“…Lift your face.”
“…!”
Her voice was so gentle and soothing, I could have listened to it forever. And yet it also possessed an unyielding strength, one that would brook no dissent.
At the sound of her voice, composed as it was of these two conflicting natures, my heart skipped a beat.
Unable to resist, I ventured to look up at her.
“……”
I was rendered speechless by what I saw.
A pair of crimson eyes, gleaming like rubies. A well-defined nasal bridge, high and regal. Cherry-colored lips standing out vividly against her white, almost transparent skin.
Is she really human…?
Meltreza was so beautiful that such doubts welled up inside me. The woman before me was nothing short of a goddess.
“Meltreza of Woodstock, Archduke Woodstock’s granddaughter…,” she said.
“…Lady Meltreza…” I reached out to take her outstretched hand in my own and softly kissed it.
“…I assume my grandfather dragged you here…,” she said bashfully.
“No,” I replied, firm and decisive. “I came because I wanted to meet you.”
Yes… No one had dragged me here. I had come on my own behalf.
“I see… Master Hugo, I’m sure you’ve heard the rumors about me…”
“…Seeing you in person and speaking with you myself, I realize now they were merely envious gossip.”
Setting aside her otherworldly appearance, there was no way someone with such a gentle demeanor could possibly be a monster… Even I, seeing her today for the first time, could tell that much.
But when I said this, I received a somewhat unexpected reaction.
“Oh-ho-ho…”
For some reason, Meltreza let out a low chuckle.
“…But they are true,” she said, the corners of her mouth turning up into a smirk.
That was when I saw them—a pair of fangs peeking out between her lips.
“Ho-ho… Did you see? The truth is, I’m a vampire… Or rather, half-human, half-vampire.” She giggled, raising a finger to her lips as if asking me to keep a secret.
Vampires were the most powerful of monsters, renowned for their captivating beauty, overwhelming strength, and ability to enthrall unsuspecting victims.
Ah-ha-ha… So the rumors were true after all. It seemed Archduke Woodstock’s son had fallen in love with a monster—a vampire.
“Well, then… What shall we do now? Perhaps I’ll torture you as they say in the rumors. I could burn you alive, tear you apart, maybe drown you in your own blood. How about it?”
Unable to hold it in, Meltreza chortled with laughter.
Not once in my life—in all six of my lives—had fortune turned in my favor. All I knew was betrayal and murder at the hands of my own family.
But not this time. Not in my seventh life. Never again.
That thought alone was a weight off my chest. And if I dared make a wish…I hoped this would all stop here, and there would be no eighth lifetime to worry about…
“…Why are you so calm…?” she asked, the faintest hint of irritation in her voice.
But of course I was calm. I thought that if she killed me, it might well be my salvation.
“…Because if I can meet my death at your hands, that will be a wish fulfilled.”
She let out an astonished gasp. “…Are you trying to commit suicide?”
“Ha-ha… I wonder,” I answered with a wry grin.
It was true—I dreamed of reaching the end of this wretched repetition. Yet the raging inferno in my chest, ignited at the tail end of my sixth life, still burned desperately inside me, calling out for revenge…
“…If you would show me the smallest mercy,” I said, “I’d ask that you grant me one wish…”
“A wish…?”
“Yes.”
My request must have come as a surprise to her; Meltreza raised a hand to her cheek in contemplation.
“…Very well,” she said at last. “Say it.”
“Thank you. What I want…”
I glanced upward and looked straight into her crimson eyes.
“…is to take revenge on House Grenville…on my family.”
As soon as I made this declaration, Meltreza’s eyes went wide.
“…What do you mean?” she asked suspiciously. “Aren’t you hoping to marry me in order to benefit Marquis Grenville?”
“That’s just what he wants. It isn’t my wish,” I answered, shaking my head.
“…May I ask why?”
Why…?
There was no way she would believe me if I said I’d lived through six separate lifetimes before this one. Yet something told me she would never trust me if I didn’t tell her the truth. There was something about the look in her eyes—like she was sick of people trying to deceive her.
“Right… This is going to sound ridiculous, but please allow me to tell you the story of my foolish life…”
And so I told her everything I had been through thus far—how I was the product of a political marriage; how I had been shunned by every last member of House Grenville since the day I lost my mother; how I had tried so desperately to stay on everyone’s good side, to be accepted as part of the family; and how I had done so again and again over six separate lifetimes, only to be killed by my family every single time.
“…This is my seventh attempt.”
“I…see…”
Unburdening myself for the first time ever left me feeling strangely relieved. Maybe all I’d ever needed was someone to hear me out.
“I know you may find my story hard to believe. And so I leave it up to you, Lady Meltreza, to decide what to do with me.”
I hung my head and awaited her judgment. And then—
Squeeze.
“I’m amazed you managed to endure for so long…,” she said warmly as she caught me in an embrace.
I was taken aback, unsure how to respond.
“L-Lady Meltreza…?”
“I’ve seen all sorts of malice and met people spewing every kind of lie imaginable… But I don’t sense anything remotely like that in you.”
“N-no…”
I could feel my heart trembling at the sound of her sweet whispers.
“So I’ll take you at your word,” she said, slowly pulling away and fixing me with a delicate grin.
“A-ah…!”
For the first time, I, forever ostracized, forever scorned, forever treated like a burden, was being addressed with such gentle kindness…!
Maybe this was a game to her. Perhaps she merely pitied me.
“Aaah…!”
But even so…
“Aaaaah…!”
I was…so happy…
“…Are you okay?”
I bawled my eyes out like a baby. When I finally regained my composure, I saw Meltreza peering worriedly into my face.