What cruel irony!
It turned out that Ruby - the Vampire girl whose beauty rivaled that of Venus herself - was Elder Richie's daughter.
No wonder Ethan had found Elder Richie's mesmerizing voice and the way he emphasized each word, weaving his speech into something almost musical, strangely familiar. Ruby had clearly inherited her father's gift for using his voice.
As for Celestia - girlfriend of Summer, Autumn's second older brother - it seemed she had inherited Elder Richie's breathtaking beauty along with the graceful elegance and aristocratic poise of an old Western noble.
And Ethan only needed one glance to tell that Elder Richie and Elder Fidelis couldn't stand each other. Yet the son of the Elder representing the human faction had fallen hopelessly in love with the daughter of the Elder representing the Vampire faction.
Ultimately, the result of this ill-fated, unrequited romance was the total destruction of the VIP female students' dressing room at the Harmony School's Grand Theater - left in ruins and completely wrecked. And that was merely the material damage, the toll taken on the people involved was beyond measure.
"Tsk…"
For a brief moment, when Elder Richie parted his lips, Ethan had the illusion that the Vampire Elder wouldn't hesitate to sink his fangs into the Human Elder's neck.
Fortunately…
Elder Richie merely brushed Elder Fidelis's large hands off his collar and smiled with open contempt.
"My Ruby has excellent taste. She'd never lower herself to bite your son. Isn't that right, Dr. Spring?"
Elder Richie leisurely brushed the dust from his elegant black suit.
Then he turned toward Dr. Spring Nguyen - Autumn's eldest brother - who, from the moment he had entered the room, had completely ignored the Elders' argument and focused solely on examining the medical equipment connected to Kai's body.
"I can't reach that conclusion just yet. Unlike other Infected, Kai's transformation into… some form of Vampire was interrupted before it could be completed.
His current body has essentially been reconstructed, leaving no trace whatsoever of the original bite marks. So it's impossible to determine who bit him and turned him into a Bloodslave.
Furthermore, as you all know, for a Bloodslave to transform into an Infected, they must ingest at least two hundred milliliters of Vampire blood. The incubation period for an Infected is usually between seven and fourteen days.
So, my estimate is that Kai received Vampire blood - whether voluntarily or by force - sometime between October 1st and October 8th."
Before Dr. Spring could finish speaking, Ruby's father cut him off.
"All of my daughters - both biological and adopted - as well as my wife and I, were injected with AntiVamp and had our fangs removed on Monday, September 29th. If the batch of AntiVamp your hospital imported works exactly as advertised, then during the period when Elder Fidelis's beloved son met with this unfortunate incident, our blood would have been no different from human blood."
Ethan nodded.
He immediately remembered that day.
Originally, he had been supposed to take care of Ruby - standing in line to collect breakfast and lunch for her at the cafeteria - as part of the "Take Care of the Girls for Vietnamese Women's Day" Event.
Fortunately, he hadn't had to do any of that because Ruby, along with the twins Anya and Yara, had disappeared that very day. It wasn't until Thursday, October 2nd, that the entire Femme Fatale trio returned to school.
"Then what's that inside your mouth, you lying old man? Didn't your fangs grow back just a few days after they were pulled?"
Elder Fidelis shot back.
"Outward appearances have nothing to do with the quality of the blood inside. Even though my fangs look like this now…"
Elder Richie opened his mouth wider, fully revealing the long fangs that had grown back.
"…I can assure you that my blood, in its current state, is incapable of turning any Bloodslave into an Infected during this period."
At the same time, his eyes glowed brightly. His claws suddenly grew longer - curved and sharp like a leopard's talons.
This Elder, representing the Vampire side, showed no respect for anyone. He transformed his body into the Awakened state right in front of everyone present.
It was an unmistakable display of intimidation. The effect was immediate. Both Elder Fidelis and his wife instinctively retreated several steps, their faces drained of color.
"I don't trust you Vampires. There's no evidence proving that…"
Elder Fidelis tried to maintain his composure, even though every instinct in his body was screaming at him to flee Hospital Room B3-13 immediately.
"Would you like to test it, then? I could bite you right now and have you drink two hundred milliliters of our blood. Then we'll see whether you transform into an Infected within the next seven to fourteen days. Oh… or perhaps your wife would make a better subject. After all, she's already a Bloodslave…"
"I… I'm a free woman. I don't belong to any Bloodslave bond."
Elder Fidelis's wife cast a frightened glance toward her husband. Her face had gone completely pale. She looked as though she were about to faint the moment she met the murderous glare in her husband's eyes.
"Mariposa, once a Bloodslave, always a Bloodslave. Have you forgotten? Back then, you were the one who seduced me. It's thanks to me that you've managed to keep such a youthful appearance despite your real age…"
"No! Please. Don't bring up the past."
Kai's mother turned her face away. She no longer dared to meet Elder Richie's mesmerizing gaze. She had to steady herself against the bed where her son lay just to remain standing. The petite woman's shoulders trembled uncontrollably. Yet not a single person in the room possessed either the courage or the compassion to comfort her.
"So? None of you are willing to test it? If you want the truth, someone has to make a sacrifice."
Elder Richie smiled smugly. The man understood human nature far too well especially the darkness lurking inside every adult in this room.
"My esteemed Elders, Madam, I don't believe anyone needs to sacrifice themselves to uncover the truth. We simply have to wait until Kai regains consciousness and ask him."
"And let me ask you, Doctor. Has a single Infected ever made a full recovery and identified the Blood Giver for you? How much longer are we supposed to wait? We humans don't have all the time in the world the way you Vampires do!"
Elder Fidelis roared once again.
Faced with his questions, however, the Elder opposite him merely let out a mocking chuckle.
"It seems Elder Fidelis has very little faith in Dr. Spring's abilities. Does he truly believe his son will never recover? Instead of bringing fruit baskets and nutritional supplements to visit his son - as any father normally would - he brought… this."
Elder Richie bent down, picked up the syringe gun containing the shimmering silver liquid from the floor, and casually twirled it between his fingers.
"It appears to contain mercury. I do wonder whether there's anything else mixed into it besides mercury. Does Elder Fidelis not want his son to wake up… and tell everyone the truth? What exactly are you plotting?"
"You…"
Elder Fidelis's face turned a deep shade of purple as he struggled to form a reply.
Hospital Room B3-13 fell silent once more. Only the steady rhythm of the ventilator and the rhythmic beeping of the monitors tracking Kai's vital signs broke the silence.
Even Ethan and Royce scarcely dared to breathe. Neither of them wanted to be the first to shatter the invisible tension hanging over the room.
"Well then, if no one has anything further to say, I'll be taking my leave. I still have plenty of business to attend to. I need to complete my daughters' discharge paperwork. This dreadful hospital is only making them sicker."
Elder Richie disappeared from the room just as swiftly as he had arrived. Yet his triumphant laughter echoed through the corridors of Basement B3 long after he was gone, leaving Elder Fidelis looking as though he were about to explode with humiliation and fury.