Chapter 4
Chapter 4. Caitlin
After sending off the last client, Kyle was just about to stand when a familiar aura reached him. The firmly shut wooden door creaked open once more.
Cloaked in black robes and wearing a mask like the others—yet Kyle recognized her instantly.
“Caitlin? You…?!” Kyle was genuinely startled. His elder sister, who had always kept to herself running a grocery shop in a remote town—what was she doing in this den of dragons and snakes?
Before he could finish, he noticed something wrong with her condition.
“You’re injured? No… your origin has been excessively depleted!”
Kyle immediately traced along her causal threads—and discovered she was in love! Worse, she had consumed her origin to heal the other party’s injuries!
“What? Surprised?” Caitlin knew well how powerful her younger brother was. Not only was he exceptionally gifted, he was also a rare talent among the Blood race, born with extraordinary abilities.
“How could I not be surprised?!” Kyle flashed to her side and grabbed her arm. “A 150-year-old aunt nibbling on 18-year-old fresh grass? Sister, are you planning to reform him with motherly love?”
“You’d rather drain your origin than give him the Embrace? Seems holy water didn’t burn your brain out—it just marinated your love-struck one instead. Want me to brew you a corpse-dissolving potion to rinse it clean?”
Though his mouth was merciless, Kyle did not delay. He seized Caitlin’s icy wrist, and a faint dark-red glow bloomed across his palm. A vast, pure tide of blood energy, brimming with powerful vitality, flowed into her with the warmth of a gentle stream.
The replenishing surge nearly made Caitlin cry out in exhilaration. Fortunately, the remnants of her rationality kept her biting her lip tightly.
Within moments, the origin she had lost was restored—and even overflowed slightly.
***
Caitlin was only at the Viscount level, merely a bit stronger than an Elite professional. For Kyle, this amount of blood energy was trivial—he could replenish it after a few meals.
“You’ve got guts. With your origin so depleted, you still dared come here. Afraid the Witch Hunters won’t notice a walking bounty?”
“Well, I’ve got you, don’t I? My genius little brother.” Caitlin clung to his arm and swayed coquettishly, completely rid of her earlier weakness.
“So what exactly is going on between you and that brat?”
Kyle was genuinely curious. Of course, he could simply look—but that would be troublesome and draining. Glimpsing fragments was fine; treating it like a full movie would leave him a dried corpse.
“What else could it be?” Caitlin released his arm. Beneath the mask, her pale cheeks flushed faintly.
“That boy worked in my shop. A few thugs came to extort protection money. He couldn’t stand it and fought them. He was only fourteen then…” Caitlin covered her mouth and giggled. The image of that bean-sprout-thin boy, face swollen like a pig’s head, seemed to hover before her.
…
“Brat! Instead of hiding behind the counter, you run out playing hero?” Caitlin carefully applied ointment to the boy’s wounds. “Satisfied now?”
“Hmph! Sister’s such a good person—what right do they have to bully you!” The boy winced in pain but stubbornly held his chin high. He would never forget that snowy night when Caitlin opened her door, gave them frozen orphans hot soup and bread, and a place to stay.
“Oh? Still talking back?” Caitlin pressed a little harder with the ointment. But the expected cry never came. Looking up, she saw the boy gritting his teeth, eyes blazing with stubborn conviction.
…
“Sister! Sister! A halfling bard came to the tavern today! His stories were amazing!”
The boy excitedly recounted tales of Paladins slaying vampires, exterminating werewolves, and battling evil dragons—completely oblivious to Caitlin’s darkening expression.
“You brat! All you know is listening to stories! The shelves aren’t even wiped clean today—you itching for a beating?” Caitlin grabbed a broom and chased him, the wooden floor thudding beneath their feet.
“Hmph! You old woman who doesn’t understand a man’s passion! My ambition is to uphold justice and purge evil from the world! I’ll become the greatest Paladin!” Even with lumps on his head, he kept shouting as he ran.
“Oh? I’ll show you upholding justice!”
Thwack!
“Yow!”
“I’ll show you purging evil!”
Thwack!
“Yow!”
“I’ll show you becoming a Paladin!”
Thwack!
Smack! The boy stumbled and fell flat on the floor.
…Maybe that was a bit too hard. Caitlin quietly hid the cracked broom behind her back.
***
“Bit by bit, I fell for the silly boy. At first, I only saw him as a younger brother. Then a few wolf cubs came into town… That idiot even dared to stand in front of me with a pitchfork…” Caitlin’s voice softened.
“He was trembling all over, eyes screaming ‘Sister, run!’… So foolish it warmed my frozen heart.”
“Those wolf cubs were quite strong. Though I intervened in time, he was still scratched. To prevent infection from wolf poison, I consumed a great deal of origin to purge the toxin from him.”
“So he knows you’re a vampire?” Kyle listened with relish. This plot was far better than any bard’s tale.
“Yes. I didn’t hide it from him.” Caitlin smiled. “I wanted to see how this would-be ‘Paladin’ dedicated to ‘upholding justice’ would react. Besides, I was already exposed. I was prepared to part ways.”
“And?” Kyle leaned forward expectantly.
Caitlin removed her mask. Her exquisite face bloomed into a sweet, blissful smile.
“He froze, just staring at me for a long time.”
“Then… he slapped himself several times and looked me in the eyes, saying, ‘If becoming a Paladin means becoming Sister’s enemy, I’d rather die!’”
“Hiss…”
Kyle could imagine the devastating impact of those words. From Caitlin’s account, he could tell the boy possessed the qualities to become a Paladin—courage, perseverance, and a pure belief in justice.
And yet such a boy was willing to abandon his lifelong dream for her…
“Well,” Kyle admitted, “the kid’s got something.”
“So you agreed to date him? You didn’t come to ask me to persuade those old fossils in the family to approve you marrying a human boy, did you? And since he gave up being a Paladin, why not just give him the Embrace?”
“Of course not!” Caitlin rolled her eyes and hopped onto the table.
“He’s willing to abandon his dream for me—how could I let him down? The Embrace is even less possible. That would truly sever his path! So… little brother, do you know any reliable Paladins? Preferably one whose brain isn’t completely rigid? I need a teacher for him!”
“Cough—cough, cough, cough—!” Kyle nearly choked to death on his own saliva.
“…Are you both insane?! Am I your entertainment?”
“Enough nonsense. Do you have someone suitable or not?” Caitlin crossed her arms and glared at him arrogantly.
Kyle sighed helplessly. If he refused, his thoroughly love-struck sister would surely find another way—and that would almost certainly end badly.
At least now she still had the sense to come to him. Keeping her under his watch was the safest course. Since she wanted a teacher for her little boyfriend… fine.
What was the name of that damned bastard who had chased him for three months?
O’Brien?
Damn it! Kyle cursed inwardly. Why did his causal threads feel increasingly tangled with that fellow?
“Fine, fine! I surrender!” Kyle waved irritably and stood up in resignation.
“Let’s go. I’ll meet this precious little boyfriend of yours who’d ‘rather die.’ I want to see what’s so special about him that he’s charmed my sister into losing her brain!”