Taming My Vampire Servant

They agreed to meet Lycus in the secret pathway, while Ivory and the others planned to directly infiltrate the mountain where the castlemen previously mined the special black gemstones.

Ivory, Lucius, and Sigmund set up a bonfire in front of that mountain. As they sat down and gazed at the blazing fire, they talked about what they'd do inside.

"It's quite unusual that there are no knights here," Lucius opened up. "It seems like they're not worried about the black gemstones at all. I remembered what Gerhalt told me before. The locals considered it as stones with no value because they looked like coal."

"Those without Dark Mana cannot find it," Ivory said. She sighed as she remembered those helpless people infested by Dark Mana who were mining during wintertime. 

"Do you really have Dark Mana in your normal mana? Have you figured out why?"

She replied to her brother, "I do not know why.. But it is true. Sigmund sensed it." 

"I did sense it, and I am sure," the Vampire said. "I am a flawed Servant, and I think consuming Dark Mana has something to do with it."

"As long as the mana doesn't harm you both, we can set it aside for now. Let's seek help from our Educators when we come back and help you both solve that problem. Now… let's proceed with our plan."

Sigmund said, "Our goal tonight is to know how vast the mine is inside. We need to know how many black gemstones we're going to destroy."

Lucius and Ivory nodded at him.

He continued, "Since we only have Ivory and Lycus with the extraordinary mana, they're the only ones who can cleanse. Thus, they will do it every night, little by little. Hopefully, at the end of autumn or before winter comes, we're done by then."

"That might work," Lucius uttered. "I just hope that there are no changes in assignments or that no one would suspect or catch us doing something inside the cave."

"It's nearly an hour since we parted with Lycus. Maybe he's near the excavation area. Let's go now."

Ivory put out the bonfire and walked with the two men towards the cave. At first, the cave seemed to be like the others, but as they went further, the  space got narrower. The walls were formed with black basalt columns, while the ceiling had a honeycomb arch. The cave floor became darker in color, too.

They all looked carefully if there were any red glowing rocks around, but there were none. They guessed that the location of the black gemstones was further than they expected.

They followed the rails inside, and in fifteen more minutes, they reached a certain portion. They stopped their tracks and were distracted with the pungent, rotten smell. 

But in that part of the cave, there were glowing red stones embedded in huge boulders and rocks. As Ivory and Sigmund came nearer, it shone more brightly.

A sudden cracking sound was heard, and the three of them looked behind. Above that area was the hidden tunnel where they used to watch the Dark Mana-possessed miners in the past. Lycus broke the wall of the tunnel where he was hiding in and jumped down to where his Master and his companions were.

"There you are," Ivory said, then pulled his arm. "Let's start cleansing some rocks."

Lycus and Ivory took a white chalk from their pockets and drew a circle around the boulder. Then, within that circle, Ivory drew a magic symbol on the ground. Lycus did the same to another boulder.

"Are you ready, Lycus?" she asked her second Servant.

"Yes, Master."

As soon as Lucius and Sigmund moved back, Ivory and Lycus started their incantations. The magic circle glowed, and just like the usual cleansing ritual, black smoke came out. 

It seemed easy at first, but both of them took a lot of time in cleansing the boulders. It might be because the thick rock had a lot of black gemstones within it. Now that they knew how tedious it was, they knew they could only cleanse two huge boulders per night!

When there was no more smoke coming out, they stopped the cleansing ritual. Ivory panted, as a lot of her Silverblade mana was used. Lycus was also in the same situation, but he could manage it better because he's not human.

Sigmund carried Ivory like a princess and walked out of the cave. Lycus went back up to the broken tunnel, while Lucius repaired it by closing it once again using Earth magic, like nothing happened. 

Now that Ivory and Sigmund were out, the black gemstones stopped glowing, and the cave seemed like there was nothing unusual in it. Lucius had always wondered how much did his mother Diana know about the Unholy Mana she spoke of. Perhaps, she also knew a way to remove the Dark Mana mixed with Ivory's normal mana.

