Weekend afternoon.
The moment Baigarten opened the door, Sarka displayed his irritation as fully as if a poisonous moth had flown into his pristine bedroom.
It seemed he believed that dirty powder fell from Baigarten’s soles with every step he took.
Watching him growl and send murderous glares at every single step, Ruslan could understand just how horrified Baigarten must have been when he heard that Sarka had taken in a human roommate.
Despite that vicious reaction, Baigarten didn’t care at all and began dressing Sarka in outdoor clothes with a natural excuse.
“It’s part of your education, Hütivras. You wouldn’t want to be the only one looking clueless and rustic when you go out with your friends, would you? You need to become more familiar with human recreational culture. You should learn what typical teenage boys do for fun.”
Sarka looked like he genuinely wanted to tear Baigarten to shreds, but soon began changing clothes with a tired expression.
Baigarten pulled out a not-too-formal jacket and tie from Sarka’s wardrobe and held them out. Though Sarka looked irritated, he surprisingly obediently accepted and put on whatever clothes Baigarten selected.
Ruslan, who had been surprised by the unexpectedly submissive reaction, was even more surprised to see Baigarten meticulously instructing him—as if teaching a young child—about which hat and gloves to match for going out. Sarka listened quietly to that advice.
Having been dumbfounded, Ruslan suddenly recalled that Baigarten’s first mission was ‘to help Sarka adapt to human society.’
……Were vampire society and human society so culturally different that he needed a guardian’s help even in how to dress?
Thinking of the scene where Sarka’s pronunciation completely changed to a foreign accent when he was with Baigarten, that guess gained more weight. Vampire society must have developed completely isolated from human society for a long time.
……Was it the Miral Mountains after all?
As Ruslan changed into outdoor clothes while lost in deep thought, Baigarten suddenly spoke to him cheerfully.
“Ruslan, that hat is cute! Is it a newsboy cap? It suits you well.”
“Ah, yes. Th-thank you.”
Sarka, who had been putting on his gloves with unfocused eyes as if doing the most bothersome task in the world, suddenly turned to look at Ruslan at that voice.
Sarka looked Ruslan up and down in his outdoor attire, then turned to Baigarten and frowned incredulously.
“……Why are you taking him?”
At that question, Baigarten’s teal eyes sparkled as he smiled brightly.
“If you don’t like it, should I erase his memory right now?! I get so anxious when someone who holds our crucial secret is separated from both of us, so I want to keep him where I can see him as much as possible! Of course, if you erase Ruslan’s memory right now, I’d be happy to enjoy a date with just the two of us, my love.”
Like someone who had heard something he shouldn’t have, Sarka grabbed his cane and left the room without looking back.
Watching that, Baigarten smiled like a daycare teacher who had coaxed a three-year-old, then turned to Ruslan and gestured for him to follow.
Ruslan almost burst out laughing despite himself, but barely held it in and followed behind Baigarten.
It was a clear afternoon.
Baigarten chattered away with a cheerful attitude the whole time. To anyone watching, he looked like a caring senior taking his beloved underclassmen out for a weekend outing.
Unlike what he’d secretly worried about, once they came outside, Sarka didn’t treat Baigarten quite so coldly.
Though he didn’t actively play along, he showed a level that could sufficiently be interpreted as the courtesy a taciturn underclassman shows to a senior.
Baigarten found Sarka’s attitude extremely detestable—Ruslan understood that feeling—and began acting even more cheerful in response.
He seemed quite pleased to have this opportunity to torment Sarka, who pretended to be a polite underclassman when they went outside.
Suddenly spotting an ice cream shop, Baigarten turned to Ruslan and asked pleasantly.
“Want some ice cream, Ruslan?”
“Ah, I, it’s, it’s fi……”
Never having received ice cream from anyone, let alone going out with other people for the first time, Ruslan flustered at the kindness, not knowing what to do.
Baigarten smiled and extended his cane, pulling Ruslan closer with a friendly attitude.
“Don’t be shy. This place is really delicious. It’s one of the city’s specialties. If you attend Esteban School without trying the sundae ice cream, you’ve attended our school in vain. Two please. Mine’s chocolate, Ruslan, what about you? By the way, chocolate is delicious.”
Ruslan, who had been stammering, realized Baigarten hadn’t asked Sarka and unconsciously glanced at Sarka’s profile.
“Uh, I’m fine with anything…… What about Sarka……”
Sarka wasn’t even looking at the ice cream shop, just gazing at the street.
Baigarten also didn’t even turn toward Sarka, as if he’d expected this, and smiled slightly.
“He won’t eat anything I buy him. Still, I should ask out of courtesy, right? Want some, Sarka? You don’t? I thought so. Two chocolate flavors please.”
It was such a swift order that there was no room to interject. Baigarten didn’t even pretend to turn toward Sarka, as if he had no intention of doing anything pointless.
Ruslan cautiously watched Sarka’s reaction, but Sarka also didn’t turn his head this way at all.
Baigarten smiled at Ruslan, who couldn’t take his eyes off Sarka’s profile, as if to say not to worry.
