I Want to Break Free from the Vampire’s Blood Bag

Beginning (1)

Sleep is said to be temporary death.

And also a kind of escape.

‘Am I dead?’

When I thought that, my eyes opened naturally as if I had just taken a nap.

-Buzz buzz.

-Tick tick.

The sound of cicadas. And the sound of an old electric fan.

‘Hmm…?’

Cicadas? There weren’t any cicadas in that damn place I knew. Obviously no electric fan either.

‘Ah?’

I half rose from my spot.

I don’t feel any dizziness in my head. It’s clear.

-Whoosh.

A cool breeze blows from the purple evening sky. It tickles my forehead.

‘No way?’

A quiet countryside home. A familiar wooden porch. A peaceful hanok.

Looking around, I could be certain.

This is grandfather’s house. After all, I was raised by my grandparents when I was young.

‘Have I returned?’

-Tick tick.

-Buzz buzz.

‘Haha…hahahahahaha’

Maybe because I’m seeing this house after 10, no, 20 years since childhood, the sense of disconnect is severe.

Compared to the life I lived as a vampire’s slave,

The current atmosphere is so Korean and traditional that I can’t help but laugh in disbelief.

‘Hahaha…I’m back.’

Though I don’t know why I’ve returned to grandfather’s house.

But does that matter?

‘There’s a rule to follow.’

-Dash!

I immediately stand in front of the bathroom mirror. I hurriedly touch my face with both hands.

‘It’s me. It really is me!’

This is my 27-year-old self from before entering the game.

It’s starting to feel about 10% real that I’ve returned.

‘Ha-yu, go wash up. Let’s eat watermelon.’

Then a nostalgic voice came from the kitchen.

-Thunk!

The sound of cutting watermelon. The voice belongs to grandfather.

‘……Yes.’

Something wells up inside me as I try to answer. There’s so much I want to say, but my throat is choked up and I just feel frustrated.

I turned on the shower.

-Whoosh.

‘Yes, let’s shower and then listen to everything.’

The bathroom I had insisted on remodeling when I was young.

The slightly moldy tiles. The large laundry soap and washboard…

All those things I used to think were shabby now feel so endearing.

Everything is the same. Except for my mental state.

It feels so different from that world, the sense of displacement is severe.

-Whoosh.

As the water hits me, my mind becomes clearer bit by bit.

‘Did I not disappear into the game, but just dream alone?’

If so, it was a really long nap.

What if I tell Grandfather? He’d probably say it was just a silly dream.

‘Let’s rest well today.’

And tomorrow, I’ll meet my family. Including all those friends who sometimes annoyed me.

‘Good.’

.

.

.

I finished the shower as quickly as possible.

In this dreamlike situation, I felt I needed to see Grandfather’s face as soon as possible to feel at ease.

So I changed into the neatly folded clothes and went out to the main wooden porch where Grandfather was sitting.

Right. I’m also from a noble family with a wooden porch! Goodbye to that damn commoner life.

The watermelon was cut into perfect serving sizes.

-Crunch.

‘Mmm!’

I took a big bite. This too is a taste I couldn’t experience in that world.

‘Is it good?’

At Grandfather’s simple words, tears threaten to spill.

‘Of course… of course.’

Tear-soaked watermelon… ever heard of that?

‘Grandfather, you see… I…’

Where should I start?

A world of magic? He’d just laugh, wouldn’t he? With the generation gap, would he be able to understand?

Finally, our eyes meet.

And the moment I face Grandfather’s face, I choke up.

He was smiling benevolently.

There’s a mix of longing and warmth in it.

But… he’s not my grandfather.

‘Floria?’

Why am I getting Floria’s vibe from grandfather?

…

-Swoosh.

[Object conditions have been met and the effect has been activated]

[Endelson Family Pendant]

[Acquisition condition: Floria’s Seven Circles Affection Level: 3]

[A necklace left as inheritance by Floria’s grandfather. Contains a powerful wish]

[It may not protect the wearer, but it might give one more chance]

[※]

[Pendant effect is activating]

…

[Resurrection will occur shortly]

…

“…!!!”

