What Can You Do? (2)
The Lieutenant Colonel’s office was oppressively silent. I stared at Eryk, who had dragged me inside. …It was supposed to be the middle of the celebration banquet.
At last, the only thing left was the vampires’ true nature. In response, the Empire’s high command had thrown a modest victory party. The old me would have thrown a fit and demanded to know what kind of insane stunt this was. But—
…It’s in the original game, so whatever.
Since the event existed in the source material, I let it pass. The Imperial Army wasn’t weak enough to be shaken by vampires over something as small as a celebration banquet. What I truly needed to watch out for that night wasn’t the vampires. Nor was it the fat cats of the nobility. They were fools; a few coy glances from my pretty face were usually enough to earn their favor.
The person I feared most was none other than the man standing before me.
“…Lieutenant Colonel, why did you call for me?”
“Lieutenant Colonel?”
The Empire’s first hero, personally recognized by the Emperor himself.
“…Major Valentine.”
“You are a mysterious one. In all my years, I have never met anyone so utterly devoted to the Empire.”
Eryk—the protagonist of this story—looked at me with a chillingly cynical gaze. He had spent the entire banquet glaring at me without touching a drop of wine.
I kept my guard up and maintained an expressionless mask.
“…Compared to your distinguished record, Lieutenant Colonel, I hardly qualify as a hero.”
A safe answer. Most superiors would have beamed at such modesty from an acknowledged hero.
“…His Majesty has recognized you, and you still think you amount to anything?”
“No, sir. My apologies.”
“Tsk……”
But this man was different. He was insane. From head to toe, he radiated open dislike. Part of it was surely because I had avoided him ever since my commissioning. Back then, every little movement he made had terrified me. As a result, for five whole years the rumors had painted us as rivals. I had never seen it that way, but apparently he had nursed a personal hatred toward me.
In any case, Eryk had never liked me. Yet tonight the atmosphere felt different. He had summoned me alone, as though he had something to settle. And the thing he wanted to settle was probably—
…Don’t tell me he found out?
The premonition hit me like ice water. Cold sweat trickled down my spine, but my face remained blank. I tugged the commander’s cap lower to hide my eyes.
“…His Majesty the Emperor acknowledged it.”
“……”
“Correct?”
“…Yes, sir. It is.”
“Is it possible His Majesty made a mistake?”
“…Pardon?”
The questions kept coming, each one designed to throw me off balance. Something was wrong. My bad feelings were never wrong.
Eryk’s behavior tonight had been suspicious. He hadn’t spoken to a single person at the banquet; instead he had trailed behind me like a shadow.
…He knows.
The moment I lowered my head, Eryk stopped talking. A cigar had appeared in his hand. Leaning against the window with his back to the glass, he sat on the edge of the desk and looked me over from head to toe. Then he exhaled a long plume of smoke.
-Hiss.
The cigar ground out in the ashtray with a dying sizzle. Lantern light from the banquet hall spilled through the window, illuminating Eryk’s sharp features in stark relief.
“…Major Valentine.”
“Or should I call you a slave bitch…?”
“…!!”
Just as I feared. The premonition had been accurate. He knew. He knew I was a vampire.
…How?
…It was perfect. It was supposed to be perfect…!
I had been meticulous. I had limited blood consumption to the absolute minimum. As proof, my body had barely grown since the moment I first possessed it; lately I had even begun to look gaunt from spending less time on the battlefield.
“…Major Valentine, so you can change expression after all.”
Eryk smirked and stepped closer, brushing my hair behind my ear with deliberate fingers.
“L-Lieutenant Colonel, I don’t understand what you’re suddenly—”
“Now you’re even using polite speech.”
Any normal person would have frozen with his face that close. But none of that mattered right now.
…Damn it…!
My hands wouldn’t stop shaking. Eryk had concrete proof. What now?
“Blood magic. Blood magic. You don’t think that’s the sort of spell an Imperial hero should be wielding, do you?”
“……”
“Major Valentine.”
“…Yes, Lieutenant Colonel.”
“I am asking you a question.”
“I am aware.”
Eryk frowned and moved even closer. His breath brushed my ear as he whispered.
“Then answer, slave bitch….”
“…!!”
“Hey. You filthy vampire.”
“…I am not.”
I denied it anyway. The denial slid off him like water.
Eryk gave a low, mocking laugh.
“No?”
