Straighten Your Shoulders, Your Majesty - 5
Christine’s arm, which had no strength left in it at all, was pitiful.
Improving Christine’s condition would be the core of this event. One thing alone would finish the matter in the Demon Realm.
Are they all doing well?
Thinking of the students who were studying hard made me want to return to the human realm right now.
Of course, thinking of those who weren’t studying hard made me want to return even more.
Christine’s vitality was currently less than one percent left. It would be nice if it could be healed in one go, but the problem was…
It can only be done once before the heart.
That was what it meant. For a vampire, the heart was the most precious organ, and it could only be done once.
Curious as it was, with what kind of feeling Jekiel had given her his heart, and how he had lost his own through what path, those questions could wait.
“First, I have to save her.”
Yes, first Christine had to live.
To calm the other subordinates and finish the work quickly, I had made a bold claim, but in truth the difficulty of the task was quite high.
Right now Christine was a top-tier entity without a heart.
If ordinary blood entered her body, which didn’t match, purifying it with her own power was impossible.
Ordinary blood that hadn’t been purified would only act like a virus inside her.
So from now on I had to pour only the top-tier blood from my own body into hers.
“Even if it fails, don’t blame me.”
If I did nothing and left it, she would die anyway. Instead, I promised to do my best.
Repeating that to myself, I cut my wrist. I cut it a little deeper.
There was a lot of blood I had to pour out, and a lot she had to receive, so the wound felt even more painful. But that didn’t matter right now.
I lifted Christine and made her a pillow on my knee. When I lightly pressed her chin, her mouth opened.
Into it, I carefully began pouring my blood.
Now this was the important part.
Only the purest and best blood.
Naturally, not all the blood flowing through my body had been purified. Three blood cells had been swallowed and less than a week had passed.
So I had to focus my mind on the entire body, select, and choose carefully. Only the best blood that came out from the opened wound.
One… two…
Counting the numbers, I selected the flow evenly and concentrated.
When I closed my eyes, the blood inside my body became clearly visible. It wasn’t actually visible, but it felt like a map unfolding.
Three… four…
Fortunately, it had been smooth so far.
Only the already refined highest-quality blood flowed into Christine’s mouth.
“Ugh… ugh…”
Christine’s body twitched. Blood supplied to a body that could not move at all made it react.
Crack—
And suddenly her sharp teeth bit into my arm. It stung.
No, to be honest, it was far more painful than that. A disgusting sensation as fangs dug deep inside.
“You’re an impatient woman.”
I muttered in disbelief.
The blood I poured had been slow and insufficient in quantity, so Christine’s activated instinct had clearly commanded her to suck the blood faster.
Then I have to concentrate even harder on this side.
Christine’s sucking speed was unbelievably fast. It was like a plane tree turning into a withered stump the moment you blinked.
To match that speed, I also had to increase the speed at which I selected blood.
Only the refined ones. Only the refined ones were to be sucked.
“Ha.”
While selecting blood, sucking quickly, and sweating profusely, I suddenly burst out laughing.
Why would there be something that belonged to me?
Because it was clearly different from someone else’s, I could distinguish it. This was true for the blood vampires carried in their bodies as well.
Blood that entered another person’s body would resist on its own and push out others.
But right now, look at Christine’s state.
Her complexion was improving in real time. The swollen veins were sinking, and the dark veins were recovering their original beautiful color.
Even the advancing figure was beautiful.
It wasn’t saving a fallen vampire; it felt more like sculpting a living craft.
I barely exhaled and calmed my breathing. Her appearance was improving, but she still hadn’t opened her eyes.
However, that beautiful admiration was cut off shortly after.
…It’s really pitiful.
That was what it meant. It really was pitiful.
Because her fangs had dug into my body, I could feel what the blood transferred to her body felt.
Her body, like a crafted object, was excessively desolate inside.
Whether vein, organ, or anything else, nothing felt intact.
I put strength into my arm for no reason. So that she could take as much blood as possible from me.
And from here on, it was an act I performed out of nothing but my own compassion; no one had asked me to do it.
How far did the vampire lord’s authority reach when handling blood?
If someone asked, I would have answered that everything they imagined was possible.
Of course, the price was sacrificing vitality, which was fatal.
I smoothed the flow of blood. So gently that it wouldn’t hurt no matter where it reached.
The blood that entered inside her body began to soothe her wounds.
It began to caress the fine wounds that others would never feel.
Although the consumption of blood doubled and efficiency dropped, somehow I was swept up by the feeling that I had to do it.
I didn’t do anything bad to you.
It wasn’t to heal you out of a sense of atonement.
I was simply doing it because it helped the main story.
Even if I felt compassion, you had no reason to dislike or thank me for it.
“K… suck… ugh…”
Christine’s body trembled.
As always, healing was accompanied by pain.
With countless wounds being rubbed, she must have been feeling unbelievable pain.
How much pain would make her scream even with consciousness gone and her body shake?
But even so.
“Endure it.”
From now on, this was no longer my fight. It was Christine’s own battle to endure the pain and accept the blood.
Anyway, there’s not much left.
The remaining vitality in her body was only about a quarter. Even half of that was still unrefined, so I couldn’t hand it over.
“You have to… endure it.”
I pushed all the remaining refined blood at once into Christine’s body. Both she and I were drenched in sweat.
“Hoo… hugh…!”
Crack— crack—
The strength of her biting my arm became far stronger than before. Her mouth didn’t stay in one place and bit everywhere mercilessly.
Endure it. You and I only need to endure a little more. Just a little more…
But at that moment.
“What…?”
I muttered in surprise after confirming something.
