VPCV 03

Chapter 3: Yes, I’ll Attack

Bang! Bang!

With the sound of fireworks, colorful paper and flower petals fluttered down through the air.

“Congratulations, milady!”

The servants’ congratulatory voices followed in quick succession.

Camilla was utterly bewildered by the scene before her eyes.

The gloomy, silent atmosphere of the castle had completely changed in an instant.

Not only had the chandeliers been lit brightly, but the hall was also filled with candles, and the ceiling and walls were decorated with ribbons and all sorts of flowers.

In the center of the hall stood a cake so huge that it nearly touched the ceiling.

All the servants wore party hats, smiling like clowns in unison.

“What day is it today?”

“Camilla, do you like it?”

Ben, who had somehow appeared beside her, was smiling more than anyone else.

“Explain what all of this is.”

“This is a party to celebrate your first blood-drinking, milady.”

“What?!”

Camilla screamed, staring at Ben.

Her expression mixed shock with disbelief.

“Who would throw a party for something like that!”

“Who, you ask? Milady, you’ve finally overcome your trauma and drank blood, how could we not celebrate?!”

Ben, touched that his efforts weren’t in vain, wiped away tears of joy, but Camilla looked disgusted.

“Take it all down! Tear off the wall decorations! Remove those ridiculous hats! And that cake—if I see it tomorrow, I’ll make the head chef pay with his head.”

At Camilla’s command, the head chef and the servants alike turned pale and moved in perfect unison.

Although it was clear they were disappointed that all their hard work had been undone in an instant, they could do nothing against a pureblood’s order.

Only Ben showed a sulky face as he voiced his discontent.

“Milady, it’s your first blood-drinking in ten years. The coming-of-age preparations are already complete… how can you—”

“What did you say?!”

Camilla snapped her head toward him.

“You said… coming-of-age ceremony?”

She genuinely hoped she had misheard. There was no way he had gone and prepared a ceremony on his own.

“Yes, now that you’ve fulfilled all the conditions, there’s no reason to delay. Since it’s already like this, we should hold the ceremony on the next fortnight!”

He must be completely insane.

“Camilla, it can’t go any further. If we delay the ceremony, only you will suffer.”

Ben spoke sincerely.

Even as an adult, a pureblood who hasn’t had their coming-of-age ceremony cannot receive the privileges of an adult.

As her steward, Ben had been anxious every day, worried that Camilla wouldn’t be able to hold the ceremony. Now that she had finally drunk blood, he thought it was the perfect chance to complete it quickly.

“Ha… fine. We’ll talk about this later.”

Camilla understood his intentions and chose not to scold him further.

‘For now, let’s deal with him first.’

Putting the ceremony aside, Camilla gave Ben a short order:

“Go fetch Doctor Linne immediately.”

“What? The personal doctor… why would you bring a human, milady?”

Ben had only just realized that Camilla was holding Leotiz in her arms and jumped in surprise.

“No matter what, a human—”

“One more word, and—”

Camilla cut him off, her eyes sharper than ever.

“If you speak again, you won’t leave a trace of yourself.”

Overwhelmed by her authority, Ben shut his mouth and swiftly disappeared.

Leotiz opened his eyes wide.

The unfamiliar ceiling came into view under bright light.

As he lifted his body and looked around, he found himself alone on a huge bed in a lavish room.

Looking down, he noticed he was dressed in luxurious silk instead of his tattered clothes.

His upper body was wrapped in bandages.

When he turned his head, he noticed a mirror on the bedside table.

In the reflection, Leotiz saw a mark on his neck.

‘What is this?’

Before he could ponder further, someone opened the door and entered.

“Oh, you’re awake?”

It was Camilla.

She was dressed in a simpler gown than before and immediately checked Leotiz over carefully.

“How do you feel? Does it hurt a lot?”

“Well… it’s just that—”

“You’ll feel uncomfortable for a while. It’s not just your injuries; you’ve accumulated a lot of fatigue. You’ve hardly rested, right?”

“Yes.”

As a professional hunter, a regular lifestyle was nearly impossible.

Hunting often required moving at night, sleeping outside, lying in wait for long periods. Even young hunters often fell ill or died from chronic conditions.

“Young one, work is important, but proper rest matters too.”

