Chapter 45
Chapter 45
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: Bloodied
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Social season, day six.
I'd met with the prophetess yesterday and learned a ton of information.
About what Bloodied was scheming, who her target was, and how to take her down.
Most importantly, how to expose Bloodied's true identity.
By removing her glasses.
Bloodied's eyes were naturally red. All vampires had red eyes, apparently.
That was why she'd gone out of her way to set up the Red Mask merchant house and make those glasses—to hide them.
Telling her to take them off in front of all the nobles. That was how to reveal her identity.
Of course—there was a high chance something would happen the moment she did.
We might end up fighting right there, and someone could get hurt in the crossfire.
But no matter how it played out, it was better than letting day seven arrive like this.
We couldn't borrow the imperial knights' power right now, and if the Blood Temple was completed, who knew what catastrophe we'd face.
So, the decisive battle would be today.
I'd expose Bloodied's identity in front of every noble there.
"Phew."
I was a little tense, I'll admit.
Normally, I handled things coolly without a hint of nerves.
But it wasn't easy to stay cocky facing something this critical—something that went beyond critical and put my life on the line.
It wasn't tension over the possibility that Bloodied might actually be an ordinary person.
I was just worried about how she'd react once cornered into revealing herself.
She seemed so arrogant and overflowing with leisure that I doubted she'd resort to dirty tricks, but I couldn't let my guard down completely.
The operation was set for evening.
That's when all the nobles would gather, and I'd tell Bloodied to remove her glasses.
To prepare, I'd put my mind and body into a state of light tension.
And I didn't think that was a good idea.
It was like a high school senior before the college entrance exams. Get too tense, and your performance suffers.
So, I'd decided to use the most effective way to relieve that tension.
Mental healing via little sister time.
[Ariel. What're you up to?]
I hadn't contacted Ariel lately.
I'd meant to, but from spotting Marvin's disappearance to meeting the prophetess, I just hadn't had the time.
And today was the day of the operation.
If I ended up fighting Bloodied, there'd be no chance to message, and I'd be risking my life.
Of course I had to reach out to Ariel.
[Lying in bed.]
[Why? Aren't you bored?]
[No oppa, so nothing to do. Got sick of playing the ocarina. So I'm lying here imagining oppa.]
Imagining?
Imagining, huh?
How was I supposed to interpret that?
[Yeah? Is it fun imagining? I'm curious what I look like in Ariel's head.]
[Super cool. Stroking my hair, playing the ocarina... and then—]
[And then?]
[......Not telling.]
What?
She sounded subtly embarrassed.
Imagination games were fair play even at her age—no need to be shy.
[Still, real oppa's cooler. That's why it got boring, and now I'm waiting for you.]
[Good to know. Losing to my imaginary self would've been annoying.]
[But why no contact lately? You promised.]
[Sorry. Been busy. Probably will be for a while.]
I kept it simple, stripping out any details that might worry her.
But Ariel zeroed in like we shared a soul.
[Oppa. You're not doing anything weird, right?]
Whoa.
Since when was our little sister this perceptive?
I blinked for a second, then got the pen moving.
Dragging it out would just make her more suspicious.
I wanted Ariel safe and unharmed.
I didn't want her rushing over this long distance because I was in danger.
[Nah. Nothing big. Just gonna be busy.]
[Really? No lies? Brothers who fool their sisters have to swallow a thousand needles.]
[You've been reading a lot. Even idioms flowing smoothly. Don't worry too much. Would I do anything to worry Ariel?]
[Promise?]
[Promise.]
I gave a wry smile with my white lie.
Sorry, Ariel.
Forgive me this once. Won't happen again.
[If it's a lie, I'll come running, so you know.]
I needed to wrap this up clean before our little sister decided to show up.
Evening fell over the Lotus Palace.
The sun vanished, and all the nobles gathered in the salon hall.
No more mock battles or balls now.
Everyone hustled to reaffirm bonds they'd built or forge new ones they hadn't.
And amid it all.
