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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Yuziro
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Christine’s limp arm was pitiful to behold.
Improving Christine’s condition was indeed the core of this event.
If that one thing was accomplished, the matters in the demon realm would be settled.
‘I wonder if everyone is doing well.’
Thinking of the students diligently self-studying made him want to return to the human world as soon as possible.
Of course, thinking of the ones who might not be working hard made him want to return even more.
Christine’s life force was likely less than one percent.
It would be great if he could fix it all at once, but the problem was…
‘Heart transplantation is only possible once.’
Literally so.
For vampires, the heart is more precious than any other organ, and transplantation is only possible once.
With what mindset did Christine give her heart to Jekkiel, and how did Jekkiel lose his own heart?
He was curious about all of it, but now wasn’t the time to dwell on such matters.
“First, I need to save her.”
Yes, for now, Christine had to live.
To reassure the other subordinates and handle the matter swiftly, he had boasted confidently, but in fact, the difficulty level of this task was quite high.
Christine in her current state was a top-level entity without a heart.
If blood incompatible with her body enters, purifying it with her own strength would be impossible.
Unpurified ordinary blood would merely act like a virus in her body.
So from now on, he had to inject only top-quality blood from his own body into hers.
“Don’t resent me even if I fail.”
If he didn’t attempt it and left her as is, she would die anyway.
Instead, he promised to do his utmost.
Repeating those words to himself, he cut his wrist.
He cut it rather deeply.
Because the amount of blood he had to shed was substantial, and the amount she had to receive was also substantial.
Perhaps because it was a self-inflicted wound, it felt more painful.
But that wasn’t what mattered now.
He lifted Christine and laid her head on his lap.
Gently pressing her chin, her mouth opened.
He carefully began to pour his blood into it.
From here on was the important part.
‘Only the purest and highest quality blood.’
Naturally, not all the blood flowing in his body was purified.
It had been less than a week since he had swallowed three blood beads.
Therefore, he had to concentrate his mind and meticulously select the best blood to flow out through the open wound.
‘One… two…’
Even counting the numbers, he regulated the flow and concentrated.
With eyes closed, the blood inside his body was clearly visible.
Not that he could actually see it, but it felt like a map unfolding.
‘Three… four…’
Fortunately, it had been going smoothly so far.
Only the finest quality blood that had already been refined was flowing into Christine’s mouth.
“Ugh… ungh…”
Christine’s body stirred.
As blood was supplied to her body that previously lacked even the strength to move, it showed a reaction.
Chomp-
And then she suddenly bit into his arm with her sharp teeth.
It stung.
No, to be honest, it was a sensation far more painful than that.
The unpleasant sensation of her fangs penetrating deep into his flesh.
“Impatient woman.”
He muttered in disbelief.
What he was providing must have been too slow and insufficient for her, so Christine’s awakened instincts must have commanded her to suck out the blood faster.
‘Then I’ll have to concentrate even more on this side.’
The speed at which Christine was sucking blood was unbelievably fast.
To use an analogy, it was like an oak tree becoming a dead tree in the blink of an eye.
He also had to increase the speed of selecting blood to match that pace.
Only the purified blood.
Only the purified blood must be sucked.
“Ha.”
As he selected blood and sucked it out while sweating profusely, he suddenly burst into laughter.
Why would something be considered one’s own?
It is distinguished because it is clearly different from others’.
This also applies to the blood vampires carry in their bodies.
Blood entering another’s body naturally resists and pushes out the foreign elements.
But look at Christine’s condition now.
Her complexion was improving tremendously in real-time.
The swollen blood vessels were subsiding, and the darkened vessels were regaining their original beautiful color.
Even that progressing appearance was beautiful.
It felt like sculpting a work of art rather than saving a fallen vampire.
He barely exhaled and caught his breath.
Her appearance was getting better, but she still hadn’t opened her eyes.
However, that beautiful appreciation was soon interrupted.
‘…It’s truly miserable.’
Literally, it was truly miserable.
