Chapter 27
Chapter 27
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Junni
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Nikola shoved Doyoung away hard.
“Captured by terrorists, dumped in the middle of the Pacific, and gone missing? You think you’re some kind of Ruas or something…!”
Suddenly, Nikola stopped mid-sentence, staring behind Doyoung. He turned to look as well.
“Gamal.”
At his call, Gamal slowly stepped out into the sunlight. The area around them was deathly silent. Doyoung knew why.
He’d grown used to it, and he occasionally forgot because he knew she was a bit crazy, but she was breathtakingly beautiful.
As everyone stared at her, Gamal shrank behind Tora like a frightened child.
“Who’s this…?”
A sergeant was the first to snap out of it and asked cautiously.
“She’s not… a Ruas?”
Then the sergeant glanced to the side.
“And this one…?”
Tora had borrowed clothes in a hurry, so he didn’t look like some savage native by their standards, but anyone could tell he didn’t look like an ordinary person.
On top of that, he was staring at the female soldier nearby with the wide-eyed wonder of a kid seeing a jellyfish for the first time.
The soldier shrank back, overwhelmed, but Tora paid no mind.
“First, I need to see the Major General. Is he on his way?”
Doyoung spoke and started walking. But when Gamal didn’t follow, too distracted by her surroundings, he turned back.
“Gamal, come here.”
Gamal snapped to attention and scurried after Doyoung. Watching her, everyone somehow thought the same thing: *They kinda look alike.*
Doyoung said to Tora, who still hadn’t moved.
“Tora, you too.”
Only then did Tora saunter after them. Nikola muttered in disbelief.
“What the hell did that guy pick up?”
***
“It’s been a while since I wore outside clothes.”
Tora stepped out of the room in jeans and a black t-shirt.
His braided hair was tied back in a single ponytail, giving him a vaguely bohemian vibe—like he was just someone with native blood and a quirky fashion sense.
On top of that, in these clothes, the half-white blood in his veins seemed to shine through, making him look more Western than he had on the island.
“Here.”
Doyoung, who had showered and finally changed out of his threadbare fatigues into a fresh uniform, handed Tora a cup of coffee.
“The taste of civilization.”
Tora took the cup and raised it like a toast.
“Uniforms suit you better, Tawa.”
Strangely, while the opposite was true for Tora, Doyoung’s skin had tanned on the island, giving him a wilder look.
“Don’t call me Tawa here.”
“What else would I call Tawa but Tawa? Are you ashamed of your connection to us Marti?”
Doyoung sipped his coffee impassively.
“I just don’t like complicating things.”
Tora shrugged.
“Futile effort.”
Doyoung looked puzzled.
“What do you—”
But before he could finish, the other door opened, and Gamal emerged.
In a borrowed navy tennis dress with white trim on the collar—sized for a female soldier—and white sneakers, she looked unbelievably cute and endearing.
“Amazing.”
Gamal ran her palm over the dress.
“What?”
“Feels like I’m not wearing anything. So light.”
Tora and Rato had brought back a few of these modern outfits from their trips to the outside world, but none were as pretty as this.
“I forgot our Marti was a girl. If I’d known she’d love it this much, I would’ve bought more.”
Suddenly, Doyoung realized whose handiwork that “I ♥ NY” t-shirt had been when they first met.
Anyway, as Tora sat down, he said,
“So, who are we waiting for?”
“A high-ranking officer.”
It was right then that Doyoung answered.
*Zing.*
The automatic door slid open, and a soldier marched in at rigid attention. Doyoung stood from his seat. Gamal eyed him curiously. Then, from beyond the soldier, another figure entered.
Short, vibrant golden blond hair. Crimson eyes.
A vampire.
“Vamp…”
Gamal jolted up, shoving her chair back. Doyoung extended a hand slightly to calm her.
“It’s fine.”
Then he snapped a salute to the blond vampire.
“Sir!”
The crimson eyes of MCTC Central Guard Division Commander Major General Alex Yachthunt turned to Gamal. She tensed. It had been ages since she’d seen a vampire outside of Tora and Rato.
Especially one who looked this old.
His appearance was mid-to-late twenties—too young for a division commander—but those crimson eyes gazing steadily at her held the strange, leaden depth of ancient things.
And he was a beauty so veiled and princely, you’d wonder if fairy-tale princes were made this way. His looks made princesses seem inadequate, casting doubt on his princely qualifications.
Finally, Rex opened his mouth and spoke. In a language none of them had ever heard.
“……?”
Doyoung looked puzzled, while Gamal’s eyes widened in shock.
“That’s…”
Even Tora looked stunned.
Gamal quickly replied in the same language. Rex nodded and answered. The more Rex spoke, the more shocked Gamal became.
