Taming My Vampire Servant

Lucius was puzzled with her sudden question at first. "Of course," he uttered. But he knew at some point, the curious Fiora might have misinterpreted his care for his own sister. To avoid being misinterpreted further, he clarified, "She's my sister."

As if a thorn that was stuck at her heart was removed, she sighed in relief. "A sister… Apologies, I didn't know."

"It's alright. Even Ivory didn't know about it," he gave a lonely smile.

"Eh? But why?"

"I will tell her at the right time, so Miss Fiora… this is our secret. Please do not tell anyone."

Fiora smiled widely at him, "Yes! It's our secret!" she then placed her index finger on her lips. She was pleased that she and the man he likes have some sort of a little secret which made her feel special.

Lucius went back to Ivory's room and brought in two plates because he wanted to eat with her. He placed them on the wooden table beside the window, then approached Ivory, who was under the covers.

"Ivory, you need to eat," he told her in a kind tone, "You have to build your stamina and-"

"No…" she uttered. Lucius tried to take the blanket off of her, but she held it very tightly. "Leave me alone! I don't want to eat, and I don't want to talk to you!"

"Ivory, no!!!" he pulled the blanket from her as hard as he could, exposing Ivory's swollen eyes and her body curled up. "Don't do this! You're making us all worried!"

She sat up and faced him. "That's easy for you to say because you're not the one who made a choice!" her tears started gushing out like waterfalls, "If I could turn back time, I'd be honest with him…"

"It's too late now, Ivory. I hate to say this, but you should stop being dramatic… Vernon is your lover now, give him a chance-"

"Lucius! I know you care for me as a friend, but you're going overboard! Don't you want me to be happy?"

"I want you to be happy, but I don't want you to be punished by the Goddess-"

"Why do you care too much!? You've changed!"

"I never changed! I am still the same Lucius you've met on our first day at Qawiun Academy, and I am just doing this for your sake!" he sighed, "Listen, Ivory. We've already talked about this, but loving your own Servant is a very serious matter! It's forbidden!"

Ivory knew he's right. It's forbidden, but how could she unlove him? 

"Lycus, eat my share of food and eat with your Master. I will… rest in my room."

As soon as Lucius stepped out of the room, Lycus approached his Master and asked, "Master… Do you want me to bring Sigmund back?"

Finally, his Master stopped crying. Lycus kneeled on the floor and gazed at Ivory's light-blue irises, "Master, I… only want you to be happy. Tell me if you want me to-"

"Lycus… Thank you for being here with me…" she wiped her tears and hugged him, "Everyone is against me loving Sigmund… I feel like I want to disappear… I regret everything..."

"Master… Even if everyone else turns their back on you because of this, I will never leave you. I swear."

Ivory was touched by her second Servant's promise. She remembered that Sigmund had the same promise before, and as she recalled that scene, it made her even more heartbroken.

She expected Lucius to be her supporter in her complicated love story, but did not expect him to be too against it. She wondered what was going through his mind and why he acted too protective of her. 

After she calmed down, Lycus fed her carefully with the potatoes that Fiora cooked. Ivory told Lycus that he didn't have to leave her to find Sigmund, because she needed him most by her side. 

Slowly regaining her lost energy for not eating the whole day, she told Lycus that she's going to the bathroom, and so he assisted her until the door.

As his Master was inside, Lycus thought if supporting her love towards her Vampire Servant was alright. For sure, if her father would know about this, he would obviously be against it, but it was also not Ivory's fault that she fell in love with the stubborn yet caring Servant.

In the past months that he was with the two, Lycus observed how genuine their feelings for each other were. Sigmund was the type of man who'd say things as if he did not care, but the truth was, he was always watching over Ivory. On the other hand, Ivory would also say things as if she didn't have any feelings for him, but she'd always blush, so it's obvious that she's lying. 

Lycus knew their mutual feelings for each other, but because both knew that it's wrong, they both did not confess or admit it to anyone. They did not need to do it, though; it was obvious just by the way they gaze at each other.

However, the most mysterious thing was, why do a mere Servant have human desires? 

