I Was Told to Drink Poison, So I Drank It - 48 - The Beginning of the Revolution
“Wh…where am I!?”
In front of me was a field full of flowers.
Yellow flowers were blooming brightly.
The contrast with the blue sky was beautiful. It was beautiful, but—
“Prince Lawrence!?”
I turned around in surprise, and the person (probably) who brought me here answered quietly.
“This is the flower field I promised you.”
“Ah… then, that wasn’t a dream!!”
Out of shock, that was the first thing I said.
Whoosh—a strong wind blew.
As I stumbled from the wind, Prince Lawrence held my shoulder to steady me.
“Thank you…”
I thanked him, then suddenly came to my senses.
Right, this isn’t the time for this.
“Where is this!? You say it’s a flower field, but where exactly?”
“This is the backyard of the main mansion owned by the duke’s family in the Zenefelder territory. A long time ago, I met you here.”
“Zenefelder…”
I looked around and saw buildings I recognized.
Yes, this really is the Zenefelder country house.
“It didn’t seem like things would go well if you stayed there. So I brought you here for now. My real body was already here.”
“Real body…?”
“You saw it too, didn’t you? Vampires can send their shadow far away. In my case, I change into a white butterfly to move around.”
“─”
With Prince Lawrence’s words, I remembered that night.
I couldn’t tell if it was a dream or reality, but that night, he turned into a white butterfly and left the room.
I didn’t think much about it at the time—like maybe vampires could transform too.
“So that means, even back then, you sent your shadow from far away?”
“That’s right. At that time, I was in Arcana.”
So, the Prince Lawrence I saw in the city was just a shadow, not the real one.
I understood, and then quietly said what I thought of his power.
“…That’s an unbelievable ability.”
Then I asked the question that came to mind.
“Why did you bring me here? Is moving me like that also part of your ability?”
As I kept asking questions, Prince Lawrence suddenly said something unexpected.
“Vampires don’t drink human bl00d.”
“…What?”
“Vampires replenish themselves with each other’s bl00d. In other words, they suck bl00d from other vampires. Do you know what happens if a vampire drinks human bl00d? Chalize?”
There’s no way I would know.
I was about to say that, but then I thought—maybe there’s a reason he’s asking.
I just asked him how he brought me to Zenefelder territory.
If his reply—‘vampires don’t drink human bl00d’—wasn’t just to dodge the question, then maybe his answer is connected to what I asked.
So what happens when a vampire drinks human bl00d…?
He once told me that he drank my bl00d.
Because of that, it seems like he can tell if I’m alive, even from far away.
“…Could it be, if you suck someone’s bl00d, they become a vampire too? Like an infection?”
I spoke the idea that naturally came to me. Prince Lawrence gave a small smile.
“That’s half right, and half wrong. But mostly, you’re not far off. I… drank your bl00d. The shock from that awakened your holy power. But before that happened, my magic power had already entered your body. Normally, holy power and magic power are opposites, but now you have both.”
“…So I’m a holy maiden who also has vampire powers?”
I couldn’t believe it right away.
Still half in doubt, I asked. Prince Lawrence nodded.
“You didn’t know you had magic power, did you? So you didn’t know how to use it. But if someone interferes from the outside like this, we can draw out the magic power sleeping inside you.”
“─”
I tried to say something, but no words came out.
It felt like I tried to laugh but failed, and so I gave a bitter smile.
(I’m a holy maiden, and I was queen of Victoire, but I actually had magic power…?)
Who could’ve guessed?
At the very least, I myself never noticed it at all.
(Truth is stranger than fiction… people really say that for a reason.)
“…That magic power—was that what you used just now?”
A huge swarm of magical beasts was wiped out in an instant.
I don’t think it was purification by holy power like what a holy maiden would use.
(It felt more like—)
Just then, Prince Lawrence suddenly sat down on the spot. On top of the flower field blooming with yellow flowers.
“I’m the one who made the magical beasts disappear.”
I knew it.
That wasn’t purification.
It vanished as if nothing had ever been there. That was not purification. It was erasure.
At that moment, a white butterfly floated down from somewhere.
(That butterfly…)
I had seen it that night too.
The white butterfly landed on Prince Lawrence’s fingertip.
For a while, Prince Lawrence stared at the butterfly on his finger. Every time its wings moved, its scales shimmered in the light.
“…It’s begun.”
He suddenly whispered.
I looked at him without thinking, and he answered calmly while still watching the butterfly.
“The royal castle seems to be surrounded by the people. I think it’s only a matter of time before the gates are broken through.”