Chapter 8.39
"Have you gone retarded? Or perhaps, have you been tricked by the elves?"
Vitora's mind went blank for a moment at the sudden marriage proposal.
While inwardly wincing at the surprised expression on the vampire princess's face, who until now had remained indifferent, Victor went on with his words.
"It's not so strange, is it? Since ancient times, it is a marriage that has strengthened family ties. I myself am also a widow, and as I recall, I don't believe that Vitora-dono was married as well?"
"No, that's true, but ... I see, so that's what you intend to do. You intend to fulfill the contract and conclude the agreement at the same time by making yourself a member of the Waziart family."
"Yes. Actually, the Francilt family had other candidates for the next head of the family besides that girl. Therefore, this family can manage somehow even without me."
In short, he was a bona fide hostage.
However, in such cases, it is usually someone other than the head of the family, who is closely related to the head of the family.
It is unheard of for the current head of a family to be taken in by another family, from a country with which he has no diplomatic relations.
However, there is no hesitation or shadow in Victor's voice. Therefore, even Vitora could sense the seriousness hidden behind his gentle words.
"Well played. I know you only want to ensure the safety of your daughter, and you should be well aware of the conditions for joining my family."
"Yes, there is no such thing as half-vampires. Therefore, the only way to marry a vampire is to become one."
There are two ways to increase the number of vampires. Either vampires can mate and have children, or they can turn another race into vampires.
The fact that intermarriage is for the prosperity of the race is no different for vampires. And among vampires, there was no such thing as half-breeds.
They are, without exception, a race that has been intermarrying, by converting other races into their own through blood.
"Vampires suck blood and turn humans into monsters. But as a matter of fact, that is kind of wrong. Vampires do not turn people into monsters by sucking their blood. They give their own blood to turn others into beings like themselves."
"Yeah, that's right. For us, blood is special. To share blood is to make oneself a part of the other, and to make the other a part of oneself. That bond sometimes takes precedence over our belief, which values strength. But ..."
"Accepting blood does not guarantee that I will turn into one of you."
"Right. Rather, it will almost certainly fail. You are by nature unworthy of my blood. The reason our ancestors were hunted down in the first place was because of the rampage of those who couldn't stand the taste of our blood."
"Yes, you are right. My individual strength is nothing more than a speck of blowing dust to you."
From the very beginning, Victor did not believe that he could withstand the power of Vitora's blood. He had intended to sacrifice himself as soon as she asked him to fulfill the secret agreement.
"I will no longer be human. I will no longer be able to hold those girls. But that's okay. I have other successors besides those girls."
While saying so, Victor turned his attention to a painting that was displayed in one corner of the reception room.
There was a painting depicting his young daughter and his late wife, which had somehow been brought from his office.
His mind flashed back to the time of his daughter's birth.
At the time of Irisdina's birth, he was so flustered, much so that his wife and the midwife were appalled.
At the time of Somiriana's birth, he was filled with great sadness. His wife, who had been sickly to begin with, was on the verge of death, and their daughter, who was born prematurely, was also very weak. And he could only watch as his wife gave her life to protect their daughter, who was born with a weak body.
So he had made up his mind. If his own life was needed for his daughter's sake, he would give it without hesitation, just as his wife had done.
"Of course, I will take steps to ensure that you will not be disadvantaged. When I become a ghoul, I order Mena to dispose of me immediately. I believe that with her abilities, it will not be a problem."
In response to the Lord's words, Mena quickly revealed half of her body. At her waist, a rapier was raised.
*Ching ...* The blade of the rapier peeked out from its scabbard, and a sharp mithril blade was revealed.
In the face of Victor's resolve, Vitora finally burst into a smile.
"Ku, kukuku... good, very good. You have good eyes. Eyes that are determined to win even if it means death. Very much to my liking."
Perhaps unable to contain her laughter, a joyful glee that seemed to resonate in the pit of one's stomach escaped from Vitora's mouth.
The pupils of her red eyes dilated in unconcealable excitement, and her mouth began to distort in a devilish manner.
