Chapter 303: The Hated Medicine (12)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 303: The Hated Medicine (12)
Good morning.
It was a phrase that hardly suited Elize, who, being half-vampire, was notoriously weak in the mornings. Waking up was a struggle, her body feeling heavy and limp.
Even after her mind cleared, the realization that she was that man’s slave brought forth nothing but sighs. To Elize, morning was the gateway to a nightmare.
But recently, Elize had found herself genuinely welcoming the morning.
She could wake up and see a sleepy-faced Yuri.
Even the usually composed Yuri was groggy in the mornings, whining and seeking all sorts of affection from Elize. Watching him was the most adorable thing in the world.
What kind of lovely sight will he show me today?
Elize’s eyes shot open as she awoke. She immediately turned her head to the side.
“Yuri?”
The little guest who had monopolized the spot beside the Saint was nowhere to be seen. Elize sat up and scanned the room, but Yuri was gone.
Is he already awake?
Where did he go by himself?
Did he go to the washroom?
He could have just woken me up and asked me to go with him.
He was such a considerate child.
Elize slipped on her slippers, draped an indoor robe over her shoulders, and left the room. She wandered the mansion, searching for Yuri.
But he wasn't in the washroom, the dining hall, or anywhere else in the mansion.
It was then that a sense of dread began to creep in.
Unable to hide her growing anxiety, Elize used her magic. She unleashed a swarm of bats, sending them not just throughout the merchant group’s estate, but across the entire city.
She had them check every nook and cranny of the alleyways; there was no way they wouldn't find him. As soon as a bat spotted Yuri, the information would come straight to Elize—
“Who are you searching for so diligently?”
Karami approached her with his hands behind his back, Mirabelle in tow.
“That’s none of your business.”
Elize didn’t even spare him a glance, dismissing him coolly as she focused all her attention on her magic.
“You’re looking for Yuri.”
“…”
“You won’t find him.”
Only then did Elize’s gaze finally fall upon Karami. Her blood-red eyes reflected his smug, smiling face.
“What… do you mean by that?”
“Exactly what I said. You won’t find Yuri. Because, well, he’s no longer in this world.”
His words were cryptic.
But one thing was certain.
Something had happened to Yuri.
And the cause was the man standing right in front of her.
In that instant, a shimmering crimson haze erupted from Elize, swirling violently through the hallway.
“Where is Yuri?”
“Well now, I told you he’s not here—”
“I asked you where he is!”
“Hmm.”
Karami glanced at Mirabelle.
Mirabelle was not pleased.
He was the one who had caused all this trouble, yet he was forcing her to play the villain.
Pitying herself, she began to explain, cautiously watching Elize, who was radiating a menacing aura.
“Yu-Yuri… he’s not from this world. He was a being summoned by magic.”
“…What?”
“If Yuri stayed here too long, it could have t-twisted the laws of causality, so we returned him to how he was supposed to be.”
She couldn’t quite grasp what Mirabelle was saying.
She understood the gist of it—that Yuri wasn't from this world, that he was a magical summon, and that he had been sent back.
“Why on earth did you summon Yuri in the first place?”
“M-Master did it… to… to mess with you, Lady Elize.”
“What?”
“Eek…! I-I was just doing what Master told me to do. You should be angry at him.”
The old Mirabelle would have sternly warned her not to bare her fangs at Karami, but now she simply passed the buck.
Elize’s razor-sharp glare shot toward Karami.
“Say it with your own mouth. Why did you summon Yuri?”
“It was a prank. A simple prank.”
“A… prank?”
“I thought you would like him, Elize, but I never imagined you’d like him this much. Isn’t it fascinating? To show such boundless affection for someone you’ve just met. Blood ties are truly a mysterious thing. If this isn’t magic, what is?”
Tap, tap.
Taptaptaptaptap.
SMACK!
Elize strode toward Karami and slapped him across the face.
Mirabelle jumped back, startled.
Elize glared at him, her eyes welling with tears.
“How… How could you play with someone’s heart…! How could you do something like this so casually!”
Karami turned his head back, his expression unchanged. He wore the same smile as always.
“Isn’t it a happiness you would have never felt if not for me? Instead of being grateful, you resort to violence. You’re quite shameless, Elize.”
“How can you still say such things…!”
GRAB!
Elize seized him by the collar.
“Give him back! Give me back my child!”
“Hmm, that’s a problem. Well, perhaps making one is possible.”
“Making… one?”
The words alone were chilling.
Creating a human was the domain of the gods.
To commit such a taboo would surely invite divine punishment.
The very idea of creating Yuri through such a disturbing method made Elize deeply uneasy.
She, of all people, had personally experienced human experimentation.
As much as she wanted to see Yuri, such an immoral method was…
“You’re not thinking of something strange, are you? Like human experimentation, or human transmutation.”
