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THEY jostled about in the carriage over the next hour before it broke onto the seaside road. The dismal weather and thick clouds made it difficult to see too far ahead, but the lack of sunshine suited Yuuri just fine.
“Mind if I open the window?”
After only an hour of travel, the air outside the windows had changed considerably. The salty aroma of sea air danced about the carriage.
“Is that the harbor? Look at the huge boats docked there.”
Ernest was pointing at the two large boats docked in the harbor, flanked by several smaller vessels. Products for trade were stored in warehouses neatly built along the shoreline. Several of the storehouses belonged to Watoh Company.
The coastal road eventually gave way to a hilly incline. The carriage came to a stop in front of a stunning church, leaving its passengers to make the remainder of the journey on foot. Ernest leapt out first and instinctively offered Yuuri his hand.
Just how many ladies has he helped out of this carriage…?
Yuuri wasn’t quite sure what to make of Ernest and his eccentricities, his behaviors and mannerisms were very refined. He was especially gentle in his treatment of women, which made Yuuri suspect that he wasn’t exactly inexperienced with them.
Meanwhile, Yuuri was a naïve, socially awkward shut-in. Being a vampire aside, she had always struggled with social mores. Her chest tightened upon realizing the difference between them, and she began to resent him for it.
Ernest reached up to help Yuuri down. Despite her resentment, she took his hand. Her mind desperately wanted to pull away, but some other part of her, the human part, was completely entranced by him.
So she held his hand as they climbed the hill to her grandparents’ graves.
No matter how sullen she became, Ernest continued to offer her the same gentle smile. That patience only irritated her further.
The hilltop had a view of the ocean and a quaint little graveyard nestled under a large weeping willow. Yuuri headed straight to where her family rest.
“June, H.E. 751…and July of the same year? You had so much loss in such a short time,” Ernest murmured in shock as he read the dates etched into the gravestone.
“Yes, but they both lived to a ripe old age, so I believe that, as long as they’re together in Heaven, they’re both happy,” Yuuri said, unable to think of anything else to say.
Her grandfather had died of illness. But her grandmother, who died shortly thereafter, had not succumbed to illness or old age. She had died of starvation, having lost her food source. But Yuuri did not see this as a sad thing. As a vampire, this was perhaps the greatest end one could wish for.
“I see…”
“Is something wrong?”
“No.”
Ernest closed his eyes and offered a prayer to the pair. Yuuri placed the flowers she had bought and joined Ernest, closing her eyes as well.
Grandmother, Grandfather, I truly am a fool. Ernest is so good and kind. But someday, he too will leave me. So I can’t…allow myself to fall for him.
She could never tell Ernest this. He was a good person.
If she went ahead and drank his blood and the day came that he could no longer sustain her, she would die.
She was the irresponsible one. For drinking his blood without telling him the truth. Wishing for him to stay with her solely because she would die without him was downright deplorable.
I’m so sorry, Grandmother. After all those times you warned me…
Vampires truly were awkward creatures. Awkward, yet devoted.
She was certain that her great-grandfather truly had wanted a son-in-law with a strong business acumen. Yet his daughter went and fell for a simple gardener. Vampire tradition dictated that once a vampire chose their partner, they were entwined for life. Her great-grandfather had been left no choice but to accept their decision, despite the difficulty this would cause him.
Thus, her grandmother had always harped on her to find someone she truly loved. Someone who could accept her for who she was, all of who she was.
But whenever Yuuri asked how to find the right person to fall in love with, her grandmother told her she couldn’t answer that question. Still, she desperately wanted Yuuri to learn from her mistakes.
I’m so sorry, Grandmother. It looks like I’m a lost cause too. Yuuri continued her one-sided conversation with her grandmother in her thoughts.
Having said all that she needed to say, Yuuri slowly opened her eyes and glanced over at Ernest, who was still deep in prayer, his hands clasped in front of his chest.
“Count Selden…?”
“Hm? …Oh, done already?”
“Yes. I just wanted to let them know everything that has been going on.”
“And did that ‘everything’ include me?” he teased.
Almost everything Yuuri shared with her grandparents was about him. About the case he’d assigned her, about how he treated her shop like a cafe…and about how he had offered her his blood.
He had been absolutely right, and yet his smug attitude, his know-it-all, “It did include me, didn’t it?” irritated her so.
“Yes… I told them about how I’ve become acquainted with an odd nobleman as of late.”
“Odd? …Ah well.”
