The Krieg Ring and a Bloodkin’s Request

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Claire Krieg.

I am the third daughter of the Krieg family head, and I was formerly an adventurer.

Half a month ago, I suffered a devastating blow from a monster’s elbow, leaving me gravely wounded.

Fortunately, at that critical moment, Miss Seraphina came to my rescue, restoring me to full health in an instant.

Ah, as I’ve always said, Miss Seraphina truly is an angel. Without her, I would undoubtedly be nothing but a corpse.

But I digress. Returning to the matter at hand, this injury prompted my father to command an end to my adventuring days. As punishment, I was assigned to serve as a business liaison for one month at a company under the Krieg Consortium.

Currently, I am leading our company’s business team to the estate of a prominent Bloodkin noble family to renew our cooperation agreement.

I heard their patriarch tragically passed away a few days ago, so I even brought a small gift. However, I’m unsure whether the inheriting master of the estate is male or female, and if this gift will even be appropriate.

Oh, this is such a hassle. It’s nowhere near as enjoyable as being an adventurer.

What’s more, for some reason, the more difficult things become, the more I find myself longing for that dark-haired figure. I yearn for that fleeting moment of tender affection within the estate.

Ah, Miss Seraphina, where could you possibly be? I can’t seem to find you anywhere.

How wonderful it would be if you were here.

****

“Oh, right! How could I have forgotten this?”

Upon hearing the words “Krieg family,” Seraphina jolted, springing up from the ground.

She gazed at the brilliant emerald on her ring finger, then pressed the gem against her cheek. With the tender affection one might show a beloved maiden, she rubbed it up and down vigorously.

“Th-that… Lady Seraphina… are you alright?”

Fulkarn asked timidly, her voice barely a whisper. She was terrified of upsetting Seraphina, yet equally unnerved by her sudden, startling outbursts.

From her perspective, their mistress, Seraphina, had been muttering to herself like someone flirting ever since returning to the estate. She had even been startled by a string of human heads she herself had brought along. Now, she was gesticulating wildly with joy over a routine business meeting.

“A business meeting… can truly make you this happy?”

In Fulkarn’s memory, whether it was Godia, who had previously guarded the estate, or the newly appointed Iqiyah today, both had always worn a uniform grimace when dealing with business matters, completely incapable of smiling.

“Hmm, not really, but mainly…” Seraphina replied, giving Fulkarn a hearty smile. “That’s the renowned Krieg family, you see!”

“The Kriegs are here, so Iqiyah will be saved! The Kriegs are here, so our travel expenses are covered!”

Watching Seraphina skip and bounce towards the door, Fulkarn’s heart clenched.

‘It seems… Lady Seraphina might, possibly, probably, almost certainly, truly be a little mad.’

‘Is it because she lost Lady Iqiyah and Miss Levian?’

‘After all, according to Lady Iqiyah, their bond was one forged through life and death. In that case, Lady Seraphina’s madness isn’t entirely incomprehensible.’

‘But… this simply won’t do.’

‘Despite being merely a maid, I caused Lady Seraphina so much trouble before.’

‘Now, Lady Seraphina is in need, and I must become her unwavering support!’

Clutching the folds of her maid uniform over her chest, Fulkarn secretly made her resolve.

****

“Haaaah.”

Leaning against the eaves of the Scarlett Estate, Claire, clad in a black suit, let out a deep yawn.

“Butler… oh, no, Advisor,” she corrected herself, her arms crossed. She glanced at Gus, the butler, who was anxiously checking his watch beside her. “Has Mr. Scarlett not returned yet?”

“Hmm… the leader has not received any news.”

Sweat beaded on his brow, the butler appeared visibly more anxious than Claire.

“For crying out loud,” he muttered under his breath, “ten minutes have already passed! Do these Bloodkin not want to do business anymore?”

“Who knows?” Claire retorted carelessly, complaining about the arrogance of the Bloodkin. “Those Bloodkin always act so haughty and arrogant. Every time, we have to beg them to even consider doing business.”

However, to her surprise, before she could finish her thought, the estate’s grand gates suddenly swung open with a resounding boom.

A chilling gust of wind roared out, accompanied by a voice as melodious as a silver bell.

