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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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Ultimately, it took an entire night of torment for Arwen to finally calm down.
However, there was one mystery that remained.
“…What kind of mind control magic is this?”
Vampires typically slept in coffins during the day to avoid the sun and only emerged at night. But Arwen wasn’t a creature of darkness with reversed day and night cycles. She slept normally, like any other human.
“Mmm…”
Even now, she was sound asleep, licking her lips in her sleep. Seeing her sleep so soundly until late morning, he wondered if she was really a vampire.
He shook his head, unable to solve the mystery.
Whether it was Arwen, who would nag him incessantly as soon as she woke up, or Eileen, who would sulk after being teased…
They would always forgive him easily and end up smiling happily.
It was a mystery.
‘Look at them, smitten kittens.’
He shook his head in disbelief.
What had happened in the past, before the regression, to make them so head over heels for him?
It was a bit hypocritical of him to say, considering he had chosen to have five girlfriends, but this was a research subject in itself.
“Arwen, it’s time to wake up.”
“Just a little longer…”
“You sound like a student who’s late for school. You’re a True Ancestor, Arwen.”
“…Being a True Ancestor has nothing to do with wanting to sleep in.”
She mumbled into her pillow, burying her face deeper to avoid the sunlight streaming through the window as he opened the curtains.
This situation was only getting more complicated.
He had to get ready to leave, so he sat up. Arwen immediately grabbed his arm.
“…Don’t go.”
“Don’t go?”
“Let’s stay like this a little longer… Yawn.”
She yawned, her face still buried in the pillow. He felt a surge of annoyance.
“Huh?”
“I said, get up.”
He pulled the pillow away, forcing Arwen to lift her head, her face scrunched up in annoyance.
It was strange how she looked so fresh and put-together, her hair and face immaculate, as if she had just showered, despite having just woken up.
But…
She licked her lips and stared at him, her gaze lingering on his neck. He instinctively covered his neck with his hand and backed away.
“…Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I’m hungry.”
“Control yourself.”
“I don’t want to.”
He held out his hand and shouted, “Stop!” but she dodged it nimbly and buried her face in his neck.
He braced himself for the inevitable pain, closing his eyes tightly. But contrary to his expectations, he didn’t feel her fangs sinking into his skin.
What was she doing?
He cautiously opened his eyes and saw that she was sniffing his neck, her face buried against his skin.
“What are you doing?”
“Don’t all foods have… nutritional content…?”
“Well, yeah…?”
The concept of nutrition wasn’t completely foreign to this era. It wasn’t as systematically understood as in his previous life, but it was a concept that people had grasped through experience.
But it wasn’t something he expected Arwen to bring up right now. He tilted his head in confusion, and she gave him an absurd answer.
“I’m… recharging… with your… nutrients…”
“…What?”
“It’s similar to magic stones. Just like objects that run on magic stones need to be recharged with new stones when they’re depleted, I’m simply refueling.”
“What are you, a battery?”
“I don’t know what that is, but isn’t it similar?”
“You’re just a pervert.”
She was burying her face in his neck and sniffing him. How was that not perverted?
He criticized her, but she continued for a long time, her face still buried against his skin.
Finally, she pulled back with a satisfied expression.
“…Pervert.”
“Whatever. I don’t need to drink your blood for a week now.”
“Thanks to you constantly drinking my blood, I’ve developed orthostatic hypotension. A week? You should abstain for a month.”
“A month is too harsh, don’t you think? Put yourself in my shoes.”
Arwen protested, her face falling.
“Could you go a month without eating anything?”
“I could. I’m a mage.”
“That’s true, but…”
Arwen trailed off.
She couldn’t argue with his logic.
Mages and knights were both superhumans who wielded magical power. Knights enhanced their physical abilities by channeling magic power through their bodies, while mages released their magic power in the form of spells. That was the difference.
Their metabolisms were different from ordinary humans, so he could survive for a month without food, although he wasn’t sure about water.
Of course, Arwen’s argument was just a metaphor, and this bickering was nothing more than childish arguing.
Arwen frowned, unable to come up with a good counterargument, and pushed him on the shoulder half-heartedly.
“You’re the same as always.”
He chuckled.
It felt like he had gone through a lot recently, but in the end, his daily life hadn’t changed much.
It was just another day.
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“…Elena’s been acting strange?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The Crown Princess, sitting elegantly with her legs crossed, addressed the knight kneeling before her.
The political situation in the Empire was in turmoil. Rudrick’s appointment as the Court Mage was just one of the many issues that needed to be addressed. The biggest problem was the vacant throne.
Officially, the Empress was simply ill and bedridden. But it was an open secret that she was practically a living corpse, waiting for her final moments.
Naturally, according to the law of succession, the throne would pass to the Crown Princess after the Empress’ death. But her younger sister, Elena, had openly opposed this.
More accurately, she had started gathering supporters, which was practically a declaration of rebellion.
As a result, the Empire was divided into two factions.
Those who supported the Crown Princess and the traditional law of succession, and those who believed that the most capable person should inherit the throne, siding with Elena.
The political landscape was tense, with the two factions locked in a bitter power struggle.
“It seems Elena is plotting something. Double the number of guards watching her.”
“…The Second Princess has been confined to her quarters for two days now. As you know, Your Highness, we can’t just barge into a royal residence without permission.”
“Have you tried contacting her through unofficial channels? What does Elena’s faction have to say about this?”
“Our spies within her faction have no information. It seems this is a sudden move on her part.”
“Hmm…”
The Crown Princess trailed off.
If she knew that Elena was holed up in her quarters planning a wedding, and had lost all interest in the throne, she would be shocked.
But she had no way of knowing Elena’s thoughts, so her mind raced with possibilities.
“…What could she possibly be planning at this juncture?”
She murmured, her voice filled with uncertainty.
Elena was her younger sister, but they were now rivals, fighting for the same throne. And Elena’s cunning mind was difficult to decipher.
Why was she hiding in her quarters, refusing to show her face for two days?
Elena had always been unpredictable, even as a child, and the Crown Princess’s anxiety grew.
“…”
She sat there, deep in thought.
‘What are you planning, Elena?’
She asked her sister mentally, but there was no response.
What if Elena’s plan was so radical that it would disrupt the already fragile balance of power?
Or what if she had discovered a weakness in the Crown Princess’s defenses and was planning a brilliant counterattack?
If that were the case, it would be too late to react after Elena made her move.
The desire for power was something all humans possessed. Even those who feigned disinterest would become addicted to its sweetness once they tasted it. And the power of the Esgelant Empress was the sweetest of them all.
The Crown Princess didn’t want to let go of the power that was within her grasp.
“…I need to talk to Elena.”
She finally stood up.
She had to find out what Elena was planning. Even if her sister wouldn’t reveal her plans, she could at least try to get some hints.
The knight kneeling before her moved aside as she stood up.
…And it wouldn’t be long before the Crown Princess would be speechless, learning the truth about Elena’s plans.
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