That's not your name

Okay, a red ceiling. Yeah, this place is already looking fancy and I just opened my eyes. My back feels comfortable and my chest hurts. It's bandaged though, meaning that someone took care of me over the who-knows-how-many-days I've been here.

I slowly get up, flinching from the slight pain, and look around. Wow. Just from this one room, you can tell that you're in a mansion. I'm in a master bedroom, and this room is extremely spacious. The theme colour of the room is red. This room has crystal chandeliers as well. Dang. Rich people.

Getting up, I walked over to the nearest window and peeked outside. It was a backyard and a few over buildings and past those buildings was a pathway leading to a village. Not a city. Meaning that I wasn't in Riel anymore.

Hey, Ai, are you there?

«Yes.»

What day, time is it and where am I?

«It is the 31st of May; it is 1:38 pm; in the mansion outside of Paragon village.»

So, it's been around a week, or so, since Devil's Hour. I survived another confrontation with death. This time, death didn't beat me, but I somehow cheated death. Okay, I've had enough in this bedroom. I should probably find the big cheese around here. Most likely the "blonde beauty" is the one who owns this mansion.

Ah, before that. Let's test out Intermediary Communication.

[Ummm... Sakurako, you hear me?]

But there was no reply. None at all. Guess she's sleeping or something. Perhaps there's a range for this skill.

And so, I exit the room after that small test. The corridors were also red and decorated with chandeliers and paintings. I looked left and right, then looked at another corridor. Except for the large pair of doors at the end of the last corridor that I looked at. Since it was the only one that looked a little different, I walked along toward the door.

Being in identical corridors made me feel slightly claustrophobic and uncomfortable. How do the people who live here find their way around the mansion? Muscle memory or a mind map wouldn't help. I guess my Internal Compass could help me.

Once I reached the door, I opened it. It opened up to a large room, and I mean fucking large. It was larger than the bedroom I was in. And that room was something I considered large. That bedroom was probably around the size of my apartment, but this was at least twice as large.

'I see you have awoken.'

An unfamiliar, apathetic, voice spoke. I looked over to my right. A woman in a maid's uniform walked toward me. She looked Japanese. Her hair was in a ponytail. It was jet-black and her lifeless eyes were also black. Though I'm ashamed to say, the most recognisable feature on her was the ugly scar, stretching from the bottom of her neck to the left side of her cheek.

'Are you Japanese?'

Are the first words that escaped my mouth. The instant they left my mouth, I blocked my mouth and waved lazily and apologetically at her.

'S-sorry, I shouldn't have asked that. Your name would've been the most appropriate thing to ask first.'

The maid shook her head.

'No, it is fine. First, I would like to say that I am not Japanese. Actually, it would be more accurate to say that I do not know. Secondly, My name is Saxon, the head maid at the Scarlet Estate.'

The head maid, huh? That's cool. But what does she mean by that she doesn't know if she's Japanese or not? Does she not know her family tree or something? Hmm... The most plausible thing to say is that she has amnesia or something.

I bowed.

'My name is Altair Nox.'

As I raised my head, the maid looked slightly confused. Well, more like she didn't know what to do. Her fidgeting was kind of cute.

'You do not need to bow to a lowly servant like me.'

'Lowly?'

I stared at her hands. They were bandaged and kind of red, probably meaning that they were bleeding. There's hardly any housework I can think of that would cause a maid to cut her fingers except for cooking. The other thing I thought of was treating wounds. With a medical knife and stitches.

I felt the area around my heart. Though it was bandaged, I could tell that the wound was stitched up. I then felt my waist; that wound was also stitched up albeit my movements did feel stiff because of this.

'You're the one who did my wounds, right? Even if you didn't, I would still treat you like a normal person.'

Saxon's, The maid's, cheeks flushed red but her expression stayed the same, almost like a mannequin.

'Oi, kid, what are you trying to do to my favourite maid?'

Another voice spoke. This one was bossy and tough. Turning around, I was shoved out of the way. A blonde girl, around my height–she was a little taller–walked past me and sat on the sofa, which was facing my way. Saxon walked behind the sofa.

The girl held a glass of red wine in her hand.

The girl, despite her attitude, was beautiful. That was the simplest way to describe her. Her hair was a fair yellow. It was mid-length and shiny. Her skin was snow-white while her eyes were scarlet-red. Her eyelashes were blonde too. She wore a black dress.

The vibe this girl had around her was scary. She definitely wasn't human, and I'm sure she wasn't a child either. Those crimson eyes bore through me like she was looking through my soul. She took a sip out of her glass of wine.

'So, I saved you, but I don't know who you are. You don't have to say thanks, just tell me your name. That's where we'll start.'

She said.

I'm guessing this was the blonde beauty who saved me. Coincidentally she seems to also be the master of the mansion.

I snapped out of admiring the girl and introduced myself.

'I'm Altair Nox! It's a pleasure to meet you! Thank you for your hospitality!'

Bowing, I shouted my thoughts. However, she didn't seem to accept it.

'That's not your name. Introduce yourself again.'

Huh? Excuse me, but... that is my name. Well, now, anyways. There's no way she could possibly know about my previous life, right? Nah, no way. Instead, let's just introduce myself again with the same name.

'I'm Alta–'

The glass of wine broke in her hand and the wine covered her hand. It almost looked like blood. I would've gotten the wrong idea if I had just walked into the room. Well, enough of that. The expression on her face is much fiercer than before. The vibe she gave out was like she wanted to kill me. She was leaking out bloodlust.

'Do I really have to spell it out for you? If so, then let me rephrase my order. Tell me the first name you've ever been given. Here's a hint. Japanese.'

The last word she said reverberated in my head. How does she know about that?

Shit, I guess she wants to know my first name given to me. If I don't say it, then I'll die... Probably.

'I'm... Tatsuya Kimihiko.'

The tense feeling I was getting eased up as the girl started to smile.

'Good, good. You understood. That's good. I'll tell you my name. My full one.'

The girl leaned forward on the sofa. She crossed her legs and rested her hand on her chin.

'I'm Avera Dracula Scarlet. A vampire. The third progenitor, to be exact.'

'W-wait! You're a vampire?!'

Avera, the vampire, looked quizzical.

'Yeah.'

Damn, I never realized that vampires existed. This is a fantasy world, so anything can happen, I guess. But... why would a vampire–Dracula, no less–save me from death?