The head of the upstart Red Mask merchant house, Bloodied, savored her wine while basking in the onslaught of attention.
"Merchant head. Our house is developing the west these days, you see."
"I hear Red Mask is looking for new trade partners?"
Nobles whose eyes all screamed greed.
Every one scheming how to squeeze profit from her.
And Bloodied loved it.
'Idiots.'
They fawned without even knowing who—or what—was before them.
What if they knew it was the fifth great leader of the Crimson Blood Cult, destined to plunge the world into chaos?
Would they scream and collapse? Piss themselves shaking? Huddle up begging for mercy?
Just imagining it sent a thrill twitching through her lower abdomen.
"Bloodied Gong. Those glasses are such a charming accessory. Any other new products?"
"Really. They say nobles these days judge style by whether you have glasses or not. Good call getting them."
And every last one of them sported glasses perched on their noses.
Each time she saw it, Bloodied struggled not to laugh.
'What fools.'
The Red Mask employees—excluding the vampire Bloodied—probably thought they were just making trinkets.
But every step passed through her hands to completion.
By the time the glasses hit the market, they'd been infused with her magic.
Droplets of her blood seeped into them.
Those droplets, obeying her will, would explode and claw their faces at her command.
And the scars would never fade.
'Ahh.'
Exhilarating.
Her body heated up at the thought alone.
Those clueless fools' faces.
The faces they preened and powdered as nobles.
Ripping them apart with her blood drops, leaving them too scarred to show their faces—how thrilling.
It was righteous revenge.
The reason Bloodied despised nobles, children, and noble children especially.
All because of that incident that forced her to hide her face behind glasses.
But she couldn't remove them yet.
Not until these idiots discovered her true nature and recoiled in horror.
Not until the Blood Temple was complete, turning this Lotus Palace into a monster's guts.
For now, the glasses concealed her features.
"Ufufufu. Thank you all."
So Bloodied elegantly sipped her wine with a smile.
The nobles nodded as if she knew proper etiquette.
Yes, that was nobles for you.
To be treated as equals, you had to master their pointless rituals.
It was the custom Bloodied found most repulsive and incomprehensible.
Still, she'd learned it for the disguise.
'Just one more day.'
And the finale would be the Third Imperial Princess's dragon gaze.
As Bloodied smirked inwardly, lips splitting wide.
At that exact moment, someone entered the salon hall.
Thud—thud—
Strong footsteps.
No, footsteps deliberately loud enough for all to hear.
The other nobles' gazes turned that way.
Bloodied looked too.
"......"
There stood a boy with bright golden hair and clear silver eyes.
Kline Leonhart.
The kid who'd noticed Marvin's disappearance and questioned her about it not long ago.
Why show his face again?
She'd thought their talk had been threat enough.
Figured he'd hole up trembling, never to emerge—yet here he was, head held high.
And his gaze was fixed squarely on Bloodied.
'Insolent brat.'
Daring to stand so boldly before her?
"Bloodied, merchant head."
Kline spoke as he closed in.
His grave aura made the nobles between them step back unconsciously.
The weight was too much to intervene lightly.
"What is it? Young Lord Kline."
"My apologies for last time. I was inexperienced and made a fool of myself."
"Oh? I didn't mind. I figured anyone might react that way."
"Is that so? Glad to hear it."
Neither Kline nor Bloodied put any sincerity into their words.
Like fencing with words, the air between them sharpened.
"I had a question. Or curiosity, really."
"Curiosity, from you, Young Lord Kline? What might that be?"
"Bloodied, merchant head. I'm curious about your true face."
For a split second, Bloodied's face twisted.
Fleeting as it was, Kline didn't miss it.
"Even hidden by glasses, your beauty shines through. It even makes this 13-year-old heart race."
"......"
"But I think it's a shame it's obscured by that accessory. Just once, I'd love to see your real face. Possible?"
"How rude, Young Lord Kline. Never took you for that type. Planning to remove a lady's accessory on a whim?"
A roundabout refusal.
