I Really Hate It
“...Tsk.”
“...I’m sorry. It’s because of this body.”
When I apologized, Eryk took my hand.
“Having my blood sucked isn’t a matter of taste, so don’t trouble yourself over it.”
“...When you say it like that, I can’t help but be conscious of it.”
“Is that so?”
Eryk, his face genuinely puzzled, led me into my room. The moment we stepped inside, he fetched a chair and sat me down. Still dazed from being placed there, I watched as he stood by the bed and began unbuttoning the collar of his shirt.
“Is my blood really that delicious to you?”
“If I say yes, will you get angry?”
At my question, Eryk fell silent for a moment as though pondering, then suddenly pulled me into his arms.
“It does make me angry. Saying my blood tastes good means you see me as nothing more than prey.”
“...Then I’ll say it doesn’t taste good.”
I could certainly understand that reaction. After all, to Eryk I was still a detestable race. The mere possibility that he might hate me sent a dull ache spreading through my chest. It hurt. I had come to think of Eryk as someone special in my own way.
“...I’m sorry.”
I apologized to him again. Eryk let out a small chuckle and wrapped his large hand around the back of my head, holding it with steady reassurance.
“In the past, that’s exactly how I would have felt… because you were nothing but a vampire to me. I hated that.”
“......”
“But now…”
With those words, Eryk looked at me with eyes I couldn’t read, then gently guided my head toward the nape of his neck. There was none of the old coercion in the gesture. He was even careful to position me so I could sit comfortably against him.
“I’d like you to tell me it tastes good.”
“...!!”
“Because it seems I’ve become someone special to you.”
Eryk stroked my hair as he spoke. Really, I hated it. I hated Eryk for making me feel this way. And more than that, I hated myself for being unable to push him—or these feelings—away.
“...I hate you, Lieutenant Colonel, more than anyone else in the world.”
“I feel the same.”
All the times he had tormented me came rushing back. Back then I thought I felt nothing, but now every memory threatened to bring tears. The way he had treated me, every small action—it had all been a wound. I simply hadn’t realized it.
But I no longer needed to worry about that. Eryk’s warm hand was supporting my head. The warmth seemed to spread through my entire body. I smiled softly at the feeling and whispered to him.
“I hate you, but at the same time… I love you more than anyone else.”
“I feel the same.”
Joy bloomed inside me. Hearing that Eryk felt the same way was the answer I had wanted. Bittersweet, aching, sweet, and comforting all at once. Feeling that tangle of emotions, I sank my small fangs into his neck.
“Ugh……”
“Doth it hurt…?”
At my muffled question, Eryk’s brow furrowed slightly before he gently stroked my head.
“...It’s fine. Keep going.”
He drew me close in a precious, careful embrace. My small heart began to race, pounding wildly as I drank his blood with blind hunger.
“Haup… puha…!”
“Drink slowly or you’ll make yourself sick.”
Eryk touched my cheek after I briefly pulled away. I gave him a silly little smile.
“Thank you for worrying about me.”
His expression turned strangely sulky.
“...When it’s just the two of us, you could speak more casually, couldn’t you?”
I looked up at him and whispered.
“I told you I still need time.”
“Haa……”
Eryk let out a long sigh. I leaned close to his ear.
“...Later, when I’m truly ready for everything, I’ll use any title you want… and do whatever you desire. For now, please leave it to me.”
He stroked my hair as if he had no choice but to accept it. I noticed blood seeping from the wound.
“Haa… it’s leaking.”
I licked carefully around the bite on his neck. My body was slowly slipping beyond my control.
Chup, chup. I pressed my lips to his skin again and again, drinking, then repeating the motion.
“Haa… haa, it’s so delicious……”
“Major.”
“You can call me Valentine… no, please call me that……”
Eryk’s expression grew complicated. He gently separated me from his neck.
“Ah……”
“That’s enough for today. You’re too excited.”
“...I’m sorry… it was just too delicious……”
“......”
Eryk sighed deeply and stroked my head once more.
“There’s no need to apologize.”
“Eh…?”
He lifted me and laid me down on the bed.
“...Because I’m going to enjoy myself now, too.”
“...!!!”