Aside from this, he should ask first why a Vampire Servant was summoned. Was everything happening part of the Goddess' plan?

Lycus never knew when these questions would be answered. As he waited for his Master to get out of the bathroom, he stared at the open window where stars could be seen. He hoped that wherever Ivory's beloved Servant was, he would miss Ivory just like she did and return to her side so she could be happy once again.

…

The next day, Ivory woke up early to prepare for their training. When Lucius was dressed up already and had just gotten out of his room, he was surprised to see Ivory in her full battle outfit.

"Ivory, are you alright now?" he asked, "You're still pale."

"I'm not, but… I have to attend the training."

"If you're still not feeling well, I can tell Sir Draven-"

"I said, I'm going to attend the training!" Ivory got worked up, and she did not mean to shout at her friend, "I apologize… Just let me attend the training, I want to be busy to get him off my mind…" 

She then walked on the hallway and Lycus followed her behind.

Lucius furrowed his brows, as he did not know what to feel. Yes, he wanted his sister to move on from her Servant, but he did not want her to push herself. He was worried that she'd be too busy and forget to rest. If it happened, she might get even more sick!

He immediately caught up with her. When they passed by the receptionists' desk, they greeted Gerhalt, who observed them suspiciously from afar.

Throughout the whole-day training, Ivory was taking the duels too seriously. She never took a break aside from the afternoon snacks of mashed potato. When she goes home, she goes directly to her room and takes her dinner there, asking Lucius to leave her alone. She only speaks to him whenever it's related to their training, but unlike before, she never hung out with him.

Although crestfallen, Lucius just let her be. He knew she needed to think things through since no no one else was there to help her but herself.

Vernon was also very worried about Ivory. She still visited his jewelry shop, but he always caught her staring blankly. When he asked what was wrong, she always faked a smile and said she's alright.

With the kind soul that he had, Vernon never forced her to open up with him. He felt that what she needed the most was a friend she could rely on instead of a lover. 

...

Ivory's tiring days and sleepless nights passed by quickly and she did not notice it was already the middle of spring. At that time, she and Lucius were allowed to go inside the mines to guard the local miners of Topazeon.

Their shift is around six hours everyday. Before sunrise, they hurried to the mine entrance because the protocol was to be in the area before the miners came. 

Unfortunately, Lycus was not allowed by the town guard chief, because he was listed as an academy assistant. At the entrance of the mining area, they conversed about it.

"Lycus, don't worry, I'm going to protect Ivory in your stead," Lucius said, "We'll be careful."

"Lycus… Wait for me here, okay?," Ivory told her second Servant. He nodded, and she patted his head which he liked very much.

Ivory and Lucius wore silver headgears with a metal lamp bracket in the front.

They walked further until they reached the mountain beside the one used to be mined by the castlemen during winter time. The front of the cave led to a deep tunnel of an ore shaft wherein the path was generally leveled. With the bright torches mounted on the walls serving as lights, they saw the railroad on the floor with unloaded carts. Also, since it was underground, it was damp and cold, so they had to wear thick clothing. 

Together with three other town guards, Ivory and Lucius stationed themselves in their designated areas. Lucius stood near the entrance, but Ivory was positioned farther from him. Since there were still no miners entering, Ivory sat on the cold floor of the cave. She was thinking of exploring the cave once everyone else gets distracted, unfortunately, Lucius was watching her.

In Lucius' mind, he disliked Ivory's assigned position because she's a bit further from him. He needed to watch her closely, especially that Lycus was not around. He knew that in her disturbed state of mind, she could do something very reckless that might hurt herself.

While their minds were wandering, suddenly, there were tremors felt on the ground. At first, it was a very subtle shake.

But it was followed by a strong earthquake!

While the town guards went towards the entrance, Lucius ran towards Ivory. 

Unfortunately, rocks fell off the ceiling, blocking Lucius' way. 

Without further ado, Lucius used his Earth magic to take the large rocks blocking his way. As he did, he prayed to Goddess Destinia that Ivory would be alright.

But when he successfully made his own path and removed the rocks in front of him, he was shocked when he saw no one on the other side!