Taming My Vampire Servant

"Zeny… How did you meet this man?" the brown-haired man pointed at Sigmund.

The Vampire raised his brow, "I believe that is none of your business, sir."

"You… You haven't changed a bit," he muttered, then looked away.

Although he said it almost inaudibly, Sigmund heard it because of his heightened hearing. He wondered who the man was, and why he looked terrified when he saw him. Perhaps he knew about his past?

"Can I talk to you?" He told the bearded man, "If you knew me in the past, then I have a lot of questions."

"I do not think you're in the position to ask me anything," he said curtly. The man then faced Zen as he pointed at Lycus, "Zeny, I believe that this silver-haired man can protect you at all costs. You should choose your companions carefully.... Well then, I'm afraid I have to take my leave."

"Ah, yes sir, it is very nice to meet you!" Zen waved his hand, and the three of them watched him exit the door.

"Zen, you should not talk to strangers," Sigmund told him, "What did he tell you?"

"He said he knew my parents."

"And you believed him?" Sigmund raised his brow.

"He said he knows my cousin Levian. He said he met him in his dreams, too."

Lycus finally spoke after assessing the situation, "I have a hunch on who he might be," he then lowered his voice, after making sure that no one was near them, "He must be a Silverblade."

"Hmm… That is possible, indeed. He even had the same hair and eyes as him."

"A relative… Then, I should go after him!" Zen suddenly ran towards the exit. Lycus said that he would come after him, and so he requested Sigmund to  let Ivory know of the situation.

Sigmund briskly walked towards his beloved Master, who was munching the grilled pork he served her earlier. He then whispered to her about Zen meeting a man whom they had a hunch was a Silverblade, and that he went after him. 

Although he told her that Lycus was already going after him, Ivory still couldn't help but worry. She told Anne that she would be going out for a while to check up on some things.

"I will look after the kids. Go on, take your time," her foster mother said.

Noticing the expression on Ivory's face, Lucius followed them.

Meanwhile, the bearded man was at an isolated part of the Goldwine mansion. In front of him was a woman in a dark green lined cape with a neck hook and train. 

Zen, who successfully followed him, hid behind the wall. Unfortunately, he couldn't see the woman's face due to the hood. He listened to their conversation.

"Darius sometimes does some troublesome things," the woman said, "This is why I couldn't forgive him. There are some things that he thought would be good for me, but in reality, those things only brought me worry."

"I believe he only did those things because he loves you, Miss Diana."

"Sir Rheolous, his love is too much for me to bear," she then glanced at the pocket watch she was holding. "I need to go now, or else his guards will notice my departure. Thank you for helping me escape."

As he watched her ride the coach, he asked, "But how about your daughter? Aren't you going to see her?"

A lonely smile appeared on Diana's face, "Her safety is my priority. Now that the Silverblade heir has decided to fight for the throne, I need to meet the Werewolves as soon as possible."

Rheolous then closed the carriage and watched it disappear from his sight. He was shocked when all of a sudden, Sigmund came jumping from the roof!

"Don't hurt him! He's my relative!" Zen came running from behind the wall.

"Don't butt in, Zen," the Vampire's eyes glowed, and Zen stepped back, frightened. As he held Rheolous' wrists behind his back, he asked, "Who was that woman? I heard… she went to meet the Werewolves." He only heard her say that she needed to meet the Werewolves but he had not heard everything.

"You Vampire… I thought you are harmless now and that you've already changed. I couldn't believe I had been fooled a while ago in the hall," the bearded man  struggled to be freed from his grip.

"I repeat. Answer me straight to the point. Who was that woman-"

"You couldn't even recognize her voice? What happened to you?" Rheolous uttered, "Or maybe, you're just pretending. I can't think of any reason why you couldn't recognize me, because I am one of the Silverblades that you tried to kill with your bloody sword!"

With that, Sigmund loosened his grip. He was stunned, not knowing what the man meant. As far as he knew, he never killed or tried to kill anyone, twenty-one years ago. What he did remember though, was that he made them sleep. Why would he use a sword, when magic was his specialty?

The bearded man was saying the same thing as Principal Zwain Arthurdane, who saw him in person!

"What did you say, sir?" Ivory slowly approached him. "Sigmund tried to kill you?"

As soon as he set his eyes on her, Rheolous turned silent. The bright moon reflected in Ivory's light blue irises, and her simple, yet elegant gown made her look like a deity. 

"You are close with this insolent Vampire?" he questioned. "He's very dangerous, so why-"

"He's my Servant."

Hearing this, Rheolous felt his knees weaken. He sat on the ground, giving a short laugh, which was then followed by a frown, "How tricky. Looks like the Goddess has her own plans."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"That Vampire… he's the past Servant of-"

"Sir Rheolous!" Lucius came rushing towards him when he saw him sitting on the ground. He said, "I apologize. Did this man hurt you?"

"It's alright. I've known for so long that he could hurt anyone," Rheolous glared at the Vampire, and he stood up with Lucius' help.

"I am innocent!" Sigmund exclaimed. He then turned to Ivory, cupped her chin and forced her to look at him, "Ivory, you do not believe this man, right?"

Ivory could feel how frustrated her Vampire Servant was. She touched his hand and placed it on her cheeks. While looking directly in his eyes, she told him, "Of course, I trust you, Sigmund."

Her words made him calm down, and his eyes stopped glowing.

"I can't understand anything," Zen told them. Confusion was evident in his face. Was the man whom he was calling 'father' back in Topazeon the one who killed his family? He glared at Sigmund, and tears started to form in his eyes.

"Do not misunderstand, Zen. Something's amiss! I can't remember some details from the past!"

"Zeny, you should stay with me from now on," Rheolous advised. He then offered a hand, "Let me introduce myself formally. I am Rheolous Silverblade. I am your father's brother."

"You're my uncle?" there was a hint of excitement in Zen's voice.

"That's right," he gave him a kind smile as they shook hands. 

"I think it will be better for Zen to stay with him," Lucius suggested. "Zen has already lost his trust in Sigmund, and it will not be good for him to stay with the Sprucemints anymore."

Zen furrowed his brows as he glanced at Sigmund. A part of him wanted to think that he was just framed, but Rheolous' words kept on repeating in his mind. But how could he tolerate his presence and smile at the man who was suspected in harming the Silverblades? 

"I will come with my uncle. I apologize," he lowered his head in front of Ivory.

"Don't apologize, okay? It's not your fault," Ivory patted Zen's back as she hugged him, then whispered, "As someone who took you out from the shadows of your fake parents, please grant me a wish. Give Sigmund a chance to prove his innocence."

Zen slowly pulled away from her when Rheolous' carriage suddenly came, and instead of giving her a reply, he gave a deep sigh and displayed a subtle smile from his face. He walked towards Rheoulous, who was already waiting for him at the coach's door.

"When you were little, you almost never left your father's library. Back then, Prince Levian would visit you sometimes and listen to your stories," he asked him as he recalled the sweet little memories of them as kids. "Zeny, do you still like reading?" and he gave a nod in response. He then told him that he also had a library in his home, and hearing this, Zen immediately rode the carriage.

Ivory noticed Sigmund's face; his eyebrows still furrowed, and he stared at Rheolous' carriage. She decided to excuse themselves, as she needed to calm him down. Together with Lycus, the three of them left the area.

As soon as they were out of sight, Lucius made sure to put a sound barrier, before asking Rheolous, "Where is my mother?"

"She decided to leave… She might not return for quite a long time."