Because her fangs were embedded in his arm, he could also feel what the blood transferred to her body felt.
The inside of her body, which resembled a work of art, was excessively desolate.
Blood vessels, organs, there wasn’t a single thing that felt intact.
He purposely applied force to his arm.
So that she could take even a little more blood from him.
And from here on, it was a task he would perform solely out of his own compassion, without anyone requesting it of him.
How far does a Vampire King’s authority reach when it comes to manipulating blood?
If someone were to ask that, he wanted to answer that everything they imagined was possible.
Of course, the fatal drawback is that life force must be sacrificed in exchange.
He changed the flow of blood to be gentle.
So gentle that it wouldn’t sting no matter where it touched.
The blood that entered the inside of her body began to soothe her wounds.
It started to console the subtle wounds that others could never feel.
Blood consumption doubled and efficiency also decreased, but somehow, he was overcome with the feeling that he absolutely had to do it.
‘It’s not that I did anything bad to you.’
I’m not healing you as a form of apology.
I’m only doing it because it helps the main story.
Even if I felt compassion, you have no reason to feel offended or grateful for it.
“Ugh… gasp… ungh…”
Christine’s body trembled.
As always, healing is accompanied by pain.
Because countless wounds are being rubbed, she must be feeling unimaginable pain.
How painful must it be for her to scream and shudder even while unconscious?
However, even so.
“Endure it.”
From now on, it’s not my fight.
Enduring the pain and accepting the blood is a fight Christine herself must undertake.
‘There’s not much left anyway.’
Only about a quarter of the life force remains in my body.
Moreover, half of that is still unpurified, so I can’t even transfer it.
“You must… endure it.”
I pushed all the purified blood remaining in my body into Christine’s body at once.
Both she and I were completely drenched in sweat.
“Ugh… ungh…!”
Chomp- Chomp-
The force of her biting my arm became incomparably stronger than before.
Her mouth couldn’t settle in one spot and mercilessly bit various parts of my arm.
Endure it.
You and I just need to endure a little longer.
Just a little more…
But at that moment.
“What…?”
Realizing something, I muttered in surprise.
There was a space that the blood flowing into Christine’s vessels couldn’t heal.
Something was caught there.
A very subtle pattern.
The shape of a huge sword entangled by a single snake.
It was a pattern symbolizing envy.
‘Vivian…’
I should have torn that tongue into ten pieces.
No, perhaps it wasn’t Vivian who did it.
It was definitely a curse created by the lamia race, but it was quite common for completed curses to be utilized by other races.
Anyway, there was no time.
I could feel the purified blood gradually becoming murky.
It seemed to be a curse designed to contaminate the blood when more than the designated amount was supplied.
Could I purify this too?
‘Impossible.’
I had just used up all the purified blood to heal Christine’s wounds.
‘There is one way, though…’
Damn it, I stopped hesitating.
Why hesitate? If there’s even one way, I should do it.
I applied even more force to my arm, which was starting to lose sensation. I widened the path a little more.
‘Come here.’
I would transfer the curse’s mark to my own body.
As expected, when the mark encountered a body that seemed to have better conditions, it slowly began to move.
“Ha.”
Chomp-
A headache surged, making me frown.
Once, twice, thrice, each time my heart beat, excruciating pain was felt simultaneously.
But I endured it.
I gritted my teeth and endured it.
Finally, when I had transferred it to my body.
At that point, when the purified blood had run out.
“Ah…”
Christine finally opened her eyes.
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I helped Christine lean against the wall.
“Ugh…”
Christine held her head for a long time, still feeling dizzy.
She couldn’t even open her eyes yet.
Then she shook her head from side to side and finally opened her eyes.
Her eyes, which had been wandering without focus on the floor and ceiling, eventually landed on me.
“What… is this?”
Jekkiel didn’t say a word.
“…I asked what the situation was.”
Again, Jekkiel remained silent.
However, even without him giving any answer, Christine could roughly understand the situation.
She was no fool, after all.
Her body felt unusually light.
The man in front of her had one arm torn to shreds.