Also a hint to back off.
The surrounding nobles tilted their heads.
Kline Leonhart's behavior was blatantly unreasonable.
Appearing out of nowhere, demanding a strange woman bare her unadorned face.
If not for the Leonhart Ducal Family, he'd be mocked already.
Even they couldn't escape scandal.
Bloodied subtly implied as much in refusing.
'He put some thought into it.'
She could guess.
Kline probably found her glasses suspicious.
Figured removing them would reveal something.
But could he handle the consequences?
Kline was a noble too.
He couldn't stay calm after such rudeness before all these nobles.
Bloodied was certain.
No noble was free from etiquette.
"Yes. Exactly."
But.
Kline agreed readily, doubling down.
"I know, and I'm still asking to see it. My heart aches thinking of passing without seeing your lovely face. Just once—surely that's fine?"
"......"
A crack formed on Bloodied's composure.
Kline wasn't thinking of retreat.
He was all-in until she showed her face here.
Even if it cost him his honor with the nobles.
"What's going on?"
"Why's Young Lord Kline acting like that? Looks insane."
"But... something's off, right? If he were sane, he wouldn't. Maybe like he says, Bloodied..."
And confusion turned to suspicion.
Nobles who'd first deemed Kline mad, ready to exploit it politically.
Started rethinking as he refused to yield an inch.
No sound noble would act this way.
So maybe the odd one was Bloodied, not Kline.
Maybe he was this certain about her.
"......"
The nobles' gazes shifted to Bloodied.
Meeting them all, she twisted her lips upward.
"Insolent."
No honorifics from her.
A tone unthinkable between merchant head and noble.
As the nobles recoiled in shock, Bloodied rose.
"Interrogating me full-force here? Willing to stain your house for it? Kid, you sane?"
Kline's eyes didn't flicker.
Her aura turned razor-sharp, yet his gaze held steady.
It infuriated Bloodied beyond endurance.
'I want to kill him.'
That attitude like he was above the other nobles disgusted her.
Denying him here wouldn't be hard, really.
Like he'd gone all-in, she could refuse outright.
Stall just one day, and her goal was achieved.
But she didn't want to.
Insolent. Infuriating.
That unyielding glare suspecting her—it was loathsome.
Even one day was too long; she'd blow it all up now.
"Ahh, my mistake. Should've killed you back then."
Yes. That was the regret.
Shouldn't have listened when the cult leader stopped her.
No—shouldn't have even asked, just killed him.
Wouldn't be in this mess from the start.
Though there was that unavoidable bit.
His face matched her tastes, after all.
Given the chance, she'd have turned him into a thrall and doted on him.
"What situation is this?"
"What're you saying, Bloodied merchant head?"
The nobles murmured.
Blatantly abnormal.
Bloodied was up to something sinister.
Yet they didn't react much.
Because they were nobles.
Arrogant pride that whatever happened, they wouldn't be harmed.
And.
Crimson Blood Cult's fifth great leader, Bloodied, knew exactly how to shatter it.
Snap!
Bloodied snapped her fingers.
At the same instant.
Crash!
"......Huh?"
Every pair of glasses on the nobles in the salon shattered.
Blood droplets burst across their faces.
"Gah, gaaaahhh!"
Rending screams.
Everyone clutched their faces too late.
The droplets had clawed them like bombs.
pandemonium.
Nearly all nobles writhed on the floor.
Some eyes dangled, some noses collapsed, some lips vanished.
Their boasted beauty stolen in an instant, they howled in agony.
The mingled scent of Bloodied's blood and victims'.
Amid it, Bloodied flashed a bewitching smile, locking eyes with Kline.
Kline already gripped his sword.
'As expected.'
You knew. My identity.
Wonder how—but not important now.
A bit early, but nobles' glasses are gone.
Time for the spell.
"Blood Temple."
Just before Kline reached her.
Suddenly, the Lotus Palace spun like 180 degrees, shaking wildly.
Then darkness fell, like a monster's maw clamping shut.