“Right… Yes…”
After that, Meltreza and I shared everything about ourselves until there was nothing left to say.
We covered our origins, our lives so far, our hobbies and tastes—anything and everything, holding nothing back.
I learned so much about her.
She told me how her father met her mother, a true vampire, while on a monster-slaying expedition, and how they fell in love, resulting in her birth.
At first, the archduke was fiercely opposed to their relationship. But with his son so adamant, and knowing deep down that he wouldn’t be able to compete with a vampire should the situation come to blows, he eventually gave up on trying to separate them.
Eventually, Meltreza was born from their love. She was treasured not only by her parents but by the archduke, too, who found his granddaughter exceptionally adorable.
Then, shortly after her first birthday…her father and his forces suffered a devastating defeat while on an expedition to the neighboring Kingdom of Orléans and were never heard from again.
When Meltreza’s mother learned of this, she set off in search of her husband. Yet she, too, failed to return.
“…My mother is a true vampire, so she couldn’t have died so easily. That’s why I believe she’ll come back to us, one day,” Meltreza said with a soft smile.
“I see…”
She must have been terribly lonely. I swore that from then on, I would stay by her side and do everything in my power to ease her anguish.
“By the way, I was wondering… How do you know so much about yourself—even things from before you were born?” I asked.
“Ho-ho… I’ve gleaned a lot from my grandfather and from the diary my mother left me.”
“A diary?”
So her mother had written something for her in advance. Had she had an inkling of what would befall her?
“She wrote about me in it…or about vampires, rather, in considerable detail. Their basic abilities, for instance, and how they might have unique powers of their own…” With that, she started chuckling under her breath. “Ho-ho… My special ability, as it happens, is the power to see through people’s lies and ill intent.”
“Oh… I—I see…”
R-right… So that was why she accepted my ridiculous-sounding life story…
“S-so do half vampires need to drink human blood like full vampires do? Do you get cravings or anything?”
“Ah… Y-yes… I do get thirsty, sometimes…,” she whispered, averting her gaze.
“I hope this isn’t a rude question, but… What do you do when you get thirsty…?”
“Oh… W-well, seeing as I’m only half-vampire, half a glassful a month is usually enough to quench my thirst… We recruit volunteers from around our territories, and I buy blood from them.”
“I see…”
That must be how the rumors started.
“Can I ask a favor of you, Lady Meltreza?”
“What is it…?”
“From now on, if you need blood, could you make do with drinking only mine?”
“Wh-what are you…?!” She stared back at me in shock.
That would put an end to the rumors—and more importantly, I didn’t want her to drink anyone else’s blood but mine. Could it be that I’m jealous…?
“U-um… Are you sure…?” she asked gingerly.
“Yes. It’s what I want,” I said with a forceful nod.
“You… You’re so…!”
“L-Lady Meltreza?!”
All at once, she burst into tears, leaving me stumped as to how to respond.
“I-if you want, you can take some right now!” I blurted out reflexively, desperate to cheer her up.
The next moment, she leaped toward me and wrapped her arms around my neck.
Chomp.
Then she sank her teeth into the nape of my neck and began to slowly savor my blood.
“Ngh… Mmm…”
“H-how does it taste…?”
Wh-what in the world am I asking…?
“Sorry,” she said the instant she pulled her fangs away from my neck. “Do you mind if I look into your eyes for a moment?”
“Huh…? S-sure…,” I answered, not fully understanding.
“……”
Her crimson irises were beautiful and mesmerizing, all but drawing me inside. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest.
“… Just as I thought,” she said. “It’s faint, but there’s something blended in.”
“Huh? ‘Blended in’…?” I repeated, failing to comprehend what she meant.
What was blended in, exactly…?
“…It seems like a small amount of monster blood runs through your veins… Though I’m not sure how many generations ago it entered your bloodline…”
“M-monster blood?! Me?” I cried out in surprise.
“Yes…,” she said with a slow nod.
But there was no such history in the Grenville family, nor on my mother’s side, with the Norfolks…
“Perhaps it’s that blood that allows you to keep coming back from death,” she suggested.
“Y-you think so…?”
Ha…ha-ha… So all those times I died and found myself alive again at age fourteen… All of it was due to some monster’s ability…? No, some monster’s curse…?
“Master Hugo…” Sensing my distress, Meltreza fixed me with a concerned look.
Oh… As a vampire, she’s a monster, too. Acting upset over something like this in front of her would be terribly rude.
“I-I’m sorry. I was a little surprised, is all,” I explained. “I suppose we’re somewhat similar, then.”
“…Y-you…! You always say the very words I most wish to hear…,” she murmured, snuggling into my chest. “And j-just so you know…”
“Y-yes?”
