hates drinking blood again? Sensing my amused gaze, Haylan yelled,
"What are you looking at? Enjoying the show?"
"Head butler, I'll keep a close eye on him."
Seizing the opportunity, I switched places with the head butler, and for the first time in a while, Haylan's affection points plummeted.
"Why do you hate drinking it so much?"
I also remembered crying and rolling on the floor for an hour when I was young because I hated taking powdered medicine. That image overlapped with Haylan's face, and I found him rather cute. But then…
"It's not normal. It makes me feel disgusted every time I'm reminded that I'm a monster."
"...."
I hadn't expected such a heavy reason. Having asked out of amusement thinking it was cute, I suddenly felt like a piece of trash.
"Don't say that. What do you mean, monster?"
"If I'm not a monster, then what am I? Can I be called human when I can't even survive without leeching off others like this? I don't age, and I don't die. How can I be human? I'm a monster wearing a human mask."
"...."
"...You wouldn't understand. Of course."
Haylan, who had been muttering in an irritable tone, closed his mouth with a dejected expression.
He was right. I couldn't fully understand Haylan's feelings. What was he living for, having become a solitary, unmoving stone in the relentless flow of time?
Whatever I said now wouldn't reach Haylan. It was a stale sense of helplessness.
I suddenly became curious.
Why did this world choose me?
Was there truly a happy ending to this story?
What kind of ending would satisfy us all…?
"Here, have something to cleanse your palate."
I couldn't be certain of anything, but I at least hoped he'd become a happy monster.
I peeled the wrapper and placed a hard candy in Haylan's mouth. After rolling the candy around in his mouth for a while, Haylan said weakly,
"I don't have an appetite…"
Contrary to his words, he ate every last bit of his dinner and looked embarrassed.
He's at a growing age. A full belly is better than an empty one. I generously offered Haylan my portion of chickpeas.
"...."
As he looked at me silently, I simply smiled.
'What are you looking at?'
Eat even the things you don't like and grow up big and stro