56
Dojin opened his eyes and was confused.
It was because I had to open my eyes in the capsule and find myself in a place I never expected.
‘Where am I?’
There needs to be some context to the change of location.
I lost consciousness after jumping into a huge drain in the waterway and opened my eyes to find myself in an empty field I had never seen before.
Dojin turned his head here and there to grasp the situation.
Then I found it.
A familiar person… no, a vampire.
The vampire girl with long, pitch-black hair was looking up at the sky.
But something was strange.
She’s the type of girl who always seems like she should be laughing out loud and being excited like an idiot…
‘She looks just like a doll.’
It now looked like an inanimate object.
I almost thought that a doll or mannequin would feel more lifelike.
“hey.”
It was the moment when Dojin called her.
[Memories contained in blood are played back.]
[The owners of blood and memory are ‘Carnes Tyrund’ and ‘Karin Tyrund’.]
Karnes Tyrund? That’s the name of Prince Tyrund.
What about Karin Tyrund?
In context, it would be the name of the ugly elder right in front of you.
‘no way…….’
Does that mean that the Elder called Prince Tyrund ‘Father’ because he was truly her biological daughter?
The moment Dojin’s eyes widened as he realized the unexpected truth.
The scenery has changed.
I can see the bed. Lying there is Karin, with a pale complexion.
She was clearly dying, as anyone could see.
“I will definitely save you… I will definitely save you. Karin, I will definitely… …!”
In front of him, a man who was probably the past appearance of Prince Tyrund was shedding tears of blood.
“There is no other way. This way… is the only way to save that child.”
The Archduke mutters in a space that appears to be a wizard’s workshop.
Around him, a magic circle symbolizing ‘blood’, which will become his unique magic, floats.
The forbidden magic was practiced by the Grand Duke.
The Grand Duke’s territory is stained with a curse of vampirism, and Karin wakes up as a vampire with no memories of her past life.
“This… wasn’t what I wanted!”
The Archduke wept over the half-success.
But instead of tears, blood flowed from his eyes as he had already become a vampire.
From then on, Karin’s period of growth passed quickly.
It was a period of mental growth where my body stopped at the age of 18.
However, it was a time filled with terrible colorlessness.
The Grand Duke, who was filled with regret and remorse, had lost the ability to show his emotions.
All the vampires who were influenced by the Archduke’s emotions were also turned into dolls.
Karin, who grew up among them, also became no different from them.
She was staring intently at something.
It was a look at what I imagined, recalling the human world I saw in the book I was holding in my hand.
Karin tilted her head.
I look back and forth between books, people, and myself, questioning them.
Feel the difference and feel the difference.
Karin admired the stories of happy humans contained in books.
She started to blindly imitate the lines and actions in the book.
Between the scenes that flowed like a panorama, Karin’s acting progressed from awkwardness to naturalness.
Soon, Karin appears with a bright smile that Dojin knows.
But only half of the smile is there.
The other half of the face was still expressionless as before.
And she still looked enviously at her imaginary humans shining far away.
‘That stupidly bright appearance was all fake… … .’
Perhaps it was because the memories contained in the blood were incomplete or because the owner of the memories was psychologically unstable, but the replay of the memories was extremely disorganized.
It’s just like a drawing by a child suffering from a mental illness.
That’s why it was more bitter.
Because I felt like I could feel the loneliness, futility, and all the other emotions that Karin was going through.
[The replay of memories in blood is coming to an end.]
The scenery slowly fades into the distance.
After walking so far away, Dojin opened his eyes on a wide bed.
The system messages that had been piling up in front of his eyes suddenly came pouring in.
[Infused with the ‘true blood’ of the oldest vampire, Karnes Tyrund.]
[Infused with the blood of the vampire elder Karin Tyrund.]
[※warning※]
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[Irreversible contamination is occurring.]
Dojin’s back became damp as he was absorbed in his emotions after seeing Karin’s past.
Not only was the first vampire injected with the blood of the vampire elder, but the contamination is now irreversible?