“What else could ‘making’ one mean?”
“Is it possible you don’t know how babies are made? Even Azyeth knows that. Surely you don’t…”
“Please, stop talking nonsense! Of course I know! What does that have to do with Yuri?! Stop beating around the bush and tell me straight!”
“It means that you and I, Elize, would have relations, and you would give birth to Yuri from your own body.”
He said it so matter-of-factly, as if it were nothing complicated. But his words were anything but casual.
“I would give birth? What does that…”
“What do you think? It means that Yuri is the child born between you and me.”
“…Huh?”
The fact that Yuri resembled both Karami and Elize.
The fact that Elize had poured boundless affection onto Yuri despite having just met him.
The fact that looking at him stirred her maternal instincts.
It was all for that reason.
Yuri’s weakness to sunlight was the same. Though not a pure-blood, he had inherited a fraction of Elize’s vampire blood.
Even his talent for the divine arts.
That single hypothesis resolved every question. But Elize couldn’t easily accept it.
“That can’t be… Yuri called me ‘Saint’! And he said he didn’t remember his past…!”
“Th-that’s right. When he was first summoned, Yuri was a blank slate. A being dropped into this world with no memories. But as he spent time with you, L-Lady Saint, he began to realize his own identity. Who he was. And who you were.”
As Mirabelle explained, a spark of interest lit up in her eyes. Her timid demeanor vanished, and she continued with excitement.
“It’s unbelievable. Even if he inherited your blood, Lady Saint, there’s practically no physical connection, yet you were drawn to each other! It’s a true mystery that can’t be explained by magic or science!”
“…”
“Eek. S-sorry. I got carried away…”
She immediately bowed her head under Elize’s cold stare.
Elize was at a loss for words. She never would have imagined that Yuri was her son. Who could have?
And a child with Karami, of all people.
That such a lovely child could be born from the man she despised most in the world.
What kind of cruel joke was this?
“What will you do, Elize? The choice is yours.”
Karami smiled smugly.
“Will you enter into a relationship with me, the man you so despise, in order to meet your beloved Yuri? Or will you let him remain a fleeting memory?”
Elize finally understood why Karami had sent the being known as Yuri to her.
He knew she would never be able to leave a pitiful child alone. Moreover, as a vampire, Elize was sensitive to blood; she was bound to be drawn to Yuri, who shared her own.
It was strange she hadn’t realized it sooner.
If I had known, I would have treated him even better.
Even though others thought she was already doting on him excessively, it was human nature to have regrets about the past.
The fact that she could meet Yuri again was a stroke of incredible luck. The problem was that to do so, she, a Saint, would have to sleep with that man.
Why must she face such a trial?
What a truly vicious man.
Elize agonized over her decision.
She couldn't come to an answer easily.
But the moment she recalled the few days she had spent with Yuri, it was no longer a dilemma.
“If I give birth to a child, is there a guarantee that it will be the Yuri I know?”
“Mirabelle will guarantee it.”
In that case, there was only one thing for a mother to do.
Elize bowed her head and pleaded.
“Please… help me have a child.”
“You want a child? The world is full of children. Shall I bring you a poor soul wandering the back alleys?”
“…”
Quick-witted as she was, Elize understood his intent. He wanted to drag her down to the very bottom.
His attitude was utterly disgusting.
But this time, she would play along.
She pleaded once more.
Slightly rephrasing her words.
“Please, get me pregnant.”
As she said it, Elize was not angry, but perfectly calm.
A sacrifice for a greater cause.
A mother’s responsibility.
She would endure any amount of humiliation for this.
As she expected, it was the answer Karami wanted. He nodded in satisfaction.
“If you insist, Elize, I suppose I have no choice. However.”
“However?”
“Not right now.”
“What?”
“Let’s talk about it again when all this is over. Still, thanks to you, I got to see something interesting. Thank you, Elize.”
Karami waved with a chuckle and vanished.
“Huh?”
Elize could only blink blankly, not understanding what had just happened.
*
Please, get me pregnant.
Ahh~
No matter how many times he replayed it in his mind, the words were fantastic.
Karami savored Elize’s plea until he was sick of it.
For a woman who despised him to beg him to get her pregnant. From a man’s perspective, there was no situation more arousing.
If he had his way, he’d want to go at it right then and there, but his opponent was a Saint. This was different from Narsha. He was hesitant to touch her rashly.
He would have a serious talk with her after this was all over, not while she was under a spell.
Ah, my cheek hurts.
A slave could never harm their master. Karami had only allowed it this one time.
He wanted to see Elize feel incredibly sorry later.
For that, he could sacrifice a cheek.
I think I’ve had my fun.
It was time to release the magic.
But before that, one last thing.
I have to play with Alfia, too.