Taming My Vampire Servant

…

Days went on by, and because the issue about the missing scrolls was solved, they could finally focus on finding the special black gemstone. Fortunately, they already secured a secret path for them to use.

One midnight, they decided to push through their plan. It was one of the coldest nights, and so they noticed that there were fewer knights than usual. They only used their Fire magic when they got inside the womb cave. 

With very careful steps, they moved forward in a line in the narrow space to warm them up. Lycus was ahead of them to sniff what's in front, followed by Ivory, and then Lucius. Sigmund was at the back to hear if someone's coming their way. On the other hand, Volcius was in an inactive state in his Master's sling bag, ready to be used in case they'd need to face very strong knights.

They used Earth magic to fit themselves in the cave, but the truth was, they had not yet reached the very end of it. 

Sigmund and Lycus both examined the solid rock wall at the dead end. They deduced that beyond it was hollow, and they could break the rock wall to go to the other side.

"There's no one there. I am not hearing any movement," Sigmund said. 

"Then… Let's proceed," Lucius responded, and he touched the cold rock wall in front of them. Using an advanced Earth magic, he concentrated his mana onto it. After a few seconds, the wall cracked, and with one push, it shattered into pieces.

"How impressive, Rich boy," the Vampire commented. "You even focused your mana only to the part of the wall you want to break into pieces. You really have mastered mana control."

Lucius just chuckled, and he told him to stop babbling and just go forward to scout the next part of the cave. After Sigmund gave the go signal, they followed him out of the opening.

The group now traversed the part where moonlight shone through some of the holes of the cave while still using Fire magic to warm them up using their own balls of fire. They were careful not to step on the icicles as they walked through them on the floor. As they walked ahead, it seemed like that place was not yet discovered, because there were no trails found. 

Then after some time, they reached a forked path.

"I need to check first," the Vampire volunteered. He went closer to the paths. After his assessment, he pointed to the right side. "I hear people on that side, as well as hammering sounds. I think the castlemen are excavating ores there."

The group walked slowly so as not to make their footsteps echo. The path they took was dark, but light came passing through some openings at the side. When they peeked at the bottom part, which was not very far from them, there were people who were excavating ores. There was also a railway which was used to transfer the cart of excavated ores. 

They all noticed that the ores were giving off a red glow! 

"I can sense Dark Mana in these people," Sigmund mentioned. Knights who were guarding the miners had Dark Mana, contrary to those outside who did not have it.

"I knew it. There is something off about them working in winter," Lucius said. "They're being forced to work."

Suddenly, one of the miners collapsed. Sadly, no one came there to help the person! 

"I want to go there and cleanse everyone…" Ivory felt disappointed because they could only watch the people suffer.

But Lycus reacted, "Master, you shouldn't… If they learned that you have the Silv- I mean, the extraordinary mana with you, they will hunt you down..."

Lycus knew what kind of danger it might cause them if the people from the castle learned of their abilities. They deduced that it might be the real reason why King Yama wanted the banishment of the Werewolf clan - because he knew that it's their holy magic that could cleanse the Dark Mana. 

Ivory was bestowed with a Silverblade's mana, and she needed to be responsible. She promised in front of Wolfram, the late king's Servant, that in the name of Goddess Destinia, that she would find the real heir to the throne and make him King.

The silver-haired Master would sometimes ponder on the banishment of the Vampire Class Servants as well. It might be because Vampires could know the nature of one's mana. They could even know if the mana is impure or had traces of Dark Mana.

Both Servant Classes, if not banished, would immediately know whether something was wrong. Therefore, the scattering of Dark Mana gemstones might have been previously planned by them!

But why only now? Why did they not spread the Dark Mana before? It was something that they did not know yet.

Deciding that they could not do anything for now, they all walked away from that path. They decided to explore the left side, but at the end of that path was a dead end. 

Ivory and the others walked back to where they came from, and decided to return to their secret pathway. To be safe, Lucius sealed back the wall he broke using Earth magic. They walked in a line once again, and they successfully made it out safely.

The moon's reflection could be seen on the sea, and Ivory glanced at it as they walked. She felt quite at peace just by seeing it. Lycus noticed this, and he smiled. His Master really loved moon gazing, and he promised himself, he would bring her out sometimes to make her feel better.

They went back to Precious Inn and caught Fiora sleeping on the receptionist's desk. They walked slowly, careful not to wake her up.

When Ivory returned to her room, she rested for a while, and asked Lycus to prepare the large barrel for her.  The Servant went inside the bathroom and filled the wooden wine barrel with lukewarm water. He also set the shampoo, soap, and towels on the low wooden table placed beside the barrel. 

When it was done, Ivory first took off her dirty coat and brown leather pants, as well as her brown winter tunic. Afterwards, she finally removed her undergarments, then soaked herself in the lukewarm water.

She let out a long sigh as she let her body relax. 'What a night,' she thought. 

When she washed her face, she felt a subtle itch on her head.

"Lycus!" she called. "Come here for a while."

Lycus, who was standing outside the bathroom, immediately went in. "How can I serve you, Master?"

"Can you help me with my hair? It felt itchy… Must be some dirt from the cave," she gave him an herbal shampoo, which she brought from Greensteid. It smelled like pines and grass with a mixture of the sweet scent of cinnamon. It was specially formulated by her foster mother Anne.

"Yes, Master," he opened the container which was a small round wooden box. He scooped plenty of its green cream-like content and lathered the shampoo in his hands. He started shampooing the top of her head, and with his slender fingers, he combed her soft hair until its ends. He repeated combing the strands of her silver hair with his fingers to make sure the dirt would come off before massaging her scalp.

Ivory felt her body relax a little. The stress of being away from Sigmund, plus the stress of being able to witness the harsh treatment of the miners from the castle made her feel disheartened.

"Lycus," she uttered. "Thank you…"

"It is my duty as your Servant. Please do not hesitate to tell me anything," he smiled at her. "Should I continue, Master?"

"Please do," and she thanked her second Servant. Lycus accidentally hit her ear as he was combing her hair with his hands, and it made her flinch in pain.

"Apologies!" he said in a panic.

"No, it's alright, Lycus," she lightly touched her ear as she spoke to him, "My earlobes have been quite sensitive lately. I think there's a wound or something, but I couldn't heal it myself. Can you check what it is?" Ivory requested when she looked at him.

Lycus moved her hair to the other side, exposing her ear. At the front, it seemed normal, but at the back, it was swollen!

When Ivory heard it from him, she just said, "It must be the cold weather. I hope it eases after the winter season," she sighed. She scooped water using her palms and stared at it. 

She already missed Sigmund; she missed him washing her hair and massaging her scalp. Sometimes, he would even put bubbles on her nose, and she'd splash water on him jokingly. His clothes would sometimes get wet from the splashing, and as a response he'd pinch her cheeks!

Oh how she definitely missed those moments! 

"I wonder… when will my winter end?"

Not knowing what she meant by it, "Soon, it will be spring," he mentioned as he washed her hair. "Let's take a walk once it arrives."

Ivory just nodded at him as she stared blankly at her reflection in the water. She'd like to take a walk with her second Servant, but deep inside of her, what she wished for the most was to walk alongside her Vampire Servant as a lover, while watching the blooming of pretty and colorful flowers as well as the flowering trees. 

She did not know if she could enjoy viewing the beauty of the season without Sigmund by her side.