He had carelessly let a bit of his own excellence show; one could also call it "success born of long preparation."
Look!
How perfectly suited it was to his identity!
But before he could act, tonight's events had already unfolded.
The swarms of Golems gave him the illusion of being surrounded and hunted, as if someone had deliberately been forcing him—
into a jar. He had noticed it.
So he had hidden himself extremely well.
Even Professor Kazel had failed to sense his presence.
Unfortunately, when it came down to it, he ultimately failed to stay hidden.
The moment he summoned the [Blood Mother Bat], Vlad had sensed that he was very likely about to be exposed.
His intuition had been correct.
But the outcome seemed somewhat better than he had imagined.
Watching the blond youth stroll out from the midst of the Golems, Vlad could not help but reveal a sneer.
"So that's how it is. You planned all of this."
"It was me."
Dark clasped his hands within his sleeves and answered with complete composure.
After he appeared, all the Golems ceased moving.
Though Vlad's lips curled into a smile, his gaze remained gloomy.
At first, he had thought that one of Saint Marian Academy's professors had orchestrated this.
Those unfathomable professors were what he feared most.
But if the person behind this was not a professor, but the blond youth before him, then though he remained wary, he was not driven to despair.
"Do you think I'm still the person I used to be?"
Vlad opened his mouth and spoke in Robert's voice, lowering his tone.
Dark paused slightly, then could not help but chuckle. "No way. You don't think I'm still the person I used to be either, do you?"
Their gazes met.
Vlad suddenly burst