Chapter 46
Translator: penny
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: Mania (4)
“Lies.”
Breaking the long silence that had filled the room was Kairen, straddling the youngest imperial princess and exhaling hot breaths onto her.
“Such a delicious smell...”
Kairen smiled as he lowered his head. The princess, who had been pondering whether to insist once more that she tasted bad,
“Hn!?”
let out a moan as a chilling sensation swept through her entire body the moment his soft tongue tip touched her nape.
“I'll dig in.”
“...Stop!”
She glared at Kairen, who bared his sharp teeth and gripped her even tighter with his arms, raising her voice urgently.
“If you touch me... I'll make you regret it for life.”
“......”
“You should stop, Kairen.”
Kairen tilted his head as he gazed down at her for a moment.
“Well, no choice then.”
“......?”
“But who are you?”
Surprisingly compliant, he pulled away from the princess, sat back down on the bed, and tossed out the question.
“What the hell is this supposed to be...”
The princess was left dumbfounded, her words failing her as she stared blankly at him—right at that moment.
“Young Master, are you sleeping well?”
A sudden knock sounded, followed by Schwarz's voice leaking in from outside the room.
“I'll step inside briefly to check.”
“...Damn.”
“Then, excuse me.”
As the sound of the door lock disengaging echoed through the corridor, the youngest imperial princess broke out in cold sweat. She pulled the blanket over herself to cover her body and frantically scanned the surroundings once more.
“K-Kairen. Hide me.”
“Okay.”
“I'll do anything! Hurry!”
Realizing there was no suitable hiding spot, she urgently began pleading with Kairen.
“You mean that for real?”
He quietly tilted his head, then flashed a bright smile as his already red eyes gleamed even brighter.
“Young Master, how's your body feeling?”
About a minute later, Schwarz deactivated all the complex security devices on Kairen's door and stepped inside.
“Kraang!”
“Yes, yes. You seem full of energy again today.”
She smiled upon confirming that Kairen was, as always, spreading his arms wide in a threatening pose.
“......”
The youngest imperial princess, curled up and holding her breath in that situation, muttered inwardly with a flushed face.
‘If I'd known it'd be like this, I should've just gotten caught...’
- Rustle...
Kairen's proposed solution had been to crawl under the blanket he was using and hide. Thanks to the room's design, meant to exclude assassins and offering no other places to conceal oneself, she had no choice.
‘...So itchy.’
Even so, lying curled up right next to Kairen was a considerable mental blow for the youngest imperial princess.
‘At least if I'd been wearing something...’
Of course, given the circumstances, she was lying with her back to him, but the blanket wasn't that large. She had no choice but to press her back directly against his body.
Every time Kairen's skin or clothes brushed her bare back in that situation, the princess gritted her teeth, trying to ignore the heat rising to her face.
“Young Master, by the way... you don't need it today?”
“Hm?”
“...What else? Midnight snack.”
Then came unwelcome news slipping from Schwarz's lips for the princess's ears.
“You've been taking it so diligently every time, so why so tame today?”
She muttered to herself, exposing the vivid tooth marks on her neck, before murmuring lowly and stepping forward.
“You wouldn't be hiding something and sneaking bites without me knowing, right?”
“Is that not allowed?”
“Haha. What if you get indigestion?”
Her eyes gleamed coldly as she gently scolded Kairen in a soft voice.
“And if you pick up just anything to eat...”
“Pick up?”
“You might get a tummy ache?”
“For real...?”
- Swish...
Kairen widened his eyes and swallowed dryly. Seeing how precarious it was, the princess, sweating under the blanket, cautiously reached back and pinched Kairen's side.
“...Ow!”
But there was something the princess didn't realize.
The current Kairen had regained half his reason thanks to the curse being neutralized for seven days—but he was still afflicted with mania.
“As expected, something's in there, isn't it, Young Master?”
Unaware that the pinch was a signal to play it smart, Kairen yelled out. Schwarz tilted her head with a dark smile.
“...!!!”
The youngest imperial princess immediately clamped both hands over her mouth and desperately looked around—but of course, there was no means of escape under the blanket.
