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

Secret Meeting

‘Get away.’

Me, Floria, and Arein.

What does it mean for Arein to be jealous of this situation?

Is it jealousy towards me as a person? Or jealousy towards me as an object?

There’s no need to make assumptions. It’s probably just jealousy about potentially losing what belongs to her.

‘I-I’m sorry.’

Floria pulled her hands away from me like a guilty person.

Even that wasn’t enough for Arein, who added one more thing.

‘I don’t like it. Lee Ha-yu, you say something.’

‘Say what?’

‘Tell her you don’t like it if you don’t.’

Floria looked at me with a sad expression. She seemed to not want to hear harsh words coming from my mouth.

Isn’t this exactly like the situation with the Saint?

‘……’

I don’t… dislike Floria. Though I am uncomfortable.

Fortunately, when I maintained my silence, Arein didn’t force me to answer.

‘You were uncomfortable that day too, weren’t you? Even though you chose that woman as your nurse, you ended up coming right back.’

Arein continued speaking as if something had been building up.

“The Endelson family. From what I found out, they’re a family on the verge of collapse.”

Floria’s complexion grows even paler.

“If you keep pursuing my servant because of money, you’re barking up the wrong…”

“It’s not… because of money!”

“How lowly… hah. Nothing good will come from associating with you. Let’s go, Ha-yu.”

Arein was about to say something but turned away instead.

To think she would speak like this to someone else at the academy, even if she does it to me.

“Ah……”

Floria stands there blankly with her head down.

Then she mumbles something.

“No… that’s not… that’s not it… Lady Ha-yu…”

“……”

“Lady Ha-yu… I… I…!”

If anyone saw this scene, they would think I was a terrible person who had rejected Floria.

But I cannot answer her. After all, even her vague memories haven’t completely cleared her doubts.

Instead of answering, I gave a slight nod and followed after Arein.

Though my heart is uneasy, there’s nothing I can do about it yet.

* * *

Is there a VIP section in the university cafeteria?

In this Lachesis Academy cafeteria, there indeed existed such a thing as a VIP section.

As Arein took the lead, a waiter suddenly materialized.

‘Unbelievable.’

When he pulled back the curtain, there was seating of such high quality that, while not completely private, would be impossible to find in a regular school cafeteria.

Though modest, even the tablecloth looked so expensive that one would feel guilty about spilling food on it.

The temporary worker, who appeared to be a junior kitchen staff, was fidgeting nervously beside Arein.

What he’s feeling is what I feel every day. Though I’ve gotten used to it now.

-Thud.

Arein handed back the menu and said one thing.

‘Everything on the menu.’

‘Pardon?’

The man asked back as if he had misheard.

Without opening his mouth or even giving a glance, Arein took something out.

A Royal Class ID card. Is that thing like some kind of authority token?

‘I-I’ll prepare it right away! I’ll put the charges on the account…’

It is an authority token indeed.

While the Academy preaches equality on the surface, in the end, this place is like a frog in a well. Once you step outside, those who curry favor with Royal Class families are the ones who succeed in life.

Starting with appetizers, the food began to come out in succession.

‘Is this really cafeteria food…?’

Regardless of Floria’s situation, the body responds honestly.

But food wasn’t the only thing forming lines.

Even the academy’s students were lining up to give their dining greetings to Arein.

‘Lady Arein, I see you’re having a meal?’
‘I’m from House Andria! Next time when you’re free, perhaps a meal… or at least tea…’

That would make sense. Before enrollment, all the noble parents must have told their children to try to befriend Arein.

More precisely, not Arein herself, but her background – the Asphodel family.

If this peace continues and true harmony is achieved between the demon race and the empire, it’s natural that families with demon connections would experience rapid growth.

It’s bitter to think that the adults’ pursuit of opportunity extends even to the students who are barely adults themselves, and those who purely want to pursue academics.

‘It’s hard to eat…’

The food must be delicious, but I can’t tell if I’m eating through my nose or my eyes.

‘Hey, what family is that one from?’
‘Well, they look decent enough.’

The nobles who came to greet got rejected by Arein, but they all checked my face before leaving.

They were curious about which noble’s child had a lunch appointment with Arein at the high table.

I’m just an ordinary, no, a pitiful servant.

At that moment, a sophisticated man with dark blonde hair addressed Arein.

‘Lady Arein, this is the first time I’ve seen you dining here. May I ask what brings you here?’

I blankly stared at Arein as she handled her knife.

While she had always been confident, she had been unusually quiet since coming to the academy.

But today, she was back to her old self, just like when she was gaslighting the Saint.

With even some people sucking up to her, she was definitely the noble Arein I knew.

“Ah.”

At that moment, our eyes met.

Arein quietly murmured while looking at the blonde man.

“I’d like to eat something.”

‘E-excuse us…’

At Arein’s words, everyone dispersed, leaving with reluctance.

“Are you done?”

Was that her way of being considerate?

“Eat it all. We have time until afternoon classes.”

“…Yes.”

Even so, I can’t eat all of it…

She’s even giving up the seafood she usually forbids me from eating. Though it’s just two shrimp in the stew…

I dipped plenty of bread into the red stew.

