"Against Master's First Lover-1"

Ivory hurriedly untied the thin, red ribbon, opening the scroll. Sigmund peeked at the writings as she scanned through the pages.

Principal Arthurdane stood up from his seat and went behind Ivory and Sigmund. He scanned the scroll's content until he found the part wherein the Vampire Servants' information were written. He pointed out to the writing, "Here, read this part."

"Vampire Servants are obedient towards their Masters upon summoning…" Ivory widened her eyes in surprise. "Principal, this is…?"

The Principal shook his head, "There's certainly something wrong with your Servant if he's this stubborn, Ms. Sprucemint. Honestly, I haven't seen any Servant who thinks and acts very independently, even acting against his Master."

"Hey, what do you mean?" Sigmund raised his eyebrow as he stood up and looked down on him.

"Whoa, there," the Principal took a step back, "easy, Vampire. What I want to tell you… is that there's something wrong. That's just it."

The Vampire glared at the principal, so the old man continued explaining, "My hunch is that it's related to what happened back then. And only Goddess Destinia knows the answer. Why did she banish your kind, only to summon you after years had passed? Have you ever wondered what you're doing here right now, serving a new Master?"

Sigmund looked away, "Tsk. Darn it. If only I could talk to the Goddess-"

"Principal, can't we really go to the Oracle for help?" Ivory chimed in.

The principal returned to his seat and sipped his tea before speaking, "I apologize, Ms. Sprucemint, but as weak as you are right now, I can't risk your life here. As of the moment, Vampires are treated as criminals, so it will be too dangerous for you. And if you die, Sigmund will vanish, and we might never know what really happened during the murder of the Silverblade family."

"That's why I've been telling her, to be stronger and better," Sigmund murmured as he sat beside his Master again.

Principal Arthurdane nodded in agreement, "So Ms. Sprucemint, I have a favor to ask of you… Once you've become stronger, help us investigate this matter discreetly for the sake of the whole Kingdom. Can I count on you?"

Before answering, Ivory glanced at Sigmund, who was staring at her with a serious expression. She then turned her head to the principal and nodded.

"You better not slack off," Sigmund said in an assertive tone. "I'm going to be stricter this time, so don't be distracted by anything and focus on your training!"

"Of course! I'm doing this so that I can also win in the Servant Competition!" Ivory said with confidence. With a strong Servant with her in her journey, there's a high chance for her to achieve her ambition. "Nothing and no one can distract me!"

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But the following week, Ivory was surprised that as soon as she entered the classroom, she received a bouquet of beautiful red roses from a young man with reddish-brown hair. He introduced himself as Jasiel Redlock, a second-year student.

"Miss Ivory, I admire you so much. I hope you gladly accept my heart and become lovers," Jasiel, who was standing close to her, smiled sweetly.

With several eyes watching them, it would be rude not to receive the flowers that he spent his coins on.

Sigmund moved his way in between the two and pushed Jasiel and grabbed the bouquet from Ivory's hands. "My Master says no," he said in a cold tone and went near the window. He threw the present outside!

"Sigmund!" Ivory yelled at him as she dashed to him. "Why did you do that?!"

He furrowed his eyebrows in disappointment and grabbed her arm. He whispered, "You promised us that you won't be distracted by anything or anyone."

"But this is different-"

"Miss Ivory, is there something wrong?" Jasiel asked her as he walked towards them, "Why did your Servant…"

"Ah, about that…" Ivory knew Sigmund very well and thought of an explanation for his reckless behavior. After all, everyone knew that Servants only do what their Master wishes. "Sorry! I am actually allergic to roses!" she said and removed her arm from her Servant's grasp.

"I'm sorry if I didn't know. Your Servant must have been so worried about you. I'll just get you another bouquet of flowers." Jasiel smiled sweetly again, "I'll see you after school," and waved goodbye to her.

Arcea, who saw what had happened, quickly approached her friend, "Ivory, you're so famous that the second years are even smitten by your beauty," she giggled. "Aren't you going to give him a chance?"

"What! I barely even know him…" she retorted.

"You're going to get to know him in the process! Don't tell me you haven't gotten a lover in your whole life-"

She shook her head.

"Oh my god! Your beauty is radiating, and you tell me you haven't gotten a lover yet? This is your chance! Accept him as your lover and experience love-"

"Master," Sigmund, who became annoyed while listening to Arcea's encouragements to Ivory, interrupted, "class is about to start."

"Ahh… yes, you're right." Ivory rolled her eyes at him.

"I'll go back to my seat, too! Let's talk about it at lunch break!"

Throughout the class lecture, Sigmund observed his Master, who was obviously thinking about that sophomore. He didn't expect that someone would confess to her this early, when it wasn't even a month since she started at the academy. It bothered him so much he wanted to kick the second year on his ass.

When lunch break came, Ivory asked Sigmund to get her food at the eatery because Arcea had bought her own, and Lucius was absent.

'What does she think of me, his errand boy? That stupid woman,' he thought as he walked in the hallway. He stopped his tracks when he saw Jasiel, together with his fellow second years, who just came down from the stairs.

"Too bad, if I knew she was allergic to them, I would have bought the tulips," Jasiel told them. "Damn, she's hotter up close. I can't wait to see her in my bed."

"You just have to buy tulips next time, then," his companion said, "Are you really damn sure you're going to make her yours… even if she's only from Greensteid Town? I mean, according to rumors going around, her family's poor, and her Servant rejected her upon Summoning because her mana is of low quality. But.. they also said she's a virgin so..."

Jasiel laughed, "Dude, you know how I love preying on innocent ladies." A grin then formed on Jasiel's face, "I'll make sure she never stops thinking about me even after breaking up with her."

"Man, you're harsh. You're not even her lover yet, and now you think of a breakup?"

"I'm sure I'm going to be her lover. She's going to be mine, very soon. You'll see."

When their laughter faded away, Sigmund was standing in a corner, and thanks to his heightened hearing, he heard everything. 'I will not give her to anyone else!' he thought. He clenched his fists in anger, and his eyes glowed bright red. At that moment, he wanted to attack that guy and tore him into pieces.

He needed to let his Master know that the second year was only toying with her so without further ado, he returned to the classroom.

"Eh? You're back already?" Arcea uttered, "We're still talking about your Master's love life-"

But she was interrupted when Sigmund grabbed Ivory's hand and ran out of the room with her. They talked on the space under the staircase with discreet voices.

"What happened?" Ivory looked at her Servant's face. "You don't look okay."

"Don't accept that second-year guy as your lover." He held his Master's shoulders and leaned her onto the wall. With a serious expression, he told her, "I'm against it."