This ceiling… that I might get used to.

The ceiling of Lachesis Academy’s Quarter Class dormitory.

In other words, my room.

After making such a show with a suicide ending, ridiculously, I’ve returned.

‘Evande.’

No cicada sounds, no fan noise, no rural grass smell.

What the hell, give me back my previous life.

I try to force myself up.

“Urgh!”

My body isn’t well.

As I try to curse out loud from the pain, that annoying effect sound appears.

-Ding!

[Physical functions are recovering]

[Time remaining: 5 hours 14 minutes 59 seconds]

“Kugh!”

My whole body is stiff and I can’t even make a sound.

[Penalty: Silence]

‘A resurrection development, really……’

Even though it was a max affection item from Floria, I never expected it to have such an overpowered effect.

Isn’t reviving a dead person on the level of breaking game balance?

“Lee Ha-yu.”

!!

When I belatedly looked around at the familiar voice, Arein was beside me.

‘I don’t even want to see your face.’

…Wait, then what about my position?

“Lee Ha-yu.”

She keeps calling my name.

As if until I answer.

“Lee Ha-yu.”

“……”

And my voice wouldn’t come out.

If my voice had come out, it would have been curses.

Looking closely, her eyes are red. The pupils were always like that, but the whites were also reddish.

Could it be that she’s worried about me now?

Is this supposed to be a setup where she’s been nursing me day and night for several days?

That’s too… disgusting.

“You.”

?

Arein’s pupils shake. She seems to be choosing her words.

“…You’re the worst.”

What?

Unimaginable words poured out of her mouth.

“…I heard everything. It was a duel with servant release at stake, wasn’t it.”

“Keh-lok.”

I want to make at least a minimal rebuttal, but my voice won’t come out.

“How could you do this to me?”

Arein stares at me with an expression that says this is too much.

It’s the kind of line you’d hear in a drama, but her eyes are brimming with tears.

I want to curse her hard saying ‘I’m suffering because of you. You should have just killed me,’ but my throat won’t cooperate.

“Cough!”

“…You, you do this and still call yourself my servant?”

Arein poured out her feelings to me while letting her tears fall without wiping them.

“I was trying to let you win somehow. I was prepared to let you skip a grade…! But… but, you do this behind my back?”

“Kek. Kek.”

Let me speak!

“Betrayal is the worst. It’s not right!”

[Gained 3 points of Seven Deadly Sins: Wrath from ‘Arein S. Asphodel’]

To think I’m gaining Wrath even in this situation…

Arein let out a small sigh and dropped her gaze downward.

“Fine. Still… at least you came back…”

“?”

“You always came back eventually, even when things were tough. This time too…”

“Ack! Ack!”

Excuse me? I think you’re making a big misunderstanding…

Arein ordered me with a slightly tearful voice.

“But, not yet, not yet… So, don’t come looking for me until I call for you.”

Is this what they call ‘counting your chickens before they hatch’?

Then Arein stood up and added one more thing.

“You’re temporarily fired.”

Wow…

.

.

.

-SLAM!

And just like that, Arein disappeared after saying what she wanted to say.

‘Crazy.’

I can’t even properly get angry. The situation is just too absurd…

Since I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t refute a single word.

From Arein’s high and mighty perspective, she probably thinks this is betrayal.

‘Think whatever you want. I’m leaving tomorrow anyway.’

The familiar bond is already broken. And somehow I managed to prevent the war too.

Isn’t that enough of a protagonist-level contribution?

My second life is for myself alone.

As for revenge against Arein and the House of Asphodel, well, I can think about that later.

“……”

[※]

By the way, that billiard hall marker has been floating there for a while.

It’s been there since the pendant revived me.

It’s glowing red as if telling me to check it out.

This terrible game never had anything good about it…

It’s bothering me.

-Ding.

[Active Debuffs]

[D-20] (new!)

The vampire’s familiar isn’t in the debuff window.

Of course, because I died. It was properly cancelled when I died.

Instead, there was a different debuff in its place.

“What is this?”

[D-20]

The letter D suddenly makes me feel uneasy.

-Ding.

