“No manners and still won’t listen, little brat—then you deserve a harsh punishment to teach you a lesson. Got it? If you dare steal food or attack innocent people again, you’ll regret it!”
“Ah… ugh… don’t… don’t even think about it!”
Sairi bit her lip until it bled, the fresh blood mingling with tears of humiliation as they trickled down her face.
Her defiance wasn’t because she truly admitted her mistake, but because she was lamenting being captured by the Blood Clan and, worse, being humiliated and punished so publicly.
A man must have his pride!
If this had happened in the room where she first woke up, maybe she could have softened a little.
But here, in front of so many people, there was no way she’d back down—if word got out, how would she ever live it down? Would she even have a reputation in the Blood Clan anymore?
Of course, that was all after the fact.
In truth, Sairi misunderstood one thing about Liliath’s anger. Sairi thought Liliath humiliated her for pleasure, to satisfy the Blood Clan’s cruelty.
That idea might have held some weight back in Liliath’s own room, but now, Liliath’s fury had a different cause.
The move Sairi just used with the black orb was an indiscriminate attack on everyone present.
From Liliath’s perspective, this was an irrational act of murder. She needed to protect the safety of those around her.
After all, the Blood Clan was still a Clan with families, ethics, and friends. That’s why Liliath was so furious.
And if anyone got hurt or the King’s Palace was damaged, it would be Liliath who’d have to face her mother’s punishment. There was no way she could let Sairi get away with it.
Everyone noticed that the Blood Clan princess Liliath was genuinely angry, so no one dared step forward to calm her.
“You filthy… blood-sucking… maggots! Dirty… monsters! Even if I… die… I will never… submit to you!”
Sairi roared with the last of her strength. Her voice was broken, yet it carried a resolve to burn everything down with her.
Of course, inside she wasn’t really that tough; she was just saying what she thought she should to save face. After all, if she didn’t act tough here, she’d look like a coward.
And after being tortured to this point, with so many people seeing her disgrace… thankfully, Hilvia wasn’t here. If Hilvia had witnessed this, she’d probably go mad.
“Smack—”
Liliath’s palm froze mid-air, halting the motion.
The great hall fell into a deathly silence; many maids even thought this was the calm before a storm.
Other Blood Clan members, including those cold nobles, showed flashes of shock and suppressed anger in their eyes.
How dare someone insult their noble Clan so much as to enrage their magnanimous princess Liliath?
A smile?
But Liliath’s face didn’t show the expected rage.
Her crimson eyes widened slightly, the anger and boredom fading away, replaced by a teasing amusement that was genuinely intrigued.
“Oh?”
She let out a soft syllable, the trailing note lifting playfully, matched with her delicate, crystalline voice, sparking all kinds of fantasies.
Liliath slowly withdrew her hand from Sairi’s back, stopping the spanking altogether.
She lowered her head, drawing close to Sairi’s tear-streaked, humiliation-ridden face that still burned with a flame of defiance.
So close that she could feel Sairi’s rapid, feverish breath and the frost evaporating from her cheeks.
“Never submit?” Liliath’s voice was as soft as a lover’s whisper, yet tinged with a chilling fanaticism.
“That’s really… wonderful! A thousand times more interesting than those useless wretches who just scream and beg for mercy. You’re the first to be this stubborn with me~”
She reached out cold fingertips to lightly brush over Sairi’s bitten lip, gathering a drop of crimson blood, popping it into her mouth. Her crimson eyes instantly grew even brighter and deeper.
A pull.
“This princess has changed her mind,” Liliath said with undeniable excitement.
“Such an interesting toy would be a pity to just punish and toss aside.”
Suddenly, she yanked Sairi up from her lap like a precious trophy.
Sairi’s whole body ached, her frostbitten limbs trembling, barely able to stand or resist Liliath’s touch, forced to submit.
Looking into Liliath’s eyes—the haunting glow was stronger than ever—a chilling premonition gripped Sairi, sensing something big was about to happen.
“W-what are you going to do?!” Sairi’s voice trembled from the lingering frost.
