Chapter 186

"I think I was wrong."

"And... I'm sorry to everyone else too..."

A head lowered in shame.

My stubbornness had been mercilessly crushed by Lua's tears.

Perhaps seeing that, the others who had been watching added their own words.

"Sob, ngh... I really thought... thought something had happened to Lord Viktor..."

"Miss Alice..."

Alice was the first to speak.

Perhaps she had been holding it in all this time, because large tears fell from her blue eyes.

Her black hair was slightly disheveled.

The girl looked like a small animal curled in on itself.

That made her tearful voice all the more pitiful.

"My mind went completely blank... F-for a moment, I couldn't do anything at all..."

"I ended up showing you something awful. I should've thought more about how everyone else felt before acting..."

"I don't want Lord Viktor to disappear... I still haven't repaid anything I've received from you..."

"I'm right here. I haven't disappeared, and I'm by your side, Miss Alice. I'm sorry I made you worry."

"Sob... I'm sorry. I don't want to act spoiled, but... whenever I think about that moment, I can't stop crying..."

Alice trembled with anxiety.

I had to stroke her black hair for quite a while.

As I comforted the sobbing girl, the blonde girl stood there gloomily.

"......Sir Viktor."

"Miss Ranne?"

Her violet eyes were downcast.

Ranne kept her gaze lowered and could hardly meet my eyes.

"This time too... I don't think I was able to help you. Even though I said I wanted to become someone who could protect you."

"No, Miss Ranne. The situation was simply bad. My habit is the problem."

"That habit. That's what frustrates me more than anything. That I couldn't become the first person you thought of before that habit. That I couldn't become someone dependable enough for you to trust. I'm ashamed of my own helplessness."

Ranne blamed herself especially harshly.

I didn't think I had ever seen her look this dejected before.

'Maybe...'

Was it because this was the first time she had seen me hurt?

Then again, no matter the situation or danger, I had never suffered even the slightest injury before.

I had always resolved things before that could happen.

Maybe I had looked invincible to the others.

'There's nothing more frightening than seeing someone you thought was invincible fall apart.'

I thought I had felt something similar when my teacher passed away.

Someone who had always seemed invincible. Someone who had seemed like a superhero to me.

Yet there they had been, smiling from a simple memorial photograph among all the wreaths.

Could I have become the same to them? Over these six months, had I become something like a teacher to them?

A bitter smile spread across my face.

"Hey."

Someone beside me kept hitting my shoulder.

The bronze-skinned girl looked up at me.

"Miss Caitlin."

"Does it feel good? Do you like it? How does it feel to have half your body blown away?"

Her tone was as sharp as ever.

No, it was several times more vicious than usual.

Caitlin's voice dripped with sarcasm.

Judging by her words alone, it almost sounded as though she were mocking my injuries.

"Feel refreshed? You had holes all through your body, so it must've felt nice and breezy. Fuck. Yeah, you did a fucking great job."

"Miss Caitlin..."

"You fucking bastard. Why didn't you just die? If you wanted to die that badly, you should've just died."

The girl's eyes were red.

She stared wide-eyed, as though trying to hold back the tears gathering there.

But she could no longer endure the emotion rising inside her.

Caitlin finally lowered her head.

"Ah, damn it..."

Drip, drip.

A watery line ran down her bronze cheek.

As though trying to hide her trembling, Caitlin hunched her shoulders tightly.

"Miss Caitlin."

"Fuck off."

"I was wrong."

"I said fuck off... Ngh, you bastard..."

Among our group, she seemed the least likely person to cry.

In fact, I had never seen her cry even once.

I quietly reached out an arm.

Then I carefully pulled the trembling girl into an embrace.

Caitlin tried to push me away, but eventually gave up and bumped her forehead against my chest.

"You fucking... bastard... Fucking bastard, sob... Piece of shit..."

"I'm sorry."

"Die... Go die. Just... just die, damn it..."

"Yes, I won't do it again. I won't make you worry again."

Thump, thump.

Caitlin repeatedly knocked her forehead against my chest.

It felt like resentment, but also like a plea.

For a while, I had no choice but to accept the girl's headbutts.

As everyone held their breath, blue eyes stared blankly at me.

"......"

"Lady Glacia?"

She only blinked without saying anything.

Rin wore her usual blank expression.

Cold breath drifted from her lips for a moment.

Only after some time did the girl's voice slowly fill the room.

"Viktor. You know..."

"Please, go on."

"When Viktor got hurt... I felt strange. My stomach felt sick, and it hurt... My heart was pounding too..."

"......I see."

"It hurt. My heart ached. It was different from when my brother slapped me. It hurt more. A lot more."

Rin spoke as though turning that moment over in her mind.

A calm but confused reflection left her cold lips.

"I think... I kept wishing Viktor wouldn't die."

"......"

"Don't die."

"I won't."

"Really?"

"I always keep my promises."

"That's a relief..."

The blue-haired girl nodded.

