The First Memory (5)
It should have been impossible for a single kin to have two masters.
Because the first blood that took root deep in the body left no room for any subsequent blood to establish itself.
⋯⋯Even if forced, theoretically it’s not impossible.
But it was extremely inefficient, and even if it were possible, no one would want to share what was theirs.
A kin was, on a small scale, a personal asset, and on a larger scale, an existence as good as family.
This left Acid in a rather ambiguous position.
Emotionally and practically.
The feeling of betrayal made her want to hate him completely, but in fact it wasn’t a complete betrayal.
After all, she had investigated and given up on someone else’s property, yet half of it was hers.
As long as her sense of propriety remained intact, vampires’ habit was to only take in one kin for their entire life.
Now that she had come to take in another kin, she didn’t want to.
⋯⋯What was she supposed to do about this…
Her eyes, heavy with worry, narrowed.
Probably, just as Acid hadn’t known about Lucia’s behind-the-scenes manipulations, there was a high probability that Lucia didn’t know about Acid’s either.
‘Lucia also stepped on the full ace, so just take him to the main family…?’
A counterattack without thinking about the aftermath.
No.
That would be when the blood had ripened more.
It was still only the strength of the Blemish that could be felt when concentrating.
Until seeing the analysis results, it wouldn’t even be felt, so it was below the level for introducing to the family.
How was this possible?
Two different powers settling so stably.
Perhaps it was related to living while wearing the human shell instead of being a vampire.
Maybe Yoon Seowoo didn’t even have the awareness of being a vampire.
The moment she tried to look into his head with magic.
Ting!
Her hand, extended without thinking, bounced back with a spark.
A magic circle bound in double and triple layers.
Hah… It seems that woman really went all out.
Probably because there was a power gap with the family head, it was hard to break the sealing magic on her own.
But she couldn’t just sit there sucking her thumb, right?
Balor, get up. It’s time to work.
From Acid’s shadow, a knight clad in pitch-black armor emerges.
Balor, you called? Young Miss.
Yeah, do you see the seal here? I’m going to pry this open.
Understood.
Balor didn’t hesitate at all, pulling out the longsword from his waist.
Whoosh.
Blue aura bloomed, wrapping the blade.
The Aura Sword that could even cut magic.
It had reached the extreme realm of swordsmanship.
Count to three and stab it in.
Ready.
Good, shall we go?
Balor, with his posture fully set under Acid’s guidance.
One, two, three! Now!
The shadows tuned by Acid pointed to the weakness of the magic circle, escorting the space for the sword to pry in.
Thud!
The Aura Sword pierced the magic circle, which slowly cracked and revealed a small gap.
Between the opened gap, what was visible beyond was like a dimension different from reality.
Balor, how long can you hold out?
Probably the limit is 5 minutes.
Good, I’ll leave it to you.
Leave it to me. When I reach my limit, I’ll call for the young miss right away.
Yeah.
Acid transformed her body into shadow and threw it into the gap of the magic circle.
Memories piercing through the bright light.
The memories bound like threads, each one like a film.
If only I could see them all…
Since it’s the Earlgrey family, masters of sealing magic, the magic circle’s recovery power was surprisingly immense, and the resistance to the intruder was strong.
One was the memory of a human woman.
Another was the memory between Lucia and Yoon Seowoo.
She wasn’t particularly interested in humans.
The events with Lucia were much more important.
Among the memories intertwined in two branches, she reached for the latter.
Kyaa?!
Her body was flung back by a resistance completely different from before.
Damn… It seems she really doesn’t want to show this. You sinister woman.
She couldn’t break the seal right there.
Because of the tight time or the continuous resistance, her concentration would be disrupted.
Acid, crying and eating mustard, reached for another memory.
Like watching a movie.
In her mind, the projector ran with Seowoo’s memories as the film.
Suddenly, she felt the sensation that the time around her was slowing down.
Exactly, it was more like the short time stretching long.
But in feeling, it was that.
From the day Yoon Seowoo was first caught in Nectar.
The time she shared with Yuria.
And up to her desperate end.
The memories of that day Seowoo experienced flowed directly into Acid.
The one who always hid his emotions.
He could howl like this.
⋯⋯
A strange feeling arose.
Acid herself didn’t think she was particularly sentimental.
But seeing such a weak side of her was odd.
Young miss, you should return soon!
⋯⋯Yeah, I’m going now.
Just then, Balor’s call came from outside.