“You’ve waited so long! Welcome, welcome! Please, come right in!”

A shiver ran down Claire’s spine, and she was instantly filled with dread.

‘Oh, Goddess above… when did these cursed Bloodkin become so pleasant?’ she wondered. ‘They couldn’t have heard my complaining just now and are deliberately being sarcastic and passive-aggressive, could they?’

‘This is it, I’m screwed. They’re definitely going to seize this opportunity and tear me apart.’

‘But wait… why does that voice sound so familiar? I feel like I’ve heard it somewhere before.’

With a quarter of unease and three-quarters curiosity, Claire turned her head to look inside the gates.

She froze on the spot.

“Se-Se-Seraphina? Is that really you?”

****

“Eh?”

Hearing the voice and turning to see a familiar flash of gold, Seraphina was also stunned.

“Miss Claire? What are you doing here?”

“Uh… well…”

Caught completely off guard, the dark-haired figure she had longed for appeared suddenly before her very eyes.

Astonishment, delight, and euphoria, all mingled with a burgeoning, rosy feeling of romance, surged through Claire’s mind. It left her dizzy, her eyes unfocused, utterly disoriented and oblivious to her surroundings.

Of course, what worried her even more was:

‘Mi-mi-mi-Miss Seraphina… is actually a Bloodkin?’

‘And all that complaining I just did, sh-sh-she didn’t hear all of it, did she?’

“Miss Claire? Miss Claire?”

In Seraphina’s eyes, ever since she’d posed that question, Claire had simply lowered her head, remaining silent.

‘This…’

Recalling the noble etiquette that Iqiyah had drilled into her countless times, Seraphina suddenly felt a surge of panic.

‘Could it be… that I’ve offended her somehow?’

‘No, no, no… even if I don’t know what’s going on, I’ll need her help later. If I don’t appease her, our travel expenses will be…’

“I’m so sorry!”

“I’m so sorry!”

In an unplanned unison, Seraphina and Claire simultaneously blurted out their apologies.

“Eh?”

“Eh?”

Then, again in unison, both looked at each other with immense surprise.

‘What’s happening?’

“That… if I’m not mistaken, Miss Seraphina?”

At this critical moment, Gus, the butler, broke the stalemate.

“If it’s alright, please allow us to enter. We’ve been waiting at the gate for ten minutes now.”

“Ah, yes, of course!”

‘So… Seraphina, you’re actually… a Bloodkin?’

To prevent herself from instinctively blurting out “Bloodkin old hag,” Claire deliberately paused to think before saying “Bloodkin.”

“Yes, that’s right… I hid it before to avoid causing trouble in human towns.”

“However, a month ago, I was human too, you know.”

Seraphina recounted to Claire the experience of being turned into a familiar by Iqiyah.

“I see… that’s truly a shame.”

‘A shame about what?’

“No, nothing at all!”

‘A shame about what? Of course, it’s a shame I didn’t get to make my move when you were still human.’

The words almost slipped out again. Claire mentally slapped herself several times.

****

“However, as I mentioned, the current head of the Scarlett family is Miss Iqiyah Scarlett, who was previously known to me as Iliya Muromets.”

Seraphina spread her hands, indicating her helplessness.

“Miss Iqiyah is currently… well, indisposed, and unable to make an appearance,” Seraphina explained. ‘I haven’t decided whether to tell Claire about the changes yet. And as a familiar, I really can’t make decisions regarding business negotiations or anything of that sort.’

“I see… in that case, there’s nothing that can be done.”

Neither of them had any experience in negotiations; neither knew what to say.

Once friends, now two parties across a negotiating table, they sat with their legs pressed together, heads bowed, and their inner thoughts carefully concealed, sinking into silence.

‘No more topics… should I say it now?’

Gazing at the ring on her finger, Seraphina calmed her inner turmoil and made her decision.

‘Now is the time.’

“Miss Claire.”

“I told you, there’s no need to be so formal.”

Claire’s unconventional response almost threw her off balance, but Seraphina quickly took a deep breath.

Then, facing Claire, Seraphina clasped her left hand and raised it.

In that instant, a green light flashed, and beneath the magical glow, the Krieg Ring shone brilliantly.

“There is something I wish to ask of you.”