NAPE - 70

The attic was silent for a while. This was unbelievable. Doyoon’s mouth hung open. He hadn’t entirely dismissed the possibility, considering Luna Servant had become pregnant while working in that family.

However, having heard about the Executioner since childhood, Doyoon quickly discarded that speculation. According to what he’d heard, the head of the Executioner family, Ecstecold, was extremely fastidious and disliked interacting with others to an extreme degree. It was said he had lived an ascetic life in a monastery for five hundred years—that said it all.

A vampire who shuns pleasure wasn’t normal. How could such a person have fallen for a maid in his own home?

“The Executioner trampled everything I had under the pretext of suppressing the rebellion.” Claireval, full of hatred, continued speaking. “My friends, family, subordinates, even the meager wealth I had painstakingly gathered—all of it. I barely managed to escape and prepare for war again, launching a counterattack... but I was miserably defeated. Luna, who had been providing information, suddenly disappeared. When I finally found her, through gritted teeth, she was pregnant and knelt before me, apologizing.”

The thought of Luna Servant, pregnant and kneeling, made Doyoon uneasy. With a somber face, he continued listening.

“After countless threats, I learned that Luna was carrying that cunning Executioner’s brat. The probability of a vampire getting naturally pregnant is extremely low. It turned out that the medicine I had been giving her daily had weakened her body—a drug to reduce regenerative abilities so she could hide as a pureblood vampire. That’s how she was able to get pregnant. Luna trembled with fear, afraid of my anger, but for me, it wasn’t bad. After all, it was the last remaining opportunity, wasn’t it?”

“Opportunity?”

“Yes. The last chance for revenge! The day that child was born... I informed the Executioner. Told him to come see the child. Honestly, I didn’t expect much.”

Claireval’s voice was laced with excitement, as if recounting a peak moment.

“That Ecstecold bastard came to see Luna and his daughter. That day was the first time I saw a different emotion surface on his handsome, cold face. What do you think I did?”

“You took the child and the woman hostage and dealt with the Executioner,” Doyoon said coldly, closing his eyes tightly. Hearing Bibi’s background was more difficult to control his emotions than he had anticipated.

Claireval rambled on like an adventure story about how he had tortured and annihilated the Executioner. But Doyoon didn’t hear it. His body trembled with an indescribable rage. He suppressed the urge to twist his handcuffs off immediately and blow up this entire mansion. No. Not yet, not yet.

Right now, Doyoon needed to appear to Claireval as a curious, danger-loving vampire.

“When the Executioner disappeared, the Ecstecold family was thrown into an uproar. The Executioner family was powerful, but they had a fatal weakness: no heir. Seeing those who served him scatter like grains of sand was so joyful!” Claireval laughed gaily, as if reliving that moment. “After eliminating Ecstecold, I immediately went into hiding, as if I had been annihilated. I needed to prepare for war again, after all. My detestable sister had rendered great service in eliminating the Executioner, so I allowed her to raise the child in the basement. But once a traitor, always a traitor.”

“What happened?” Doyoon calmed his shaky breathing and raised an eyebrow again, feigning interest.

“That idiotic Luna tried to flee with a child, who was barely four years old, spouting nonsense about making her the heir to the Ecstecold family. When I caught her, she sent the child out first and then set fire to the mansion.”

Bibi was particularly afraid of fire. Perhaps that memory had left a scar.

“First, I shot the child’s leg as she escaped through the window. I had silver bullets. Seeing the child in pain, Luna went half-mad, throwing all sorts of things and charging at me. To throw away the last chance I gave her... how foolish. I personally erased my sister from this world right then and there.”

“...”

“Everything was sickening. I abandoned my sister’s child in the basement and left. To avoid any potential intervention or pursuit from the Executioners, I left England entirely. And for a while, I forgot everything. During the peak of the war, I participated in chemical weapons research, and even joined an American pharmaceutical company to develop drugs. Those were boring days.” Claireval sighed as if in pain. “One day, it was a terribly lonely day. Just when I thought there was no one in the world as lonely and miserable as me, it suddenly occurred to me. My niece.”