When Ivory woke up, it was already morning. She rose up and saw Lycus standing by the window, "Lycus! I apologize, I slept for too long."

"It's okay, Master. I understand. It seemed like the boulders were packed with too much Dark Mana."

"Come here, I will replenish your mana."

Lycus quickly knelt beside the bed, and he took Ivory's hand. He sniffed her palm like a dog, "You smell really nice, Master."

"Thank you-"

"Oi, I heard that!" the jealous Sigmund suddenly barged in, "I didn't know you were a sneaky one, Lycus."

"Sigmund! Don't look for trouble. He is just appreciating how fragrant I am." Ivory narrowed her eyes on him. When she turned to Lycus, she asked, "Tell me, what do I smell like?"

He answered, "Master, you smell like… lilies."

Sigmund smirked, knowing that his scent had already stuck to Ivory. It made his mood change quickly!

Ivory saw her beloved's reaction and giggled. She then asked her Vampire Servant, "Have they eaten already?"

"I came to fetch you for breakfast, but you can replenish Lycus' mana quickly. I'll wait for you in the kitchen."

After transferring some of her Silverblade mana to Lycus, she went with him to the kitchen and sat beside Sigmund. While Trevor and Zen were out in the marketplace to look for some spices, Grisha and Fiora were also present to dine with them. Lucius, on the other hand, was late and he sat beside Fiora, making her blush.

As they ate chicken with pomegranate sauce and sour bread, Grisha excitedly told them about the town's long awaited annual event, "Guess what, the Summer Topaz Festival is coming soon! I am already making the dress that I'll wear for the feast. Oh, I can't wait!"

"What's the Summer Topaz Festival?" Ivory curiously asked.

She replied with a big smile, "It's a five day long celebration of Topazeon Town, thanking Goddess Destinia for bestowing us plentiful gemstones," she continued explaining and everyone listened to her as they munched their food. 

According to Grisha, on the first day, the Town Leader would gather the townspeople and deliver a speech. Then, everyone would pray for the town's continued safety and protection. Everyone would be welcomed to put stalls around town and sell goods and offer services. The selling would continue on the second day to the fourth day. On the last day, they would hold a closing ceremony in the afternoon. 

"The last night of the festival is what we, young ones, have been waiting for."

"What's on the last night?" Lucius asked.

"Well, all young men and women around town, dressed in their best attire and colorful masks, are required to join a traditional circle dance. Men are positioned on the outer circle while women are in the inner circle. The circle rotates and everyone dances, until it stops. As soon as the sounds of the drums and the lyres stop, the person in front of you is said to be the one destined for you!"

"Ivory and I won't join, we already have each other," Sigmund uttered. Ivory turned beet red, while Lucius glared at him.

"It's required according to your town's tradition, right?" Lucius asked, and upon seeing Grisha nod, he said, "Then we will all join, including Ivory. But Sigmund should stay in the inn. He will just cause trouble with his short temper."

Sigmund banged the table with his fists, shaking everything on top. "What the hell, rich boy? You really want us to get separated, huh? I refuse!"

"We're visitors in this town, so we should respect their festivities and traditions. Ivory is a young woman as well. I want to see her enjoy the feast in a nice dress. Don't you want her to enjoy the festival?"

The Vampire tried hard to control his anger so that his irises would not glow in front of Grisha and Fiora. He breathed deeply and closed his eyes. 

Ivory held his hands, which were on the table, "Sigmund… Don't worry. You are the only one in my heart."

Sigmund's ears turned red in embarrassment, as he did not expect his beloved to say these words in front of them.

But Lucius was not pleased at all. Although he temporarily allowed the two to continue their relationship, Sigmund is still a Servant, and he refused to truly accept them, especially in the future. He promised himself he'd get his sister the best dress, and force her to meet a new, human guy in the circle dance!