Taming My Vampire Servant

"Sigmund!" Ivory glared at him. The jeweler might get the wrong idea!

"Ah, you have a pretty lover, Sig," Vernon said. "But the couple ring…" 

She explained to Vernon, worried about what he might think, "No, he's my Servant. He's not my lover. Okay?"

"A Serv… What!" he exclaimed. "You are a Servant?"

"Fine. Yes, I am," the Vampire said in a stern voice. "And what if I am a Servant?"

"Cool… That is so cool!" Vernon said excitedly. He had not yet conversed with a Servant, who looked very human. All the Servants he had met were either of the Golem or Beast Class, who belonged to some of his past neighbors.

Sigmund facepalmed with Vernon's reaction. He couldn't find a reason to hate the guy; he's too pure.

"By the way, Sigmund, I already returned the rings, so you do not have a debt anymore."

He did not respond to his Master, but when he noticed the emerald ring on her middle finger, he widened his eyes in shock. She returned the couple rings that were supposed to be for them, but now, she was already wearing a new ring?  He couldn't help but say, "So you traded the two rings for one ring?"

"Ah, this…" 

"It was a gift from me, Sig," Vernon said with a wide smile. "I gave it to her because she was there for more than two hours just to watch me create that ring."

"So you were just with him all along, huh?" the jealous Servant asked his Master.

Ivory whispered, "I'll explain later."

Sigmund then told Vernon that he would wash the cloak he borrowed from him before returning it. The young man said that he would give the cloak to him as a gift, so that it would be fair, because he gave a gift to his Master. They then bid goodbye to each other and parted ways.

As Ivory and Sigmund walked on the snowy ground, they talked about the purple-haired jeweler.

"That Vernon… it's the first time I met someone like him," the Vampire uttered. 

Ivory chuckled, "He's kind, isn't he? I like his personality and character."

Sigmund saw a smile escape from her lips as she spoke about her new acquaintance. She rarely praised men, so he knew that she's interested in the jeweler. 

It pained him to see the woman he loved start liking another man. He wanted to hate Vernon, but he couldn't. He knew that Ivory would be in good hands if he'd become her lover. It's not impossible for them to be a couple. The Vampire glanced at the emerald ring that Ivory wore. If she'd somehow end up with Vernon, she'd be able to wear fine jewelry like noblewomen. 

Sigmund shook his head to get rid of the sad thoughts. What they needed to do was to find the missing scrolls, and if Vica and Othello were really behind it, he wanted the pure Vernon to know the truth.

…

The following day, Ivory visited the jewelry shop once again. Last night, Ivory and the others decided to trust the jeweler. Ivory mentioned what happened at the backdoor that night, and that she also thought that he's quite a gentleman. 

At her shop, she told Vica that she was not there for jewelry, but for her brother. At first, Vica hesitated, but then Vernon peeked at the door. He let her enter his workshop, and his sister gave them some privacy. 

"You sure it's alright if I'm here?" she asked him.

Vernon slid up his customized goggles up his head so he could show his expression, "Yes. You are very welcome here, Miss Ivory."

"Just call me Ivory," she chuckled. "Let's be casual, Vernon."

"Right. Ivory," Vernon laughed. He then brought down the hammer he had been holding since a while ago to focus on speaking with Ivory.

"By the way, I want to thank you again for the beautiful ring," she smiled at him while looking at the emerald ring on her finger. "I still couldn't believe that I'd get this for free."

Vernon walked towards her, "May I hold your hand and take a look at it?"

She peered into his eyes and nodded. The jeweler held her hand and smiled upon seeing his masterpiece on the beautiful woman's finger. "Really suits you. I'm glad you love it."

"Of course! You carefully and skillfully crafted this last night!"

Vernon couldn't help but smile from ear to ear. He still wanted to continue to chat with her, but if she went there in search of him, she might have needed something important, so he asked "What can I help you with?"

"What is it again that you want to talk about?"

"Well… I came to ask you a favor. You see, actually…"

While being cautious of Vica suddenly entering the scene, she explained discreetly why she had been visiting the jewelry shop, and it was because of the missing inventory records and the torn yellow silk cloak.

As she spoke, his brown eyes gazed at Ivory's light blue eyes. Vernon kept on nodding as he concentrated on listening to each and every word of the pretty woman he admired. Yes, he had admitted to himself that he had a crush on Ivory because he thought that she's as pretty as a magnolia flower, but he liked her even more as she helped him with her Fire magic. He knew that controlling fire was not easy for a Master, because if not properly controlled, she could burn the whole workshop. In his mind, Ivory's an admirable Master.

When Ivory revealed about Othello's unfaithfulness to his wife Mona, who's the head of the Gemstone Division, it was a great shock to him, and he refused to believe it at first. The purple-haired jeweler never thought that Othello was already married after seeing those moments he was very sweet to Vica.

Vernon only knew that Othello and Vica were secret lovers, and whenever he asked her where he met the guy, she'd just shrug. For him, their relationship was full of mysteries, but because he saw his sister happy with him, he decided not to pry. 

"So… Can you help me find the missing scrolls?" Ivory asked. 

It took a few seconds before Vernon could answer. Who would he choose, the righteous woman he admired, or his suspicious sister?

Then, being the pure person as he is, he nodded at Ivory and agreed to help her. He's going to side with what is right, "Come with me," he wore his fur coat that hung on the rack beside the door. "We're going to our house. I think I know where the scrolls are."

Without missing any minute, Ivory stood up and walked behind Vernon. The jeweler told his twin sister that he would just go out with his new friend for a short while and promised that he'd be back soon. 

Vica was a bit confused, because she did not expect her brother to have a female friend. She knew he gets easily shy around women, and she never really saw him get close to a woman aside from his relatives. She saw his gestures and the way he looked at her, and as a long time shopkeeper of a jewelry shop, she deduced that he liked the customer. As she leaned at the backrest of the wooden chair she was sitting on, she smiled at the thought that finally, her twin brother, who's the town's master jeweler, could have someone to give his exquisite jewelry to.

Soon after, Ivory and Vernon arrived at their house. Lucius was also there, as well as Sigmund and Lycus.

Vernon offered for them to come inside. The first room they searched for was Vica's bedroom, and they instantly saw a large burlap bag at the side of her desk. In addition to this, some scrolls were unrolled and placed on the desk.

Ivory and Lucius positively identified the scrolls. They found some in which they recognized were their handwritings.

On the other hand, Sigmund saw the torn yellow silk cloth hung on the rack. He compared it with the strip of torn cloth in his hand, and the size of the torned part matched. Lycus sniffed both, and the scents of the two cloth were also similar.

"Now that we've seen the missing scrolls, what's our next step?" Ivory asked. 

"Let's bring everything to the inventory office and explain the situation to Miss Mona," Lucius replied. He then asked Sigmund and Lycus to place all the unrolled scrolls in the burlap bag and carry it with them.

Because of his heightened hearing, Sigmund warned the others, "We need to hurry. I hear footsteps nearing the house?"

And so, they quickly headed out the room. The two Servants were the ones who exited first, followed by Ivory, and then Lucius. Vernon stayed to check his sister's room to make sure that nothing was left.

Unfortunately, when Ivory and her group were about to leave the house, a group of town guards blocked their way. Town guard chief Othello then stepped forward and glared at them.

"I didn't know Qawiun Academy Educators teach students how to be thieves," he said in an angry tone, "Take them away!"