Vol 3 Chapter 2 (1/2)
Snow White is Dyed in Red, and
Waldstein Castle Parlor
“It’s delightful to see you again, Viscount Wa- I mean, Gerhardt!”
[It’s been too , laddens raceful beauty!]
The lovers delighted in their reunion, surrounded by vampire maids and the olves Everyone but the couple looked on in stunned silence at the sudden nature of Dorothy’s visit
There was nothing surprising about the viscount receiving a visitor But that surprised everyone was the fact that he had introduced the woman as his fiancee
Anyone asn’t used to the viscount’s appearance, however, would have been lost for words for a different reason entirely
The wo white hair that shi+mmered like freshly fallen snow Unlike the white hairs that cropped up on the heads of aged huht have feared that the juxtaposition of her hair against her skin , Dorothy’s features blended together in pleasant harht to behold
With the exception of her pupils, even her eyes--not a blood vessel in sight--were a pristine white The tongue that flashed between her light pink lips looked even redder in contrast
Even her clothing was uniforht out of a fairy tale, from the wardrobe of a princess in a land far, far away
She was a veritable snow elf, anyone would think fro out-of-place about this judgement Dorothy was like the personification of snow itself
The problem was the creature that held her in its embrace
The bloody viscount who needed no introduction had so human form It was an appearance that would be most appropriate in an old B-movie
Yet Snow White showed no reservations aboutphysical contact with the creature
It was a night devoured by a red mass of slime
And how in the world had she embraced the viscount in the first place, when his entire body was liquid? Fro, it see Gerhardt’s entire body
The happy couple spent a moain, bombarded them with complaints
“Master?!”
“You never said anything about a fiancee, sir!”
The parlor grew more and more chaotic by the second, filled with the maids’ voices
“When is the wedding scheduled to take place, Master?!”
“We can’t make preparations unless you tell us about it first, sir!”
“Please don’t even think of eloping, sir! You have your reputation to think about!”
“You’re always so fickle, Master! Please try to be more considerate of our duties!”
“I’ll begin the preparations right away, sir Please giveto the ceremony An approximate number is acceptable”
The onslaught finally came to an end with a statement froan to write out a response in the air
Most of his body, of course, was still er e her pristine white hand
[Ah,seeotten the better of me]
Hehis head, pointless though it was
In any event, it was clear that he was now ready to explain everything The e’ surrounded the happy couple in a semicircle
Mage spoke on behalf of the others in the parlor
“Master Gerhardt We’d be grateful if you could introduce us properly”
The viscount began weaving his response in the air, in both Gere
[Ah, a estion Then allow me to introduce you in all proper form! This is Dorothy Nifas Her surname means ‘snowflake’ in Greek](1)
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, everyone My naant bow She
“I’m terribly sorry about the confusion Gerhardt can be quite forgetful sometimes To think he hadn’t spoken a word about e”
In spite of her looks, Dorothy’s voice was full of energy and enthusiasly) criticized Gerhardt without a moment’s hesitation
[Ahaha! Indeed, they do not Ah, I had convinced ement earlier Now that I think on it, I’d thus far only told Grandmother Job and Doctor!]
Although there was little in the way of an apology in the viscount’s words, it was clear fro body that he was deeply embarrassed
He then continued his thought fro his introduction of Dorothy
[Dorothy and I grew close in the past, when I was still affiliated with the Organization In fact, it was Dorothy who suggested the foranization It was also she who noanization] He wrote nostalgically Dorothy looked away, also looking slightly e the elf human for but an instant
The occupants of the parlor had been fully convinced as to Dorothy’s good intentions The greeting would end without a fuss But Mage decided to point out so him for quite some time now
“Um Master Gerhardt”
[Hht be the matter?]
“It feels as though It’s been getting colder”
Although the question had coree that the tee, which see from Dorothy
[Ah! It seeotten one very important po in t!]
The viscount’s letters began to grow disorganized as he continued
[Dorothy uses telekinesis to control e o bjec ts]
“M-Master Gerhardt?”
As the viscount’s reat concern But Gerhardt continued to write in the air
[In exchange, she is capab leofh alting the mov ements of sma ll objects Shec an slon th emovementso fmolec u le s, for ex a mple! Ine ss e nce, thisthet em pera tureB ut it seemst ob eadiff i cu lt ab ilit yto control; sheu n for tunate lyc o o l sdownt h etempe ra tureev enw h e ns h eeeeeeeeeee]
His writing stopped
Mage turned to the viscount’s
The viscount was not sloshi+ng in liquid form as he usually did His entire body was now a solid, white frost beginning to set on the surface
“AACK! Master Gerhardt is frozen!”
Mage’s scream seemed to have finally alerted Dorothy as to her fiancee’s frozen state She hurriedly let go of his hand and embraced him in an effort to warm up his body
“Oh dear! Gerhardt! I’m so sorry! You never froze so quickly in the past! Please, wake up!”
