The room, with darkness washed away, looked surprisingly peaceful. The doorway where Rose had so terrifyingly pressed down on him was quiet as if such a thing had never happened.
Elijah supported his swaying body and plopped down into a chair. With trembling hands, he pressed firmly against his chest and slowly calmed his ragged breathing.
……He really couldn’t bear it, he was so scared. At this rate, he might have to live his whole life trapped in Rose’s illusion, trembling in fear.
Knock knock. Elijah, startled by the knocking sound, looked toward the door.
—Um, Mage-nim. Are you inside?
“……”
Knock knock. The knocking sounded again as if urging an answer. Elijah carefully approached the door.
“Who is it?”
—An urgent letter has arrived for Sir Kalian.
Elijah carefully opened the door. Through a gap of about half a span, he could see an inn employee holding a yellow envelope.
“This…… Your companions are currently away.”
The young-looking employee blushed when she saw Elijah and handed over the envelope.
“……Thank you.”
Elijah, who received it, looked awkwardly at the employee. The employee replied with a shy face, tucking her hair behind her ear.
“Then, rest comfortably.”
Elijah quickly closed the door while watching her retreat hesitantly. Elijah put the envelope down on the table and examined it carefully. The weight was light, but the envelope was quite thick.
Honestly, he was a bit curious. What on earth was this? What kind of urgent letter was it? If it came addressed to Kalian, was it sent from the Royal Palace?
“……”
Let’s just tear it open slightly so it’s not noticeable and check. To verify whether they’re really mages affiliated with the Royal Palace…… This is for his own safety. It’s absolutely not with bad intentions.
Elijah carefully tore the envelope open with a letter opener on the table. Since it was literally an urgent letter, fortunately the adhesive sealing the entrance wasn’t very thorough. It seemed like he could just check the contents and stick it back seamlessly. He slightly opened the envelope and looked inside.
“Uh……”
Doubting his eyes, he tilted the envelope over the table. Along with one small note, five or six paper boats tumbled out.
“……”
Why is this here? These aren’t things that should be here…….
His hands trembled violently at the unbelievable sight. Elijah picked up one of the paper boats and unfolded it.
「……I hope you’ll understand with a generous heart that my handwriting is a mess. My fingers aren’t in good condition.
Yesterday I finally succeeded in stopping the baby’s crying. Would you believe me if I said that’s the reason my hands aren’t in good condition?
Master certainly didn’t believe in the existence of vampires. However, the baby was, as I expected, a vampire. If Master were still alive……」
His thoughts stopped as if he’d been struck on the back of the head with a hammer. Elijah hurriedly unfolded another paper boat.
「……While I’m happy that Rose is growing up healthy and well, I’m also a bit disappointed.
Why do books portray vampires as cunning and vicious beings?
Rose is consistently kind and pretty, both when he was young and now. Sometimes I want to brag about his existence to the world……」
Why is this here? Why did Kalian receive my letters? To whom on earth…… Elijah flipped over the one remaining note on the table.
「Hello, Sir Kalian.
I was a bit surprised to receive your urgent letter. You want to check Elijah-ssi’s letters? I’m a bit worried whether it’s okay to carelessly show someone else’s letters to a third party without the person’s permission.
Still, you asked so earnestly, and Elijah-ssi doesn’t seem to care about those letters anymore, so I’ll send just a very small portion. You should be able to sufficiently confirm the part you’re curious about.
I hope Elijah-ssi doesn’t find out about this…….
—Gillie」
Thump, his heart sank. His heart was violently pounding so much he could barely breathe properly. Elijah pressed down hard on his shocked chest with one hand and bit his trembling lips.
It seems they still haven’t given up their doubts about Rose. They clearly used the designation “vampire” even on the day they first met him. It means they’re either somewhat certain of Rose’s identity, or strongly suspect it.
What should I do? What should I do…….
His rapidly beating heart wouldn’t calm down at all. Elijah stared at the letters on the table with eyes as if looking at a coiled snake.
* * *
“You worry too much, Bailey. Where would Elijah-ssi go with that body? With such a timid personality, as if he’d run away well.”
Kalian spoke as he climbed the inn stairs.
“That timid person kicked me in the balls a few years ago and ran away just fine……”
Bailey reproached him, asking if he’d already forgotten the greatest crisis of his life when his balls had almost burst. Kalian, who stood in front of the guest room door where Elijah was, knocked lightly.
“Elijah-ssi, are you awake?”
After a moment, an answer came from inside.
—Yes, I’m awake.
