Clop clop clop clop!
Zeke rode in a carriage pulled by a ghost steed, heading toward the old castle where Carmilla was staying. He was accompanied by Niki, his guide.
Throughout the journey, Niki kept staring at Zeke's face.
Finally, unable to ignore her persistent gaze, Zeke spoke up.
"What are you looking at so intently?"
At that, Niki quickly turned her head away, pretending as though she hadn't been doing anything at all.
When Zeke turned to look out the window again, Niki turned back and resumed staring at his face.
'Was it because she was a vampire? Her personality was a bit peculiar.'
Since he had never formed ties with vampires in either his previous life or this one, Zeke just let it slide.
The carriage traveled for a while before it arrived at the old castle perched alone atop a hill.
As he stepped down and surveyed the castle, Zeke asked Niki,
"Why do vampires always choose places like this? Old monasteries or castles, I mean."
After pondering for a moment, Niki replied to Zeke's question.
"Because it's dark and damp. It's comfortable."
"...?"
It wasn't just mold that favored dark and damp places.
Due to their racial traits, vampires couldn't wander in brightly lit areas exposed to sunlight.
That was why they preferred places shrouded in clouds, dark and damp.
The north, where sunlight rarely penetrated, was a suitable habitat for vampires.
Moreover, vampires with their cold blood didn't feel the chill much.
Although he felt her answer lacked depth, Zeke said nothing more and entered the castle with Niki.
The castle seemed long abandoned, with no trace of human presence anywhere.
Even in the darkness, Niki navigated the path skillfully and led them underground.
As Zeke followed her down, he noticed stone coffins placed in various spots underground.
'Was this a catacomb?'
He hadn't known such a space was hidden beneath the old castle.
Upon closer inspection, it seemed this place itself served as a safe house for vampires to hide their bodies.
'With no villages or anything nearby, if you slipped in secretly, no one would ever find you.'
Niki and Zeke passed the area with the stone coffins and descended deeper underground.
At one point, a massive door appeared at the far end of the underground chamber.
Niki approached the door and signaled to those inside.
Just then, a message appeared before Zeke's eyes.
[The sanctuary of the White-Face Clan has been detected.]
[The sanctuary's system is damaged and not functioning normally.]
[The door's opening mechanism has been switched to manual mode.]
'Sanctuary of the White-Face Clan?'
It was a racial name he had never heard before.
At that moment, in response to Niki's signal, the sound of people inside opening the door echoed.
Rumble rumble rumble!
The heavy mechanical device began to turn.
Soon, the thick door slowly opened, and Niki gestured for Zeke to follow.
He stepped through the door into the space where Carmilla awaited.
The interior of the sanctuary felt more like an ordinary mansion.
It was dark, but not gloomy, with candles lit in various places.
Then, Bacchus appeared from deeper inside, holding a candle.
"Come on in."
Bacchus personally greeted Niki and Zeke and guided them further in.
Following the dim corridor, they reached a door at the end.
Bacchus said to Zeke,
"Mother is inside. Niki, wait here."
Niki nodded and sat on a nearby chair, crossing her legs with a languid expression.
Bacchus gestured for Zeke to follow him.
The two quietly entered the room.
Inside the room stood a massive bed large enough for several people, surrounded by thick curtains.
Bacchus hung the candle he was holding on the wall and approached the bed.
"Mother, Zeke Draker has arrived."
Though the surroundings were dark, Zeke could peer into the shadows with his dragon eye.
Thanks to that, he perceived Carmilla rising from the bed behind the curtains.
'Hm?'
But then Zeke couldn't help but be surprised by the sight of Carmilla getting up from the bed.
'It's a child?'
A red-haired little girl who looked not even ten years old rubbed her sleepy eyes and yawned.
When Zeke turned to Bacchus, he nodded and said,
"It's hard to believe, but that's Mother."
"...?"
Unsure where to even begin pointing out the issues, Zeke hesitated, but Bacchus shook his head and explained,
"After undergoing the revival process, the body grows gradually from infancy. Three weeks ago, Mother was still babbling, so we waited until she could communicate properly."
Zeke's eyes widened greatly at Bacchus's words.
"So, after revival, the body has to grow from scratch again?"
"Yes, since the existing body vanishes and growth starts anew, the early stages of revival are inevitably very weak. That's why both Mother and I had to be cautious." Zeke now understood why Carmilla hadn't shown herself.
Wearing a frilly, cute dress, Carmilla, who had gotten down from the bed while rubbing her eyes, looked at Zeke and said,
"Ugh. Sleepy."
Judging by her age, she was indeed at the stage where she needed a lot of sleep.
Bacchus spoke to Carmilla, who was still groggy and dazed.
"Mother, Zeke Draker has come."
Carmilla rubbed her eyes again and said,
"...Zeke Draker?"
She seemed to recognize him, but still not fully awake, Carmilla spoke slowly and began nodding off.
Bacchus looked troubled as he turned to Zeke and said,
"Since Mother's body is still growing... her memories and mind are intact, but because her body is that of a child, she can't help the instinctive behaviors of this age."
Bacchus took Carmilla to wash her face to wake her up.
While Carmilla changed clothes, Zeke sipped tea and waited for them.
'Growth started over from childhood. I hadn't known progenitor revival worked this way.'
The fact that the existing body disappeared and a completely new one had to start from the beginning was a significant burden.
Even with an intact mind and knowledge, overcoming the physical limitations of an undeveloped body was no easy task.
Differences in stamina, muscle strength, and resilience at that age were inevitable due to the body's state.
