An old castle in Europe at dawn.

Several hours had passed since a strong yet soft light emitted from the castle.

In the middle of the night, the magnificent light blue light lasted for more than ten minutes before gradually fading away. This optical phenomenon, which was not caused by disaster or man-made factors, attracted the curiosity of many citizens and homeless people wandering out to experience nightlife - what if

If it weren't for the fact that the castle was surrounded by a scenic spot, and that some expressionless guards wearing sunglasses and suits were still blocking the entrance, I believe people with an inquiring spirit would have wanted to go there and see what was going on.

In fact, this castle is not part of the scenic spot, but the property of an upper class person, and those guards do not exist to guard the scenic spot.

At the same time that the idle people asking for trouble dispersed, the British morning came quietly. If there were still people staying here at this time, they would find that the black-clad guards who appeared in their eyes gradually turned into phantoms and faded away, just like

No one has ever appeared the same.

"...Is this the only way it can be? It's true...it could have lasted longer before..."

In the castle, the blond young man looked at the sun struggling out of the clouds, smiled bitterly, shook his head, and pulled his hand back from the window sill.

Countless shadows returned to his feet through the surrounding "darkness".

Naturally, those guards never existed from the beginning, they were just phantoms created by "magic". However, in this modern era where magic has long been lost, almost no one with his skills can distinguish the authenticity.

Of course, not many people even recognize that it is magic.

The blond young man looked behind him - the chaotic study room, paintings and comics scattered everywhere, and a rough and crude magic circle drawn with blood.

But this simple magic circle that looks like just a child's doodle has actually been successfully activated. Those extra lines that seem to be drawn just for beauty add something else to it. But it is obvious that this magic circle has been lost now.

Its power is gone, leaving only a more beautiful-looking pattern.

He was eager to know how such a change was made. However, this castle had actually only been inhabited by two people for decades, and now, only one person remained.

No... Or, the one who disappeared shouldn't be said to be a "person".

"Master! Miss, she..."

The dress seemed to be specially designed for bad taste. She looked exactly like a maid from a comic. She looked at the blond young man with an almost horrified expression, but it was not because she was afraid of the person in front of her who seemed to be only slightly older than her.

Young people simply cannot understand what they see with their own eyes.

In fact, when he saw the maid, she seemed to have been at a loss for a long time, until he received the news and rushed over.

"-Listen, Gina, calm down."

The young man——Ottovier V. Toredo, the actual owner of this castle and the father of Lily N. Toredo, had just arrived from his residence and had not even tidied up his slovenly appearance.

, while using magic to solve unnecessary troubles, he has also been using words to try to comfort the maid who was panicking because of certain things. However, under this calm tone, his expression also looked a little weird, but he still remained calm.

.

"It's not your fault. It wasn't your fault in the first place. Tell me, what happened?"

"Yes, it is……"

The young man's tone seemed to have a kind of magic, which made the maid calm down quickly as if she had found her backbone. She began to recall every detail of what the eldest lady she took care of said and did yesterday.

The thing happened suddenly, but the intermittent description allowed him to understand what happened.

"An ancestral magic book?" Ottoville's expression became even weirder, "There is no such thing in the family."

"The eldest lady said... she got it from your bookshelf..." Gina lowered her head in embarrassment, "I'm sorry, I promised the eldest lady that I would hide it from you..."

But it's obvious that the other party's focus is not here.

"...my bookshelf?"

Ottoville seemed to have remembered something, and he touched his chin and pondered.

He recalled the past.

Due to differences with Lily, and because he did have some matters and wanted to live alone, they lived in two places. However, before that, Lily did take something from him - before he turned a blind eye.

In the case of one eye.

However, what exactly did the little guy take? What did he mean by the "magic book"?

For a moment, he fell into deep thought.

But in Gina's opinion, the behavior of this pale man who was also a vampire and a bit old-fashioned in some aspects was the calm before the storm.