Her embrace see in the air froze solid, finally falling to the floor
The letters, a part of the viscount’s very body, shattered like glassware
[My hu-awaited reunion seeotten the better of me!]
The maids had showered him with the contents of the parlor teapot, and the olves had rubbed his body with cloth with all their aining freedom once more
[Ah, yes! As I recall, this is far fro Dorothy!]
“She’s your natural eneed?!” The occupants of the parlor cried in shock But the viscount twisted his body abashedly and wrote out a response
[Do you not agree That a difference in te in the face of true love?]
“This? A ‘difference’? Master Gerhardt! It’s closer to being an ie said pointedly
[Hahahahahaha! Now, let us return to the matter at hand]
Gerhardt tensed as though waving aside Mage’s critique It seeed to a more businesslike one that was used in newspapers
[What did you mean, Dorothy, when you said you had come to protect Relic?]
“My goodness, I’d completely lost track of time! Gerhardt, I sent you an email earlier Didn’t you read it?”
[Ah, I’ve yet to check my inbox today I am sorry to say that I’ve been terribly busy today, ith all the guests to entertain]
Although it was difficult to see a visual connection between the pool of blood and the internet, the viscount was actually skilled enough with computers that he could surf the web freely He was able to use the sas like the keyboard and the ers meant that he was the quickest typist on the island
But even the viscount was unable to co telephones Email was about the only way to contact him
[I already know of Melhilm’s arrival, but was even Caldimir involved? And if you’ve come to protect Relic]
“U “I’m terribly sorry, sir Miss Nifas’s arrival was so sudden I couldn’t report to you i Miss Ferret earlier today”
[Hht I ask?]
“Yes, Master And I think Miss Nifas htly suspicious of Dorothy
[That is enough of suspicion, now Mark my words--Dorothy is entirely trustworthy]
“Oh, of course! My apologies, Miss” Thebeen read like a book
“Not at all Please don’t let it bother you But fro must have already happened” Dorothy said, her expression darkening as she guessed at what ht have occurred
The etically and reported to everyone in the parlor:
“Yes It was earlier today, Master, at the harbor Miss Ferret--”
<=>
At the same time, Waldstein Castle The laboratory
“Do~ctor! Do~~~ctor!”
The laboratory was built in an artificial alcove at the end of the caverns Its entrance was equipped with all kinds of modern security features, a far cry from the natural environment outside
A girl dressed like a jester was rapping on the door and calling at the top of her lungs, acco vampires
“This is a golden opportunity, guys”
“Yeah Now that Seliround, Doctor and Professor are like helpless little sparroith their wings torn off”
“You mean helpless little bats Vampires, remember?”
“But don’t bats die if you pull of their wings?”
“Heh heh heh In the real your elders Is death”
“‘Bout time we teach ‘em to fear true vampires”
“Let’s show them e’re made of!”
The varew more and more dra on the door
“You know, you know? I heard Doctor’s actually really strong, too! Not as ! Granny Job told er than the olves, too! You guys wouldn’t stand a chance even in your next lives! Tee hee!”
“”
The valances
Then they a had happened
“Heh heh heh The punish us our well-deserved pay Is death”
“‘Bout time we teach ‘em to fear part-timers”
“Let’s show ‘em what unemployed people are made of!”
“N-E-E-T! N-E-E-T!”
Ignoring her friends’ ineffectual threats, the jester once more faced the door
She slowly brought her skinny right ar she wore and the part of the door that was in contact with her costuuration
The jester’s fore as she slowly turned into a thick, colorful fog The fog flowed in through the gap she left in the door, and reformed into the clown on the other side
The ht hand It fell to the ground with a thud
The vah it was a piece of glass that had been attacked with a blowtorch
“Whoa Sweet”
“Since when did you kno to do that?”
“That’s pretty boss, yo”
“You’re a beast!”
The jester looked mystified at the vampires’ reactions
“Huh? Oh, I get it now! I totally get it! You guys had no idea, did you? You don’t know!”
“About what?”
“Last year, silly! When you guys weren’t here! Relic al and bats!”
For aof the jester’s clai hit them, they froze
“You’re kidding”
“Nope! Not one bit! It’s because Relic’s so strong that Master Watt can’t give up on getting his hands on Relic’s powers, you know? Isn’t he drea
A single look at the jester’s eyes was enough to fully convince the long-lived vampires of Relic’s superiority
“Reht with Relic”
“Or with Doctor”
“Or with Selim”
“Or the viscount when he’s going off about economics”
“In other words, we shouldn’t pick a fight with anyone”
“Aweso the fate of the world in my oo hands!” “Once our pacifistic hands finally curl into fists, our true poill be unleashed!” “Enes appear before us And they’re all hot babes!” “What? I like handsouys” “Proposal rejected Anyway, an ill-fated roedy approaches!” “The power to turn tragedy into triumph That is my true power!”