Free Web NovelClara stared at the white-haired girl.
Then she looked at Matt.
Then she looked back at the girl.
"Uh…" Clara carefully raised one hand, like she was asking permission in class. "Vampire queen?"
Matt felt something sink in his stomach.
The white-haired girl remained still, watching him with those red eyes that were way too calm.
Clara tilted her head a little.
"Matt…" she said, lowering her voice. "What does she mean by that?"
Matt opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
For a moment, his mind worked at an impressive speed.
'Okay. Options.'
'One: tell the truth.'
Matt imagined Clara screaming, calling the police, the manager fainting, and the white-haired girl killing everyone for being annoying.
'No, that’s out.'
'Two: pretend I didn’t hear anything.'
Clara was still staring right at him.
'No, it’s way too late for that...'
'And option three: lie like my life depends on it.'
Matt took a deep breath.
"It’s a role-playing game."
Clara blinked.
The white-haired girl blinked too, but slower.
Matt kept his expression as serious as possible.
"Yeah," he added, nodding with a confidence he absolutely did not feel. "That. A role-playing game."
Clara stayed silent for a second. Then she let out a small laugh.
"A role-playing game?"
"Yes."
Clara covered her mouth a little while smiling, trying not to laugh louder in the middle of the café.
"I didn’t expect that from you."
Matt frowned.
"What’s that supposed to mean?"
Clara smiled with even more amusement.
"I don’t know… you’re so grumpy all the time that I thought your hobbies would be things like staring at a wall, complaining about the café music, or sleeping while looking at the ceiling."
Matt looked at her without emotion.
"Sure, I do those too..."
Clara laughed again, but the white-haired girl remained silent. Her eyes had narrowed slightly.
Matt felt a chill.
'Don’t say anything. Don’t say anything. Please, for once in your life, don’t say anything weird.'
Clara rested one hand on the counter, still smiling.
"But I didn’t know you liked that kind of stuff. Do you guys pretend to be vampires and evil queens?"
Matt let out an awkward laugh.
"Well… everyone has their guilty pleasures."
Clara laughed again, this time more naturally.
"That’s cute."
Matt felt his eyebrow twitch.
'It’s not cute. I’m trying to prevent a massacre during business hours!'
The white-haired girl looked at Clara.
She didn’t say anything.
But her gaze changed.
It was barely noticeable.
A tiny detail.
Like Clara had stopped being a person and had become a stain on the floor.
Matt noticed, and his body tensed instantly.
Clara, of course, did not notice.
"If you want, I could join someday," she said with an excited smile. "I’ve never tried that kind of game before, but I’m curious. Maybe it’d be fun."
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The temperature around Matt seemed to drop.
The white-haired girl slowly turned her head toward Clara.
Her lips parted slightly.
Matt’s eyes widened.
'No.'
The girl inhaled.
Matt moved.
Tap!
Before she could say a single word, Matt covered her mouth with his hand.
The girl went still.
Clara blinked, confused.
"Yeah, sure," Matt said quickly. "We’ll call you sometime."
The white-haired girl looked at him.
Her red eyes lowered to the hand covering her mouth.
Then they slowly rose back to him.
Matt felt a bead of sweat run down his back.
Clara smiled, excited.
"Really?"
"Yeah," Matt replied, still holding the girl in place. "But for now we’re a small group that’s still learning how to play."
Clara brought a finger to her chin, thoughtful.
"Then wouldn’t it be better if I joined now? That way I could learn at the same pace as you guys."
Matt felt his soul leave his body.
'Clara, please, read the room just once in your life.'
The white-haired girl made a low sound behind his hand.
"Mmm."
Matt pressed his hand against her mouth a little harder.
"No, no," Matt said, forcing a laugh. "We’ll call you soon. Very soon."
"When?"
"Soon."
"Tomorrow?"
"No."
"This week?"
"Maybe."
"Does that mean yes?"
"It means today is not that day."
Matt started walking toward the exit, pushing the white-haired girl along with one hand over her mouth and the other on her shoulder.
She didn’t resist much.
That was the worst part.
If she had resisted, Matt could have prepared himself.
But she walked calmly.
Too calmly.
As if she were deciding whether to kill him now or later.
Clara watched them head toward the door.
"Wait, Matt!" she said. "What about your shift?"
Matt didn’t stop.
"Family emergency."
Clara looked at the white-haired girl.
"She’s your family?"
Matt hesitated for a second.
The girl glanced at him from the corner of her eye.
Matt clenched his teeth.
"Something like that."
The girl tried to say something again.
Matt covered her mouth better.
"See you, Clara!"
"Ah, yeah!" Clara raised her hand, still confused. "See you! And let me know about the game."
"Sure."
'Never.'
Matt opened the door with his shoulder.
Cling!
The little bell rang as they both left the café.