“Fluffy didn't pop out, so probably not a threat. Then maybe a maid who's completely lost her fear?”
“......”
“Whatever the case, defying the house head's orders is a grave sin.”
With the princess cornered on all sides, Schwarz's hand slowly closed in.
“N-Nobody's here.”
“It's fine. It's not your fault, Young Master.”
“Yeah?”
Kairen finally seemed to catch on and began defending her, but his face instantly brightened into an innocent smile at Schwarz's kind explanation, offering no real help.
“The fault is...”
“......”
“With the one here...”
Finally, Schwarz grabbed the edge of Kairen's blanket and flipped it up in one go.
“Huh?”
But then she began tilting her head in bewilderment.
“...Strange. I definitely felt a presence and heard rustling.”
Despite the alien presence and rustling sounds, there was no one under the blanket.
“Young Master, was there really no one here originally?”
“...Yes!”
“For sure?”
Thanks to that, Schwarz rummaged through the blanket for a good while—even sticking her head inside to check—before staring at Kairen and asking.
“Hmm...”
But as Kairen merely tilted his head, Schwarz frowned while peering at his side.
“Looks like I was mistaken after all.”
“...Seems so!”
“I've had so many things to worry about lately...”
She let out a sigh and sprawled fully on the bed, muttering.
“...The second daughter's movements aren't ordinary at all.”
She paused there for a moment, then slyly glanced at Kairen before regaining her smile and asking,
“Anyway, really no midnight snack?”
“Yes.”
“You could have me lying beside you sucking till morning.”
Those words made Kairen shake his head with a rather stern expression.
“You collapsed last time from sucking all day.”
In fact, on the first night of his mania, Schwarz had eagerly visited Kairen's chambers, sucked blood until dawn, and collapsed from acute anemia.
Of course, true to a Belverk maid, she recovered quickly and returned to duty—but she had nearly been banned from approaching during the mania period.
“To be my food, you need to stay healthy!”
“......”
“Get healthy, and I'll let you suck again!”
That was why she had been restraining herself while sucking blood. But as Kairen continued in a stern voice only to pat her head with a pure smile, Schwarz's eyes darkened for an instant.
“...Sigh.”
She quietly rose from her seat and sat on the bed, exhaling a very deep sigh.
- Slap...!
She then slapped her own cheek with full force and muttered with her head bowed.
“Endure for ten years. Just ten years...”
A moment later, she stood up, bowed politely to Kairen, and said her farewells.
“I'll be going now, Young Master.”
“Good night!”
“Haha. Seems like I'll be sleepless tonight.”
Forcing a smile as she walked away, she suddenly tilted her head again and muttered lowly.
“...But why do I have to endure?”
As Kairen's door closed behind her, an eerie silence fell.
- Pop...!
In that silence, a bright flash once more filled the room.
“Haa, haa...”
Panting roughly, the youngest imperial princess reemerged from under Kairen's blanket.
‘Crisis averted for now...’
At the very last moment before being discovered, she had summoned all her strength to briefly transform into Peep and hidden inside Kairen's clothes.
‘...Can't transform again until morning.’
But having completely depleted her already waning stamina, she was now stuck immobile in the room until dawn.
“Hi?”
As the princess panted with a weary expression, Kairen suddenly thrust his face right up to hers.
“So, you're ready now, right?”
“...Hn?”
“You promised. Anything.”
Only then did she realize she was facing him directly, pressed close as if embraced. Her face flushed red again as she began scolding him with fierce eyes.
“Perverted man.”
“......”
“Think I'll forget this?”
But Kairen's expression didn't change in the slightest as he watched her.
“Remember this. Anyone who touches me... Hya!?”
The princess, her sharp eyes brimming with tears, tried to issue her final threat—but it was already too late.
“Kraang.”
Belverk's small and savage tyrant had finally sunk his teeth into her pristine white nape.
“O-Ow!”
“...Slurp.”
“I-If you're gonna do it, at least be gentle...!”
As Kairen's teeth dug into her flesh, she buried her head in his shoulder in panic and began pleading in a trembling voice.
“......”
