Chapter 2 : The End Of Childhood – 2

Witch Hunt.

In the past, I had watched it a few times with Lily.

The ritual where a screaming witch was tied to the stake and burned along with all sorts of talismans.

In this city with no outstanding form of entertainment, witch hunts were one of the most favored pastimes among both nobles and commoners alike.

However, the story changes when the one on the stake is your little sister.

“W-What are you doing?! Lily is my sister!”

Lily was tied to the stake.

The moment I saw that, I lost all sense of reason. I pushed through the crowd and screamed.

I begged and pleaded for her life, but the crowd’s reaction was far from sympathetic.

The looks they gave me were anything but kind.

It was the gaze one would give a monster—twisted and hostile.

“So you’re saying you’re related to that witch?”

Someone said.

That single sentence flipped the mood entirely.

Everyone started to agree.

“Then this brat must be the witch’s little puppet too.”

“You never know. Maybe he’s been brainwashed by her.”

“Should we kill him?”

“If we do, we’ll be punished. Let’s just beat some sense into him first.”

With that, people grabbed my arms.

The moment a rough-looking man stepped forward with a peachwood club, I realized everything had gone horribly wrong.

When I came to, I was in excruciating pain all over. I had been badly beaten and dumped in an alley.

My head was stuck in a trash can, reeking of rotten food.

“Ugh…”

But I couldn’t give up there.

Lily was still alive, still the object of everyone’s hatred.

There was only one day left until the execution.

I, her only family, had to save her.

For a fifteen-year-old boy, there was only one adult I could think to turn to for help.

“P-Please save Lily. I’ll do anything, please…”

The pimp.

The same man who, a few years ago, tried to sell my sister into prostitution—and whom I had struck on the back of the head with a club.

I went to him, knelt, and begged with tears in my eyes.

It was the only option I could think of at the time.

“What?”

“P-Please. Lily—my sister—she’s going to die. They say she’s a witch! But she’s not! Please, save her. I’ll do anything. I’m fine even if she becomes a prostitute. Just please…”

“Ugh, a witch? Don’t bring that bad luck here! Get out!”

He slapped both of my cheeks.

He beat my legs with a club and kicked me in the chest.

The reason? No one who defended a witch could live in this city.

“You should be grateful I’m not killing you, you little bastard! Get lost, now!”

And with that, I was thrown out again, head-first into another trash heap.

Even as this happened, Lily remained tied to the stake.

There were no options left.

But that didn’t mean I gave up.

There was one last move.

I would take advantage of the night, rescue Lily, and escape the city.

I didn’t think about how we’d survive in this harsh world afterward.

All that mattered was stopping Lily from being burned alive.

I carefully planned everything and prepared to carry out the rescue.

When the time came, I headed to the plaza.

“Hm… So you came to die too?”

What I encountered there was neither Lily nor the townspeople, but a woman.

A woman with jet-black hair and blood-red eyes.

Upon seeing me, she wore an expression of interest.

I tried to pass by her, but the moment I saw the horrific scene behind her, I was left speechless.

“Th-that is…”

“Ah, don’t mind it. Just some scum who didn’t know their place and tried to rise above their station. They weren’t worth living anyway.”

Behind her were countless corpses.

The very people who had beaten me just a day before were now lying cold and dead.

Their bodies were torn to shreds as if they had been mauled by beasts.

It was the work of the woman standing before me.

Blood was smeared around her mouth, and her long fingernails were caked with torn flesh.

A monster.

That’s what she was.

But even realizing that, my feet refused to move.

It was because of the girl slung over her back—Lily.

Suddenly, courage I didn’t know I had surged up within me.

I clenched my teeth and shouted.

“M-Monster! Give Lily back!”

“Haha. You don’t seem to know your place either. Did you really come here to rescue this girl?”

“Give me back my little sister!”

For the first time, the woman looked genuinely surprised.

Her red eyes, the same shade as Lily’s, blinked in astonishment.

“Hm? This girl… is your sister?”

“Y-Yeah! Lily! Give back my sister!”

I don’t even know where that courage came from.

Maybe I’d lost all sense of fear, consumed by the single thought of saving Lily.

Whatever the case, the woman seemed intrigued by my defiance.

She didn’t kill me—instead, she grabbed me by the scruff of the neck and lifted me up.

