The Vampire's Bride

Five days later...

Just as Jillion promised, he visited Leo on a Thursday afternoon. He barged in the house as if it was his own.

"Oh, Brian! Where's your Young Master?"

"Young Master is with his guest. I'll take care of your umbrella."

"Oh, yeah. Thanks." Jillion gave his umbrella and quickly went to Leo's study room. As expected, Leo had just finished fixing the room with Mallory as he usually does whenever he has time and was about to go to the dining table.

Seeing Jillion casually walking around the house, Leo slightly frowned. He did not want any outsiders to be too comfortable visiting his place, even if they were close to him, unless he acknowledged their presence. He valued personal space more than them and such acts made him feel that they were a threat to his personal space.

Nevertheless, Leo kept his thoughts to himself. After all, Jillion wasn't there just to hang out; he was there for business.

"I see you've arrived, Jill. Good to see you here even though it's raining hard," Leo said as he stopped talking to Mallory and focused on Jillion.

"Don't worry. I knew you'd be in your study room at this moment, doing your usual routine. I have no plans on roaming around your house," Jillion said.

"Why, thank you. Let's head to the dining table. The food is being served already."

The trio quickly went to the dining table and indeed, the food had already been prepared. It wasn't until they were at the middle of the meal that they started talking about business.

"By the way, the principal called. Seems like he was called by the D-3's leader last night.He said that they heard about us meeting the vampire killer," Leo explained.

"And? What did they say?"

"Fortunately, they only heard that we might have met the killer but they were not sure. They still don't have a clue as to who the killer is."

Jillion thought about it for a while before concluding, "So they knew that you, Young Master Orpheus, was at the scene and could have met the killer. Since there are no proof, they decided to ask your principal since he is, somehow... close to you and you also report such findings to the principal right away."

"Yes. The principal just told them that I went to the scene and changed the fact that it was indeed a vampire that caused the victim's death. Other than that, he did not mention anything else."

"Well, That's good." Jillion took a sip of the coffee as he switched into thinking mode. Leo also patiently waited for Jillion. Mallory, on the other hand, tried catching up to the two but was having a hard time to understand a few parts.

D-3? Reports? No proof?

Isn't this something like a top secret? Should I really be listening hear?

Mallory decided to give the two some time to talk in private. She placed her spoon and fork down and took a deep breath, "I'll eat la—"

"How about Mallory?"

Jillion's sudden question stopped Mallory who was about to stand. Mallory looked at Jillion. She was confused. "M-Me?"

Jillion nodded and looked at Leo. Leo shook his head, "Nothing reported. In fact, if they did know about her, then something suspicious is going on."

It was only after Leo answered the vague question that Mallory understood Jillion. She tried asking, "Umm... is the D-3 that you are talking about... the special force that you mentioned, Master Orpheus?"

"That's right. But they're not the only ones. 'F' is the lowest rank while 'A' could be considered as the highest but in reality, 'S' is the highest and rarest. It's too long to explain it one by one but just remember that from 'A' to 'F', the special forces are numbered 3. Basically, S-3, A-3... something like that."

As Leo drank, Jillion reminded Mallory, "But you must be wary of some of the special forces."

"Why?"

"Although they are the special forces to protect the peace between humans and us, vampires, you still cannot shake the fact that some people hates vampires. Take D-3 for example," Jillion explained.

"But... why are the people under D-3 in the special forces if they hate vampires? Aren't they vampires themselves?"

This time, it was Leo who answered, "Not all in the special forces are vampires. There are humans as well. Although they hate vampires, the people in D-3, especially their leader, will not mix their personal feelings with their jobs that's precisely why they could maintain their place in the special forces. Of course, other 'normal' forces do not know of these special forces. If they did, then it will be chaotic."

"I understand... Thank you very much." Mallory quickly returned her focus on her food after asking a few questions. Even though she was following the daily news, it was the first time she knew of such things.

Seeing that she had no more questions, Leo turned to Jillion. "What else will you ask?"

"That night, when you met Aldo, what exactly happened?"

"It was just as I said. He confessed to Mallory. Then he left."