*Munch munch*

It tastes like Turkish menemen. Seeing things like this makes me feel that this world isn’t so different from the one I know.

‘It’s delicious.’

Whether it’s part-time jobs or companies, they always treat you well when you’re about to leave.

Though it was just a meal, I even wondered if they had somehow caught on to my plans.

* * *

‘I’m so full…’

Even after attending all of Arein’s classes like herbology and royal etiquette, I still feel bloated.

Once you’ve tasted meat, the feeling of fullness is no joke.

Humans are selfish creatures – now that this basic need is satisfied, I’m finally starting to worry about Floria.

‘She said she would tell me.’

Still, Floria promised to tell me about her past at the right time, and wouldn’t things flow better once the familiar bond is removed?

-Knock-knock-knock

Three slow knocks. Isabella’s signal for midnight meetings.

Since that day, she’s come and gone a few more times. She completely disregards my position and comes whenever she wants.

The only fortunate thing is that most times she just comes to lounge around and doesn’t do much.

-Click.

‘Hello?’

She greets me in a cheerful voice without even looking at my face.

And immediately starts bouncing on the bed while getting to the point.

-Bounce! Bounce!

‘First of all, I’ve already told baldy about the bet.’

“Are you talking about having a duel with me?”

“Yes. And I also changed it to a master-servant cooperative battle.”

“Was it approved so easily…?”

“If it were just a one-on-one match with you, I would win. Since there’s a big difference in rank, it wouldn’t maintain noble dignity.”

“That’s true.”

“And baldy is very hostile to demon-kind. Wouldn’t there be a good narrative with demons and imperials in a 2-on-2?”

The instructor named Daim Patrick, who ended up making a bet with me, is said to be both a class discriminator and a racist.

Though he seems to have his circumstances for being in such an obvious villain position, I don’t want to know that much.

Anyway, to win the bet, Daim will want to see Isabella achieve victory against me and Arein.

Isabella sat down and began explaining the precautions.

“The duel rules are the same as the knight class. Even though it’s called cooperative battle, knights and their servants have always fought this way.”

According to Isabella’s explanation, in a cooperative duel, master and servant form a team for a 2-on-2 match. There are also observers and a referee.

And unlike knight duels, in magical duels, participants wear special duel rings as magical tools.

She explained that the ring protects the user and safely deflects any magical power above a certain level that hits them, but only once.

To put it roughly, it’s like an airbag, preventing unexpected accidents.

Perhaps because of this, it was also expensive. Fortunately, Isabella agreed to pay for it.

Besides this, there were many conditions for victory and defeat. Like stepping outside the arena, surrendering, or when the observer or referee determines the match cannot continue.

They were all fairly reasonable rules.

“Then what should I do? Can I fight at full power? Or should I aim to lose…”

“Full power? Kahahahahaha.”

Though she laughed heartily like a bearded uncle, her voice made it sound rather cute.

Aren’t you being too dismissive of me? Just make sure you bring the lady. That’s all you need to do.

Wasn’t match-fixing what you wanted? Well, I guess they wouldn’t have included me in the lineup anyway.

Isabella will only be concerned about Arein.

…So there’s no need to determine the match results?

Right! Just give it your all.

She giggled while rubbing herself against the bed.

All out, huh. Arein is known to be strong even at the Academy.

But Isabella is also Royal Class, so she might be stronger than I think.

Hmm. The nice scent has faded.

Nice scent?

She burrowed into my blanket.

Yes. There was definitely a nice scent here.

She must be talking about the bath essence that the Saint gave me.

It’s something I used when bathing, but it’s all gone now.

Really? How much does it cost?

It’s… something that can’t be bought.

Oh, it was a gift? From who? From who?

Umm, from someone I know.

I don’t understand why she keeps pressing the issue, as if she’s actually interested in me.

But looking at her expression, it’s definitely not… pure interest.

She seems to have no business with me other than official matters.

It seems like she might have found a new business item to sell.

“Really? When your familiar is successfully unsealed, give me one as a gift. I’ll watch your back so you can make a living.”

“Ah… if possible.”

I wonder what will happen when the familiar is unsealed.

Should I visit the Saint comfortably? Maybe get some bath products too?

Unfortunately, I’m not sure if such a carefree attitude will be possible.

One way or another, I’ll have to completely leave the academy.

Otherwise, the Asphodel family will hunt me down and harm me.

I haven’t thought about what direction to take after this,

The Izanek duchy had connections with demons. Would it really be okay to ask them to watch my back?

She stretches my cheeks again.

“Trust!”

“Yes, yes.”

-…

That’s when we heard movement outside the door.

-Rattle rattle.

“!!”

-Rattle rattle.

Someone was trying to open the locked door.

-Rattle.

There’s only one person who would enter my room without knocking…

Ah!

It’s only Arein, my master.

‘Damn. This is a brain freeze.’

What if she opens the door with magic?

Can I explain why I closed the door?

How should I explain this secret meeting?

While I was standing there speechless in panic,

“Just a moment~”

Isabella had already scurried to the door.

…excuse me???