The Blood Count (2)

"Young master. Please be honest with me."

We were in the chambers of Anton Blaurose, son of Count Blaurose. I had brought Dorothy along and was pressing him for answers. Dorothy looked ready to tear into him at any moment — I had told her to stay on guard, and she had taken the instruction to heart, wolf ears standing straight up, every muscle coiled with tension. Anton, needless to say, was thoroughly terrified.

"W-what am I supposed to say?"

"You're cursed. I already know."

"A c-curse? I don't know anything about that."

"Haa..."

I planted a hand firmly on Anton's shoulder.

"If you have any aptitude for dark magic, you can feel it just by placing a hand like this. Young master, you are most certainly under a curse."

"Urgh..."

"Heresy Inquisitors are already here dealing with a curse-related incident. If another curse gets tangled up in this, it becomes a problem. Keep hiding it, and I'll have no choice but to consult the other inquisitors."

"N-no! Please!"

"Dark magic isn't illegal in the Empire. Unless you've caused actual harm, you won't face severe punishment."

In the end, Anton talked. He had been studying dark magic in secret. Lacking any real talent for it, he had chosen a different path — placing a curse upon himself and altering it to gain power.

"...And your accomplice?"

"What?"

"Dark magic encompasses both shadow magic and death magic. Death magic is also called sorcery. Most forms of sorcery, curses included, cannot be cast on oneself. So someone else placed that curse on you."

"H-how do you know all that in such detail..."

"This is the kind of department we are. Unless you'd prefer an interrogation by the Enforcement Division, start talking."

"Urgh... It's the dark mage currently in the dungeon... the one who was running experiments in the territory..."

"Haa..."

Anton had been collaborating with that dark mage from the very beginning. Blinded by ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the offer to teach him dark magic, he had helped the man slip into the territory unnoticed. Their partnership was still intact — the dark mage had apparently promised to create an opening for Anton to escape somehow.

"So. What curse is it?"

"The Curse of the Mad Rat... A curse that turns you into a rat..."

"No beast ears yet. Fortunately, it seems you haven't eaten human flesh."

"Yes..."

The dark mage must have been captured before things could progress to the next stage. Beast-transformation curses only fully manifest after the host consumes human flesh. Once they do, beast ears appear — just like Agnes and Dorothy — and there is no hiding them.

In the end, I had no choice but to inform Veronica, head of the Special Task Force, and Jeremy, second squad leader of the Enforcement Division. What Anton had done could not be covered up — and even if it could, I saw no benefit in doing so. I had no desire to see a man like him betrothed to Clara, either.

"M-my son is innocent!"

We were escorting Anton down to the underground dungeon when Count Blaurose arrived with his knights and threw himself in front of his son.

"I will not permit this outrage! By what authority do you intend to punish my son?!"

"Your Excellency. I have no intention of doing anything permanent to Lord Anton. We simply mean to detain him until this matter is resolved."

Jeremy stepped forward to speak.

"He confessed to collaborating with the dark mage himself. We only wish to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠eliminate any variables. We will also lift his curse before we depart."

"...Not the dungeon. I will not have my son locked in a cell. Confine him to an empty room. I will post knights to watch him, and you may assign a few Heresy Inquisitors as well. That should be more than sufficient!"

Faced with the Count's unyielding stance, Jeremy glanced back at Veronica and me.

"Squad Leader Veronica. Baron Manfred. I believe that may be the best we can manage."

Veronica nodded first, and I voiced my agreement as well. This was Count Blaurose's territory, and it was not even a Lumenic diocese — defying him outright would be difficult. Better this than being able to take no measures at all.

"Ah... Father..."

"Be silent."

Anton was dragged away by the Count's knights. Jeremy sent two Enforcement Division inquisitors along with them. Before leaving, the Count looked back at me. Where once his eyes had held nothing but goodwill, now there was only resentment.

Night fell once more. As on the previous evening, I walked the deserted streets, baiting the vampire — a wolf concealed within my shadow. Of course, at night my shadow was invisible, but this particular shadow magic only required a visible shadow ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at the moment of entry.

Alexander was patrolling a different district. Agnes had dirtied him up thoroughly to make him look as much like a street boy as possible. Would the vampire go after Alexander again this time? None had appeared on my end yesterday.

Heh. Why do you think? Because Karl looks far too frail. That creature wants healthy blood, you know.

Maria's words came back to me. She had said even a vampire wouldn't want to drink my blood.

I wanted the Curse of Vampirism. Transferring a curse onto myself was something I needed to do away from prying eyes. Veronica hated watching me pile on curses, and the Enforcement Division would hardly look kindly on it either. So I was hoping one would come my way. If none appeared, I would simply have to give up on the Curse of Vampirism. It wasn't something I desperately needed. I still hadn't figured out a reliable way to obtain human blood, anyway.

