“It’s very simple~ Let me tickle you.”
“Huh?” Kiz’s eyes widened.
“I’ll tickle you until I’m satisfied. You aren’t allowed to resist or run away.”
Kiz’s expression instantly shifted from blank confusion to sheer terror. She hurriedly said, “Wait, wait! Why?! What did I do wrong this time!”
“Because you caused me a lot of trouble, so I’m going to punish you.”
Perhaps it was due to a wicked sense of humor, or maybe it was out of a sense of revenge, but Elia didn’t tell Kiz exactly why she was being punished. She just wanted her to suffer without knowing why. After all, Kiz had made her look so pathetic today!
“But…” The little Princess still wanted to try for a last-minute rescue.
“No buts.”
Elia pinned Kiz down onto the bed with a firm grip.
“Now, we begin~”
“Noooo — !”
Kiz’s scream was cut short in her throat because Elia’s fingers had already landed on her waist, beginning to tickle her relentlessly.
“Hahaha — stop! It itches! Hahahahaha…”
Kiz struggled beneath Elia, her body twisting and turning.
Meanwhile, Elia’s fingers danced across the little Princess’s waist, lightly scratching her most sensitive spots.
Kiz laughed until tears came out, though they might not have been from joy.
“Stop, stop… Hahahahaha… I was wrong… I was really wrong… Hahaha… No… Have mercy… Hahaha!”
“Oh? Then please tell me, Your Highness, what exactly did you do wrong?”
“I shouldn’t have… Hahaha… Hahaha… I shouldn’t have drank… I shouldn’t have caused you trouble… No… Hahahahaha…”
“And what else?”
“There’s… Hahaha… there’s more? What else… Hahaha… what else is there!”
At that moment, Elia’s fingers moved to the soles of Kiz’s feet. She gave them a tickle and asked, “How about here? Does it itch?”
“Hahahaha… It itches! It itches so much! Stop it… Hahaha — ugh…”
Kiz laughed until her entire body went limp, leaving her without even the strength to struggle.
After tickling her for a while longer, the frustration in Elia’s heart finally dissipated a bit.
Actually, she wasn’t truly angry.
It was just… she felt a bit unreconciled.
Why was she put through all that, while Kiz remembered absolutely nothing!
It wasn’t fair; it was incredibly unfair to her.
So, she had to find some balance.
Tickling was a great method. It punished Kiz and allowed her to see a cute side of the little Princess. It was truly killing two birds with one stone.
Elia tickled her for about ten minutes.
She only stopped when Kiz looked like she was about to run out of breath from laughing.
Kiz was sprawled across the bed, panting heavily. Tears and sweat had soaked the pillow.
Her small face was flushed red from laughing for so long.
Right now, she looked quite pitiful, but also very cute.
“Do you know your mistake now?” Elia asked.
“… I know,” Kiz said weakly.
“So, do you understand how dangerous alcohol is for you? Your mother doesn’t let you drink for your own good. Do you dare drink again next time?”
“No… I don’t dare.”
“Good girl. Then I’ll forgive you this once.” Elia patted Kiz’s small head.
In truth, Elia had gone out to drink several times with friends in her past life. Every time, he had been the one to drag his dead-drunk friends back home. He had witnessed countless scenes of friends acting out while drunk, and once, it had even drawn the attention of the Uncle in a Hat. Because of that, he didn’t touch alcohol much.
Furthermore, whether in her past life or this one, she didn’t like the taste of alcohol.
Kiz looked at her with a wronged expression, mumbling softly, “But I clearly don’t know anything… What… what did I actually do wrong…”
“Getting drunk is your mistake. As a Princess, you actually collapsed after only two cups. How embarrassing would it be if word got out?” Elia waved her hand and said.
Kiz: “…”
She actually found herself unable to refute the words of this Devil Saintess… well, it wasn’t like she had ever successfully refuted her before anyway.
“Alright, go to sleep.”
Elia lay down beside her and pulled her into her arms.
This time, Kiz obediently let herself be held.
However, she was still sobbing softly.
“Elia… did I do anything strange while I was drunk?”
Hearing this question, Elia’s heart skipped a beat.
“… No.”
“Really?”
“Really. You just fell asleep, the kind where no one could wake you up no matter how much they called,” Elia lied without changing her expression.
“Oh…” Kiz seemed to believe her.
She shrank a bit further into Elia’s embrace and whispered, “That’s good then… I was afraid I had acted like a crazy drunk…”
“If you ever act like a crazy drunk, I’ll tie you up and tickle you all night long.”
“… No.”
“Then be a good girl and don’t drink anymore.”
“Mhm.”
Soon, silence returned to the Sleeping Palace.
Outside the window, the moon reached its zenith. Silvery moonlight spilled through the gaps in the curtains, casting a slender trail of light on the floor.
Feeling the warmth of the small body in her arms, the last bit of Elia’s resentment finally vanished completely.
Fine, she would let it slide this once.
Regardless, there would be plenty of opportunities to get back at her in the future.
And…
Elia touched her neck again.
The two small holes Kiz had bitten into her had already disappeared, but the sensation of having her blood sucked and the things Kiz did afterward… she still remembered them.
It was very painful, but it was also…
She shook her head, forcing herself to stop thinking about it.
Time to sleep. Tomorrow would be a new day.
As for what happened in the wine cellar… let it remain a secret forever. In any case, a second incident like that shouldn’t happen again.
As she thought, Elia was the first to sink into a dreamland.
In her arms, Kiz also closed her eyes.
Truly, Kiz still felt that something was off.
Her body felt slightly sore.
Especially her back; it felt as if it had been scratched by something.
There was also a faint lingering sweetness in her mouth.
But she… she couldn’t remember what had happened at all.
***
In a corner of the Vampire Castle, the manager of the Archives was taking inventory.
However, when she walked toward the Abandoned Wine Cellar, she discovered the lock had been destroyed.
“Hmm? Who went in?” She pushed the door open and entered.
Everything in the wine cellar was as usual, except for two wine cups sitting on the stone table.
The manager approached the table, picked up one of the cups, and sniffed it. She then frowned and said, “Kiss of the Night… Who took this kind of wine out to drink?”
She shook her head and began to clean up.
But as she picked up the deep-red wine bottle, her movements suddenly froze.
She saw a small label stuck to the bottle of Moonlight Dew.
Written on the label was a line of small text: “This product contains Moonlight Flower pollen. Consumption may cause excitement, hallucinations, and strength enhancement effects. Please drink in moderation.”
The manager looked at the text, then back at the two cups on the table.
Suddenly, she understood something.
However, she could only sigh and place the wine bottle back onto the shelf.
“I hope it doesn’t cause any trouble…”
After murmuring to herself, the manager walked out of the wine cellar.
The door closed once again.