On the other hand, Sarka remained frozen pale until he was moved to his room and seated on the bedroom sofa.
Sarka still seemed to barely understand the unfolding situation. Sarka, who’d gone stiff in the seated position on the sofa, unconsciously turned his head to look up at Ruslan when he entered, as if doing so automatically.
Though his heart burst at the expression completely filled with questions, as if he couldn’t understand this situation at all, Ruslan deliberately turned his gaze away and pretended not to notice.
It was actually better that Sarka was so frightened and wasn’t saying anything. Because only Baigarten and Ruslan needed to match their stories. The fewer accomplices to a lie, the better concealed its flaws.
As soon as the headmaster entered the room, he walked straight toward the Controller thrown on the bed. Ruslan suddenly noticed the dried bloodstains he’d spilled on the bedroom floor and quickly rubbed them away with the sole of his foot while the men’s attention was focused on the Controller. Just in case, he rubbed his palm over his nose and nape, pretending to scratch, to completely remove the blood and tear marks, then straightened his back, ignoring the pain from Sarka’s torture becoming increasingly vivid.
The headmaster glanced down at the remnants of the severed restraints once, but perhaps because they were made of a material that could easily be cut with a knife or scissors unlike the Controller, he didn’t seem to find it particularly strange. Since the purpose was to prevent Sarka’s self-harm rather than escape, all his attention was focused on the Controller, which was designed elaborately so it couldn’t be removed easily, rather than the restraints that were designed simply.
The headmaster, who’d been carefully examining the Controller, seemed to have understood the situation to some degree after confirming the broken lid and bloodstains. He seemed to think that if they’d been pulling arms while struggling and a finger had accidentally pressed and gotten blood on it, such a thing could happen.
The headmaster looked around the room with an incredulous expression and asked Ruslan how he’d gotten in. Ruslan mumbled that he’d climbed in through the terrace while making the most guilty expression possible.
When Ruslan rambled on with excuses that Sarka hadn’t come to class for a week and only rumors circulated that he was dying of illness, so he was so, so scared that’s why he did it, the headmaster looked down at the open window and fourth-floor terrace with a speechless expression.
However, the headmaster, accustomed to teenagers committing all sorts of bizarre acts, soon seemed to think it was possible. That there were bound to be brave boys who believed that true loyalty meant climbing up a fourth-floor terrace to visit a sick friend, epidemic or not.
Finally the headmaster, with a slightly sheepish expression, looked back at Sarka as if to confirm.
“……This friend dragged you out?”
“…….”
Sarka remained silent with his mouth firmly shut, looking up at the headmaster with a rigid expression. He seemed to have no idea what to answer. Baigarten, who’d noticed Sarka’s condition, quickly interjected.
“……He wouldn’t have been in any state to resist. As you can see, his stamina has completely bottomed out so he can’t even walk. Since we’ve kept the surveillance team on standby under orders from the Count to maintain silence, Sarka wouldn’t have thought the situation would become……that dangerous.”
Baigarten’s voice trembled faintly, but still sank composedly without losing its characteristic trustworthiness.
Only while hearing Baigarten’s voice did Sarka seem to finally begin grasping the vague situation.
Their gazes met briefly. The moment Sarka’s gaze, which had been wavering in confusion, moved toward the Controller in an almost instinctive motion, Baigarten’s gaze wavered too.
A certain resolve soon arose in Baigarten’s eyes as he looked at Sarka’s dark blue left arm and the wounds on his stripped wrist.
Baigarten, who’d slowly turned his head toward the headmaster, asked in a serious voice.
“……Headmaster. Though it was an unintended accident, even with the Controller released like this……the situation we were most concerned about……didn’t occur.
……In that case, do we really need to insist on disciplining Sarka Hütivras?”
Ruslan tried to look up at Baigarten hesitantly but pressed down and held back. The headmaster turned his head to look at Baigarten.
Baigarten began calmly persuading the headmaster in his characteristically thick, heavy voice.
“Anyway, today marks the end of the disciplinary period you’d originally approved. Didn’t you also oppose extending the disciplinary period? I think there’s no need to……extend it three more days from here.”