“...So you went back for her?”

“Yes. That child... the one Luna named Bibi, was still in the basement of this mansion. Her condition was severely bad. She was almost like a shriveled mummy. Fortunately, she was sleeping. She probably went into a state of suspended animation herself. For any other vampire, it would have taken decades to recover. But perhaps because she had a special bloodline mixed in, a few drops of blood brought her back immediately. She was still an untainted pureblood vampire. So I decided. I would raise her meticulously as a family member solely for myself. And at the same time, gather useful vampires around her. I raised Bibi as a hound. I treated her more strictly than necessary, but... it was a form of settling the past. After all, she was born with the blood of a filthy traitor and an Executioner, wasn’t she? I had no choice but to diminish and strike down that part.”

Doyoon no longer felt the pain of the gunshot wound. A burning heat was concentrating in his chest.

“Through that hound, master and trainer could forge a strong bond. Mixed-bloods and ordinary vampires alike worshipped me like a god. They will be the main force of the new army. So, have all your questions been answered now?”

“More or less.” Doyoon managed to regain his composure and nodded. As he subtly twisted the handcuffs, he gained a little more room to move.

“Now. Tell me. Where is Bibi?”

“As if I’d tell you immediately.”

“You haven’t forgotten my warning, have you? I also know how to kill vampires. I’m skilled in various tortures. Shall we start by... throwing you to those guys?”

The hounds grinned maliciously. They were itching to devour Doyoon’s pureblood in an instant.

“Why drag it out? If you’re going to do it, do it quickly and directly. I came all this way to meet you.” Unfazed by the threat, Doyoon smiled calmly.

“You’ve been sounding like you wanted to meet me all along.”

“Honestly, I’ve become a bit more curious about you than Bibi. Claireval, I understand you.”

“...What did you say?” Claireval asked again, as if he couldn’t imagine it.

“We’re people with the same thoughts. I want to have a serious conversation.” Doyoon looked directly into the camera, trying to appear as sincere as possible.

“Don’t try any tricks! You, the successor to the Executioner... you can’t understand my feelings!”

The opponent was a loser. Therefore, he was timid and full of suspicion. But he had been emboldened throughout their conversation. Doyoon could see him unwittingly relaxing. And now, he was wavering.

Vampires are social beings. Even if they live among humans and command packs of hounds, they inherently need emotional connection with their own kind.

Could he refuse the temptation when someone appeared after 200 years, claiming to understand and want to know him? It was a vampire’s nature to bite into the forbidden fruit, even knowing it was forbidden.

“It’s no trick. Look, I’m tied up, unarmed. I’m even weakened by my injury. Plus, no one even knows I’m here. You already searched my body, right? There’s no tracker or anything. The bio-signal meter was only worn because of my associate’s stubbornness.”

“...”

“Why don’t we have a frank conversation? I’m quite interested in the hound army. As you might have noticed, lingering around Bibi and me, I haven’t tried to capture you. The Hunter Association’s request was also moving slowly.”

“Indeed. What’s the reason?” Claireval asked quietly, as if he found it plausible.

“...I told you, I’m very interested in the hound army.”

“Then, are you saying you also intended to use Bibi? For what purpose?”

“The reason I kept her wasn’t for protection. She was merely a medium to meet you. I want to form an alliance.”

“An alliance?”

“Yes. Why not? We have the same goal. I also find the Elder Council displeasing, just like you.”

Claireval was silent. He was wavering. Please, please show yourself, you rat. Doyoon prayed inwardly, maintaining a calm expression.

“Listen, my main goal right now is humans. We must rule over them. I want a return of the Black Death. To subjugate humans, it’s right to reduce their numbers. I’m only eliminating the Elder Council because they’re in the way.”

When the Black Death occurred, the plague spread faster due to vampires, reducing Europe’s population by half. Some said that this was an opportunity to dominate humans, but thanks to stronger voices of self-reflection, the worst-case scenario was avoided.