When The Silver Bell Of Charlotte's Pharmacy Rings (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 16
A long time had passed.
No, in truth, only a minute or two had gone by, yet to Charlotte, it felt as though an entire day had elapsed.
Staring at the photograph for so long, the two black dots on the man’s neck in the picture seemed to grow larger and larger.
Charlotte clapped a hand over her mouth as if about to vomit and took short, sharp breaths.
When she lowered her head, Matiel frowned and leaned over the counter, peering into Charlotte’s face.
“Hey, are you alright?”
Charlotte slowly nodded and straightened her body.
Then, as if trying to distance herself from the newspaper, she pulled her chin in and stiffened her back.
“That’s impossible.”
Charlotte said. Matiel frowned again and leaned sideways against the counter.
“What exactly is impossible?”
His voice was low but clear.
It was the same voice that had unmistakably pierced through Charlotte’s consciousness the previous night, right in the middle of that chaotic hall.
And Charlotte understood what his words implied.
He knows something, Charlotte thought.
He knows who—or rather, what—did this.
He knows what leaves such marks—and believes in it.
Matiel tilted his head as he met Charlotte’s unblinking gaze.
“You mean it’s impossible this murder was committed by a vampire?”
Charlotte opened her lips as if momentarily dazed, then scrunched up her face.
“Vampire.”
She pronounced the word slowly and distinctly, as though hearing it for the first time, and firmly tapped the counter.
“A vampire committed these serial killings? Are you seriously saying that?”
“Of course I’m serious. Otherwise, why else would I…”
For a moment, Matiel’s eyes slowly swept around the room, his expression arrogant and indifferent.
“…come to a place like this? I’m far too young to suffer from back pain.”
“You were just about to say ‘a shabby place,’ weren’t you?”
Matiel shrugged his shoulders.
“It’s not exactly luxurious.”
Unbelievable. Charlotte let out a hollow laugh. But this wasn’t the time for childish bickering.
She turned back to the photograph.
She had hoped, however faintly, that the distinct black marks might have vanished—but they hadn’t.
They remained exactly where they were, sharp and clear, without the slightest smudge.
That meant these weren’t mere ink stains—they were real marks on the man’s neck, captured in the photograph…
Matiel spoke.
“I believe this murder was committed by a vampire. To be precise, I’m not the only one who thinks so. A few others suspect it too. I came here because I need your opinion.”
“My opinion?”
“You can deal with monsters. You understand them and can actually handle them. So naturally, you must know something about vampires, right?”
Charlotte closed her eyes and let out a heavy, short breath.
As she bowed her head, her shimmering silver hair cascaded forward like a swirling snowstorm or a rushing waterfall.
She swept her hair back and walked past Matiel behind the counter.
“Many people know about vampires besides me, don’t they? You’ve probably heard of it yourself—the legend of Duke Maleblanc, the vampire who terrorized the Roanoke Kingdom about a hundred years ago. The bastard son of a dragon, Dryden’s henchman, the carrier of plague, the vampire… Countless names belonged to him, and countless fears and nightmares as well.”
Matiel nodded, though he didn’t look particularly earnest.
“I know. When my brother and I were young, a foolish servant once tried to scare us with that legend and nearly got himself fired.”
Charlotte continued.
“Yes, yes. But he’s dead.”
“Can a vampire even die?”
“Of course they can—so long as you use the proper method. Just as you exorcise demons, banish ghosts, or slay monsters, vampires can be killed too. And more importantly, Maleblanc really is dead. They drove a hawthorn stake through his captured heart and burned his body to ash.”
“Who did it?”
“The monster hunters of that time, obviously. It happened a hundred years ago, after all.”
Matiel fell silent for a moment, lost in thought.
Meanwhile, Charlotte flipped over the newspaper lying on the counter.
She felt queasy, as if the photograph was staring right back at her.
Vampire Maleblanc had been a real monster. Though Charlotte said “a hundred years ago,” it had actually happened eighty-five years ago.
At that time, Maleblanc had reduced five villages to ruins and thrown the entire kingdom into chaos.
His emergence granted unprecedented power to the kingdom’s churches.
Later, a revolution toppled the old monarchy, bringing down the corrupt churches along with it—now, the very notion of religion had grown scarce.
Matiel, who had been silent until now, finally spoke.
“Are there vampires among the monsters dwelling in Schwarzbändelack?”
“I haven’t been there myself, but… probably. That place harbors more monsters than humans can possibly imagine.”
“But aren’t vampires originally humans?”
