Chapter 530 – Side Story – Passing the Wedding Invitation (9)

Vampires leave no corpses.

It’s a body that doesn’t die easily, but even if it does, all it leaves behind is a little ash and soot.

Iona, who barely escaped with her life in the chaos caused by Ayla’s betrayal, did not have time to retrieve the remains of her clan members.

The only thing here was a tombstone and some of his favorite items from his lifetime.

“Hello, hello! It’s been a while, right? But there was a reason, so please look at it!”

Tombstones lined up on both sides. Iona greeted brightly among the small miscellaneous items in front of her.

Iona calls out the names on each of her tombstones in a tone no different from her usual tone. I couldn’t help but be surprised to see her talking about her current situation as if she were talking to her family whom she hadn’t seen in a long time.

Just because she’s a vampire doesn’t mean she’s free from time. She has become numb to things from long ago and her memories are also vague.

But Iona was different. She has not forgotten anything. She’s not talking about things like name, personality, or appearance.

The story we shared with them. A promise I made. Even though she is the youngest, she is more talented than anyone else and has great expectations of herself as a vampire.

She didn’t forget a single thing. As if it happened yesterday.

Is it. Only now did she begin to realize that Iona had said that her time had stood still.

This may have been the literal meaning, not exaggerated.

To me, what happened to her 300 years ago must have been a lump in her heart that did not fade no matter how much time passed and became increasingly clear.

Even if it was a little slow, she arrived at the end of her grave after saying hello to everyone. Rather than being lined up on both sides like the others, the tombstones are erected face-to-face on a slightly elevated platform.

Unlike her other tombstones, Iona knelt down on one knee in front of it, which had no cherished items on it.

A etiquette from the distant past that is hard to find these days. Iona, who was free-spirited in front of everyone, assumed the posture of a subject before her monarch.

It’s natural.

No matter how strong she is, and no matter how powerful her status is, she is called Lord-class because she does not accept anyone under her command.

And in front of her, the one who turned Iona into her vampire, sleeps.

Lord of the Sentai Francesca Clan. She is the one who became Iona’s mother and older sister in place of her biological parents who sold themselves.

To put it bluntly, I would say she is like a mother-in-law to me.

Iona, looking at her tombstone in her polite posture, slowly opened her mouth.

Since we were watching from a distance, we couldn’t hear what was being said.

All I could see was that Iona sometimes laughed, sometimes cried, but at the end she looked relieved. And she had enough of that.

After placing her wedding invitation in front of her tombstone, Iona takes off her own necklace and places it on it.

After saying her final goodbye, Iona looked at her tombstone for a moment, then she got up and came back to us.

“Thank you thank you. You waited a long time, right? “Let’s go now.”

“Is it okay if I stay a little longer? And her necklace…”

A drop-shaped blood-red necklace that Iona always wears.

It was completed by Francesca herself by feeding her blood to her ordinary craft, and it is the only keepsake she handed over directly to Iona.

She asked carefully because she put down her necklace, which she cherished so much and did not take off even when she slept.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. … I’m really fine now. Rather, you were just waiting for the day to return it like this?”

“If it’s okay with the professor, it’s okay with me.”

That seems to be the case. As Iona was sighing in relief at the sight of her releasing the emotions that had accumulated over 300 years, Iona suddenly smiled her signature mischievous smile.

“… Professor?”

Feeling something ominous, she took a step back, but it was already too late.

Hot!

Iona grabbed my cheek with both hands. She lifted her heel slightly and kissed her just like that.

… That’s pretty extreme too.

Chueup. Tsk. Churrrrp.

My tongue roams around her mouth like it’s my home. Because it was an untimely surprise attack, it was difficult to respond properly.

All I can do is helplessly be trampled by Iona…

Iona, who had been concentrating on exchanging her saliva for a while, slowly lowered her lips as if she was satisfied.

Then she wiped the corner of her mouth with an expression that gave her a taste, and she flew up with her arms crossed and shouted.

“Hello, Rod! I throw away all the bonds and constraints of this world and set out to find my happiness! Next time I come, I’ll make one or two Dhampir Clan members~~!”

It wasn’t that difficult to figure out that the new clan member Iona was talking about was my child.

Dhampir refers to a hybrid between a vampire and a human.

However, vampires cannot reproduce through normal means, so dhampirs are a race that only appears in creative works.

Now that her constitution has changed, it’s not clear whether Iona will be able to have her child or not, so why would she make such a rant?

