Chapter 187

Hey guys, quick announcement before the chapter! We're hosting an original NovelPhoenix contest with a $1000 prize pool, a chance to publish your novel on WeTried, and lifetime free reading access for the top two winners!

There's also a participation prize of 500 coins for everyone participating.

If you've got a story sitting in a folder somewhere, or have been wanting to try writing one, we'd love to read it. You only need your first 10 chapters, and you have until 1st January 2027 to submit. New writers are welcome too!

Full details, rules, and how to enter here!https://wetriedtls.com/announcements/NovelPhoenix-contest

Feel free to send this to anyone you know who writes. Enjoy the chapter!

If you have any questions, please join our discord at

──────

"Haa, haa..."

Carmilla could barely hold herself together.

Viktor lay flat on the bed.

She was straddling him as though she were about to pounce on him.

There was barely any distance between them. Their noses could have bumped at any moment.

"Princess."

"Nnh... ngh..."

Too close.

Their scents mingled in the narrow space between them.

Whenever she inhaled, a sweet scent flooded her nose.

A lukewarm hand rested against her cheek.

Its thumb slipped between her lips, entering her mouth and moving wetly inside.

Smack, slurp.

His finger stirred through her saliva.

Each time it did, Carmilla felt her mind grow distant.

"Vi, Viftor..."

Carmilla slurred his name.

She was trying not to bite down on his finger.

Her red eyes trembled. One hand clutched his sleeve tightly, as if begging him to stop.

"Pleafe... let me go... At thif rate, I might even bite you..."

"It's all right, Princess. Focus on me."

"Pleafe, ftop..."

His thumb continued to move regardless.

Before long, his finger came to rest on Carmilla's tongue.

"Hngh..."

A tingling shiver ran up her spine.

Pleasure burst through her, and her thirst grew even worse.

Her hunched shoulders trembled.

The boy's flesh tasted sweet. She wanted to clamp her jaws shut right then and there.

Every taste bud on her tongue seemed to awaken, and the sanity she had barely managed to hold onto melted before her desire.

Drip, drip, drip.

Some saliva leaked onto the pillowcase.

Viktor only quietly wiped away the clear drool.

"No... nooo... I faid no..."

"Breathe. Slowly."

"If I end up... killing you, Viktor..."

"You're doing well. Keep taking deep breaths with me."

"Haa... hoo, hoo..."

Her sanity felt ready to snap at any moment.

It was like placing fresh raw meat in the mouth of a starving lion.

Yet even in a situation like this, Viktor smiled without losing his composure.

There wasn't a trace of fear on his face, even before a murderer.

With a faint smile, he simply patted the girl's back and whispered to her.

"It's all right. The fit will settle down soon."

"Ngh... Vi, Viktor..."

"Just a little longer. You only need to hold on a little longer."

"Huff, huff... smack, slurp, haa..."

Her mouth sucked on his finger.

The girl's tongue desperately wound itself around Viktor's finger.

The stronger that taste became, the more her fangs tried to bite the flesh in her mouth.

Again and again, Carmilla forced her jaws back open.

The muscles in her jaw twitched as if they were playing tug-of-war.

Even as thirst crushed her, she desperately wanted Viktor to remain unharmed.

"Princess."

"Ngh..."

Her head throbbed as though her brain had been soaked in sugar.

Her sanity slowly melted away.

Tug.

Carmilla roughly pulled the boy's finger from her mouth.

It was the result of squeezing out every last bit of her remaining sanity and willpower.

Her heated moan sounded desperate, and all the more pitiful for it.

"Stop... please, stop..."

Her red eyes were bloodshot.

Tears ran down her cheeks. Sobs mixed with her moans.

"I'm scared... I'm scared, Viktor..."

"Princess."

"I'm scared that you'll get hurt... I'm scared it will become irreversible, that I'll hurt you..."

Carmilla finally broke down crying.

Someone precious to her.

He was the only meaning left in her life.

The thought that she might hurt someone like that terrified her.

"I don't want that... I've already lost everything. I can't lose Viktor too..."

Large tears fell.

Carmilla pleaded.

-Yes, this princess will be all right too.

-As long as I can protect Viktor... this princess, I can become anything. I can throw away my revenge, my beliefs, even my heart. There is nothing I cannot discard.

Those were the words she had confessed to him just before drinking his blood.

They had been completely sincere.

Viktor had become that precious to Carmilla.

"Perhaps... I should leave..."

"......"

"I won't appear before Viktor again. Perhaps that would be better... Rather than hurt Viktor, it would be better to be alone again. Even if I must do that, I don't want to lose you..."

"Princess."

Rustle.

A hand suddenly drew closer and brushed her hair aside.

Beyond her wavering vision, black eyes held her gaze.

"I'm not leaving."

"......"

"Didn't I promise you that?"

"Ah."

A promise.

A few frail words they had exchanged once.

-Viktor, Viktor...

-At least you must not abandon me.

