Humans were supposed to be short-lived and even dispensable—and compared to other races, they did not tend to have much variety.

A Beastkin could have the form of a cat, a wolf or even as glorious as a snake or be among the lines of a Minotaur or a Centaur so when you compared it to Humans, they were awfully generic.

So why was it that Paladin—this woman whose name I distinctly remember throughout the centuries past is still alive and doing well?

My Blood Servant was explaining blessings, vitality and whatever he could procure in his limited state—and I believed none of it.

"You want me to believe that the Sun God himself has blessed an ordinary human, his… what do you call her?"

"Chosen one—"

"Chosen one... what a terribly pointed name to use." I frowned and yet it still seemed to hold a rancor in my voice. His Chosen One.

It felt anti-climatic. Even more when my Blood Servant explained the news.

"Wiped the Scourge away from the entire continent—nobody else but us, Master."

"You mean that this Paladin Order is responsible for the end of all Vampire Houses except for ours? Bullshit." I said, the word feeling just right on my tongue—which wasn't supposed to be like that—but I raged nonetheless.

"That... that is what I have learned, Master."

I sighed and fiddled with my ring. "Alright, I understand that your incompetence is once again manifested—then again, I suppose that is what the Sun God wants to be spread that they've dealt with all of us. Is there anything else worth my attention?"

"None, Master."

That was dissatisfying—but it was mostly because of the fact that my Blood Servant couldn't think or assess what was necessary. "Is there any mention of Averon Kingdom?"

"None?"

"...where exactly are you now?"

"Felkher Village, Master."

"I see—another new one. I presume that Werf Town is destroyed?"

"Plague, Master. It has taken many lives and the Solisia Church—"

"Oh, so they're still alive." I frowned. If the church still existed, I hope they at least expelled the one who kept capturing the Vampires and using them to expand his life—wait, wait. "Someone, the Paladin is still alive until today and they claim that the Vampires are all extinguished?"

"Rid of the Scourge from this continent."

"Then I guess we have another incident of Father Alaster not wanting to die—and this time, her name is Paladin Ophelia." I clicked my tongue. "Though that still leads me to ask—why hasn't exactly the other Vampire Houses have dealt with it. Or are they in on it too? Nobody has responded to my messages."

"Master..."

I realized that I was relaying all of this to my Blood Servant and stopped. While our communication line was secure—I haven't felt anybody eavesdropping on our magical conversation, which also had the added benefit of being a bond between a Master and his Servant, you couldn't exactly be sure.

"Your body is still not deteriorating is it?"

"No, Master."

"Good, good. Your next destination is Averon Kingdom."

"But—"

I frowned. "But?"

"Traveling from one place—"

"Do you not remember our agreement?" I paused then sighed, because of course, he wouldn't remember.

His mental faculties were all fucked up, a small price to pay for immortality and with the added benefit of still being completely 'human'—which was for my own benefit.

A servant who could travel in broad daylight, no matter how dumb.

You needed those.

"Besides the clothes in your chest when you had decided to live in that cave away from your people, you also have the rest of your belongings there.”

Silence answered.

“Fine, I'll let you regather your thoughts on your journey to Averon."

It was difficult to talk to him, which was why I had actually wanted him to waste away while I slept—but there was no use complaining about things that had already happened.

"Yes, Master."

"Good. I'll give you further instructions once you get there—you've dealt with anybody suspicious of you have you not? Or you've managed to perform duties without alerting anyone?"

"Yes, Master."

... you couldn't trust that. He may have looked human and may have effectively gathered information on his own, but who knew if someone still thought he was sketchy? I knew that I did.

"Alright, I suppose Felkher Village should be destroyed now that it has served its purpose. Or those who you questioned about the Paladin Order."

Another silence occurred.

Was the connection too far away now? Or something was intentionally blocking–

“Understood, Master.”

Ah, he was just being slow as usual.

“Good, I’ll leave you to it.”

I cut off the connection after that and then ended the call. There was a very obvious thing I wasn’t thinking about, doing my absolute best to not consider the thought–and yet I couldn’t help but think of it now.

When the Princess of Averon and Rose learned that I had a pretty mindless Blood Servant, whom I practically deprived of their higher-mind ability and memories to serve according to my will… their reaction was undoubtedly going to be terrible.

Which was why I didn’t know why I haven’t paraded this fact yet.

I wanted to stick with my roots–a Vampire who couldn’t care less about the plights of others. My orders now had just sentenced an entire village to its demise, my servant accomplishing it in my name.

So why wasn’t I sharing it and watching the princess’s face balk and for her friend to look at me horrified?

This would cement the fact that I did not have any heart of gold.

And yet my ears pricked at the sound of Rose’s voice.

“Ack–seastones!”

I didn’t need to go to the kitchen to realize what had happened, my compassing gaze over my domain had already allowed me to see it–but more importantly, my nose had picked up on that sweet fragrant scent.

An aroma that aroused many of my lesser kind to action.

It was her blood.