Dojin, whose heart sank because he had walked the path of a cripple in a similar context in his previous life, quickly read through the piled up messages.
‘Why are there so many warning messages piling up like this!’
For a while, no matter how hard I looked, there were only ominous warning messages.
Then at some point the content of the message changed.
Fortunately, contrary to my worries, it was very encouraging.
[The contamination was suppressed by the intervention of the owner of ‘Jinhyeol’.]
[The action of ‘Jinhyeol’ stops.]
[Mana aptitude is improved due to the effect of ‘True Blood’.]
[The effect of ‘Jinhyeol’ enhances the body’s regenerative power.]
[Intelligence increases by 30 due to the effect of ‘True Blood’.]
[The trait “Mana Affinity” has been created.]
[The trait “Excellent Regeneration” has been created.]
The Grand Duke who injected the true blood directly controlled it, suppressing the negative effects and leaving only the positive effects.
As a result, two traits related to mana and vitality were created.
“Mana Affinity” was a trait that literally brought about an overall increase in mana ability, and “Excellent Regeneration” was a trait that slightly increased natural recovery ability.
Moreover, the increase in intelligence stat is 30.
In terms of bonus points alone, it’s like raising your max level by 6.
‘This is crazy.’
It is the true blood of Prince Tyrund, who has never appeared in a previous life.
Since he had taken the highest quality elixir that was hard to measure in price, this level of growth was perhaps a natural phenomenon if only the side effects were resolved.
But, just by drinking blood once, two characteristics and the strength stat increase by 30 each.
Even if this was a fate quest reward, I would have to nod and acknowledge it.
‘That’s fine.’
After assessing the situation, the real Dojin put the messages away.
Just then, the bedroom door where Dojin was slammed open.
No one opened it. It just opened.
And then a black fog swept in, and I was dragged somewhere in an instant.
Dojin thought as he was being dragged away.
It’s a really f*cking game that won’t let you sit still for a moment.
* * *
“It took quite a while. What do you think? How did you feel about peeking into my daughter’s and my memories?”
A terrifyingly handsome man with jet-black hair, just like Karin.
This is the image of the Archduke in the regenerated memory.
Dojin had expected something like this to happen, so he calmly looked around without panicking.
‘Is this a study?’
It was a study room with nothing special about it.
It looks like a few candles are acting as lighting, perhaps out of consideration for Dojin, who is human.
Dojin sat down on the chair in front of him and opened his mouth.
“Are you the one who showed me that memory?”
The Archduke nodded.
“Can I ask why?”
The Grand Duke looked at Dojin with a look of surprise at his calm question.
“Not really. I had to save you in order to fulfill my daughter’s request, and it just showed up in the process.”
“If that were the case, I don’t think there would have been any reason to ask me for my impressions.”
If the original goal was to save her, Karin’s blood would not have been necessary.
The goal could have been achieved with just the Grand Duke’s true blood.
No, he doesn’t even need true blood. He is a great wizard and the most powerful vampire.
However, the fact that he used Karin’s blood in addition to his own blood means that he intentionally showed her memories.
‘Besides, the scenes I saw, except for the beginning, were almost all of Karin’s memories. It was as if they had intentionally spread out and shown only those.’
Dojin was curious about the reason.
So, I asked the silent Archduke again.
“I want to know why you showed me those memories.”
Prince Tyrund let out a faint sigh.
“You must know because you saw it. My daughter, Karin, became increasingly unstable after becoming a vampire. It could be because she lost her memories of being human and lived that long time with a clumsy self that was formed from scratch, or maybe… it could be because her heart no longer beat. But for the first time, that child showed real emotions. Before she was afflicted by her illness. She showed herself from back then.”
The Grand Duke raised his hand and pointed at Dojin.
“The reason was none other than you. The eyes of the child who was worried about you were real. The child who longed for a time when he couldn’t remember being human and imitated people’s emotions and speech by reading books, was swept up in his own emotions and asked me for a favor.”