"Oh my, little one. Out all alone at this hour?"

Someone stood before me, face hidden beneath a cloak. It seemed the vampire had chosen me after all. The voice was feminine in tone, but unmistakably male.

"I lost my way."

"Oh, is that so? But don't you worry. You'll never need to go home again!"

In an instant the vampire slammed me to the ground and straddled me. He must have already drunk a considerable amount of blood — his movements were so fast my eyes could barely track them. His strength was monstrous; I heard the bones in my pinned arm grind and crack under the pressure. The one that had gone after Alexander had at least tried to drag him somewhere secluded. This one apparently preferred to finish things right here in the street.

"Don't mind if I do!"

He tore open the shoulder of my clothes and sank his fangs in with a wet crunch. As the blood was drawn out, I felt the warmth in my body draining away bit by bit. Quietly, I activated the altered power of the Curse of Illusion — the ability to force my visions onto another person, usable only when our bodies were close enough to touch.

"HRAAAAAAAAGH! What the hell?! Why is there something like that inside a person's body?!"

The vampire wrenched his fangs free. I had no idea what he had seen, but he was choking and gagging, desperately trying to vomit up every drop of blood he had just swallowed.

"What a waste, spitting out something so precious..."

I had grown used to it by now. Using the altered ability no longer made me retch — though the sheer revulsion of it remained unchanged.

"Stop! HRAAAAAAGH! Stop it! Get away from me!"

Clutching his head with both hands and shrieking, the vampire bolted madly in some random direction. I signaled to Dorothy, still hidden in my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠shadow.

"Master!"

Dorothy emerged from the shadow and immediately grew agitated at the sight of me. I wasn't critically injured, but my clothes were torn and I was covered in blood — her reaction was understandable.

"Dorothy. We're going after him."

"But Master! Your wounds..."

"Once we catch him, everything will be fine. Don't worry about me. Let's go."

Dorothy hesitated for a moment, then transformed into a wolf. I climbed onto her back, and she raced beneath the moonlight in pursuit of the vampire.

The vampire had taken refuge in a chamber within the sewers. The crude bedroll told me this was his usual hideout. Subduing a man still trapped in the illusions was no difficult task. He met his end on Dorothy's blade.

"The catalyst... he should have one on him..."

On the vampire's arm was a bracelet set with a crimson gem. That was the catalyst for the Curse of Vampirism. An expensive one, at that.

"Dorothy. Guard the entrance. Don't let anyone in."

"Got it."

I was dizzy from the blood loss. I needed to hurry. A dark magic circle appeared above the bracelet — the curse formula, already collapsing now that its host was dead. Black energy poured from my body and erased the interior of the circle. I pulled free the strand of hair threaded through the bracelet and replaced it with one of my own. Then the black energy filled the magic circle once more.

I opened the status window and confirmed that the Curse of Vampirism had transferred properly. A great deal of other information had accumulated since I last checked — it was getting cluttered.

"Kh...!"

A sudden, unbearable thirst seized me. Was this the Curse of Vampirism? I had assumed the Curse of Emotionlessness would suppress the craving for blood. Perhaps even the suppressed craving was this intense — or perhaps I was simply that short on blood right now.

I considered drinking from the vampire's corpse in a pinch, and looked down at the body. But I had no desire to. Some instinct told me that anything other than living prey would taste foul beyond imagining. It seemed I would simply have to wait until the thirst subsided.

"Heh. You didn't know, did you? With the Curse of Vampirism, the thirst is at its absolute worst before the first feeding. Even the Curse of Emotionlessness probably can't hold it down."

"Lady Maria...?"

A silver-haired, violet-eyed girl swam faintly into view. My vision was blurred from the dizziness. Was this an illusion cast by the curse, or a hallucination brought on by lightheadedness? Or had Maria actually come here? How?

"Well, if you just stay still, it will settle eventually. Transferring the curse weakens its effects, and more importantly, Karl — your willpower is strong. If it weren't, you'd already have thrown yourself at me and started feeding."

Maria approached and leaned down over me. Then she reached into my shadow and pulled something out. A black dagger. I was too dizzy to immediately recall what it was. More pressingly — how could she retrieve something from inside my shadow?

"But I wanted exactly that. And look, something perfect just presented itself."

Maria did something with the dagger. A thick scent of blood bloomed into the air and seized hold of my mind.

"Don't hold back, Karl. I want the first blood you ever drink to be mine."

I have no memory of what happened after that. Only that I could not hold back.