Did you really think you could plot such an obvious murder and get away with it as if nothing happened?
“Ah, how could I possibly dare harbor such insolent thoughts?”
At Sien’s pressing question, the man gave a forced, innocent smile.
One of the highest-ranking vampires on the entire continent—no more than five such exist.
Even someone like him is afraid. To lay a hand directly on a member of the Nightwalker Family’s humans, he simply could not bear the risk of retaliation.
That’s why he tried to come up with a suitable justification and excuse.
“Transfer the Gold Rock Mine in the southern part of the Campania County, governed by your ‘proxy’, to our family.”
The Gold Rock Mine—a vast gold mine, counted among the largest even within the Republic.
Yet the price he must pay did not end there.
“And hand over to me a treasure or artifact worth at least three times more than the Gold Rock Mine.”
“What did you just say?”
“Handing over the mine to our family is the rightful duty you owe as lord.”
Sien continued, speaking to the young noble whose ears could hardly believe what he’d just heard.
“And giving up a treasure is the hush money you owe me.”
“Ah, hush money.”
“Yes. I’m telling you I’ll make it as if nothing ever happened.”
Sien answered.
“I don’t intend to go around blabbing about your clumsy schemes.”
“I’m not particularly fond of tattling either.”
The man replied, his smile turning threatening.
“By the way, do you know what the most economical way to silence a tattletale is?”
Why wouldn’t I? That’s how we make our living.
Sien answered with sly composure.
“But I don’t intend to die in a place like this.”
“Of course. No one in this world truly wants to die, after all.”
From Sien’s side, the man whispered.
And as someone raised as the Nightwalker Family’s assassin, you should know better than anyone else.
“Eh?”
“Death never bothers to be considerate to us.”
With a chilling smile like a snake slithering, his fangs flashed for a moment. Whiter than fox fur, sharper than snow-forged ice.
But Sien did not waver easily. No, he couldn’t afford to. The moment he showed even a hint of fear in front of those fangs, it would all be over.
“You must have lived long.”
“Ah, naturally. I’ve lived so long it’s become quite tedious.”
“And you still wish to live on?”
A sudden, bold question.
“No one in this world wants to die, and I have no intention of dying a dog’s death in a place like this.”
Without missing a beat, Sien continued.
“Do you think you’re any different? Julio Cesare.”
At those words from Sien’s lips, the young noble draped in a fur coat fell silent.
“In the era you lived in, you’d have been called ‘Lucius Julius Caesar’, wouldn’t you? I wonder if I pronounced it correctly—it’s been so long, after all.”
“!”
[Tria Nomina (Tria Nomina)].
The ancient naming method, called the ‘three-name law’, no longer used in this era.
The Tria Nomina—the true name of a high-ranking vampire who has lived for centuries… an ancient true name.
The weight of that name is by no means light.
They say the life of a high-ranking vampire is one of fratricide and erasure of their own history—for this very reason.
“Did you really think our family wouldn’t know about your schemes? After living nearly a thousand years, does your wisdom still whisper that you can stab us in the back and survive unscathed?”
“Where did you hear that name?”
—Julio Cesare, the ancient vampire who was once called ‘Lucius Julius Caesar’, asked.
The composure and affectation he’d shown until now disappeared as if it were all a lie, and for a moment it seemed he might tear Sien apart on the spot.
“What do you intend to do, knowing?”
“Twist my neck to keep me silent? Do you think I just picked up your name by chance on the roadside?”
Of course, not even the current Nightwalker Family knows this monster’s true name. But the Sien of the future did.
“Just so you know, people’s names don’t just fall from the sky.”
Sien spoke with a confidence and bravado almost provocative. As if, even if his neck were twisted, a ‘family’ that knows his true name would step in.
“Otherwise, you wouldn’t be so intent on hunting down anyone who knows your dark past, would you?”
“And right now, I’m here to demand accountability for breaking your promise to our family—not to reveal where I heard your Tria Nomina.”
The air grew heavy. It felt as though he could be crushed to death at any moment. No matter how hard he tried to maintain composure, the pressure made it hard to breathe.
At that moment—the storm passed.
“Please forgive me, Don Sien.”
The black-haired noble, Cesare, knelt.
“Even a thousand years of life were not enough to awaken wisdom in this foolish one, it seems.”
So very respectful.
“And please, grant this dull and foolish one a chance to right his mistake.”
“How?”
“I shall offer up the Gold Rock Mine of Campania County, governed by my proxy. And…”
Cesare continued.
“Please accept this.”
In his hand was a fragment of a broken spearhead.
“This is my small token of sincerity.”
Even Sien struggled to maintain composure before that shard of spearhead.
“The Spear of Destiny…!”
A treasure worth at least three times the value of the gold mine.
This was Sien’s original demand.
And what the man now held in his hand—this artifact could not be compared to any number of gold mines. It was an artifact among artifacts—“Divine Relic”.
Even if it wasn’t in perfect form, even if it was nothing more than a shattered shard of a spearhead.
“Are you seriously offering this to me of your own accord?”
“As I said, I only hope this small token of mine meets your approval.”
“I like it quite a lot.”
“Ah, of course you would.”
Cesare smiled with a respectful yet icy voice.
“You must—truly—like it.”
Sien could not be unaware of his meaning, and the same was true for Cesare.
A deal neither could refuse. For Sien, the very fact that this transaction had succeeded was nothing short of a miracle.
“We don’t know who he is.”
“Altum Silentium.”