-Do not leave me behind in this deep mire and go off alone.

-Just stay. Even if I order you to leave, ngh... please, do not leave.

His gaze was deep and still.

The boy looked up at her without the slightest disturbance.

That light had not changed at all. With firm certainty, he cradled Carmilla's cheek.

"The place I belong is by your side."

"......"

"So please, let me help you."

"Idiot... an idiot of a retainer. A cruel retainer... disloyal, ngh... stubborn, disobedient retainer..."

"A desire once awakened is difficult to control. You're enduring it far better than most people would, Princess."

"Ngh, hoo..."

"I'm certain you can suppress it. You can do it."

Words meant to soothe her.

Words that let her rise even from the depths of despair.

He had no proof and demanded nothing in return, yet the boy believed in Carmilla as though it were only natural.

"Take deep breaths. Slowly. Follow me."

"Hoo, hoo..."

Perhaps it was to repay him.

Her thirst gradually cooled.

The desire that had surged up like a fit slowly subsided as well.

Her scattered sanity began to come together, and the girl swayed as though drunk while repeating deep breaths.

"Ngh..."

Of course, she wavered several times.

But whenever she did, Viktor's presence held her steady.

'It's all right. Yes, I can do this...'

The fit stopped.

That hellish thirst could no longer be felt.

It had only been one night, but she had finally won her battle against instinct.

"Haa, haa..."

"You worked very hard, Princess."

Four hours and twenty-six minutes.

That was how long the girl had fought a tug-of-war against the fit.

They had stayed up almost the entire night, and both of them looked exhausted.

"Vik... tor..."

"Do you feel all right physically?"

A hand patted her back.

Once again, it was Viktor who comforted the weary Carmilla.

He must have suffered all night as well, yet he naturally asked after her first.

'How... could I not love him when he is like this?'

Tears that had not yet stopped ran down her face.

The girl struggled to hold onto her hazy consciousness.

The fit had passed, but its aftereffects remained.

The boy smelled sweet, and her lips still desired him as though thirsty.

'Viktor, Viktor, Viktor...'

It was still too early for her sanity to be fully restored.

In the end, the girl made a mistake.

They were close enough for their noses to touch.

Carmilla lowered her head and erased the space between them.

Smack.

"......!"

The girl kissed the boy as though pouncing on him.

Their lips overlapped, and heated breaths passed between them.

Smack, smack.

Viktor froze briefly, then lowered the hand that had been about to push her away.

Instead, he relaxed as though going along with Carmilla's wishes.

The girl's tongue clumsily parted his lips.

Their saliva mingled, and their tongues entwined inside their mouths.

"Haa... smack, haa... slurp, mnh..."

"Princess, this is..."

Desire built up by thirst.

Had that desire burst forth in another form?

With her sanity gone, Carmilla did not pull away for quite some time.

Their breaths passed between them for nearly an hour.

Their tongues mingled, and their saliva slipped down each other's throats without restraint.

"Smack, mmm..."

And so,

the wet sounds continued until dawn broke.

* * *

The next day.

Carmilla and I rose from the same bed.

"Mmm."

"......"

It had been an eventful night in more ways than one.

Carmilla's shoulders trembled, perhaps because her sanity had returned.

Judging by her red face, she seemed to be going over everything she had done the previous night.

"Princess?"

"......"

"Um, breakfast is ready..."

"......"

The girl could not even bring herself to move her lips.

Her face was so hot that it looked as though steam might rise from the top of her head.

An awkward atmosphere hung between us.

Vampires were an especially conservative race when it came to relations between men and women.

Her first kiss with an unrelated man must have been an overwhelming experience for the princess.

"Um... I'll leave it on the table for now. You used up a lot of strength yesterday, so please eat even if you don't have much of an appetite."

Of course, I was just as confused.

This was my first time experiencing something like this.

Well, it wasn't technically my first, since I had kissed Ranne before...

'But... something that serious was my first time...'

When I had kissed Ranne, our lips had only touched and then parted.

Exchanging saliva like we had yesterday was my first time too.

I touched my lips and lost myself in thought.

'At least we didn't go all the way... Should I call that fortunate?'

Or not?

Had we already crossed the line the moment our tongues touched?

Or could I say we were still all right because we stopped there?

'I don't know.'

My thoughts only became more tangled, so I stopped thinking about it.

I rubbed my neck out of habit.

Carmilla showed no sign of leaving the bedroom.

I stretched out, calming both my throbbing neck and pounding heart.

'...For now, let's hide this from the others.'

There had been the precedent with Ranne last time.

I would definitely be torn apart without mercy.

The princess especially had no resistance to this sort of thing, so if she was attacked over it, she might die of embarrassment on the spot.

For her sake, I decided to keep last night's events a secret from the others.

'At least for the princess's sake.'

Yes.

That was definitely what I thought...

"Hey."

""......""

"You two did it?"

""......""

What?

How did we get caught again?

Footnotes: