Love That Bloomed a Flower
"Stop right there."
"Huh? Oh, y-yes..."
Lulu, who had been heading toward the entrance of the noble dormitory, froze with a flustered expression as the maid guarding the door blocked her path.
"Commoners aren't allowed inside the noble dormitory."
"Ah, um... don't you, you know who I am?"
Finally, when Lulu cautiously asked, the maid scowled and began to reply.
"No matter who you are, rules are rules. This is a space reserved exclusively for nobles—commoners can't enter..."
"Let her in."
Her senior, standing nearby, sighed and cut her off, prompting the newbie maid to look equally flustered.
"W-what do you mean? Why would we let a commoner—"
"She's new, so she doesn't know. I gave permission, so let her go inside."
"Th-thank you..."
Lulu glanced around nervously before quickly slipping into the dormitory. The newbie maid, still bewildered, called after her.
"What... what's going on here?"
"She's Frey's sex slave."
"...Oh."
At her senior's words—delivered with a furrowed brow—the newbie instantly grasped the situation and muttered under her breath.
"Poor thing. Of all the nobles, to end up as Frey's sex slave."
"You watch yourself too. Word is, he's been targeting maids lately."
"...Got it."
With that, the two maids exchanged glances of pity as they watched Lulu disappear into the dormitory entrance.
...All he did was kiss me.
Of course, to Lulu—who had been pretending not to listen while eavesdropping—it felt deeply unfair.
Sure, Frey had pinned her down once, and he often touched her casually, even forcing kisses on her.
But he'd never crossed that final line, not even once.
...No, I can't fall for it. He's not doing it for my sake—he just doesn't see me as human.
But Lulu shook her head, forcing the thought away.
"Hoo..."
Yet for some reason, even after shaking it off, her heart remained unsettled.
His touch belonged to the worst kind of man, one who saw her not as a person but as a pet.
Still, the warmth she felt when he stroked her had satisfied her deep craving for human affection.
And the kisses he gave her every night were the same.
- Thud, thud.
Her mood soured, Lulu trudged slowly toward Frey's room in the dormitory, muttering to herself.
I can't stop here... I just can't...
Frey was undeniably a villain.
Back at the mansion, he beat the servants Kania and Irina daily, terrorized the cooks, and hurled insults at his own little sister.
He'd even tried to rape the commoner students who approached her, and he'd gone so far as to try claiming her legally.
And even setting that aside, the rumors swirling around the empire suggested Frey Raon Starlight was highly likely a pawn of the Demon King's army.
That was why Lulu had chosen him—someone who would inflict her misfortune and break her curse.
Everyone wished death upon the truly vile Frey, so if he took an interest in her, he'd surely do all the horrific, depraved things the rumors claimed.
Even if he got tangled in her misfortune, she'd have no reason to feel guilty.
So she'd deliberately shattered his porcelain to draw his attention.
And when she became his pet before even deploying her next plans, she'd been stunned but honestly thrilled.
But...
...why is he so good to me?
Now standing right in front of Frey's door, Lulu halted and began to tremble.
Why doesn't he treat me roughly...?
After zoning out in front of the door for a long while, Lulu finally bit her lip and muttered.
"...Let's check first."
She grasped the doorknob, figuring no one else would be nursing him anyway.
"...Hm?"
But the door to his room was firmly locked.
- Crackle!
"Eek!"
When even her activated Demon Eyes were blocked by the powerful anti-eavesdropping spell on the door, Lulu looked around in panic.
"Um..."
"What brings you here?"
"I want to go into Frey's room..."
Spotting the head maid sighing at the end of the hallway, Lulu asked in a small voice. The woman sighed again in response.
"Did you just come on shift?"
"Shift?"
"Kania, the only one nursing him, just left the room. So it'll be like every night since dawn—until the next shift arrives."
The head maid, who had often seen Lulu coming and going from Frey's room at night lately, assumed she was the new shift worker and quietly approached the door.
- Click!
"You have it rough too. Well, I'll go rest for a bit."
"Ah, wait, I'm not—I'm—"
"Sorry. I've been ordered to guard this place from dawn and keep everyone out. I haven't slept a wink thanks to it... Please take over."
With a pitiful look, the head maid headed down the hall. Lulu stood frozen for a moment before muttering softly and approaching the door.
"...I'll just peek at his face and leave. Should be fine."
With that, she cautiously opened the door.
- Creeeak...
"What? So the rumors were exaggerated..."
Stepping inside, Lulu spotted Frey slumped halfway up in bed, head bowed. She turned to slip out quietly—but
"Cough!!"
"...Huh?"
Frey suddenly vomited black blood from his mouth, and she froze solid.
"Wha? Wh-what?"
Staring blankly at him for a moment, Lulu found herself walking over without thinking.
"Fr-Frey, sir?"
"Urgh...!"
Flustered, she gently wiped his mouth—only for another gush of black blood to spill out. Cold sweat beaded on her forehead.
H-his body's in this bad shape?
