Chapter 49

The moment I took a sip, my eyes flashed and my mouth began to water.

Unconsciously, I savored the deep, rich flavor spreading through my mouth.

The umami flavor wrapping around my tongue and the viscous sensation flowing in my mouth were truly exquisite.

I almost drank the contents of the cup in one go, driven by instinct.

But I managed to resist and slowly placed the cup back on the table.

“…What exactly did you feed me?”

“As I mentioned earlier, it’s tomato juice….”

“That can’t be true. Just by barely touching it with my lips, my whole body is covered with an incomprehensible discomfort.”

“Really?”

“What do you think I am…? I’m truly disappointed.”

In truth, far from feeling disappointed, I was rather a bit pleased.

The fact that I had consumed blood at an unexpected moment and the strange sense of betrayal sent shivers down my spine.

In the past, I had a strong aversion to consuming raw blood as opposed to using a skill called blood transfusion.

However, due to ongoing anemia, I had no choice but to consume raw blood directly to increase efficiency.

Before I knew it, I no longer felt any aversion to that act and gradually started to appreciate the taste of blood, falling into a deep satisfaction it provided.

“I am a human. I’m not a disgusting demon tribe that drinks and enjoys blood.”

In short, I had become a perfect vampire with no room left for excuses.

That doesn’t mean I drink human blood, but just the fact that I don’t feel aversion to drinking blood shows how much I have changed.

“Blood, blood?! And furthermore, we never once thought of you as anything other than a human, Sister.”

“Ellie is right, Levi. We are just….”

“Do you think I wouldn’t know if you added some sweetness to beast’s blood? Stop kidding around.”

I was trying hard to maintain a calm demeanor, but unfortunately, my mind was in an uncontrollable state of extreme confusion.

Why did Ellie hand me a cup filled with blood?

Moreover, why was everyone here looking at it so nonchalantly?

I had spent a considerable amount of time with the children and experienced many things, but I had never openly revealed that I was a vampire, nor had I faced such a situation directly until now.

Yet, I could not understand why this atmosphere had naturally formed.

“Do you really think I’m a vampire?!”

I thought I had done well with my nun act…

“Wait a moment… This atmosphere is too heightened. Let’s calm down a bit…”

While I was raising my voice in agitation, Rune, who had silently been observing the situation, suddenly stood up and started mediating between me and the children.

“How can I cool my head in a situation like this?! I almost drank blood…”

“I know you’re very confused. But as Ellie said earlier, that’s tomato juice, and it’s absolutely not the situation you think it is, Levynia.”

As they continued to try to deceive me with such absurd lies, my brows furrowed instinctively, and a grim expression appeared on my face.

But something felt off.

It was strange that Rune, who was already aware of my identity, was speaking like this, creating an odd sensation in the air.

Since our first meeting, Rune had been quite perceptive and very intelligent.

She was definitely not a child who would carelessly blurt out such words.

“…I seem to have gotten a bit too excited.”

The situation was still filled with incomprehensible things, but nonetheless, I slowly lowered my head and quietly offered an apology to the children.

Being angry here wouldn’t solve anything, so I thought it would be best to calm my head as Rune suggested and take some time to think.

“I’ll take a little walk… I’m sorry for making the atmosphere heavy.”

“Oh, no… That’s actually what we should be saying…”

“There must have been a reason behind it. I don’t know exactly what that reason is yet, but I trust all of you.”

With those words, I gradually rose from my seat and headed straight for the exit.

I felt the worried gazes of the children on my back, but I made an effort to ignore them and silently walked outside, where the cold air hit my face.

I took a deep breath.

“…….”

Shuffling my feet under the parasol, I came before the round table that stood alone in front of the World Tree.

“I guess I’ve been found out…?”

I had thought I should start preparing myself mentally, but somehow this felt too sudden.

I hadn’t made any significant changes in my behavior, and since the large-scale demon tribe attack, I hadn’t displayed any noteworthy abilities.

I had no idea which part led them to suspect me.

“Is it an external factor…?”

Ten years ago, the large-scale demon tribe attack that occurred here was widely known.

Now, the children who had grown into proper adults and were making their mark in the royal capital could not be free from such rumors.

For that reason, I had cautioned them not to mention this church outside so that nothing complicated would arise, yet here we were, in this kind of situation.

“…Wait a minute.”

While I was slumped, staring blankly at the ground, a thought suddenly flashed through my mind.

“Do I really have to be this tangled up in worries…?”

Standing quietly under the shade of the World Tree, I murmured to myself.

Honestly, I couldn’t do anything about the rapidly spreading rumors following the large-scale demon tribe attack.

Eventually, it was only a matter of time before my identity was discovered by the children.

“If I just put on a brave face and act as usual…”

Could it work out somehow?

Since my identity being exposed wouldn’t immediately lead to any particular situation, and the children didn’t seem to be overly concerned about it either.

It wasn’t a matter I should have been fretting over in the first place.

Worrying about it wouldn’t lead to any satisfactory resolution—.

“Ha─.”

Having finished my train of thought, I took a deep breath.

Though I hesitated slightly about heading back to the children, my lingering here felt odd. So, I decided to head back to the dining hall and handle the situation as best as I could.

– Step by step

Having returned to the nun’s building,

I walked towards the dining hall with a much lighter heart as the chatter of the children grew noticeably louder.

They seemed to be seriously discussing matters related to me—.

“What’s going on, what─!! You said it would be fine─!!”

“No, I thought Levi would like it this way…. It’s pitiful to see him always suppressing his instincts while considering us.”

I halted my footsteps right next to the entrance of the dining hall.

As soon as their conversation reached my ears distinctly, my ears perked up, and I gradually decreased my breathing.

“Even so, this was too hasty. It must have been difficult for him to accept this situation.”

“You said ignoring it would be the best, didn’t you….”

The quiet whispers of Iris and Rune were clear to hear.

Given the situation, all my senses seemed to instinctively focus on their voices.

“Honestly, rumors about this church are out everywhere, so it’s weirder that we don’t know, right?”

“That’s true, but considering he hasn’t said anything up till now, it seems like he wanted to avoid bringing it up.”

“Why? Knowing that wouldn’t make Levi dislike us.”

“If I were in the Sister’s position, I would never have spoken about it, no matter what.”

The atmosphere inside the dining hall was so serious that I couldn’t bring myself to enter.

With each word that Iris spoke, my heartbeat oddly quickened.

“That’s because you’re inherently timid…”

“Idiot, that’s not what I mean. We’ve hidden our identity all this time while raising him. Now, how could we just bring that up?”

“So if we say it first, Levi would feel comfortable, and it wouldn’t be a problem, right?”

“I think that would actually be deceiving the Sister. Plus, what I’m most worried about right now is….”

The way Iris trailed off felt particularly significant.

I didn’t recall having done anything for the children to worry about until now.

What exactly could Iris be most concerned about regarding me….

A question I could hardly speculate.

Just as I focused more intently on the conversation between Aizen and Iris, a quiet comment from Iris suddenly reached my ears and startled me.

“What if Sister has forgotten that she’s a vampire?”

Upon hearing those words, my mind went blank for a moment.

“Since a few years ago, Sister has been trying to bask in the sun more and has been more active during the day than at night.”

“That’s right. I found that part strange as well.”

“Could it be that something happened to her body after that incident….”

I couldn’t help but doubt my ears, and I couldn’t understand why such words were coming out.

“Anyway, let’s not act too hastily. It’s not certain, but it wouldn’t hurt to be cautious.”

---