Chapter 81

Episode 81: The Twisted Assassination Plan and the Symphony of Fresh Blood

“I’ve made my decision…”

I’m troubled.

Should I appeal to emotion, or make a rational choice?

【Is there really any dilemma? You should just go for Verdium. You’re so frustrating. That woman you’re looking for might not even be here.】

Her words are correct.

“If I’m not sure… it would be wise not to attempt it at all, right?”

No matter which option I choose, both are just ways to save Harin.

In that case, a more stable method would be preferable.

I will absolutely not run away.

My determination to save her remains unchanged.

Being betrayed hurts.

I know that feeling all too well.

Even knowing that pain, I cannot inflict the same hurt in return.

“My dear, if you’ve made a decision, there’s no time to hesitate.”

“Yeah, let’s head to Verdium.”

Ilya nodded as if waiting for my answer and guided me to the cave located to the west where Verdium was said to be.

**********

Arriving at the cave to the west, Ilya seemed impatient as she walked quickly.

The interior of the cave was spacious, but as expected, it was filled with deep darkness.

It could be described as a gloomy space where only a single beam of light barely streamed in.

I was tired of seeing this familiar backdrop.

However, there was a sight I had never seen before.

A magnificent coffin was being illuminated by the only beam of light coming from a small hole in the cave’s ceiling.

The light illuminated the coffin, showing dust swirling around as if in a display.

The small sounds of birds and crows coming from the tiny hole in the ceiling created a dissonance, sounding like a symphony.

“… Dad?”

Ilya’s face showed some anxiety as she stepped towards the place where the light was shining.

Crack—!

She used magic to illuminate the surroundings.

In that space, I saw Verdium kneeling before the coffin and Alunus, whose head had been severed for some reason.

“You’ve come. My lovely daughter and our guest from the outside.”

Verdium’s words were filled with a melancholy emotion, as if he had already resigned himself to his fate.

The back of his despondent figure seemed to show no will to live any longer in this world.

“… Don’t lie. You’ve never treated me with any affection, have you, Dad?”

“You might think that. But there were reasons I had no choice.”

He had become much softer in both personality and manner of speaking since I first encountered him.

“I can’t seem to find the right words.”

I couldn’t read Ilya’s emotions.

There were many questions I wanted to ask Verdium.

However, due to the unspoken tension, I couldn’t interject into their conversation.

Now was not the time to interrupt the dialogue between father and daughter.

“You’ve become relatively more assertive in just a few days. It wasn’t long ago I couldn’t imagine you rebelling against me. Ilya, was it thanks to our guest from the outside that you’ve changed?”

“You have no right to know.”

“A rebellious spirit has emerged. Has your mind matured along with your body?”

“More importantly, why did you drive the servants at the mansion away… why?”

Ilya placed her hands on her hips as she spoke.

Verdium, as if anticipating the question, immediately opened his mouth.

“You know how your mother, Olivia, died.”

“Olivia… Mom’s name was Olivia Violet. I never knew that. Anyway, didn’t you say she died in a carriage accident?”

“That’s a falsehood. It’s hard to believe that a ‘True Blood’ like us, with such a robust physique, could die in just a carriage accident. That’s something weak humans might suffer from.”

“… That does sound a bit strange.”

“Yes, saying she died in a carriage accident is incorrect. I simply couldn’t bring myself to tell a young child that your mother was murdered by another human, but now it’s time to tell you. If I don’t now, you may never learn the truth.”

“Who was the human that killed Mom…?”

Verdium brushed off the dust on the coffin.

【Why are you still kneeling and fiddling with the coffin? It’s unsettling.】

‘Just shut up.’

I silenced Chaewon, who was mumbling.

“I don’t need to say much. The one who killed Olivia is none other than this ‘Alunus’ who lies here decapitated.”

“What? But you just said a human killed Mom—”

“Alunus was originally human.”

‘Wow… with such high levels of skills, does it make sense for a human to have such high-level abilities? No matter how you think about it, life is truly unfair.’

