"Trusting the Vampire Servant"

"What do you mean, Principal Arthurdane?" Ivory asked in a puzzled expression, "I don't understand."

"You're really a hopeless Master. Why do you not get what he meant?" Sigmund smirked. "It was my fault why the Vampire Class was banished."

"What?! But why? What happened back then?"

Sigmund started narrating about his past Master, Deshanna Fogheart, who became one of the best Royal Knights in the Silverblade Castle due to her great combat skills. Because the two had immense trust in each other, her mana became of top quality, making Sigmund's magic techniques become more amplified.

The Servant continued, "After we moved into the castle, I was requested to be the prince's official magic trainor and tutor, while my past Master was tasked to train the warriors in the castle's training grounds."

"Oh, Servants and Masters have separate duties?" asked Ivory.

"Yes, but they shouldn't be far from each other," Principal Arthurdane answered her question. "Remember, Servants need to replenish their mana. If their mana totally runs out, the Master will permanently lose the mana they used to materialize their Servant. It can lead to illness, or even death if prolonged," he explained. "Remember when you got sick because this stubborn servant of yours refused to have a Contract Ritual?"

Sigmund glared at the principal who kept teasing him, while the newbie Master nodded at him. Ivory then turned to her Servant, "And then? What happened?"

"Until one day… I found out about an important secret that she purposely hid from me. It also came to my knowledge that she and the King used a barrier so that I wouldn't hear them whenever they talked about it. I got mad at her, and the trust that we built between us shattered."

Judging by how Sigmund's expression changed, Ivory felt how much he cherished his past Master. It must be tough, suppressing his emotions. Even though they've only been together for a short while, and despite him being naturally stubborn and prideful, his Vampire Servant could be quite helpful in times of need.

"They hid her in one of the castle chambers, and she was being guarded by Royal Knights and their Servants, and I…" Sigmund clenched his fist. "I used my magic to knock them all unconscious."

The Principal cleared his throat, "Excuse me, Vampire. You didn't make them unconscious. You killed them!"

Sigmund shook his head and retorted, "No, I didn't! I told you yesterday-"

"I also told you that I am very sure that it was you because I was there when everything happened!"

Sigmund's jaw dropped upon hearing the Principal's revelation. What's the real identity of the Principal of Qawiun Academy? Even on the day of the Servants' summoning rituals, he already told him about his 'past sin'!

"You must be wondering why," Principal Arthurdane scratched the temple of his head. "I was a survivor in that chaos. Since I have a flying Beast Servant, I managed to escape… but I was a cowardly Royal Knight back then."

"So you were a knight…" he wondered if he had met him before, but there were a lot of warriors, so he couldn't really remember, "Was it really me that you saw? Are you sure I was the one who killed them-"

"Yes. It was definitely you. I saw you with my own two eyes. Your armor was tainted with splatters of blood, and your eyes were lifeless while you stabbed them all with your sword! After a few days, I even heard from the other survivors that you killed the King and the members of the Royal Family!"

Sigmund widened his eyes in disbelief. "A sword? I never touched any sword that day!" Something was definitely wrong. It was as if someone tried to frame him for all the murders that took place in the Silverblade Castle.

While they were arguing about it, Ivory suddenly remembered what he wore when he was summoned. There were blood splatters all over his old armor!

What would she do if her Servant really killed the Royal Knights and the Royal Family?

Sigmund saw the change in Ivory's expression. It was obvious that fear had surfaced on his Master's face. "Hey, stupid woman," he grabbed her arm and leaned in to whisper. "I saved you and your siblings from the fire. Don't be so foolish, and trust me even just a little."

When Sigmund moved his head away, Ivory gazed at her Servant's eyes, and his hand was shaking. He had been acting strong and cocky all this time, but he seemed to have fear and uncertainties as well.

Maybe… he was afraid that his new Master would not trust him at all?

Ivory took a deep breath. She decided that she would give her Servant a chance to prove himself. She held his trembling hand on her arm and gave a reassuring smile, "Of course, but you need to help me win the Servant Competition!"

The Vampire Servant was relieved to hear it from her and a smile escaped from his lips. He took his hand away from her, then faced the principal, "Even if I'm a Vampire Servant, we can still join the Servant Competition, right?"

"Yes, since your Master was there during the blessing. Goddess Destinia might have known about what happened before and have her own reasons why you were summoned again," he replied. But there was something else in his mind, so he suggested, "But for you and your Master's safety, I would suggest… that you pretend to belong to another Class."

"Are you serious?" his forehead furrowed. "Everyone in the academy knows that she summoned a Vampire Servant, and I obviously look like one."

Principal Arthurdane went silent for a moment. He was right; in the past, Ivory had become the talk of the school for summoning a Vampire Servant who rejected her. "How about... we spread rumors that you are actually a Spirit Servant..."

Ivory nodded her head and agreed. After all, she had so many schoolmates who loved gossip very much.

"After all, Spirits take on the appearance of their master's mana type, so they can take any form. It's perfect for you," the principal further explained. "So as a Spirit Servant… You must not let others see you take your Master's blood."

"You've got to be kidding me!!! I'll need her blood as a source of mana-"

"Vampire, if you need blood then just bring your Master somewhere alone without anyone noticing."

Ivory turned beet red. She remembered how Sigmund's long fingers caressed her light skin. She remembered how he bit her on the neck last night, and how weird it felt when he was sucking her blood - it hurt, but at the same time, it felt so good that she liked it. She wondered how they would hide themselves within the academy if they would replenish his mana.

Do they have to hide every single time? Just thinking of that possibility made her heart pound so fast!

Sigmund rubbed his chin and smiled mischievously, "My my my… why haven't I thought of that."

The principal glanced at his pocket watch, "I need to get going. I shall explain to your Educators and your Adviser your situation here, Miss Sprucemint."

"But sir, about going to the academy, I… lost my gate pass."

"No problem," as a principal, he was known to prepare a lot of things inside his bag. He took a brown scroll made of hemp paper from his bag, a quill, a feather, and black ink. He wrote Ivory's details and let it dry for a few seconds before rolling it and giving it back to Ivory. "This is your new gate pass."

As Ivory held onto her new gate pass, she thanked the Principal. Aside from giving her a gate pass, Principal Arthurdane also extended some help to Ivory's family. He gave some silver coins to her parents before bidding goodbye to them.

After the Principal left, Ken called Ivory and Sigmund at a distance as he stood by the door, "I made carrot and potato soup for lunch. Come on, let's eat!"

"Okay, Ken, we'll go in now!" she replied in a loud voice for him to hear clearly, then she watched him come inside the cabin again.

"Are you hungry, Sigmund?" she asked him with a smile. "Do you eat carrots and potatoes?"

"The hell? I'm a full-pledged servant now, and I don't eat human food… but do you know what makes me alive?"

Ivory shook her head and asked, "What?"

He grinned as he extended his arm. He tucked her hair behind her ear first before his hand slid down her neck and caressed it.

"Should I make you remember?"