“Ugh!”

“Hmmm. How peculiar. You’re clearly not one of our kind… So you must have different fathers, huh?”

“Let go of me!”

“Well, since you call yourself her brother, I’ll enlighten you myself.”

Her grip was ironclad—no amount of struggling could free me.

She brought her mouth close to my ear and whispered in a half-laughing tone.

“Your little sister… is a vampire.”

“…What?”

Vampire.

The moment I heard that word, my mind went blank.

The woman took me to a secluded cabin on the outskirts of the city.

I wondered how she’d escaped the city guards unnoticed—until I saw her take flight.

From her back, two pairs of bat-like wings had unfurled.

“Your sister was born with the purest blood among vampires.”

Apparently, they called this “True Ancestor.”

“A True Ancestor cannot live among humans. Vampires must live among their own.”

“Th-that can’t be…”

“Haven’t you seen enough? Your sister, nearly burned at the stake as a witch. That’s why I’ve decided to raise her in my kingdom.”

“…?”

“A kingdom of vampires. Oh, right—how rude of me. I forgot to introduce myself. You may simply call me Queen.”

True Ancestor.

Vampire.

Kingdom.

It was hard to understand, but one thing was clear.

“Lily is my little sister. She’s going to stay with me.”

Lily was leaving.

That was the one thing I couldn’t accept.

“You really don’t get it, do you, kid? Your sister is a vampire. And not just any vampire—she carries the blood of a True Ancestor. She’s a completely different species. It’s impossible for her to live among humans.”

“You’re wrong! Vampire or not, she’s my only sister!”

In truth, the Vampire Queen could have just killed me and taken Lily.

But she seemed to be the type who enjoyed toying with her prey.

Her gaze, which had been calmly observing me, twisted into something more sinister.

“Fine. You’re the kind who won’t understand until he experiences it firsthand. I don’t mind—it’ll make for decent entertainment on this little outing of mine.”

She pointed toward the cabin.

“If you really want to know, go inside. But from here on out, whatever happens is your responsibility.”

“What are you waiting for? Your beloved sister is waiting for you.”

The smile on her lips was chilling.

Still, with the determination to protect Lily, I pushed down my fear and stepped into the cabin.

When I opened the creaky side door, darkness swallowed me whole.

Once my eyes adjusted to the gloom, I saw it.

“…Li-Lily?”

It was my sister—but at the same time, it wasn’t.

She crawled on all fours like an animal, her glowing red eyes piercing through the shadows.

She slowly approached me.

I crouched instinctively, but before I could react further, Lily kicked off the wall and lunged at me.

“Gah!”

Sharp claws tore through both my arms.

Before I could even register the pain, her small body had pinned me down.

The strength in her tiny frame was unbelievable.

“Lily, it’s me! It’s me!”

My words didn’t reach her.

She stared at me with wide eyes and opened her mouth—revealing sharp, gleaming fangs.

That’s when reality hit me like a cold wave.

Lily was a vampire.

And to a vampire, a human is prey.

That meant I was her prey.

Sink.

Her fangs pierced into the nape of my neck.

A hot sensation spread from the wound.

I don’t know how much time passed.

The feeling in my limbs faded, and my whole body felt as though it were floating.

I grew drowsy.

I tried to resist the pull of sleep by biting my tongue, but no blood came from the wound.

And then—I lost consciousness.

But I didn’t die.

When I came to, dawn had already broken.

“Ugh… Li-Lily…”

There was no doubt what happened last night hadn’t been a dream.

I was lying in the center of the cabin, and on my neck were two puncture wounds—left by Lily’s fangs.

Most of all, I was alone.

The Vampire Queen… Lily… they were both gone.

All that remained was a bundle the Queen had left behind for me.

Inside were enough supplies to last a day or two—and a few gold coins.

She had taken Lily and left me behind.

I couldn’t return to the city.

If I did, I knew I’d end up wandering the alleys where my memories of Lily lived—and I wouldn’t survive it with my sanity intact.

“…Ah.”

Crushed by the guilt of failing to protect Lily, and overcome by a deep sense of helplessness, I collapsed.

This world is not kind to the weak.

It had been that way since I was born.

I had felt it growing up.

And now, I was reminded once again.

With the bundle clutched to my chest, I staggered down the mountain path.

The next year, I became a mercenary.