【Let’s just keep quiet for now.】

“… You turned the person who killed Mom into a vampire? I really can’t understand that.”

“From my perspective, making him work for me was the best form of revenge. And someday he could serve as a sacrifice for ‘resurrection.'”

Ilya stepped forward.

“Resurrection? And by ‘sacrifice,’ you mean… using me or that woman, right?”

“That woman refers to your companion who came with our guest from the outside, doesn’t it?”

“Y-yeah.”

“The threats I made about using you as a sacrifice were… all meant to raise you as a good child.”

【Ah… is it a method of scaring kids like saying ghosts come if you stay up late… it’s not entirely incomprehensible.】

‘Even if you go to bed late, ghosts still come, like you.’

“What… you really can’t make sense with your words.”

“However, at least the truth about using the companion of our guest as a sacrifice was genuine.”

“Verdium, why would you sacrifice an innocent person?”

I couldn’t help but voice my thoughts about using Harin as a sacrifice.

“How dare a rookie like you interrupt my words. Are you foolish or brave? For whatever reason, it seems you might wield that sword.”

【Ah, I couldn’t hold back my interruption, didn’t I say not to interfere?】

“… I’d like you to answer my question.”

“You seem to know about ‘Parasite’ already… I won’t bother asking where you learned it. Do you also know that by manipulating that bug, you could revive any life form, regardless of the consequences?”

“Yeah, I know… But can we really call it reviving a life form if it can’t maintain its sanity?”

Verdium remained kneeling with his back to us, fiddling with the coffin as he chuckled to himself.

“It’s still too early for you to grasp ‘Parasite.’ How would you know the outcome when a rookie like yourself tries to use that bug?”

“Well… because I witnessed it firsthand.”

“Where did you see it? No, I guess I don’t need to ask. You must have seen it from another world.”

Not exactly another world.

I only caught a glimpse of something that appeared to be the future of this world.

“… What did it look like? Reviving dead life forms with ‘Parasite.'”

“It was horrific. What was living wasn’t truly alive.”

“I see… perhaps it’s a good thing it failed. I almost caused unnecessary suffering to my beloved wife… Thank you for telling me, rookie.”

“How exactly were you planning to utilize ‘Parasite’?”

I asked Verdium.

“I already mentioned it. To bring Olivia back to life, that’s all.”

“Even if it was to bring back someone you loved, there are lines you shouldn’t cross, right? The power of ‘Parasite’ could shake an entire civilization.”

【Really?】

Chaewon raised her hand to her mouth.

‘That seems about right.’

【What?】

“… Perhaps due to being a rookie, you still lack experience. You didn’t betray me and leave my side after all. If you truly loved each other until the very end… even if it meant selling your soul to the devil, you would want to meet again, at least once. If you ever find someone you can truly share your heart with, you will understand my words.”

“Do you think something like that could happen…?”

“Anyway, I intended to use your companion as a sacrifice, but… doing so wouldn’t be different from this dead guy here. There are plenty of living, sentient creatures out there… so I planned to use ‘Parasite’ to bring back someone deceased as a form of revenge for my wife. However, I failed.”

Living in despair, for Verdium, using ‘Parasite’ was a necessary action.

For him, ‘Parasite’ might have been like the stream of light washing over the coffin, a thin thread of hope.

“But now that I’ve realized that ‘Parasite’ can’t achieve perfect resurrection… I’ve run out of options. Now, I can only pay for the cost of failure.”

“Dad, what cost?”

Ilya asked Verdium.

“Ilya. It seems you’ve traveled to Hebron just to poison me, but it wasn’t necessary. I’m already dying due to a failed ritual. Even if you manage to kill me, you won’t be able to inherit the title. When I die, the Violet estate will no longer be a land where vampires can dwell.”

“Why… hey?”

Ilya stepped closer to Verdium.

“The dragon race has cursed me. A curse fatal only to vampires.”

“What kind of curse?”

What other curse could there be at this point?

The headache refuses to leave.

“I’ve been afflicted with an incredibly dreadful curse of ‘White Night.'”