Even through his clothes, his skin burned like a furnace, black blood kept pouring from his mouth, and his face was corpse-pale.
"H-his heart's still beating...?"
Pressing her ear to his chest in disbelief, Lulu confirmed the faint thump and whispered in a trembling voice.
"Urgh..."
"...Frey, sir?"
Looking up at him, she shook him gently.
"C-come on, snap out of it. Frey, sir."
"...Urp."
"Eek."
But what came from his mouth wasn't words—it was more black blood.
"What in the world is..."
At a loss, stroking the limp Frey, Lulu—
- Thud, thud.
".......!"
—froze in terror at the sound of footsteps outside.
"U-urgh..."
The head maid was guarding Frey's room to keep everyone out.
And now her hands were stained with his blood.
"...Gulp."
As the footsteps stopped right outside the door, panic-stricken Lulu glanced sideways and swallowed hard.
In her line of sight was the bathroom door—the only place in the room to hide.
......
A little earlier, just before Lulu heard the footsteps and panicked.
"Irina, there you are."
"...Kania?"
Kania, emerging from Frey's room, was addressing Irina, who stood blankly staring out a window at the end of the hall.
"It's shift time, but you weren't coming, so I came to find you."
"R-really? Has it been that long already?"
Irina pulled away from the window with a startled look.
"Wait a sec. If you're not with Frey, he'll vomit blood again, so I need to grab the hemostatic quick—"
"No need. Right now, we have to drain the Young Master's blood."
"What?"
Irina's eyes widened at Kania's words, and Kania sighed.
"The shock of our souls merging... infused the Young Master's body with black magic residue."
"I-isn't that dangerous?!"
"No issue. The harmful black magic has mostly been expelled through his vomiting."
Kania sighed again.
"In fact, we should encourage the vomiting, not stop it."
"Wh-why?"
"His 'Blessing of the Stars' is regenerating fresh blood to push out the tainted stuff. In other words, he's not vomiting from pain—he's doing it to get healthy."
"Phew... so no worries about anemia collapse."
Irina, who had been fretting wildly over Frey's nonstop vomiting since dawn, let out a relieved breath.
"Then let's go."
"Yeah..."
As Kania turned and walked down the hall, unusually wrinkled and subdued Irina quietly asked.
"So... does that mean I don't need to stick with Frey constantly anymore?"
"No, not always, but... we'll still need prolonged contact with the Young Master."
Irina tilted her head, and Kania gently stroked her own belly.
"Fragments and traces of his soul remain. We'll need about a week to two to carefully return them through contact."
"Oh..."
Hearing that, Irina stared at Kania's retreating back and murmured.
"...If only I had a bit more black magic."
"Irina, thank you."
"Uh, y-yeah?"
Kania smiled softly at her.
"For developing the spell that saved the Young Master's lifespan."
"N-no... it didn't even activate perfectly."
"No. Without your spell, his lifespan would've halved again, and we wouldn't have uncovered the System's nature."
"...Yeah."
"I'll report everything to him when he wakes. Thank you again, truly—Lady Irina."
Irina glanced at the magic circle etched on Kania's belly and asked.
"Does it hurt at all?"
"A little, yes."
"Want me to transfer the magic circle back to my belly then?"
"No, I'll manage."
As Kania approached Frey's door, Irina stopped and said softly.
"...Then, will you help me perform the Blood Oath with him today?"
Kania, unlocking the door automatically, frowned.
"Please don't."
"Why?"
"That oath would mean offering your soul to Frey."
Opening the door, Kania held it courteously and whispered.
"You know what pledging your soul to a mere mortal—not a god or demon—entails. No need for that."
"No, I'm doing it."
"Pardon?"
Irina replied in an equally soft voice, stepped inside, and shut the door.
He's cursed because of me—body and mind wrecked... and now his lifespan's cut too.
Approaching Frey, who vomited another mouthful of tainted blood to make way for healthy blood, Irina thought.
And his lifespan...
She hesitated, then pulled out a measurer from her pocket and looked at it.
"Two years and two months. That's what's left for you, Frey."
Embracing him quietly, she stated clearly.
"........Urp."
"Even if you're down to just a few years left..."
Irina spoke again.
"...I'll offer you my soul."
She whispered so softly only she and the sleeping Frey could hear.
"My body, my heart, even my purity... I'll give you everything, Frey."
"Hmph."
Finishing, Irina gazed lovingly at Frey's twitching expression, then turned her head.
"Know why?"
Her eyes fell on the sapling she'd chosen months ago to test him—before she was sure about Frey.
Now, it sprouted proudly from his desk, blooming into a flower.
"Because I love you."
Smiling faintly, she whispered into his ear.
"...Since we were very young."
Beside Frey and Irina, the puppy love flower swayed gently.
......
"What... what was that just now?"
"Two years and two months...? Terminal...?"
Meanwhile, at that very moment.
Pressing her ear to the bathroom door in pitch darkness, Lulu—
"No way..."
—trembled at the only words that reached her ears, muttering.
"........Because of me?"