[You chose Option 1]
After calming down, Silas opened the door.
Since it was daytime and they were at the academy, he couldn't hide from trouble forever. Worst case, he'd just restart.
Creak.
The door opened.
Perhaps because she had waited too long, the Duchess in her lace gown had already turned to walk away.
"..."
"Good day."
"I thought Teacher Silas had already gone to class."
The weather was mild, but she wore a round hat trimmed with lace. Her conservative clothing couldn't hide her impressive figure.
If there were fewer wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, she would be considered quite beautiful.
"..."
Silas just stared at her.
She was standing right there, alive and well. Those curves and that white neck... he had definitely plunged a knife into them last night.
He had really done it.
When he burned his clothes, several strands of a woman's hair had turned to ash with them.
"My apologies."
The Duchess smiled and leaned in slightly. "I was so comfortable last night that I forgot when Teacher Silas left. I will invite you to the manor again in a few days."
"The... the honor is mine."
She was alone. No knights were coming to arrest him.
"My adopted daughter... she has been with Teacher Silas too, hasn't she?"
"..."
"Don't worry, I don't mind. I mean, for the next ball... let my daughter come too. What do you think, Teacher Silas?"
"That wouldn't be appropriate, would it?"
"Hehe, I raised them specifically to serve men. Or are you saying, Teacher Silas, that you don't like mothers and daughters together?"
"...The Duchess must be joking."
"Good. I look forward to our next gathering. I specifically came to see how the academy is developing. I am pleased to see so many vibrant students. Mmh... perhaps Teacher Silas's position should be promoted."
"Pardon the intrusion. Well then, I shall return to the manor."
The Duchess maintained her smile, turned around, and swayed her plump hips as she walked away.
"...Very well."
Watching the Duchess disappear from sight, Silas's back was soaked.
Damn it.
What a ghost story!
Yesterday he had definitely finished cleaning her "pipes" and then stabbed her twice. He had nearly lost sleep last night because of the slick feeling of the blood. It couldn't have been an illusion. If she didn't die, why would she personally come to invite her killer to another ball?
"..."
While he was thinking, Elisa, who had been silent inside, came to the door.
"Since you love money, I've collected many treasures over the years. If you let me leave, I'll give you everything."
"..."
What was this little virgin's problem now?
"That woman is my aunt. My mother's sister. My mother's death was partly because she colluded with the Church... no, she might have been the primary reason. You're worried about being exposed too, right?"
Elisa gritted her teeth, her face twisting with hatred as she stared in the direction the Duchess had gone. "Last night I thought you were lying. Now I know. So... let me go. I'll go kill her. You can continue being your despicable, lecherous sword teacher. You'll have the treasure."
"You saw it with your own eyes last night. I did kill her."
Silas rubbed his temples.
"I don't care what she is. I was careless last time, but I won't be fooled again."
Elisa's eyes grew more determined as she spoke. "The wealth I have is far more than what you stole from the Duchess's house."
"With things like this, can you even sleep without resolving the Duchess? Let me go. Whether I succeed or fail, it only benefits you."
"..."
If he wasn't trying to complete the task and help her, that would actually be true.
But the point was, without the task, things wouldn't have turned out like this. How can a dead person come back to life?
"Wait until I finish my classes."
"..."
Considering the various factors, Silas closed the windows and hung the cross above them.
He locked the door before leaving.
As a precaution, he took the already revealing training uniform Elisa was wearing, leaving her in only her underwear.
"...Bastard."
Of course, such forceful methods only earned him that kind of praise.
Silas didn't care. Their relationship was already like this; she wasn't like the Sister, whose feelings he had to consider to avoid being eaten. It didn't matter.
After an hour of close guidance with the young noble ladies, Silas turned down a student's invitation to the warehouse.
He went straight back to his bedroom.
Click.
He opened the door.
The chains that were supposed to hold Elisa were gone. Her wrists were slightly deformed again, dripping with blood.
The cross on the window was missing.
"...You thought a cross would make me completely immobile? If I endure the searing pain, I can throw it far away."
She was wrapped in a blanket to cover her body, staring coldly at Silas.
"..."
Silas rubbed his temples and ignored her.
He poured himself a glass of water.
"I settle my debts. Even though you went to the Duke's manor to do that with my aunt and steal things—maybe to climb the social ladder—you did save me. You also... contributed your blood."
"So, I won't kill you."
"Two things. First, find me clothes suitable for traveling at night. Full coverage."
"Second, find a way to call your female students here now and have them give me their blood."
Despite being wrapped in a blanket and her wrists trembling from pain, she held her chin high, acting with a sense of royal superiority.
Pardoning my sins?
"I don't have time to find clothes for you now. My students are in class, and I don't have time to get you blood."
