NOVEL NEXT “Knight Selin Soleis. I have apprehended a suspect presumed to be the Progenitor of Vampires.”
“Wait a moment! I’ll report immediately!”
It felt like I was dreaming. I could hear muffled voices in the distance, but I had no clue what they were saying, nor did I care.
If I could just keep my eyes shut and open them again, maybe a normal day would start once more.
Yeah, that’s right. This must all be a dream. There’s no way Selin would actually betray me, right?
Even bad dreams have their limits. This is an insult to Selin.
I kept blinking rapidly. It hurt my eyelids after a while.
But since it’s a dream, it’s fine. If I could just escape this terrible nightmare, the pain in my dream would mean nothing.
“Really a Progenitor?! What’s the evidence?”
“They confessed themselves. So they’re still a suspect. I request an examination since this person’s name appeared on the previous list.”
“A confession? Understood. I’ll take over the suspect. Good job.”
“Yes. Then.”
Uh, why can’t I wake up? It should be morning soon. I need to get up.
I should wake up and make breakfast for the kids, and clean the yard before mealtime.
After breakfast, yeah, the weather has been nice lately, so I should do the laundry while it’s warm today. Kids need clean clothes, after all. Clothes that have been dried in the sun smell the best.
After hanging up the laundry, I should head to the village to do some shopping. They say seasonal vegetables are nice these days, right? Kids need meat, but they also need to eat vegetables equally.
It’d be good to increase the variety of side dishes I can make, other than just soup or stew.
So… can I wake up now? I think I’ve seen enough by now.
My imagination isn’t that great. So then why, why can’t I wake up?
This can’t be real. It can’t be reality.
Then why won’t this nightmare end? Just watching is painful, how long do I have to see this?
Ah, Selin. Selin saw me.
Why are you making that face? Don’t ruin your beautiful face for once.
“I’m sorry, Aria….”
Why are you apologizing? You haven’t done anything wrong.
Nothing happened between us, right?
Please say that, Selin. Let’s quickly escape this bad dream. Maybe we can meet with Plona for the first time in a while this weekend. What do you think?
“I’m sorry. If there’s even the slightest possibility you misunderstood… If it’s just mere conjecture due to memory loss… When I am proven innocent and released, I will kneel and apologize. I’m sorry.”
“Selin?”
Selin, where are you going? Why leave me behind?
Who are these people? When did they arrive?
Why do you all look at me like that? Did I commit some sort of faux pas?
If so, I’m sorry. I don’t know much yet…
I’ll fix it from now on. I’ll do better next time. So please, okay?
“Take her away.”
“Selin! Selin!!!”
“If you don’t cooperate quietly, I can’t guarantee your safety.”
“Sel, ah….”
Ah, I see. This is reality.
I thought it was a dream, but it wasn’t. This is reality, so that’s why I couldn’t wake up.
Now, it’s really all over. It’s all finished.
*
Two days later, I was being dragged somewhere, tied up and unable to step outside my room.
It was hard to follow as I was bound up to my knees. But the rough hands guiding me seemed determined to drag me along even if I fell, and the ropes digging into my skin hurt more and more.
It was a stark contrast to the last two days when I had surprisingly received little interference while quietly sitting in my room.
So I somehow realized. My final reprieve had come to an end.
During the last two days, I was treated with a minimum semblance of humanity since I was still a suspect, preparing in case there was a slight chance I was just a regular person. But with this sudden change of circumstance, I could guess they must have completed inspected my blood, which they had taken from me multiple times before.
They certainly now knew I was the Progenitor of Vampires.
The fact that I was classified as humanity’s arch-enemy, without any respect or even basic consideration, felt like a punch in the gut. Yet, after two whole days of holding back my tears, it seemed like my tear ducts had finally malfunctioned, merely buzzing in discomfort.
Perhaps I still couldn’t fully grasp reality.
As I was straining to follow where the rope led me, I suddenly stumbled when they stopped abruptly in front of me.
Just as I was about to regain my balance, someone kicked my knees from behind.
My weakened legs buckled beneath me. The person who kicked me put a hand on my head, slamming it down against the floor.
“Cough!”
“Shut up. From now on, any unauthorized speaking is prohibited.”
It hurts. I’m scared.
The threatening voice choked my own. I had expected this, but it was hard to accept the sudden change of the situation.
Was someone trying to prevent me from lifting my head? Someone’s foot was now pressing against the back of my head.
It hurts. But if I open my mouth carelessly, they’ll probably hit me again.
I need to stay silent. I’ll keep still. Don’t hit me.
