Chapter 5. I Have Come to Escort You, Mother.

“Let go! I can walk on my own!”

“……”

Even as they retraced their steps through the imperial palace corridors, Axia struggled against Corinth’s grip.

The shackles on her wrists were gone, but instead, Corinth had seized both of her wrists and was dragging her forward.

“Let me go! That insane, demon bastard stabbed me again—!”

“Viscountess Thracia. Shut up.”

The werewolf’s cold, golden eyes bore down on her.

“You could let go instead.”

Axia growled back, glaring up at him without a hint of intimidation.

“You must’ve heard everything with those damn dog ears of yours, but I guess you missed the part where the Emperor appointed me as his proxy?”

“You may be a proxy, but you are still a criminal.”

“And yet, I am also the bride of the Lord of the Pyro Clan.”

A clear, smooth voice, like a drop of cold water falling into silence, suddenly cut between their conversation.

“……?!”

A man had appeared at the end of the corridor without a single sound.

He slightly bowed in a formal greeting, though his face remained hidden beneath sleek, jet-black hair that fell over his eyes.

Though he was shorter and slighter than Corinth, his self-assured presence was undeniable—

“The Grand Duke of Pyro has given his command. We have come to escort you.”

He lifted his head slightly, his red lips curving into a self-satisfied smile beneath his midnight-dark hair.

“To the Pyro Clan, you are ‘Mother.’”

Axia, momentarily frozen, finally managed to force out a response.

“Wait… When you say ‘Mother’… you don’t mean me, do you?”

“Yes, Axia Thracia.”

The man’s sharp smile deepened, standing out brightly against the darkness of his hair.

The tailored suit, perfectly fitted to his tall and lean frame, only emphasized his dangerous and commanding presence.

“The Grand Duke of Pyro has ordered me to escort you to your accommodations within the Imperial Palace.”

Corinth’s voice sharpened, clearly displeased.

“The transportation of prisoners is my duty, Ganymede.”

“A good evening, Corinth. But an escort for a bloodline member takes precedence.”

As the man—Ganymede—lifted his head after his polite greeting, Axia was momentarily taken aback.

‘…He looks young?’

Despite his sharp red eyes and poised demeanor, his calm, almost reserved face made him seem closer to a boy than a young man.

Ganymede spoke again.

“His Imperial Majesty ordered the Viscountess of Thracia to be ‘escorted,’ not ‘transported as a prisoner.’”

“…….”

“Let us go, Mother. This way.”

As soon as Axia realized that Corinth had finally let go of her, she quickly stepped forward.

Ganymede, who had been waiting perfectly poised, smoothly extended his hand and naturally supported her elbow as he turned.

‘That bastard Corinth… Is he really not going to follow?’

Or maybe… this boyish-looking man was simply strong enough that even Corinth wouldn’t dare interfere.

Only after they had left the Emperor’s inner chambers behind did Ganymede finally speak in a low whisper.

“This is our first meeting, but… you must have had a difficult time.”

“…Thank you. But… did you hear everything we talked about in there?”

Ganymede calmly shook his head.

“No. I only began hearing the conversation after your investiture was declared.”

‘So that bastard, who’s supposedly lived ten thousand years, suddenly started acting all crude on purpose.’

He must have deliberately removed the sound barrier just in time for the others to hear that part.

As Axia quietly gritted her teeth, Ganymede’s gaze flicked to the bloodstain on her chest.

“Were you stabbed in the heart?”

“…Seems like it.”

The wound had already healed completely, so there was no pain, but the wedding dress was torn, and a faint stain remained.

The immaculate young man’s brows furrowed slightly.

“You were humiliated because you have yet to fully awaken the powers of our bloodline.”

“Even if I do awaken them, I doubt I’d ever stand a chance against that ten-thousand-year-old demon bastard.”

“…Did you know that your assassination attempt was the most successful one in 1,500 years?”

As they walked, Ganymede gave a small, amused smile.

“You are gifted, Mother. As the firstborn of Grand Duke Arcas, I will be serving as your night-time secretary to assist with your adjustment.”

“…Wait, that Mother title—can we not with that?”

