There was not a single word related to vampires in Charlotte’s casually made-up story.

Before the police arrived, she hurriedly matched stories with Matiel.

“First, Rachel Holmes will appear to have fainted. And we must say the same. Matiel, understand?”

“What about the marks on her neck? Besides, Inspector Mueller, who’s in charge of this area, is not an easy person to deal with.”

“It doesn’t matter if he’s easy to deal with or not. The neck marks will slowly disappear. Can we say a vampire appeared? It would cause an uproar, wouldn’t it?”

Who would believe it if they said a vampire suddenly burst into the most expensive opera house in the middle of the capital?

No, even if someone believed it, it would be a big problem.

Rumors would spread quickly, turning the city upside down.

They couldn’t afford such a thing when there was already an atmosphere of fear due to the serial killings in the Eliki area.

In the end, Matiel agreed with Charlotte’s opinion.

Although he was doubtful if the marks on Rachel Holmes’s neck would really disappear, while waiting for the police, he could see with his own eyes that the wound slowly began to heal and eventually started to fade.

“That’s how it is originally. Being bitten by a vampire doesn’t mean you die spewing blood from your neck. Nor do vampires greedily suck blood enough to kill a person on the spot. Of course, that could happen too. If they were starved for a very long time, they would. But… not Clan Binum. They would never have starved for long.”

Even while listening to Charlotte’s explanation, Matiel was quite confused for a long time.

By the time the police arrived, the traces on Rachel’s neck had almost disappeared to their eyes, but Charlotte meticulously hid the wound itself before giving her fabricated explanation to the inspector.

After hearing her story, Inspector Mueller tilted his head with a troubled expression and looked down at Rachel.

A licensed doctor from the police force, who had just finished examining Rachel Holmes, said:

“There are no signs of assault, Inspector.”

“No marks at all?”

“No, none. She’s just lost consciousness… Perhaps she had a pre-existing condition. We’ll need to examine her more thoroughly or check her medical records for that.”

Sighing, Mueller looked back and forth between Charlotte and Matiel.

“I understand what you’re saying for now. That you two discovered Mrs. Holmes collapsed here and reported it immediately. But one thing I’m curious about is, why on earth is that glass window shattered like that?”

The inspector pointed at the broken window with the tip of the pen he was holding.

Remembering the loud noise when Clan Binum leaped out, goosebumps rose on Charlotte’s forearm.

“It was already broken when we came in, Inspector.”

At Matiel’s words, a look of doubt appeared on Mueller’s face.

“Already broken, Your Grace? Then…”

Matiel cut off his words.

“How it happened, neither my companion nor I know the reason. My companion was too flustered to mention it earlier, but we opened the door to this place because we heard the sound of the glass window breaking.”

“You heard the sound?”

“That’s right. But there was no one here except Lady Holmes. In my opinion, she seems to have suddenly had a seizure, broken the window, and then fainted. What do you think, Inspector? I’m curious.”

Inspector Mueller groaned and furrowed his brow.

Logically thinking, it seemed most likely that someone who was in this room with Rachel had knocked her unconscious, then broke the window and fled. But…

‘There’s the height. No matter how agile, why would someone jump from this height for no reason? They would have broken at least one leg. And Mrs. Holmes shows no signs of assault, nor are her expensive accessories missing… At least not in this situation.’

After pondering for a while, Inspector Mueller closed his notebook with a snap.

“I understand. Then we’ll take Mrs. Holmes to her home. We’ll ensure she receives appropriate treatment and convey that you two have made efforts on her behalf.”

“I’d appreciate it if you could pass on my regards to Baron Holmes.”

“I will do so, Your Grace.”

Matiel judged it wise to leave at this point.

Charlotte looked down anxiously at Rachel’s lips faintly twitching before standing up.

The two quietly slipped out of the bustling opera house without exchanging greetings with anyone.

Only after the carriage started did Charlotte let out a long sigh.

As if she had been holding her breath all along, her chest felt tight and her lungs ached heavily.

“Are you alright?”

Matiel asked, looking intently at Charlotte from across.

Charlotte, with her hand on her chest, caught her breath, then lightly tapped below her collarbone with her fist and nodded.

