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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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My head felt like it was spinning.
I didn’t know if it was because too much of my blood had been sucked, causing anemia symptoms or what.
“How can you be so strong?”
Grumbling as I looked at the red hand marks left on my wrist that had been grabbed, I glared at Arwen, who had drunk my blood to her heart’s content until she was satisfied and was now making an innocent expression as if to say, “I don’t know anything.”
“It’s not convincing when you have blood on the corners of your mouth and make that expression.”
“…Ahem.”
Arwen took out a folded handkerchief and coughed in embarrassment, then wiped the blood from the corners of her mouth and added,
“For me, drinking blood is no different from humans eating food. If you were human and were offered a feast after not eating for days, would it be any different?”
“The problem is that it’s all my blood. You’re supposed to wait at least 2 weeks after donating blood before doing it again, you know?”
“…I don’t know what that means, but I couldn’t help it since I hadn’t drunk for four days already.”
As if she had belatedly realized her embarrassment, Arwen, with a flushed face, made an excuse that wasn’t really an excuse.
Well, in fact, having my blood sucked a bit wasn’t really a big deal other than it making me feel dizzy.
When I brought my mana-infused hand near the bitten area on my neck, a glow spread and I could feel the wound quickly healing.
I could easily heal the wound with recovery magic without the need to go through the hassle of stopping the bleeding.
Of course, magic wasn’t almighty.
What magic could do was simply heal the external wound from the fangs without the need to go through the troublesome process of stopping the bleeding, but it couldn’t replace the blood that had entered Arwen’s stomach.
“Then are we good now?”
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
“I’m going to sleep now. The sleeping arrangements weren’t uncomfortable during the four days, but I did lose some sleep at night. I’m getting sleepy.”
“…Ah.”
That was true.
The tent that had been popped out using the mana kit was excellent as camping equipment, but it still couldn’t compare to the fluffy bed in the Imperial Palace.
Moreover, there were times when I had lost sleep once or twice due to the sound of footsteps or horses of the knights patrolling on night watch, so I was quite tired.
I was about to go to sleep when the four of them suddenly barged in.
As Arwen was about to transform back into a cat and get off the bed, I tried again the offer that had been rejected last time.
“Isn’t it uncomfortable to sleep under the bed all the time?”
“Hmm…? Ah, it’s fine when I’m transformed into a cat. It’s cozy.”
“Then do you want to sleep next to me today?”
“……”
Silence was the only answer.
No, I didn’t have any strange intentions.
She was transformed into a cat anyway.
It would indeed be quite, no, very burdensome to have a woman next to me while sleeping, but I thought it would be fine if it was a cat.
It might sound like I’m making a long-winded excuse, but anyone who has kept a pet would have thought at least once about sleeping with a dog or cat next to them, right?
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“……”
But Arwen was looking at me with an expression that seemed to say, “What should I do with this kid?” despite being a cat.
It hurt my feelings to be looked at with such pitiful eyes, even for me.
“…Playing tricks on an adult is not a good idea.”
“Ah.”
Arwen, who had been staring at me, shook her head.
From the outside, anyone would think she was a cat.
It was a visual that made it difficult to believe she had used transformation magic, so sometimes I treated Arwen as if she were really a cat.
However, half of the proposal was also meant to tease Arwen, but when she actually hit the nail on the head like this, I was at a loss for words.
…Is this what experience is?
It’s scary, it’s scary.
As I was having silly thoughts and about to lie down and cover myself with the blanket, at that moment…
Hop.
A cat jumped up and filled my field of vision.
It was exactly the same composition as the photo I had seen on the internet in my previous life, where a cat was looking down at the camera below.
As Arwen’s unique mysterious eyes stared at me intently, I smiled awkwardly and opened my mouth.
“Ahahaha… Um, are you perhaps angry…?”
“…If you keep playing around like that, you might get into trouble someday, you know?”
Just like this.
With a quiet murmur, her magic seemed to dispel and Arwen’s face suddenly came close.
And then,
Smack.
I felt the sensation of something soft and fluffy touching my cheek and then leaving.
…So,
“That’s what I mean.”
Arwen turned her head and transformed back into a cat as if nothing had happened, then got off the bed.
So this situation just now… Was it what I thought it was?
“……”
I also silently switched the magic stone lamp to sleep mode. In the faint light where I could barely make out the outlines, I unconsciously muttered,
“…It was my first time.”
Even though it was on the cheek, not the lips, it was still my first time.
Suddenly, I heard a rustling sound from under the bed.
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Bang!
