episode_0037

“······Haah. Haaa. Haaak.”

Ragged breaths escape from Mijeong’s lips.

Clearly, this is not her usual self.

With each breath, her body jerks violently, unable to suppress the excitement.

“Mijeong?”

“······Hhuu.”

As soon as I call her name briefly, Mijeong’s head turns towards me.

The animalistic breathing and the posture as if ready to pounce at any moment.

In her intensely glowing eyes, there is no trace of reason to be found.

Only a gaze captivated by the most primal instinct of appetite.

Trying to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances, I attempt to take a defensive stance, but my body does not obey.

Due to magical exhaustion, the best I can do is lie on the floor and struggle weakly to move.

“Hey. Isn’t it? Right?”

“······Yujin.”

“Yes, it’s me. Come to your senses.”

“······I want to eat.”

“Oh.”

Damn it.

Mijeong rushes towards me in an instant.

Whether I have slowed down or Mijeong has sped up, I do not have time to react as she pushes my chest and swiftly climbs on top of me.

“Hey! It’s me, your master! Calm down!”

“······Kraah.”

Mijeong opens her mouth and drools.

Soon, she unbuttons my shirt with a swift motion, exposing my neck.

Then, she grabs my shoulders with both hands, fixes them in place, and slowly brings her mouth to my neck.

Damn it.

I’m going to be eaten by my own slave.

Ah. Well, I didn’t buy her, so technically, I didn’t own her.

Regardless, in this situation, overwhelmed by the helplessness of being unable to do anything, I close my eyes tightly.

“······Heup. Hak. Chewp. Hangnyangnyang.”

Instead of intense pain from flesh being torn, I only feel a familiar sensation of sucking.

It is indeed a stronger sucking sensation than usual.

However, it is far from the extreme pain I had imagined.

Unable to control her instincts, she drools and shakes her head back and forth, trying to stir up the wounds without sharp fangs.

But without those sharp fangs, they are not very threatening.

“······Heug, Haep! Aengnyang, Omnomnom.”

Since she can’t bite and make wounds, she starts to act frantically.

Biting, sucking, shaking.

Mijeong desperately explores my neck as if she had found a broken faucet in a water pipe about to die of thirst.

At this point, I realize.

I misunderstood.

Mijeong is not trying to devour me.

[Stats]

[Strength: 13(x5) *Guardian Knight effect applied]

[Health: 15(x5) *Guardian Knight effect applied]

[Mana: 43(x5) *Guardian Knight effect applied]

[Agility: 18(x5) *Guardian Knight effect applied]

[Luck: 14(x5) *Guardian Knight effect applied]

The Guardian Knight effect is still active without any issues.

Mijeong still recognizes me as her ‘guardian.’

I thought she was going to tear me apart as a bloodsucker, but…

“Hey. Back off.”

“······Huk.”

As soon as I sternly command her, Mijeong’s sucking stops.

Then, she rises from me, drooling from her mouth.

“Sit still. I’ll give you blood.”

“······Okay.”

With a slightly more rational look in her eyes, Mijeong responds.

She moves away from me, kneels on the floor in a submissive posture, waiting.

However, she can’t sit still, constantly fidgeting.

Drool continues to flow from her mouth.

Her gaze, a mix of instinct and reason, is fixed on the veins in my exposed arms.

It’s like looking at a young puppy who just learned the word ‘wait.’

“Whine…”

Should I feed him even though I’m completely drained of magic?

Before the regret kicks in, I take out a dagger and make a cut on my elbow vein.

The crimson blood flows down my arm and stains the floor.

The puppy, who couldn’t resist the urge to catch a falling drop of blood, was about to pounce on it, but I stop him.

“I told you to stay put!”

“Ugh…”

With a swift motion, I make him sit on the floor again.

Another drop of blood falls to the ground.

As if watching a precious piece of meat fall, the puppy’s eyes follow the falling drop of blood, gradually filled with disappointment.

‘I should properly educate him now.’

Come to think of it, this little guy has always been shameless when it comes to meal etiquette.

He would just put my finger in his mouth without asking.

He would bite my neck and nibble on it.

After staring at someone’s face, he would forcefully attack and try to feed on them.

It may be a bit late for timing, but I should educate him properly now.

He may not have fangs and strong instincts to cause a big problem now, but there’s no guarantee it won’t happen in the future.

