The Vampire’s Identity

Author: Unicoon
Raw: https://ncode.syosetu.com/n8138gc/28/
Translator: Lilia v4
Editor: Yuriko AYA

“There’s one in this room too, you know?”

At Lady Ulrika’s word, the air in the study froze at once.
In the rising tension, a cute voice burst in from outside the door.

“You two! Please wait~”

“Wait, Livi, don’t leave me behind!”

Olivia and Natasha.
The two of them hurried into the study. Sensing the heavy air, they fell quiet at once.

“Ah… sorry…”

“Never mind. You two stay still.”

King Zenon’s words carried a force that brooked no argument.

“Back to the matter… Ulrika. Is it a fact that there is a vampire in this room?”

“Mm. No mistake!”

“In other words, I, Rudolf, Headmaster Neumann, Charlotte. One of we four is a vampire. Is that it?”

At the shocking content of the conversation, Olivia and Natasha’s faces went ashen.
The four who had been in the study from the start held their breath and waited for Lady Ulrika’s words.
Lady Ulrika, however, readily denied King Zenon’s question.

“That’s not it.”

She pointed one hand straight at the ceiling.

“The vampire is here.”

She flicked the raised hand down.
The next instant, the ceiling cracked and a human figure came falling.

What fell was a man in a black hood and leather armor.
Lady Ulrika’s mana had dragged him down from above the ceiling.

“Impossible! How was I found!?”

“You reeked. It was obvious.”

The man glared at Lady Ulrika.
From his clenched mouth, two sharp fangs showed.

“A spy? Don’t tell me vampires have been stealing information!?”

“So it seems… I can’t believe it.”

The study erupted at the sudden turn.
Then something changed in the vampire’s body.
Headmaster Neumann noticed first and raised his voice.

“Don’t! He means to turn to mist and flee!”

“Ha ha ha! Too late!”

The vampire man laughed loud.
His body grew faintly thin, and then—

“Guh!? Wh-what?”

The thinning body gradually returned to substance.
Pinned flat to the floor, the vampire writhed.
It was as if a huge invisible hand were pressing him down.

“Ggh… I can’t move… I can’t even become mist… why!?”

“I’ve bound you with my mana. There’s no way you can run.”

He could only move his mouth as he was crushed into the floor, creaking.
Lady Ulrika’s mana put tremendous pressure on the vampire’s body.

“Gii… giguguh… damn you… ugh.”

The vampire resisted for a while, then went limp and lost consciousness.
Rudolf checked the unmoving vampire’s face.

“He’s a castle guard…”

“A guard, a vampire… what a thing…”

“I can’t believe it… a vampire inside the castle…”

The study went dead quiet.
Olivia timidly raised a hand and pointed at the vampire, trembling.

“Um… is that person… a vampire…?”

Natasha clung to Olivia, shaking.
The two of them, not yet grasping the circumstances, looked thoroughly terrified.

Watching them, King Zenon thought quietly.

“…I’ll explain the circumstances to you as well.”

“Father! Those two have nothing to do with this!!”

“But they’ve already seen it, haven’t they? There are times when not knowing is more dangerous.”

Prompted by King Zenon, Olivia and Natasha sat in chairs.

“What I am about to say is not to leave this room. Understood?”

The two nodded silently.

“Now then, where to begin—”

And King Zenon began to tell what had happened—