As always, Rin quietly leaned her head toward me.

"Pet me."

"As much as you want."

I had to comfort everyone for the rest of the day.

Since it was the consequence of what I had done, I listened to their concerns without complaint.

The atmosphere gradually eased.

The girls seemed to be gathering themselves in their own ways.

Then Alice hesitantly asked a question.

"Um, Lord Viktor..."

"Yes?"

"Is Her Highness... is she all right?"

She was asking about Carmilla.

Most of our group had gathered in the living room, yet the princess had remained shut inside the bedroom the whole time.

She had even locked the door.

Alice seemed worried about her.

Alice followed my gaze to the bedroom door, then nodded with a complicated smile.

"She'll be all right."

"Really?"

"Yes... I'm sure of it."

The bedroom door remained closed until everyone went home.

* * *

Late in the predawn hours, long after the girls who had visited Viktor's dormitory returned to their rooms, Carmilla opened her eyes.

"......"

The bedroom was dark.

The bedding was in complete disarray, as though a storm had swept through it.

Her silver hair spilled loose. The vampire's crimson eyes shone clearly even in the darkness.

"Gasp, ngh..."

Her breathing was ragged.

The girl couldn't calm her labored breaths.

'My throat... It feels like my throat is burning.'

Thirst.

A violent thirst tightened around her throat.

Carmilla had to dry heave several times.

A few tears fell onto her pillowcase.

'It hurts... It hurts, it hurts...'

The price of tasting human blood.

The side effect of breaking a taboo.

Her nature as a killer was stirring.

The blissful moment lingered in her mind, and instinct slowly gnawed away at reason.

"Ah..."

Before she knew it, Carmilla was standing beside the bed.

Her reason had been crushed, already ragged and ruined.

A sweet smell.

That electrifying scent tickled the tip of her nose.

Consumed by instinct, the girl staggered forward.

'I'm thirsty...'

Carmilla arrived at the second bedroom.

The room Viktor usually used.

The black-haired boy lay on the bed.

He was sleeping deeply, without the slightest reaction to the girl's presence.

"Haa, haa..."

Carmilla approached Viktor.

She climbed onto the bed and carefully mounted him as though pouncing on him.

A secret hunt.

Her prey was only sleeping soundly.

Suppressing her ragged breathing, the girl buried her nose in his neck.

"Sniff, haa..."

Sweet.

The smell alone made her brain tingle.

It felt as though each grain of sugar bypassed her tongue and went straight into her mind.

She wanted it.

She wanted to tear into that neck.

Rip it open, bite it, draw blood, and devour every last drop.

She wanted sweet blood to surge out, to spray like a fountain and soak the bed crimson.

'Just once...'

Just once.

That desire chewed relentlessly at the girl.

"Ahk... Hng..."

Her pale red lips slowly parted.

The vampire's fangs emerged.

They were sharp enough to tear into his neck at any moment.

If she simply closed her jaw now, a fountain of blood would burst from the boy's throat.

"Ghk, haa...!"

Just once.

Just once.

Just once.

'Please.'

Her fangs pressed against Viktor's neck.

Carmilla remained frozen like that for a long time.

The sweet scent lingered in her mind.

The taste of flesh against her tongue was maddeningly blissful.

Even so, she couldn't bite down because she still had a small shred of reason left.

"Gasp, gasp..."

The conflict kept returning, breaking and cutting into her.

Carmilla wavered.

She could neither bite the boy's neck nor pull her mouth away.

Fate demanded that she become a killer, while reason refused, and the two clashed fiercely.

"Ngh..."

At that painful moment, a hand patted the girl.

A gentle touch, as though soothing a child.

Rustle.

"Your Highness."

Viktor was awake.

He had been from the start. All along.

"V-Viktor... Run away..."

"It's all right."

"At this rate, I... I'll end up killing you..."

"I have no doubt. Your Highness will surely be able to overcome that desire."

"Please, Viktor..."

Rather than pushing her away, the boy embraced Carmilla.

He exposed his neck for her to bite.

His eyes were calm.

There was no fear in them, only tenderness.

Within his black pupils, she saw not a killer, but a princess.

"Your Highness."

A hand rested against the girl's cheek.

Viktor carefully rubbed Carmilla's lips with his thumb.

He slipped a finger into her mouth.

Sticky saliva. A part of the boy entered the girl's mouth.

As its sweetness rasped across her taste buds, a dreamlike whisper colored Carmilla's ear.

"I'll help you. Training to maintain your reason even while craving human blood..."

"Mmh... Haa... slurp..."

"Little by little. You'll learn all of it."

"V-Viktor... slurp, smack, hng... I'm scared..."

Even while crying, Carmilla sucked on the boy's finger like candy.

Viktor comforted the girl a few more times.

"It's all right."

"Slurp..."

His thumb brushed against her fangs.

As though he wasn't afraid, the boy only smiled faintly.

"Because I'm by your side."

That whisper felt sweeter than blood.

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