VPCV 10

Chapter – 10. I Protect You, You Protect Me

“Aaaah!”

A horrific scream echoed throughout the ballroom.

Startled, Camula tried to assess the situation, but all she could see was a streak of red tracing an arc through the air.

Then, a familiar, low voice whispered in her ear.

“No matter how much you try to mimic humans, a monster is still a monster.”

It was Leotiz.

“W-what is this!”

The noble still couldn’t understand what was happening to him.

He had only intended to grab Camula out of anger for being ignored, but suddenly his hand was severed.

“I merely cut it off because you dared touch my lord’s body. Is that a problem?”

Unlike the noble, clutching his severed wrist and fuming, Leotiz calmly brushed the blood off his dagger.

Leotiz’s sudden appearance was enough to stir the entire room.

“I tried to stay nice, but there’s only so much I can tolerate.”

When Camula had greeted everyone earlier, Leotiz had no intention of stepping in.

He knew the vampires wouldn’t take kindly to a human around, and he didn’t want to put her in any trouble.

He had planned to quietly watch and leave, but then that dragonfly-like red woman had intervened, completely changing the atmosphere of the hall.

Camula was the protagonist here, yet everyone present seemed to only listen to the red woman and follow her lead. The red woman openly made comments that insulted Camula.

That alone was irritating enough, but seeing the swarm of dark insects circling the red woman and mocking Camula pushed him to act instinctively.

“How dare you!”

Just as the enraged noble twisted his face and bared his teeth…

Whoosh!

Leotiz thrust his dagger beneath the vampire’s jaw.

It was so fast that even a vampire’s eyes could barely track it.

Camula narrowed her eyes at the movement.

“One more step and your head won’t stay on your shoulders.”

As the blade pressed in, blood began trickling from the noble’s nape.

“Camula!”

The noble’s gaze shifted to her.

Camula exhaled softly and looked at Leotiz.

“Enough. Stop it.”

As Leotiz withdrew his weapon, the noble started protesting, looking both shocked and indignant.

“Camula! This man suddenly cut off my hand!”

“So what if he did?”

“Eh?”

The noble froze. Camula’s cold smile made him uneasy.

“Before you point out what’s wrong on my side, shouldn’t we consider your crime first?”

“What do you mean? I haven’t done anything wrong!”

He was genuinely bewildered. All he had done was request a dance.

Yet suddenly his wrist was severed, and Camula was protecting the one who did it.

No matter how hard he tried to protest, Camula merely stared at him with her icy gaze.

“No wrongdoing?”

“Yes!”

“Then how about this?”

Camula rolled up her sleeve.

A bluish bruise marked her slender wrist.

“!”

The noble’s eyes and mouth widened in shock.

“Why are you so surprised? You caused this, didn’t you?”

“Ah, no… I didn’t grip that hard…”

“The evidence is clear, yet you still pretend to be innocent.”

Camula deliberately spun her arm slowly so everyone could see.

“Everyone here saw you touch a pureblood. Do you understand what happens if you dare hurt one?”

For vampires, purebloods are revered to the point that they would sacrifice their lives without hesitation.

He had dared to wound a pureblood, which was a grave offense.

Moreover, all present had witnessed the noble grab Camula’s wrist.

“If you commit such insolence and still live, that would be the real disgrace to the pureblood’s prestige.”

Camula’s words caused an uproar.

“Touching a noble pureblood is unforgivable!”

“He deserves to die!”

As condemnation poured in, the noble’s face turned pale.

“But…”

Just as he went completely speechless, Camula spoke again, and the room instantly quieted.

“Today is a celebratory day marking my official coming of age. I’ll overlook the severed hand this time.”

The summoned attendants grabbed his arms.

“C-Camula! I-I was wrong! Please give me one chance!”

Even as he was dragged out, unaware that she had already shown mercy, the noble pleaded for leniency.

The terrified screams of the vampire echoed until the door closed, then vanished without a trace.

“Camula.”

Lamia, who had been watching beside her, approached angrily.

She seemed upset that her subordinate had been humiliated and driven away.

But Leotiz blocked her path, preventing her from reaching Camula.

