For Sale. Fallen Lady. Never Used.

Chapter 150: Iona's Observation Diary (5)

Anyway, by the time Ionas notoriety had spread across the entire now-extinct Nerthia Kingdom.

-An Evil God descended.

The Great War began.

Thinking so, I got goosebumps and felt as if someone was watching me.

I looked around just in case, but all I saw was a large portrait of Iona.

Was it my imagination?

I guess I read too intently.

But there was no time to catch my breath. I had to read all the remaining content before Iona arrived.

Thanks to my excellent memory, I could recall any content Id seen once, so I increased the speed of flipping through the pages.

Rustle.

---

-The Evil God is overturning the entire Eurelia Continent.

In front of violence that is divine in itself, both I and the Lord were nothing but children.

Many fought against it and died, or surrendered and became cultists.

What should we do?

Whether we should keep hiding or run somewhere else was being discussed.

An envoy from the Levantin Empire arrived.

-Human Alliance.

Regardless of race or past grudges, it was an alliance formed solely to defeat the Evil God.

It seemed that the Nerthia Kingdom had already joined the alliance.

We decided to join as well.

From now on, we could only drink human blood if mutual consent was achieved But still, being able to walk under the sun again was something.

The Francesca Clan wasnt obsessed with blood like others, so it wasnt a big demerit.

Of course, facing the Evil God was terrifying.

Luckily, that part was said to be taken care of by a newly emerged hero.

Our clans job was just to prevent the cultists from hindering the hero.

That much was entirely within our capability.

As always, the Lords judgment would prove to be right.

-I met my sister Ayla in the most unexpected place.

The Prince of the Levantin Empire, the King of Nerthia, and Lord Francesca.

During a party discussing the alliances membership and future plans, the Crown Prince of Nerthia suddenly introduced Ayla as his servant.

He said he found Ayla trapped underground during the process of retaking and restoring a castle destroyed in the war.

Knowing I had become quite famous, the Crown Prince guessed there was some connection between Ayla and me and immediately took her under his protection.

It seemed like he was trying to earn points with me, who was practically the second-in-command of the clan, as the Francesca Clans joining of the alliance was a hot topic at that time

But what did it matter? The important thing was that I met Ayla again.

I might not know our birth parents, but I had no bad feelings towards Ayla.

The only thing we might share was a sense of solidarity for having endured our parents dog-like behaviors.

I hoped to get along with Ayla like we used to.

The Crown Prince said he would arrange a private meeting for us.

That was something to be thankful for.

-Ayla didnt tell me what had happened over the past 10 years, but I could guess it to some extent.

Ayla she was a lot like me. They must have thought of using her as my replacement.

If I hadnt met the Lord, I would have been in the same situation as Ayla.

I suggested we live together, but she declined, saying she wanted to repay the Crown Princes kindness by staying a bit longer as his servant.

Did she like the Crown Prince?

It didnt seem like it would end well. No royal family would take a woman who had been anothers plaything for 10 years as a wife, even if she was my sister.

Of course, Ayla would know this better than I do.

I just smiled and supported Aylas choice.

-After joining the alliance, we began to clash with the forces of the Evil God in earnest.

Thanks to the support from other allied nations in the rear, we were able to fend off the attacks without any problems.

Ayla, being the Crown Princes servant and my sister, played a pivotal role as a mediator.

Initially, Ayla seemed as if she was about to die soon, but as time passed, her expression brightened.

I was relieved. Maybe it was thanks to talking about the Lord every time we met?

Since he had always embarked on delightful adventures, there were many interesting stories to share.

For some reason, whenever I met with Ayla, the Crown Prince kept intervening

Well, it must be for the solidarity of the alliance.

-As the war intensified, the front lines started to fall back.

Ayla seemed worried about this and asked if she could flee to the Francesca Clan if necessary.

However, I couldnt answer right away since I wasnt the head of the clan. The Lord was.

Of course, when I asked, the Lord gladly agreed.

I informed Ayla about how to enter the abandoned castle, the base of the Francesca Clan.

It was the first time I saw Ayla smiling so brightly since our reunion.

This made me feel at ease, no matter what happened.

-As if cultists werent enough, now monsters are swarming in.

The Good Gods were dead, and yet, facing an Evil God, they bowed so easily.

Spineless creatures.

However, with not a day going by without blood on my body, my instincts were constantly stirred.

Id been holding back until now, but I was worried I might bite the neck of an ally.

That would certainly narrow the standing of vampires in the alliance. Of course, it would also be a nuisance to the Lord.

Seeing me troubled, Ayla offered to share her blood with me.

She said we could directly drink blood like before, as long as mutual consent was achieved.

Aylas blood was sweet.

-Something went wrong.

The blood that had always obeyed me was unresponsive. Even magic was hard to produce rigidly.

Both blood magic and regular magic were completely blocked.

Was it because I had been overdoing it lately? Or maybe because I drank blood after a long time?