“That’s what many believe, but no. Vampires are simply monsters—they were born that way from the start. It’s true they can turn humans into vampires, but there’s a difference between true vampires—those born as monsters—and humans resurrected as vampires after death.”
“What exactly is the difference?”
A sigh escaped Charlotte’s lips.
“I don’t understand why I’m giving you a lecture on vampires…”
“I’m asking what the exact difference is.”
Faced with Matiel’s utter disregard for her words, Charlotte’s gaze grew colder.
Under normal circumstances, she would have thrown him out immediately—but for some reason, she closed her eyes once, opened them again, and resumed explaining.
“True vampires—those born as monsters, like Maleblanc—have their hearts on the right side. You must drive a stake precisely into that spot—a stake carved from hawthorn wood. Then burn them to ash; otherwise, they won’t truly vanish. Not even a single fingertip must remain—they can regenerate.”
Charlotte took a sharp breath and continued.
“But humans newly turned into vampires by a vampire—that is, by a monster—are closer to animated corpses than true vampires. At least, that’s true at first… In any case, these can be killed by more commonly known means: silver bullets, consecrated pendants, or even stakes. But you don’t need to burn them.”
“Not even a single fingertip must remain?”
“Yes, exactly.”
Matiel, who had been idly tapping his fingers on the counter, spoke.
“What if Maleblanc wasn’t fully destroyed back then?”
“What?”
“Didn’t you just say it was a hundred-year-old story? So the monster hunters who eliminated Maleblanc back then are long dead by now. Their coffins are covered in moss, their skeletons long decayed to dust. Who could possibly know the truth? What if a single fingertip of Maleblanc was left behind? And if, as you said, it regenerated and crossed through the barrier?”
Charlotte shivered as if a cold, sharp shard of ice had scraped down her spine.
Matiel leaned toward her. As his face and neck drew closer, a strange scent—of oranges, herbs, and clean earth burning—hit her sharply.
“What if that were true? Is it really an impossible scenario?”
Now, Charlotte could clearly hear her own heartbeat and the sound of her swallow moving past her Adam’s apple.
Beads of sweat broke out on her forehead with every exhale.
Of course she felt this way… Matiel’s suggested possibility was precisely what she never wanted to consider.
Especially for people like herself, who constantly confronted monsters—it was the most horrifying and utterly unfunny joke in the world.
“It’s… not completely impossible.”
But as she’d said, she couldn’t lie.
Hearing her answer, Matiel sharply rapped the counter with his knuckles, straightened up, and looked down at her.
“So it’s not an impossible hypothesis.”
“…Right. But it’s practically nonexistent. Moreover, Maleblanc was the first and last vampire to directly enter the kingdom and cause harm. The major monsters within the Blighted Lands rarely attempt to cross the barrier. They’re too busy devouring each other—that’s also due to the barrier’s influence. It concentrates energy… inward. Do you understand?”
“No, I don’t.”
Charlotte sighed again.
“To put it simply, imagine locking different kinds of predators into a cramped pen and continuously spraying something like a stimulant to drive them mad—from the outside in. The monsters that do slip through the barrier’s gaps into the kingdom are dangerous, but rarely powerful ones—they’re too busy fighting among themselves.”
“But what if a single fingertip of Maleblanc had remained? Could he have escaped then?”
Charlotte widened her eyes and pressed a hand to her forehead.
“Yes… that could have happened. As you said, even a single fingertip, if left behind, could possess its own will and move on its own… So yes, your suggestion isn’t entirely unreasonable. But I’d still like to believe it’s impossible.”
Male lead reborn without memories — but he still falls for her.
The person he finds displeasing in this life turns out to be his cherished wife-master in previous life…
Xie Zhi and Fang Xianxing who had known each other for less than three days through a blind date sat in the same car in front of the civil affairs bureau. They had a disagreement and failed to get married.
Xie Zhi immediately took out his phone, slid through his contacts, and randomly selected the next marriage candidate.
The woman snatched his phone and hung up. Looking at his phone wallpaper, she awkwardly changed the subject: “An ancient painting, eh? It looks pretty good, it’s just that the person in the painting looks a bit like me.”
When he heard this, he sarcastically mocked her for being so delusional, completely unaware that, the person in front of him was the reincarnation of Wen Ru, the famous prime minister of Yuan Shun whom he most admired…
The female CEO who doesn’t want to get married with a divorce agreement in hand × The male archaeological researcher who will only get married if he’s sure he can get divorced
To be honest, Tae Mi is my favorite character in this novel.
Wow that’s grotesque. I didn’t think this novel was going to be so gorey