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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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The atmosphere was so tense that it seemed like it could explode at any moment.
In fact, considering their past before the regression, it wasn’t particularly unusual for these two to have a bad relationship.
Eileen and Arwen had a remarkably poor relationship and often clashed, so ironically, they knew each other inside out.
‘…Now she’s even pretending to be a cat?’
Although Eileen had reflexively drawn her sword and pointed it, almost as a conditioned response, her mind became conflicted.
It was the first time she had seen Arwen’s transformation in the form of a cat.
She had often seen her transformed into a bat or other human shapes, so she had been suspecting it from the moment she first saw the cat.
If Sylphia’s distinctive feature was her fiery red hair and eyes, characteristic of her true race as a Red Dragon, then Arwen’s common trait was her silver fur and amethyst eyes, regardless of what form she transformed into using transformation magic.
That’s why, as soon as Eileen saw a cat with the unusual combination of silver fur and amethyst eyes, she was reminded of Arwen, and her speculation turned into certainty when Arwen herself admitted it.
‘Where did she throw away her pride as a True Ancestor?’
Eileen was confused about whether Rudrick was aware that the cat he had been raising was actually a vampire, and not just any vampire, but a True Ancestor known as the queen of all bloodsuckers.
“I never expected someone who calls herself a True Ancestor to even pretend to be a mere animal and sneak in. If other vampires saw this, they wouldn’t be able to suppress their lamentations,” Eileen remarked, her voice unprecedentedly cold, maintaining an expressionless face bordering on frostiness.
It was the typical image that came to mind when people thought of the Northern Grand Duchess.
“You’re one to talk. Even if you’re the Grand Duchess of a nation, how dare you carelessly set foot in the room of an unrelated man?” Arwen rebuked Eileen with a dignified voice befitting her status as the queen of vampires and the progenitor of all vampires.
In fact, they were both equally at fault.
No matter how thoughtlessly Rudrick offered to show her around his room, Eileen had readily accepted and followed him.
And no matter how much Rudrick had proposed it first, Arwen was practically living together with him, albeit in the form of a cat.
If a third party were to witness this, they wouldn’t be able to refute it even if they were asked if they were both perverts.
And even to Rudrick, who was unfamiliar with the ways of this world and often made remarks or actions that could be misunderstood by others without hesitation, it seemed that way.
‘…Aren’t they both the same?’
Six of one, half a dozen of the other.
Whatever expression one used, it was fitting.
Both Arwen and Eileen had completely excluded their own actions from their thought process and only focused on the actions of the other.
Rudrick, who had a puzzled expression, stood still, not intending to move aside. Eileen took the initiative first.
“Ah!”
“It’s dangerous!”
It was a reflexive movement. As Arwen’s hands were dual-casting attack magic, Eileen, perceiving it as a threat, grabbed Rudrick’s collar and pulled him into her embrace.
The outfit Eileen was currently wearing was not rigid armor but a uniform she wore during work or regular days.
In that state, if she simply perceived Arwen’s magic as a threat and thought she needed to protect Rudrick, pulling him into her embrace, the result would be obvious.
“Uh… Eileen…?” Rudrick uttered in a flustered voice, suddenly finding himself pressed against her body, clearly revealing her curves, and his head buried in a rather dangerous part due to being pulled in.
However, before he could even feel the soft sensation, Eileen blatantly warned Arwen.
“I never expected you to recklessly start casting magic even with Rudrick here…”
“You misunderstand. Do you think I would aim my magic at Rudrick? Of course, I intended to target your hateful face,” Arwen retorted.
Her elegant and gentle manner of speech contrasted with the chilling content.
Arwen’s amethyst eyes slowly turned red.
It was one of the characteristics of vampires that changed first in battle, awakening the brutal essence embedded in their blood.
Eileen gritted her teeth as she watched Arwen, who was baring her fangs and casting magic.
‘Can I protect Rudrick if we fight…?’
The outcome was already determined.
No matter how much Eileen Nord, the strongest swordswoman in the North known as the Black Lion of the Empire, fought one-on-one, she couldn’t defeat Arwen.
It might be unfair, but the gap between a human body made of flesh and blood and an inhuman race that had already reached the realm of superhumans from birth couldn’t be bridged by acquired effort.
Moreover, the one in front of her, with reddened eyes and bared fangs while casting magic, wasn’t an ordinary vampire but the True Ancestor, the progenitor of all vampires in this land.
‘…Still, I have no choice. I have to do it.’
However, Eileen tightened her grip on the hilt of her sword, steeling her resolve. Because Rudrick was in her arms right now.
She had sufficient reason to start a fight with no prospect of victory if it meant protecting Rudrick.
