Chapter 15
Elysia brought Ryan downstairs.
Ryan’s sister had relaxed and fell asleep.
After Ryan had confirmed that, he exhaled a breath of relief.
“...?”
Elysia, seeing Ryan looking at his sister, felt the magic she had hung on was destroyed.
When Elysia came here, she was reminded of those who were after her, swallowing her dry saliva.
Someone skillful enough to destroy her magic?
She glanced at the scenery in the room and thought that she had to go out before anyone could enter the house, so she headed to the door.
“...!”
“It smells like blood...”-
It was Cassian who came into the cold night air.
He looked at Elysia and turned his gaze to the house. As Cassian beckoned out of the house, Lloyd entered.
He approached Cassian and spoke enough for him to hear.
“Our Knights alone can handle it.” Cassian replied with a sneer.
“Get it done by today.”
Even if they spoke quietly, Elysia couldn’t help but overhear it.
As expected, those who followed her were the ones that Cassian had sent. The reason for sending a person and the reason he came this far...
Did he think she’d drink someone’s blood? That this is a home invasion?
“Sigh— I don’t know what you’re thinking about, but what you think...”
Cassian cut off Elysia’s words and opened his mouth.
“You don’t have to explain. I didn’t get it wrong.”
It was directed at Elysia, but his eyes were fixed on Ryan.
The loose shirt and the back of his neck.
The purple eyes looking at Ryan were cold.
After receiving reports from the knights, it was enough not to hear an explanation of what happened.
“Even if you know the situation, you have come all the way here because you are in doubt.”
As Elysia revealed her displeasure, she questioned him.
She certainly said it wouldn’t cause problems.
Cassian took his gaze away from Ryan and looked at her.
“It’s not like that. I believe what you said.”
‘You say that with that face, it’s a foul.’
The embarrassment of his words raised a fishy smell again.
Seeing drops of sweat on her forehead, Cassian frowned and approached her.
He held her as Elysia looked to be in bad condition.
Cassian gazed at Elysia, who asked him to get off, and he blew his magic into the ring that she was wearing.
Elysia’s vision changed, feeling dizzy, and raised her hand to wipe her mouth.
“Hooo.”
Red blood smeared on her palm.
Cassian put Elysia down on his bed and wiped her mouth with his handkerchief.
“What about an antidote?”
Elysia shook her head weakly.
Cassian was showing a look that he was displeased.
“It’s okay. I want to go home.”
“You want to go like this?”
“There’s no other way, right?”
“What if you drink blood?” Elysia clicked her tongue from Cassian’s terrifying offer.
If she sucks, it will speed up recovery, so she would be in a much better condition than now.
Cassian reaffirms his offer after Elysia’s hesitation.
He sat next to her and began to unbutton his shirt.
“Wait!”
Elysia grabbed his hand, which was on the button.
Even though Cassian knew that she was a vampire, she couldn’t help but hesitate.
When she first met him, she was disoriented, but she’s not anymore.
“Ugh...” Elysia groaned at the blood coming up again.
Cassian raised his body and approached her with a clean handkerchief.
‘I really can’t stand this.’
Laughter came out for some reason in this situation where he was cleaning her.
Cassian wiped the remaining drops of blood from her lips with his fingers with the handkerchief next to her.
The moment he was about to drop his fingers, Elysia couldn’t overcome his body right before her.
Eventually, she snapped Cassian’s finger.
“...?”
“Then, thank you.”
Her tongue was hot because she spoke while holding his finger.
Biting his nape would enable her to drink a lot of blood, but she couldn’t afford it.
Kwook. His fingers were bitten hard, then a sharp object broke through and hurt his fingers.
Cassian raised his hand and covered his face.
Standing beside the bed, he could see Elysia drinking his blood. The appearance of her biting his own finger in his bed was stimulating enough.
“Hmm...”
She drank Ryan’s blood on the same day, so the difference was clear.
Cassian’s blood could not be explained by just saying that it was delicious. She tasted his blood and was worried about how she could drink other blood in the future.
Elysia lifted her lips and licked up all the remaining blood drops on her fingers.
This should be enough.
Elysia, feeling the shortcomings, held the back of his hand with her palm and put her lips onto his wrist.
She looked at him with comfort in her eyes.
Her gaze met Cassian, who was looking at her. At the moment, Elysia leaned against him with the feeling of her fangs slipping out.
“Hoo...” Cassian sighed and laid Elysia right on the bed.
When he saw Elysia’s condition, neither awake nor asleep, he raised his hand and covered her eyes.
“Get some sleep. I’ll be next to you.”
Her eyes blinked and the long eyelashes tickled his palm a couple of times, but this seemed to make her close her eyes. Her lower back was stiff.
Cassian covered her with a blanket, reminding her that she had been poisoned.
***
Early in the morning, Elysia lifted her eyelids.
