After the two of them practiced their swordsmanship for a while longer, it was time for a break. Elia stared blankly at the ceiling.
Suddenly, a wave of intense hunger hit her… It wasn’t the kind of hunger one felt in the stomach, but more like an instinctive craving for something.
It was like someone handing you a chicken leg after you had starved for seven days and seven nights.
Her gaze then involuntarily shifted to Kiz, who was sitting beside her. To be precise… she was looking at Kiz’s fair neck.
Right there, faint blue veins pulsed slightly beneath the skin.
Elia’s throat hitched.
‘I… I really want to… want to…’
Bite down.
“Kiz,” she croaked.
Kiz turned around and was stunned when she saw Elia’s current expression. “What… what’s wrong with you? You look so strange…”
“It’s nothing… I just feel a bit… unwell.” Elia forced herself to look away, trying not to stare at the little princess’s neck, which was providing her with such infinite temptation.
“Unwell? Where does it hurt?”
“…I don’t know.” Elia stood up, wanting to leave the training ground. She believed that as long as she stayed away from Kiz, that strange feeling would disappear.
However, she had barely taken three steps when that craving surged up like a tide, ten times stronger than before.
Her footsteps halted.
A voice in her head was screaming: ‘Bite her, bite her, bite her…’
“Elia?” Kiz approached her and looked at her with concern. “Are you really okay? Do you want me to call a doctor…”
In that moment, Elia turned and grabbed Kiz’s shoulders.
Her movements were so fast that even she didn’t realize what was happening. By the time she became aware of her actions, she had already pinned Kiz against the wall and leaned down to bite. She sank her teeth into the little princess’s fragrant shoulder.
“Aaaaaah!” Kiz’s scream echoed through the training ground.
It hurt! It was simply too painful!
And it hurt even more than the last time this demon had bitten her neck!
Elia bit into her like a wild beast.
Blood flooded into her mouth, and the taste of rust spread across her tongue. She greedily sucked the blood that should have tasted terrible to her, completely failing to notice that Kiz was struggling, crying, and hitting her.
“Let go of me… it hurts… please… ugh… sob… stop drinking… what did I do wrong this time… don’t… don’t do this…”
Kiz’s crying gradually grew weaker. The dizziness brought on by the blood loss made her vision go dark and her body go limp; she couldn’t even stand steadily anymore. Finally, she could only lean against Elia and let her drink her blood.
After an unknown amount of time—it might have been dozens of seconds or perhaps a few minutes—Elia finally let go.
Only then did she notice Kiz slumped in her arms and the deep row of teeth marks on her shoulder. Even though they were healing, what about the psychological trauma?
‘What… What did I just do?’
‘I bit Kiz again? And sucked her blood?’
She let go of Kiz and took a step back. This caused Kiz to slide down the wall and sit on the floor. The little princess clutched her shoulder with both hands and curled into a ball, sobbing softly. Blood soaked her clothes, making her look quite pitiful.
Elia looked down at her hands. Blood—there was blood everywhere.
Also, why would I suddenly lose control?
‘Could it be… that I’ve… turned into a vampire?’
Elia rushed to the sink at the edge of the training ground. There was a mirror there. She leaned over it, opened her mouth, and carefully inspected her teeth.
Fortunately, there were no fangs.
What about her eyes? They were still blue, just as they were before.
She spun around and checked herself from top to bottom. Yes, she was still human—a pure-blooded human.
Then why would she…
Elia turned to look at Kiz, who was still sitting on the ground. Kiz had stopped crying, but she was staring blankly at the floor with hollow eyes.
“Kiz, are you… alright?” Elia asked softly.
Kiz slowly looked up at her, then lowered her head again and whispered, “…It hurts.”
Elia’s heart twinged. She hurriedly said, “I’m sorry, I really didn’t do it on purpose this time… I couldn’t control myself. Oh, right, do you need to drink blood?”
Kiz didn’t speak; she only gave a small nod.
“Do you need a lot?”
Seeing Kiz nod again, Elia went to the entrance of the training ground and shouted outside, “Someone, come here!”
She didn’t care if this would expose them or not; she would find a way to explain later. Right now, her priority was to let the little princess replenish her blood!
Soon, a Blood Clan guard ran inside.
“Lady Saint, what are your—” The guard’s words died in his throat.
He saw the princess sitting on the floor and the shocking wound on her shoulder.
“P-Princess!” he shouted, his eyes wide.
“Don’t make a scene. Go get some blood, the more the better!”
Even so, he was a Royal Guard, and his mental fortitude was adequate. He stopped hesitating and quickly retreated.
A few minutes later, the guard returned carrying a tray. On the tray were three cups of dark red liquid. Elia took the tray, walked over to Kiz, and handed her a cup.
“Here, drink some.”
Kiz drank very quickly, and the cup was empty in no time. Then Elia handed her the second cup. After drinking three cups of blood, a bit of color finally returned to her face.
Elia looked at her shoulder again and found that the wound from the bite had already healed. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief and sit down beside Kiz.
The two sat side by side, neither of them speaking.
After a long time, Elia finally asked, “Um… why did I lose control like that just now?”
She had a sneaking suspicion that Kiz knew the answer.
Sure enough, Kiz whispered, “It is… because of the contract.”
“The contract?”
“The Blood Contract. Once the Blood Connection is established, you, as the master, will need the blood of me, the servant… If it’s not supplemented regularly, it will be very painful.”
Elia was stunned. She had no idea that was a thing! It wasn’t in her original memories, and Kiz hadn’t mentioned it before.
“Then why didn’t you say so earlier!”
“I… I thought you knew. This is basic knowledge about the Blood Clan contracts…” Kiz whispered as she nervously fiddled with the hem of her skirt.
“I’m a human! How could I possibly know!”
“I’m sorry…” After saying that, Kiz began to sob softly again.
Fine, fine. Strictly speaking, Kiz’s “contribution” played a part in her getting bitten, but Elia was the one who lost control, so Elia still felt a bit guilty.
“How often do I have to do it?” This time, she planned to get to the bottom of it.
“It’s not certain… sometimes it’s months, sometimes it’s days.”
“Just like today?”
Kiz nodded.
Elia fell silent again. So, in the future, she would have to bite Kiz again.
‘Is this a forced binding? And I’m really human!’
‘The situation between us has completely turned upside down!’
Elia sighed and reached out to ruffle Kiz’s hair. “I’m sorry about today. I’ll find a way to make it up to you later.”
Kiz simply leaned closer to her.
Elia hesitated for a moment but eventually pulled Kiz into her arms, feeling the little princess—whom she had just made cry from the blood-sucking—finally relax.