A Heart For The Heartless

Erik Vigre stood in front of Mikhail, his posture stiff and tense. He was trying hard not to seem intimidated, but was failing miserably.

Although he was one of the instructors or trainors in the company, he wasn’t the strongest vampire here. He was good at enforcing discipline in the trainees, but otherwise, his skills and strength were pretty much inferior compared to the rest of the instructors.

Mikhail sat languidly at his desk, observing Erik with vague interest. Erik seemed a bit fidgety, which wasn’t much of a surprise since the man was pretty weak when it came to confrontation. How Erik became an instructor in the first place, he had no idea.

Then again, Erik could be pretty resourceful at times. Which was also a little suspicious…

“Well?” Mikhail said. “Have you any explanation to give me about your own trainees being related to the matter of the rogue vampires?”

Erik shook his head. “My lord, there’s no correlation at all! I have questioned them myself. They are in no way connected to the recent crimes.”

“Is that so?” The corner of Mikhail’s lips curved slightly upwards. “However, I have discovered something very interesting, Erik.”

Erik seemed to swallow nervously, but he tried his best not to make it obvious. “What is it, sire?”

“According to some reports, your trainees had been seen interacting with the vampires a day before they would suddenly turn rogue. After investigating their backgrounds a second time, they seem to be ordinary vampires. Too ordinary, in fact. So much that it feels like all of their backstories are similar. Am I correct?”

Erik instantly froze. “S… Sire? What do you mean?”

Mikhail leaned forward slightly with a lopsided smile on his face. “It means only one thing, Erik. Betrayal.”

Erik jolted backwards as though he had been shot. His expression instantly filled with panic, and his skin became even paler than before. “S-Sire! You can’t possibly… I… I have never betrayed you or anything of that sort! P-Please, give me another chance-”This belongs © NôvelDra/ma.Org.

“Chances are only given to those who earn it, Erik,” Mikhail said. “Let me give you the rundown based on my overall observation of you and your ‘trainees’ for the past two years.”

He leaned back against his chair and folded his arms across his chest. “When you first applied to the company, you started from scratch and gained our trust little by little. You were a hard worker and were also quite resourceful. You helped in creating strategies and training the new Guards in order to help protect the city. However…”

Mikhail took one of the folders from his desk and opened it. “…according to this file, you were very meticulous in choosing potential candidates for the trainee positions. There were a few times when you chose a different candidate instead of the one that seemed more capable. You gave flimsy reasons like ‘hidden potential’ and ‘training will hone their skills’, so you were not suspected back then. But now… I know the reason why you did so.”

Sweat rolled down the side of Erik’s face. “I… My lord…”

“Whose spy are you for, Erik?” Mikhail asked, the small, wry smile never leaving his face. “Who is your real superior?”

All the blood drained from Erik’s face, making him look drastically paler than usual. With his sharp ears and nose, Mikhail could practically hear the panic from Erik’s brain, as though his thoughts were spilling out. Even the smell of fear was so strong that Mikhail instantly knew that he hit the jackpot.

Erik had probably felt complacent with the fact that he had managed to gain the trust of Ivanov Securities for the past two years of hard work. What he didn’t know was that every single employee was heavily observed by Mikhail, a habit that the latter retained for the past century of living.

He had experienced the feeling of betrayal, so he was quite meticulous about making sure that his men were trustworthy. Mikhail was also a deeply suspicious person by nature, so he never let his guard down for anyone.

Which was why Erik never saw this coming, that Mikhail would tell him directly of the hints that had accrued over the years. Mikhail had been generous enough to give Erik a warning that night, but Erik did not listen. In the end, it seemed that Erik had no plans of disclosing the true identity of his boss.

“We can either do this the easy way or the hard way, Erik,” Mikhail said pleasantly, and the light tone of his voice only made him seem scarier and more intimidating. “I would suggest that you don’t anger me further. Otherwise, your head will be rolling down the streets and your headless body be given to the witches for their herbalism and potion-making experiments.”

Erik squeaked in fear at the mere thought. Suddenly, he knelt on the ground and started begging Mikhail for forgiveness. “S-S-Sire!! Please, please forgive me! I-I did not mean to deceive you. I-I was given an order that I could not refuse! If I did not obey them, my-my ill father would be beheaded! My lord, I will tell you everything. Please spare me!”

Mikhail watched as Erik kept pleading with him, wondering if he should forgive this little spy.

Then again, it wasn’t really necessary to forgive him. Perhaps he could use Erik to gain more information…

However, if he did that, how certain was he that Erik would not betray him again?

Mikhail shook his head, much to Erik’s horror. “Unfortunately, be that as it may, you have already betrayed me once. There is no guarantee that you will not betray me a second time.” He then stood up. “After I get the information I need from you, I will kill you like I promised.”

Erik instantly stood up as well and staggered backwards in terror. “N-N-N-No! Sire! Please, I beg of you! Please spare my life! I-I will do anything! I will-”

However, before the words could leave his lips, Mikhail was suddenly right in front of him in the blink of an eye. Mikhail’s fingers were wrapped around Erik’s throat, and Erik found himself being lifted effortlessly from the ground.

Erik struggled uncomfortably in Mikhail’s grip. Not only was the lack of oxygen depleting his strength little by little, but he was also strangled – quite literally as well – with fear at the mere thought that Mikhail was very much capable of tearing his head off in a single, swift movement.

“S-Sire,” Erik managed to croak out. “P-Please… spare… spare my… m-my life…”