I Want to Break Free from the Vampire’s Blood Bag

Clue

That night when Ha-yu returned injured.

Arein fed on him freely, not knowing anything.

And by the time she realized Ha-yu had completely lost consciousness, he had already lost a lot of blood.

She hastily explored his body, overcome by needless anger.

Therefore, Arein clearly felt it. This was definitely her fault.

Fortunately, befitting the Royal Class dormitory, they were able to take quick measures to ensure there was no danger to his life.

‘Ah…’

It was a first for Arein.

Seeing Lee Ha-yu, who always worked diligently like a fool, lying still in bed.

‘What should I say when he wakes up? What expression should I make?’

Ha-yu had plenty of reasons to be angry with her.

She had already been giving him many punishments lately, and she was afraid that Ha-yu’s existence would break like this.

As Arein stood there for a while, gazing at the lying Ha-yu, Eliana, who was involved in the incident, approached.

‘I’m sorry. I failed to properly look after the seed. It’s my fault.’

……

She’s a woman from the Serius family. Moreover, being the primary cause, Arein didn’t even want to exchange words with her.

‘Neither you nor I, despite being Royal Class, can properly handle even one servant.’

……

When an awkward silence fell, Professor Agnel Regermond appeared to investigate the incident.

She glanced at Ha-yu before handing the syllabus to Arein.

“The trust relationship between knights and contractors. This is the liberal arts course you need right now.”

Eliana looked over the syllabus with a sad expression.

And then passed the syllabus to Arein.

“Since I’ve lost my contractor, it would be difficult for me to enroll, but you, Arein, might not be too late.”

“……”

Professor Agnel tried to conclude the incident by excluding Arein from it.

She didn’t want rumors spreading about the demon exchange student getting involved in an unsavory incident before the semester even began.

“Arein, do take this course.”

Instead, she recommended that Arein take this course.

Arein quietly accepted the syllabus.

‘…If I take this course…’

He thought that perhaps he could convey his sincerity to Ha-yu, albeit indirectly.

But he never imagined such unexpected words would come out of his mouth…

* * *

“……”

“…….”

I stood still like a gladiator in the Colosseum, waiting for death after encountering a powerful opponent.

‘Kneel? Would I kneel? Would I ever kneel?’

This thought passes through my mind quickly like a neon sign on a billboard.

Hmm, I’m screwed.

I’m definitely screwed.

Even though this is an academy, I’ve definitely crossed the line in spectacular fashion.

Wasn’t this exactly how we used to joke around during late-night study sessions with seniors in college in my previous world?

‘Alright, let’s start the late-night study session. Begin!’
‘Hey, Hyungsik, let’s do this properly?’
‘This guy is crazy hahaha’

For late-night study sessions, it’s actually more of an insider style to just blurt things out without hesitation, and it doesn’t ruin the mood.

But that’s just an excuse, and Arein wouldn’t understand.

Those two syllables that definitely came out of my mouth: ‘Kneel’

How should I handle this sudden outburst?

The only fortunate thing is that these two syllables were only heard by Arein.

It was a syllable that slipped out without me realizing. The pronunciation was a bit unclear and the volume wasn’t loud.

Seeing how everyone else seems uninterested, it’s clear the surrounding students didn’t hear it.

‘……’

In the heavy silence, Arein’s expression was a mix of 50% anger, 25% bewilderment, and 25% something indefinable.

Seeing the twitching muscles near her temples and cheeks, she was clearly quite angry.

And her expression seemed to be demanding some additional explanation or damage control for this situation.

*Ding.*

[Obtained 5 points of Seven Deadly Sins: Wrath from ‘Arein S. Asphodel’]

A thought occurred to me in that moment.

‘Well, this is sweet.’

Right. Even in a tiger’s den, you just need to keep your wits about you. I started to rack my brain frantically.

At that moment, I noticed Eliana having a serious conversation with Agnel.

‘Do you have any other candidate in mind?’
‘…I think I’ll need to ask the main family directly.’

