Chapter 124

"...!"

The mercenaries, who had been lowering themselves hesitantly, froze in place. Ian walked past them as they slowly began to sit back down, taking a seat opposite Trude.

"Are Charlotte and Thesa upstairs?"

"Uh... well... When we got back, they weren’t here; they were with the barbarians. I heard they were using a house on the outskirts." Trude stammered, still looking like he couldn’t believe Ian was in front of him.

"The outskirts?"

"There’s an alley where many immigrants and the poor stay. Charlotte would come here once a day to eat, but now that I think about it, I haven’t seen her for days."

"...?"

Ian's brow furrowed as he drank his drink. He then placed his glass down and looked directly at Trude.

"Tell me more."

"Captain... or, rather, Great Warrior... no, I'll just call you captain. I can’t bring myself to call you anything else."

Trude continued, his hands shaking as he poured a drink into Ian's glass. "After you were brought in, both of them were half out of their minds. They roamed around with the barbarians, looking lost. They only seemed relieved once they heard you were miraculously recovering. The day the barbarians left, Charlotte came by. She was drinking and said you couldn’t possibly be dead, that she knew it."

"And then?"

"That’s the last time I saw her. I haven’t seen her since. Has anyone seen Charlotte in the past few days?" Trude shouted.

The mercenaries, who had caught Ian's gaze, quickly shook their heads. Conversations broke out about how odd it was that she hadn’t been seen at all.

"...." Ian turned back to Trude.

Meeting Ian's serious eyes, Trude hastily swallowed his drink and spoke up.

"I know where that house is. Shall I take you there?"

Ian downed his drink in one gulp and stood up.

"Immediately."

***

Trude strode down the alley. The outer walls of the city loomed closer.

Glancing at Ian, who followed closely, Trude muttered, "This place gets little sunlight and is the hardest to live in. I suggested they come back to the inn, but they refused. I still don’t know why they insisted on staying here instead of somewhere more comfortable and warm."

For them, this place might have felt more comfortable.

Ian kept that thought to himself as he continued walking silently. He had a bad feeling, and such premonitions were rarely wrong.

Did Thesa betray me? Or is there another adjudicator...? They might have fought each other.

Either scenario was plausible. Over a week had passed since he had been carried to the church in a bloody mess.

"No matter how much they heard about my recovery, it’s natural they wouldn't expect me to be this well."

He had kept Thesaya and Charlotte in line with his strength. Although he had subtly encouraged their closeness, the balance could easily break if they thought he was weakened. The same could be said for the vampires of Lu Sard. If he were weakened or disappeared, they would have no reason not to send an adjudicator.

"Here we are. This is the place." Trude stopped.

They stood in front of a dilapidated stone house with a broken window covered by cloth.

Creak—

The door wasn’t locked.

As soon as Ian stepped into the dim interior, he knew his premonition had come true. The place was a mess, with a faint smell of blood and a rank odor, like that of a wounded, cornered animal. In the darkness, orange eyes glinted with hostility. Ian removed his hood.

"Can’t you recognize my scent anymore?" The feline pupils dilated.

"Ian...?!"

"Yes, it’s me."

"You’ve... returned safely...!"

Ian stared silently at the frozen Charlotte before finally speaking.

"You’re injured."

"This... it’s my fault... all of it..."

Charlotte's eyes wavered as much as her voice. Ian strode toward her purposefully.

"What the hell is this...?!" Trude finally took in the disarrayed state of the room and gaped.

Ian, sitting down on a bed, spoke.

"Go fetch the strongest liquor, bandages, and some food. Also, bring a table and chairs."

"Oh, got it...!" Trude quickly turned and left.

Meanwhile, Ian faced the visibly emaciated beastfolk, Charlotte, who managed to speak with difficulty.

"Ian, this..."

"Let’s talk after we see to your wounds."

Cutting her off, Ian removed his gloves. Charlotte leaned back, and Ian glanced around at the scattered equipment near the bed. It was clear a fight had taken place. He began unwrapping the poorly applied bandage on her side and asked, "Did Thesa do this?"

"... Yes."

Ian examined the revealed wound. Among the scratch marks, a deep stab wound in her side stood out. Thankfully, it was healing without signs of infection or rot.

... Looks like the alcohol won't be necessary.

While he thought, Charlotte continued speaking.

"But it was inevitable. I tried to kill her first."

"From the beginning."

Ian looked up at Charlotte.

"Explain from the start. Did this happen right after the barbarians left?"

"...Yes. I was on my way back after drinking."

Charlotte licked her dry lips and continued.

"I should have arrived before Thesa. She hadn’t eaten for two days and had gone to find food nearby. I hadn’t eaten much either, so we agreed to meet after eating separately. Then, someone called me from beyond the alley. I saw red eyes. At first, I thought it was Thesa."

"...It was the adjudicator."

"After that, I don’t remember. When I got my consciousness back, I was here. My sword was stuck in the wall, and Thesa was crying in front of me. She had stabbed my side. It brought me back to my senses. So, I..."

Charlotte growled lowly, as if angry at herself, avoiding Ian's gaze as she continued.

"I was under the influence of those adjudicator bitches. I let them into our home and set a trap to catch Thesa."

Ian took out a sealed box from his subspace and unwrapped a bandage. As he wrapped Charlotte's waist, he scanned the room.

Broken table and chairs, shattered household items, a fang blade on the floor, and a battle ax embedded in one wall.

"There wasn’t just one adjudicator."

"There were two. Twins...."

Charlotte's voice grew rough and low. Her orange eyes glinted with murderous intent.

