"...You're unbelievable." Gabriel rubbed his forehead in frustration.
He knew that this woman was crazy from the moment he met her, but he definitely didn't expect her to do something like this.
Marriage? Really? He was married to a Vampire Noble now? Won't he need to duel all her suitors to the death now?
'I don't even—'
"Ah. They're finally here. Keep your chin up. Even if you're weaker than them, your status is the same. Don't be threatened," Rachel snapped him out of his thoughts.
Then, he heard a pair of footsteps behind him, and next thing he knew, there were two old silver haired vampires standing side by side. Both of them had thin moustaches and reminded him of some Italian mafia.
But the pressure they exuded by just standing there was definitely enough for him to take this seriously.
"The hearts of House Rejas themselves, huh? Sup Vincent and Victor," Rachel said casually.
Vincent and Victor frowned then pointed at each other.
"He's Vincent, and I'm Victor."
"Right. You look the same, so I'll forget by the time we arrive at the dining hall. On that note, here's the person you've come here to pester me for." She pointed at Gabriel.
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Gabriel said politely.
But his politeness was ignored by Victor.
"You committed taboo for someone like him? Rachel… You're at an age where you should be looking for a husband to continue your family line, not pick up strays and give them power."
'She committed a taboo? Is making me a Vampire Noble the taboo?'
"You should mind your business." Her gaze grew colder. "If I hear you mention marriage or what I should or shouldn't do, then I will kill you both where you stand."
Her threat surprisingly managed to make the two men flinch. On the other hand, it was the first time Gabriel saw Rachel's position in front of the other Vampire Nobles.
Just as he thought everything was going smoothly though…
"We actually came here to give you a notice about your little puppy here. As it so happens, he was a very promising candidate in the Vampire Hunter academy, and there were even two Van's who wanted to take him under their wing," Vincent said.
It was news to Gabriel. More importantly, two Van's actually wanted to mentor him?
'When one kills at least five Vampire Nobles, they get the status of Van… Shit. The whole city's going to start looking for me and all the other vampires.'
Rachel was also a little startled to hear that. From the information she gathered beforehand about Gabriel, she only knew that he was a talented top scorer.
Him killing a Lesser Vampire without breaking a sweat only confirmed that.
But now…
"Do they know?" Rachel asked patiently.
"They found some ice particles in a dorm room, so yes, the Van's and other Vampire Hunters are aware it was the Vermillions who massacred the trainees and destroyed half the building." Vincent reached into his pocket and then tossed Rachel a letter.
She immediately ripped it open, and once she read its contents, her hands began to tremble as she suddenly turned the letter to ice and shattered it.
Gabriel took the initiative to approach her and place his hand over hers to try and calm her down.
"It's fine, Gabriel. Could you go back inside? Sarah will prepare some food for you." Her voice came out shaky.
His expression hardened. "Whatever was in that letter, I'm guessing that I'm equally involved in it as you are. So whatever it is, I'm coming with you."
"Gabriel…"
She placed her other hand over his. "It's the Vampire Hunters. They put out a kill order for you and me. As we speak… There's a squad of Vampire Hunters heading straight for us."
'How do they…?'
"Little puppy, we Vampire Nobles are too powerful to not go unseen. We live alongside the humans, and if we break any rules or kill innocents, those humans always know where to find us," Victor said and turned around.
Then, he added:
"Consider this our debt repaid, Rachel Vermillion. We'll be leaving now, and we both hope you and your puppy survive this."
The two suddenly vanished without a trace. Gabriel understood the severity of the situation, and while he had so many other questions, he also knew his strengths and weaknesses.
So instead of panicking, he grabbed Rachel by her shoulders and looked straight into her crimson eyes.
"How can I help?"
"...Okay. I'm not running so, listen closely then." Rachel took a deep breath. "You used to be a Vampire Hunter Trainee, and a really good one at that. So I prepared some guns for you. They're uh... They're regular guns, made for human wars, so I—"
"It's fine," Gabriel interrupted, then shook his head. "After whatever happened to me, I don't feel any attachment to humans either. I do feel a little hesitant, but I can assure you, when it comes down to my own survival, I won't hesitate to kill them all."
"I'm glad. In that case, follow me."
Even though she said to follow her, she just grabbed his hand, and without him even being able to react, he was already back in her home, standing in front of a steel door. She quickly stepped up and opened the door, revealing a giant armory, filled to the brim with medieval armor, as well as some modern weapons off to the side.
Some glocks, automatic rifles, and even a sniper or two. Gabriel was trained with every one of these weapons, except instead of regular bullets, each weapon was loaded with a wooden stake meant solely for killing vampires.
"You can pick anything you want."
She walked up to one of the sniper rifles that had a kitty sticker on it.
"This one's my favorite, since bigger bullets fit in it. And if the bullets are bigger, it does more damage. Hehehe..."
"I'll pick the sniper then," Gabriel said. "I'll also get both the glocks, a desert eagle, and... Yeah, that'll be enough. You do have all the ammo here, right?"
Rachel twirled on her heel. "Well, of course. Get everything you need and go upstairs into the attic. There should be a few vantage points that you can use. Remember, when you see someone who's not me, shoot them immediately."
Then, she went back to the door, leaving him alone in the room.
"I trust you, Gabriel."