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Volume 6 Chapter 3 Part 1

CHAPTER 3: Sad News

I remember the pain of being constantly stirred in the deep darkness. Or perhaps I was the darkness itself, struggling desperately to take on some form.

Without any context, I understood that this darkness was the Arts. I’ve been swallowed up by it, and I was now trying to regain my former self…

… but I couldn’t remember what that former self of mine was.

For some reason, all I could remember was the cold feeling of the cobblestones of the street beneath my feet. Maybe I’ve already been carved into someone else’s body?

That’s when I heard someone’s voice calling out to me.

「Irvin, this is an order! Wake! Up! 」

I heard my master shouting into my ear. Loudly.

At that moment, my eyes have been forced open.

* * *

「What do you want to do to me…?! 」

Irvin shouted while jumping up in a panic, but the his mistress hugged him tightly and started crying.

「Thanks Gods, I’m so glad, Irvin…! 」

「Madam, you shouldn’t… 」

Irvin panicked even more and tried to release himself from Siluca’s grasp, but she resisted his attempt at doing so with unexpected force.

「There’s nothing wrong with that, since I’m not anyone’s wife just yet! 」

Siluca shook her head violently, and then she just continued to sob into Irvin’s chest. Only when she was done did she move away from him, and after she wiped her tears with her sleeve, she smiled at him.

「Welcome back, Irvin. 」

Irvin simply held his forehead with his hand and desperately tried to organized his disjointed thoughts and memories. It took him quite a while to realize that what he was experiencing right now was not a dream, but reality.

「Ahh, now I remember. I fought against an Assassin of the Rossini family and used the Black Witch’s poison to defeat him… 」

Irvin muttered to himself. He thought the he was done for after he himself got poisoned, but apparently, he somehow managed to survive.

「Was the poison actually not as dangerous as the Assassin said it was? Or was the dosage of it too small? 」

「I think that the poison that the Black Witch concocted was highly poisonous, and that you’ve been injected with a lethal dosage of it. You can thank Luna and Emma for saving you. They’ve injected you with their Werewolf blood, since apparently it has great regenerative abilities, but the recipient is not compatible with it, they can supposedly die instantly after receiving it. 」

「Werewolf… blood? 」

Irvin frowned his brows slightly.

「Does that mean that I’ve become a Werewolf myself? 」

「I heard that if a Vampire injects its victims with its blood, it can turn them into the members of its household, but I don’t know whether the same rule applies to Werewolves or not. 」

Siluca replied, letting Irvin know that she didn’t have a definitive answer to his question.

「You definitely did! 」

With those words, Luna and Emma burst into the room.

「Now all you need to do in order to transform into a Werewolf is to picture yourself becoming one in your mind, so hurry up so we can be Werewolves together! 」

「No, that cannot be! I’m a Chamberlain! 」

Irvin became angry at the words of the Werewolf twins, but they didn’t care and jumped onto his bed, rubbing their bodies against him.

「You’ve been asleep for over half a month. 」

Siluca sat down on the chair next to the bed and explained to Irvin while His Highness Balgary emerged from her shadow and proceeded to nestle himself on her lap. After getting permission from him, Siluca started gently stroking his back, which cause his highness to purr with satisfaction.

「Where are we right now? And what happened ever since I lost consciousness? 」

Irvin continued asking Siluca questions.

「This used to be a castle belonging to the Rossini family, but now it belongs to Lord Theo. 」

Siluca answered him, beginning her brief recount of everything that’s happened ever since Irvin fell asleep.

「I see… so Lord Theo won his war against the Rossini family… 」

Irvin looked relieved when he heard that.

Assassin Boltz is dead, and the Black Witch has been captured. At the current moment, she is being held in the castle’s dungeon, where she was tied up so that she couldn’t move as ingle muscle and was under constant surveillance.

「While you were out of commission, these girls have been working really hard. They even took on the role of my personal maids. 」

「So when Irvin will finally become a Werewolf… 」

「That’s not going to happen! 」

Irvin interrupted Emma. Even though she and Luna were identical twins, Irvin was able to tell them apart ever since they first met.

「But putting that aside, allow me to thank you. You were taking care of me while I was asleep all this time, I presume? 」

「Of course we did! 」

「Priscilla also used the healing powers of her Crest on you. 」

Emma nodded, and Luna agreed with her. The twins then looked at each other and grinned with mischievous flashes in their eyes.

「And you know what, Irvin? Siluca was also taking care of you! 」
「What… what did you say? 」

Irvin felt as if all of his blood just froze solid inside of his body.

「Well that was a ruse reaction. I also studied Life Magic during my Magic University days, so at least I can do that much whenever someone needs help. 」

「N-No, that is not what I meant! It’s just that it’s unthinkable for a servant to be taken care of by their master, Lady Siluca! 」

Irvin seemed to be very upset by that fact.

「You weren’t even conscious when I was taking care of you, so I don’t think you need to worry about anything. Besides, you’ve been a huge help to me ever since you started working for me, so I was more than happy to return the favor in such a way. 」

Siluca said so with a smile. Then she proceeded to tell Irvin that for the first ten days after the battle was over, he didn’t even move a single muscle. But after those ten days passed, his body gradually started showing more and more reactions.

「You seemed to be in an unusual daze earlier, so that’s why I thought I’ll try to order you to wake up. Imagine my surprise when you actually did that, though. As expected of a Chamberlain, you fulfill the orders that you’re given even if you’re with one leg in your grave. 」

Speaking those words seemed to have reminded Siluca about what happened, and she burst into tears once more.

「Oh, by the way, why did you call me that when you just woke up? Madam, I mean? 」

「T-That’s because… 」

That was probably due to what he was thinking just before he passed out after his battle with Boltz: that he wanted to take care of Siluca and Theo’s children in the future.
「I think I was half asleep, but I assure you that I am fully awake now. 」

Irvin decided to weasel his way out of answering that question directly.

「I see. Hearing that made me happy though. 」

Siluca said while chuckling.

「I’m sorry for all the inconveniences I’ve caused you, but I am fine now, so please give me any orders you want, Lady Siluca. 」

Irvin said as he tried to get off the bed. However, the twins remained entangled with him and wouldn’t let go. Even when he tried to shake them off of himself, he just couldn’t find the strength to do so.

「Goodness gracious. 」

Siluca looked at the three of them and sighed.

「If you want it that badly, then as your master, I will give you a command. 」

「Yes, gladly! 」

Irvin’s expression immediately lit up…

「You are to rest and sleep until you regain your strength. I’ll bring you some barley porridge with medicinal herbs later. 」

But Siluca gave him the cruelest order possible.

「Emma, Luna, please keep an eye on him to make sure that he follows my order through. 」
And just like that, Siluca left the room while smiling to herself.

* * *

The basement of the castle of the Rossini family was a prison where Rossinis used to keep their enemies. When Black Witch Yana regained consciousness, she concluded that she apparently was held in one of the cells.

She was blindfolded, gagged, and her hands and feet have been chained. It was a terrible treatment, but at least she had a bed and was being given food, so it was not the worst possible outcome for her.