‘…How impudent. To think you would use Rudrick in such a way.’
On the other hand, Arwen had already cast powerful magic in her hands long ago but couldn’t easily launch the first attack.
It was utterly detestable.
The fact that Rudrick was closer to Eileen than to her was painful.
At least the Eileen Nord she knew wouldn’t hesitate to use Rudrick as a shield at a critical moment.
In this case, she had already started with a hostage situation.
Of course, Eileen wouldn’t actually do that, but in Arwen’s mind, the situation had deteriorated into one where she had a hostage, even if the odds were in her favor.
They had different perspectives. Neither of them could easily take the initiative and make a move first.
Eileen, knowing she couldn’t win, had no choice but to focus on defense to protect Rudrick, while Arwen, who had enough strength to win, couldn’t confidently launch an attack first for fear of Rudrick getting hurt.
In the tense situation where the two were only watching each other’s reactions, Rudrick opened his mouth.
“Phew.” He exhaled deeply, his face having been buried between her breasts, making it difficult to breathe properly.
He alternately looked at Eileen and Arwen and grumbled in a crooked voice.
“…So what are you two doing?”
“……”
“……”
An awkward silence hung in the air, with neither of them able to speak first.
“Arwen, and Eileen,” Rudrick called out, drawing their attention with a look that seemed to ask what they were doing.
“I don’t mind, but why are you doing this in my room?”
The important fact was that this place where the two were confronting each other as if they were about to fight at any moment was Rudrick’s room.
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“…Ha.”
I couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief as I looked at the two kneeling in front of me like criminals. It was truly ridiculous.
I had taken one of them with me because they kept fighting whenever I left them together, but they tried to fight again.
And the other one had some absurd misunderstanding and tried to fight as well.
It wasn’t like I had gathered a bunch of fighting roosters, but I couldn’t understand why they enjoyed fighting so much.
“Eileen,” I called out.
“…That’s not it,” she tried to explain.
“What do you mean that’s not it? Who draws their sword as soon as they meet someone? Is that how you’re supposed to greet someone?”
My room, which I had just started to grow fond of, had almost been half or completely destroyed.
Even if Jesus said to turn the other cheek when someone slaps you, I’m sure even Jesus would shake his head at this situation.
Looking at them kneeling obediently, I felt a bit sorry for them, but then I remembered they were indeed guilty, and that thought quickly disappeared.
“And Arwen, you’re not innocent either,” I said.
“…It’s unfair. Who would have thought you would suddenly bring that woman here?” Arwen complained.
“Unfair? Then feel as unfair as you want.”
“……”
After easily silencing both of them, I also sat down on a chair with a sigh.
Every time something like this happened, it felt like a year was being shaved off my lifespan.
If I couldn’t even live out my full lifespan because of this, I’d have to claim compensation for damages.
“…So Arwen, you misunderstood and thought I was being held as a hostage?” I asked.
Arwen weakly nodded her head instead of answering.
“And Eileen, you misunderstood and thought Arwen was hiding and concealing her identity, right?”
“…That’s right,” Eileen nodded.
Oh, come on.
Even if they were mages, did they really think I couldn’t even distinguish between a real animal and a transformed one?
…No, considering that even my mentor couldn’t tell the difference, they might have really thought that.
Anyway, the important thing was that I had learned a lesson from this incident.
Those five main heroines or whatever they were called had such a bad relationship that they would draw their swords and start casting magic as soon as they met each other.
I didn’t know what had happened in the past before the regression that only I was unaware of, but their relationship was so bad.
…Still, thanks to that, a good opportunity had come.
“Arwen,” I called out.
“…I’m sorry. It’s my fault,” she apologized.
“No, not that.”
I sat with my legs crossed and tilted my head.
Arwen had openly revealed from the beginning that she had regressed, but Eileen hadn’t yet.
Arwen, who had been staying in my room because she was a regressor, had been caught by Eileen in this situation.
If I played my cards right, I could steer it in a direction favorable to me.
“You said you regressed.”
At my words, Arwen flinched, and Eileen couldn’t hide her shocked expression.
I didn’t know if it was important enough for even the Northern Grand Duchess, known for her poker face, to be unable to control her expression.
Now, let’s move on to the main point.
“…Yes,” Arwen confirmed.
“Then what on earth happened before that made you two unable to stand each other like this?”
In response to my question, Eileen muttered in a trembling voice.
“Rudrick… Don’t tell me…”
“Eileen, you’ve also regressed, right?”
As if I had turned suspicion into certainty. In fact, I had known from the beginning.
I turned my head towards Eileen and stared at her, asking the question.
Well, this is checkmate, isn’t it?
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Ouch. Common sense hurts