“Certainly....”

A little later.

When I pulled out the [Assistant Chef]s that had pinned him to the floor, he lifted himself up and muttered,

“It may have been my mistake to assume you were one of that Valarak’s bloodline.”

“...Looks like this is the limit for now.”

Watching him, I thought that.

At first, just like when I took Ariella in as a retainer,

I had planned to use cooking to demand something close to oath-bound submission from this one too.

But the result was a failure.

‘The ingredients weren’t great, and it didn’t suit the guest either.’

People say a true master doesn’t blame the tools.

But at least going by my short career, I was the type who absolutely did blame the tools.

With ordinary ingredients that held little mana, it was hard to draw out enough mana to force this bastard into submission.

And besides, this one was a vampire.

A monster that lived on blood.

Unlike with Ariella, this wasn’t an environment where I could take my time feeding him my cooking, so there was a clear limit.

The only reason I’d managed to earn the trust of someone who had been that full of distrust was because my cooking skills had improved.

“Anyway, you understand now that I’m not that Grand Duke’s assassin, right?”

“Yes. I apologize for attacking you over a misunderstanding.”

“Well, given the circumstances, it was an easy misunderstanding to make, so that’s fine. More importantly....”

In that state, I looked at him closely and said,

“For what purpose were you helping the people here?”

At first, I had assumed one of that Grand Duke’s underlings was up to something.

But the one I had actually met seemed, if anything, hostile to the Grand Duke.

The most likely possibility was... just like Ariella.

That someone hostile to the Grand Duke was gathering strength to fight him, luring humans in with sweet bait to replenish food and troops.

If that was the case, then I could be a little less restrained in how I dealt with him.

I’d just have to take my time, force him into complete submission, and then use that power.

“...There are two reasons.”

And then.

“One was to build up strength for revenge against that Grand Duke.”

When I heard that, I thought my guess had been right.

But—

“And the second reason is....”

While I was thinking that, he raised one hand, then gave a bitter smile and said,

“Because I...”

Into that hand, gathered the same kind of mana I had seen several times here.

Whoosh.

It created an orange flame.

“...am an idiot who cannot forget where I came from.”

The fingertips touched by that flame turned to dust and fell to the ground.

***

According to his explanation, the one who had now become a vampire had originally been human.

“More precisely, I would say a species somewhat different from the humans of this land.”

When I heard that, one possibility came to mind, so I spoke up.

“Were you one of those bloodsucker hunters or whatever?”

“Similar.”

The humans on this island had been learning the secret arts of bloodsucker hunters.

Special methods for dealing with vampires.

He had said he was the one who taught them that.

“Originally... I was not a hunter, but more on the side of a holy knight... probably.”

“Probably?”

“It was so long ago. My memory is hazy.”

Anyway.

He said his homeland had once been called something like the Holy Empire.

A nation where faith itself led directly into politics.

A theocracy.

“It was famed as a powerful nation, strong enough that even though it bordered the territories of those vampires, it still never lost land to them. I was a knight there. Not to brag, but I probably held a fairly high position as well.”

I had already expected that part.

More precisely, I’d expected it from the moment I fought him.

‘It was a human way of fighting.’

His combat skill had been extremely high.

It had been a struggle even though he probably hadn’t originally specialized in hand-to-hand combat.

If the [Martial Arts] of Cheonsan Armed Forces had not been a martial discipline superior to his, I might have been the one to lose in the end.

“So how did someone like you wind up like this?”

At that, he gave a bitter smile.

And then—

“...Isabella the Mad.”

At those words out of his mouth, I couldn’t help being a little surprised.

“The territory bordering my homeland belonged to Isabella.”

That name was one even I had heard before.

“There was frequent fighting around the border, and in fact, a few villages would sometimes fall into vampire territory. But that was all. The bloodline led by Isabella never launched a full-scale invasion.”

“...I see.”

“They always only took as many humans as seemed suitable for food. And....”

He frowned, then spoke with an expression like he was digging up an ugly memory.

“The Empire knew that as well, which is why it constantly shoved humans into the villages near the border.”

“...?”

“The poor, refugees, drifters. Foreigners looking for a place to live... without even knowing what sort of place it was, they were deceived by promises of land and sent off to frontier villages near the border.”

Yeah.

That was the kind of story that made you frown on reflex.

“Sacrifices.”

“The Empire’s karma.”

It was a disgusting story.

Anyway.

That method was how the Holy Empire had secured its safety.

But then—

“One day, all contact was lost at once from every fortress near the border.”

“...?”

“It was only later that we realized it. ...That Isabella had led her bloodline in an invasion of the Empire.”

The Holy Empire, which had seemed peaceful.

That was where Isabella began rampaging in her invasion.

He said she had invaded the Empire at incredible speed, displaying such cruelty that she earned the name Isabella the Mad.

“The Empire resisted with all its strength.”

The priests of the Holy Empire were fully mobilized.

Every priest scattered across the nations was called back.

Support troops were pulled in from neighboring countries as much as possible, and even bloodsucker hunters and anti-demon warrior monks from all over the world were gathered in one place.

Over every fortress, a great sun rose.

And countless warriors met the invading bloodline with weapons blazing with golden radiance.

But.

The result was....

“It was only after enduring that invasion that I realized it. That the reason my homeland could boast of being safe despite bordering the lands of those vampires... was only because that Isabella had been going easy on us.”

I remembered what Ariella had said.

She had spoken as if Isabella stood out even among the other Grand Dukes.

If that was true—

“Then why did she launch the invasion?”

