The Great Vampire General is a Girl! - Chapter 72

Margaret held back a smile. She didn’t immediately accept Valerie’s offer. She was used to being independent and always felt that her poverty and status didn’t mean she had to be humble before the nobles. Margaret spent almost half of her life hating the vampire lords. She wasn’t willing to go straight to what they said.

Besides, leaving the villagers was not that easy for her either. It was Margaret who taught them not to depend on the landlords. Margaret also taught them to defend themselves. Margaret had raised the spirits of the people of Port Biram with great difficulty. If she suddenly sided with Florentia it would make her seem like a hypocrite.

“I’ll think about it,” Margaret said to Valerie. Even so, Valerie saw the look of disappointment on her face. Margaret feared that the offer would soon expire and she would lose the opportunity once and for all. But she also did not want to appear greedy and likes to seek opportunities.

“No one will scold you if you make the decisions for yourself, Margaret,” Valerie tried to persuade her. She knew that the girl wanted to go to college and achieve her own achievements.

“I know, but—” Margaret looked doubtful. For the first time she showed her weakness as a woman.

“If it weren’t for Florentia, the Avalons would probably persuade you and even force you to join them,” Valerie whispered to her seriously. She also didn’t want the Avalon knights in Port Biram to hear her speak ill of them.

At this time, Port Biram was again bustling. It wasn’t long after that the bodies of the Type C Shadows were burned, and the smoke rose high into the air. The smell was a little nauseating because their bodies decomposed quickly even though the air wasn’t too humid today. Valerie guessed it was because of their poor diet when the Shadows were still alive.

There were about five elite knights of Avalon at the biram at the moment. Together they dragged a Shadows type C whose mouth was dripping with blood. His face was like a buffalo with a sharp-toothed mouth. His body was a little thin but muscular. He had probably bit his tongue off many times to avoid the knights’ interrogation. But his body betrayed him. Because when his tongue was cut, he would instantly regenerate to restore it. So he just tortured himself.

The knights caught him quite well, so Shadows’ body was intact and healthy. Caesar felt that might be enough to satisfy Rutherford. Next they would focus on hunting down the Shadows and executing them on the spot.

Seeing the Avalon knights roaming around in Florentia’s territory did feel strange. They were on a truce. In addition, because of the Shadows problem, Florentia gave permission for several Avalon troops to roam in Florentia’s states.

However, they were still being watched. If they were caught espionage or out of business with the Shadows— Florentia would not hesitate to act decisively.

Several hours passed. Raphael and Caesar still clashed occasionally. Although Caesar was more relaxed interacting with him. It was said that they were old friends who learned from the same teacher. Valerie thought it must be awkward to meet again with friends who used to be close in conditions that were already different.

The knights of Avalon waited for the villagers to provide them with a carriage with a trellis and a few horses. They would bring the Shadows they had captured to one of Avalon’s bases. Caesar didn’t want to reveal it. He only said that his business at Acheron was finished.

“Then we’ll be leaving right away. Thanks for the donor,” Caesar chimed in. He nodded and bowed slightly to the villagers. Of course that was not normal behavior for an Avalon. They were famous for not caring about humans. Has there ever been a human who asked to discuss with their pet cow or chicken? Avalon did not feel it was reasonable to do so.

But Caesar was good at socializing. He was easy to talk to and made anyone who should hate him even sympathize with him. Valerie was no exception. He used to be very afraid of Caesar Petrovsky. But now he was more neutral. She knew that the man would not accidentally kill her.

Now Valerie’s identity as a cursed weapon thief and killer of general Gunther had been discovered. But Caesar, who was supposed to kill her, did nothing. He didn’t even comment about her in front of his subordinates. He seemed to be trying to keep Valerie from being noticed or attracting their attention. As if Valerie was just an ordinary female knight working for the Chastain family.

“I’ll look for you one day, Lady Valerie,” said Caesar in a small whisper as he walked past her. The girl’s neck stiffened for a moment. She couldn’t be careless. Caesar would not be her friend and was always be a danger to her.