Liliath gave no answer, only an innocent yet devilishly sly smile.
Dragging the nearly immobile Sairi, ignoring all the gazes from the Blood Clan around them, she headed straight toward the exit of the hall. Her steps were light and impatient.
At the same time, Liliath called out to dismiss the crowd and instructed Vera to stop cleaning the hall.
Sairi realized Liliath was taking her to the little black room for a one-on-one. Fine, no one else watching meant she could soften up and surrender then—she really couldn’t hold out any longer.
Liliath’s destination—the lavish, cold “guest room” where Sairi first woke up.
Once inside, the heavy door closed silently and locked behind them, isolating them from the outside world.
The room remained cold and silent, only the pale moonlight filtering through the window cracks, casting warped patches on the carpet.
Was it really so late? Sairi noticed the moonlight shining on her face.
Liliath casually tossed Sairi onto the large, silk-draped bed in the center.
Pain from frostbite, her burning buttocks, and lingering lower abdomen soreness combined with extreme weakness left her no strength to even turn over. She lay gasping like a fish out of water.
Sairi groaned softly, clutching her still-aching backside as she sat up, glaring at Liliath with her tiny pink lips pouted high.
The bed was large and soft, but she still wasn’t going to be treated like this! And she was hurt and weak!
Liliath didn’t put away the blood-red scythe; instead, she leaned it casually against the wall.
She walked to the bed and looked down at the broken doll-like Sairi with crimson eyes burning an unprecedented, almost obsessive possessiveness.
“Hmph! You little thief who emptied my kitchen, still dare glare at me?”
Liliath placed her hands on her hips; despite being a white-haired, flat-chested loli, her aura was formidable.
“Do you even know you ate all the kitchen’s supplies for today? You cleared out the food for tonight’s banquet, even Vera and the others’ dinner was eaten!”
Sairi’s spirit immediately weakened by a third, her eyes drifting as if caught daydreaming in class.
She really was starving when she woke up.
Although Vera gave her some food, it wasn’t enough, so she instinctively followed the aroma to sneak into the kitchen… then, with her “one-way-in” metabolism, she just couldn’t stop herself.
The desserts, roast meats, fruits… all smelled too good!
She even secretly packed some away with the pentagram hairpin on her head (silently chanting “stash, stash, stash!”), thinking if Sister Hilvia woke up, she could eat them too…
But now she’d been caught, feeling a little guilty.
“I… I was hungry…” Sairi mumbled softly, fingers nervously twisting her clothes, “and I didn’t know it was your dinner…”
Who would’ve known it was for the banquet? Even if I did, I’d pretend not to. And the Blood Clan has to eat a ‘normal’ dinner, right? It’s not like you just drink blood all the time.
“Hungry enough to empty the entire kitchen?” Liliath laughed at her logic, “Whatever, you little glutton, I’m amused. No use arguing.”
Then Liliath shifted her tone, suddenly staring at Sairi with her crimson eyes, full of scrutiny and… inexplicable excitement.
“You’re quite amusing. Your Transformation Ability, your appetite… all very interesting. But what’s most special is that stubborn expression you had when I spanked your butt… hahaha!”
“Don’t mention that!” Sairi snapped, like a cat with its tail stepped on, flushing red again. “That was… humiliation!”
“Just punishment for a disobedient little thief.”
Liliath waved her hand dismissively, then leaned close, a mischievous smile playing on her delicate face.
“But now, this princess is even more interested in you. Since you’re so special… how about becoming my ‘thing’?”
“Your ‘thing’?”
“Exactly. Submit at my feet, become my possession, and I will grant you the value of life~”
“Eat my words! I will never submit to you. A true man born between heaven and earth cannot stay oppressed forever!”
“You’re not a man.”
“I… uh… I mean, at least that’s the principle! I will never submit! You should give up early!”
Sairi spoke firmly, but Liliath’s expression suddenly shifted.
“Never submit? Very well,” Liliath said in a softly terrifying tone, “Then let’s see—when your blood flows with my power, when your soul is marked with the Blood Mark… can you still keep that stubbornness?”
