My Vampires

Chapter 14

The winter sky was always beautiful, but it looked even more beautiful when I woke up today. I made breakfast as usual, and then arranged the flowers I got from Vlad in a vase and put them on the dining room table.

Flashback

Vlad
"The clematis symbolizes a traveler's happiness."

Kira
"A traveler's happiness..."

Vlad
"That's right. Kira, if you feel anxious about something and don't want to talk to anyone about it, I'm here for you." "And once you feel better, I want you to be yourself and live how you want. Will you do that for me?"

Flashback End

It was so nice of him to give me these flowers, and say that to me. It was nice to have someone I could vent to. It was a really reassuring feeling. A smile spread across my face as I remembered his tender smile.

Arthur
"Morning, Kira. You're adorable today as usual."

Kira
"Hehe. Yeah, yeah. Morning, Arthur. can tell you don't need breakfast today, hm?"

Arthur
"Astute observation. I stayed up all night working and I'm not done yet. Can I have some coffee?"

Kira
"Sure, just wait a bit. I'll make some for you."

I fixed Arthur a cup of black coffee and returned to the dining room...and I saw him reading the newspaper with a serious look on his face.

Kira
"Here you go. Why do you look so serious? Something troubling in the newspaper?"

Arthur
"A lot of things, in fact. Take a look."

The page was covered with stories about burglaries and murders--ones I wished I could turn my eyes away
from. All along I knew that this world was dangerous, but lately I'd really been even more aware of it. There's such a gap between the rich and poor here, and no one's trying to help the less fortunate. I'd heard that commoners were getting more and more frustrated with aristocrats and had started targeting them. The little boy who had asked Vlad for the bouquet was wearing tattered clothes.  His little hands that clutched the single coin he had were covered in soot from the coal mines. He was covered in cuts and bruises from the hard labor. It was frustrating to know there was nothing I could do to help.

Arthur
"There are lots of crimes happening all over, but this one in particular is so strange."

Kira
"Why's that?"

Arthur
"Several people have been found dead, completely drained of all the blood in their bodies. "And every single one of them had a criminal record or were involved in something bad."

Hmm...

Kira
"So someone was taking justice into their own hands?"

Arthur
"Their true motive isn't clear, but a lot of people have the same theory as you." "There are some who are calling the killer 'Fleur du mal'. Sounds like something out of a novel, don't you think?" "It just doesn't sound real."

His big eyes were serious.

Arthur
"Everyone has their own idea of what's wrong and what's righteous. If everyone started judging others on their own principles..." "...the world would descend into chaos. This is why we have laws and the police."

He took off his glasses and smiled at me. Hm?

Arthur
"So that's why you need to be careful. You don't want to get attacked on one of your secret dates, would you?"

Kira
"Dates?!"

He's talking about Vlad... It's not like I was keeping him a SECRET, but... Ahh, I'm so embarrassed! Arthur's too perceptive for his own good. The more I say, the more I'll dig myself into a hole.