Other than my declaration to the Matriarch, our trip to the deepest regions of the Everwinter House concluded without any more hiccups. Irina did stay back for about fifteen minutes there, but judging from her happy expression when she’d left, I’d guessed that nothing of note happened.

And thus, Irina and I made our way back to the bungalow without making any detours. After all, my parents must have been worried sick after sending off their only son to meet one of the world’s most powerful Vampires. Furthermore, there wasn’t anything I wanted to do in the Everwinter House.

So logically, we shouldn’t encounter any roadblocks on the way back.

Alas, fate worked in mysterious ways…

“Irina, you’ve returned.”

“Trent… What are you doing here?”

On our one-way path back to Irina’s bungalow, a well-dressed, handsome young man stopped us in our tracks. Just like Irina, the intelligent-looking man had rich ivory hair with an impeccable sense of style. His porcelain skin seemed otherworldly, and every slight movement he made oozed elegance.

If anything, he barely looked like a man. Rather, he seemed like a remarkably handsome woman who just happened to have broad shoulders and a man-like frame. But what struck me the most was his shocking resemblance to the young woman who stood by my side.

“Don’t be so cold,” the man put on an amicable smile in contrast to Irina’s frigid scowl. “Although we haven’t talked in a while, I’m still your older brother.”

Hoh? As expected, the suave Vampire in front of me was Irina’s true blood brother. Anyone with a decent eye could deduce their resemblance in an instant. However, now that I was a Vampire, I could roughly tell that they smelt similar.

Irina’s fragrance was akin to a sole Winter flower that stood bravely in the cold, while the man in front of me was like a leaf from a snowy tree. Both had their roots in the same family, but they had their own unique qualities.

“… Stop wasting my time. Tell me what you want.”

Nevertheless, just because they came from the same tree, it didn’t mean that the flower and the leaf would get along just fine. Irina’s eyes instantly turned red, and her voice became colder than before. In fact, it felt like the girl was just seconds away from releasing a torrent of magic waves.

“Haha, I see that you’re as straightforward as always.”

The man named Trent didn’t falter at Irina’s threatening gaze and simply shook it off by scratching his head.

“It’s about the Winter Hunt. I need you to attend it this year.”

“Hoh… Since when were you in a position to order me around?”

“Oh, don’t be that way…”_-.

The handsome man continued smiling brightly, but I could tell that there was a slight tremor in his voice. It felt like he was holding back his anger as his grey eyes started to falter.

“If you don’t participate in the Winter Hunt, your position as an heir-in-training will be questioned. No, in fact, rumours had begun to circulate that the Elders are thinking of removing you from your position. And you know, if you’re removed as an heir-in-training…”

Irina’s brother then looked towards me briefly before quickly reverting his gaze back to the young Vampire.

“Your allowance will be cut. And with your aggressive spending habits, I doubt you would just let it be, right?”

This asshole… Is he threatening Irina by alluding to me? Wait a second, this fucker is Irina’s blood-related brother? How can two people be related and be so different?

“My expenditures have nothing to do with you, Trent.” Irina folded her arms and continued to glare at the Vampire before her. “Besides, whether I remain as an heir-in-training has nothing to do with you.”

“Oh, don’t be that way… We are related, after all. With our parents hibernating, we are all that we have in this Estate. We should look out for each other’s needs.”

“Cut the crap,” Irina immediately snapped back. “All you want is an affiliation to an heir-in-training. Don’t talk to me as if you cared about our bullshit ties in the first place.”

“Irina, you…”

At this point, I could physically hear his nerves cracking. Trent’s pale complexion slowly turned red as the magic within his body began to act up. It appears that all of his patience had run out. It was only a matter of time before this indecent Vampire exploded.

“Irina, I know we have our differences but aren’t you taking this too far? Participating in one Winter Hunt shouldn’t be too difficult with your capabilities. You’ll get to keep everything you currently have! It’s a win-win situation for all of us!”