The headmaster looked down at Sarka with a thoughtful face.
Sarka was still frozen with a pale face. He looked like a child who’d committed a terrible mistake and was rigidly tense, bracing for a fearsome punishment.
Seeing the boy who’d just narrowly avoided being innocently shot to death frozen like that, the headmaster seemed to think that adding more discipline here would only backfire. The boy’s face, messed up with nail marks and bruises, didn’t look comfortable either.
The headmaster soon exhaled and nodded obediently.
“……Let’s do that. Let’s conclude the discipline with this. To Count Hütivras……”
As concern arose on the headmaster’s face, Baigarten quickly snatched up the words.
“I’ll speak to him directly. If the Count raises objections, I’ll definitely persuade him, even if I have to personally contact the Countess. Please entrust it to me.”
The thick, heavy voice held the reassuring trustworthiness that always put people at ease.
The headmaster thought for a moment, then nodded.
“……I’ll contact him first anyway. About this matter……we’ll conclude the discipline independently. ……That seems better.”
The headmaster swept his furrowed eyes over the wounds remaining on Sarka’s forehead and wrists.
Soon the headmaster, who’d made a firm decision, greeted Sarka in a low voice.
“……Rest, Hütivras. Your body must be badly damaged, so after you sleep and recover your stamina, it would be good if you could arrange that student’s memories. ……What’s your name?”
When the headmaster suddenly looked back at Ruslan, Baigarten gripped Ruslan’s shoulder and glossed over it.
“I’ll keep this friend with me for now. As soon as Sarka recovers, I’ll arrange his memories and send him back before morning breaks. Don’t worry.”
Ruslan gaped like an idiot, making a completely vacant expression while blankly looking up at the headmaster. The headmaster soon lost interest at that innocent stupid-looking face.
The headmaster nodded and added a few precautions, then gave some instructions to the men as well.
Sarka was watching the situation being settled with a rigidly hardened face. Baigarten, who’d glanced toward Sarka, hesitated.
Baigarten, who’d been looking at Sarka for a moment, suddenly walked to the bed and picked up the sheet.
Walking to the sofa where Sarka sat, Baigarten covered the sheet over Sarka’s shirt, which Ruslan had unbuttoned, as if pushing it. Without making eye contact with Sarka.
Only then did Sarka seem to realize he was almost exposing his bare upper body in front of people.
Sarka looked down, then pulled at his shirt hem awkwardly. After hesitating with his gaze slightly lowered, Sarka glanced up at the men, then slowly began arranging his shirt hem with his barely moving fingers.
The men in the room politely turned their gazes away while Sarka touched his shirt buttons. Baigarten stood in a position blocking Sarka from people’s eyes with his back turned to Sarka, not looking back.
While slowly rebuttoning, Sarka seemed to now fully understand the situation. Some thoughts scattered in his lowered eyes, then Sarka suddenly glanced back at Ruslan as if to confirm who’d started this situation.
The moment their gazes touched, Ruslan unconsciously hesitated.
Sarka scanned Ruslan with a gaze full of suspicion as if seeing a creature for the first time, then immediately averted his gaze when their eyes met as Ruslan glanced away turning his head.
Ruslan saw confusion and questions flash through Sarka’s eyes. Sarka blinked as if pondering something deeply, but didn’t look back at Ruslan again.
Soon the headmaster, having settled the situation, left the room with the men.
Baigarten pulled Ruslan out and closed the bedroom door, then crossed the living room to see the adults off.
After finishing greetings with a loyal expression to everyone leaving, Baigarten quietly closed the front door.
The footsteps faded away.
A few breaths later. Once certain no one remained in the corridor,
Baigarten firmly gripped Ruslan’s arm and dragged him into the empty room, then pushed him against the wall with frightening force.
“…….”
Ruslan clenched his mouth and rigidly froze with his back against the wall, looking up at Baigarten. His legs trembled as the torture pains he’d been holding back came rushing the moment tension released.
Looking down at Ruslan’s pale face with frightening eyes, Baigarten asked in a clenched-teeth whisper.
“……The situation I’m thinking of, it’s right.”