"How about before Leo arrived, Mallory?" Jillion asked, looking at her.

Mallory tried to recall what happened. "Apart from the fact that I asked him if he drank blood, nothing else happened. Master Orpheus quickly arrived."

"I see..." Jillion stayed quiet after that. He was in a deep thought before he looked at Leo then glanced at Mallory. Leo immediately knew what he wanted and turned to Mallory. However, before he could ask her to give them some time, Mallory had already stood up. "Master Orpheus, Master Jillion, I need to leave. I have to finish a few homework that I wasn't able to do last night. Please excuse me."

"Sure. If you have any questions, just ask me," Leo said, patting her head before letting her go. Mallory quickly exited the dining table and went to her room.

As soon as she left, Leo turned to Jillion. "What is it?"

Jillion hesitated for a moment before asking, "Is she really a... vampire?"

"She drank my blood, she could use mind control, she have fangs, she do have blood l.u.s.t so I think it is safe to say that she is a vampire."

"Then... are you sure she's a halfling?"

This time, Leo took longer to reply. "For that matter, I can't say I am sure. But I will trust her."

"What if she'll harm you?" Jillion asked.

"I'll think about it when that time comes. Why? Are you questioning my power?" Leo asked with a cunning smile.

His smile scared Jillion as he quickly shook his head, "N-No, no, nope! Even if she tries to harm you, she can't touch a single hair of your body!"

"Glad you know."

Jillion heaved a sigh the moment Leo looked away. He shouldn't carelessly run his mouth like that. Probably because of Mallory, he felt a little too comfortable with Leo that he forgot when to stop. That's right. Even with his friends, Leo drew a line. It was clear that he did not fully trust them yet.

"By the way, brother, why did you kidnap the girl?" Jillion asked.

Leo raised an eyebrow at his question, "Kidnap? Since when did I kidnap Mallory?"

"When she first entered the house. Don't tell me... you just did it because of your instincts?"

"... Probably."

Jillion was stupefied. Why would you kidnap someone based on your instincts? Have you gone mad?

"Young Master Leo, who is also known as the great Orpheus, you did not allow her to go to her house, instead you always bring her to your house and based on what I could see, it seems that you made her settle in here. If this is not a kidnap, then what is this?"

Leo paused and thought for a moment. It was true that he brought her to his house and did not allow her to return to her own home. But that was just because he did not want her family to hurt her. So was it still a case of kidnapping?

"She's staying here because her family is complicated. It's not like I kidnapped her. If she wants to go home then I'll send her home. But only if she's... truly willing to go home."

Jillion examined Leo's subtle reactions. He spoke calmly that it was hard to discern the slight pain in his voice. But even if Jillion noticed it, he still wouldn't understand why.

Jillion slowly twirled his drink as he asked, slowly enunciating every word, "Why are you so determined to keep her?"

Leo raised an eyebrow and laughed, "Ha. Why? Isn't it because she's my partner? Have you tasted her blood? It's obvious that —"

"That's not it. I'm telling you not to hurt her. Mallory is different, you know that."

Leo froze before he closed his mouth and the words replayed in his head.

Mallory is different.

I know that... they're not the same.

Leo coldly gazed at Jillion. "I know."

Mustering his strength, Jillion continued, "It's not just the innocent, young girl who will be hurt by your actions. You'll also be hurt though the girl will take the short end of the stick."

Leo leaned dangerously closer to Jillion. He narrowed his eyes as he warned him, "I said, 'I know.'"

Jillion gulped. "O-Okay..."

He sighed for a moment before changing topics, "By the way, the girl you asked... I need more time. Her infor—"

CRASH!

Hearing a glass breaking, the two quickly looked at the door. It took them a few seconds before Leo started moving. "Brian!"

"Yes, Young Master!"

Only his name was said but Brian knew what to do. He needed to protect the girl while Leo look for the intruder!

Leo quickly ran out of the room, asking the staffs where the sound came from. Jillion followed and soon, they heard another crash.

"It came from Mallory's room!" Leo stated as he quickly ran with Jillion on his tail.

What waited for them in the room was not what they expected...