But as time passed with Kairen merely continuing to bite her neck, she wore a dazed expression before tentatively asking,
“Hey.”
“Kraang?”
“‘Eating’... you meant blood?”
Kairen tilted his head with a look of utter confusion at her words, then buried his face in her neck again and licked the wound with his tongue.
- Lick...
And with that, silence settled over the room once more.
“......”
She lay there in a daze for a long while, her body twitching with every lick of the wound. The princess's face gradually turned beet red, like a ripe tomato.
“...Eat plenty.”
Eventually, she buried her flushed face in Kairen's shoulder and muttered in a pathetically small voice—the youngest imperial princess.
“...Ugh, my head.”
When I opened my eyes, the now-familiar ceiling of my room greeted me.
“Yawwwn... Hm?”
Confirming I'd safely survived another day in Belverk, I stretched vigorously, hoping I'd grow taller someday.
‘Why am I lying in bed?’
A feeling like some memories were missing washed over me, and I quietly tilted my head.
‘...Feels like I had a weird dream.’
For some reason, it seemed like I'd dreamed of the youngest imperial princess sleeping beside me.
And vaguely, I recalled her body...
No, must be my imagination. I'm no pervert who'd entertain such thoughts about Her Highness.
“Awake, are you, Kairen?”
As I blushed over that silly dream, a voice came from ahead.
“How's your body?”
“Mother?”
“Hm. Good, seems you're back to normal.”
I turned my head and spotted Mother sitting beside the bed with a chair brought over. My eyes went wide.
“Hey, you sane now?”
By the way, Mother wasn't the only one next to me.
“Hiiing, you're back to normal.”
“...Still, this form was cute too.”
“Yeah, yeah, true.”
Not just Lilien—several maid sisters were gathered, murmuring as they watched me. Even the First Knight Captain's face was visible nearby.
“...The knights will return to daily escort duties.”
What the hell was going on?
“Oh my, Young Master. You're all better.”
“Seeing you after so long brings tears. Hehe.”
“If we weren't so old, we wouldn't have evacuated.”
Even the retainers were clustered together in the distance. I frowned and racked my brains, trying to remember.
“Uh...”
And finally, the memories from that time began trickling back slowly.
“Ah.”
The next instant, I hung my head and covered my face with both hands, letting out a scream.
“Aaaaaaaaaaah.”
Anyone seeing the memories now flooding my mind would have done the same.
“Young Master! Do the kraang!”
“Pretend to eat me! Just once!”
“Show us the cute threat pose!”
As the dizzying memories kept pouring in and my face burned, the maid sisters in the room began teasing me with laughter-filled voices.
“How do you get weaker during mania? Hehe.”
“......”
“Want Sis to feed you again? Come on, ahh~.”
As I dazedly looked up at them, Lilien beside me joined in the fun.
“Training went fine during your mania. You chased the knights running hard, but soon went huff huff.”
On top of that, the First Knight Captain—who'd been standing quietly with three tooth marks on her neck—added softly.
“...Kairen, of course I'm your mother.”
“......”
“But next time, don't bite below the neck.”
Even Mother joined in, touching her chest. With my face beet red, I had no choice but to bolt from the spot.
“I hate all of you!!!”
How the hell was I supposed to deal with the aftermath?
“Sigh, what a fun incident...”
“...Think we can see it in the next cycle?”
“No, investigation says he only absorbed this mania bout. Probably not next cycle.”
As Kairen fled the room, the maids watched his retreating back with smiles, then began chattering among themselves.
“We'll discuss that matter later.”
Astridje dismissed their questions with a single phrase, a faintly pleased expression on her face as she rose from her seat.
“Then, time to disband...”
The week-long small, cute happening came to a close amid everyone's laughter.
“...Hm?”
But as Astridje was about to send everyone away, she suddenly paused, feeling something tickling between her fingers.
“This is...”
She carefully picked up the object caught between her fingers, which had been resting on the bed sheets.
“......”
And Astridje's expression slowly turned icy.
“...Ha?”
A single long, slender strand of golden hair—something that absolutely should not exist in Belverk—fluttered quietly in her hand.