Silas was tired. Being pressed against by a crowd of young, energetic female students inevitably made him sweat.
"I am commanding you now. I didn't have time to confirm if I hypnotized you last time. This time, I only need to hypnotize you, and I won't fail."
"..."
She thought she had failed last time?
"Oh, then I refuse."
It was too hot. Silas took off his shirt. He was going to take a bath first.
"..."
Elisa gritted her teeth, her pupils glowing with a deep emerald light—darker than before.
"Ah, speaking of which, I think I mentioned breakfast after class. I forgot. Just skip a meal."
"..."
Elisa's eyes bulged as if they were about to pop out.
In reality, she was bluffing. Breaking the chains and enduring the burning pain to throw away the cross had drained most of her strength.
But even so, it shouldn't be ineffective against a single... man. Does he have another cross hidden in his pocket? Despicable!
"Done trying? If you're done, I'm going to wash up."
"..."
Elisa could only watch as Silas stripped down to his underwear in front of her.
"Ha..."
After the despair set in, the breath she used for her bluff vanished. Elisa panted wearily, sitting blankly on the bed, hugging her small, white knees.
She stopped trying to cover her underwear-clad body with the blanket. At this point, it was meaningless.
"..."
A moment later, Silas finished his comfortable bath.
"I really do have a huge collection of treasure."
She looked directly at Silas. "A man like you wants nothing more than women and money. Keeping me is just a burden."
"How much money?"
Silas sat at the table.
"A lot. For twenty-three years, I've been collecting, but I've never had a chance to spend it. The cave can't hold it all."
"Twenty-three years... how old are you? And you live in a cave."
"..."
"Fine, then bring the treasure that 'can't fit in a cave' here."
Silas tapped the table rhythmically.
"...It's all hidden far from the Holy City in an uninhabited place. I can tell you where!"
Elisa, like someone grasping at a straw, quickly added, "No one will ever find it; it's buried there. If you go, you'll have endless gold coins."
"..."
Silas didn't reply. He pulled a wooden box from under the bed and opened it. He placed the heavy coin bags on the table and poured out a small mountain of gold coins.
"See this? This is money. Money you can't see is just a pipedream, an empty promise."
"I really have money..."
"Then bring it out so I can see it."
"..."
Elisa's eyes went dark, and her grip on her knees tightened. "What... what do you want me to do?"
"I'm just a sword teacher who happened to run into you and decided to help."
"Then let me go!!!"
"I'm going to the Duke's manor tonight. As for what happens after, I'll decide once I figure out what's going on with the Duchess."
Silas held his finger out in front of her. "You should know I'm a good person by now, right? I only kept you here and didn't do anything else."
"..."
Elisa was confused; she didn't know what this man's goal was.
"...I told you, I don't drink the blood of men."
"You already have."
"...I won't!!!"
She was so angry her face turned red.
"..."
Silas didn't bother saying more and just lay down to sleep.
He didn't tie her up again, nor did he hang a cross on the window.
If he tied her up and she broke free again, she'd need blood to heal... wouldn't he be the one losing out?
[You chose to wait until noon and then purposefully pretend to sleep.]
[Unfortunately, she did not act at all during the day. She only moved as night approached.]
Just how patient is she?
Or, is it that she simply cannot go out during the day?
[In a daze, you felt your fingertip being bitten. You discovered she was greedily drinking your blood.]
Not totally stupid.
She knows to swallow her pride and steal some "mana" while someone is sleeping. She didn't take the chance to attack; she just took what she needed to go out? It seems her hatred for the Duchess is indeed immense.
[You sensed that she wasn't satisfied with the small area of your finger; she pulled down your clothes and bit into your shoulder. She drank and licked even more greedily.]
[She drank her fill.]
[And you, because of the physical contact during the blood-drinking and the strange, numbing sensation it brought, got an erection.]
[She took your clothes to use as a coat and didn't do anything else to you, intending to leave.]
[You decided to...]
[Important Choice Triggered]
[Option 1: Grab her and let her suck on something else even harder.]
[Option 2: Let her go and follow her.]
[Proceeding with Free Simulation]
Silas's thinking was simple.
A forced fruit is not sweet, and since killing the Duchess last time didn't complete the task... and she is so obsessed with her "aunt."
Either way, he had to go there. If he didn't figure out why a dead person was alive, how could he sleep? He couldn't even get it up while guiding those young noble ladies' thighs in sword class!
His goal didn't conflict with this woman's. He'd let her scout ahead to see if it was a real ghost, and he would be the backup. If she died because he couldn't cover her, well, nothing could be done.
Mmh...
Am I becoming more and more heartless? Whatever, it doesn't matter.