Ernest was so tolerant of all her idiosyncrasies, and yet she still struggled to be open with him. She instinctively pushed him away,
But she feared what would happen if she told him the truth, and what a weak person he might think her if he knew how greatly she depended on him now.
The two of them made their way back down the hill to where the carriage awaited them. When they reached the steps, he again offered Yuuri his hand. They walked hand in hand for a bit before Ernest came to a sudden stop.
Yuuri followed his gaze to see a young man in all black, down on his knees in silent prayer.
Ashes were scattered about his feet, as if he’d recently burned paper. He had likely delivered his thoughts to the departed by burning them on the scrap of paper, thus sending them along with the smoke to the hereafter.
Not wanting to disturb his silent ritual, Yuuri fell back a step to try and find another way down to the carriage.
“Joel? Joel Weller?” Ernest called out to the young man. The young man, his eyes moss green and his hair ash brown, stood up and slowly gazed at the pair. His mouth broke into a gentle smile as he recognized Ernest.
“Ah, Ernest. Fancy seeing you here. And who is this lovely lady with you…?”
“I’ve told you about my lovely little witch before, haven’t I?”
“Yours? I do not belong to anyone!” Yuuri shoved his hand away, her face scarlet.
“Lady Yuuri, this is Baron Joel Weller.” Ernest had intentionally ignored her outburst and moved the conversation along.
“Pleasure to meet you. I’m Yuuri Watoh,” she greeted despite being irked with Ernest.
“So you’re the famed daughter of Watoh Company. I’ve heard all about you from Ernest.” Joel seemed like a decent man. Unlike so many others, he didn’t leer at Yuuri, with her rare obsidian eyes and raven hair.
“Are the two of you friends?” she asked.
“We go all the way back to boarding school. Remember when I borrowed those medical books? He was the one who was going to try and translate them. He’s a promising diplomat who’s fairly proficient in Xingkaese. Or he’s supposed to be…”
“Supposed to be? It wasn’t my fault! Medicine isn’t exactly my specialty, you know?”
Now it made sense why Yuuri’s appearance didn’t surprise Joel. As a diplomat proficient in Xingkaese, he likely dealt with people from the East on a daily basis.
“It’s actually fortuitous to meet a witch from the East like this. I have something I’d like to ask your help with.”
“You want my help?” Now Yuuri was taken aback.
“Yes. Actually, it’s about my late father—”
“Hold it! All requests for the witch’s help must come through me! Don’t just dump your problems on her,” Ernest said, cutting him off.
“Hey, don’t just—ah!”
“Sorry, but please give us a moment.” Ernest dragged Yuuri off, not releasing his hold on her until they were under the shade of a large tree.
“Miss Yuuri, you lack the knowledge of how things work and a fundamental cautiousness of the world. First of all, stop assuming that other men have your best interests at heart. You don’t need to commit to helping him just yet.”
If she shouldn’t assume strange men had her best interest at heart, then what should she do about the strange man who made a habit of inviting himself into her shop?
She tilted her head and gave him a quizzical look.
“Uh, except for me, naturally. And you’re always wary of me anyway. In this situation, you should do the opposite.”
“Do the opposite?”
“For now, you should think of me as the only safe man in the world. All others should be suspect!”
Yuuri had no idea where he got the confidence for such declarations.
Clearly he had forgotten how he told her the second time they met that he was dangerous too. But, even though they still didn’t know each other well, she was positive if she pointed this fact out to him, he would merely deflect with some eloquent comeback. Which was why Yuuri tried to change the subject rather than engage in a needless argument.
“…So are you saying I shouldn’t even speak to other men for work? Even though I want to become a renowned witch who helps the people of this city like my grandmother?”
“Well, I’ll be with you while you talk to this man, so it’s all right. And if you do accept his request, I’ll see to it you get proper compensation.”
“Compensation…?” Yuuri stared into Ernest’s blue eyes, now firm with his resolve. By compensation, it was clear he meant his own blood.
“You don’t want mine? Would you prefer his instead? You know it’s probably not a good idea to let your secret get around to too many people, right?”
No, Ernest’s blood was the only blood she craved. She craved it so badly that just the suggestion of it suddenly made her mouth water.
“B-But what do you gain from all of this?”
“My, you are quite the difficult woman… Have you never heard of noblesse oblige? Also, it’s natural for one friend to want to help another. But if you are going to help him, I insist on doing it with you, all right?”
Their negotiation settled, the pair returned to hear Joel’s request.