Lily's disappearance for no reason has become a foregone conclusion. This is a dereliction of duty that she cannot refute.

Some are unwilling and some are helpless.

But for a blood servant who had already signed a contract to become the Toledo family, and who was entrusted to take care of Lily, she had no room to resist Ottoville.

She slowly closed her eyes and gritted her teeth.

Welcome the possibility of death.

After a long time, the man seemed to have finished his meditation and said something in a more subtle tone than before.

"I think I understand what's going on. Relax and take me to her room."

"Huh?" Gina opened her eyes in surprise, as if something was beyond her expectation, "...you...don't you blame me?"

"I told you, you were not wrong."

Ottoville smiled bitterly and stretched out his hand to rub the girl's hair. His pale face, which had long lost its body temperature, did not express much blame, but instead told something tenderly.

"You have done a good job in these years. Although you still dote on this child too much, you have also allowed her to live a good life... Gina, for her, you may have replaced me. This is an accident, maybe... it is also...

Chance."

Gina lowered her head in flattery and whispered: "I'm sorry...Master Ottoville..."

"Okay." Ottoville retracted his hand and said with a smile, "Take me to Lily's room. I want to...confirm some things, and I will have the answer soon."

Gina nodded quickly, and the small gratitude in her heart quickly turned into action.

Lily's room is not too close to here, almost in two completely different directions in the castle, but it is not too far away for the two of them.

Soon, they arrived.

Ottoville walked into this room. It was obvious that these various posters and resin dolls that gave him a headache and could not understand still occupied most of the room. Only the somewhat messy bed showed that there was still something before.

The girl is indeed still here.

But her breath has disappeared.

At the same time, this room still held a remnant of energy that was strange yet familiar to him.

The power of magic!

"...No...impossible...in this world...how could anyone be able to trigger that?!"

His calm expression suddenly collapsed, and a look of disbelief appeared on Ottoville's face. He impatiently walked to his daughter's bed, and stretched out his hand under Gina's curious eyes.

Light appeared on Ottoville's hand, and these azure energies formed a complex pattern. The center of the circle was like a vertical pupil that suddenly opened, creating a small and medium-sized wave in this small room.

The air flow was so strong that the surrounding objects began to move around - of course, the maid's miniskirt that was bounded from the outside was blown up without exception.

However, the person involved did not realize that he had been exposed, but looked at his master with a horrified expression.

A real magic circle.

It's just like what's shown in the works that young ladies like to watch.

It turns out...the magic in those books is real?!

"...Jasmine...did you do it? No...that guy had already locked the door..."

Ottoville, who had his back turned to her, naturally did not notice anything strange about the maid behind him. He was already deep in thought because of the matter in front of him and murmured in a low voice.

The vertical pupil detailed the spatial structure of this area. In Ottoville's field of vision, Lily's bed was densely covered with small twists and cracks that were visible to the naked eye. This just explained some of the things that were crucial to him.

thing……

Maybe, this is fate?

The corners of his mouth curved up, and his extremely bitter smile showed his mood at this time.

Ottoville stopped working on the magic in his hand, and when he turned his head, he had returned to his usual gentle expression. He patted the maid who was still dazed, walked around her and prepared to leave the room.

"Master...where are you going?" Gina realized what she was doing and hurriedly chased after her.

"I'm going to find her." Ottoville said calmly, "I think I know where she went."

"I also……"

"You can't do it, kid, this is no longer the field you should get involved in..."

Ottoville stopped and looked seriously at the human girl who had taken care of Lily for many years.

Even for a vampire, the existence of a blood servant is more like an object than a servant, but for Ottoville, what he sees in front of him is just a little girl taking care of his daughter.

She is still very young.

"Lily is gone. I have to find her, but you can't. This journey may be very long and arduous, and may even reach a point that humans cannot bear - return to the Toledo family, or return to human life.

...You need to make a choice now, your destiny is in your hands."
Chapter completed!