Chapter 143 - "Do Not Enter!"

Seeing the odd, irregularly-shaped wooden label tag and judging by its dusty appearance, Lucius figured out that it belonged to the shelf of records behind him. Although he read the texts inside momentarily, he did not notice what Ivory saw. He re-tied it with the fiber string and placed it back on the shelf.

After a short while, in Ivory's room, Sigmund helped her wash up in the warm bath. While her body was soaked in the large barrel tub, he massaged her stiff shoulders, making Ivory groan in satisfaction. 

Suddenly remembering what she saw in the old scroll, she asked as he looked at him, "Sigmund, by the way… Have you been here before?"

"What do you mean? Here in Topazeon Town?" his brows creased.

"Yes."

"Hmm…" he thought for a long while, then answered, "I don't think so."

Ivory got confused. "Isn't your past Master named Deshanna?"

"Yes. Her name is Deshanna Fogheart, a Royal Knight."

She confirmed it when she heard the full name of his ex-Master. "Are you sure you haven't been here before?" she sighed. "You are not keeping any secrets from me, aren't you?"

Hearing this, Sigmund's hands stopped moving. He wondered why his beloved woman would ask about something like that. She knew very well that all he had in his heart was her, and she's the only one who's very close to him.

But if she was talking about any kinds of secrets, he did hide one - her real connection with the Goldwines.

Knowing that there might be other things bothering her mind, the Vampire moved forward and whispered near her left ear, bouncing the question back to her, "How about you, Ivory?"

She pursed her lips, feeling guilty. The secret that she hid from him was that Lycus is actually a Werewolf. Aside from that, she had already spoken with the Alpha Werewolf, the late king Ulysses' Servant. Knowing Sigmund's dislike towards them, there's a big possibility that he might lose control of his emotions once again. 

It was then that she realized that she did not know yet the exact reason why the Vampire hated the Werewolves.

"Hey, dimwit, what's with the sad face?" he placed soap foams at the tip of her nose, "I was just messing with you."

"Sigmund! You scared me!" to get a playful revenge, she splattered water to his face, and he also did the same. The two of them laughed at each other's faces as the soap foams landed on their faces.

It took a long while before Ivory finished her bath, but she felt like all her stress dissipated. It was such a refreshing feeling. 

Unfortunately, she got a cold for staying there for so long!

"Haaa... chewww!!!" Ivory sneezed. She sniffed, wiped her nose, and tucked the blanket towards her as she trembled. "Sigmund…"

"Yes, yes, I know what you want," from sitting on the bed, the Vampire joined her underneath the covers. 

"Ahh… So warm…" she hugged him as they laid next to each other. She tilted her head up and looked into his eyes, "You're not going to catch a cold, right?"

Sigmund chuckled, then replied to his beloved, "Of course not, birdbrain."

She giggled, "I see you more as a human now."

"I do not mind being one. How nice it would be… if I am a healthy, normal human..."

Ivory noticed a forlorn expression that she rarely saw him making. Thinking that he might have been disappointed in their fate because of what she said, she tightened her embrace, "Whether you're a human or a Servant… I'd still fight for you."

She sneezed again, and Sigmund pinched her nose. 

"You should rest now. We do not want you to get even more sick?" he made sure that the blanket was up to her shoulders before kissing her forehead. Him patting her side gently made her even more drowsy, until she finally closed her eyes.

…

Usually, Ivory would wake up an hour before sunrise. Although Lucius wanted to wake her up, Lycus prevented him from doing so. The silver-haired Servant did not move an inch in front of his Master's door. 

"Apologies, but Master said no one should enter," he told the blonde young man.

"Lycus. Don't tell me, you're also involved in this?" he narrowed his eyes on him.

"I do not know what you're talking about. I am just following my Master's orders."

Lucius sighed. He knew that Lycus had a heightened smell, and if Sigmund was really inside just as he suspected, he would recognize his scent immediately. Worried about his sister, he glared at him, "Then... you leave me with no choice," he formed a small ball of fire in his right hand, while he glared at him.

"I am very much willing to fight for my Master's wishes," seeing him use fire, Lycus used Water magic to collect moisture in the air surrounding them. When it formed into a ball of water, he positioned himself into a fighting stance, waiting for him to attack first.

"I am giving you one last chance, Lycus," Lucius told him.

Lucius did not want to fight Lycus, because he had always been a good Servant to his sister. For the same reason, he chose to fight him, and if that's the case, he planned not to back down. 

The blonde Master knew that although Ivory and Lycus' trust in each other had improved, the second Servant alone would not be able to beat him. Lucius, being the prodigy Master as he was, could even freely summon his Level 3 weapon anytime!

Out of nothing, the fire sword formed on his left hand and gripped it tightly. It was a claymore sword with a yellow orange grip. It has two chappes, wherein the smaller one was in blue color, while the large one was bronzed color. The blade of the sword had spiky ages with a gradient color of dark orange from the forte and yellow to the point.

When Lycus realized that he was at a disadvantage, he furrowed his eyebrows as he carefully watched him if he would move. Seeing that he summoned his weapon, it seemed like the blonde Master was serious about barging inside Ivory's room to check up on her.

He wondered why Sigmund was not getting out of the room. Was he pretending not to hear their conversation, or were he and Ivory doing something inside?

Lucius stepped backward, quite far from the Servant. He then enchanted the whole hallway with a magic barrier so as to not let them damage the inn. Afterwards, he immersed the ball of fire from his right hand towards his sword, igniting the blade.

From afar, Lycus could feel the heat from his sword. Perhaps if he did not enchant the whole hallway, the wooden floor and walls near him would have been scorched!

Lucius held the fire sword with his two hands, placing it downwards with its tip touching the floor. He bent his knees a little lower, and his sword made a screeching sound as he lunged forward. When he reached Lycus' front, he swung the blazing sword in front of him!

The Werewolf Servant used the ball of water on his hand to form a colorless shield. The water in the shield kept on whirling endlessly, forming an impenetrable barrier.

Although the were elements were opposing and Lycus' Water magic weakened the fire sword's effect, it was not enough to stop him. Being the wise person that Lucius was, he called his Servant from his room!

The inactive Golem Servant Volcius, who was previously just a stone figurine on the side table, moved himself to fall down and gain the size of a human. With stone hands too hard to move the latch on the door, he just burned the door. Because only the hallway was enchanted, the door broke into pieces. Afterwards, he marched towards Lycus, making him move the water shield towards the Golem Servant!

Because Lycus moved the shield, Lucius was able to push him away using the fire sword's pressure. He only used the sword sideways so as not to injure him. The second Servant was thrown to the corner of the hallway beside the kitchen entrance. He was about to stand up to stop him from entering the room, but Volcius grabbed his hands to prevent him from moving. The Golem Servant's grip on him was too strong, and he was too heavy to be pushed away from him!

Grabbing this chance, Lucius sent away his sword, then broke the part of the door where the latch might be attached. 

As soon as he pushed the door open, he saw Sigmund laying on the bed, topless, beside his sister who wore a long sleeved, cotton night dress. Lucius marched towards the bed's footboard, glaring at the Vampire who just looked back at him without saying anything. 

"What the hell, Sigmund!" he yelled angrily. "What are you doing on my sister's bed!"