I didn’t like anything about this place. The architecture was getting to me, and the repeated attempts on Leo’s life weren’t helping. If they were just attacking me, I could dislike the people. His lack of regeneration wasn’t even the main factor, just seeing him hurt makes me angry beyond belief.

Heading deeper into the estate with Simon, I just wanted to cling to him even tighter. Even though there was nothing attacking us, I wanted to be close. The fresh blood in my body was still making me think faster than normal, and I could reflect on what had happened as we went further in.

Even if the father appreciates that Simon is here, and we get through the process of killing him, are we going to be able to kill everyone here? I should have killed Edward, but I felt something for how he reacted to hearing Anna was dead. I thought to myself, shaking my head. What am I even thinking? Simon should be the one to kill him anyway, it’s not my fault if I didn’t want to do it. I only killed Anna on accident, even if I wanted to tear her apart for hurting Leo...

We finally got to an ornately decorated door and stopped. There wasn’t a lock or guards, though the hinges were faintly rusted. Simon opened one side and it let out a long creak from the slight movement. Beyond that, the room was illuminated in a large circle, though I can assume the light was too low for the two of them to see much.

At the center was a large bed with thin sheets obscuring what was lying inside of it. Even without seeing and hearing anything, I could feel the unease creep over my skin. Every instinct in my body was warning me not to go further in, but thankfully Simon went in alone this time. He left the door open a crack for us to watch, but Leo leaned against the wall as he couldn’t see anything.

“Hope this goes alright...” Leo muttered. “I know you don’t like him much, But can I trust you to try and save him if things look like they’re getting dangerous?”

“Leo, if things look like they’re dangerous, I think it would be best for us to flee. Vampires are supposed to hit a plateau of power once they hit a certain age... but something about the interior of that room makes me think otherwise.”

He uncrossed his arms and frowned at me. “Wait, you think this grandfather vampire is even stronger than he’s supposed to be? Are you sure it’s not just the lighting or something making you nervous?”

“Do you really think I’m scared of the dark?”

Leo kept from responding, which was probably the best answer. When I looked back through the crack, I could still see Simon walking further in. He was beside the bed in a few seconds, but wasn’t opening the curtain. Even though I could see his body, he was turned away from me, so I couldn’t see his expression. The curtain pulled back slowly on one side, and my hands squeezed the handle of my sword.

Simon spoke quietly enough I couldn’t hear, and then turned towards us. “Hey, both of you can come in now. Grandfather says he wants to see who I’ve brought with me.”

I looked over to Leo nervously, but he was already opening the door again. Once we were both in the room, I got in front of him for protection. Even if it felt like every muscle in my body was pulling away, I had to protect Leo.

Why is he so determined to do what Simon asks? Must be the same reason he wanted to help me when we first met. I wish we met some other way, and that me and him could just stay in his cabin forever. I thought to myself, my muscles relaxing as I stayed inside my thoughts. Staying with Leo forever... never even leaving the cabin, except maybe to feed me and him... side by side...

I tripped on the step up to the platform the bed rested on, forcing me back to reality. My hands broke my fall easily, but as I was bent over, the wind from my fall shook the blanket slightly. From the shimmering cloth, I got my first sight of the old vampire. Unlike the others I’d seen in my life, his skin was wrinkled and dark. If it weren’t for the fear, I might even think he wasn’t undead at all.

“Ah, I think I’ve heard of you...” the old man spoke in a smooth, quiet voice. “You’re that girl from the woods, correct? I believe your name is Senna?”

“Y-Yes, that’s me.” I answered, rising to my feet.

“A shame what happened to your family, little one. The Godwins simply feared your family’s rise to power, I’m sure. Eternal life gives way to paranoia, you know. Those with immortal blood have keen senses for danger.” He responded, pushing himself up to a better seated position on the bed. “Even if that saves us, it can warp the mind. Such as right now, I’ve got quite the anxious feeling coming over me. Strange, isn’t it?”

I narrowed my eyes, and could practically hear the rising pulses of Leo and Simon beside me. Unlike them, I was only more curious about him. Stepping entirely onto the platform, I pulled the curtains back even more and looked over his body.

He was emaciated, clearly, but the loose skin on his body wasn’t as worn as it would be on a normal elderly person. The more I looked, the more unnatural he looked as both a mortal and as a vampire. When I finally brought my eyes back up to his, he was giving me an affectionate smile. A chill ran over my spine when I saw it, and I immediately knew something more was going on here. I moved back to Leo’s side and gripped his arm, just barely avoiding hurting him with my panicked grip.

“Senna?” He asked me as I clung to his side.

“There’s something off about him, Leo...” I said in a low voice, keeping him close. “We should get out of here now.”

“I’m not sure you should speak so brazenly about the master of the house, Senna.” Simon told me before turning to his grandfather. “Apologies for that. She’s been isolated from society for a few decades, she doesn’t exactly have the best manners.”

The old man pushed himself further up on his bed and leaned onto his knees, staring at me. His eyes were a piercing shade of green, like a much brighter version of Simon’s. The longer he looked, the more my fingers dug into Leo’s arm. Even if I was hurting him, he didn’t tell me to stop. I looked away just for a second, and saw the door had closed at some point since we came back in, yet I somehow hadn’t heard it.

