Chapter 7
"Please, spare me...."
Disheveled silver hair.
Tear streaks were already stark against her pale cheeks.
"I still have an unfulfilled, lifelong wish...."
"...."
Carmilla's sobbing showed no signs of stopping.
I merely stared blankly.
Countless thoughts flashed through my mind.
'Why is she crying?'
I questioned it for a brief moment, but quickly understood.
She must have mistaken me for one of the people targeting her.
She probably thought I was no different from those Assassins.
Considering Carmilla's situation, it was a perfectly reasonable assumption.
'Well, I suppose....'
Carmilla was one of the few Pureblood Vampires on the continent.
Even setting aside her Uncle, there were plenty of factions eager to get their hands on her.
Furthermore, the Dynasty led by her Predecessor had just collapsed.
The very fence that protected the young girl was gone.
It was a situation where anyone, anywhere, could target her.
'Being constantly chased by Assassins up until now must have pushed her to her mental limits.'
Of course.
I couldn't help but feel flustered myself.
'I'm a weakling, though.'
Every single Stat I had was a measly E-rank.
With absolutely zero room for growth.
At least in this world, finding someone weaker than me wouldn't be easy.
A body that would be ruthlessly torn apart if Carmilla merely lifted a single finger right now.
'Wait, if anyone should be terrified, it's me...!'
She was the lion, and I was the mouse.
Yet here we were, with the lion trembling in fear.
I swallowed my sense of unfairness.
'First... I need to calm Carmilla down.'
I had dealt with the Assassins that followed her, but there was no telling when a second wave might arrive.
Leaving this place was the top priority.
What I needed now was persuasion.
I had to get Carmilla to lower her guard and follow me.
"Princess."
It wasn't that difficult.
As long as I could utilize my knowledge of the original story and spin a little bullshit.
"Please, let go of your Fear."
Carmilla shrank her shoulders.
I took a knee before her.
I also bowed my head toward the ground.
Like a Knight pledging loyalty to their Master.
"Sniffle... U-uh?"
Question marks seemingly popped up over the girl's head at my sudden action.
I calmly began to spew my bullshit.
"The Late King sent me."
"The Late King? My father...?"
"Yes."
Carmilla's pupils widened in shock.
I didn't hesitate to deliver the follow-up blow.
Digging through my memories, I rolled my pronunciation as accurately as I could remember.
"Leira de Leviaran. De Roni Gibliase."
"...!"
Royalty known to be the direct descendants of the True Ancestor, even among countless Vampires.
It was a sentence passed down through generations exclusively to Purebloods.
The language of ancient Vampires.
The words the True Ancestor supposedly left behind when they vanished 1,000 years ago.
The surprise refused to fade from Carmilla's face.
"Slaughter, but do not be vulgar. Survive, but do not be servile. I believe that is the meaning."
"H-how...? To even know the meaning, th-that is surely a sentence permitted only to Royalty...."
"Did I not tell you? The Late King sent me."
I only knew it because I saw it in the original Setting Book, but that didn't matter.
An unverifiable lie is no different from the truth.
"It was when the Late King... that is, Lady Carmilla's father, was still alive. He always sought to prepare for such a tragedy. I am one of those arrangements."
"Arrangements...?"
"The Late King entrusted the Princess to me. He asked that if he were to meet an untimely end and the Dynasty collapsed, I was to protect you, Lady Carmilla."
"Then, that sentence just now...."
"The Late King taught it to me. He said that if I recited that sentence, the Princess would believe me."
"...."
Carmilla fell into a daze, lost in thought.
In her jumbled, dizzy mind, something was bound to surface.
"...Father definitely mentioned it. That even in Human society, Vassals who serve him were hidden. He told me to run away, to run far away... to find them, and then I would be safe... On the day he passed, to me...."
Her voice, initially dry, gradually grew wet with emotion.
Her eyes looked as if they had found their last hope.
With her silver hair looking disheveled, she asked.
"Are you... the Knight my father spoke of?"
"Yes."
I did not hesitate to answer.
"From now on, I will take responsibility for the Princess's safety."
"Ah...."
A breath subconsciously escaped the girl's lips.
Her tearful red eyes sparkled.
Stagger-.
"Thank goodness.... Thank goodness...."
"Whoops."
After swaying heavily, Carmilla collapsed forward.
I lightly opened my arms and caught her.
Thud-.
A petite frame that fit in one arm. A cool body temperature and soft skin.
Even as she was laid on the ground, she continued to mutter.
"Father, I.... I, lived... just as, you asked...."
"You have been through a lot. Please rest for a moment."
"Thank you.... Thank, thank you...."
Slowly, her eyes finally closed.
Perhaps it was because the intense tension she had been holding onto had suddenly unraveled.
Carmilla soon lost consciousness.
'Was she at her limit?'
She had likely been running away continuously for the past few weeks to escape the pursuit of the Assassins.
It was obvious that she hadn't been able to get a proper night's sleep.
'Her body is a mess too....'
She had been sniped at by the Assassins, and even thoroughly beaten.
If I leave it like this, it will only get worse.
Rustle, rustle-.
I rummaged through my Robe and pulled something out.
None other than blood drawn from Livestock.
'I brought this because I knew this would happen.'
Click-.
I opened the cap of the Blood Pack and placed it between the girl's lips.
Drawn by the sweet scent of blood, Carmilla soon wet her throat.
Glug, glug, the pack was cleanly emptied.
Following that, her wound-riddled body slowly began to recover.
'Good.'
I left her alone for a moment so her flesh could heal.
Meanwhile, I poked around the area where the Assassins had been.
