Taming My Vampire Servant

"How dare you try to kill Ivory?" Lucius started walking towards his direction. "You know that she's my good friend.

Caspian didn't expect him to interrupt, so he instantly dropped his scythe, "Sir Lucius, I… Let me explain-"

He was startled when Lucius' Golem Servant started punching the walls of ice.

"I don't have to hear your explanation," he glared at him. "I had my suspicions when you formed the ice fortress. You didn't want us to see whatever you'd do inside the stage, right?"

As Lucius interrogated Caspian, Sigmund quickly went to his Master, who was trembling in fear.

"Hey, you got us all worried…" he peered onto her face, "You're back to your usual self, but at the wrong time."

"Sigmund… I…" she sobbed, "Get me out of here… Please…"

He nodded and immediately carried her like a princess, then walked out of the stage. 

Fortunately, Sigmund had been monitoring his Master's mana since the start of their battle. When he sensed her extraordinary mana was already fluctuating, he quickly informed Lucius about it. The two of them knew that it might put Ivory's life on the line if she went back to her normal self in the middle of a duel. 

Sigmund took Ivory to the nurse's clinic and laid her on the bed. The nurse checked up on her for a while and gave her water to drink, and a thicker blanket due to her exposure to the cold.

After the nurse excused herself, telling them that she would boil hot water and prepare a warm drink for Ivory, Sigmund told his Master, "I should have battled with you," he clenched his fist. "I didn't know it was a life and death kind of duel. If I knew, I-"

Ivory held his hand, "This… this is my fault. It's because I am a weak Master," she cried.

"Look, it's not your fault. You can beat that guy into a pulp, it's just unfortunate that your mana-

"Sigmund, it's because I am unable to control my strong mana!" she hid herself into the blanket and wailed. "Why am I like this? I… I don't deserve to be your Master!"

"Ivory, calm down," Sigmund uttered, patting her side. "For now, you should rest as you've lost a lot of mana… Let's think about a solution when you're fully recovered."

Meanwhile, in the coliseum, Caspian was being scolded for what happened, and he stood in front of the principal beside his Spirit Servant. 

"I thought I said clearly that I will allow only a friendly duel, not a deadly one," Principal Arthurdane said. "I thought it would be a good class lesson for the other students to see it, but you let me down, Mr. Reagan."

"I deeply apologize, sir. I was too hasty and was carried away by my emotions. I was very disappointed that I was not selected to be part of the Crown Prince's voyage," he bowed with respect. He then turned to Lucius, who's currently replenishing his Golem Servant's mana by touching its crystal core. "Sir Lucius, I apologize to you as well."

"You should apologize to Arcea for insulting her, and Ivory for almost taking her life," Lucius responded before turning his back on him.

He's disappointed, but he also knew that what he did was wrong. He grabbed his scythe from the stoned floor, approached Arcea and said, "Apologies, Arcea Knightwing. I should have accepted Crown Prince Jirou's decision."

But Arcea suddenly sheathed her sword and pointed it to his neck, "How about you duel with me? I will prove that I deserve that spot!"

Caspian blocked her using his scythe, "I refuse. I already asked for forgiveness, and having a duel with you might put me in a more troublesome situation. Besides, I do not see you as a rival. For me, your power is only one-fourth of my ability." He smirked at her before he pushed it to the side, then walked out of the Coliseum with Educator Wallace. He was required to write a reflection letter of two scrolls long, indicating what he did wrong and what he should do, and submit it to the principal.

Moments later after the commotion had subsided, Lucius and Arcea proceeded to the clinic to check up on Ivory where they saw the nurse giving her warm herbal tea. 

When the nurse was done and had returned to her desk, Arcea quickly ran to Ivory and embraced her, "I apologize, Ivory! This is my fault!"

She patted her back, "It's not your fault… I am just a weakling, so-"

"No, it's really my fault, I am the weak one!" she pulled away, "Ivory, let me make it up to you, okay? How about I give you a hundred dresses, or a month's supply of potatoes-"

"Arcea! That's too much!" Ivory giggled. "It's alright, okay? I am alive and well."