Her whole body was overflowing with visible magical power, and the snow outside the window was gradually increasing.
"Today is a good day. It's a good day for those with the same eyes to be gathered together like this."
"Same eyes?"
Victor tilted his head at Vitora, who suddenly uttered such meaningful words.
At that moment, the doorknob of the reception room was turned with a click. The Francilt mansion had already been cleared out. No one was supposed to be there. The sudden presence of a visitor made Victor involuntarily turn toward the reception room door,...... and he was at a loss for words.
"~... !?"
"Welcome, sacrificial daughters shunned by their own fathers. Regardless of the man there, I welcome you."
There they were, the daughters whom Victor had supposedly put to sleep and then banished. Bearing the same determined eyes as his.
=====================================
The time went back a little, before the negotiations with the Waziart family began. Irisdina felt her consciousness slowly rising from a heavy, lead-like slumber.
"U...... n......"
White light and heat penetrating the backs of her eyelids, her consciousness silently rose, sank, and rose again and again.
However, as she looked down, she remembered the figure of her father, who had declared her banishment, and her consciousness, which had been flickering in a warm blanket of white, was suddenly awakened.
"…………!”
Bouncing off the blanket, Irisdina raised herself up. The room, with its soothing brown coloring, leapt into her view.
The fireplace was lit and the sound of crackling wood could be heard. A lady was sitting in a chair by the fireplace. On her lap lay Irisdina's beloved rapier.
As soon as she saw that Irisdina had woken up, her tightened mouth somewhat softened.
"Oya~, are you awake?"
"Madam, Parline..."
Sitting in a chair by the fireplace was Mazarinette Parline, an old acquaintance of Irisdina's father.
When Madam Parline saw that Irisdina was awake, she poured water into a glass from a nearby jug on the table and handed it to her.
The coolness of the water in the cup calmed Irisdina's somewhat confused mind.
"Do you remember what that idiot said to you?"
"… Yes."
"I see."
Irisdina's voice when she answered Madam Palrine's question was so weak that it was hard to imagine from her usual dignified appearance.
Madam Parline looked at Irisdina painfully as Irisdina slowly sipped her glass of water.
Mazarinette has known Irisdina since she was a child.
She would become the next head of the Francilt family and protect her family. She has spent almost all of the ten years of her life since she was born for this purpose.
If one were to look closely, one would see that Irisdina's hand was just barely clasping the empty cup.
Not only that, the way she was biting her lip and desperately stifling her frustration showed how shocked she was at her father's declaration of disownment.
"Ane-sama!"
Suddenly the door to the guest room was opened and a young black-haired child burst into the room.
It was Somia, who had been put to sleep and brought in along with Irisdina, who jumped into the room.
Perhaps she, too, had been told that she had been disowned by her father.
Somia ran in with a sorrowful expression on her face, and when she saw her sister in bed, she jumped into her sister's arms, bursting into tears.
"Somia..."
"Ane-sama ... Father, father is... I, I ..."
While stroking Somia's head, who was sobbing and hugging her, Irisdina turned her gaze to Mazarinette, who was standing by the fireplace.
"Madam Parline, how long have I been asleep?"
"It hasn't been a day. Isn't it about time they started the final negotiations?"
"I see..."
Irisdina, too, could understand why her father had decided to cut her off from the family. The reason is that the Francilt family will now be negotiating with the Waziart family, with whom they have a long history.
Irisdina's heart was filled with indescribable anger at the sight of her sister breaking down in tears in her chest.
Logically, she understood. It was Somia who was the target of the secret agreement with the Waziart family, and Irisdina was the next in line.
That was why Victor tried to get them off the hook by disowning them.
(Father, I beg you don't be ridiculous!)
However, this was an act of betrayal of her resolve to carry the Francilt family on her back. With anger erupting from the pit of her stomach, Irisdina gritted her teeth in anger, and then she stood up from the bed.
"Wait, where are you going?"
"I'm going back to the mansion. I am the next head of the Francilt family, and I can't just put this one behind me."
