Chapter 53: A New Key, A New Trouble

As Ethan stepped out of the hospital room, he ran straight into Royce, who was dressed in full protective gear.

Royce looked exhausted. Just like Autumn, he'd been working nonstop since the moment he arrived at the Field Hospital.

"The landlady at your place asked me to return your personal stuff."

He handed Ethan a giant black plastic bag and the backpack Ethan had left behind on the rooftop during his frantic escape from the mini apartment building last night.

Ethan opened the black plastic bag to check. Inside were the paper flowers he'd spent a whole week cutting, folding, and carefully gluing together. Now, they were completely ruined - some soaked in blood and slime, others torn to shreds.

"Thanks, man… But these flowers are a lost cause. I'll have to throw them all away."

Ethan looked down, crestfallen.

He was supposed to have finished the decorations for the Vietnamese Women's Day event ahead of schedule. But now, he'd have to start from scratch - and he wasn't even sure if he had enough time left.

"So the landlady wasn't bluffing, huh? No idea where I'll end up sleeping tonight…"

Ethan let out a long sigh at the thought of his uncertain future. It was going to be hard to find a new place to stay, especially with his current finances.

Just then, Autumn stepped out of the hospital room, with Camellia fast asleep on her back.

"What happened to Camellia?"

Royce leaned down and poked her cheek with his finger.

The gesture surprised Ethan - Royce was usually grossed out by any physical contact with girls.

"She was busy all night and didn't get any sleep at all. Then this morning… she kind of injured herself."

"Is it serious?"

"Haizz… I took care of her physical wounds, but the wounds inside her heart… that's something you boys will never understand."

Autumn's dreamy brown eyes gazed off into the distance, while her lips curled into a mysterious smile.

"I'll take Camellia back to the Library. Otherwise she'll be baking under the sun in no time."

Royce gently lifted Camellia off Autumn's back, then cradled her in his arms like a sleeping child.

"Bro, you could ask Spring to let you stay at the Field Hospital for a few days until you find a new place. Even though the hospital's holding a bunch of Infected right now, they're all locked up in the basement."

Once Royce was out of sight, Ethan grabbed his backpack and returned to the hospital room. He rummaged through it, looking for a clean set of everyday clothes. He didn't have many to begin with - and after everything that had happened, all he had left were a few Harmony High uniforms that Autumn's family had gifted him.

"If you're gonna change, do it quickly. I'll take you to get some breakfast."

Autumn urged him while tapping away on her phone, texting someone.

Ethan stepped into the bathroom to change out of the hospital-issued clothes he'd been wearing for the past few hours. Honestly, the school uniform felt way more decent than looking like a patient.

"Royce… he didn't seem creeped out by Camellia like he usually is with other girls, did he?"

The question had been bugging Ethan for a while, so he asked Autumn as the two of them strolled down a long corridor together.

"Royce doesn't like being touched by girls. But he's not bothered by touching them himself. A girl who's as frail as a slug and already fast asleep? Completely harmless."

"Yikes. That's not normal."

Ethan concluded with a frown. But then he moved on to another topic that had been nagging at him.

"Camellia… Is she really a Vampire Hunter?"

Autumn chuckled softly.

"Yeah. She belongs to a pretty well-known Vampire Hunter clan. When a Vampire Hunter comes of age, they're usually assigned to watch over a specific area. But unlucky for her, she was born with a weak constitution. Her tolerance for sunlight is worse than that of some Vampires."

"Honestly, ever since the 1945 Covenant, there's not much work left for Vampire Hunters. In Communities where Vampires rely on animal blood or synthetic blood, having a Vampire Hunter around is totally unnecessary. In fact, it's even seen as a sign of mistrust and bad faith."

"Now, in the free zones - where Vampires still live by the old code of 'might makes right' - only Vampire Hunters who are Vampires themselves dare take on the task of surveillance."

"So, Camellia's clan sent her here to oversee the Vampire Community of Harmony Town. Or to put it more accurately - they entrusted her to the Vampires here for safekeeping. Letting a frail human girl from a Vampire Hunter family roam around and go hunting on her own would be too dangerous. You saw how she handled that whip earlier."

"But luckily, she does have some ability in precognition. Thanks to her warning, there weren't any serious casualties last night - at least not on the Vampire side. Unfortunately, the Elders dismissed it as pure coincidence. Elder Fidelis even suspects that only the true culprit could've known that much. If this keeps up, the Council might force Camellia to give up her position as a Vampire Hunter. They're even considering expelling all Vampires from town until the real perpetrator is found."

Autumn grew quiet, her expression pensive. Ethan fell into his own thoughts as well. Suddenly, something struck him - another odd detail that had been nagging at him.

"I just remembered… Camellia's last name is Nguyen. And all of you have the last name Nguyen too. There's an unusually high number of people named Nguyen in Harmony Town."

"You know, Nguyen is the most common surname in Vietnam. Besides those who were born with it, tons of people have changed their surnames to Nguyen. Throughout history, every time a royal dynasty fell, surviving members of the royal family often switched to the Nguyen surname. Most of us Vampires just mimic human's tricks. But there are exceptions - like that kid Felix, for example. He's obsessed with his original surname. I have no idea what name he'd choose if he ever had to start over with a fake identity."

By now, Autumn and Ethan had reached the grand gate of the Old Fortress. Outside the thick stone walls, a 7-seater VinFast VF9 was already waiting.

Ethan peeked into the car and saw that from Mr. Silvan at the wheel to Spring and Felix in the back seats - everyone looked grumpy, like they'd just been stung by a swarm of bees.

Only Mrs. Marina and Summer seemed genuinely cheerful, smiling as if they'd just struck gold.

Ethan had no idea what was going on. He tried his best to keep a neutral face as he greeted everyone.

"Ethan, catch!"

Summer tossed something metallic into Ethan's hands.

"This is your room key. Still the same attic room you stayed in last week, but I've changed the locks so you'll have a bit more privacy. Just stay at our place until things settle down in Harmony Town."

"Thank you…!"

Ethan mumbled, his face blank with surprise. So now he had a place to stay after all. It felt like he was dreaming.

"What about me? Where am I going to live?"

Felix cried out in despair.

"You'll be staying with me, Spring, and Royce - in the Ancient Fortress."

"Nooo! I don't wanna live with a bunch of guys like that. I wanna stay with my Autumn!"

Felix turned to Autumn, begging for help - but she had already fallen asleep on Ethan's shoulder, her head resting gently against him.

The mood inside the car turned razor-tight. The dark aura radiating from Mr. Silvan, Spring, and Felix clashed against the cheerful energy of Mrs. Marina and Summer.

Ethan looked tenderly at Autumn, who was clinging to his arm in her sleep. He was beginning to understand why nearly every man in the vehicle looked so sour. It was clear that the days ahead in the French-style villa of Autumn's family were not going to be easy.