"Licking Master's Palm"

The Vampire saw his Master wailing at the sight of her own blood and quickly grabbed her wrist, "Don't you know how to peel potatoes?!"

"I.. I…" she continued crying as she watched the blood dripping from her palm.

When Gordon entered the kitchen, he was shocked to see a pool of blood on the wooden kitchen counter. "Sigmund, tend to her wound, I'll clean up," he looked at his daughter. "Ivory, be careful next time, okay?"

She nodded at her father, then her Servant assisted her upstairs.

And as soon as Sigmund closed the door, he looked closely at her wound and glared at her, "This wound…you did this on purpose, don't you?"

"Sigmund, I… It's really an accident-"

With his free hand, he cupped her chin and forced her to look straight into his glowing crimson red eyes, "You're a bad liar, Ivory. Tell me why you did this."

Feeling intimidated by his gaze and hearing him say her name in an angry tone, Ivory decided to tell him the truth. "I… I thought I'd heal myself, so I…"

"You're really a dimwit."

"Because of what happened in Hunter Town, I… I wanted to be very strong as soon as possible… I don't want my weak mana to hold back your true strength!"

Hearing her say what was on her mind, his eyes stopped glowing. "You're too reckless," Sigmund's wet tongue then slowly grazed at his Master's palm and licked the blood dripping from her hand. He repeatedly did this while they were both staring at each other's eyes.

On the other hand, Ivory felt like she was melting from the intense stare she and Sigmund were sharing. She had been cornered by her Servant by the door as her arm was tightly held by his right hand, making her unable to move. Embarrassed with their current position, she finally spoke, "Sigmund, I'm alright now, it doesn't hurt anymore… I'll put some bandages-"

But before she could even finish her sentence, Sigmund whispered, "Such a waste… Your precious mana is flowing in your blood. Since you promised me during the Contract Ritual that your body and blood will be mine, don't ever hurt yourself again." And he kissed her wounded palm.

Ivory blushed at the kiss and just nodded as a response. She was used to Sigmund's domineering personality as if he's the Master and she's the Servant, but still, she could feel that he genuinely cared for her in his own, unusual way.

After a long while, Sigmund finally was satisfied, and he licked his lips, "Thanks for the breakfast."

Ivory took a look at her hand. The wound was still open, but at least it was thoroughly cleaned. "Th… Thanks…"

"Hey. If I were you, I'd master the basics, first. After that, you'll be able to easily understand advanced magic."

She nodded and gave him a reassuring smile. "I promise, Sigmund. I'll do my best!"

And after that day, Ivory worked very hard with Sigmund's guidance. She started spending more time in the library, reading scrolls about mana control and different theories of magic. She learned that the basic forms of magic came from the four elements: Water, Fire, Air, and Earth. Sigmund started explaining a few complicated lessons when she was almost done reading all the basic topics. Ivory still continued studying even late at night, so Sigmund would sometimes scold her whenever she got sleepy. Ivory would just shake her head to stay awake and continue her lessons.

Aside from that, she also read about building her stamina and the importance of exercise that would give her a big advantage someday in real battles outside Qawiun Academy. Upon reading this, Ivory had been waking up every dawn, and together with Sigmund as her trainer, they ran laps around town. He would always yap at her whenever she slowed down due to tiredness, or fell to the ground because of a rock she did not see.

Throughout those times, the feelings she had for her Vampire Servant only grew stronger, but she knew that he was only kind to her because she's his Master and because he needed her blood to regenerate his mana. She felt a little frustrated because she was aware that Servants could not fall in love. Nevertheless, she continued her secret admiration for him and made him her inspiration instead.

In those days too, Arcea and Lucius continued hanging out with her every lunch time, but Ivory used the other break times to read reference scrolls. She even started gaining the approval of Adviser Titus because he had seen how hardworking she was...

…

And just like that… their first year at Qawiun Academy ended.

…

The little birds sang by the windows of the cabin's attic one peaceful morning, when...

"GAAAAAH!"

Ivory screamed when she woke up from a weird nightmare, making the birds fly away.

"Hey. Did you have a bad dream?" Sigmund tucked her hair behind her ear as he checked her.

She nodded. "I dreamed that I got lost in a forest, and several white wolves were staring at me…"

"White wolves?" he furrowed his eyebrows.

"Yeah… And when they jumped onto me, fortunately I got myself to wake up!" Ivory stood up and stretched her arms high up. "I'll wash up, then let's go."

Sigmund stared at his Master's back as she walked away. 'I have a bad feeling…' he thought. He then shook his head and hoped that he was just overthinking.

That day was her first day as a second year in the academy and just like in the past, she woke up late on an important day. But unlike last time, this time she had Ebleu to fetch her on a horse-drawn carriage, and Sigmund, who had always accompanied her.

Soon after, they arrived at the academy's gate in which the letters 'QAWIUN ACADEMY' were carved on very large orange-colored amber. Its color intensified whenever the sunlight struck it.

When the gatekeepers checked Ivory's gate pass and recognized that it was them in the carriage, they let them inside the gate. Upon arriving at the school entrance, Ivory thanked Ebleu, and together with Sigmund, she ran to the second floor of the building as indicated by the guard. Ivory was just in time for class. She greeted Arcea and Lucius, then headed over to her seat, while Sigmund sat on his favorite window sill beside his Master.

Adviser Titus walked sluggishly to the front as soon as he arrived. "Good morning, Blue Gem class… I know it's the first day and everyone should be excited, but I have bad news," He looked around and sighed, "You were thirty students under this class during your first year… But now, there's just eighteen of you."