While she was being held by me, she asked quietly.

“Professor? Have you received anything from Circulating Life? It’s the blessing of a safe delivery… ?”

“No? No? “There’s nothing like that?”

“Then what about the declaration just now…”

“Don’t worry, don’t worry! Because it will definitely happen!”

“Where does that confidence come from?!”

Iona smiled brightly and answered me, who looked dumbfounded.

“I’m going to do this until it happens, so no matter what!”

“…”

What is an leadern rain ritual?

But now that I think about it, it doesn’t seem that bad…

***

After leaving the Francesca Clan’s graveyard, the next destination was Nidavalir’s Jarnshad territory.

However, rather than heading straight to the Jarnshad territory, we first stopped by the capital of Nidavalir.

Since it is a fairly long-distance teleport, it is easier to stop by the capital city where the teleport plaza is installed first, rather than the Jarnshad territory where you have to fix the coordinates quickly.

The biggest reason is that all other countries were invited, but it would be a bit awkward if only Nida Valley was not invited.

It’s an added bonus that we have to reach various political agreements with the King of Nidavalir.

“Uh… “For that reason, shouldn’t we send a wedding invitation to Crasius as well, master?”

“What? Crasius? They spent a lot of money on support, but then they turned out to be cowards when it came time to fight against the ugly prosperous people? I guess it’s a bit out of class to invite people like that…”

As she frowned as hard as she could, Carla took my hand and guided it to her buttocks, as if trying to calm me down.

Soft.

The anger that had surged quickly subsided as the soft sensation filled her hand.

Hmm. If Carla starts wearing pillow hair in earnest, her ranking in the Lindell Hight family will change…

But now that I think about it, the Lindelheit family was Carla’s in the first place, so it doesn’t really matter, right?

“Pillar Western Room… “Maybe it’s not that bad.”

“Why is the story about Pillar West suddenly coming out, master… ?”

Carla looked dumbfounded, but it hadn’t been a day or two since I’d been talking nonsense out of nowhere, so she ignored it and got to the point.

“I don’t like Crasius, but I think we should take into account the crown prince we fought with last time.”

“Ah. “It certainly is.”

A time when the surging blue was still gentle. A guy who built a battle line with his followers to subdue evil spirits.

Thanks to this, he was able to easily join Tarla and focus on the Tarcheon ceremony without worrying about the small troops of the curved Yeoju.

Above all, I highly appreciate the fact that he risked his life to fight, and all he wants in return is for people not to hate Crasius too much.

After a moment of thought, he nodded.

“… Okay. “It would be okay to send it to the crown prince instead of the king.”

“Good thinking, master!”

Carla smiled brightly and nuzzled her face against my chest. She enjoyed the feel and infused her magic into the completed magic circle.

Paaaaat!

He closed his eyes for a moment in the blue magical light, and when he opened them, there was a scene he had seen before.

Buildings designed overall to be low to match the height of dwarves. A house made of iron, not wood or stone. And the Black Iron Fortress is grander than any castle I have ever seen.

It was a fortress that boasted so much majesty that one wondered if a small dwarf really needed a castle that size…

Exciting!

“Ah.”

It felt a little different to me now.

A heart that beats violently. The magical power of the entire body began to boil uncontrollably, and some of the polymorphs were released.

Vertically torn pupil. Horns rising slightly. Carla was surprised to see me looking similar to Yonginhwa.

“Lord, master? “Why are you doing this all of a sudden?”

“…”

But instead of answering Carla, I focused on glaring at the Black Iron Castle, or more precisely, at its upper part.

A steep spire. There were sharp things like thorns stuck in the middle, but on the other hand, the lower part was wide and round and looked no different from the ground.

When I stopped by the other day, I thought it was just a well-made castle, but… Now I have a completely different sentiment.

If a dragon’s instinct is to want to climb up tall buildings, the Black Iron Castle in front of him was stimulating that instinct.

Okay. If the Imperial Castle of the Levantine Empire was an ordinary wall, the Black Iron Castle in front of you feels like a high-end cat tower… !

As the system has disappeared, I have become more faithful to my instincts in many ways, but I have never had such strong impulses as this time.

“Krrr… “I can’t stand it!”

He kicked the ground and released the polymorph.

In an instant, a huge dragon covered the sky and rolled over onto the Black Iron Castle.

And then the roar that follows.

-Krrrr!!

Isn’t it safe since it doesn’t contain a peer?