The street air hit Matt’s face, cool and much less loaded with the smell of coffee, sugar, and shame.
For one second, he thought the worst was over.
Then he felt pain. freeωebnovēl.c૦m
A lot of pain.
"Huh?"
Matt looked down.
The white-haired girl still had her mouth covered by Matt’s hand.
But her fangs were sunk into it.
Deeply.
Very deeply.
It took Matt a second to process it.
Then his eyes shot wide open.
"Agh! What the hell is wrong with you?!"
He pulled his hand away immediately.
Blood dripped between his fingers.
Drip!
Drip!
The bite mark was clear. Two deep wounds pierced through the skin, and around them the flesh was red, torn, and burning.
Matt gripped his wrist with his other hand.
"You bit me!"
The white-haired girl wiped her lips with the back of her hand.
There was a small red stain at the corner of her mouth.
Then she looked at him like he was overreacting after tripping over a pebble.
"Don’t be a crybaby."
Matt opened his mouth, outraged.
"Crybaby?! You just bit my hand!"
"Your regeneration will heal that wound soon."
"That is not the point!"
"Besides," she added, lifting her chin slightly, "you deserved it for silencing me in front of that insignificant human."
Matt felt the vein in his forehead start to throb.
'Insignificant human, she says.'
He looked at his hand.
Blood was still coming out, but then the skin began to close slowly.
First, the edges of the wound came together.
Then the torn flesh repaired itself.
Finally, the fang marks disappeared as if they had never been there.
In less than ten seconds, his hand was intact.
Matt flexed his fingers.
Not even a scar remained.
But the pain stayed in his memory.
"Great," he muttered. "I healed. That doesn’t change the fact that you’re insane."
The white-haired girl smiled faintly.
It was a small smile.
Elegant.
Annoying.
"You’re still just as whiny."
Matt looked at her tiredly.
They were in the alley beside the café. From there, they could still hear the soft music inside, the occasional ring of the bell, and the voices of the customers beyond the walls.
Normality was less than fifteen feet away.
And yet, Matt felt like he had just stepped back into the worst chapter of his life.
"I thought we had an agreement," Matt said, lowering his voice. "You, the queen, and I."
The girl did not answer.
Matt clenched his fists.
"Since I separated from you, we agreed that you’d leave me alone."
The girl tilted her head slightly.
Her white hair fell over one of her shoulders like silk under the alley’s dim light.
"I didn’t want to see you again either," she said, calmly licking her lips. "But these are my mother’s orders."
Matt felt his expression harden.
"That woman is not my mother."
The girl’s smile widened just a little.
"Did you forget?"
Matt did not answer.
She took a step toward him.
"The powers you now enjoy are thanks to her."
Matt let out a dry laugh.
"Enjoy?"
He raised the hand that had just been bitten.
"You call this enjoying?"
"There are humans who would kill for vampiric regeneration."
"And there are vampires who should learn not to bite other people’s hands."
The girl looked at him in silence.
Matt held her gaze.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Matt lowered his voice.
"You know that’s a lie."
The girl’s red eyes glowed faintly.
Matt swallowed, but he did not step back.
"The queen didn’t give me anything out of kindness," he said. "She turned me into her daughter so you could consume me completely."
The girl’s smile faded slightly.
"Matt…"
"So you could take my memories, my knowledge, everything I knew. That was the plan."
"Are you going to cry about that again?"
Matt’s eyes widened in indignation.
"I’m not crying!"
"You sound like you’re crying."
"I was used as intellectual food!"
"How dramatic."
Matt dragged a hand over his face.
'I hate her.'
The girl licked her lips again, as if the taste of blood were still there.
"I don’t understand why you keep complaining," she said. "In the end, you found a way for each of us to have a separate body."
Matt tightened his jaw.
"Yeah, after almost losing my mind."
"But it worked."
"That is not a valid defense."
"It is if you’re alive."
Matt looked at her with pure exhaustion.
Talking to her was always like this.
Like arguing with a wall.
A beautiful, dangerous wall with fangs.
But a wall all the same.
"Listen," Matt said, trying to stay calm. "I’m not going back. I don’t care what the queen wants."
The girl watched him for a few seconds.
Then her expression changed.
She no longer looked mocking.
She no longer looked simply annoyed.
She became serious.
And that made Matt feel a knot form in his stomach.
"You’re coming with me."
"No."
"Matt."
"No."
"The queen needs you."
"Then she can find someone else."
"There is no one else."
"Glad to know I’m irreplaceable. Still not going."
The girl sighed.
It was a soft sigh, almost bored.
But her words were the complete opposite.
"If you don’t come with me now, the queen will send someone to kill those humans you call parents."
Matt went still.
The sound of the street seemed to drift away.
The cars.
The voices.
The café music.
Everything became lower.
More distant.
The girl did not look away.
"And while she’s at it," she added coldly, "that unbearable woman from the café too."