As I remained silent, Arein’s brow gradually began to furrow.

She spat out angrily.

‘Say it again.’

The more tense the situation, the more brazen I needed to be. I quickly whispered my planned response.

‘My lady, I read the lecture plan, and there was definitely a creativity component.’

‘……’

I spoke as loudly as possible, making sure Eliana could hear.

‘After all, this is a knight class, isn’t it? So… I think we could consider a knight’s investiture ceremony. Um… in a knight’s investiture ceremony, the knight kneels on their right knee, and the master or superior taps their shoulder or head with a sword… I thought we might get high marks if we recreate that…’

‘……’

‘That’s what I thought…’

[Arein S. Asphodel’s hostility is rising. Watch your behavior!]

I’m screwed.

I spoke even louder.

“Ah, is this how you do a knighting ceremony…? Or not? Does anyone know?”

Everyone looks at me after my frivolous comment.

“!!!”

And finally, my eyes meet with Eliana’s.

She seemed to notice something and approached me. She greeted me as if pleased to see me.

“So you did sign up for this class, I see.”

“Ah, Lady Eliana, could you… show me what a knighting ceremony looks like?”

“…Knighting ceremony?”

She read my flustered eyes and without a moment’s hesitation, knelt on her right knee.

And she even slightly bowed her head. The angle was perfect.

“Is this what you mean?”

Everyone’s attention is drawn to us. After all, the vice president is showing such a gesture to me, a commoner.

Agnel clapped his hands in amazement.

“That’s right! This is where the lord taps the shoulders with a sword during the ceremony as a kind of initiation…”

As Agnel’s explanation began and the unexpected situation unfolded, Arein’s expression gradually softened.

Though her expression is still somewhat dubious, it seems we can somehow wrap this up now.

-Clap clap clap.

Along with the professor’s praise, everyone applauded Eliana’s performance.

“Wow. As expected of Lady Eliana. You perfectly executed what I asked for…”

Feeling apologetic, I resorted to flattery, and she came beside me and whispered as if it was only natural.

‘She said she would definitely pay back the debt. Hmph. More audacious than I expected.’

And then returns to position to resume training.

‘How impressive.’

A true knight would speak of someone like that.

I turned my gaze back toward Arein.

‘……’

Ahem. That’s quite an indifferent expression. Let’s just apologize and end this.

‘I overstepped my bounds.’

‘…No dinner for you.’

‘…Yes.’

Shit.

And so the lesson concluded with good evaluations.

* * *

‘Today was quite eventful indeed.’

The day at the Academy had ended.

After attending two of Arein’s lectures together, I had to return to the servants’ quarters to attend the remaining classes.

It’s truly an absurd schedule. The Royal Class even has more classes.

They say kings of old could only sleep a few hours, I suppose there’s no end to learning.

Without any summons from Arein, I headed straight to the dormitory.

-Swoosh.

As expected, the first thing to do after entering the dormitory is to wash up. I started running water in the bathtub first.

“Having a bathroom is really a blessing, I tell you.”

Unlike Arein’s mansion, this is an environment where even servants can bathe privately.

I also used the bath powder the Saint gave me after a long time.

“Remaining Seven Deadly Sins points.”

——————————-
Remaining Seven Deadly Sins points: 6
Strength: 10
Endurance (Mental strength): 10
Intelligence: 5
Magic Power: 10
Flexibility: 8
Luck: 1
——————————-

Plus today’s earnings, 5 points for Wrath and 1 point for Gluttony.

That’s 6 points in total.

Just 4 more points and I can learn another skill.

Even if I cross some lines, at this rate, extorting points from Arein is just a matter of time.

“Just need to be careful about the familiar, just the familiar.”

The biggest reason I have to grovel before Arein is because of the familiar.

That’s why I need to become stronger, skip a class level. And then find clues about releasing the familiar bond.

According to Seta, whom I met by chance during afternoon classes, there’s also a library that only Royal Class students can access.