When I looked back, the old man was getting out of the bed. After straining himself, he covered his mouth with one hand and muffled a heavy series of coughs. With his other hand, he reached for Simon. He took his grandfather’s offered hand while he smiled at me. For a second, I remembered when Simon had forced my hand into the sunlight. My mouth opened to warn him but it was already too late.

Simon was forced by the wrist down onto the mattress with a blinding speed, and I could tell his arm had been dislocated by the gesture. Before he could scream out in pain, his grandfather pulled the hand from his mouth and shoved it against his own. I just barely caught a flash of it and figured out what had happened. The grandfather bit his hand when he faked the cough, opening a wound to drip blood into Simon’s mouth. At the same time, he was biting down on the wrist of the dislocated arm.

“Hey, what’re you-!” Leo started to demand, but I yanked him back.

“We’ve got to leave, now!”

The both of us raced towards the door. Even as we ran, Leo kept glancing back as the old man fed on Simon.

Must’ve known all along what Simon was planning. No way he could react faster than him. We need to get out of here before sunrise and head to our cabin for the day. If we can get back, we can possibly save him, but I need to keep Leo safe. Even if I have to lock him inside of there for awhile, I won’t let him get in trouble like this again.

Right as we reached the door, I yanked it open and pushed Leo in ahead of me while I gave my own first look back. The elder had pulled his hand away from Simon’s wrist, and was already turning towards us. Before Leo got far out of the door, he came to a sudden halt, followed by a gasping breath. I snapped my attention towards him, only to find a spear lodged in his left shoulder.

On the other side of the door was the eldest Ainz brother, whose face twisted in confusion. He yanked the spear free and took a few steps back. While I wanted to snap his neck right away, I had to hold Leo and pull him against me. Blood poured out of the wound.

Is he going to die? He can’t die, he can’t. I’m supposed to keep him safe and get him back to the cabin! There’s got to be something I can do! Have to stop the bleeding, have to make him better. Please don’t die, please don’t die, please don’t-

“Damn fool of a son, you were only supposed to kill him if it was the grandson that left! Killing that mortal is just a waste of blood.” Came the voice of the old man, walking towards us.

“Sorry, I heard running towards the door as soon as I got back. Didn’t think the other two would leave first.” He answered, leaning on his weapon as he stared at me. “What’re we going to do now? Turn them into vapors in the storeroom?”

“No, doesn’t look like there will be much of a chance.” He answered him before crouching down beside me as I tried to patch the wound. “You might be new to this thing, girl, but you know that you could just let him drink your blood a little and he’d heal it as fast as you would, right?”

I shot him a glare, but lifted Leo’s head up. He was gritting his teeth, but opened one eye to look up at me. My heart felt like it was breaking as panic set in deeper. Thinking about him dying was making me cry already, and Leo could only squeeze my shoulder to try and calm me down.

“R-Relax...” He said with some difficulty. “Gonna... gonna be fine...”

“He already let me feed on him not long ago, I don’t want him to become a vampire like me if he doesn’t want to!” I said, pressing the cloth on his wound down tighter and glaring up at the old man. “Just stay away from us!”

The old man crouched down and raised one hand. “Relax, we never intended to kill your little pet. If you don’t turn him, he’s definitely going to die. Maybe not from the blood loss, but some sort of sickness has probably seeped into that wound there.” He brought his hand to his chin and stroked it. “But... I know of a way to patch that wound and harden his body a bit. I’m only offering it because I’m trying to be a pleasant host, and I know my grandson dragged you both into this ordeal.”

I didn’t give him an answer, nor would I if I had one. There was no reason to trust him on this, but I was out of options. Leo’s heart was beating slower by the second. It took a few endless moments to realize it, but I eventually nodded.

Even if it’s a trick, and I die from this, I wouldn’t mind dying with someone like Leo. If I can just hold him tight, I could fade away happily. I thought to myself, squeezing him gently as I fell to a sitting position.

My eyes shut tight and he started to cast some kind of spell, but I didn’t understand any of the words. It felt unnaturally sinister, probably the same magic that ruined his eternal youth. As he placed one hand on my skin, I was shocked at how warm it was, even for someone who had just fed. The fingers on my skin slowly got hotter and hotter, until it felt like a red iron was wrapped around my arm.

I grit my teeth and kept holding onto Leo, but opened my eyes to see what was happening. There were no flames visible, even in the darkness of the room. As I looked closer, I noticed there was small vibrations rising off of the skin that hurt, as if gas was escaping it. My vision turned to Leo and the pain almost immediately went away.

His wounds were closing, and the steady rhythm of life flowed back into him. My vision got blurry and I felt sick from the heat, but Leo’s sleeping face made me stay awake through all of it. When the old man finished, the pain suddenly washed away at once and I shuddered in shock.

“Go, before the sun rises. He should awake feeling better than ever.” He told me.

I stood on my feet, but Leo seemed heavier than before. With shaking steps, I walked slowly out of the estate and all the way back to the cabin. My eyes didn’t wander much, except for around Leo, and when I had to descend from their home. It felt like a dream, my wrecked body not even glancing at where I’d been hurt for a second. I gently laid him down on the bed.

Before I pulled the sheets back, I took off the burned remnants of my clothes and climbed into bed with him. My head rested on his chest, listening to the soft beating inside. I had to cover myself entirely with the blanket, but his was large enough that it was easy to do. Wrapped around him, I let myself fall into a deep sleep.

Whatever price I paid is worth it, just for this...