Being the Vampire Queen, not a fool, she would know her own body’s condition.
Although not fully recovered yet, clearly, blood of pure and good energy was flowing through her body.
It was infuriating, but she had to admit it.
Christine had received help from Jekkiel.
“Did you… heal me?”
Christine’s words trailed off.
It was rare for the queen to stammer.
Jekkiel, who had remained motionless, finally opened his mouth.
“Half right, half wrong.”
“Half…?”
Jekkiel gestured with his chin towards a mirror.
“You’re right that I healed you, but I couldn’t heal you enough to attend the coronation.”
In the mirror, there was still a woman with a haggard appearance.
Compared to when she was bedridden, it was an incomparably improved appearance, but it wasn’t enough to attend the coronation.
The coronation was an occasion where she had to display the utmost dignity.
This level of appearance and spirit wasn’t sufficient.
“Ri-, right. The coronation! How much time is left until the coronation…!”
Compared to the coronation, the reason why the man had healed Christine was not a matter to be questioned now.
Christine began to panic.
Knock knock knock—
Just then, someone knocked on the door.
“Queen Christine, I heard your voice and came running! Are you feeling a bit better? Forgive me, but I think you need to come out right now! The coronation is about to begin!”
“Just, just a moment, please wait.”
Artel’s urgent voice.
Christine belatedly brought her face close to the mirror to examine herself.
Still pale and lacking energy.
Attending the coronation in this state was impossible.
It would only bring shame.
“Queen Christine, then how long will it take? This… is a situation where you need to go out immediately. May I dare to take a look at your condition?”
Sigh.
Christine clutched her head.
There was no way.
No way…
It would have been better if she had remained unconscious, but she had regained consciousness at an ambiguous timing and had to witness this situation.
It was enough to make her resent it.
But at that moment.
“There is a way.”
Jekkiel said those words.
Christine’s eyes quickly rolled towards him.
“A way?”
“Unfortunately, I have no blood left. However, there is still a way.”
She wanted to ask what it was, but there was no time for that.
Both Jekkiel and Christine knew that well.
“Is there a way for me to safely attend the coronation?”
“There is. Whether to do it or not is your choice.”
Will you do it? The man’s question was only that.
“What is the price?”
“Will you do it?”
Will you do it? The man’s question remained unchanged.
Knock knock knock—
“Queen Christine?”
Artel knocked on the door again.
Various questions came to mind, but now there was truly no time.
“Yes. I will… huh…?”
Before Christine could finish accepting, Jekkiel approached.
Christine’s questioning gaze turned towards Jekkiel.
The act of him approaching wasn’t particularly surprising.
However, if the distance was extremely close, it became a problem.
A distance where even breaths could touch.
Sharp red eyes and gentle red eyes.
The moment they met.
The man gently grasped Christine’s chin.
Then something touched her lips.
Soft and fluffy.
A sensation she had never even imagined, and thus all the more unbelievable.
She understood what it was, but also couldn’t understand it, so Christine merely swallowed.
“Wha… what are…”
How many seconds had passed? After their lips parted, Christine muttered.
Afterwards, Jekkiel whispered something into Christine’s ear, but she couldn’t hear it now.
Bang-
The door opened with a rough sound.
“Queen Christine! Please forgive my rudeness! You really need to go out now!”
Jekkiel leisurely slipped out through the open door.
The subordinates rushed towards Christine like a flood.
Jekkiel’s appearance and Christine’s condition.
Upon examining those two things, the subordinates froze in an instant.
“You-, you’ve gotten better?”
“Can you go out right now like this?”
In front of the wide-eyed subordinates.
“…Stealing my heart wasn’t enough for you?”
The woman muttered softly.
The woman’s face, as she touched her lips, was filled with bewilderment, but also unmistakably flushed.
Why didn’t she remember? That there was also this method for healing life force.
She had been caught off guard by something she had never even imagined.
-What do you intend to receive as the price?
The price was her first kiss.
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Chadd
They never kissed for 1,000 years? That’s dumb