Chapter 52: A 92-Year Debt

Autumn's blue-eyed brother stormed into Felix's hospital room like a gust of wind right after she slammed the emergency button at the head of the boy's bed.

"Heavens! Autumn! That was careless! You assigned a fragrant Bloodbound to share a room with a Vampire who just suffered massive blood loss. Aren't you afraid Felix might pounce on Ethan and drain him to make up for what he lost? Do you want me to write you up for another violation?"

The white-haired girl who came in with Spring glared at Autumn with her ash-grey eyes and scolded her sternly.

Camellia was dressed today in a long black cloak embroidered with a strange insignia on the back. She wore a kepi hat, tall black boots, and even had a leather whip hanging from her waist. Altogether, her outfit made her look like a full-on warrior.

"The hospital's completely out of space. Felix was harmless at the time. Besides, if Ethan were ever in danger, I'd know instantly."

As she spoke, Autumn drew the curtain separating the two hospital beds.

Ethan couldn't see what Spring was examining on Felix, but from the other side of the curtain, the boy suddenly let out a heartbreaking wail.

"Nooo! Then take this artificial heart out of me! I don't want it anymore! I can wait for my real heart to regenerate. I'll wait as long as it takes!"

"Too late, kid. Once it's in, there's no taking it back. This isn't some consumer gadget you can just return if you're not happy with it - it's medical equipment."

"You know I don't have any parents left. Where am I supposed to find six billion VND to pay you back?"

Ethan and Camellia both gasped. Six billion dong - that was a massive sum. Probably enough to buy a high-end two-bedroom apartment in the heart of Hanoi.

"Then work to pay it off, little by little. If you've got no qualifications, you can start as a janitor or maintenance worker right here in the hospital. I'll pay you five million a month, and you'll get a 13th-month bonus every year. If you work hard and don't spend anything, you'll have it all paid off in just 92 years."

"I just want to finish high school and go to university. That way I can find a higher-paying job and repay you faster. Can't you give me a 20-year grace period?"

"Felix… you can't go back to Harmony High anymore."

Spring spoke with a deliberate hesitation. That expression on his face made Felix even more anxious and confused - more than when he first received the bill for his artificial heart transplant, totaling six billion VND.

He looked over at Autumn, but she was standing in a corner, taking a phone call from someone.

"Why… not?"

Felix finally asked.

"Here's the thing, kid…"

Spring gave the curtain between the two hospital beds a sharp pull - swish - and fixed his cold blue eyes on Ethan.

"This is Ethan."

"Yes, I know."

Felix glanced at Ethan without the slightest hint of fondness.

Spring cleared his throat. Then, in one breath, he delivered a rapid-fire explanation:

"Ethan here was the first person to discover your body at dawn on September 1st. Royce arrived a bit later. He didn't make it in time to recover your corpse - and worse, he failed to wipe Ethan's memory. All he managed to do was knock Ethan unconscious. Though to be fair, I suspect Ethan already had the flu or something."

"At first, I thought it was just Royce's poor memory manipulation skills. But then even Autumn pulled out all the stops and still failed miserably. Ethan remembered the entire massacre scene crystal clear. So we couldn't cover up the incident anymore. All we could do was ask Ethan not to spread the details of the crime scene."

"As a result, the entire town of Harmony and everyone at Harmony High already knows you were brutally murdered by something or someone. Harmony High and your fangirls even held a very touching memorial service for you on September 5th. You should've been there - those tenth-grade girls were crying like they'd lost their lovers. Later, they even set up a small memorial stone on the corner of the street where you died."

"In short, you are dead in the memory of more than 8,000 residents of Harmony Town. In these small towns with low populations, people have long memories. The story of your crushed heart will be passed down like some urban legend. You won't be able to return to Harmony High for at least another 30 years."

"If you want to continue your studies, you'll need a new identity and have to move to another town. But that would cost a decent amount of money - and you're flat broke. Still, time means nothing to our kind. You can work first and study later. I've heard dating a 16- or 17-year-old human girl is all the rage among Vampires over a hundred these days."

Felix gave Spring a look of absolute disgust at that suggestion of "robbing the cradle." Ethan figured the boy probably preferred being pampered and doted on by older girls instead.

"Listen to me. Work for me for a while, and I'll lend you money with low interest so you can take vocational certificate courses in the Vampire Community. Once you've got a few certifications, your income will increase, and the time to pay off your debt will shorten. Fifty years, tops…"

"Screw you! I'm outta here!"

Felix bolted for the door like a bat out of hell.

"Camellia! Stop him for me."

Spring's voice remained calm as he gave the order.

Camellia had been waiting for this. She looked positively delighted, as if she'd been looking forward to this very moment for a long time.

She instantly pulled the leather whip from her waist.

Whip!

But instead of catching Felix, Camellia's whip wrapped tightly around her own thighs. Bright red blood began dripping steadily from her pale skin onto the floor. Her face contorted in pain.

The scent of human blood made Felix freeze. He inhaled deeply, greedily, taking in the fresh, warm aroma.

He tried to keep running, but his body rebelled against him. His Vampire instincts began to overwhelm his rational mind. His whole body screamed to replenish the blood he'd lost.

Felix's fangs bared toward Camellia, causing her to panic and fall flat on the floor.

In that instant, Spring grabbed him effortlessly.

"Well, wrong method but right result. Thanks for helping me catch him in time, Camellia."

Spring dragged Felix away by the collar like someone hauling off a naughty puppy. The boy cast a pleading, sorrowful glance at Autumn - but she was busy taking another phone call.

"Time to get to work. So, kid - janitor or cleaner, what's your pick?"

"Huhu… Nooo! I'm way too handsome to have to work!"

Spring vanished from the hospital room as quickly as he'd arrived, leaving behind Camellia lying on the floor, her own whip tangled around her.

"Are you hurt, Miss Vampire Hunter?"

Autumn asked gently after treating and bandaging Camellia's wounds.

"If it hurts, then just cry. He… doesn't care about girls who are decades younger than he is. You get what I mean, don't you?"

Camellia stared at Autumn in silence.

Her lips began to tremble. She seemed like she wanted to say something - but no words came. Instead, bitter tears started streaming down her face. She collapsed onto Autumn's shoulder and burst into sobs.

Ethan felt incredibly awkward. He was beginning to suspect that this sharp, cool-headed white-haired girl wasn't crying because of a few scratches on her legs… but because of something far more delicate and painful.

Quietly, Ethan slipped out of the room, leaving Autumn to comfort Camellia.

This was the kind of situation, he figured, only girls would know how to handle.