The ridiculous honorific made Axia’s head spin for a moment.

But more importantly—a night-time secretary?

“Hold on… Does that mean there’s a day-time secretary too?”

“Yes. As a bloodline member, I cannot move around during the day.”

Ganymede nodded slightly, as if genuinely regretful about the fact.

“The Imperial Palace has likely assigned someone to you. You’ll meet them when the sun rises.”

It must be the person the Emperor mentioned earlier, the one sent to explain everything.

‘If they’re just a watchdog, that’s even more annoying.’

“This is your room.”

Creak—

So this was the vampire quarters within the Imperial Palace…

But to her surprise, it was just a normal noble’s room, complete with windows.

The only odd thing was… to reach the windows, you had to walk past an extra layer of walls.

As Axia inspected the room, Ganymede approached her.

“In formal settings, it would be in your best interest to be addressed as Mother.”

“I’m definitely younger than you, though.”

“The title has nothing to do with age. In private, I will address you as Lady Axia instead.”

Even as Axia shuddered in discomfort, the young man’s expression remained as calm as ever.

“More importantly, you haven’t eaten in over three days. It’s time for your first meal.”

“Oh.”

Ganymede added,

“I’ve already made the arrangements, so I will assist you immediately.”

Her first meal as a bloodline member…

‘It’s exactly what I think it is, isn’t it? Drinking blood.’

“Well… yeah. If I want to live, I have to eat. I have to eat, but…”

“This will be your first time drinking from a human, so I understand if you feel some physiological aversion.”

As Axia hesitated, Ganymede gave her a knowing look.

“But don’t worry—I will be here to guide you so that you don’t kill your first donor.”

“No, no, that’s not the problem.”

She had already been through too much to let a mere existential crisis get in the way of eating. That wasn’t the issue at all…

‘…Your father just tasted absolutely disgusting.’

Axia swallowed back the words she couldn’t say out loud and carefully chose a more tactful response.

“The taste… I’m not sure if I can handle it. It was too strong.”

“…Ah.”

As soon as she toned down her words, Ganymede’s expression shifted slightly.

“If that’s your concern, don’t worry. The experience of a human drinking from a vampire and a vampire drinking from a human are completely different.”

‘…That makes sense.’

Axia nodded in agreement.

If blood was as foul and revolting as she had experienced before, there was no way vampires would be so obsessed with drinking it.

“The first meal will be from a volunteer. Let’s begin.”

Snap—!

At the sound of Ganymede’s fingers snapping, a small door in the adjacent room swung open.

A familiar figure stepped out.

Freckled skin, a bold expression, and green eyes—a girl with bright red hair tied in a ponytail.

Axia stared at her in disbelief before calling out,

“Emu…? What the hell are you doing here?”

“Hello, my lady. So, you failed your assassination and yet somehow managed to survive?”

“Keep your voice down! You’re in the Imperial Palace! When people say ‘the walls have ears,’ they mean it literally here!”

Axia shouted in horror, then took another good look at her.

‘No doubt about it. It’s Emu.’

Seeing Emu standing there, waving so nonchalantly, gave Axia an instant headache.

Her personal maid—was she really volunteering as her first meal?

Holding her forehead, Axia asked,

“I thought you stayed back at Thracia’s estate. How the hell did you end up here?”

“Well, knowing full well that the lord and his daughter were going to cause a disaster in the Imperial Palace, do you think the servants would have just stayed behind in the territory?”

Emu snorted.

“Most of the staff fled because they didn’t want to get killed as accomplices. I went straight to the capital to hide and wait for the situation to calm down before escaping.”

“That… didn’t work out very well.”

Ganymede calmly added.

“Every citizen of Thracia who left the territory was marked for tracking. The Pyro Clan used its information network to locate Miss Emu in the capital immediately. The Emperor’s forces also already knew her location.”

“…So I just got caught and dragged here, huh…”

“Hmph. But still, how could I not come, when it’s to help you, my lady?”

Emu, looking somewhat defeated, followed Ganymede’s lead and sat down at the table.

“As you may already know, according to imperial law, bloodline members are not allowed to feed on citizens residing in the capital. Instead, each clan must summon their designated blood donors from their respective territories.”

