Blood Stains

On the other hand, Reeva was quite relieved to be able to escape from that powerful vampire. On the way home, she was surprised that the place where she slept was a large mansion where the Chamore Empire banquet was being held.

The path she walked on also still had the scars of her fight with the vampires last night, but it was only a scratch on the tree. There were no traces of blood or corpses lying there.

'They shouldn't have cleaned it up so soon.'

Reeva's return was immediately greeted by Aria's sobs, which had always worried her since they separated.

"Finally, you're home too. I was terrified that you didn't survive against those vampires." Aria, who was at the Monster Hunter headquarters, immediately ran and hugged Reeva while crying.

"I am home." Reeva smiled and stroked the head of the girl, who was only her shoulder height.

Aria let go of her hug and realized something was wrong with her partner.

"Are you hurt, and why are you using a blanket?"

But before Reeva could answer, a middle-aged man interrupted their conversation.

"What about the vampire?"

Unlike Aria, her grandfather did not care about her safety at all and cared about her mission.

"M-master? Isn't this the right time to ask that?"

Reeva grabbed Aria's shoulder and pulled her behind her. "Don't go on."

Master asked while sharpening his sword without looking at his granddaughter.

Unable to refute Reeva's words, Aria glanced at him annoyedly. "You heartless old man! How can he remain indifferent even though his granddaughter nearly died."

Reeva immediately silenced her colleague's mouth and answered her grandfather's question.

"The client who gave the mission tricked us. Vampires didn't attack the imperial banquet, but rather it was a banquet hosted by vampires. I was framed and failed to exterminate them all."

"Can you finish it?"

"Of course, I will complete this mission. I am still annoyed by their cunning." Reeva is still annoyed with the underhanded abilities of the vampires, which makes it difficult for her to win the fight.

"Alright, I'll let you keep on doing this mission."

"Thank you, I will not fail next time."

After the conversation was over, Aria returned to check on her partner's condition.

"Reeva, I will take care of your wound. You must be treated immediately." Considering that Reeva was seriously injured the last time they met, Aria was sure that her comrade was seriously injured.

"I'm only slightly injured. Don't worry. I'm used to fighting."

"No way, it's been 5 days since we parted ways at the imperial banquet. You must be treated immediately!"

"Huh? 5 days?!" Reeva stuttered at Aria's statement. She couldn't believe her fight with the vampires had happened 5 days ago.

Worried that there was something she didn't know, she pulled Aria out.

"Are you sure it's been 5 days already?" Outside the headquarters, Reeva again confirmed Aria's words.

"Uh-huh. It's already Tuesday."

"How can I sense that it happened yesterday?! Then what about our scheduled mission?"

"..." Aria was silent as she watched her partner's face.

"Aria?" Reeva looked surprised when Aria was stunned and didn't listen to her words.

"Reeva, what happened to your eye?" Aria widened her eyes when she asked about the strange thing that had happened to her eyes.

Reeva immediately lifted her face and looked at the window beside her.

She was surprised to see that her pupils were no longer blue but had turned red. Since when did her eyes turn like that?

"Ah, looks like I hit my eye during the battle 5 days ago. I need to rest. See you soon, Aria." Reeva stuttered as she tried to dodge the changes in her eyes. She immediately ran away from Aria while covering her eyes.

"Let me check..." Aria again tried to persuade Reeva to be treated, but the silver-haired girl didn't listen to her and just ran away.

*Bam*

Reeva immediately entered her room and locked the door.

"Is this the meaning of the contract made with the vampire prince?" Reeva couldn't hide her surprise when she looked at her face in the mirror.

Her eyes were blazing red, like the eyes of the vampires she had seen while fighting them.

"I think Aria only found out about this. I have to keep this a secret from the other hunters and grandfather. It would be a problem if they discovered I had become a vampire."

Since then, a lot has happened to his habits and appetite. Starting from being unable to sleep at night, extreme thirst, and not being able to eat vegetables anymore.