At this point, I’d heard enough. Based on their conversations thus far, I could somewhat guess their sibling dynamic. Most likely, Irina and her brother weren’t cordial when they were younger, and things only changed when Irina somehow became an heir-in-training. And so, to leech off his younger sister, this Vampire attempted to foster a sibling bond that didn’t exist.

Now, I didn’t know what an heir-in-training entailed, but if it’s anything like the human world, the prestige that came out of being related to one was hard to let go of.

And therefore… Irina’s blood-related brother was merely a bottom-feeder in the Everwinter ecosystem.

“Us… You’re really going to go there?!”

Unable to contain her rage any longer, Irina’s voice began to rise. And perhaps it was the soul connection between us; I could distinctly feel her rampaging emotions in my heart. It was all so bitter and so… painful.

And it was endured by this little girl who was younger than me.

Well, I won’t let that fly.

“How laughable.”

“Huh?”

Trent raised his voice as he noticed that I had stepped into the ring. Placing my hand in front of Irina’s body, I separated the two siblings and confronted the Vampire face-on. I knew very well that I was weaker than Irina. Heck, I’m probably weaker than this failure of a brother too.

But there’s no way in hell I’m going to let Irina face her troubles alone.

“Have you no shame?”

Irina’s brother looked at me once as if he’d seen a UFO. However, he quickly regained himself and said: “Step aside mongrel. I’m talking to my sister.”

“You dare!!!”

Irina was about to step forward to fight the Vampire the moment he belittled me. Goodness, how adorable… Even when he was disrespectful to her, Irina endured to the best of her ability. But the second he said something disparaging about me, the girl couldn’t hold back her wrath.

… How can this girl be so lovable?

Oops, I nearly got distracted… Let’s deal with the main problem at hand first.

I stopped Irina from bolting forward like an enraged mother bear and simply stood my ground against the older, stronger Vampire.

“No, I won’t step aside. Especially since you’re such a failure of a brother.”

“… What did you say?”

“Am I wrong?” I snorted in derision. “If all you can do is leech off your sister, then you’re a failure of a brother.”

“…”

My harsh words quickly broke the man’s gentle facade. The emotions he’d held in check started to bubble to the surface, and he was on the verge of ripping my head off right here in the long corridors of the Everwinter Estate.

However, that rage wasn’t able to come to pass. Irina’s gaze intensified, and I could feel the air around us thickening. It wasn’t just Irina who was keeping the older Vampire in check. Behind us, Variel, who had been silently following us while keeping his presence hidden, showed himself to the man who claimed to be Irina’s brother.

Perhaps sensing that he was outnumbered and outgunned, the older Vampire did something unexpected.

“Hah… I didn’t come here for a fight, Irina.”

Rather than address my words head-on, the man just… ignored me altogether.

“I’m just here to catch up with my little sister who I haven’t seen in so long.”

The friendly and amicable face of the white-haired Vampire returned. However, this time, it was far less charming, given that I knew his true character.

“Whether you want to attend the Winter Hunt or not, that’s up to you. However, as your older brother, I suggest you participate this year. I can tell when my stay is not welcomed, so I’ll leave you be.”

Irina’s brother shook his head and walked past us. But as he stepped past me and reached Irina’s shoulders, he said in a loud whisper so that all three of us could hear him.

“Also, I do have one final word of advice. It’s okay to keep dogs, but remember to keep them on a leash. I’m kind and forgiving, so I’ll let this incident slide. However, there won’t be a next time.”

“YOU!!!”

Unable to take the insults toward me anymore, Irina’s right palm clenched into a fist. The heated hallways started to lose all of their temperatures, and the sub-zero atmosphere of Winter descended upon us. Irina’s eyes had turned completely bloodshot, and the magic being generated from her body could suffocate anyone who stood within a certain radius of her.

Fortunately, before Armageddon was unleashed, a hand gripped Irina’s wrist and stopped the Vampire from rampaging.