Kalian nodded his head toward Bailey as if to say “see?” Soon, he opened the door and entered, looking at Elijah who was sitting on the bed.
“Elijah-ssi, are you feeling a bit better?”
“Yes, ……I’m fine.”
He was still sitting with a pale complexion and his characteristic face full of tension. There was a faintly burnt smell in the room. Seeing that the window was open, it seemed to be a smell that had blown in from outside.
A question came from behind Kalian as he closed the window.
“……Where have you been?”
“There’s a lot to prepare before departure. We’ll have to camp outdoors or sleep curled up in the carriage until we arrive at the next area.”
“Ah……”
Green eyes that moved stiffly as if frozen pointed to the table.
“An employee delivered an urgent letter…… for you.”
Kalian, who turned his head, spotted the small envelope. It seemed to be the reply from Gillie he’d been waiting for so eagerly. Brightening up, he picked it up and momentarily looked at Elijah with a suspicious face.
“By any chance…… did you open this first……”
Elijah immediately shook his head. Kalian examined the letter. The thin envelope was fortunately clean with no trace of being torn. He turned his back to Elijah and checked the letter.
「Hello, Sir Kalian.
I was a bit surprised to receive your urgent letter. You want to check Elijah-ssi’s letters? Asking me to carelessly show someone else’s letters without the person’s permission—you’re making such a rude request.
I’m not shameless enough to arbitrarily disclose someone’s private letters to a third party.
Don’t make such difficult requests of me again.
—Gillie」
“……”
Kalian silently despaired and folded the letter. No, that shepherd acted so kind and friendly, but on paper he’s nothing but frosty.
Wasn’t he the one who blabbed on and on about the contents of someone else’s letters in the first place? He already told me all the key points with his own mouth, and now he’s calling me shameless—it’s simply absurd.
Meanwhile, Elijah, watching him from behind, felt like his heart would burst and couldn’t even breathe comfortably.
He looked at the pitch-black ashes piled on the brazier that still retained warmth, then shifted his gaze back to Kalian. He should have erased all traces of burning the letters too—his thinking had been short.
Are Gillie and that person close enough to recognize each other’s handwriting? If so, the crudely copied handwriting he’d written would be exposed immediately…….
Just looking at his back, he couldn’t tell what he was thinking now. Surely he didn’t notice, right? If he noticed, then what should he do…….
“Elijah-ssi, have you eaten?”
At that moment, Kalian turned around and asked with a smile. Elijah swallowed dryly and shook his head.
“That’s good. I ordered some, so it should come up soon.”
“……”
Elijah, emboldened by his kind attitude, carefully asked.
“That letter, ……what kind of letter is it?”
“Ah, this?”
“Is it from the Royal Palace?”
“No.”
Kalian waved his hand dismissively and sat down in a chair.
“It’s nothing much. I tried to obtain some materials about vampires, but it became difficult.”
He deliberately emphasized the word “vampire” and carefully observed Elijah’s expression change. He who had been so transparent in his feelings, startling easily, today didn’t show his emotional state easily on his face due to his noticeably paler complexion.
“……Normally people don’t believe in the existence of vampires.”
After hesitating for a while, Elijah opened his mouth.
“Why are you so obsessed with such an absurd story?”
The end of his questioning voice trembled faintly. He could only hope Kalian wouldn’t notice this trembling. After staring at Elijah for a few seconds, Kalian spoke.
“Have you perhaps heard of Leo Artes? He’s a famous person. Even now, there are many books that cite his papers.”
“……I’m not, sure.”
“He’s an ancestor of our family. I grew up reading the papers he researched since I was young. He researched various ancient creatures, and among them, he conducted research on vampires the longest.”
“Yes……”
“So I became interested too.”
Elijah nodded slowly and hesitated for a moment. The question that had risen to his throat wavered for a long time before finally coming out of his mouth.
“……Wh, what if.”
“Yes.”
“If vampires really existed, what would you do?”
“Well. If such an incredible thing really happened, I’d have to report it to the Royal Palace Holy Hall first, wouldn’t I?”
Elijah, who hid his trembling lips by biting them, nodded silently. At just the right timing, an employee’s voice was heard from outside.
—I’ve brought your meal.
Elijah quickly got up and opened the door. The employee who entered through the open door placed a tray piled with food on the table and withdrew.
As Elijah approached it, Kalian’s hand suddenly touched the nape of his neck.
“Elijah-ssi, what is this?”
“Hik……!”
Elijah, startled out of his wits, shook off that hand and jumped back. Kalian, equally startled, raised both hands with a flustered face. The green eyes wide with shock looked at him as if looking at someone shameless.