Leotiz frowned at the “young one” address, but Camilla saw it only as childish sulking.

“To me, you’re still a child.”

Although Camilla appeared to be in her early twenties, she was actually about five hundred years old.

Currently, she had only been inhabiting this body for about ten years, so she didn’t know the remaining 490 years.

“And also, you’ve been speaking too curtly. Use polite speech from now on.”

Leotiz was reluctant but remembered their contract and awkwardly added a polite ending to his speech.

“I… also have a name… yo.”

“Really? What is it?”

Although she already knew, Camilla feigned ignorance.

“Leotiz.”

“Who gave it to you?”

“I don’t know. Someone told me it meant brave like a lion, but it’s old-fashioned and I don’t like it.”

“Why? I think it suits you.”

She meant it sincerely.

Though he was a villain, she thought his name was excellent.

Yet he found it tacky—Camilla found this amusingly refreshing.

“Then I’ll call you Leo from now on.”

“Do as you wish. What should I call you?”

“Didn’t I ever tell you my name?”

Leotiz nodded.

“Camilla. Camilla Lilith.”

“Camilla.”

Leotiz repeated her name softly. The sound was surprisingly pleasant.

“This will be your room from now on. Do you like it?”

Leo glanced around.

The room was far too large for just one person.

“Do you have any questions?”

“Yes, I do…”

“Speak.”

“Why didn’t you turn me into a vampire?”

Unexpected and strangely fitting of him, the question made Camilla laugh.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Well, normally people ask about their future life.”

“Right. But I’m not normal.”

Her arrogance was apparent, yet Camilla nodded.

“Okay, there are two reasons I didn’t make you a vampire.”

She raised a finger.

“First, not everyone bitten by a vampire becomes one. Not all vampires can create new vampires either.”

“So then…”

“Only a pureblood like me can do it. Others can drink blood, but that’s all. You need exceptional physical and mental strength to survive a pureblood’s blood. If you can’t handle it, you die.”

“Then what is this?”

Leotiz pointed to the mark on his neck.

“Oh, that’s the sign of my servant. Even if you’re not a vampire, you can be my servant.”

Realizing the meaning of the mark, Leo looked at it again.

“Now that you’re my servant, remember this—”

“?”

“You belong to me. Every drop of your blood, every strand of your hair, it’s all mine.”

Camilla sat beside him, resting her head lightly against the nape of his neck.

Her slender, pale fingers moved like a serpent along his collarbone.

The fingers slowly traced upward, gliding past his sharp jawline with acrobatic precision until reaching a peak.

“From now on, you give blood only to me. If you give it to anyone else—”

Her thumb pressed against his slightly parted lips, capturing the warmth beneath.

“I will kill you.”

Despite the deadly threat, Leotiz was unfazed.

Instead, he drew a faint smile and removed her hand from his lips.

He held her cool hand, bringing it to his mouth and pressing his lips gently into her palm.

A shadow fell beneath his lowered eyes, and his golden gaze turned toward her. It was decadent, sensual, like a full moon emerging from darkness.

“What is this?”

“A kind of playful plea for mercy?”

“This is playful?”

“If you want, I can do more. But you must promise me one thing.”

“?”

“You won’t give your blood to anyone but me.”

Camilla smirked.

“Fine, I promise. Now rest.”

She gracefully withdrew her hand.

“Wait.”

Leo grabbed her hand before she could leave.

“You didn’t tell me the second reason.”

‘Persistent,’ she thought.

Though she didn’t really want to explain, Camilla sighed and spoke.

“Sometimes, living as you were born is the best choice.”

It was a strange reason for saying “you can’t.”

“Oh, and lock the door when you sleep.”

“Why?”

“You might get… attacked.”

It sounded like a joke, but before Leo could ask further, she had already disappeared.

That night, Leotiz wandered somewhere unknown.

‘Where is this place?’

Suddenly, flames shot up before his eyes.

Startled, he stepped back, only to find himself surrounded by fire, with screams echoing from all directions.

Among the chaos, a clear voice rang out:

“Survive! Stay alive…!”

“Ah!”

Leo opened his eyes wide.

The fire, the screams, and the voice calling to him vanished in an instant.

Instead, a woman with blood-red eyes glared down at him, poised as if ready to strike at any moment.