As Irisdina turned to go to the door of her room, two shadows suddenly loomed in front of her.
They are the two maids who are serving as Madam Parline's bodyguards.
The maids are clearly skilled. Irisdina's eyebrows rose slightly.
In terms of personal prowess, she does not feel like she will lose. However, she is now unarmed.
Irisdina and the maids exchanged glances, and a sense of uneasiness filled the room.
"I can't let you go. Victor kicked you out. You are not Francilt anymore."
"No, it doesn't matter. Even if they take away my name, I still have the blood of the Francilt family running in my veins. If it were that vampire princess, she would ignore it for her own convenience."
"I suppose so. That's why he stayed. You know what that means, don't you?"
Irisdina's brilliant mind put the pieces that came to mind in her head into place.
And in response to the answer, she let out an outburst of anger.
"... What a selfish thing to do."
"Yes, it's selfish of him. But it's the last thing he wants to do. In that case, I'm willing to do what he wants, even if I don't like it."
Even though she could sense Irisdina's anger, Mazarinette did not lose her nonchalant demeanor. However, there was a slight tinge of sorrow in her voice.
"In any case, I have no intention of letting you go back to the Francilt mansion. It is frustrating for me as well, but I think it is the best thing to do."
Parline exhaled heavily to shake off her anguish and once again turned her gaze to Irisdina.
But Irisdina, too, would not back down.
Even though she had already been stripped of that qualification, she still took Mazarinette's gaze from the front, without moving an eyebrow, with her eyes filled with the dignity and responsibility of a member of the household.
"... Are you going to confine us."
"Yes, at least until this whole thing is over."
With a deep exhale, Irisdina caressed her sister, who was hugging her around the waist, and looked up at the ceiling.
They called it " banishment" and "confinement", but in fact it was just an outward disguise to protect Irisdina and Somia, a mere excuse.
Both Irisdina and Somia understood it all. They were not so stupid that they could not realize such a thing.
But even if they did understand, their emotions would still rage with the pain rising in the back of their throats.
Helplessness, disappointment, and rage. The pain in Irisdina's chest felt as if she had been stabbed with a thick needle. She felt as if the sound of something cracking was coming from deep within her ears.
(Even so, I...)
Rousing herself from a broken state of heart, Irisdina once again turned her gaze back to Madam Parline.
She is a lady who has taken care of her since she was a child and is like a mother to both Irisdina and Somia, who lost their own mothers early in life.
She is basically a strong-willed person, and sometimes her blunt words stand out, but she is still a very caring and warm person.
Irisdina's cold heart was filled with heat.
"... Madam Parline."
"Yes?"
"Thank you very much. Thank you for listening to my father's selfishness. And I am sorry. I cannot comply with this matter."
And Irisdina, with all the understanding of her father's and Mazarinette's goodwill, had to sever their close relationship and neglect it.
An abrupt thank you and then the expected rejection. Mazarinette's face contorted in bitterness as she realized what it meant.
"Irisdina..."
A heavy, yet warm voice, like that of a parent telling their child who is not listening. But even so, Irisdina did not budge.
She could run away. Faced with that choice, she chose not to run away.
"I have lived my life until now to be the head of the Francilt family. I have been committed to protecting what is important to me ... That is why I cannot back down here."
Protecting what is important to her. That is the reason why she holds the sword and the reason why she lives.
She could have run away. But she did not make that choice.
"And besides, perhaps Vitora's aim isn't us. She wants bigger fish that she can catch by using us as bait."
"… Nozomu Bountis?”
"Yes. I and my father are nothing more than bait for that vampire princess. That's why we have to go."
"... What do you mean?"
"If we're going to be held hostage, there are ways to do it."
"There can't be such a way..."
"There is. Only one. Though it is more difficult than threading a needle. Maybe Father is thinking the same thing ..."
Irisdina smiled as she said so.
It was a very fresh and optimistic expression for someone who was about to go face to face with death.
Parline felt an indescribable sense of unease at the expression of realization on Irisdina's face.
Her hands naturally tightened their grip on the hem of her dress.
