Book 3: Chapter 320: Royal Curse

After settling into the palace at Cliffside Royal Court, the delegation rested for two days. They had thought negotiations would begin soon, but unexpectedly, the following days still brought no summons from Blood Queen Catella. Even repeated requests submitted through the palace maidservants and the nobles receiving them fell into the void like stones dropped into the sea, with no response at all.

Under such circumstances, the atmosphere within the delegation grew somewhat gloomy. Sylutia, however, was invited by Carmilla to take walks within the royal court.

Though others could not wander freely, Carmilla was, after all, the queen's twin sister. Neither the palace maidservants nor the other nobles dared to obstruct her.

Walking through those familiar corridors and palace halls, Carmilla began telling Sylutia about some things from her childhood.

"From the time I can remember, Mother was already the Blood Queen. Her methods were exceedingly shrewd, and she held firm control over every faction within the Blood Clan. When Catella and I were young, every time we saw those nobles pay their respects, they were always reverent and obedient. No one dared to defy her."

"Under her leadership, the taxes and tributes each noble family paid to the royal court increased considerably, giving the royal court sufficient finances and resources to train knights and drill guard legions."

"At that time, the Blood Clan's territory even expanded slightly, developing some very barren lands."

"But such circumstances did not last forever. After we grew up, Mother began speaking less and less, gradually letting go and having us manage the court's affairs in her stead. She would often sit alone on the throne in a daze. Eventually, she would sit there for months on end without moving much at all."

"Catella and I sensed something was wrong. At the time, we wanted to understand the situation, but Mother never explained, never told us anything."

"Until one day, she suddenly summoned us and told us that the Blood Clan would henceforth rely on the two of us to lead. Then she breathed her last."

We only learned later that the curse had been gradually growing beyond her control. So before she lost her mind completely, she ended her own life ahead of time.

At this point, Carmilla sighed silently.

"Ya, do you know about the curse the Blood Clan bears?"

"I think I've heard something about it. It's said that the last Blood Emperor, to avoid being influenced by the 'Aberrant Mother Nest,' the Hour of the 'Bloodline' Path, beseeched the then Scorching Sun Hour, the 'Dawn Wind Eagle,' to place a curse upon them."

"The curse manifested mostly in members with royal blood. Ordinary Blood Clan members were actually not much affected by it." She turned her head.

"You must have noticed, right? I always like to carry a parasol when I go out. I don't like being in the sun." Sylutia recalled the first time she had gone shopping with Carmilla. The other had held a beautiful parasol of pale pink and white, worn a classical lady's long dress, and left a deep impression on her.

"Actually, this is the result of the curse. Being in the sun makes my blood feel a stinging pain." Carmilla explained with a touch of distress.

"The Scorching Sun burns our blood. While this suppresses our power and causes us injury, the benefit is that it also alleviates the Aberrant Mother Nest's erosion of us, preventing us from easily going mad and losing control."

"But with the passing of the Dawn Wind Eagle, the curse's efficacy has been gradually weakening, and there are signs it may spiral out of control. Not only can it no longer suppress the Aberrant Mother Nest's erosion, but the weakening and pain it inflicts on us will not disappear either."

"Because of this, there is a certain fear within the Blood Clan regarding advancing to the Seventh Tier. After advancing to the Seventh Tier, one draws closer to the Source of the 'Bloodline' on the Aspect Path, and the Aberrant Mother Nest's erosion greatly intensifies. At such times, the curse's backlash also increases, leaving one to face a double torment."

"So, within the Blood Clan, who are renowned for their longevity, royal members actually live shorter lives than other great nobles." She led Sylutia to the royal court's garden, her fingers brushing over those delicate, blooming petals.

On the pure white petals were different, random patches of vivid crimson, adorning the otherwise monotonous white roses with a kind of breathtaking beauty.

After plucking one with her fingers, Carmilla brought a 'Blood-Dripping Rose' to her nose and sniffed it lightly. Then she cut her wrist, letting a trace of blood flow along the flower's stem from the base. The crimson patches on the petals gradually expanded until the entire rose was dyed blood-red.

Earlier, you placed that pure, vivid red rose behind the royal court's Ya.

"Ti Ya, does it look nice?"

"It looks very nice."

Duo Nan nodded. That kind of rose, the deep red beneath the petals seemed as though it might drip down, carrying a peculiar "living creature" quality.

Then Carmilla told the royal court's Ti Ya that within the Blood Clan, there was a tradition of using Blood-Dripping Roses to propose. The proposer would use their own blood to dye an entire bouquet red. The blooming blood-colored roses possessed a stunning beauty that made one forget themselves.

"However, compared to the past, this tradition is now much less strict. Generally, it's only added after a relationship is confirmed." Carmilla removed the rose and tucked it into her hair, then had the royal court's Ti Ya help adjust it slightly.

Once adjusted properly, the blood-red rose in the mirror complemented her champagne-gold hair, perfectly blending with Carmilla's black and red dress.

"During the Blood Dynasty era, this method of proposal actually concealed an extremely mad passion. Once the other party refused, or a rival appeared, blood was bound to be shed." Carmilla continued her explanation only then.

"Either the proposer would take their own life, or they would kill the rival or the object of their love, and then die themselves."

"Does it sound a little frightening?" Carmilla blinked those vivid crimson eyes as she said this.

"Mm, it is indeed a bit." Sylutia thought for a moment. It was indeed somewhat terrifying.

"Giggle, because that was the late Blood Dynasty period. You can understand it as the entire Blood Clan being in an extremely repressed and tense environment. Not only was the royal family engaged in brutal internal strife over the throne and power, but the Blood Clan nobles in every region were as well. Every time a title changed hands, it involved a great deal of bloodshed."

"Such a high-pressure environment caused many Blood Clan members to have a psychological hunger, a craving for flawless and perfect love."

"The Blood Clan can extract and absorb the 'Bloodline' power of dead creatures. During campaigns, this is an extremely strong weapon, but after the dynasty was unified, it also became a source of internal instability." Carmilla explained.

"Killing a member of the same bloodline allows one to extract their power with extremely high efficiency and very little loss. This way, without needing decades or centuries of accumulation, one can rapidly advance and obtain everything."

"Such temptation was simply too great. By the late Blood Dynasty, suspicion was rampant within every noble family, causing tremendous internal friction and leading to the dynasty's decline."

"Now, this brings us to the curse's other function. When extracting another's 'Bloodline' Aspect, one also inherits this curse. The more you extract power from your own kind, the stronger the curse's backlash becomes."

"This is why even though it was a curse, the royal family at the time gladly accepted it. It saved the Blood Clan royalty's final dignity. It also allowed the royal family to preserve its inheritance after the dynasty's decline, preventing it from being completely severed by internal strife."

"So, long ago, it wasn't actually called a curse. It was the Blessing of True Crimson Blood."

In the royal palace's rose garden, Carmilla beckoned slightly to the young woman. The Blood Clan princess now stood in the scant light spilling from between the clouds, and even her champagne-gold hair strands carried a faint halo.

After Sylutia drew near, she lightly shook the hair behind her head, then gathered it with her hand, parting the strands to reveal the snow-white nape of her neck. There, a small, delicate blood-red rose mark slowly emerged.

"See it? This is the blessing and the curse upon my body." A faint tremor laced her voice.