“I do not know the exact reason myself... but there was a rumor.”

“A rumor?”

One day, a warrior came to the Empire.

No one knew what had happened to him, but he had lost both eyes and even had an arm severed, a crippled body.

He had once been a mercenary of some renown, but after retiring, he had headed to a border village with his family, looking for a place to live.

“He said that there, Isabella had taken his family from him. And... that he had come seeking a way to take revenge.”

The Empire gladly accepted him.

Becoming a holy knight or a bloodsucker hunter was never easy.

If someone stepped up and said they would willingly take on that hardship, that was something to be grateful for.

But.

That man’s obsession surpassed all imagination.

“He grew strong far too quickly. At a certain point, he had even surpassed me.”

And then.

After gaining power at a terrifying rate, he gathered followers around himself and formed an order of knights.

From time to time, he would go hunting deep inside Isabella’s territory.

“He took the heads of many nobles... and the Empire rejoiced.”

It was an age when all free people feared those vampires.

So when a hero was born who could even cut down nobles, beings no different from ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) the vampires’ generals, everyone praised his feats.

“It was only later that a rumor spread.”

But.

He had not cut off every noble’s head.

“A rumor that he had spared one noble and brought it back alive.”

“...?”

“A lower noble, one who would not have been difficult to kill if he had wanted to... and yet he deliberately sealed it away and brought it into the Empire’s territory.”

In the case of vampires who had committed especially grave sins, there had once been a punishment where death itself was considered mercy, so they were sealed inside a coffin and left to suffer for the rest of their lives.

A practice from long ago that had disappeared.

An art of the old fanatics.

“Isabella searched for the coffin that noble had been sealed in. But... the man who had performed the sealing had already vanished before the invasion began.”

“......”

“Not just vampires, but figures from the Empire as well searched for that coffin, but no matter where it had been hidden... in the end, they never found it.”

And so.

Having failed to achieve her objective, an enraged Isabella continued leading her bloodline in trampling human lands.

And in the end—

“My homeland was destroyed that way.”

The Empire, one of the greatest nations of mankind, was crushed so miserably like that.

***

“After that, there were signs that Isabella intended to keep searching for that coffin by invading other human nations as well. It was only after all the nations of mankind, feeling a sense of crisis, united their armies and launched a campaign that... they finally succeeded in putting down Isabella the Mad.”

“......”

After hearing all that, I thought,

‘According to Ariella... Isabella was supposed to be a pretty wise figure.’

And yet.

Not only had she recklessly invaded a nation called the Empire, but when even that wasn’t enough, she tried to destroy other nations too, and in the end wound up being put down.

‘...That coffin.’

There was no way my thoughts wouldn’t deepen when it came to that coffin she had been searching for.

“...They succeeded in putting down Isabella, but that battle left humanity far too weakened.”

While my attention was on that, Karhin kept speaking.

Isabella had invaded the Empire in search of something.

Because of that invasion, the Empire fell, and mankind’s power was greatly weakened.

“I somehow survived and led the Empire’s survivors, but... one day, we were invaded by the Neferat Bloodline.”

Unlike the comparatively moderate Isabella, the other vampires did not miss that opening.

“That was how I was captured by my lord and became one of the lord’s retainers.”

That.

Was how he had become a vampire.

“...So you hate vampires.”

A guy who had probably held quite a high position in that Empire.

His whole life had been destroyed.

So I had assumed he must be filled with a great deal of rage, but—

“I was not, at the time.”

“...?”

Unexpectedly, that didn’t seem to be the case at all.

“It seems that changing species brings about a greater transformation than one would think. Until then, I had been overflowing with rage.... But after becoming this body, rather than anger, I found myself filled only with loyalty toward my lord.”

“......”

“For thousands of years after that, it was a very fulfilling time. I served my lord with devotion.”

After saying that much, he looked at me, then spoke with a strange smile.

“Did you know?”

“Hm?”

“The talents of living beings exist in more directions than one might think. Back when I was human, I had made a decent name for myself as a holy knight... but after becoming a noble, talents I never knew I possessed began to bloom.”

At that, I remembered one of the lines that had appeared in his status window.

[A prestigious great noble of the night who once served as captain of the guard to Grand Duke Kirchhoff, the head of the Neferat Bloodline.]

This guy had once served as captain of the guard to the Neferat Grand Duke.

Just from that, it was obviously no low position.

And besides—

[As a direct retainer of the Grand Duke, he earned high merit and was raised to nobility. With his abilities, he reached the domain of the great nobles and came to be regarded as a living legend of the Neferat Bloodline.]

“My lord noticed those talents of mine and granted me a title I hardly deserved.”

He had gained even the rank of great noble—[Marquis]—through that ability.

He must have been outstanding even as a human.

But this guy’s talent as a vampire had been even greater.

Still.

After hearing all that, one question naturally came to mind.

“So your resentment toward vampires isn’t actually all that great.”

If that was the case, then why—

“Why are you... fighting against vampires?”

From what I had seen, this guy was hostile toward vampires.

If it wasn’t hatred toward the species that had ruined him, then why was he siding with humans and opposing those vampires?

That part still hadn’t been explained.

“You are mistaken about something.”

“Hm?”

“I am not hostile to vampires. I merely... hate that greedy Valarak and its retainers.”

“...Why?”

“How could it be otherwise?”

And then—

“I once served, however briefly, as captain of my lord’s guard. To me, my lord was like a father, and my bloodline was like family. And yet....”

The answer to my question turned out to be far simpler than I expected.

“How could I not hate the one who drove that bloodline to ruin?”

“...What?”