Doyoung glanced at Tora, demanding an explanation. Tora tilted his head and murmured,
“Ancient Satadiye. Not perfect, but better than me.”
Doyoung looked back at them. Midway through Rex’s words, he heard the name “Alex.”
Then it happened. Gamal suddenly rushed to Rex and hugged him. Doyoung flinched but held his ground, while Rex embraced her shoulders. The ring on his hand— a wedding band—glinted on her shoulder.
“Let’s sit, for now.”
Rex released his arms and finally spoke in a language Doyoung could understand. Gamal, somewhat calmed, returned to her seat. Rex sat as well and said,
“You’ve done well, Major. I’m truly relieved you made it back safe. Ensign Kang is rushing here as we speak.”
Doyoung nodded. Then he changed the subject.
“Do you know Gamal?”
At first, it seemed like Gamal was just startled that he was a vampire, but clearly there was history.
Rex lightly interlaced his fingers and placed them on the desk.
“Everything from here on stays in this room. Gamal here is codenamed ‘Grand Duke.’ According to our intel, she’s the sibling of Kunis, from the Satadi tribe that dominated the Avarna region of western Anatolia around the 14th century BCE, part of the Lukka Union.”
Doyoung had learned that much personally, but he’d never heard it mentioned anywhere in military circles. Still, it seemed command had pieced together the Grand Duke’s identity to some extent.
Of course, it wasn’t surprising, but now everything was crystal clear.
That Gamal was the Grand Duke’s sibling. That she was born in the 14th century BCE. That she’d spent ages in hiding to escape the Grand Duke.
Doyoung glanced at Gamal’s round cheeks as she sat across from him.
He hadn’t disbelieved her stories, but part of him had hoped for some exaggeration. Knowing it was all true stirred a hot, dark emotion in his chest.
Murderous intent toward the Grand Duke. Not content with strangling his own blood—who needed protection—he was still dragging her down into the swamp he’d trapped her in. That bastard needed a real lesson.
Meanwhile, Rex continued.
“The Satadi were a major power even within the Lukka Union. Testimony indicates the name ‘Satadi’ appears repeatedly in the records.”
“Testimony?”
Doyoung had paid close attention in history class, but he’d never even heard of ‘Satadi’ in passing.
“People who saw the records from that era, I suppose. All direct records of the Satadi are lost, but several people have testified to seeing them in the past.”
Gamal grew sad. The reason no records of the Satadi remained was obvious. They’d been wiped out in tribal wars.
Then Rex looked at her with his impassive gaze, now tinged with a hint of warmth.
“And Gamal is the first person to deliver a Phlos flower to us.”
The unexpected revelation furrowed Doyoung’s brow.
“‘Us’ meaning…?”
Rex nodded.
“Yes. To us, the Ivanov Clan.”
That was when the door opened, and a voice rang out.
“I’ll take it from there.”
A man stood in the doorway. Dressed casually in a knit shirt and thin coat, he had blond hair a shade darker than Rex’s, but what stood out most were his eyes—pure, unadulterated *red*.
Even standing still, he exuded overwhelming presence.
The head of the Ivanov Clan that Rex belonged to: Ivan Ivanov.
Gamal reacted first, shooting to her feet.
“Alex!”
Doyoung was baffled.
*‘Alex?’*
It seemed to refer to Ivan, not Rex. It was shocking enough that Gamal knew his old boss from his Seoul branch days as director, but…
*‘A nickname?’*
Doyoung was floored.
“You’re alive…”
Gamal scanned Ivan, muttering in disbelief. He nodded.
“You above all. No word for so long, I thought you were dead.”
It was like two old friends reminiscing.
Gamal clutched the hem of her dress and said,
“I survived. On the island.”
“Heard on the way. No wonder the Grand Duke couldn’t track you down.”
That was when Gamal noticed the East Asian woman standing behind Ivan.
Her black hair, long enough to reach her chest when loose, was tied in a single ponytail, and her glossy black eyes were clear. She looked like a late-teen girl, but the uniform with its ensign insignia fit her oddly naturally.
Above all, she was a female vampire.
“A woman…”
Gamal muttered unconsciously. In all these long years, she’d never met another female vampire.
Part of that was because she avoided humans and vampires alike, but female vampires were just that rare.
“Pleased to meet you. Ensign Kang Yeonha.”
Yeonha extended her hand. Ivan added,
“She’s my wife. She teamed up with Major Defer back when he was in the Seoul branch.”
At that, Gamal glanced at Doyoung, who gave Yeonha a nod-by-nod greeting. Yeonha returned it just as casually, as if words were unnecessary between them.
Suddenly, Gamal whipped around and grabbed Yeonha’s hand—startling her a bit.
“You’re Alex’s wife?”
“Yes.”
“Which one?”
Yeonha froze, and silence fell over the room.