Cursed Together With Mr.Vampire; I need to drink his blood!

16. New Perspective

"He was my teacher when I was ten years old. He lives on the outskirts of Yorgen City," Triana said.

"Then we'll go this afternoon, when the sun isn't too hot," Vlador said while checking his wardrobe.

Vlador took a set of black garments and coat and placed them on a red, gold-patterned stool. Beside him, Triana stood watching the clothing with slightly pursed lips.

"Pardon me, Mr. Vlador, but… are you going to wear them outside?" Triana asked quietly.

With furrowed eyebrow, Vlador turned to Triana. "Yes? Is there something wrong with the clothes?"

"If I were allowed to speak up my opinion, I would say that they are rather old fashioned. They might have been popular a hundred years ago. However, today's men don't wear clothes with quite much of laces like that,"

"Is that so? If I wear it, I will stand out then," Vlador muttered.

"And… Actually, since we're going out to the settlement, I was thinking of borrowing a big hooded cloak from you if you have one," Triana said as she played with her fingers.

"What for?" Vlador asked with his head slightly tilted.

"For covering my face, perhaps?" Triana replied in a low voice.

Valdor stared at her for a moment, and then a small curve formed at the side of his lips. "As I recall, this castle's former maidservants had cloaks. I'll see if they're still here,"

"May I know where everyone in this castle has gone? This castle couldn't have only contained you from the start, correct?" Triana asked curiously.

"In the past, this castle was quite lively with servants and guards. When the biggest war happened, some of them fled and the rest were slaughtered by the human soldiers." Vlador replied as he hung his clothes back into the big wardrobe.

"I deeply apologize for that," Triana muttered.

Valador turned his body to face Triana again. "I don't think that words should come out of your mouth."

"I don't know exactly who the people who slaughtered your servants and family are. But basically, my ancestor was the one responsible for killing the vampires. My father is a duke because my grandfather was instrumental in that war," Triana's head hung down.

However, the footsteps approaching her and followed by the pair of feet standing right in front of Triana made her raise her face again. She immediately stepped back with widened eyes because she found the vampire's face very close to hers.

Leaning his body slightly forward, Vlador matched Triana's height. He raised his hand to sink Triana's jaw in his grip.

"If you do feel guilty, doesn't that mean you have to understand if I desire revenge?" Vlador asked with a faint smile.

Triana's body stiffened. She wanted to run away from this vampire, but she just realized that her face had been in his hand. Gulping hard, Triana muttered, "P-pardon?"

"Your ancestors had slaughtered my family, my servants, and plundered my wealth. Now, their descendant is in front of me. What can I do to make her feel my severe pain? There are lots of ways to torture someone without actually killing them, yes?"

The vampire's hiss gave Triana chills. Torture? She had read and heard about the torture given to criminals and royal defectors. It was torture that was carried out for days before the prisoners were actually killed. Or, worse, they were left to suffer and die by themselves.

There were several types of torture. Each was categorized by crime rate. However, out of all of them, there wasn't one that Triana was able to study to the end because it was too terrifying for her.

Now, would this vampire torture her in one of those grisly ways?

"Gosling, remember this: Don't feel responsible over something that you're not willing to take responsibility for," Vlador whispered.

Triana's held breath broke free as the vampire's hand released her jaw. She reflexively clutched her chest as her heart thumped as if it could break her ribs.

"You weren't the one who slaughtered vampires. The sins of your ancestors are theirs. It has nothing to do with you. You can't choose whose blood flows in your veins. You live your life, not theirs." Vlador then straightened his back.

Triana blinked a few times. Maybe it was just her feelings, but when Mr. Vlador said those words, she saw a heavy sadness in his sharp eyes.

What Mr. Vlador said was the opposite of what the people around Triana said. They told her that someone should bear the sins of their parents and ancestors.  That was the reason a person must watch his or her behaviour so as not to cause suffering to their offspring.

All this time, Triana always believed what she was taught. But Mr. Vlador just now gave her a new perspective. Beyond that, she became curious why such a mindset could appear in his mind? Was life taught to vampires different from humans?

"You want to find a cloak, don't you?"
Snapping out of her daydream, Triana looked right and left because she realized that the vampire was no longer in her sight. But a lantern that lit up in the darkness of the bedchamber made Triana realize that the vampire was standing behind a door.

"Yes,"

"Follow me," Vlador said before opening the wooden door.

Half running toward the vampire, Triana braked her steps when she arrived behind an open door. The humid and cold air made the hairs on her neck prickle. Even so, she found the vampire casually stepping out into the dark hallway.

"Pardon me, Sir. But, where are we going?" Triana asked, following the footsteps of the vampire who was holding a lantern as their light.

"Servant residence," Vlador replied.
Descending the tower with the circular staircase, they arrived at the castle's main hall which was illuminated by the sunlight filtering through the broken windows.

Looking around, Triana couldn't believe that this was the hall she had walked past last night with her guards. But with better lighting now, she realized that this castle had quite beautiful architecture, even though it was not so huge.

Then, Vlador led Triana down another passageway until they arrived at the servant's residence. It was in the form of a corridor with several rooms facing each other.

Following Vlador into a room at the very end of the corridor, Triana found a spacious room with lots of large wardrobes and drawers.

"Here, they store all the fabrics and clothes. Check in those wardrobes - you might find a cloak you like." Vlador said.

"Thank you. I'll look for it," Triana stepped towards one of the wardrobes and opened it.

After opening three wardrobes filled with cloths, Triana finally found the one filled with piles of cloaks of various sizes and colours. She smiled and took one of them which had a slightly brighter colour.

"I will take this. Can't I-"

Triana's question stopped when she turned around and found a large whole wardrobe sliding to the side. She rose to her feet and her astonished eyes locked on a strange entrance of a pitch-dark passage.