“Step aside! How dare you block my way…”

Then Lamia noticed the mark on Leotiz’s neck.

“So, you’re a human subordinate?”

Her words caused another stir.

“How dare a human stand so arrogantly in front of me!”

“Then how dare you insult my master?”

“What!”

Unable to contain her rising anger, Lamia raised her hand.

Camula quickly intervened, grabbing Lamia’s wrist and whispering in her ear.

“Stop here. Pietro will arrive soon.”

Lamia immediately froze.

“If he finds out about this, it would be troublesome.”

After a brief hesitation, Lamia relaxed her stance.

“Fine. Since part of this fault is mine, I’ll let it slide this time.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

“But you’ll protect my dignity, right? As a friend.”

Lamia glanced backward.

Other nobles were lined up, waiting to dance with Camula.

At that moment, someone extended a hand toward Camula.

“My lord, shall we dance a song together?”

It was Leotiz.

Camula looked at him in surprise, then willingly took his hand.

“Very well.”

“Camula! Are you abandoning your kind to choose a human?”

Lamia reacted as if the impossible had occurred, and others watched in astonishment.

But Camula didn’t flinch.

“Yes. He’s more to my taste than any of them.”

Lamia’s expression twisted further, but Camula ignored it and moved to the center of the hall with Leotiz.

The banquet had officially begun.

“I clearly told you to stay in the room.”

“If it weren’t for me, that woman would have completely overpowered you.”

As Camula lightly complained while stepping in rhythm, Leotiz added his comment.

“Are you alright?”

Camula looked up, but his gaze was elsewhere.

He hadn’t expected bruises to form so quickly.

“Don’t worry, it’s already healed. And this… it’s my doing.”

“Eh?”

He had only intended to playfully give her a hard time, but hadn’t expected to sever her hand.

“Where did the sword come from?”

“I swiped it from the statue.”

Camula’s eyes fell on the fountain statue.

Indeed, one of the swords adorning it was missing.

“You should have hidden it, though.”

“Would you just stand by while my woman gets hurt?”

“My woman?”

Camula frowned.

“You’re not a man, after all.”

Leotiz smirked mischievously.

But Camula couldn’t smile.

“You could have gotten hurt. Why’d you do that?”

Most vampires present were hostile to humans.

It was fortunate Camula was there; otherwise, they would have attacked him as a group.

Leotiz knew this well.

“You’ll protect me, won’t you?”

“What?”

“If I protect you, you’ll protect me.”

As long as they needed each other…

Camula felt a heavy, warm sensation settle in her chest.

It wasn’t intimidation or pressure.

It made her feel strangely flushed.

Although it probably meant nothing, she deliberately changed the subject before it got more awkward.

“When did you learn to dance?”

He danced surprisingly well.

“I took lessons briefly in the past.”

Despite the short training, Leotiz led Camula skillfully.

Camula silently admired his unexpected talent.

‘In the original story, all he did was cut and crush things…’

It felt like seeing beyond the original narrative.

“Everyone’s staring at us. They look like they could overturn everything any second.”

Fortunately, the ballroom’s atmosphere remained lively, but nearly everyone was glaring at them.

“When this dance ends, they won’t bite my head off, right?”

She wasn’t willing to give in, yet…

Camula chuckled softly and placed her hand on his nape.

“Don’t worry. As long as this mark is here, no one can touch you recklessly.”

The mark of a subordinate.

As long as it remained, no foolish soul would dare harm him.

They might have killed him a hundred or a thousand times in their minds, but she wouldn’t control their thoughts.

“Then I can’t just stand still either.”

“Huh?”

Leotiz bowed slightly, then pressed his lips against Camula’s neck.

The soft, cold skin met his warm lips, and she flinched.

Like leaving the first footprint on snow under morning sunlight, Leotiz slightly parted his lips and nibbled.

His provocative act shocked most of the onlookers, who gasped.

As he lifted his head, Camula noticed a new red mark on her nape.

It was a beautiful imprint, matching his own mark, and Leotiz smiled contentedly.

“What’s this?”

“Nothing.”

Camula rubbed her neck, but Leotiz played coy.

Then—bang!

The ballroom doors slammed open, and a shadow stepped inside.