“Don’t worry, Ruslan. Sarka would rather starve to death than eat food I give him. He’s quite a wise guy, isn’t he? He knows I want to slip poison or laxatives into his food someday. Hahaha!”
“……”
Baigarten threw out a bone-chilling joke and laughed heartily.
Ruslan hesitated for a moment, not knowing how to react, then sneakily watched Sarka’s reaction, but Sarka only showed a faintly tired expression. He seemed already fed up and accustomed to Baigarten’s attitude.
On the other hand, Baigarten seemed very happy because bringing Ruslan along meant he could freely chatter away—which Sarka usually wouldn’t even respond to—and could openly mock Sarka on top of that.
Handing the ice cream to Ruslan with a caring gesture, Baigarten smiled brightly.
“Of course I didn’t put anything in yours, Ruslan. I’m an extremely reasonable and kind human being. That’s how humans should be.”
“……Ah…… th-thank yo……”
“……If you’re done with pointless nonsense, let’s go now.”
Finally, Sarka spoke with a tired expression.
While Ruslan unconsciously watched the mood, Baigarten looked at Sarka, who had finally broken his long silence, with a faint smile.
The teal eyes that had been continuously cheerful sank lightly, and a bit of seriousness entered his playful voice.
“It’s a rare outing. Have some small talk and snacks and enjoy yourself, Sarka. You don’t need to act like a soldier on a mission.”
Though it was an affectionate tone as if coaxing a child, Sarka remained expressionless and silent as if he’d heard the most pointless words in the world.
Baigarten pretended not to see that expression and continued in a light voice while conspicuously licking his ice cream.
“If you think of it as work, it really becomes work. Since we’re already out, relax your mind. Wouldn’t it be nice to have one or two memories with your senior to bring up when talking with friends? There’s a pet shop nearby, want to check it out? Most people from your family line love pets. Keeping dogs or cats in the dormitory is forbidden, but wouldn’t it be okay to raise a bird or two on the terrace?”
Sarka didn’t even pretend to listen.
His expression, silently enduring Baigarten’s chatter with faint irritation in his brow, was closer to Baigarten’s description of a soldier performing a mission. A very bothersome, annoying, arduous mission he had no choice but to carry out.
Ruslan felt like the sweet ice cream was getting stuck in his throat.
Baigarten didn’t give in to Sarka’s uncooperative attitude and steadily walked the streets with Sarka, doing his best to find even a small interest.
No matter how much Sarka let it go in one ear and out the other like a dog’s barking, his persistence in shamelessly chattering without losing his cheerful attitude even a bit was almost admirable.
“Look over there. Oliver Hall’s concert is being held next week. That violinist is incredibly famous. He’s touring the entire empire and his reputation is tremendous. If you hear him once, it’ll be something to brag about for the rest of your life. Ruslan, do you like violin?”
“Well…… I guess so. I heard it sometimes at village festivals……”
“Hall’s performance will give even a layperson the feeling that something is different. Oliver Hall was from the court orchestra. His master was the famous Shemer Porter. Somehow I found Hall’s performance more impressive than Shemer Porter’s. Should I say it’s more emotionally rich? It had a similar feeling to the violin performance I heard when I was invited to the Hütivras household. What was that performer’s name, Sarka?”
Sarka didn’t even pretend to hear, let alone answer.
Baigarten shrugged nonchalantly and soon began listing exciting stories again, pointing at another shop.
Ruslan soon noticed that while Baigarten pretended to talk to Ruslan, he was inwardly observing Sarka’s reactions.
He was like a fisherman carefully observing whether there was any place that caught his interest, any place his gaze unconsciously lingered, throwing bait here and there that Sarka might bite.
Sarka still walked the streets following Baigarten with no expression, his green eyes like dead fish eyes. The statue erected in the square would have more abundant emotion than that.
A bookstore specializing in popular novels, a fancy dessert shop, an arcade, a club, a small theater with drama posters and a sporting goods store, a baseball field, a racetrack.
Listening to eloquent Baigarten’s introductions, even Ruslan was sometimes tempted, but Sarka remained silent throughout.
All the words flowing from Baigarten’s mouth seemed to have no meaning other than their value as information, like words recorded in a dictionary.
Sarka’s green eyes, expressionlessly looking at the street, were less like human eyes and more like glass marbles someone had stuck in there.
Ruslan thought Sarka was like a hollow porcelain doll. A high-quality porcelain doll that sparkled beautifully on the outside, but was completely empty when you cracked it open.
As time passed, something like faint boredom rose on Sarka’s face. It seemed he was starting to get a bit irritated too.
Ruslan gradually became anxious, but Baigarten brightened up, pointing at a fancy restaurant that caught his eye.
“Ah, I really need to go to that restaurant. It’s really good there. It’s the only place that properly cooks Sharman-style full course meals. The chef is from Sharman, they say. Especially the sea turtle soup is really amazing. Ruslan, have you ever had sea turtle soup? Want to go eat that for dinner?”
“……Stop it.”
Finally Sarka spoke, growling softly. It was a chilling voice that made even Ruslan flinch for no reason.