The sound of a desk being slammed in the office echoed through the corridor late at night.
If one had to name the most heavily guarded place in the separate palace, it would naturally be the office of the Second Princess, Elena.
It was a loud sound that made even the knights guarding outside the office flinch, but such a sound rarely came out of the office, so the knights also made puzzled expressions.
‘…Why is Her Highness acting like that?’
‘How would I know? Did something unpleasant happen to her?’
While the knights were making puzzled expressions, moving their mouths without speaking in case Elena might hear their conversation…
The person responsible for that sound, Elena, had a distorted expression on her face.
“…At this late hour?”
“Yes.”
At Elena’s gruff voice, the person reporting bowed his head as if it were his own fault, looking apologetic.
It was just moments ago when he was reporting that Eileen had just arrived in the capital through the teleportation magic circle and had returned to the Nord Duchy.
It was also just a moment ago when Elena, who was interested in the sudden visit of her “damn cousin,” as she would put it, had demanded a more detailed explanation.
The research lab.
That damn Lorenzo’s research lab was the problem.
“…Since the owner carelessly leaves his seat vacant, those damned people are coming and going as if it’s their own house.”
“……”
At Elena’s voice filled with anger, the innocent staff member kept bowing his head.
Eileen and Lassiel had secretly met in Lorenzo’s research lab.
Then, even without thinking too deeply, the picture was obvious.
Since it was Lorenzo’s research lab, Sylphia must have been there, and it wouldn’t be surprising if Arwen, who had recently been brazenly roaming the corridors, had also joined them.
And if those four noteworthy individuals had gathered in one place at this point, it was obvious what they would have talked about.
They must have gathered and conspired to disrupt Elena’s grand plan.
“Damn it.”
Elena cursed, holding her forehead.
Although she was confident in battles of wits, it was a situation where an unexpected major variable had intervened in her plan that had been proceeding smoothly, and time was also tight.
She didn’t know what kind of outrageous plan her rivals had come up with, but for now, she had to find a way.
How could she let go of this opportunity that she had prepared and seized at the perfect moment?
If she missed this chance, she would think about it for at least a month every time she lay in bed before going to sleep.
Then she would have to kick the blanket out of anger to calm down.
“…I showed unsightly behavior. You may leave now.”
“…I’ll take my leave then.”
The staff member, who had been trembling in front of the angry Elena, quickly disappeared, not missing this opportunity, and Elena, left alone without any disturbance, became lost in thought.
Now that things had turned out this way, it was right to discard all her existing plans.
It was difficult to predict what variables might intervene, and it wouldn’t be surprising if she was hit in the back of the head in a completely unexpected way.
Then…
“Now that it has come to this, it would be best to go with Plan B.”
After calmly thinking, Elena, who had regained her usual composure, muttered.
Her gaze unconsciously turned towards the door.
Her original plan was to showcase Rudrick as her partner at the ball during this festival period, specifically focusing everyone’s attention on him as he made his grand debut in high society.
If everything had gone according to plan, it would have been the perfect opportunity to naturally imprint on everyone’s minds that Rudrick was in a position equivalent to having promised a future with her, while the attention of the central nobles was focused on them.
Tsk.
Elena clicked her tongue and added,
“There’s no way I can find any likable aspects in them.”
Because of her damn cousin and the other three interfering with her plan, that opportunity had flown away.
Then, as the saying goes, “The more you hurry, the more you should go slowly.” She had to abandon the original plan of practically monopolizing Rudrick and take the most conservative and safe approach.
Moreover, she had already experienced the consequences of recklessly pushing Rudrick once before, so this approach needed to be even more cautious.
And that was where Plan B came in, prepared for situations like this.
It was a plan that took into account all imaginable variables.
To the extreme, it even considered the situation where Rudrick might make all sorts of excuses and go into hiding, so to speak, not showing up until the festival was over.
Since it could stably deal with variables, naturally, the returns would be small as the risks were low, but it couldn’t be helped.
“There’s no other way.”
Who do you think you’re fooling?
Elena muttered ominously, her gaze turning towards the window.
More precisely, towards the north.
She had only recently heard through a report that Eileen had enjoyed a one-day date with Rudrick in the capital, and she had been stomping her feet in frustration.
In reality, Eileen wasn’t the one leading this plan, but what did it matter?
Eileen had already been designated as the number one person of interest in Elena’s mind.
“…This time, I’ll show you what I’m truly capable of.”
Elena’s eyes were burning with the desire for revenge.
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Thus she lost the love war and is forever last place in his heart. The end