“…Right.”

As Ganymede helped Emu remove her coat, his red eyes locked onto Axia’s.

“Which means, Mother, you will also need to periodically summon citizens from Thracia’s domain to the capital for feeding.”

“……”

Axia let out a deep sigh, her gaze falling onto Emu’s exposed neck.

“…So I just… bite?”

“If you bite down the way you did with Grand Duke Arcas, the human will die instantly. Miss Emu, excuse me for a moment.”

Ganymede smiled gently before lightly tapping two spots on Emu’s neck.

“The carotid artery is deeper than you think, and the neck muscles have high elasticity. You should sink only your upper fangs in, as if you are pressing them deep into these points. Then, rather than biting down fully, let the blood flow naturally and drink from it.”

“……”

As Axia listened in shock, her first meal casually chimed in with her own thoughts.

“Wow. Sitting here, listening to a live tutorial on how I’m about to be bitten—it’s a pretty weird feeling.”

“Weird? That’s all? Aren’t you even a little scared?”

“Not really? I heard that getting drained by a vampire feels really good, so I’m kinda curious? Plus, I took an iron supplement beforehand.”

As Axia gawked in disbelief, Emu just shrugged.

“I mean, you’re not going to kill me, right? And if I do end up dying, I’m sure this handsome vampire over here will do something to stop it.”

Axia let out a long sigh, watching Emu’s completely relaxed expression.

At this point, if the donor herself was this carefree, maybe she should stop worrying, too.

“…Fine. Thanks for the meal.”

Axia pulled Emu into an embrace and sank her fangs into her exposed neck.

Chomp!

“Ugh, this actually hurts more than I thought! Ganymede, this hole in my neck will heal immediately, right?”

‘Can you please stop talking while you’re literally being eaten, Emu?’

Ssllurp—

Just as Axia sighed internally and tasted the blood—

“……!”

It was completely different.

The moment the blood touched her tongue, a fragrance bloomed in her mouth, and life itself seemed to flow down her throat.

There was no iron-like stench, no foul taste—
Instead, it was like drinking liquefied golden light!

And, and—

‘…I can’t believe this. This is unbelievable.’

Axia, who had been drinking thoughtlessly, suddenly ripped her mouth away and shouted at Emu.

“IT’S SWEET!”

“……?!”

With a deeply disturbed expression, Axia glared at the utterly bewildered Emu.

“What the hell did you eat before coming here?! Why is your blood so sweet?! This is practically sugar water!”

“Uh, well…”

“Wait a second. Ganymede! Is it normally this sweet?!”

“If I may…”

The young noble, his brows furrowing slightly, reached out and gently swiped the bite mark on Emu’s neck, gathering a trace of blood onto his fingertips.

He touched the blood to his lips—
Then gave a wry smile.

“…It is… excessively sweet.”

“See?! So it’s not just me! What the hell happened?”

After hesitating for a moment, Ganymede finally admitted the truth.

“Before being fed upon, blood donors from noble territories visit restaurants in the capital to improve circulation. It is tradition to eat well at famous establishments before feeding and then consume restorative meals afterward.”

“……!”

“We also provided Miss Emu with a budget to indulge in the finest cuisine for three days before today.”

“Here are the receipts.”

“Hand them over.”

Axia snatched the stack of receipts from Emu before she could pass them to Ganymede and began reading.

“Seasons Hotel’s 30-piece limited edition vanilla crème brûlée… Sacher Torte from Harrogate Hotel… Seolhee compote with Devonshire clotted cream on Earl Grey scones for an afternoon tea set…”

She didn’t even bother checking the prices.

Éclairs, red velvet cake, opera cake…

Every page.
Every damn page was just desserts, desserts, desserts, DESSERTS.

With trembling hands, Axia grabbed her maid’s shoulders.

“…Emu, if you keep eating like this, you’re going to die.”

“Well, I was about to die anyway a few days ago for treason, so what’s the big deal? Surprised?”

Emu said nonchalantly, pressing a hand against her neck to stop the bleeding.

“If I’m going to die, I might as well eat all I want before I go, right? And besides… wasn’t my blood delicious?”