Zeke himself might have broken mentally without his steadfast mental defense skill when he first regressed and had to rebuild his body from scratch.
Soon, Carmilla returned, dressed in a dress with her hair neatly braided.
Bacchus lifted Carmilla onto his lap and sat facing Zeke.
Though Carmilla tried to put on a solemn expression, to Zeke's eyes, she just looked like a cute little girl.
Carmilla looked at Zeke and said,
"I am Carmilla. The vampire queen."
She tried to lower her voice gravely, but her eyes soon drifted away from Zeke, fixating on the snacks on the table.
As she slyly reached for a cookie, Bacchus shook his head.
"No, Mother. Eating that now will rot your teeth."
At Bacchus's words, Carmilla's face fell in disappointment.
With her body still that of a child, she instinctively craved sweets.
Zeke watched her for a moment, then pulled out a pie—an eastern specialty Helen had gifted him—from his inventory and placed it in front of Carmilla.
"Wow, this! It's super delicious!"
Carmilla looked up at Bacchus with pleading eyes.
Bacchus couldn't resist her sparkling gaze and allowed her to eat.
She devoured the pie Zeke had offered, getting it all over her mouth, and Bacchus wiped her face while tending to her.
Zeke, observing the scene, remarked,
"You're surprisingly good with kids. It seems like your calling."
"..."
Bacchus didn't respond, and Carmilla, full from the pie, leaned back on the sofa with a satisfied expression.
Zeke gazed at her curiously.
After a moment, Carmilla turned her head toward Zeke and stared intently at his face.
"But you're really Zeke Draker?"
Bacchus, sitting beside her, nodded and answered on her behalf.
"Yes, Mother."
Carmilla tilted her head, still staring fixedly at Zeke's face.
"It's strange. I've definitely seen you somewhere. It feels familiar..."
She kept tilting her head and mumbling.
Watching her, Zeke said to Bacchus,
"If she grew this much in just three weeks from infancy, reaching adulthood won't take too long either."
Bacchus shook his head.
"The growth rate varies by stage. It happens quickly from infancy to adolescence, but slows down afterward. It'll take a few years to reach full adulthood." Zeke nodded at Bacchus's explanation.
Looking at Carmilla, he said,
"Carmilla, given the unusual families you were involved with, even parent and child rarely saw each other's faces. It seems like a misunderstanding, but this is our first meeting today."
Carmilla shook her head and insisted,
"No! I saw Zeke Draker when he was a baby! Back then, I fed you milk instead of Laura and sang you lullabies. You were small and cute." Zeke was startled by Carmilla's words.
"Did you raise me as a child?"
Carmilla's expression suddenly darkened.
"Because Laura suddenly disappeared... she left baby Zeke behind without a word." Mumbling to herself, Carmilla soon started sniffling and shedding tears.
Bacchus comforted her as she cried, and once she calmed down, she reached for the snacks on the table again, only to be stopped by Bacchus.
Zeke, looking at the now-composed Carmilla, asked,
"So, Mother, you didn't pass away right after giving birth to me?"
At his words, Carmilla trembled and shouted,
"Laura is a healer! She wouldn't die like that!"
It was something he had never considered, but upon hearing Carmilla, it made sense.
'Mother had excellent healing abilities, though not as strong as mine. As Carmilla said, she wouldn't have died in childbirth.' Something felt off.
At that moment, Carmilla clenched her tiny fists, gritted her teeth, and said,
"Arthur Draker! That bastard did something to Laura!"
Zeke snapped to attention at Carmilla's words and asked,
"What do you mean? Arthur Draker harmed Mother?"
With her face flushed red, Carmilla said,
"Arthur Draker! He's a bad guy! You can't trust him!" Bacchus soothed the agitated Carmilla again.
Watching the scene, Zeke said to Bacchus,
"You don't seem to have a good opinion of Arthur Draker." Bacchus nodded.
"The family head didn't marry Mother out of love, nor did he have me because of affection."
"It's hard to understand why he would marry a vampire when there was no love between them. The Draker family, which values bloodlines so highly, wouldn't allow something like that."
The maternal family of his eldest sister Kali, the Prana family, was renowned as a prestigious house, and Helen's maternal family, the Millaris family, was also a historic knightly house in Thebea with exceptional bloodline abilities.
The Siemens family, Abel's maternal side, was one of the strongest blood oath families of the Drakers, so there was no need to mention it.
In contrast, marrying the vampire Carmilla or the cursed Laura Agamemnon offered no apparent benefits to Arthur Draker.
Moreover, both Carmilla and Laura hated and despised Arthur Draker, making the reason for such marriages all the more puzzling.
After a moment of silence, Bacchus said to Zeke,
"Arthur Draker was conducting a kind of bloodline experiment."
"Experiment?"
"It was an experiment to see what kind of offspring would result from combining women with special abilities and the strongest direct Draker bloodline."
"Then, the reason Arthur Draker married Carmilla was because she was a progenitor?" Bacchus nodded and chuckled wryly.
"Zeke, have you ever felt even once that Arthur Draker regarded you as a father?" There was no way he had.
In his previous life, he had barely seen his father's face a few times, and in this regressed life, while Arthur showed favor toward Zeke for his outstanding abilities, it was hard to call it paternal affection.
'He probably saw me as a useful pawn.'
Hearing Bacchus's words, Zeke realized that the marriages to Carmilla and Laura made some sense from Arthur Draker's perspective.
But then Carmilla shouted,
"Ah! I remember now!"
Looking at Zeke, she said,
"Kai Rubern! You're Kai Rubern, right?"