“…I’m fine.”

“Is it okay to send Mrs. Holmes back like that?”

Charlotte frowned and bit her lip.

After keeping silent for a long time, she slowly grasped the hem of her dress and said:

“If… it’s just blood that was taken, she should be fine. Especially if this is her first time.”

“And if it’s not just that, she won’t be fine?”

The sound of another sigh. This time it was heavier and darker.

Just as Matiel was about to impatiently urge her, Charlotte, with her forehead resting on her interlocked hands, leaned her upper body forward.

“There are two cases when vampires suck blood.”

A low voice flowed from her hunched form.

“The first is, literally, an act of eating to fill their stomach. A very hungry vampire might suck blood from two, maybe even three adults at once. But if they’ve drunk human blood regularly, they won’t drink that much in one go. I can’t say for certain as it’s just what I’ve heard, but according to old monster hunters’ stories, even vampires can get sick from overeating.”

The last words trembled faintly.

It seemed she tried to say it lightly, as if joking, but it was of no use. Rather, it sounded like a pitiful sob.

Matiel nodded as if to say continue.

Charlotte, still with her head bowed and unable to see him, continued her story as if it didn’t matter anyway.

“The second is blood-sucking to turn the victim into another host. In this process, the vampire’s bodily fluids enter the human… They’re increasing their kind. They share some sort of… sensation. Things like hunger, for example.”

Matiel’s brow furrowed slightly.

“Then are you saying that if one vampire sucks blood, other vampires also feel full?”

“Something like that. Rather than actually feeling full… it’s more like they gain energy. I don’t know exactly. I deal with monsters, and occasionally I can see ghosts and talk to them, but I’ve never actually encountered a real vampire.”

“You can see ghosts?”

Charlotte, who had straightened her upper body again, pressed her furrowed brow and closed her eyes.

“It’s genetic. From my mother’s side.”

“Then you are a born magician and also a medium?”

“That’s right. But ghosts are, how should I put it. They’re not always visible to my eyes. Sometimes they appear suddenly, and sometimes I don’t see them for a long time. I don’t know if it’s affected by my condition or the place, or for what reason my ability as a medium manifests. I never tried to find out.”

“Why not?”

Charlotte let out a hollow laugh and looked at Matiel.

“Would you try to find out if you were me? Would you be curious about why dead people that others can’t see are visible to my eyes?”

“I think I would naturally be curious.”

“Unfortunately, I’m not.”

The light from the street lamps passed over Charlotte’s face, which was turned towards the window, drawing round curves.

With each passing light, it seemed as if the blood was draining from her face.

In the moment when the light fell and disappeared, she even looked like a dead person.

Matiel’s gaze, which had been fixed on her stubborn profile, suddenly took on a complicated light.

He was about to say something… but decided against it. He thought now was not the time to provoke Charlotte.

It was Charlotte who broke the silence.

She slowly opened her eyes wide as if a ghost was clinging to the outside of the window, then suddenly leaned towards Matiel.

“We need to go to Mr. Treiker’s house.”

Matiel’s eyebrows rose.

“Who?”

“Treiker. Bloz Treiker, I mean. The person I gave rat poison to earlier!”

Matiel made an “Ah” sound as if he finally understood, then gave a puzzled look.

“Why to his house?”

Charlotte’s eyes widened again… then shrank as if hit by a bright light.

Matiel watched her red lips lose color moment by moment and felt an ominous sign.

But he couldn’t explain what it was. Not at all. He couldn’t understand the reason either.

“I don’t know.”

Charlotte said. It was an empty voice.

“I don’t know. But I need to go. I have a bad feeling. I need to check if Mr. Treiker is safe. If you’re not going with me, let me out here.”

Blinking, Matiel silently picked up his cane and tapped the window connected to the coachman’s seat.

The carriage slowly slowed down, then the glass window opened and the coachman turned his head.

“Did you call, Your Grace?”

Matiel glanced down at Charlotte’s trembling shoulders before speaking.

“Go to Bloz Treiker’s house. The place we visited before going to the opera house.”

“Understood.”

The door closed and the carriage started moving again.

Matiel stared at Charlotte, who was still trembling, then picked up his jacket.