Arcea frowned as she looked at the cuts on her friend's skin. "But you were hurt!" she paused for a while, and she suddenly remembered something. "Oh, I know! Why don't I get our food and have our lunch here in the clinic?"

They nodded at her, and after getting permission from the nurse, she quickly ran out of the room.

"Ivory, how are you feeling?" Lucius asked.

"I'm better now. I am indebted to you once again…" Ivory lowered her head. "You've been my savior since the first day of class."

"No problem at all," he responded, giving a subtle smile. "I was taught to be helpful to others..." he furrowed his eyebrows.

"Lucius? What's wrong?"

"I thought I'd lose a friend a while ago. I was so… furious."

"Aww, Lucius…" she grabbed his hand and squeezed it. "I have to be really, really strong so that you all won't get worried about me."

"If you need a sparring partner, I'd be glad to be one," he said. "But not to the extent that you'd be killed, of course."

"I'd take your offer! Thank you, you're the best!"

Sigmund interrupted them, "Hey, you should rest tomorrow. It's the weekend. No sparring."

"Ah… Yes," she sighed.

When Lucius saw her sad expression, he said, "Tomorrow, instead of sparring with me, why don't we visit my mother?"

"Yes!" Ivory exclaimed excitedly. She instantly felt at ease with Lucius, especially to his mother.. 

"By the way, I don't see Lycus anywhere. I thought that guy will guard you?" Sigmund asked Ivory. "What a useless punk."

"Lycus said he'd go today to my father to talk about things," Lycus said.

The Vampire Servant realized what it was about, "Ah, maybe he thought of greeting him? Or to extend his thanks?"

"Why, do they know each other?" Lucius asked, and Ivory glanced curiously waiting for Sigmund to answer.

"General Goldwine was the one who saved Ivory when she was a baby," Sigmund explained. "Lycus said that her life was in danger, and he helped her escape by placing her in the crate of the Sprucemint couple."

The two looked at each other, amazed about what little the world seemed. Who would have thought that Lucius' father was the one who saved Ivory's life? And as if it was fate, Lucius helped Ivory during their first day in the academy.

"Maybe that's why I already felt at ease when we first met," Ivory giggled.

Lucius chuckled, "Maybe."

Later on, Areca arrived with their share of lunch and with her fox Golem Servant, which was in its inactive state and was resting on her shoulder. After she expressed her concern for Ivory, she also sought the help of Zephie and her butterfly Nymph Servant, Metamorphus, since they were together in the Magic specialization group.

They all had lunch together in the clinic, and the nurse had asked them to look after the room as she would have her own lunch in the academy eatery.

The super friendly Metamorphus kept on bugging Sigmund to be his buddy since his Master had joined their group, but the Vampire ignored him. At the back of his mind, he disliked having too many people around Ivory, and he preferred it if they would just stay at home and read reference scrolls together.

Classes resumed in the afternoon, but Ivory was asked to go home for the day. Sigmund carried her in his arms and explained to her parents that she had a duel and that she needed rest to replenish her own mana. They went to the attic after and laid Ivory onto the bed.

"Sigmund… I hope you won't get tired of helping me…" she suddenly uttered.

"What the hell are you talking about? Just sleep and rest."

She furrowed her eyes, "Promise me, when I wake up, you'll still be by my side."

"Of course, stupid woman," Sigmund brushed the strands of hair away from her face. 

Ivory felt her eyelids heavy, and she drifted off to sleep.

She didn't expect that once again, she'd be going to that mysterious oak forest in her dream, and in her dream, it was nighttime, and the full moon shone brightly upon the forest. Ivory stood alone, and with her bare feet, she curiously followed a trail, with footprints of several pairs of pawprints.

She was getting deeper and deeper into the forest, yet her gut feeling still tells her to continue to follow the trail. Her dirty feet even stepped on pointed stones and dried twigs which made her bleed, but she didn't mind the pain. She felt that she needed to know what's in the end.

She gaped in awe when she saw a gigantic den.

Ivory stared straight into the opening of the den, but all she saw was darkness. Eventually, glowing eyes appeared from the dark, wherein a few are light blue colored, but most are amber to pale yellow and even green.

Coming from inside the den, a deep voice suddenly called her name.