Bathory Hosa (3)
I don't remember much from my childhood, back when I was still a young vampire. Well, I suppose it was happy. Until that day, there were only good memories.
"Bathory, you promised yesterday that you'd listen to Mom, right? It'll all pass. Just stay quietly down in the basement for one day, okay? Come on. Promise with Mom."
"Yes... I promise. Mom, if I keep the promise, you'll come back and buy me sweets like before, right?"
"Of course. If you keep your promise, I'll buy them. You have to stay quiet, okay? Mom's going somewhere for a little while. Understand?"
"There's another female monster over there. Catch it!"
Other memories are hazy, but my mother's face, on the verge of tears, remains painfully clear. That day, wicked humans brutally murdered both my parents. Having lost everything, I wandered the world alone with nowhere to go. I barely reached the vampire territories, but no one would take me in.
"Her hair is pink. It's weird."
"My mom says pink is the color men wear when they sell their bodies."
"Then is this kid a boy whore? She's a girl but acts like a boy whore. Disgusting. Go away."
"Go away!"
"““Go away!”””
Was it because of my hair color? Mom and Dad always told me my hair was beautiful.
After being abandoned, mocked, and rejected by everyone, surviving on scraps from the street, one day—
"You're pretty. Pink hair."
"My lord?"
A beautiful boy smiled down at me.
That was the day I met him.
He introduced himself as Autumn Grace. He invited me to his home and promised I could eat anything I wanted.
I didn't trust him. But I was exhausted from my harsh life, so I followed him anyway, figuring I had nothing to lose. He had me washed, fed, and dressed in beautiful clothes. (To be exact, the maids carrying out his orders did it. It would have been wonderful if he had done it himself.) Then he asked me to serve as his personal maid.
At first I only worked to survive. I performed my duties but never opened my heart to him. I simply couldn't trust him. Then I overheard that conversation.
The head of the Grace family—the Vampire Lord—visited Autumn's room. I waited outside so I wouldn't interrupt them. Even standing right by the door, I could hear every word.
"Autumn, my son. I heard you picked up a pink-haired beggar from the streets and made her your personal maid."
"Yes, Mother."
"Pink is a symbol of lowliness and prostitution. Taking in a beggar of unknown origin as a servant! You are a True Ancestor vampire. To keep such a girl close to you... I will deal with her myself, so stay away from such lowly creatures from now on."
"Mother. Do you remember the promise you made with me before?"
"Hmm?"
"Even after I used my magic to destroy the Valendorf family—the True Ancestor house that opposed us—you promised that if I yielded the position of next Lord to my sister, I could choose anyone I wanted as my partner."
"That's correct. But why bring that up now? ...Don't tell me—"
"I fell in love with her beautiful pink hair at first sight. She is not a lowly being. Whatever meaning her hair color carries, whatever her origins, none of it matters. I will marry her."
!!!!
He said my hair was beautiful. He said I wasn't lowly. He said he would marry me.
The Lord was furious. She clashed with Autumn for days. I don't know what methods he used, but in the end the Lord accepted his wishes, and I was allowed to remain as his personal maid.
When everyone else hated me and called me worthless, he was the only one who cherished me. Only he truly accepted me. That was when I made my decision. I would become his guardian knight, the shield that protected him. I would devote my entire being to him.
I tried to serve him, but he treated me as his equal. Even though he stood at the pinnacle of the vampire world as a noble being. He ordered me not to use honorifics with him and had the family knights teach me swordsmanship. For some reason, despite not being an adult yet, he was already an archmage who had surpassed 7 Circles. After learning his magic, I became strong enough that even high-ranking vampires no longer frightened me. And because he loved the color pink, I made it my symbol, taking the name "Hosa" which means pink, and called myself Bathory Hosa.
On the day we both came of age, we left the Grace family. We slipped away on a secret adventure without the Lord's knowledge. For a hundred years we wandered the world together.
We traveled east and fought martial artists who wielded qi techniques. We ventured into unknown jungles and encountered dragons. We beat senseless the ignorant pirates who dared feel lust for Autumn and tried to assault him, then took them as subordinates and sailed the oceans. Of course we visited the Grace family between adventures. Through those journeys with Autumn I became a world-renowned powerhouse. The Lord finally acknowledged me, and I was able to formally propose to Autumn.
