“M-Miss Selia?!” Leonis exclaimed and hurriedly looked away.
Riselia sat on the chair while looking mostly unperturbed and turned the shower’s faucet. Hot steam rose from the water, obstructing his sight.
“It’s been days since I got a real bath…,” Riselia said as she doused her hair and applied shampoo.
Ten years old is already plenty old enough for a boy, but she didn’t seem to mind…which honestly was nothing new.
“And it’s been a long time since I took a bath with you, too,” she added, facing Leonis with a smile.
“I—I’ll, uh, I’m actually just about to get out…,” Leonis said.
“…Oh. Really,” Riselia whispered, disappointed.
This made Leonis realize.
Oh, she needs blood…
Veira’s training made her deplete much of her mana. On a normal day, she’d drink some of his blood before bedtime, but after today, she probably needed to replenish her mana reserves early.
…Leaving my minion unsatisfied would be a blemish to my dignity as Dark Lord.
Leonis, who was already on his feet, sank back into the tub. “Actually, I think I’ll warm myself up here for a while longer…”
“Y-yeah?” Riselia said as she washed her hair, her voice perking up a bit.
“By the way, what about Veira and Rivaiz?”
“They’re playing a board game with Regina right now. We still have the empty storeroom we used in the Holy Light Festival, so they can sleep there.”
“Th-they’re spending the night here…?” Leonis screwed up his face in displeasure.
“Yes, all the Central Garden’s hotels are serving as reception centers for the injured right now, so they can’t stay there…”
“…I see.” Leonis sighed.
Unlike Leonis, whose child body got sleepy at around 21:00, the other two Dark Lords didn’t require sleep.
I imagine they’re probably doing it out of interest…
But having four of the Dark Lords that nearly brought the world to ruin at one time resting at the same dorm was unheard of. On the other hand, having them stay here for days could be trouble, so he’d probably do well to set up guest rooms for them in the Dark Lord’s Castle.
“Pardon me…” Riselia slipped into the tub, having finished her shower.
Her silver locks clung to her bare skin, making for a very alluring sight. She sat with her back to Leonis, the water overflowing from the bath washing over the bathroom floor.
“…”
“…Leo, can I?”
She wrapped her arms around Leonis’s body, pressing against his back.
“Go ahead.” He nodded calmly, so as to not let her notice his bashfulness at this situation. He cocked his head, so as to bare his neck and make it easier for her to suck on his blood.
“Mm… Nha…” Riselia tightly hugged Leonis body and sank her teeth into his neck.
“…!”
The slight pain followed by a sweet throbbing made him groan out softly.
“Mwha… Mmm…!”
“M-Miss Selia, my ear tickles…!” Leonis fidgeted within the hot water.
The water wavered and splashed. The amount of blood she sucked had been increasing recently, likely due to her power as a vampire minion rising. And while seeing his minion grow stronger was something to be glad about…
This…might be dangerous…
Leonis’s mana capacity was essentially bottomless, but the same didn’t hold true for his blood reserves. He was still a ten-year-old child. If Riselia kept growing in power like this, eventually she’d suck him dry.
“Heh-heh, Leo, I know you like it when I nibble on your ear,” Riselia whispered with a smile and blew into his ear.
“…?!”
…My minion is teasing me!
And his Dark Lord’s dignity wouldn’t allow it.
“N-no, I don’t!” Leonis said, trying his hardest to keep his voice from becoming high-pitched like a girl’s.
…The bath water was also just getting cold.
“Are you feeling better now, Miss Selia?”
“Y-yeah… Thanks, Leo.”
Her vampiric impulse finally came under control. The shame at what she just did settled in, and her cheeks were rosy.
“I-I’m sorry. Did it hurt?”
“No, it didn’t. I’m just a bit woozy…”:
“A-are you OK?” Riselia held Leonis, who had become dizzy, in her arms.
“…”
His heart raced a bit, feeling the softness on the back of his head. His gaze locked with her ice-blue eyes, reflecting the water’s surface, as they wavered with emotion. He could clearly guess what was on her mind.
“…You’re thinking about Miss Finé, aren’t you?”
“Yeah…” Riselia nodded. “It was on my mind the whole time during dinner. Is Miss Finé hungry right now, is she getting enough sleep, is she cold… Is she lonely.”
Putting her thoughts out in the open, she gripped Leonis’s hand tight.
“Miss Selia…”
She was full of regret at failing to save Elfiné, and her inability to help her now was haunting her all the more. Leonis felt the same turmoil a thousand years ago, when he failed to save Roselia…
Leonis went quiet, looking for the right words. Words of comfort alone would achieve little, so instead he simply held her hand tight.
“I hope we can find some kind of clue…”
“Miss Clauvia said she’s tracing Miss Finé’s activity in the Astral Garden to discover her whereabouts, but…”
“…”
It wasn’t likely she’d find anything. Nefakess Reizaad and the other former Dark Lords’ Armies Void Lords were behind the D-Project.
I know her sister is very talented, but a human’s investigation can only go so far…
But then, Leonis realized something felt off.
“The Astral Garden?”
“Yeah, Miss Finé would infiltrate the Phillet Company’s Astral Garden to look for information about the D-Project. So maybe there was some kind of clue there…”
“Didn’t Miss Finé always have a cat Artificial Elemental whenever she dived into the Astral Garden?”
“…Uh, yeah. Cait Sith.”
“Yes, that’s the one.”
It was an original Artificial Elemental created personally by Elfiné. When Leonis infiltrated the Phillet Company casino, she had him bring that black cat along.
“Where’s Cait Sith right now?”
“Huh?”
“If he was in her terminal when she was captured…”
“You think she might have sent it away with some kind of clue?!” Riselia asked, her eyes wide.
Leonis nodded.