Prevention is better than dealing with a bigger issue later.

“Now, eat.”

“Ugh!”

He quickly rushes towards me, biting my elbow and sucking on it eagerly.

His eyes, glancing up at me, now resemble more of a baby’s gaze at a milk bottle than that of a wild beast.

He looks like an angel in this moment.

I let out a deep sigh.

“Chomp, ugh, nyam.”

The ‘meal’ lasted for a while.

Usually, he would be satisfied and leave in about 1-2 minutes.

But this time, he sucked for over 10 minutes.

It seems like he used a lot of energy this time.

“Are you satisfied?”

“Yes.”

He wipes the drool from his mouth and steps back.

As if asking what happened, he remains emotionless, with no desire or expression on his face.

When I stare at him in disbelief, he turns his head away.

He must have had a lot of fun jumping around. I didn’t know you were that strong.

“…”

It seems like he’s done eating, so I lie back to replenish my energy.

But he doesn’t respond to my words and just turns his back.

The source of his strength when he was happily playing with Velphigor was clearly his magic.

It may have seemed weak because he was playing with Velphigor, but if it was an ordinary person, they would have died from a skull fracture.

After using all his strength, he goes wild trying to suck blood, except for recognizing his owner.

Ah, that’s the biggest problem.

The reason why he suddenly awakened is probably because of that magic stone.

The ring with the red magic stone embedded in it.

The rumor that he can use magic because of that seems most likely.

I need to confirm it.

“Hey, give me the ring.”

“Yes.”

He hands me the ring without hesitation.

As I touch and examine the magic stone, I can feel a faint, unfamiliar magic seeping into it.

It must be his magic.

This is now second-hand.

Magic stones are consumables too.

“Try hitting the rock with the wooden club like earlier.”

“Ugh! Like this?”

Thud.

With a determined expression, he lifts the wooden club and strikes the rock, but the club bounces off as soon as it touches the rock, causing him to fall back.

“Huh?”

He looks puzzled.

Earlier, it was clearly strong, but now it seems weak.

After gesturing for Mijeong to come closer, I put a ring on her finger.

“Now, try again.”

“······Okay.”

Thud.

With a casual lift of her hand, the wooden club shatters the rock into pieces.

As expected.

Mijeong has inherent magic in her body, but it seems impossible to use it without a magic stone.

‘But where does the magic come from?’

This raises a question.

Magic is supposed to be generated from a living, beating heart.

Then where does the magic come from in Mijeong, whose heart has stopped?

“Come here. Try sucking my blood once more.”

“······Okay.”

In reality, there is no other way for Mijeong to absorb energy from outside except through my blood.

It seems that charging magic through my blood is the method.

To prove this hypothesis, I grab Mijeong’s lips and open her mouth.

“Check if the magic is charging.”

“······Ah. Magic. Charging, yes.”

“What?”

She makes a strange noise before even feeding on my blood.

Perplexed, I let go of her.

“Now. Not charging.”

Now it’s not charging again.

Only then did the mystery unravel.

Gently, I bring my hand to Mijeong’s head and stroke it slowly.

As my hand moves, Mijeong’s head sways back and forth.

“Now?”

“······Charging, slightly.”

“Now?”

“······Charging, more.”

“Now?”

“······Charging, rapidly.”

And as I increase the speed of stroking, the rate of magic charging also increases.

I can’t believe it.

Physical contact, not my blood, was the means of charging magic.

Blood is merely for replenishing energy, and magic is charged through physical contact during the blood-sucking process.

Who came up with this setting?

One thing is for sure, that person is definitely a perverted genius.

“Still, it’s quite convenient. A slave who becomes stronger just by stroking her head. But how much has it charged so far?”

“······About 0.1 percent.”

“What…?”

I have to stroke her like this 999 more times to fully charge her.

It feels like an eternity.

***

“Let’s take a walk for a moment…”

“Madam, it’s dangerous outside.”

“You’re not feeling well, please stay inside.”

“······.”

A lot of time has passed.

It’s been two hours since Lawrence and Eugene left the mansion.

But there’s still no news.

A sense of foreboding creeps in, but there’s nothing I can do.

I can only wait quietly in the room.

Endlessly praying for his victory.

“What? Who died?”

“Madam… Lord Lawrence… he returned in pieces…”

“That damn mercenary!”