She was covered, on a bed, and was filled with Cassian’s scent.
Her body wasn’t fully recovered yet, though she felt better. Elysia doesn’t feel like she’s going to be sick.
At this point, she recovered much faster than expected.
She looked up and looked into the room, but she couldn’t find Cassian.
Only then, the events of last night passed by. Though not long ago, he was sitting by the bed. Cassian was really by her side all night.
When she opened her eyes several times in the morning, she told him to go to sleep.
Her chest was tickling.
“I couldn’t even say thank you.”
Upon returning to the mansion, the butler approached Elysia, who had been staying out for the second time, as if he had been waiting.
Perhaps, he may have been contacted by the Duke of Esteban. If she stayed out without saying anything, it would have been an uproar.
Elysia greeted the butler with her awkward smile.
“There is a guest for the lady.”
“Guest?”
“He has the family card. The name is Ryan.”
A man came with her family card after she stayed out overnight. She wondered if there would be a really strange rumor.
“Where is he now?”
“Because the lady isn’t here, I’ve taken him to the guest room in the separate building.”
He came with the family’s card, so it was right for the butler to serve him as a distinguished guest.
Elysia wanted to call Ryan to her room, but she stopped.
It was because she felt the ears of the maids around her.
“Call him to the parlor, please.”
“Yes.”
At her words, she saw some of the maids blush.
He must have already caught the eyes of the maids. Ryan wasn’t a noble but had a good appearance, so it made sense that the maids were doing that.
Elysia returned to her room, changed into a comfortable room coat, and headed to the parlor.
When she entered the parlor, though what he wore wasn’t as high-quality as worn by the nobles, Ryan was dressed neatly.
Last night, the situation was so bad, it was a mess.
While Ryan got up and nodded to Elysia, her maids brought out tea.
“You came earlier than I thought?” Ryan nodded, revealing his dimples.
“Yes, that’s what happened.”
Looking at Ryan, the maids brought the tea at a very slow speed, and with Elysia’s sharp eyes, they finished in a hurry and stepped back.
Ryan looked at her silently until Elysia sipped her tea.
“Is your body all right?”
“As you can see. I did a little hard work, but I’m fine.”
Elysia did not hide that she had suffered.
He went there and helped her out, so she doesn’t think it’s okay to show off. She thought for a while that Cassian did the hard work.
She once again thanked Ryan.
“If you have any thoughts, come to me... Are you telling me to decide if I’m going to be the lady’s retainer?”
Elysia’s eyes went round.
Saying that he was her retainer felt very grandiose.
Besides, she didn’t mean that. “I mean, I’ll look into it if you want. So, that you can live in the Empire without needing to leave.”
At Elysia’s words, Ryan fiddled with the teacup for a moment, worrying.
“I am not a knight, but I’m quite useful.”
“Yes. I know. Aren’t you a great talent? “ With a little bit of Elysia’s help, he would be able to get a title even though it would be low.
Ryan, with a small smile at her words, stood up. Sitting on one knee in front of Elysia, he reached out his hand.
“I don’t know much about the knights’ oath of loyalty.”
A scene from the original story fell in her head.
A scene where Ryan swore allegiance to the heroine of the original story, Lumiere.
“I want to be your retainer. I know that you are strong enough. But... If you’re all right with me like this, I want to be by your side.”
The beginning was the same as the original, but there were subtle differences in the last words from the original.
‘I want to protect you’ was the original line.
She only helped him once, but can she influence his life like this?
“I just happened to be able to help, so you don’t have to.”
She felt like she had taken the heroine’s knight.
“I want to do this. You saved my world in many ways. Oh, if you think it’s not enough to keep me by your side...”
Elysia cut him off.
“I don’t think that.”
Ryan wasn’t confident because he thought it would be too daring for the lowly commoner, who had been in the assassination guild.
His swordsmanship hasn’t developed as it had stopped at some point, but he’s trying, so wouldn’t he be able to protect her?
There were also some aristocratic ladies who wanted their own person and treated them like a decoration. He thought it would be okay if Elysia allowed him to do so.
Elysia, staring at his palm waiting for her answer, raised her hand as if making up her mind.
Even though she felt a little guilty about his sincerity, at least she would be able to prevent him from dying even though she is the villain.
Her soft, white hands were on the hand full of calluses.
“I want to be the person who protects you.”
Ryan put his forehead on the back of Elysia’s hand.
“Yes, but I want to ask you something.”
“Yes, please tell me.”
Ryan waited for Elysia’s answer with a slightly flushed face.
“What do you think of me?”
He could see what she meant without any explanation. It’s probably because of what he saw last night.
“It doesn’t matter what you are, but if you’re anxious about what I know, it’s okay to do anything.”
He added that she could call a wizard and put restrictions on him.
Elysia smiled pleasantly and opened her mouth.
“Elysia. Call me by my name.”
“Yes, Lady Elysia.”