"They were watching Thesa and me fight. The house was shrouded in darkness. They must have isolated the space. I heard their whispers. They seemed to be waiting for the perfect moment when only Thesa and I were left, so we would kill each other."

Ian wasn’t particularly surprised. The vampires he had encountered so far all had at least one trait that could be considered bizarre.

Ascold had his peculiar aesthetics regarding strength, and Freya had her notions about love. Perhaps Thesaya’s obsession with survival also had a similar thread.

"So?"

"Thesa saw my eyes and smiled. Then she winked. The next moment, she bared his fangs. I willingly offered my neck."

Ian finally looked at Charlotte’s neck. Beneath the fur, a deep mark resembled a bite from a piranha.

"She drank my blood with all her might. But it was clear she didn’t get intoxicated by it. She stopped just before I passed out. She whispered for me to lie still and then threw me aside. I had no choice but to comply. I was about to faint."

Charlotte’s teeth ground together audibly.

"I could hear those crazy bitches laughing. They said it was the most fun to watch comrades kill each other. Then they asked Thesa if my blood was tasty. Thesa sneered and said beastfolk blood was tasteless. Then she thanked them. She said she had always wanted to kill me and thanked them for giving her the chance."

Charlotte clenched her fists, drawing blood with her nails. Ian clicked his tongue and pried her hands open, while Charlotte sighed and continued.

"Then she tore through the darkness. She must have created a hawk and a way out. She escaped through it, and the twins, flustered and hurriedly followed her. That was the last thing I remember. I passed out and woke up in the middle of the day."

"And since then, no one has returned?"

"...None. Neither Thesa nor those crazy bitches."

As he wrapped the bandage around Charlotte's hand, Ian narrowed his eyes. He wasn’t particularly surprised that they hadn’t returned. What surprised him was Thesaya’s choice.

A kid who seemed to do anything to survive...

It was almost like she had thrown herself to save Charlotte. Though the reason might not have been noble. She could have hoped Charlotte would tell Ian, so he would come to rescue her. Or perhaps, on a subconscious level, she might have believed that if Charlotte died, she would too. Regardless, the result remained unchanged.

"It’s my fault, Ian. I’m... completely useless... just trash...."

"Now’s not the time for self-blame, don’t you think?"

Ian looked at Charlotte steadily and added, "We need to go get Tessa back."

Charlotte's unsteady gaze slowly settled into a cold determination.

"...Of course."

At that moment, the door opened again.

"Oh my, what a mess in here."

A waitress carrying a tray of food wrinkled her nose as she entered. Behind her, Trude and a few mercenaries followed with bottles of liquor, bandages, a table, and chairs.

"It smells worse than a tavern in here."

"Does that really matter right now? Clean up and set up the place." Trude, catching Ian's look, quickly began moving.

Ian, ignoring the activity, continued to watch Charlotte.

"How many days has it been since this happened?"

"...Two. Maybe three."

Charlotte sighed, meeting Ian's gaze.

"She might already be—"

"She’s not dead yet," Ian interrupted calmly. "They need Tessa alive. They'll keep her that way for a while. She probably knew that, which is why she saved you first. Probably."

Charlotte frowned, her eyes swirling with a mix of emotions. Ian watched her quietly and added,

"Even if she’s dead, nothing changes. We’ll just avenge her then."

Charlotte froze. After a moment, she looked back at Ian and bit out, "Yes. Definitely."

"And before that, we’ll settle the score with those adjudicators."

"I hope I get the first shot."

"Are you planning to be their puppet again?"

"Not this time. I’ve gone over it in my head dozens of times. Those crazy bitches... I’ll tear them apart myself."

Ian shrugged, unsure if she had a concrete plan, but he stood up.

"For now, get up. You need to recover before you can take revenge."

“...” Charlotte rose without a word.

As the mercenaries set up the table and chairs, she sat down and began eating silently.

"...Looks like you haven't eaten in days," the waitress murmured as she poured water into Charlotte’s glass.

Ian turned to her and pulled out a money pouch. "Give us your largest room. And prepare a bath immediately. She’s in a terrible state."

"You don’t need to pay."

The waitress replied brightly and turned to leave.

"But know that we’re going to name the room you stayed in after you. It’ll be called the Dragon Slayer’s Room."

"..."

Before Ian could respond, she had already left.

Trude and the mercenaries, who had been standing quietly, blinked at Ian's gaze. He nodded.

"Gather all of Charlotte’s belongings. Clean them up and take them to the inn room. If anything’s broken, get it repaired immediately."

"Understood...!"

The mercenaries moved quickly as if burned.

"Why is this so heavy?"

"Hold it properly, idiot. You know what’ll happen if you lose anything."

They picked up Charlotte’s scattered items and left. The room finally fell silent. Ian watched Charlotte, who kept her head down and slowly ate, with somber eyes.

I’ve been away too long.

A godforsaken dark age with no room for carelessness, fuck.

However, complaining wouldn’t change anything. It wasn’t Charlotte’s fault, nor was there any point in blaming her. Events had simply unfolded as they would.

Thud.

Ian sat across from Charlotte and placed a bottle of liquor in front of him. Pouring the liquor into two glasses, he pushed one toward Charlotte. After downing his own drink, he looked at her, still unable to lift her head.

"Don’t you want to know?"

"...?"

"What I went through."

"...!" Charlotte's eyes widened.

She hesitated before looking away and muttering, "I want to... hear."

"Good. Listen while you eat."

𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Refilling his glass, Ian added nonchalantly, "I’ll tell you everything from the beginning."

"...."