“…That is correct.”
“……”
“It’s the truth.”
Cold sweat slicked my palms. At the same time, my scattered mind began to reassemble. This was why I had fought so viciously to survive. Discovery had always been a possibility. I had crawled through mud and blood precisely to prepare for this moment.
…I’ve built ties with the Emperor.
That connection had opened one more path—the political road I had longed for. After rising from Captain to Major, I never rested. A vampire didn’t need sleep if she drank blood once; I could work through the night. My world had expanded from battlefields reeking of gunpowder and gore to polished tables scented with tea and desserts.
I had cultivated nobles, planted informants among the imperial family, hosted tea parties with highborn daughters, flattered the corrupt military brass, and lent a hero’s prestige to fallen aristocrats. Every favor, every smile, every calculated kindness had been stored away for the day I would need them as shields.
The time had come to spend that political capital. The time had come to put a leash on this maniac.
“…So, if you truly are not a vampire, how do you explain the Empire’s hero using blood magic?”
“The Empire’s hero—using filthy blood magic.”
“Frankly, I find it impossible.”
“If such a person existed……”
I kept my face blank as Eryk drew nearer.
“…the only solution would be to strangle them to death.”
“……”
“Well? Let’s hear your thoughts, Major.”
The vengeful madman whispered like a lover promising murder. Go on. Give me a reason to kill you.
I looked up at him and spoke softly.
“…Lieutenant Colonel.”
“Even if you’ve discovered that I’m a vampire, what exactly can you do about it?”
What can you do?
It was time to fasten the collar around this lunatic’s neck.
-Crash!
“…!!”
“Excuse me.”
I kicked the metal bucket beside me. It slammed into Eryk’s shin with a sickening clang. His stance broke for a split second. I didn’t waste it. Snatching the mop from the corner, I channeled the faintest thread of blood magic.
…Lighter than my usual sword.
Eryk moved to react, but the blow to his leg had thrown off his balance.
“Ugh—?!”
-Whack!
The mop handle cracked hard across his skull. I hurled the broken shaft aside, grabbed the staggering Eryk by the collar, and yanked him down.
“…I am a vampire.”
“…Let…go…you filthy bitch…!”
“At the same time, I am a hero of your country. Did you forget?”
I threw his own earlier words back in his face.
“…What was it you said about blood magic?”
“A dirty whore like you could never be a hero…!!”
My voice was ice.
“His Majesty the Emperor has acknowledged me. Who are you to say otherwise, Lieutenant Colonel?”
“Even if the entire Empire rose against the heavens, I doubt you could do a thing about it.”
Eryk grimaced, pain and fury twisting his features. But there was nothing he could do. A one-on-one fight against a vampire was difficult even for the protagonist—especially after a surprise attack. He had tried to isolate and kill me before I could react. He knew that.
…Too bad I can’t kill him.
It would have been cleaner to finish him here. But if I twisted the story’s route too violently, the future I knew might unravel. Eryk was a character wrapped in secrets. The developers had probably planned to reveal them in Glory of Victory 2. Since I had possessed this body inside the first game, killing the protagonist was an unknown variable. I had no choice but to follow his path after the first story ended.
“…You would do well to keep your mouth shut.”
“I’ll be watching you. Always.”
I paused, then pulled out the keyring I kept hidden against my chest. The metal charms jingled softly—tokens of friendship from the Empire’s most powerful houses and the imperial family’s own kin.
“Many of the Empire’s great families are already on my side.”
“…!!”
I thrust the keys in front of his face. Even while caught by the collar, Eryk’s scowl melted into shock. His hand, which had been inching toward the dagger at his back, went limp.
I smiled, satisfied.
“How cute. There’s no need to be scared.”
“All you have to do is keep my secret, Lieutenant Colonel.”
“Then nothing will happen. Really.”
I offered him a gentle, almost kind smile. Then I shoved him roughly to the floor, releasing his collar.
-Thud!
Eryk collapsed with a heavy sound. I reached into the breast pocket of his uniform and found—
…Premium cigarettes?
A small victory trophy seemed appropriate. Acting on impulse, I plucked the pack free.
“…I’ll be taking these.”
“Consider them proof of our unfortunate connection.”
I slipped one between my lips, pocketed the rest, and left the Lieutenant Colonel’s office. The cigarette I smoked on the way out was sweeter than any I had tasted since arriving in this world.