Chapter 79
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 79
Chapter Title: Cute Vampire Lord, Ariel (5)
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Ariel.
The lord who could command all the vampires in the world, born with the destiny of a ruler from the moment she came into existence—she actually had a personality that was prone to loneliness.
She didn't know that when she was young.
Her mother was always by her side, and whenever she talked with her mother, she always felt happiness and warmth instead of loneliness.
Ariel had always spent happy days, sticking close to her mother and filling her loneliness with her mother's warmth.
"Me too! I can do it all by myself...!"
But she couldn't remain a child forever.
Unaware that loneliness slumbered within her heart, Ariel sought to leave her mother's embrace on her own.
Though still young, the adult Ariel wanted to see a wider world with her own strength. She also wanted to create a family that would look only at her.
And so, she argued with her mother for the first time and left her arms.
"Hehe, I'm gonna prove it to Mom. That I can do it too...!"
The impulsive runaway turned into true independence.
She recruited wandering vampires as her subordinates and built her own family.
It was far too easy.
Just by approaching them and asking if they'd join her, every vampire bowed their head before her.
As Ariel diligently traveled around, the number of her subordinates—her family—grew rapidly. Ariel felt satisfied.
"Kids! I hunted a Giant Green Bear today...! Hehe, eat up lots and lots!"
Ariel took good care of her family.
Since they were vampires she had gathered, she felt a strong sense of responsibility for them.
"But don't you wanna know how I caught it!? I was like...!"
But Ariel wanted to go beyond responsibility and become friends with the vampires.
The loneliness inside her was starting to creep out.
Without her mother always there to listen to her, she needed new conversation partners.
However, Ariel didn't realize it.
"Kirik, Giant Green Bear, tasty."
"Thank you, kirik."
The lord was inherently just a "ruler," and the subordinates were mere "pawns" who followed that ruler's commands.
"Hmm, kids? But you're not listening to me?"
"S-sorry, kirik."
"If you're sorry, then come closer!"
"W-we're sorry! Forgive us! Kirik."
Ariel wanted to be friends with her family and get close, but they treated her as a "queen."
Vampires strangely feared the Vampire Lord Ariel too much.
'Is it because the kids don't understand me well?'
At first, Ariel thought it was due to the intelligence gap between herself and ordinary vampires.
Vampires were intelligent, but not on the level of a lord. So she figured they feared her because of the intelligence difference between vampires and lords.
"I'll take my leave now, Your Majesty."
"Huh? Y-you're leaving without hearing the story...?"
"Yes, then... "
But that was just her misconception.
One day, she met an old vampire.
Ariel, who had found a vampire who spoke fluently for the first time outside, thought she had finally found a friend.
But even that old vampire kept his distance from her.
'Why is this happening...?'
Shouldn't a queen's subordinates listen to her stories like friends?
Doubt arose in Ariel's heart, but it was because she misunderstood the lord system.
The position of lord itself was that of a "ruler who commands through fear."
Vampires exposed to Ariel's skill "Lord's Aura (Vampire)" felt not only submission toward her, but deep-seated "fear" in their hearts.
The moment they met her.
The moment they entered her domain.
Vampires felt instinctive terror.
They felt burdened by her approach.
It was ironic.
The skill that allowed her to gather vampires around her was preventing her from getting close to them.
Ariel never fully realized this fact, and every time the vampires kept their distance knowingly or unknowingly, she gradually felt lonelier.
She thirsted for a friend.
'It'd be nice to have... a friend who talks with me.'
Ariel didn't show it outwardly to the vampires. She kept trying to get close and treated them well.
But she couldn't block the rising loneliness.
"Mom! I'm here...!"
In the end, Ariel left her cave and went to find her mother.
It was a brief outing.
She went to have a long talk with her—that was the reason.
Loneliness.
For Ariel, who was prone to loneliness and had no friends, her mother was her only friend and pillar of support.
Still, she thought there might be a vampire of "fate" with whom she could become close someday.
And on the way back...
She met that fate.
"Kid! Hey, kid!"
"Where are you going!? You're a vampire I've never seen before! Are you alone!?"
At first, she thought it was a large vampire. Since bigger builds often meant superior individuals, Ariel threw out a recruitment line first.
But the more she looked, the stranger the pull she felt.
For starters, the vampire before her eyes didn't fear her, dislike her, or try to distance himself.
He even let her pet his head during recruitment without any issue. All the vampires she'd met before hated that.
Ariel first felt a huge attraction to this bizarre vampire who didn't fear her.
"So anyway! I just went bam- and told her. That I can do it by myself too!"
"And what happened after that?"
On top of that, even while flying and chattering away, this vampire listened with keen interest, without a hint of boredom or reluctance.
Ariel was overjoyed.
Though when they arrived at the cave and she learned her entire family was dead, she burst into tears from sorrow, she managed to compose herself somehow thanks to the story her mother had told her before.
Above all, the vampire she met that day comforted her.
"Are you okay, Your Majesty?"
"Hang in there. Things like this happen in life."
"Cry a bit more until you feel better."
Squeeze-
'Ah...'
Ariel saw a vampire hugging her for the first time in her life. His embrace felt so good that she ended up crying even more without realizing it.
"I-I'm a little better now."
Her heart pounded.
She was sad her family died, but because of this vampire... it felt like she'd gained one she could be with forever.
Because she had a vampire who would be her companion, she calmed her heart quickly.
Rather, though it was a terrible thought, she was even a little happier about finding a vampire she could truly be with than about her family dying.
"Ah, remember Mom said not to be too sad even if there's a tragedy?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Y-Yu-jin, I'll definitely protect you so no tragedy happens... Got it?"
"I'll stay with you to the end too, Your Majesty."
The moment she heard those words, Ariel felt like her heart would burst.
That's probably why she felt even sadder.
When she learned he wasn't a vampire.
When she realized he had been toying with her.
Despair settled in her heart.
"I-I... I thought of you as new family..."
"You listened to my stories so well... comforted me... I thought you were special, different from other vampires..."
He was the one who wounded her side, injected paralyzing venom, and slaughtered her entire family.
The truth behind the vampire she felt was her fate was a tentacle monster with a body larger than a building.
Ariel looked at the massive tentacle monster's body.
She felt overwhelming power that inspired awe, making any thought of resistance evaporate.
"Hic, hng... If you're gonna kill me... just do it quick."
The being that made her heart race was trying to kill her—her mind felt like it would crumble from that fact.
Unexpected words came from his mouth.
I won't kill you. You're my precious queen.
He said that and pulled out something huge and grotesque.
"Eek, w-wait... You don't mean... this is...?"
Ariel had no knowledge of sex, but she had occasionally witnessed vampires mating.
Though incomparable to ordinary vampires, Ariel instantly recognized what it was for.
"Y-You're going to use me, your lord, as a sex toy...?"
Ariel felt tears welling up again at the thought that Yu-jin wasn't content with just deceiving her—he planned to use her for sex and discard her.
Nah, "sex toy" is too crude. I'd prefer a more elegant expression than that.
"Elegant...?"
Yeah, elegant. From now on, don't say "sex toy"—say "sharing love." That's how we'll become one through love.
"L-Love? What does that—"