That’s why I showed you my memories as well as that child’s.
“You are… a clue, so to speak. A clue to regain the human heart that my daughter has been searching for for a long time, and that she cannot even remember. At least that’s how she feels. But if you realize the true nature of that child and show disappointment… … .”
“Are you saying that the princess’s already unstable condition will become even more precarious?”
Prince Tyrund nodded.
“If that’s the case, I’d rather just quietly send you back to the Central Continent. So answer honestly.”
Even Prince Tyrund, who had all sorts of sinister nicknames, was ultimately a father.
Well, he is the one who became the progenitor of vampires after caring so much for his daughter.
Even a thousand years of time could not dilute his love for his daughter.
Dojin was lost in thought as he tried to give a serious answer to the Duke’s appearance.
Dojin finally came to a conclusion and his answer was this.
“The feeling I had was… sad. The princess who opened her eyes as a vampire must have been like a newborn baby. But she was alone from then on. The Grand Duke loves his daughter so much, but in the scenes I saw, there was no scene where the Grand Duke directly showed such feelings.”
“… … .”
“The princess, or rather Karin, was always alone. She read books alone, imagined things alone, imitated the characters in the books alone, laughed and cried alone.”
“that…….”
“I know. What was the Archduke doing then? He was building an eternally dark principality at the bottom of the Floating Continent for the people of the principality who could no longer live under the sun.”
“That was the only thing I could do for Karin. As the father who had turned his daughter into a monster who could no longer live among humans, I had to at least create a place where people like her could live together… … .”
Dojin nodded at the calm words.
“If you had expressed even a little bit of that kind of feeling, that you cared for Karin, then the memories I had of you and Karin wouldn’t have been so sad.”
After hearing Dojin’s words, Prince Tyrund became lost in thought.
‘Every time I saw Karin, I regretted it. My choice that made myself and Karin into monsters. That’s why I avoided it. I was sorry that my greed made me into a monster that went against Providence. But… was there something else I really had to be sorry about?’
Looking at him like that, Dojin poured out all the remaining feelings.
“Still, I think it’s fortunate.”
“Thank goodness…?”
“Yes. Even though His Highness is not good at expressing himself, his love for his daughter is sincere. Now, you just need to start expressing your feelings little by little. It will be difficult at first, but you will get used to it. And Karin, you have grown up very well, considering that you have grown up alone. Although you may have some minor issues like emotional instability and lethargy, considering the environment in which you grew up, you can say that you have grown up very well.”
“… … .”
The Archduke’s eyes wavered.
I was fed up with Dojin’s brutality in dismissing the 1,000-year-old history between fathers and daughters in just a few words.
“It’s not the worst. So, all you have to do is change. You have plenty of time.”
The Archduke’s wavering eyes became fixed.
Dojin’s words were that shocking.
Until now, time had been nothing more than a thing that broke the Archduke and his daughter.
Because it has just endured and rusted for 1,000 years.
But Dojin was saying the complete opposite.
Until now, things that are broken and rusty have been fixed and polished with time.
‘He is a strange man.’
Not only did he instantly change his daughter, who had been wandering for so many years, but he was also shaking himself, who had spent his time filled with regret and remorse.
‘No, maybe I was just waiting for an opportunity to waver.’
Until just now, living was just a matter of enduring time. But now it felt a little different.
Not enduring, but filling up. It will take a long time to do what I couldn’t do, but it doesn’t matter.
‘As this man says, I have plenty of time to spare.’
The moment when Prince Tyrund’s attitude towards life changed.
A message indicating the progress of the quest appeared before Dojin’s eyes.
[Unbelievable achievement!]
[First Blood Karnes Tyrund’s favor has been won.]
[From now on, the probability of vampires becoming hostile towards humans will be significantly reduced.]
Then, welcome words came out of the mouth of Prince Tyrund.
“Stay in the duchy for a while. I need time to prepare a suitable reward for the great favor I owe you.”
They injected me with real blood and even controlled the side effects, and then they even offered me additional compensation.