When Acid exited the magic circle, the sealing magic was perfectly restored to the point where not even a needle hole was visible.
Thank you for your hard work. But are you okay…?
Her face wasn’t in a good expression, so she asked cautiously.
I’m fine. You worked hard too. You can go now.
⋯⋯Understood.
Balor disappeared into the shadows, and Acid collapsed onto the chair.
Although she couldn’t find the connection point with Lucia, she had glimpsed Seowoo’s painful past and hatred.
Even if she had forgotten Yuria as an assistant, she was famous at the time, so the memory came back quickly.
And she also learned for the first time that the two had such a close relationship.
But why were these memories locked together?
It didn’t seem like it was worth manipulating.
Or perhaps it was related to the memory of Lucia that was locked together afterward.
She could only think that way.
Using someone else’s pain isn’t something I particularly like…
It wasn’t the time to be impartial.
Acid knew who had made Yuria like that.
***
Ugh… Ow!
There was pain in her throat.
Why did I fall asleep…?
Perhaps because her brain wasn’t fully awake, her head wasn’t turning.
Are you awake now?
Turning her head at the familiar voice coming from somewhere, Acid was leaning on the chair.
⋯⋯Ah!
The last memory that suddenly came to mind.
This is your fault. Don’t resent me. I can’t kill you, but I have to know what you’re hiding.
The image of her speaking viciously came to mind.
How much had she known?
The fact that he could become a vampire?
Or that he was the success of the gene mutation experiment?
There were many things she wanted to ask, but Seowoo had no right to ask him that.
Why are you so anxious?
⋯⋯I’m sorry.
Have you figured out the situation now? How big a mistake you made.
The trembling in her body didn’t stop.
With the mention of a big mistake, she was afraid of what would come out of her mouth.
But Acid’s words were completely different from what he expected.
Yoon Seowoo, you. Why did you hide it from me. That you’re Lucia’s kin.
What? What do you mean…?
Stop pretending! It’s useless!
Bang!
Acid slammed the desk hard, and the desk that couldn’t withstand the force collapsed.
She could read that she was sincere from the emotions spilling out.
Lucia’s kin?
That couldn’t be.
After gathering information by personally doing the legwork, she learned that he was one of the rare bloodlines that survived.
⋯⋯
Vampires’ words couldn’t be trusted.
Only what she saw with her own eyes and investigated directly was the truth.
She had lived believing that.
But what was it?
This ominous feeling that she felt intuitively.
⋯⋯No way.
From the reaction, it seems she really didn’t know, so denying it is useless.
I… really didn’t know…
Sigh.
As if she had anticipated to some extent, Acid let out a long sigh.
Look at this. I analyzed your blood magically. Your body already has that woman’s blood flowing through it.
Acid showed the results of her personal analysis and handed them to Seowoo.
⋯⋯Ah.
It came to mind.
The part she had missed so far came to the surface in Seowoo’s mind.
The sense of déjà vu she felt when Acid performed procreative vampirism.
The power to easily knock down a strong lower vampire.
Bold’s subordinate’s recovery power that could be mistaken for noble.
And finally, the boy’s appearance that resembled Lucia.
With material evidence, she couldn’t help but believe her words.
Everything backed up Acid’s words.
Hah…
A hollow laugh escaped.
The fact she had believed until now was denied.
Then, what was written in the book she borrowed from the library.
And what was the reason a human could exist as a kin.
Why did Lucia go to such trouble?
Was this also the play of these damn vampires?
The feeling of playing on the long board after knowing everything?
She didn’t want to know such things.
Suddenly, the words Seowoo said came to mind.
I can only tell you about Yuria. The memories beyond that will be able to be told once that door opens.
With this, it was clear.
The one door held was clearly the event of the past self becoming a kin.
Even for the sake of peace between past and present, there was a justification to kill Gunter.
And one more thing. You are both Lucia’s kin and my kin. Your body has my blood flowing through it, albeit faintly.
Reality didn’t give Seowoo even a moment’s gap.
Before the shock and anger could settle, Acid pushed a new fact into his mind.
You…?
It seemed to be related to the incident when she barged into the previous accommodation.
The family tree was twisted in every way.
Be grateful for the blood flowing in your body. Without it, I might have torn you apart.
Seowoo quietly nodded his head.
He knew that a kin was as good as family.
So, the problem starts from here.
Having more than one leash,
Whether good or bad, a choice had to be made.
You also have to choose, don’t you?
Lucia or…
Or me.