Chapter 7
“Please, save me···.”
Silver hair in complete disarray.
Tear tracks stood out on her pale cheeks.
“I still have an unfulfilled wish···.”
“······.”
Carmilla's sobs showed no sign of stopping.
I could only stare blankly.
Countless thoughts flashed through my mind.
‘Why is she crying?’
The question crossed my mind for a moment, but I soon understood.
She must have mistaken me for one of those hunting her.
She probably thought I was no different from those assassins.
Considering Carmilla's position, it was a perfectly reasonable conclusion.
‘Well···.’
Carmilla was one of the few pure-blooded vampires on the continent.
Even if it wasn't her uncle, there would be more than one faction wanting to get their hands on her.
On top of that, the dynasty her predecessor had led had only just collapsed.
Even the fence protecting the girl was gone.
A situation where she could be targeted anywhere, by anyone.
‘She must have been at her mental limit too, after being chased by assassins all this time.’
Of course.
I couldn't help being flustered either.
‘I'm a weakling, though.’
Every one of my stats was E-rank.
There wasn't even any room for growth.
At least in this world, finding someone weaker than me wouldn't be easy.
Carmilla could tear this body apart without mercy just by lifting a finger.
‘No, if anyone should be scared, it should be me···!’
She was the lion, and I was the mouse.
And yet here I was, watching the lion tremble in fear.
I swallowed my indignation.
‘First··· I need to reassure Carmilla.’
I had dealt with all the assassins who had followed her, but there was no telling when reinforcements might arrive.
Leaving this place had to come first.
What I needed now was persuasion.
I had to get Carmilla to lower her guard and follow me.
“Your Highness.”
It wouldn't be difficult.
If I could draw on my knowledge of the original—and spin a little bullshit.
“Please, lay aside your fears.”
Carmilla hunched her shoulders.
I knelt on one knee before her.
I lowered my head as well, so that I was looking at the floor.
Like a knight swearing loyalty to his lord.
“Sniff··· u, wha?”
At my sudden action, a question mark seemed to appear above the girl's head.
I calmly began running my mouth.
“His Majesty the late king sent me.”
“The late king? My father···?”
“Yes.”
Carmilla's pupils widened in apparent surprise.
Without hesitation, I followed up with my next strike.
I racked my brain, rolling the pronunciation out as closely as I could remember it.
“Leira de Leviaran. De Roni Giblliaze.”
“······!”
Among the countless vampires, the royal family was said to be directly descended from the True Ancestor.
It was a motto passed down through the generations only among pure-bloods.
The language of the ancient vampires.
Words the True Ancestor was said to have left behind when he disappeared a thousand years ago.
The surprise never left Carmilla's face.
“Slaughter, but never be vulgar. Live on, but never be servile. That is what it means, is it not?”
“H-How···? You even know the meaning? Th-That must surely be a motto permitted only to royalty···.”
“Did I not tell you? The late king sent me.”
I only knew it because I'd seen it in the original's setting guide, but that didn't matter.
A lie that cannot be verified is no different from the truth.
“It was when the late king··· that is, Carmilla's father, was still alive. He was always preparing for a tragedy like this. I am one of those preparations.”
“A preparation···?”
“The late king entrusted Your Highness to me. He told me that if anything were to befall him and the dynasty were to collapse, I was to protect you, Lady Carmilla.”
“Then the motto from just now···.”
“The late king taught it to me. He said that if I recited it, Your Highness would believe me.”
“······.”
Carmilla fell into a dazed silence.
Her mind was a jumbled mess, but something must have risen to the surface.
“······My father definitely told me once. That there were servants who served him hidden within human society too. To flee, to flee far away··· to meet them, and that I would be safe then··· On the day he passed, he told me···.”
Her voice, dry at first, gradually grew wet with tears.
Her eyes shone as if she had found her last hope.
The disheveled silver-haired girl asked timidly.
“Are you the··· knight my father spoke of?”
“Yes.”
I answered without hesitation.
“From now on, I will take responsibility for Your Highness's safety.”
“Ah···.”
The girl's breath escaped her unconsciously.
Her teary red eyes glimmered.
Wobble-.
“What a relief··· What a relief···.”
“Whoa.”
She swayed heavily, then collapsed forward.
I quickly spread my arms and caught her.
Flump-.
Her slight frame fit snugly into my arms. Her skin and body temperature were cool.
Even as she was laid down on the floor, she continued murmuring.
“Father, I··· I lived··· just as you··· asked···.”
“You've been through enough. Rest for a while just like this.”
“Thank you··· Th-Thank, thank you···.”
Her eyes slid shut.
Perhaps it was because the tension wound so tightly through her had suddenly released.
Carmilla soon lost consciousness.
‘Was she at her limit?’
She must have been running for weeks to escape the assassins.
It was obvious she hadn't been able to get a proper night's sleep either.
‘Her body is a mess too···.’
She'd been ambushed by the assassins and even beaten thoroughly.
If I left her like this, her wounds would fester.
Rustle, rustle-.
I rummaged through my robe and took something out.
None other than blood drawn from livestock.
‘Good thing I brought it, just in case.’
Click-.
I opened the blood pack and placed it between the girl's lips.
Drawn by the sweet scent of blood, Carmilla soon wet her throat.
Gulp, gulp—the pack was drained clean.
Then her battered body slowly began to recover.
‘Good.’
I left her alone for a while to let her flesh heal.