His hoarse voice was eerily sunken. Ruslan felt fear filling up and surging in his faintly trembling voice. Ruslan swallowed dry saliva and didn’t answer, but that was answer enough.
Baigarten’s face became horrified. He seemed to have difficulty even standing as his legs gave out for a moment, so he braced the wall beside Ruslan and caught his breath. His thick arms could be seen trembling violently. Cold sweat glistened on Baigarten’s neck as he gasped with one hand pressed to his eyes.
Ruslan knew what he must have thought the entire time running to the dormitory when, during the meeting in the headmaster’s office, he’d heard news that Sarka was leaving his room with a student and coming down the building.
What he’d done by informing Ruslan, who was obsessed with vampires, that Sarka might die and exposing information that he’d be away from his room at night.
That because of that, as he’d always feared, the entire student body could be found as miserable corpses.
Baigarten trembled like someone who’d literally been to hell, keeping his mouth shut for a long time.
A brief silence flowed between them.
Slowly, Baigarten turned his head to look at Sarka’s closed bedroom door.
Ruslan also turned his head to look at that door.
After keeping his mouth firmly shut and staying silent for a long time, Baigarten whispered in a hoarse voice barely audible.
“Do you think……we made the right decision?”
His voice sank with a murky tremor. Sarka was now sitting on the sofa in his room without a Controller.
That vampire who’d decided to kill all the humans in this school.
He could see fearsome conflict and terror tangling in Baigarten’s teal eyes. Looking at his rigidly hardened cheeks, Ruslan thought he understood how eerily conflicted Baigarten had been before making the decision to save Sarka and cover up this incident. Especially since it was Sarka who’d declared he’d kill Baigarten’s entire family.
Between the choice of leaving Sarka to die to obtain the safety of the entire student body and his family, and the choice of saving Sarka and trying to believe they could control him again, Baigarten, who’d chosen the latter, feared the price of that choice. The sound of swallowing dry saliva came from his thick neck.
Ruslan could guess what temptation he’d felt. Though he’d developed doubts and suspicions about the disciplinary method Sarka received and ultimately decided to cover up Sarka’s rampage driven mad by pain, Sarka’s dangerousness hadn’t disappeared.
In that room still sat a vampire who’d been half-mad with anger, who hated humans and had actually decided to kill them.
If he just killed Sarka now, everyone could be safe. There’d be no reason to tremble in anxiety like this, and no need to ever be anxious in the future. That keeper clearly knew that eliminating the risk factor now would be the safest choice.
Ruslan, firmly gripping his hands trembling with small spasms, whispered in a hoarse voice.
“……If we have to kill someone before they commit a wrong, for everyone to be safe……I can’t agree with that.”
Baigarten turned his head to look down at Ruslan with a rigidly hardened face.
His angular jaw became even harder and thicker with clenched force. After quietly looking at Ruslan’s dark blue eyes for a long time, Baigarten answered in a hoarse voice.
“……That’s right.”
Baigarten exhaled a grim breath and added.
“……As the price of that belief……we might all die though.”
Ruslan swallowed dry saliva.
The two stiffly froze standing for a moment, looking at the closed bedroom door.
Baigarten remained lost in thought for a long time, then exhaled a deep sigh and rose.
Baigarten, biting his lips with a rigid face, soon made a heavy decision and left the room. Baigarten, who’d been silently looking at Sarka’s bedroom door, turned and walked to the living room sofa instead of opening the door.
Taking off his jacket, Baigarten jerked his chin at the opposite sofa for Ruslan, then recommended in a breaking voice.
“……Sleep.”
When Ruslan walked out hesitantly, Baigarten handed his jacket to Ruslan as if to use it as a blanket, then sat upright looking at Sarka’s bedroom door with his arms crossed.
Ruslan sat hesitantly and covered his lap with Baigarten’s jacket, but instead of lying on the sofa, looked at Sarka’s bedroom door side by side.
Silence flowed.
Until morning broke, no one opened their mouth.
It was a night filled with thoughts.
Looking at the bedroom door all night, Ruslan thought of the confusion that had risen in Sarka’s eyes as he’d averted his gaze.
Until morning broke, the room remained quiet.