If I can just advance a grade, I can reduce the information gap.

And ultimately, I’ll completely break free from Arein.

‘I’ll eat meat until I’m stuffed……’

Though it’s a simple idea, since this is the best option for now, I let my imagination soar with happy thoughts.

-Knock knock.

Hmm, what is it? Someone seems to be knocking on the door.

-Knock knock knock.

The sound had become more firm.

* * *

At the same time, Arein lay in bed after taking a shower.

Even though she had showered and changed into comfortable clothes, something felt uncomfortable.

-Kneel.

Ha-yu’s words were deeply embedded in her mind.

And it was in a voice so emotionless it was beyond comprehension.

These words continue to echo in her head, refusing to fade even until she attended other lectures.

‘She’s definitely… changed.’

She was always someone who obediently listened to whatever I said. But lately, something’s strange.

He had never said anything that would go against her mood to the point of appearing stubborn.

That’s why his statement during the lecture made absolutely no sense in Arein’s mind.

‘The Academy… has it changed?’

Was she being looked down upon?

Or was the word ‘kneel’ really only referring to the knighting ceremony?

No. Even a child could tell. It was clearly a voice filled with defiance and inexplicable sadness.

That’s why she’s angry. The momentary bewilderment and shame she felt upon hearing those words, and the anger that was hard to hide.

-Bang! Bang!

‘Lee Ha-yu…!’

Arein suppresses her anger while hitting the bed.

Thinking about the cause, it probably started from the airship.

The order to lick the chocolate. That might have been the trigger.

‘Ugh…’

While the one giving the order might not have realized it, hearing it couldn’t help but create a sense of humiliation.

She had to admit it.

‘The atmosphere did change from then on…’

While Ha-yu’s eyes filled with hope became clearer, somehow her smile began to dry up.

‘Hmm…’

Come to think of it, she had only been tormenting her lately. She was a patient just yesterday, and today she hadn’t been allowed to eat, so she must be starving.

She buries her face in the pillow once again.

“Have I been too harsh lately?”

Come to think of it, Eliana had deliberately knelt down.

‘Is this what they’re talking about?’

Like a knight imitating the inauguration ceremony, without any other reason, purely and without a moment’s hesitation.

Unlike magic which divides social status, knights and servants train their bodies together from a young age.

Therefore, perhaps the proper master-servant relationship is like these knights who know how to put themselves in others’ shoes.

Eliana did something I could never do.

This creates a strange feeling of jealousy.

Because Ha-yu’s expression clearly showed admiration for her.

“Me? Jealous? Of someone like Lee Ha-yu?”

For a moment, Arein imagined Eliana and Ha-yu in a knight and servant relationship.

It makes her very uncomfortable.

They’re both strong-willed, so they would always try to overcome challenges and strive forward.

They would refuse to yield to any trials, supporting each other.

Arein began to feel an inexplicable sense of crisis.

“From now on… if I just treat them well from now on, it will be fine.”

She firmly believed that if she did so, the changed Ha-yu would return to her.

* * *

Knock knock knock knock.

Someone keeps knocking on the door.

It feels like they’ll keep at it until I open it.

‘Ugh. The water’s getting cold.’

I hastily put on some clothes and headed toward the door.

-Click.

When I opened the door, there stood a little girl with blue hair wearing cute pajamas.

‘Hello?’

She greeted me with a cheerful voice.

She looked just like a little princess straight out of a fairy tale. What purpose brought her here, dressed like this?

‘…Who are you?’

‘Don’t we know each other? I’m Isabella, daughter of Duke Izanek. You were interested in familiar release, weren’t you?’

‘How did you… know that?’

‘I’ll help you. With the familiar release. May I come in?’

The girl, who was barely tall enough to reach my chest, instantly passed by me and headed for my bed.

Then she patted the bed.

‘Come sit down quickly.’

‘Wow.’

This is crazy.

To think she’d come find me herself.