Cecilia was gone.
The room was thick with a metallic, rust-like scent of blood, mingled with a sickly, morbid milky fragrance.
Bell stood rigid, motionless.
His right hand remained in the position Cecilia had forced it into, the warm, viscous fang resting quietly in his palm.
“Haa... haa...”
From the corner came Lilian’s suppressed, agonized gasps.
She was curled on the floor, clutching her bleeding mouth, her body twitching violently from the intense pain.
The sound was like a blunt knife, carving through Bell’s nerves that had been paralyzed by fear.
He slowly lowered his head and opened his hand.
The broken, blood-streaked, stark white fang looked exceptionally piercing under his gaze.
This was a gift.
It was the proof of our reconciliation.
His stomach churned violently.
Bell suddenly lunged toward the corner and slammed the fang against the wall with all his might, as if it were the filthiest thing in the world.
“Urgh...”
He leaned against the wall, retching violently, though nothing came up.
Only that scent, a mixture of blood and milk, lingered in his nose and throat, refusing to dissipate.
“Master...”
Lilian’s weak call brought him back to his senses.
Bell turned and saw Lilian struggling to push herself off the floor, only to collapse again as her strength failed.
Half of her face had been completely stained red by her own blood.
No.
She would die.
The thought struck Bell like a bolt of lightning.
She was his only tool.
She was the only weapon he might have to resist Cecilia.
She couldn't be ruined like this!
Bell forcibly suppressed his nausea and terror, quickly moving to Lilian’s side and lifting her from the floor.
“Hold on.”
He slid his arm under her knees and supported her back with the other, using all his strength to lift her in a bridal carry.
Lilian was light, but Bell felt as if he were carrying a mountain.
Holding Lilian, he rushed out of the dormitory.
He had to find a place to save her.
The academy’s medical clinic.
Bell sprinted the entire way with Lilian in his arms.
Occasional students passing by cast curious glances at him, but Bell didn't care at all.
He only wanted to be faster, even just a little bit faster.
The clinic doors were right ahead.
Bell kicked the door open and burst inside.
“Hello? Is the clinic instructor here?”
Before he could finish, he saw a figure in the corner of the room jump in startle.
It was a girl wearing a senior student’s uniform, sporting large black-rimmed glasses and a figure that was almost impossibly voluptuous.
At that moment, she was holding a small piece of cream cake, her mouth stuffed full.
Startled by Bell’s sudden intrusion, she choked, her face instantly turning a deep shade of crimson.
“Urgh... cough, cough!”
She pounded her chest desperately, one hand trembling as she reached for a water cup on the table.
Seeing this, Bell’s heart tightened.
He carefully placed Lilian on a nearby bed and then rushed over in three quick steps, grabbed the cup, and held it to the senior’s lips.
The girl didn't have time for anything else; she grabbed Bell’s hand and gulped down a large mouthful of water from the cup.
“Ha... whew...”
She let out a long sigh, finally recovering.
She looked up and saw a handsome face very close to hers, pale with anxiety.
Those clear eyes were filled with worry.
Pfft.
The senior’s face turned red all at once.
“Th... thank you.”
She was so nervous that she stuttered, not knowing what to do with her hands and feet.
“You’re a senior, right?” Bell had no time for pleasantries; he only cared about Lilian’s injuries.
He reached out and directly grabbed the senior’s arm, pulling her toward Lilian.
“Eh? ...Eh?”
The senior’s face was as red as a ripe apple. Her body moved completely against her will as she was dragged stumbling toward the bed by this junior who looked several years younger than her.
Bell pushed her down into the chair beside the bed.
“Senior?” Bell couldn't help but urge her when he saw she was still dazed.
“Huh?”
That address, “Senior,” seemed to have a magical effect, snapping the girl out of her trance.
She shook her head vigorously, straightened her glasses, and instantly entered a different state of mind.
“Where is the patient?”
Her gaze landed on the unconscious Lilian on the bed.
When she saw the blood at the corner of Lilian’s mouth and her abnormal complexion, she immediately became serious.
She reached out and carefully pried open Lilian’s lips to check the injury inside her mouth.
Then, her fingers touched something cold and sharp.
A fang.
Is she a vampire?
Tia’s heart skipped a beat, but her hands didn't stop.
When she saw the carnage inside Lilian’s mouth, even she, who was used to various injuries, couldn't help but gasp.
The left fang had been completely ripped out from the root!
The wound was a bloody mess, and she could even see the white alveolar bone.
“How could she be injured so badly?”
Tia didn't have time to ask questions, nor did she have time to think about why there was a vampire in the academy.
Saving a life was the priority.
She took a deep breath, pressed her hands together, and began chanting a complex incantation.
A soft green light, radiating the essence of life, lit up from her palms.
“High-Level Healing Magic!”
The green light flowed like water, gently enveloping Lilian’s entire head.
Under the light’s radiance, the blood at the corner of Lilian’s mouth stopped at a visible rate.
Her brow, which had been furrowed in intense pain, gradually relaxed.
Bell stared fixedly, his heart in his throat.
However.
Something strange happened.
Under the light of the High-Level Healing Magic, the flesh of the wound in Lilian’s mouth was healing rapidly, but the ripped-out fang showed no sign of regrowing at all.
That empty, bloody socket remained exposed.
Why?
Did the healing magic fail?
A look of extreme confusion appeared on Tia’s face.
It was just a tooth; how could it not grow back?
The light gradually faded.
Lilian had gone through a fierce battle and then suffered such a heavy blow. Once her injuries stabilized, she finally fell into a deep sleep due to the exhaustion of both her mind and body.
Bell looked at Lilian’s mouth, missing a fang, and his heart sank bit by bit.
“Junior...” Tia’s voice carried a hint of uncertainty.
Bell came back to his senses. He looked at the kind senior before him and made a decision.
He suddenly bent over and gave Tia a deep bow.
“Senior, I beg of you!”
“Please... keep this a secret for me. Don't tell anyone she’s a vampire!”
Tia was startled by Bell’s sudden move.
She looked at the boy. He was clearly so afraid that his body was trembling slightly, yet he still used all his strength to straighten his back and lower his head to plead with her.
The despair and entreaty in those eyes made her heart ache for no reason.
Pfft.
Her face turned red once again.
“Mhm... okay, I promise you, I definitely won't tell!”
She nodded frantically, her hands nervously clutching the hem of her uniform.
“I... I’m Tia, Tia Astein. What about you, Junior?”
Bell straightened up. Looking at the blushing, overly kind senior, the wariness in his heart lowered slightly.
He reached out and introduced himself with standard noble etiquette.
“Bell, Bell Lucas.”
Tia looked at Bell’s extended hand, hesitated for a moment, and then reached out her own hand to give it a light squeeze.
“Bell...”
Rate on N.U.