“What did he say to you just now?” Raphael wanted to know.

“I think he said he would kill me one day,” Valerie said as if it was a matter of course.

“So you have enemies?” Raphael also responded casually.

“Why as if it was a natural thing?”

“Florentia and Avalon killed each other. Caesar and I have also fought to the death many times. But his business with you is a bit personal. It’s no wonder he doesn’t kill you now,” Raphael commented.

“Why do you think that?”

“Why? What else if it wasn’t because he likes you,” said Raphael confidently.

“Wh— where’s that theory coming from?” said Valerie who couldn’t even blush at that.

“Before he found out that you were an Apollon user, he asked you out many times, approached you and spoke sweetly to you, right?” Raphael said a little indignantly.

“That’s impossible! Caesar said I just wasn’t strong enough. He wouldn’t be happy to beat me when I was weak,” Valerie explained her own conclusion.

“That’s bullshit. Caesar doesn’t need a compelling reason to kill someone. Especially for someone who’s obviously killed his teacher like you. He’s not someone who cares about what other people think. I know that he likes you so I’m not too wary of him being around you. He’ll probably stay away from you for a while, then when his interest wears off he’ll hunt you down,” Raphael explained his theory.

“Raphael Chastain, since when did you become a romance expert?” Valerie sneered, belittling him.

“I’m married now. I guess it’s only natural that I’ve started observing a thing or two since then. But no, actually I’ve been watching Caesar’s behavior towards you for a long time. I’m pretty sure about my theory,” Raphael didn’t want to lose.

“Don’t you know that he approached me trying to find information about the Dubois family?” Valerie confirmed her doubts.

“What? A man’s brain isn’t that complicated. He’s just making excuses for this and that when there’s only one point. He wants to get close to you. We men don’t like drama,” Raphael smirked. He felt like a master of romance at this point and loved to make his wife upset.

“Oh, then what about you?”

“What?”

“You went around making plans and finally got a reason to marry me right? What exactly do you feel about me?” Valerie teased him a little.

“It’s not like that,” said Raphael, folding his arms stubbornly. He turned his face away and looked the other way awkwardly.

“I’m not done talking yet,” protested the girl.

“No need. We have to go home now. Let the Florentia knights take care of the rest,” Raphael stretched out his hand to lead her away.

“Hey, aren’t we Florentia knights too?” Valerie took his hand to come with him.

“We’re on leave, don’t forget that we’re still on our honeymoon too,” Raphael shook his head.

***

Honeymoon? Valerie had no idea that a stiff and serious Raphael Chastain had included a honeymoon in his schedule. They were not a real couple. Indeed, Raphael insisted that he didn’t want to play around when he married Valerie. But that didn’t mean Raphael had romantic feelings for her.

Well, Valerie knows that the majority of nobles marry by arranged marriages. But they still went on their honeymoon and slept in the same room. Did Raphael just want to do his duty as a husband properly? He was a perfectionist. So he would probably act like the perfect husband.

Not long after he returned from Duke Delacroux’s residence to explain the situation in Port Biram— Raphael took her away from Acheron.

This was where Valerie was now. At a luxury inn, a vampire-only resort located in the cold mountains. The scenery was very beautiful, with rows of maple trees with yellowing leaves, clear lakes reflecting cloud shadows and smoky hot springs spreading their steam.

The problem was, the sights couldn’t take her focus away from the figure of the commander and her husband, who was now soaking in the hot spring with only a towel covering his private area. All that hot steam didn’t really help.

“Why are you so far away? Come here,” Raphael complained casually.

Valerie was indeed wary and bathed away from him. The girl thought she would never get used to this kind of situation.

“You’re naked, Raphael,” Valerie said tensely. She couldn’t hide her nervousness. But Raphael only responded with a charming laugh.

“Valerie, we’re married. Or was all the sacred vows we made at the altar just a plaything for you?” He asked.

“You said you wouldn’t touch me yet,” Valerie slightly sarcastically responded.

“Well, I don’t know. I also thought about your words.. There are many ways that we can do to avoid pregnancy, right?” He said a little mischievously.