There was a space in Christine’s veins where the blood flowing in didn’t heal.
At that place, something was readable. A very fine pattern.
A shape where a snake was wildly wrapping around a huge sword. It was a pattern depicting envy.
Vivian…
I should have torn her tongue into eight pieces.
Or maybe Vivian hadn’t done it.
It was definitely a curse made by the lamia race, but it was quite common for other races to use a fully completed curse that had already been made.
Anyway, there was no time. I felt the refined blood becoming slightly cloudy.
It seemed like a curse designed to pollute if more than the set amount of blood was supplied. Could I purify this too?
Impossible.
Just now, all the refined blood had been used to heal Christine’s wounds.
There is one way… but…
Damn it, I stopped worrying.
What was there to worry about? If there was even one way, I had to do it.
I put more strength into my arm that no longer felt sensation. I opened the way a little wider.
Come here.
I would transfer the curse mark to my body. To my surprise, the mark started to move slightly when it met a body that seemed to have better conditions.
“Ha.”
Crack crack crack—
Headache came, and my eyebrows furrowed.
Once, twice, three times. Every time my heart beat, intense pain was felt simultaneously. But I endured it. Clenching my teeth and pushing through.
Finally, when I transferred it to my body.
At the moment when the refined blood revealed the floor.
“Ah…”
Christine finally opened her eyes.
◇
I helped Christine lean against the wall.
“Ugh…”
Christine, even after that, held her head for a long time as if dizzy. She still hadn’t opened her eyes.
Then she shook her head and soon opened her eyes.
The eyes that had been wandering without focus on the floor and ceiling finally reached me.
“W-what…?”
Jekiel said nothing.
“…What is the situation?” she asked.
Again, Jekiel said nothing.
However, even without answering, Christine could roughly understand the situation. Because she wasn’t a fool.
Her body felt oddly light. The man in front of her eyes whose one arm had been torn off and was tattered.
She wasn’t a fool, and as a vampire queen she couldn’t not know her own body condition.
Although she hadn’t fully recovered yet, clearly the blood flowing through her body was clean and good.
But she had to admit it. Christine had received help from Jekiel.
“You… healed me, didn’t you.”
Christine’s words trailed off. It was unusual for a queen to stutter.
Jekiel, who hadn’t moved at all, finally opened his mouth.
“Half is right, half is wrong.”
“Half…?”
Jekiel gestured with his chin toward a mirror.
“It was healed, but not healed enough to attend the coronation.”
In the mirror, there was still a woman with a pale complexion.
Compared to when she had been lying down, it was much improved, but this wasn’t enough to attend the coronation.
The coronation was a place where you had to show the highest dignity. With this level of complexion and spirit, it wouldn’t do.
“Y-yes. The coronation! How much longer until the coronation…!”
Whether the man had healed Christine or not compared to the coronation was not something to be concerned about now. Christine started to panic.
Tock tock tock—
At that moment, someone knocked on the door.
“Lady Christine, I heard your voice and came running immediately! Are you feeling better? I’m sorry, but it seems I have to come out right now! The coronation is about to start!”
“Wait a moment, wait just a moment.”
Artel’s urgent voice. Christine belatedly approached the mirror and looked at her face.
Still pale and lacking in energy. It was impossible to go to the coronation like this. Rather, it would be embarrassing.
“Lady Christine, then how long will it take? This is… because it’s a situation that I have to go right away. May I take a look at your condition?”
Haaah.
Christine pulled her hair. There was no way. There was no way…
It would have been better if I had just kept falling, but by vaguely coming to my senses I ended up watching this situation. It was so regrettable.
But at that moment.
“There is a way.”
Jekiel said that. Christine’s eyes rolled quickly toward him.
“A way?”
“Unfortunately, I have no blood left now. However, even so, there is a way.”
I wanted to ask what, but there was no time for that. Both Jekiel and Christine knew that.
“Is it that I can safely attend the coronation?”
“Yes. Whether to do it or not is your choice.”
Do it. The man’s question was only that.
“What is the price?”
“Do it.”
Do it. The man’s question was still only that.
Tock tock tock—
“Lady Christine?”
Artel knocked on the door again.
Many questions came to mind, but now there really was no time.
“Yes. I will do… huh…?”
Before the acceptance was completed, Jekiel approached. Christine’s eyes filled with questions looked at Jekiel.
Approaching itself wasn’t a surprising thing. However, if the distance was very close, it became a problem.
Close enough to reach the breath.
Sharp red eyes and gentle red eyes. The moment they met.
The man lightly grabbed Christine’s chin. Then something touched her lips.
Soft and fluffy. It was a sensation I couldn’t imagine, so I couldn’t believe it.
Although I understood what it was, and I couldn’t understand it, Christine just swallowed her breath.
“W-what…?”
How many seconds passed. After the two lips parted, Christine muttered.
After that, Jekiel whispered something in Christine’s ear, but that thing didn’t enter her ears now.
Crash—
The door opened with a rough sound.
“Lady Christine! Please forgive my rudeness! Now, I really have to go!”
Through the open door, Jekiel leisurely exited. The subordinates rushed toward Christine.
The subordinates who looked at Jekiel’s appearance and Christine’s condition froze in an instant.
“A-are you feeling better?”
“You can go out like this right now, right?”
In front of the subordinates with wide eyes.
“…It wasn’t enough to just take the heart.”
The woman muttered softly.
On the woman’s face, who was fiddling with her lips, there was embarrassment, but she was clearly red.
Why couldn’t I remember. There was a way to heal vitality. It was a blow that couldn’t be imagined.
-What will you receive as a price.
The price was her first kiss.