He shrugged off his outer coat, left in only his shirt, and brushed my hair aside. I had clearly told him I needed time. I tried to resist, but Eryk ignored my protest and brought his lips to mine.
“Uup…!”
“Do you hate it…?”
“......”
Even when he asked, I couldn’t bring myself to say yes. The only excuse I could manage was,
“...If you kiss me now, it’ll taste like blood, Lieutenant Colonel……”
But Eryk only smirked and began toying with my ears.
“Euk…! Not the ears!”
“Then give me your lips.”
“......”
Seeing his mischievous expression, I had no choice but to nod. Eryk immediately covered my mouth with his own.
“Haup…! Puha…!! I-I can’t breathe……”
My cheeks burned as I spoke. Eryk grinned and pulled me tighter against him. I knew what was coming next—the pain and the pleasure—so I closed my eyes in preparation. But then—
“Well, that’s it.”
“...?”
Eryk simply pulled the blanket over us with a satisfied look.
“...Lieutenant Colonel?”
“......”
There was no answer. In that short span of time, he had—
“Fallen asleep?”
—fallen fast asleep.
“......”
I had said I needed time, but that didn’t mean he was allowed to get me this worked up and then stop cold.
“...Crazy bastard.”
I really hated it. As expected, Eryk was an infuriating, resentful man. The feeling that I had been abandoned crept over me like a shadow. It was miserable. I wanted to tell him I wasn’t something he could use only when he felt like it.
“...You were mean.”
But I didn’t have the courage. While I struggled to push the miserable feeling away, Eryk rolled over.
“Come here and sleep in my arms.”
“...!!!”
For a moment hope flared, but—
“You’ll be tired riding in the carriage tomorrow, so sleep soon.”
“......?”
He really did nothing at all. He simply closed his eyes.
“...Eh?”
“Eryk…?”
Even when I called his name, he only hugged me tighter without answering.
“...What the hell.”
I hated him. Yet seeing him hold me with such a peaceful expression, I thought,
“I’m not… miserable.”
The miserable feeling eased a little.
The next morning, Eryk rose from the bed and gazed at Valentine, who was still curled up and sleeping soundly in his arms.
…I’m losing my mind.
She was too cute. That was his only thought. The voice in his head kept insisting he shouldn’t feel this way toward a vampire, yet he had already stepped onto a path with no return. He had done something unforgivable to her.
“...I wonder if it hurt a lot.”
Eryk brushed the hair from Valentine’s face.
“I should get up and bring breakfast.”
As he moved to rise, the little vampire twitched and mumbled in her sleep.
“Don’t… go……”
“......”
With no other choice, Eryk froze beside her.
…Maybe I should wait until Valentine wakes up and go together.
He couldn’t bear the thought of leaving such a small woman alone. She might face any number of threats. The fact that she was the one holding the key, or that she was a renowned vampire commander, had long since vanished from his mind. All that remained was the girl who had cried out that she loved him even while he treated her roughly yesterday. The girl who had said his blood tasted best while claiming to hate him.
“You’re driving me crazy. Really crazy.”
While Eryk muttered to himself, Valentine stirred and opened her eyes.
“Major, you’re awake.”
“...Ah.”
She let out a deep sigh at the sight of him. Eryk tilted his head, unable to understand what the sigh meant.
“...What are you looking at? You have no interest in me anyway.”
“...!?”
Valentine puffed out her cheeks and turned her head away with a sulky expression. The destructive power was beyond imagination.
…Insanely cute…!!
She was so adorable that thoughts of family revenge, fallen comrades, or resentment suddenly felt trivial. Eryk spoke his honest impression.
“...You’re cute.”
“......”
Valentine didn’t move a muscle. Instead, she looked at him with even more resentment.
“If you have no interest, why say something like that… How long are you planning to toy with me?”
Only then did Eryk realize something had gone very wrong.
“...Valentine?”
“I’m sulking. Whether you figure it out and apologize or not is up to you.”
With her cheeks still puffed out, Valentine marched into the bathroom and slammed the door with a resounding bang!
Eryk stared after her, utterly bewildered.
“...Wait, what is this?”
The atmosphere yesterday had been good. Everything had been fine.
“Valentine!?”
“Figure out why I’m sulking and apologize!!”
With only a thin wooden door between them, the man and woman began to bicker.