As the first floor gets noisier.

I finally realize.

Eugene won.

And Lawrence is dead.

“What’s going on?”

“Madam…”

Now, no one can stop me.

I open the door and step out, no one can stop me.

My steps down the stairs, holding my skirt, gradually quicken.

I may not be able to hide the joy on my face.

But soon, I realize something is amiss and my steps slow down.

‘What about Eugene?’

Eugene killed Lawrence, and I was supposed to help Eugene afterwards.

But I never once questioned ‘how’ he would kill him.

How did he kill the mayor without getting caught?

‘Ah.’

I quickly realize.

Eugene never intended to get caught.

Boldly killing Lawrence, he was prepared to be caught.

That’s the only explanation.

‘For me…?’

Thud. Thud.

As I reach the bottom of the stairs.

Understanding everything, my heart sinks.

Eugene decided to sacrifice himself for me.

To save me.

To free me.

“This is the dungeon’s core. This is your mistress’s body.”

“Ugh, my goodness! What is happening here! Oh my lord! Oh my goodness!”

“That murderer! Call the police! Police!”

“There’s no need for that. I’ve already called the clergyman.”

The yard is bustling with noise.

In the midst of the crowd, Eugene’s calm and weak voice can be heard.

To commit all of this and not run away, but choose to be caught. Could this also be for my sake?

If the culprit isn’t caught, will I be suspected, so they deliberately got caught for me?

“Yu…”

My throat feels tight, and my voice doesn’t come out.

Right. That name was a secret.

Swallowing my name down my throat, I move forward.

What should I say to the man who gave up everything for me?

How can I express my gratitude?

I’ve never thought about this before, and my head starts to spin.

“Clergyman! You’re here! Please take this scoundrel away quickly!”

“He’s a heinous man! He’s the one who tore Mayor Brium to pieces!”

“Please be calm. There are things we need to confirm first.”

The crowd falls silent for a moment.

As the clergyman enters, he opens the blood-soaked sack in the middle.

Inside, lies a dismembered body.

Even the severed head is so badly damaged that it’s hard to recognize the face.

“Ugh! Ugh!”

“Damn it! How could you treat someone who hosted you for dinner like this!”

People around are retching, grabbing Eugene by the collar and shouting.

Amidst all this, Eugene just stands still.

The clergyman, who was examining the body, finally speaks.

“It’s certain. There are traces of a demon possessing him.”

“What? Clergyman, what does that mean…?”

“I received a request for inspection from the mercenary division. They had to fight a demon possessing Mayor Lawrence Brium’s body inside the dungeon. They say they finally defeated the demon. It seems to be true.”

“…”

No one can easily speak.

The hands that were gripping Eugene’s collar start to fall off one by one.

It’s only now that I fully understand the situation.

Eugene didn’t have no thoughts at all.

He knew everything from the beginning.

As I send a gaze of awe towards him, he also looks straight at me.

“…”

At the moment of pondering what this means.

I realize that he’s not the only one looking at me.

Suddenly, all eyes are on me.

The clergyman bows slightly and asks me straightforwardly.

“Well then, Deputy Viscount. Do you have anything to say?”

“Ah…”

The title has changed.

Deputy Viscount.

Indeed, Lawrence is dead.

I have officially become the Deputy Viscount.

The first emotion that rises within me is anger.

Butlers. Servants. Maids. Cooks. Knights…

All I see are faces filled with disgust.

These people.

Even when I asked for help, they never pretended to listen.

They all just stood by.

Even when Lawrence was not around, they locked me in the room, intercepted my letters, and pretended not to hear my screams…

It’s all a lie.

They’re all the same.

“I command as Deputy Viscount. All the employees of the mansion are fired.”

“What? Madam. Are you joking?”

“You can’t just do this all of a sudden, Madam! Are you going to make us all beg on the streets…”

“And I will hand them all over to the Inquisition. They are associates of the one who made a pact with a demon, so there may be more conspiracies. Clergyman, you are free to handle them as you wish.”

“Yes. Deputy Viscount. Thank you for your cooperation.”

“Ma’am?! What are you saying?”

“Please spare us!”

“…”

The holy knights approached, surrounding the hired hands.

Startled, they belatedly realized their predicament and began to plead, but it was already too late.

Revenge had only just begun.