I decided to take a day off and stopped by the headquarters.

And I overheard unbelievable news.

The Kingdom of Nerthia had been overrun by an unidentified cardinal-level cultist?

The leaders were all dead, and only the servants managed to flee?

My mind went blank.

I told the headquarters I would rest for just one day, but I could no longer stay at the front.

I must head to the castle where my clan was located.

It was really good that I told Ayla how to pass through the barrier in such a situation.

They said only royalty and nobility were selectively killed, so a mere servant like Ayla should be fine.

Surely, shed be waiting for me at the abandoned castle with the other clan members.

-I was too late.

As soon as I passed through the barrier, the scent of blood was so strong that it could twist ones nose.

It wasnt the smell of human or monster blood.

It was denser and well-aged Yes. I realized it was the smell of vampire blood.

With trembling hands, I headed towards the audience chamber, where the Lord would be.

The burnt marks shaped like people pressed against the corridor walls, and large piles of ashes scattered around.

Vampire bodies turned into ash instead of decaying back into soil, turning into dust.

Could it be the reason why I didnt see any other clan members

No, it couldnt be.

I shook my head, but the ominous imagination wouldnt stop.

I ran as if something was chasing me madly.

The moment I opened the door to the audience chamber.

Cultists filled the audience chamber, and among them, I saw Ayla standing.

I saw Ayla. Her hand plunged into the Lords heart.

-I cursed my past self.

The day I became a vampire. If only I had asked the Lord to save Ayla, too.

If only I had investigated deeper and found Ayla first when I was out building my reputation.

If only I could have perfectly controlled my charm so the Crown Prince wouldnt have taken a liking to me.

If only I hadnt told Ayla how to pass through the barrier.

If only I hadnt drunk Aylas blood and arrived earlier in a healthy state.

If only I had realized Aylas jealousy a bit sooner.

Would anything have changed then?

I didnt know.

What was certain was that the Lord, still breathing, used his last strength to rescue me, as powerless as I was.

And he died comforting me, saying it wasnt my fault.

Only that was certain.

The Lords body, never losing his smile until the last moment, burned and quickly turned into ashes.

The ashes, blown by the wind, slipped hopelessly through my fingers, no matter how much I tried to hold onto them.

However, something that didnt scatter remained.

The gem necklace the Lord always wore because he liked its color.

Was it originally a clear crystal that had been stained dark red with the Lords blood?

I hung the Lords last legacy around my neck, reminding myself.

Now, I was Francesca.

I was the only Francesca.

What the?

Suddenly, too much information was flooding in, making my head spin.

I knew Ionas clan was annihilated by cultists.

But it was not because of the war, but due to a betrayal by her sister?

And that sisters name was Ayla? From the circumstances, it seemed like she became a devotee of narrow-minded usurpation.

I remember there was a high priestess named Ayla among the devotees of narrow-minded usurpation.

Cardinal. Ayla was being observed.

In H&A, her name was only mentioned, not actually appearing as a boss.

So, I hadnt been paying much attention to her

Ah. Could it really be the same person? How could a human from over 300 years ago still be alive now?

Neither Iona nor Iris belonged to a long-living species.

Even if one became a high priest of an Evil God, unless they were an apostle, they couldnt escape the flow of time.

Even the divine orders would change their pope about every 100 years.

That meant they lived longer than others, but only to that extent.

Howeverthe same name and order bothered me too much.

Could it really be someone else? If it was the same person, then the person Iona was looking for

While briefly following this train of thoughts

Clomp, clomp.

The sound of small footsteps outside the door snapped me out of my reverie.

Had Iona returned already? No, considering how much time had passed, it wasnt already. I just didnt notice because I was too focused on reading.

As this thought reached me, my body moved.

I tried to return the notebook I was holding to as close to its original angle as possible and quickly looked around.

There was nowhere to hide. What kind of lab only had desks and experimental tools?

Fortunately, there wasnt entirely no way out.

This desk. As unnecessarily large as it was, it seemed to have a wide empty space underneath.

I had no time to hesitate. As the doorknob turned, I quickly hid under the desk.

Click.

Hmmm~ Hmmmm~

Iona returned to the lab, humming through her nose shortly after.

Although I was blocking my presence with the robes ability, someone as skilled as Iona might detect it.

Thinking Id be caught if Iona sensed anything odd, I focused my mind on my magic.

It wasnt just about blindly hiding. I needed to blend in with the surroundings as naturally and ordinarily as possible.

Did it work?

Fortunately, Iona didnt notice me and sat down at the desk.

Eh, well

But the sense of pride didnt last long.

The sight of the pale, pushed-forward calves made me realize something was wrong.

Sneaking into a professors lab, peeking at a diary, and now hiding under a desk to spy on calves?

Was thisright?

It didnt seem like it.

Drip.

A bead of cold sweat trickled down my spine.

Im going crazy.