"I will probably die. That is why there will be room for negotiation with the vampire princess. I can't do what I really want without risking my life."
Protect the people she cares about. She lived her life for that purpose. That was why she honed herself. She has devoted her entire life to it.
She cannot turn back, nor does she have any intention of doing so. That is the life Irisdina has decided for herself.
"Don't be ridiculous! There's no way I'm going to let you go!"
Madam Parline became furious at Irisdina for calmly considering her own death and allowing it to happen.
The angry voice echoing in the room showed how much she cared for Irisdina's well-being.
"Throw it away! Throw away who you have been, right here, right now! Then you can live with him! That's what that frivolous man, your father, wants!"
Mazarinette yelled at Irisdina to abandon everything she had been and everything she had done as a Francilt.
But even after hearing Mazarinette's cry, Irisdina only smiled in a troubled manner.
"Then it can't be helped..."
Mazarinette swiftly raised her hand.
The next moment, the maids waiting at the entrance of the room moved.
In an instant, they were clad in Qi, and without a sound or sign, they tried to attack Irisdina as if they were pinning her from both sides.
They intend to restrain Irisdina and Somia and take them out of Arcazam.
Perfect timing and a concealed form that hardly allowed anyone to detect the entrance of their movements. These two maids were, without a doubt, A-ranked and talented.
"Irisdina-sama, my apologies ... eh?"
"Kya~!"
However, the situation moved in a direction the maids did not expect.
The two maids were about to split in two directions. But their bodies were suddenly bounced to the center.
Their bodies collided and fell to the floor as if they were caught in a tangle, and then Irisdina cast a restraining spell on them.
Dark-colored chains emerged from the floor, completely restraining the bodies of the two maids.
"This is …"
Mazarinette's dumbfounded voice drifted through the room. Upon a closer look, the maids' bodies were entwined with thin black strings as well as dark-colored chains.
"I knew that Madam would try to stop me, so I prepared a spell beforehand that I could deploy whenever Madam gave a signal."
Having said so, Irisdina generated a black string made of magic power and attached it to her hands, playing with it as if she were playing cat's cradle.
[Black Spider's Magic Thread]
A magic that generates black threads made of magic power, which have strong adhesive power and elasticity.
In response to Mazarinette's signal, Irisdina secretly deployed the magic thread between herself and the maids, which could change its viscosity and elasticity at will according to the will of the user.
Using the tension of the threads, she then broke the maids' posture.
Predicting that her opponents were two people and would surely restrain her, she deployed her magic after having foreseen their coordinated movements.
Mazarinette's mouth was open in disbelief at the fact that her own men were easily restrained.
"I may look like this, but I've been through my fair share of ordeals."
With a smile on her face, Irisdina erased the magic thread she had been toying with with her hand and faced Mazarinette once again.
"Certainly, I love him, and I am very grateful to my father and to Madam Mazarinette for having taken my feelings into consideration."
"......"
"I want to be with him, and I want to live with him. I never thought I would feel this way. I never thought I would have such feelings for someone from the moment I decided to live my life as the head of the Francilt family."
That was undoubtedly Irisdina's true feelings.
All this time, she had been trying to keep it bottled up inside of herself and not say it out loud because she was aware of her role as the next head of the family.
"Even if there is no place for me next to him, I am happy just to be able to embrace this feeling. No matter what happens, this flame in my heart will never go out."
Irisdina weaved her thoughts and feelings that were hidden inside her. Because she spoke so frankly, the longing hidden in her words was deeper than the ocean and hotter than anything else.
Mazarinette was simply fascinated by her as she revealed her hidden feelings. She was fascinated by the moment when a young girl was transformed into a woman who knew love.
"But I can't throw away the me I've been, either. Because unlike him, I am ... weak."
Jealousy and a sense of inferiority did sway her heart. Nevertheless, she did not abandon who she was.
"I of the Francilt family, I who think of my family, and I who think of him ... I cannot abandon any of them. Because if I abandon even one of them, I will cease to be me."
No, she was not adept enough to even change herself. Even though she could handle everyday chores as if they were running water, at her core, she was just plain clumsy.