The black-haired noble rose to his feet and responded. In the ancient language of his time, it meant ‘Great Silence’.
***
Not long after completing the mission in Salerno, at the ducal mansion of the family.
“Come in, Sien.”
When Sien knocked respectfully at the office door, Laila Nightwalker greeted him with her usual smile.
“You faced a trickier opponent than expected during your mission, I hear.”
“I wasn’t able to fully recover the corpse, but in the name of the Star Dagger, I hung the bishop’s charges and remaining ‘fragments’ in the plaza.”
“Mmm, you did very well.”
Laila smiled with satisfaction.
“And as for the Lord of Blood who rules there, I held him accountable for this incident and received the Gold Rock Mine in his domain.”
“Gold Rock, you say.”
Laila’s eyes blinked in surprise.
“He handed over such a valuable gold mine so easily?”
Of course, he didn’t hand it over willingly. That’s why Sien hesitated for a moment. After hesitating, he nodded.
“The Lord of Blood fully accepted responsibility and expressed deep regret and apology. He also paid a fitting price.”
“And in your view, was the compensation fair?”
“I believe it was more than fair.”
“Yes, I suppose so.”
With a meaningful smile, Laila laughed.
“I’ll transfer thirty percent of the gold mine’s shares to you.”
“……!”
The Gold Rock Mine, the Republic’s largest deposit of gold, whose veins show no sign of drying up. Thirty percent of those shares was no small fortune.
“Don’t worry about how you use it. Use as much gold as you need.”
“Thank you, Mother.”
Sien bowed his head. A harvest beyond what he had imagined.
Of course, even that probably can’t compare to the ‘true gold’ you now possess.”
“Mother, this is…”
“Keep it with you.”
With a smile, Laila continued.
“It’s yours, after all.”
The Spear of Destiny hidden on Sien’s person. Even if it was just a fragment of a broken spearhead, there was no way the world-wise Laila would fail to recognize its true nature.
Gaining ownership of a gold mine was an unexpected windfall. Yet in the face of Sien’s real prize, even that golden vein paled by comparison.
“You’ve grown so splendidly in just a few years, it’s almost hard to recognize you.”
Seeing Sien, Laila smiled with deep satisfaction.
“I only did what had to be done.”
“Yes, what had to be done.”
Laila gave a wry smile.
“But you’re doing those things you must do—far too well. Far beyond my expectations.”
With a bitter smile, Laila continued.
“That’s why I’m hesitating to entrust you with this next mission.”
“What mission is it?”
“Something that can’t be conveyed even through Night Messengers.”
A mission that even Sien now would hesitate to accept. And one that couldn’t be entrusted in a letter for fear of leaving evidence. He knew what this meant.
In truth, until just a few minutes ago, I’d made up my mind that it might be too much to ask of you.”
“Have you changed your mind now?”
“I never imagined you’d manage to obtain the Spear of Destiny from the ‘Nameless One’. Even just a fragment… unless you know his true name…”
Cutting herself off, Laila let out a faint, incredulous laugh.
“‘Nameless One’. As that nickname suggests, on this continent only a handful can claim to know his real name. Even the intelligence network of the Nightwalker Family has only uncovered the one name—Cesare.”
She could never imagine Sien had actually learned his full name and used it for leverage.
“Could you tell me a bit more about your negotiation with him?”
“I made an offer that neither side could refuse.”
“And in exchange, you offered silence.”
“That’s right.”
Laila didn’t ask further. As if she understood with that alone.
“Keeping promises is important.”
The Nightwalker Family’s humans never break a promise. Even if that promise is requested by the head or the matriarch, it cannot be broken lightly.
That’s the power of trust the Nightwalker Family has built—and it’s that credibility that made the deal with that monster possible.
Paradoxically, it’s because he’s lived nearly a thousand years that he can be trusted.
Because he’s seen with his own eyes the trust the Nightwalker Family has built alongside their history.
“I hunted a vampire, and at the negotiating table, I obtained a fragment of this Divine Relic from a top-ranked vampire. Is that still not enough for a new mission?”
“No, it’s more than enough—almost excessively so.”
“Well, then.”
“That’s exactly why I’m even more hesitant.”
Ironically, it’s precisely because Sien demonstrated such dazzling skill against the ‘Nameless One’ that Laila hesitates. She fears, more than anything, the possibility of losing such a shining talent in vain.
“Could you give me a little more time?”
The moonlight streaming from behind her shattered into pieces, casting a pale halo around her silhouette.
“Until my thoughts are settled, take your time and rest.”
“Mother, I am quite…”
“Sometimes, it’s necessary to catch your breath for a moment, Sien.”
Her voice was gentle but left no room for argument. Sien quietly nodded.
Traveling across the continent on the family’s missions is certainly the best form of training. The harder the mission, the more so. Yet, as Laila said, sometimes one must stop and look back, taking time for reflection.
There’s still plenty of time left.
Especially now, having obtained the unexpected ‘Spear of Destiny’.
If Sien wanted to fully draw out the power of this Divine Relic, he should be begging for more time instead.
“Perhaps once you understand and master the power of the relic, your thoughts may change again.”
“You mean…”
“You’re not the sort to just rest quietly because I told you to, are you?”
As if peeking into Sien’s heart, Laila gave a wry smile.
“Still, while you can rest, you should rest plenty.”
“Understood, Your Grace.”
Sien too responded with a practiced smile. She was right. There is a time for rest, and now was that time.
At least, for now.