“What do you mean?”
“The Initial Embrace.”
“Huh?”
Though her body was still cold from frost, being here in Liliath’s heated room and on this warm bed finally gave Sairi enough strength to speak coherently.
“What ‘huh’? Didn’t you hear? This princess is going to Initial Embrace you!” Liliath’s tone grew impatient, as if Sairi were a fool.
“You’re serious? You’re really going to do it?”
“What else? You’re the first and only to get this treatment from me.”
Marking the soul with the Blood Mark?
“Yikes.”
Sairi misunderstood Liliath’s meaning.
Maybe Liliath wanted to Initial Embrace her, but hearing it sounded like the adult scenes she’d heard about in past life’s novels and videos—talk of soul mingling, leaving marks on your heart, and so forth.
Was Liliath going to forcibly take her? Make her submit to her oppressive will?
No way, no way, no way! Absolutely not! And since they were both girls, that kind of thing just wouldn’t happen!
Sairi instinctively recoiled, the pentagram hairpin flickering, ready to draw her Rainbow Sword at a moment’s notice (though she probably wouldn’t win).
“Don’t! Don’t! Don’t force me! I admit I was wrong, it’s my fault for stealing! Please don’t do that to me, it’s humiliating! I beg you, I’ll kowtow…”
Liliath silently wiped her forehead in exasperation, then grabbed Sairi’s arm, pulling her close. She cupped Sairi’s face and carefully examined it from top to bottom.
“You really are a bit dumb, but you can’t be so dense as to not understand this, right?”
“Hey! Who are you calling dumb? Take this!”
Sairi raised a tiny fist to punch Liliath, but it barely had any effect. Liliath casually caught her fist and neutralized it.
“You misunderstood. I’m talking about the Initial Embrace. Do you understand that?”
“Uh… no.”
“Ah… you jungle bumpkin.”
Speechless, Liliath looked at Sairi’s blank expression and felt relieved.
“Initial Embrace is a reproductive method for our Blood Clan. Different from traditional pregnancy, it’s more common and convenient.”
As Liliath spoke, she noticed a faint blush rising on Sairi’s cheeks.
“That’s not possible! We’re both girls. How can we reproduce? And who’d be mom or dad—that’s a moral dilemma! No way, no way!”
“Don’t interrupt. Let me finish.”
“Okay, okay, sorry.”
“Initial Embrace.” Liliath barely got the words out before she noticed Sairi’s puzzled eyes. This little fool probably didn’t just not understand the Blood Clan, but many things in this world.
That clear gaze was like a beauty unspoiled by knowledge or society.
“To put it simply, I give you my blood, turning you into my blood progeny, just like me—a noble member of the Blood Clan. Then, you belong to me. Your power, your secrets… all belong to me.”
Her tone carried a natural possessiveness.
“Become… a vampire?! Like you?”
Sairi’s eyes widened, a lock of her golden hair standing up in shock. “No! That sounds terrifying! And… and becoming a blood-sucking monster.”
Though she bore no deep hatred for the Blood Clan itself (after all, they treated her when she woke up), the idea of living by sucking blood instinctively repelled her.
But Sairi hadn’t considered that Hilvia had once said all five nations had guardians standing with the gods—including the Blood Clan.
Meaning Hilvia actually knew Blood Clan members and had fought alongside them for a millennium. So Hilvia might not hate the Blood Clan—but Sairi seemed to have forgotten that.
“Monster?” Liliath’s eyes darkened. “The Blood Clan are elegant and noble denizens of the night! And there are even more wondrous beings in this world—elves, dragon ladies. What’s wrong with becoming a Blood Clan? Power, speed, nearly eternal life…”
“No, no! I don’t want to bite people’s necks and suck blood! That sounds painful and perverted.” Sairi shook her head like a rattle, hugging her arms tightly and inching away across the bed from Liliath.
“Also… seeing friends grow old and die while you live forever… it’s so sad.”
She thought of her family and friends from her previous life, her eyes dimming.