Taming My Vampire Servant

Lucius and Sigmund did not notice that someone was actually behind that stone fence, it was because the guy was crouching for an unknown reason. He has long wavy purple hair which was tied in a ponytail. The guy also had downturned purple eyes and was dressed in a mauve shirt and black pants under a juniper green velvet cloak.

"Don't lean on the stone fence. It's freezing cold," his husky voice said. He hurriedly went in front of them and pointed to Sigmund, who was wearing his usual gartered pants and a plain white tunic, "You. You wear too thin. Take this," he quickly took off his thick cloak.

Sigmund did not have a chance to shoo him off because he suddenly placed the cloak on his shoulders. He and Lucius were dumbfounded by the young man's sudden kind gestures.

"May I ask… what are you doing outside? I mean… Aren't you cold yourself?" Lucius said, trying to extract information from him. He also wondered what the man was doing at the fence of Vica's house.

"I am waiting for them to finish," he uttered, looking at the window where Vica and Othello could be seen. "I won't go inside unless they're done."

"Oh, so you live there?" Sigmund inquired. 

The purple-haired man nodded. "The woman is my twin sister. She always meets her secret lover in our house," he sighed. "I don't want to hear their cheesy conversation. I am a bitter, single man who never had a lover in the nineteen years of my life."

"Do not worry too much, I am also nineteen… I'm about to turn twenty this year, though," Lucius told him. If the guy was Vica's twin brother, then he could be useful for the investigation. He talked to him, sounding friendly, "By the way, I am Lu. May I know your name?"

"Vernon."

When they heard his name, Lucius and Sigmund glanced at each other. So the name Vernon was not made up by Othello. He's a real person!

"How about you?" Vernon raised his brow at Sigmund.

"I'm... Sig," he said briefly.

"Oh, you both have short names… You can call me Ver then," he said. He right out assumed that those were their actual nicknames.

With the Vampire's heightened hearing, he suddenly heard the chair screech. He turned his head towards the window and saw Othello standing up.

Sigmund told Vernon while he nudged Lucius as a sign, "We need to go." He removed the cloak from his back, "I'll return this-"

But Vernon waved off, "Oh, do not underestimate the chilly weather! You can return it anytime… You know I live here anyway," he gave a smile. "But even though I've been living here in Topazeon, I mostly spend my time at the workshop, so I really do not know a lot of people. You know the jewelry shop beside the town guards' office? That's where you'll find me in the daytime. I am a jeweler."

"We'll visit you there, then," Lucius said with a kind smile. "Nice to meet you, Vernon."

It was a good thing that Vernon was kind and talked easily, so they learned a lot from him. And so, the two walked briskly, hoping that they wouldn't be seen by Othello and Vica. When they turned to one corner, they ran as fast as they could. Fortunately, they successfully returned to Precious Inn without being seen!

When they entered the lobby, Ivory was already standing there with her brows furrowed in worry. Lucius felt sorry since he was the one who told her to tell him such important matters concerning their safety, yet he was the one who violated that promise.

"And where have you been?" she asked, putting her hands on her waist.

"We scouted in the residential areas," Lucius uttered. When he saw Fiora staring at him and listening to their conversation, he told Ivory, "Let's have a brief meeting in my room."

Fiora stared at Lucius and Ivory's back as they walked towards the hallway. She thought that whatever they had, had nothing to do with her. She was already trying to accept that she would never have a place in the blonde young man's heart, when Sigmund suddenly uttered, "Don't give up. Give the poor single guy a love life," he chuckled, then walked past the receptionist's desk. Lycus shrugged, then followed Sigmund from behind.

Fiora thought hard about what the Servant told her. She repeated the statement in her mind over and over again. 'Give the poor single guy a love life'? It only meant one thing. Lucius and Ivory were not lovers, and she was just overthinking! That's it... She'd really pursue him and make him her lover before they leave Topazeon at the end of the year!

In Lucius' room, Sigmund was the first one who told Ivory and Lycus about what they saw in Vica's residence. He shared that Vernon was a real person, and he's actually Vica's twin brother. He also told them that the young man seemed to be a kind one.

"We will befriend him, and try to enter the house. At a time when the lady's not home," Lucius said. "I feel bad exploiting his kindness, but…"

"If he had nothing to do with the loss of the scrolls, then just ask for forgiveness once the truth is out. I'm sure he'll understand, if your judgment of his character is correct," Ivory responded. "Tomorrow, after our shift in the inventory office, I'll drop by the jewelry shop. I will try to extract more information from the shopkeeper."

…

The next day was another exhausting day for the officials of the inventory office as they still had to redo and recheck the scrolls. After their shift, Sigmund insisted on coming with Ivory to visit the jewelry shop, but of course, she assured that it would be better to come alone and that she'd be back quickly. 

And so, Ivory went to the jewelry shop and as soon as she stepped foot inside, the shopkeeper greeted her immediately. 

"Welcome- Oh, you're back! What would you like to buy?" Vica said in high spirits. Noticing that Ivory's face saddened when she saw that the couple rings were not there any more, she told her, "Ah, well, the rings were already sold."

"Ah… I guess I'm too late," she said, as if she's interested in buying it. But now that she had thought of giving up on her impossible, forbidden love for her own Servant, she felt relieved. Before she went to the store, there was a possibility that she really would buy the rings for them and continue to harbor such feelings for him. 

Just as she thought that it was the sign that they're not meant to be together since the couple rings were not there anymore, the female shopkeeper suddenly said, "Why, didn't your lover give you the ring yet?"

Ivory gave a confused look, "What do you mean?"

"Oh, your lover bought it. Please remind him that he needs to pay 100 silver coins per week-"

"What?!" she shrieked. She was totally shocked about what she told her. Aside from the hundred silver coins debt, she also mentioned, "And for the record, I have no lover!"

"Uhm the man who's been with you before is not your lover? Oh no, apologies. He really did seem like your lover," Vica explained. "I've been in this business for quite some time, and I'd know if the person cherishes the other just by the way he looks at her."

Ivory got totally distracted by what Vica told her. Why didn't Sigmund deny that they weren't lovers? If he'd continue to do that, everyone would have the wrong idea!

Deciding to set aside her real purpose of going to the jewelry store, she bid goodbye to Vica and rushed out. She did not mind the cold; she's focusing on going to Precious Inn immediately to scold her Servant. 

When Ivory got inside her room, he saw Sigmund sitting on the bed while tying his boots. The Vampire widened his eyes when he saw his Master's already back.

"Done already?" he told her, then stood up. He lightly kicked towards the floor to test if the boots were properly worn. "I'm going to head out with Rich boy. Lycus will be staying here to watch over you."

But Ivory glared at him momentarily and then walked towards Sigmund. "Please wait. Let me see what's in your pocket," she said.

"Why- Hey!" he was startled when his Master suddenly touched his pants. She started searching for something bulky in his pocket. Not yet done searching for him, she went behind him and examined his back pockets. 

It was only at the moment she touched his back pockets with her two hands that she realized that he's touching her Servant's butt!

"Are you enjoying what you're doing to my butt, Ivory?" Sigmund asked, then turned to face her, seeing her turned red as a tomato, "What are you looking for that you have to touch my body?"