40 "Escape of the Ex-Students-1"

They left the jewelry shop, and Arcea noticed that Ivory had a new necklace.

"Why is Ivory getting a necklace from you?" Arcea squinted her eyes at Lucius. "How about me? Unless… you like her-"

"Arceaaa! The shopkeeper said it's a freebie!" Ivory hit her arm in a subtle manner, "You weren't looking, so Lucius gave it to me!" and laughed. "Right, Sigmund? The shopkeeper really said it, right?" she hit his side with her elbow three times.

"Yeah," he said before glaring at Lucius. "It's free."

Lucius noticed that the Vampire Servant's eyes glowed for a while, as if he's angry. He wondered if it was because of the gift he gave to Ivory and thought if he was worried that the incident about Jasiel would happen again.

"Fine, fine!" Arcea chuckled. "That necklace suits you, Ivory!"

"Thanks!" Ivory beamed.

"Look, there are some pretty clothes over there! Come with me!" Arcea grabbed Ivory's arm and pulled her with her as they excitedly entered the dress shop.

The two men remained outside.

"I almost forgot, Vampires have heightened hearing," Lucius told Sigmund. "Don't worry about me being Jasiel the second. I won't hurt Ivory because I don't feel any romantic feelings towards her. My friends' happiness is my happiness, too."

"If that's the case, why didn't you buy something for Arcea?" Sigmund raised his eyebrow. "You hypocrite. It's too obvious you favor Ivory too much."

"I feel comfortable around Ivory, and I can always be myself when I'm with her."

"Don't you feel the same way with Arcea?"

"Ivory and I are closer, but that doesn't mean I have feelings for your Master, Vampire."

"What a lame excuse, rich kid," he smirked. "But even so, my instincts tell me to trust you. Besides, you never told anyone about me being a Vampire, especially to the annoying Arcea, who can be a blabbermouth sometimes."

Lucius laughed about the Vampire's statement, and he nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, several city guards were seen entering each store. When one of the groups reached the dress shop, Lucius stopped one of them, "Good morning. What happened?"

Upon seeing him, they saluted, "Sir Goldwine!"

One of them replied, "Three ex-students of Qawiun Academy had escaped the carriage going to Silverblade Castle. They are supposed to undergo the ritual to be unchosen."

"Ah, I see. I apologize for delaying you. You may go now."

"Yes, Sir!" They saluted again and continued searching the shops along the street.

"I wonder who those three brats are. They're brave enough to escape your father's men," Sigmund commented.

"Those three will have to be taken to prison after doing the mana elimination ritual with the Oracle. It's a crime to escape it after quitting the academy."

When lunch time came, they all rode their carriages and traveled back to their homes. After arriving at Greensteid Town, Sigmund and Ivory got down the carriage and bid goodbye to Ebleu. They started walking towards their cabin.

"In the end, I never got to buy a dress," Ivory opened up. "When I think about spending 100 silver coins in a single frilly dress, I already feel bad."

"Why don't you just ask Lucius to buy it for you?" Sigmund laughed. "He's the General's son. A hundred silver coins? That's a small amount for him."

"I'm already indebted ever since my first day in the academy. To be honest, I already feel embarrassed," she pursed her lips.

"Embarrassed, huh? But here you are, still accepting things from him."

Ivory retorted, "But Sigmund, I-"

They were interrupted when Sigmund suddenly stopped walking. He halted Ivory with his arm when he heard some rustling sounds from the nearby trees.

"Hold up," he took her hand and moved her behind him.

The Servant saw movements behind a tree, and he quickly approached it while Ivory followed him. He formed a triangle using his fingers and used Earth Elemental Magic to trap the suspicious people in an igloo-shaped structure made from forest soil.

"Hey, let us out!"

"We are not suspicious people! We're just passing by!"

"Yes, we're just lost!"

Sigmund and Ivory looked at each other and decided to let them out as the hardened soil shattered.

"Well, well, well… It's the three little piglets," Sigmund grinned. "They're the ones who broke your magic staff."

"You three…" Ivory was puzzled. "What happened, why are you here?"

The three of them looked at each other and immediately knelt in front of the two.

"IVORY! PLEASE FORGIVE US!" the three of them said in unison while their Beast Servants were in their small inactive forms.

"Eh?" she tilted her head. "I have forgiven you already, and it was so long ago," Ivory replied. "I also apologize because I let my Servant break your magic weapons."

"Please let us stay here for a while," Amy pleaded as she stroked the rabbit in her arms, "We… don't want to part with our Servants, so we escaped..."

"Ah, so you three are the ones the city guards were looking for! We're going to turn you in-"

"Okay, I'll let you stay here," Ivory told them.

Sigmund widened his eyes in surprise. He whispered to her, "Hey, dimwit. Do you know that we can also be imprisoned if we hide them? They're considered criminals already."

Brinna scratched her skin, "I feel itchy in this place… Eww… Bugs everywhere…" Her frog Beast Servant followed the motion of the flying bugs with its wide, round eyes.

Cassie, who had her black bat Beast Servant on her shoulder, told Brinna, "Sssshh. We don't have the right to complain…" She then turned to Ivory, "But Ivory, do you have a spare room?"

"I apologize, but we do not have a space in the house for the three of you…"

"Please!" She held her hands together as she pleaded. "Please let us in. We can sleep anywhere inside. "I am allergic to insects."

In the end, Ivory let the three sleep in their house. The three were then introduced to Ivory's family, and they had pleaded to stay for at least two days.

And when night fell...

"I get that you want to help them, but…" Sigmund scratched his head. "Why did you let them sleep in your room?! I can't believe it, you actually agreed to sleep outside," he smirked as he was tying the thick rope on the tree trunk.

"Well, the living room has many acorn sacks, so we can't really sleep there." The two of them set up a small makeshift tent with a sheet of fabric just beside the cabin.

"Fine, you decide," Sigmund responded, creasing his brows.

Seeing that he had already set it up, Ivory plopped herself onto the cushions and placed her head above the pillow. "Thank you, Sigmund! Goodnight," she tucked herself in the thin blanket.

Sigmund sat beside her, "Before you sleep, give me your hand."

Ivory lifted up her right arm and her Servant grabbed her wrist. "Ah, yes... I almost forgot to give you blood."

"I'll only suck a little. You go to sleep."

Soon, after the mana replenishment, Ivory fell asleep. Sigmund stood up and when he did, the moonlight shone on his Master's face.

"What a stupid woman," he muttered as he stared at her. He knew how hardworking she was and that she had become stronger, but if she had a weakness, it might be her naivety and wrong judgment of another person's character. Ivory was too kind, and she had a pure heart. She had opened up one time and told Sigmund that she believed that every person has a gentle side. She believed that no person is truly evil.

Sigmund entered the cabin because he planned to get some more blankets for Ivory, but then, he heard the three girls' conversation from a distance, making his crimson red eyes glow in anger.