“This is the Progenitor?”
“Yes. We have tested multiple times, and there’s no doubt.”
A conversation passed between an unknown voice and the person trampling my neck.
The room became chaotic. Only then did I realize there were not just three people here, but quite a few.
“I heard you confessed. I never expected it to be true.”
“I don’t doubt the Knight’s insight, but that was an unexpected reason.”
“Well, let’s take a breath for now. It’s a relief this Progenitor is a fool in a different sense.”
“Of course, you’ll kill it, right? How do you plan to kill it?”
I’m scared. Scared. Scared. Scared. Scared. Scared. Scared. Scared. Scared. Scared. Scared. Scared. Scared. Scared. Scared.
My body couldn’t move at all. Words laced with malicious intent passed quickly.
It terrified me that they could speak such cruel words in such a calm tone.
Human malice runs this deep, huh.
A few words exchanged could hurt me to the bone.
“Enough.”
When someone finally spoke, silence instantly fell upon the room.
I realized my treatment was about to be decided with this one person’s words. Picking up on that wasn’t hard.
“Are you the Progenitor?”
“…”
Can I answer? They said I shouldn’t speak freely before. But since they asked first, I should be allowed to—
“Answer the question.”
“Cough! Yes, yes! I am the Progenitor!”
“Answer properly just once.”
In the moment of hesitation, the foot on the back of my head suddenly lifted, and my head was stomped down violently again.
Fireworks surged in my head. I quickly gave an answer, but it seemed it didn’t please them. I was stomped on again before I could breathe.
I felt warm, mushy liquid spread across the cold floor. It was hard to breathe through my nose, so it seemed my broken nose was bleeding.
It hurts. It hurts too much. I’m scared.
But to avoid worse things happening, I need to answer their questions correctly. I mustn’t upset them.
“Why did you confess?”
“I… I wanted to ask for help to escape….”
“Where did you plan to escape to?”
“To a place where there are no people. Anywhere would have been fine. Like living in the mountains alone… ack.”
Another stomp. I answered correctly, so why??
“Are you lying? How would a Progenitor survive in a place with no people? Why not just say you planned to commit suicide?”
“I-I’m not lying. I can survive on just animal blood. Until now, I’ve lived like that.”
“… Is that the truth?”
I desperately explained it wasn’t a lie, and the calm voice finally showed some interest. The pressure from the foot trampling me eased.
“It’s the truth, I swear. Really.”
“If it’s the truth, that’s surprising. I’ve never heard of a Progenitor surviving without human blood.”
A small spark of hope ignited. Yeah, maybe people felt cornered too, didn’t they?
I wanted to believe that.
It’s not that they wanted to treat me cruelly, but that they had no choice because they were afraid I might harm people.
If I explained it well, maybe we could understand each other. Maybe we could coexist, and I could live the ordinary life I wanted.
“Just spare me. I won’t harm anyone. I’ll live quietly. You can keep an eye on me. We could coexist. We could live peacefully, right?”
Silence fallen. No one intercepted my desperate plea.
Could it have been conveyed? Was my sincerity getting through?
“Hahaha!!!”
Suddenly, the room erupted into laughter. Why are they laughing? I didn’t say anything funny…?
Everyone must be happy, right? They must be glad there’s a peaceful solution where no one bleeds, right? Right…?
“Indeed, believing that you can survive on beast blood is something I can accept.”
“Then—”
“I didn’t give you permission to speak. Who allowed you to speak freely?”
Boom—
It hurts! It hurts!! I think my teeth broke. Why are they stomping again?
“Right. A Progenitor can survive without the blood of humans. I understand. That’s an interesting fact.”
…Why? Then why?
“But that doesn’t give me a reason to spare you. Why leave potential future problems when I can simply kill you cleanly?”
No. Don’t. Please. Don’t say it. Don’t take away my last hope.
“Progenitors will be executed. Set a date soon. That’s all.”
“Ugh, ahaha! Cough!”
Ah, funny.
I’m going to die. I’m going to die soon.
Suddenly, laughter erupted. My situation was so absurd, empty, and desolate that I couldn’t help but burst into laughter, and it showed no signs of stopping.
“Hahaha! Ugh, hahahahaha!!!”
Even the fierce kicks couldn’t make me stop laughing. It was so funny that the tears I thought had dried up were flowing out like a broken faucet.
No, it’s just too funny. I was the only fool here.
It was obvious. Why did I dare to hope?
Selin sold me out; strangers wouldn’t believe a few words from me either.
I was the only fool. I was the only clown.
Really, what a funny sight.