After a week of not leaving the room, his eyes finally returned to their original color.

"Finally back!"

Reeva always noticed the hourly changes in her eyes in the mirror. She was delighted when she saw the difference in her eyes.

*Knock* *Knock*

A servant knocks on Reeva's room.

"Miss, are you awake?"

"Uh-yes, already."

"There's a letter for you. I put it at the door."

"Thank you."

Even though she is a monster hunter, she is still the granddaughter of the owner of the hunter association. So don't be surprised if she is served by a maid.

After the maid left and ensured no one was passing in front of her room, she immediately opened the door and quickly took the letter.

Reeva's eyes widened when she saw the envelope.

The sender of the envelope had a silver seal on the dark blue envelope, with a foreign name she had never known.

'Oh, my… is your beauty that of your owner?'

She felt strange at the thought that even the envelope was as beautiful as its owner.

The letter's contents politely asked her to meet him, written in great handwriting.

There is also written about the symptoms that will be experienced by her if she does not immediately see him.

'... Losing my mind and going on a rampage?!'

Of all the symptoms she will experience after becoming a vampire, only 2 things worry her the most.

Reeva was annoyed because this was the first time she had been confused by the monster she was hunting for.

"So the vampire's name is Valerian."

She knew that Valerian was powerful. She probably wouldn't be able to escape if she was determined to return to that vampire mansion again.

But before deciding on his request, she asked Aria to find out information about vampire abilities and their habits.

"Reeva, I've got it."

"Good, come on in."

Aria comes to Reeva's room and gives her the research results on vampires.

Since her eyes had returned to normal, she wasn't worried about taking Aria into her room.

"How about you. I heard that the impact of the 5 days of fighting was severe enough that a high-class Monster Hunter like you had to rest for a week."

Reeva made an excuse of being seriously ill to cover up the changes in her eyes. She had to avoid the hunters' suspicion of her. This identity should not be known by anyone, especially her grandfather.

"Yes, the poison they use is quite strong. So I need to get some rest."

Reeva started to read the notes that Aria had made.

A vampire has sight, smell, and hearing, all superior to humans, including extraordinary strength and resilience.

Vampires are defined by the quality of their blood and do not become stronger or weaker later on. They can still learn battle-based skills like sword fighting.

All vampires are initially humans who transform when they swallow vampire blood. However, they like to pretend otherwise and look down on young vampires as 'former humans'.

They have no body heat, pulse, or bodily excretions because their metabolism has stopped and never ages.

A human who swallows a vampire's blood does not become a vampire but rather an incomplete one.

As hemovores, they can only swallow blood and nothing else. The better the taste, the stronger the desire to drink the person to death.

All ancestors were noble, and humans were turned into vampires by ancestors being noble. Nobles were much more robust than normal vampires and wielded superior weapons.

Vampires are also not resistant to the sun and will burn if exposed to direct sunlight. Because of this, they always use rings and UV-protective armbands to protect themselves from the sun.

After reading Aria's notes, she immediately noticed the change in her.

"Huff, it's still there."

She still has a heartbeat and has no problem basking in the sun.

The most significant changes are only in her eyes, habits and appetite. Besides that, she is still like an average human.

Her strength also did not undergo significant changes. She is slightly more robust and has a more acute sense of smell.

Even though there was a change, it wasn't like what Aria had written.

"Why are you suddenly sunbathing?" Aria, under the tree, was a little surprised when Reeva invited her to sunbathe.

"Just looking for some vitamins. I've been in the room for a week."

"If there's nothing else I need to do, I'll continue looking for information about vampires... Ugh."

Just as Aria was about to return, she was accidentally scratched by a sharp branch of a tree.

"Why? Did someone attack?" Reeva was a little wary and checked the surroundings, worried that someone might attack them.

"No, I just scratched a branch." Aria wagged her hand and tried to calm Reeva down.