"Madam Parline, I believe that you, too, have come this far without abandoning who you are. When you were beheld by the former head of the Parline, when you thought of him, and when he passed away, you decided to carry what he had carried on his back..."
Hearing those words, Mazarinette really couldn't say anything.
She herself, like Irisdina, had once followed her one and only desire, and had even become the head of a large family.
"I feel the same way. Therefore, I will not back down."
Irisdina walked up to her and reached for the rapier that Mazarinette was holding in her hand.
There was no resistance. The rapier, which had been gripped without strength, returned to its rightful owner, and Mazarinette's hand hung down without effort.
"Ane-sama, I will go with you."
Somia, who had kept her mouth shut until now, announced to her sister that she too will return.
"Somia, but..."
You should stay here. She turned to her sister to tell her so, but the eyes of her sister, who was also determined to do the same, closed for a second.
"I have always been protected. By Father, by Sister, and by Nozomu-san..."
She had always been the one to be protected. Behind her sister and behind her friends. This made her happy, but at the same time, it cast a shadow over Somia's mind.
(I want to be like my sister). In a way, the shadow in her heart might have influenced her desire to do so. Even so, she grew up to be a kind and gentle girl who could think of someone else, because she received love from many people that could dispel the shadow that she was aware of.
"I always hated myself for being helpless. Even now, I am still helpless. But, but ..."
Somiriana Francilt knew how fortunate she was. And at the same time, she knew how helpless she was.
She didn't have the talents of her older sister, whom she admired. Neither did she have the ability to use a sword, and her magic was still weak.
"But! I, too, am a daughter of Francilt! I don't just want to be protected. I have to go forward for the sake of those I want to protect!"
Nevertheless, her heart was different.
Even if it was beyond her power, she had the strength not to lose sight of her own heart when the time came.
The younger sister in front of Irisdina's eyes, at least in terms of her heart, was no longer just a helpless person.
(Ah. Look how big you've grown already...)
In Irisdina's mind, the memories of her sister until now came back to her.
The life that was born with the death of her mother. The small but powerful cry of her sister made her see her own way in life.
A younger sister whom she had vowed to protect forever. But she would eventually grow up, too.
"All right, let's go together."
"Yes !"
Irisdina's smile widened as her sister nodded vigorously.
Mazarinette exhaled heavily as if she had given up, and pointed to the door of the room.
"I have a carriage parked outside. It was originally prepared to take both of you out of here. Use it."
"Thank you..."
The two sisters run out of the room, holding hands. After seeing them off, Mazarinette shut her eyes and looked up to the sky.
As the girls disappeared behind the door, the magic that restrained the maids was lifted.
The two maids, who had failed to complete their master's command, bowed deeply, biting their lips in frustration at their own inadequacy.
"We are sorry, Master."
"It's fine, it's fine. It's okay now..."
For Mazarinette, Irisdina and Somia were like daughters.
Hence, she intended to protect them. She thought she had to protect them.
However, the two she thought of as her daughters, before she knew it, were no longer just there to be protected.
"They had the look of a mature woman. It's only when they're apart that they realize their feelings ... No, they already knew they had them."
Irisdina, in particular, was aware of her excellence, but more than that, as a human being, she had a somewhat fragile side to her. For her, there was still a side of her that seemed unsafe if she did not keep a close eye on it.
However, they were already not the little girls that Mazarinette knew.
They had grown as women and as human beings, and they had already made their decisions.
They have already made their decision, with the thought of "for the sake of their loved ones," which they had once embraced and which had led them to this point in their lives.
"If so, there is only one thing I can do. All I can do is take away their worries, even if only a little ... You guys, you understand it, don't you? Contact Nozomu and Jihad-dono."
""Yes...""
At the same time, it meant that the girls were no longer in the hands of those adults to whom they had been raised. Then there was nothing more to say.
Watching from the window as the carriage rushed out of the mansion, Mazarinette began to move swiftly while feeling both joy and loneliness.
To connect the paths of those with a future.