Before long, I found what I was looking for in a large box.
"Oh."
A Crossbow as massive as my own body.
God-Killing Bow.
It was a relic of the Blandir Kingdom.
I heard it was an item used for executing Pureblood Vampires.
Even if it wasn't specifically against Vampires, it was a weapon with insanely strong destructive power.
"Nice."
What an epic loot drop.
I gently tapped the massive object with my finger.
Ring-!
[Robe of the Evil God]
-Storing item God-Killing Bow.
-Number of stored items: 31/100
This Crossbow was mine now.
Which meant I could do whatever I wanted with it.
'They probably never expected it to be stolen.'
It was understandable they let their guard down.
Who would have thought that the elite Assassins they selected wouldn't be able to catch a single exhausted Princess?
Especially when they were even given such a ridiculously overpowered weapon, known as the strongest against Vampires.
'Well... it's all because I intervened, though.'
It was the same in the original story.
If the Player didn't intervene in the event, Carmilla would be executed in this sewer.
"Is there only one Stake?"
A Stake.
The Arrow used for the God-Killing Bow.
'One for the execution, and one as a spare. It seems that's how they brought them.'
Then again, there was no way they could carry around multiple shots of something this precious.
I heard it takes 200 years for a Veteran Blacksmith just to craft a single shot.
My mouth watered.
'It was incredible.'
Didn't I witness it firsthand earlier?
When I faced the Assassins, what I held in my hand was merely a small Fragment.
And even that was just a piece that had shattered from the aftermath of the shot, unable to even function properly.
Yet even a piece like that was no different from a lethal poison to Vampires.
'The Holy See would probably love this.'
It was definitely a top-tier weapon among Purification and Exorcism gear, at the very least.
A hum naturally escaped my lips.
I stored the Arrow in my Inventory as well.
'I saved Carmilla, and I obtained the God-Killing Bow and the Stake....'
It was a massive haul.
Since I hit the jackpot, it was about time to return to my lodging.
I carefully picked up Carmilla, who was fast asleep, oblivious to the world.
"Ngh...."
Was it because my Strength Stat was E-rank?
Even though Carmilla was light, my arms still ached.
My eyes grew even more serious than when I blocked the God-Killing Bow, or when I faced the Assassins.
"Phew...."
I let out a small breath.
Afterward, I leisurely made my way out of the sewer.
***
A few days passed since I returned to my lodging.
Nothing much happened during that short time.
Carmilla remained asleep to focus on her recovery.
I spent my time sitting by her side and nursing her.
'I probably won't have to worry about... being tracked for a while.'
Since I utilized a Bug to return to the lodging as well.
There shouldn't be any traces left behind for them to tail me.
With this, I could say I've bought some time.
After all, I needed to prepare if I wanted to clash with the Vampire faction.
'In the end, the Key is Carmilla.'
I had to help her grow.
Enough to awaken her Pureblood power and rebuild the fallen Dynasty.
'Because I'll politely decline the end of the world.'
A few days passed like that.
It was exactly five days later when Carmilla regained consciousness.
"U-uhm...."
Red eyes opened groggily.
Perhaps it was thanks to the constant supply of Blood Packs while she slept.
The young girl had recovered completely, without a single wound left.
"You're awake."
"...U-uh?"
Carmilla froze the moment our eyes met.
Her mind seemed to be buffering.
After a brief moment of waiting, she must have grasped the situation, as she suddenly sprang up.
"Ah...!"
She wiped away the pool of drool with her sleeve.
The girl blushed as if ashamed.
She asked with a hoarse voice.
"Wh-where is...."
"It is our lodging. We plan to stay here until the Princess fully recovers."
"Did you carry me here...?"
"I did."
I answered kindly.
She was mentally pushed to the edge.
"My wounds are all healed, too. An Arrow definitely pierced me, and I was a mess in more ways than one...."
"I continued to supply you with blood. I prepared plenty of Blood Packs."
"Is that so...."
Carmilla nodded her head.
"Thank you... for saving me. I do not know how I can ever repay this debt."
"Please, there is no need for such words. I am merely fulfilling the task the Late King entrusted to me."
"You truly are a loyal Knight. How can a Human...."
"I received His Majesty's help in the past."
"I see."
Because we exchanged a few formal words, no awkward silence settled between us.
By the time the haziness had completely faded from Carmilla's consciousness.
"...?"
As if sensing something was off, the girl looked down at her own body.
She glanced at her arms, legs, and even peeked under the clothes she was wearing.
Then, she flinched and shrank back.
Without a word, her shoulders quietly began to tremble.
"...Lady Carmilla?"
What is it? Why is she suddenly acting like that?
Is there a problem with her body?
Are there any wounds that haven't healed yet?
Feeling worried, I pressed for an answer.
"Is something the matter?"
"...."
"You do not look well."
"...W-well, you see."
Her lips mumbled for a long time before she finally managed to speak with difficulty.
For some reason, her face was burning bright red.
As if steam might shoot out from the top of her head at any moment.
"My clothes have been changed, and my underwear underneath has been taken off... and my b-body is so soft, as if someone washed me...."
"...."
"Y-you...?"
"...."
"Could it be...?"
"...."
Well.
You see.
Hmm.
It couldn't be helped.
Her body reeked of the sewer and was covered in filthy water, so if left alone, there was a risk of infection....
"...That is what happened."
"...."
Now beyond just red, her complexion looked like it was about to burst.
I quietly averted my gaze.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
You're all caught up! Follow the story on NovelDex!
https://noveldex.io/series/mistaken-for-a-masked-op-character
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━