I decided to propose on the exact day we had first met. And he accepted! We returned to the family, received everyone's blessings, and were married. Having earned the Lord's recognition, I was given command of the Vampir—the Lord's personal unit that symbolized the Grace family's power.
Before beginning our truly happy life together, we decided to enjoy one final adventure. We explored an ancient ruin. And that expedition created the worst day in my thousand-year life—a day I can never forget.
The ruin was ordinary. It held traces of a civilization from several thousand years ago, nothing more. There were no hidden monsters or treasures inside. In its deepest chamber stood an altar. Upon the altar, written in the language of the ancient empire, were the words: the one who disturbs it shall invoke a calamity beyond comprehension.
The one who disturbs this altar
shall invoke a calamity beyond comprehension.
I wanted to look cool in front of my husband, Autumn. Beyond comprehension? Hmph. If such a thing exists, I'll smash it to pieces for you. Because I am your guardian knight. So I destroyed the altar. The stupidest woman in the world. I should never have done it.
That altar had been sealing an ancient evil god. Foolishly, by shattering it, I released the seal, and the ancient evil god descended upon the ruin.
The ancient evil god sought to annihilate all life. Kind-hearted Autumn declared that we had to stop it. To me, nothing mattered more than Autumn, but I could not disobey his will. Because I was his one and only... wife.
Autumn was an archmage who had reached 9 Circles. I had become a Grand Sword Master, yet we could not defeat the evil god. We exhausted every ounce of our power and collapsed from fatal wounds. Victory was impossible. Using his ultimate magic, Autumn separated the ruin's space from the original dimension. And so the two of us were left to wander the void dimension together with the evil god.
Because of me, we were both going to die. But dying together like this didn't seem so bad. After reincarnation, I would find him somehow. The two of us were bound together for eternity, after all!
I tried to accept death calmly. That was when Autumn suddenly cast his unique ultimate spell on me.
"I'm sorry, Bathory. I'm truly sorry."
No, Autumn. This is all because of me. Why are you the one apologizing? It's all my fault!
"I want you to live. I'll use everything I have to save you."
!!!!!
"No, Autumn! Don't do it! A life without you has no meaning!"
Crack.
His mana circles collapsed. His life force essentially vanished. His body began crumbling into dust and scattering.
"I'm sorry, Bathory. I've granted you the power of eternal life. You are now the strongest immortal pink vampire. You should be able to cross this void dimension and return to the original world."
Huh? I can survive?
But what good is that? Without you, I—!
"Even if I disappear, it doesn't mean we'll never meet again. I'll reincarnate. Then you'll come find me, right? Promise?"
"Sob... I understand. No matter what I have to do, I'll find you! So..."
"I love you... Bathory."
He completely turned to powder and vanished.
"...I love you too, Autumn. Forever. We will definitely meet again."
Even though more than a thousand years have passed, his face is still vivid in my mind.
Because of me, he died. If I hadn't tried to show off and destroyed that altar, he never would have died. It was all because of me!
I escaped the void dimension safely. Upon returning to the original world, I tried to end my own life to follow him. But his blessing had turned me into an immortal goddess. I could not die. When I realized that taking my own life would betray his final wish, I chose to live. And I vowed to find his reincarnation no matter what it took.
I returned to the Grace family and spent the next thousand years working for them as atonement for Autumn. I participated in the great war and earned the title of the immortal "Pink Devil." If he had been alive, he would have bragged to everyone that his wife was such an amazing woman.
For a thousand years I mobilized every resource I could to search for him, but I couldn't find even the faintest trace of his appearance or the lingering scent of his soul.
He must have returned to the wheel of reincarnation and been reborn. So why couldn't I find him? Unless... the blessing I received was too powerful, and as the price, even his reincarnation was erased? I see. That was it. For my sake, he had completely annihilated himself. All for me.
But now, right before my eyes, I see Autumn.
Huh?
This can't be.
Why are you—?
No, how—?
Is it just a human who looks similar?
No.
This scent is unmistakably him—Autumn Grace.
There's no way I could be mistaken. For a thousand years I've longed for it and cherished the memory.
But how? This is impossible. He definitely vanished a thousand years ago.
"Bathory? Is that you, Bathory?"
!!!!!!!
"This can't be. Autumn? Is it really you?"
He didn't vanish—he truly reincarnated? Then my thousand years of waiting weren't in vain after all?