Sarka looked at Baigarten with a grim gaze and spat out coldly as if warning him.
“……I have no intention of staying in a place like this until dinner, so stop flapping that chattering mouth of yours.”
His irritation seemed to have passed the critical point.
It wasn’t loud enough for people around to hear, but rather, a clearer murderous intent could be felt in that low, sunken voice. It was as if a beast that had endured as much as it could had bared its teeth.
Ruslan unconsciously got scared and shrank back, but Baigarten didn’t bat an eye and calmly put his arm around Ruslan’s shoulder.
“What? I wasn’t asking you. I was asking Ruslan. Ruslan, want to have dinner there with me?”
“……”
Sarka glared at Baigarten, who was smiling caringly at Ruslan, with an expression that wanted to kill him.
Ruslan was intimidated for no reason and watched the mood, but Baigarten only looked straight down at Sarka as if scolding a beast acting up.
His lips still smiled playfully as if joking, but there was no trace of laughter in his teal eyes.
Ruslan noticed that while Baigarten fundamentally treated Sarka kindly like a child and inwardly genuinely worried about him, he had no intention of backing down in the power struggle Sarka initiated.
He was truly a skilled handler. Though their height difference wasn’t large, Baigarten, with a much thicker and firmer build, was receiving Sarka’s blade-like gaze as heavily as steel reinforcement.
Sarka glared at Baigarten with a murderous gaze while grinding his teeth for a moment, but soon he too seemed exhausted by this power struggle.
When Sarka exhaled lightly and irritably turned his head away as if fed up with the tiresome fight, Baigarten immediately softened his voice like someone who knew the beast’s limits well.
“Let’s stop here for today. Since we’ve walked a lot, let’s have a cup of tea at a nearby cafe before going back. There’s a cafe with private rooms in the next block. Since we can be alone, let’s rest comfortably without worrying about other people.”
The low, mature voice was like soothing a tired child. It was similar to an attitude of lightly raising both hands to show he wouldn’t provoke anymore.
Sarka was silent for a moment, closing his mouth as if trying to calm his irritation.
Baigarten waited silently. It seemed he was showing courtesy by not rushing, allowing this sensitive and sharp boy to sheathe his blade himself.
While watching with bated breath, Sarka managed to gather his emotional edges with great difficulty. The moment the blades that had sprouted in all directions were awkwardly pushed back inside……
“Hyung-nim? Wow! To meet hyung-nim in a place like this! God’s true blessing must be with me today?!”
A youthful voice stretched out cheerfully. Ruslan unconsciously turned his head to look in the direction the voice came from.
A boy with fine brown hair similar to Baigarten’s texture and clear chestnut eyes, with an intelligent forehead, was looking this way with sparkling eyes.
The boy, wearing the Esteban Basic School uniform shorts with a flat straw hat stylishly pressed down, appeared to be around thirteen or fourteen, and his bright expression was somehow familiar.
“……Alberich?”
Baigarten called the boy’s name with a surprised expression. Ruslan noticed there was a hint of panic mixed in his deep voice.
The boy called Alberich took off his straw hat and held it to his chest with quite a polite gesture, then bowed his upper body with exaggeratedly elegant manners as if imitating adults.
“Greetings, seniors! I’m Alberich Jung! I’m the cute younger brother of my dear Baigarten hyung-nim!”
It was a refreshing and cheerful greeting.
Only then did Ruslan realize that the boy’s features were the spitting image of Baigarten’s.
Because of his slender jawline and youthful cheeks, he had none of Baigarten’s solemn feeling, but his mischievous eyes were so identical it felt like this must be what Baigarten was like as a child.
Alberich seemed very excited and thrilled just by the fact that he’d run into his real brother in the city by chance.
Looking at the boy’s roguish smile as he looked up at Baigarten, Ruslan immediately understood how dearly Baigarten must have cherished and raised this little boy.
It was an innocent smile that only a youngest child who’d received plenty of love could make, believing without doubt that the whole world loved him.
Baigarten unconsciously tried to move half a step with a slightly flustered expression.
But before Baigarten could open his mouth to respond to his brother’s greeting, a low exclamation smoothly cut between the two.
“……Ah.”
At that amused gasp, Ruslan felt his body freeze involuntarily.
Sarka’s voice was gentle. Very sweet, delighted, and endlessly soft.
He could see Baigarten’s teal eyes roll toward Sarka with a start.
Sarka wore a faint smile as he elegantly turned his head, looking down at the boy with a very strange expression.
Ruslan discovered that for the first time since this outing began, interest arose in Sarka’s eyes. A very lively interest, finally genuinely delighted.
Like someone so amazed and happy to meet his respected senior’s real brother, Sarka smiled gently with narrowed eyes. It was a beautifully picture-perfect smile.
Slowly turning to Baigarten, Sarka reproached him in a hurt voice, as if asking how he could never have mentioned such an important fact even once.
“……You had a brother, Baigarten?”
Baigarten’s teal eyes froze. His face seemed to pale for a moment.
The cat’s interest had shifted.
The bored cat had discovered a new chick.
A particularly very delicious-looking chick at that.