“You’re the first person…I’ve ever bitten on the neck like that…” She blushed all the way to her ears.
I could feel my own cheeks growing hot at the sight of her.
“I-it’s already this late…?” Meltreza murmured, moving to open the curtains in an effort to hide her embarrassment.
Night had already descended outside, and a crescent moon shone brightly overhead.
“Ah-ha-ha… I didn’t notice.”
“…Will you be returning to the Grenville residence, Master Hugo?” she asked with a worried look.
“……”
I bit my lip and sank into a deep silence. To be perfectly honest, I would have preferred to stay far away from that place for the rest of my days. There was nothing for me there.
“Or, well… I-it’s already quite late, so perhaps you’d like to stay the night here…?” she asked nervously, staring into my eyes with expectation.
Ah-ha-ha… Have I ever in my life been so wanted…so accepted, as this?
“As long as I won’t be troubling you.”
“…O-of course not!” Meltreza exclaimed, clasping her hands together and flashing me a radiant smile.
What an incredible woman…
“I-I’ll have someone prepare a meal right away!” she said. “And we’ll have someone set up one of the guest rooms, and…”
“There’s no need to rush, Lady Meltreza,” I reminded her, holding back a grin.
“Oh… S-sorry…,” she whispered, averting her gaze. “Um, Master Hugo…? Ho-ho… Are there any foods you don’t like?”
“I can eat just about anything.”
It was true… Back at my father’s mansion, there were times I had to make do with nothing better than stale, moldy bread…
“Oh-ho! Then I’ll have our head chef show off his skills!”
“Ah-ha-ha…”
I could tell that Meltreza was overjoyed to welcome me into her home. And for my part…I was truly glad I had decided to take this gamble.
“B-by the way…,” she said. “D-does this mean we’re engaged now…?”
“Yes. Once our families have finished with all the formal procedures, that is.”
“In that case, I have a favor to ask you…”
“A favor…?”
What could be on her mind…? With so little to my name, there wasn’t a whole lot I could offer her.
“Um… I’d prefer it if you weren’t so formal with me. You don’t need to call me Lady Meltreza all the time…”
“Oh…”
S-so I was being too formal with her…
I had overheard the archduke refer to her simply as Mel…
“H-how about Lady Mel, then?”
“…My grandfather calls me that, so I’d prefer something special just for you… You can leave off the Lady part, as well.”
“R-right…”
Her crisp, no-nonsense tone of voice left me scratching my head.
B-but if Mel is no good… Her name is Meltreza, so…
Melt? Hmm… That feels a little strange.
Mellie? That one’s a bit weird, too.
After giving it considerable thought, I said nervously, “How about Melza…?”
“Melza… Thank you!” Meltreza—no, Melza—exclaimed, shyly taking my hand in her own.
She seemed to like the name, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
“In that case…M-Melza…” Ugh… Calling her by a special nickname all of a sudden is pretty embarrassing… “Could you think of something other than Master Hugo for me? I—I mean, I’ve never been called anything else before, so, er… You would be the first person to give me a nickname.”
“Oh-ho! In that case, may I call you Hugh?”
“C-certainly!”
So I’m Hugh, now…? The sound of it filled me with joy.
“Ho-ho. I’m sure Grandfather is waiting for us with bated breath. Shall we go find him, Hugh?”
“Of course, Melza.” I took her hand and turned around. But all of a sudden, she stopped.
“…Hugh? Excuse me, but…” For some reason, Melza was staring fixedly at my back.
“I-is there something wrong?”
“…There are traces of psychic magic on you.”
“Huh…?” I said blankly.
“I’m going to figure out what exactly it is. Could you hold still?”
“O-of course…”
As she examined my back, I could feel my chest growing increasingly tight and painful. There was only one person who could have placed such a spell on me—my father.
Ha…Ha-ha… What exactly did that bastard do to me…?
After a few moments, Melza spoke again.
“This technique…,” she said, her voice tense. “You’ve been brainwashed, Hugh. So that you would have a favorable view of someone…”
Ah… It all makes sense now… That naive, idiotic compulsion I had to be recognized as part of the family—it wasn’t even mine… I… I…!
“U-ugh… Nnnnnnggggggggggggh!”
“…Hugh?!”
My legs buckled beneath me and I fell to my knees. I wailed, pounding the floor over and over and over again.
Damn them all… House Grenville… To think they would take even my free will…! There’s no way in hell I’ll ever forgive them…!
“Hugh! I’m here for you! I’ll always be here for you!”
“Ugh… Melza… Melzaaa…!”
She caught me in an embrace as I cried out. I buried my face, scrunched up in anguish, against her chest.
It was too much… I couldn’t hold on…
Tears rolled down my face nonstop, and my sobs filled the room.
Then I blacked out.