If it weren’t for the circumstances, I might have whistled out in amazement. Irina’s hand movement was fast, so fast in fact that I couldn’t follow it with my naked eyes. However, Variel’s movement was even quicker. Adding to the fact that he’s easily suppressing Irina’s magic, I could tell that this butler was more than a servant for an heir-in-training.

“Young miss, you mustn’t.”

“Variel! Are you on his side?!”

“No, not at all.” The butler shook his head and answered politely. “We have house rules, remember? No one is allowed to fight in the main buildings. If you attack him, the Everwinter House will be forced to take action against you.”

Oh? I guess the Vampires followed normal rules as well. Well, that made sense. If everyone were to fight whenever and wherever they wanted, there would be no squeaky-clean houses for the Vampires of the Everwinter House to sleep in.

“…”

Although Irina was unwilling, her logical mind managed to keep her emotions in check. Slowly lowering her fists, she stopped releasing that invisible pressure and stared right at the man who insulted me.

“Don’t talk about Brother like that ever again. Or else, I’ll rip your head off myself.”

“Brother?”

Needless to say, Irina’s biological older brother was confused by her words. However, the girl was in no mood to explain. Instead, she immediately grabbed my hand and briskly walked away, leaving the white-haired Vampire with no chance to get his answer.

First, it was the crazy grandmother, and now it’s an estranged elder brother.

It’s really one thing after another in this family, isn’t it?

❖❖❖

After our brief run-in with Irina’s older brother, the young girl bolted straight back into her bungalow with her hand firmly grasping mine. The pressure from her grip was firmly etched into my fingers, and as the pain intensified, so did the shape of my hands.

It wasn’t until we reached the entrance of her bungalow did I muster up the courage to say:

“Irina, you’re hurting me…”

“A-Ah! Sorry!!! Are you hurt?”

“No, it’s fine.”

I smiled and brushed off the disfigured shape of my hands. Although my fingers were bent in different directions, I could already feel them slowly regenerating back into place. Now that I’m a Vampire, my biological sense of danger has changed drastically. Things that would have hurt me before no longer registered as a threat in my mind, and even if I were seriously injured, the transcendental regeneration of a Vampire would heal me back to full health.

Irina’s mind must have been in shambles for her to use this much force just to keep me close to her. It was as if… She was afraid of losing me once more.

“I-I didn’t mean to hurt you, Brother… I just…”

“Shhh, I understand.”

I knew the girl felt guilty, so I silenced her by placing my index finger on her lips.

“I don’t know what happened to you and your brother, and neither do I know much about your past, so… Would you be willing to share it all with me?”

Irina seemed to know everything about me. My past and my present. Even during the years when I’d lost my memory, it seemed that Irina had always been on the lookout for my safety. At least, that’s what the Matriarch had insinuated.

And for me to not know a thing about Irina, who was essentially my saviour…

“T-That… Of course…”

The guilt from Irina’s face evaporated as a faint blush coloured her beautiful snowy face. A few seconds later, the girl looked up at my face and shyly asked:

“Would you mind coming over to my room tonight? I’ll tell you everything…”

That… It wasn’t that bad of an idea. I’m guessing it will be a long story, and besides, I needed to inform my parents of what happened with the Matriarch first.

Putting on the warmest smile in my arsenal, I placed my palm on Irina’s soft face and stroked her cheeks.

“If that’s what you want.”

“Thank you, Brother…”

“Young miss, I shall take my leave.” Before we entered the bungalow, Variel bowed solemnly towards the two of us. “Young master Jin, whenever you feel like beginning your training, I’m just a call away.”

“Please, Jin is good enough.”

It didn’t feel right to have an older Vampire, particularly one with the ability of someone like Variel, call me master. Besides, he’s going to be my teacher from now on.

“Alright then,” the butler smiled once before finally saying: “Young miss, Jin. Please excuse me.”

And with that, the Vampire seemingly disappeared right before our eyes. Although I’d seen this once before, I couldn’t fathom how Variel could simply vanish into thin air. Even with my enhanced Vampire vision, I couldn’t begin to comprehend his movements.

Hah… To become the world’s strongest being, huh? I still have a long way to go…