In the meantime, I peered toward where the assassins had been.
Before long, I found what I had been looking for inside a large box.
“Oh.”
A crossbow as massive as my own body.
The Godslayer Crossbow (神殺弓).
It was a relic of the Kingdom of Blandir.
I'd heard it was used to execute pure-blooded vampires.
But even against something other than vampires, it was simply a weapon with one hell of a punch.
“Niiice.”
What a sweet loot drop.
I lightly tapped the hulking thing with one finger.
Ding-!
[Evil God's Robe]
-Stores item ‘Godslayer Crossbow.’
-Number of stored items:31/100
This crossbow belonged to me now.
Which meant I could do whatever I wanted with it.
‘They never expected it to be stolen, I bet.’
They had every reason to let their guard down.
Who would have guessed that assassins handpicked as an elite squad wouldn't be able to catch one exhausted princess?
Especially after handing them equipment said to be the strongest in existence against vampires.
‘Well··· it all happened because I barged in.’
It was the same in the original.
If the player didn't interfere with the event, Carmilla would be executed in these sewers.
“Only one stake?”
A stake.
The bolts used with the Godslayer Crossbow.
‘One for the execution and one spare. So that's what they brought.’
Well, it wasn't as if they could carry around several shots of something this precious.
They said it took a master blacksmith two hundred years just to make a single one.
My mouth watered.
‘It was incredible.’
Hadn't I witnessed it firsthand just a moment ago?
When I fought the assassins, all I had held in my hand was a tiny fragment.
And even that was only a piece shattered by the recoil, unable to perform its proper function.
Yet even such a fragment was no different from deadly poison to vampires.
‘The Holy See will probably love this.’
At least among purification and exorcism equipment, this was clearly top tier.
A hum escaped me.
I stored the bolt in my inventory as well.
‘I rescued Carmilla, and got the Godslayer Crossbow and stakes too···.’
The haul was huge.
After pulling off such a massive score, it was about time to head back to the lodgings.
I carefully picked up Carmilla, who was sleeping without a care in the world.
“Ngh···.”
Maybe it was because my strength was E-rank.
Even though Carmilla was light, my arms started to ache.
My eyes grew more serious than when I had blocked the Godslayer Crossbow, or when I had fought the assassins.
“Phew···.”
I let out a small breath.
After that, I leisurely made my way out of the sewers.
***
A few days passed after we returned to the lodgings.
Nothing happened during that short interval.
Carmilla remained asleep, recovering.
I sat beside her, spending my time nursing her.
‘As for pursuit··· I probably won't have to worry about it for a while.’
I had used the bug to return to the lodgings as well.
There would be no tracks for them to pick up.
I could say that had bought us time.
After all, I needed preparations before taking on the vampires.
‘In the end, Carmilla is the key.’
I had to help her grow.
Enough to awaken her pure-blooded power and rebuild the fallen dynasty.
‘I can do without the world ending.’
And so several days passed.
Carmilla regained consciousness only after five full days had gone by.
“M, mmm···.”
Her red eyes blinked awake, still half-asleep.
Perhaps it was thanks to the steady supply of blood packs while she slept.
The girl had recovered completely, without a single wound.
“You're awake.”
“······uh?”
Carmilla froze when her eyes met mine.
It seemed her mind had started buffering.
After waiting a moment, she suddenly sprang up, apparently having finished taking in the situation.
“Ah···!”
She wiped away the drool she'd spilled with her sleeve.
The girl blushed, as if embarrassed.
She asked in a hoarse voice.
“W-Where is this···?”
“The lodgings. We intended to stay here until Your Highness had recovered.”
“Did you carry me here···?”
“That is correct.”
I answered gently.
She was in a psychologically cornered state.
“My wounds are all healed. I definitely had an arrow stuck in me, and I was a mess in all sorts of ways···.”
“I kept supplying you with blood. I had prepared plenty of blood packs.”
“Is that so···?”
Carmilla nodded.
“Thank you··· for saving me. I don't know how I can repay this debt.”
“Please, don't say such things. I am merely fulfilling the task the late king entrusted to me.”
“You truly are a loyal knight. How can you be human, and yet···?”
“I once received his help in the past.”
“I see.”
Since we'd exchanged a few formal words, the awkward silence never lifted.
Just when the fog clouding Carmilla's mind had completely cleared.
“······?”
As if she had noticed something strange, the girl looked down at her body.
She glanced over her arms, legs, and even beneath the clothes she was wearing.
Then she flinched and drew into herself.
Without saying a word, her shoulders began to tremble quietly.
“······Lady Carmilla?”
What was wrong? Why was she suddenly acting like that?
Was there something wrong with her body?
Did she still have an unhealed wound?
Concerned, I pressed her for an explanation.
“What is the matter?”
“······.”
“You don't look well.”
“······I-It is just that.”
After her lips worked soundlessly for a long while, she finally managed to speak.
For some reason, her face had flushed bright red.
As if steam might burst from the top of her head at any moment.
“My clothes have been changed, and even my underwear was taken off···. My, my body is all fresh and clean, as if someone washed me···.”
“······.”
“Y-You···?”
“······.”
“Don't tell me···?”
“······.”
No.
That.
Um.
It couldn't be helped.
Her body smelled of sewer, and dirty water had gotten inside, so leaving her like that risked infection···.
“······That is what happened.”
“······.”
Her complexion was no longer merely red; it looked ready to burst.
I quietly looked away.