[D-20]

[Knock knock! A gift has arrived. Penalty for the resurrection of the Endelson family pendant]

[Congratulations on your resurrection! Start your new life!]

[※However, you will die in 20 days!]

“*Cough!!”

Well, of course.

It basically means ‘fuck’.

There’s no way a perfect resurrection cheat item would exist in this world.

20-day expiration date? Terminal life. Wow. I’m speechless.

Even the notebook games I made with friends in elementary school would treat me better than this.

If they don’t send me back to the original world after time runs out, the creator is truly a bastard.

What can I even do in 20 days anyway? Should I just die right now?

I don’t know. It’s a fleeting life anyway, might as well go to those Asphodel noble bastards’ mansion to curse them out and take a dump there.

‘With 20 days left, I’ll do whatever I want.’

I’m planning to wreck the academy first.

* * *

-Bang.

-Slide.

As soon as Arein closed the Royal Class door, she collapsed in her seat.

She thought her tear ducts had dried up from crying so much over the past 3 days.

But as soon as she saw his face, tears magically formed and began to flow.

“Hic..sob.”

Lee Ha-yu is alive.

Surely that explosion was as massive as it sounded. And he was at the center of it.

-BOOM!!

-Ha…yu?

-Ah…? Ah?

In that instant when it felt like the whole world had ended.

It was a feeling Arein never wanted to experience again.

Any normal human would surely have died,

But after the explosion, Ha-yu was lying there with his body intact.

Three days. Only after three days did Ha-yu open his eyes.

“……”

For Arein, those three days felt like three years. No, even saying it felt like 30 years wouldn’t be enough.

Starting from ‘What if he never opens his eyes?’ to her own stubbornness when she didn’t give up when first told to forfeit the duel, various thoughts chained together.

Right after the explosion, Isabella had shouted at Arein.

“-Arein! You killed him! That fool just wanted to cancel the vassalage! Khah!”

Vassalage cancellation? Blood magic? These words barely registered in her mind.

Would Lee Ha-yu disappear?

This was the most crucial point.

That’s why right now, she was so grateful that Ha-yu was alive.

So she planned to apologize when he woke up.

If he would just open his eyes, she planned to treat him well.

From his favorite snacks to ice cream, soft yogurt, and bath products sourced from distant cities.

She had prepared so many things.

Strangely, upon seeing his face, all the thoughts from the past three days vanished cleanly, and only the word ‘contract termination’ swirled through her mind.

‘This is the worst.’

‘Fool! That’s not it…’

*Thump!*

Arein strikes the pillow with her small fist.

At that time, in front of Ha-yu, Arein began saying harsh words contrary to her thoughts.

‘How could you do this to me?’

‘Are you really my servant after doing this?’

‘You’re temporarily fired.’

She said things that should never have been said to someone who had just woken up.

‘But what else could I do.’

First and foremost, it’s a master-servant relationship. Therefore, she couldn’t just overlook a servant trying to run away.

Against the Asphodel family? It would be a serious matter if the main family found out.

‘Still, I’ll keep quiet about this just this once…’

Somehow she feels she showed weakness, and it’s embarrassing.

At such times, Arein buries her face in the pillow and hugs it tightly.

‘…You came back after all…’

Lee Ha-yu always comes back.

Though he might seem to be always swayed and lacking conviction, in the end, it’s as if being by Arein’s side is his final destination.

‘Lee Ha-yu…’

Just this time alone, there was a truckload of human nobles approaching, saying he must be greatly distressed.

Various gifts, letters, and male students waiting in front of the dormitory.

Arein found such opportunists disgusting.

But? Ha-yu is different. Because he’s always straightforward.

Arein felt that a great trust relationship had developed because of this.

‘Two weeks? No. That’s too long. Ten days would be better.’

After being cold to him for that long, now I’ll show my trust.

Just need to treat him well so he won’t think of running away.

‘Good. Good.’

Arein, now lying face down on the bed, swings her legs up and down.

But as soon as she composed herself, somehow, she felt the urge to see him.

‘I want… to see him?’

However, befitting a noble of the Asphodel family, Arein decided to endure at least that much.

For the time being, that is.