“I see... In that case, I’ll wash you nice and slow, so if there’s any discomfort, just let me know, okay?” She scrubbed gently, as to not cause her any fear, yet with enough force to disperse any grime from the girl’s body. Ristia could have easily eliminated the grime with cleaning magic, but if Ristia had learned anything from her older sisters, it was that an older sister should wash their younger sister’s body, so she was staying loyal to those teachings— which was a complete lie. Ristia doubted her sisters’ methods, always washing her body without the use of cleaning magic, up until today, but as she washed Maria with her own hands, she felt herself overcome with tender emotions, which finally gave her insight as to why her sisters always wanted to wash her so badly. In short, it was a moment of sheer bliss. But as she finished washing Maria’s back, she pondered where she should wash next—That was when her eyes fell upon the back of Maria’s captivating neck. Once Ristia’s eyes met her nape, her heart started to throb loudly, and vampiric impulses stronger than any she’d had before welled up from inside of her.
“—Ah, khh...” She bit her lip to subdue the impulses. But while that would normally quell the problem in an instant, it instead only proved to make them stronger. The urges ran through her mind, making her think, I want to scoop up Maria right now and sink my fangs into her neck. Then, suddenly...
—No, I... can’t! Maria is precious to me. She’s a candidate for the role of my little sister. And she is most definitely not food! She’s also had terrible things done to her by Director Georg. She means so much to me; I couldn’t throw myself on her like that!
She bit her lip until it started to bleed in an attempt to keep her compulsion from rising up to the surface.
“...Director Ristia?” Before she even realized it, Maria had already turned around and was looking up at her. With her defenseless, naked body spread before her eyes, Ristia found herself taken aback. “...Director Ristia? Is something wrong? Are you alright?”
“Huh? Ah, yes, I’m alright. You can wash the rest of yourself, right? Or do you want me to do the front, as well?”
“D-Don’t put words into my mouth!”
“Heehee, okay, then.”
Maria turned beet red as Ristia tried her hardest to give her a mischievous smile in retort. As such, she quickly washed off the remaining suds, said, “Okay, I’m going to get out. See you later,” and fled the bathhouse.
“Hah...! Uh-ah... Why...?”
Ristia had run off into her quarters, squatting in her bed and clutching her chest. Even after returning to her room, her vampiric impulses weren’t settling down a single bit. Of course, she had several kinds of food in her Item Box, some of which included meat dripping with fresh blood... or, in less crass terms, meat that was uncooked and undrained. However, Ristia’s body wasn’t satisfied with that variety of blood. What Ristia thirsted for was the fresh blood of Maria, Nanami, and the children of the orphanage. And that was the reason she was in so much turmoil. She wasn’t resisting the act of drinking blood as sustenance itself, but she considered Maria, Nanami, and all of the orphans precious parts of her family. In spite of that, she looked at that family like food. It was a conclusion that rocked her to the core.
“Ah-uh...! Hah... What do I do...?”
She desperately worked her brain, but she wasn’t coming up with any ideas. At this rate, she was bound to assault Maria eventually, but if that were to happen, Maria would develop scars on her heart that would persist for a lifetime. Of course, assaulting the other children was out of the question, as well. Considering Nanami knew about her situation, she wouldn’t have to worry about frightening her. If she explained her reasoning, then she would gladly let Ristia drink her blood, but... Ristia didn’t want to view Nanami as food. Faced with dire straits, her only other recourse was possibly getting away from the city for a while. Once that idea started rolling in her head, there was a sudden knock at her door.
“...Who is it?”
“It’s me, Maria... Can I come in?”
“Maria...” Of all the times for her to show up... Ristia thought, half in tears. Maria’s voice from the other side of the door seemed worried, and Ristia didn’t have it in her to refuse the girl once she heard her tone. And so, Ristia said,
“Yes, of course. Come on in.” Ristia allowed Maria in as she chomped at her lip, trying to pretend like nothing was wrong.
“Okay, I’m coming in now, so... Huh? What’s the matter?!” Maria, clad in thin pajamas, saw Ristia squatting in her bed and ran over to her side to check.
“Oh, it’s... nothing,” Ristia replied, feigning her calm demeanor with a smile.
“You liar. It certainly doesn’t look like nothing. What’s the matter? Do you have a fever?” Maria climbed onto her canopy bed and placed her palm on Ristia’s forehead. The sight of Maria worrying for Ristia clad in her pajamas was lovely. The second that thought ran past Ristia’s mind, her vampiric impulses became even stronger.
“Khh...”
“Well, no fever... So why are you acting so...”
“It’s... nothing.”
“Like I said, this doesn’t look like nothing!” Maria stated, raising her voice. Having never seen Maria act like this before, Ristia’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Director Ristia, I’ve known that you suffer from time to time.”
“Y-You have?”
“Yes, I have. So why aren’t you telling me? Why are you saying it’s ‘nothing’? Am I that unreliable in your eyes?”
“No, that’s not it... Not at all.” Despite being so delicate and frail, she was going beyond the call to provide for the other children, so Ristia would never think of Maria as unreliable, but considering how precious she held the girl, she still couldn’t bring herself to speak about her situation. That was what she thought, until...
“In that case, tell me. This making me sad!” Maria urged her frantically. Ristia was taken aback, temporarily forgetting about her vampiric impulses and staring at Maria.
“...Maria? Why are you... ‘sad’ about this?”
“I’m so disheartened that you’d ask me that. Director Ristia, you saved me from the darkness. If you start acting weird, then it’s only natural that I would be concerned, isn’t it?”
“Meaning you feel... indebted?”
“That’s right. But not out of duty or anything like that. I’m just really, really grateful to you, Director Ristia. So I want to help you in any way I can. That’s how I feel from the bottom of my heart.”
“Maria...” Maria was sincerely worried about Ristia, yet she was looking at the girl as sustenance. Her conduct was betraying Maria’s emotions, a fact that brought pain to Ristia’s heart. It caused her indecision over whether she should disclose the truth or not... but only for a second. If considering Maria a food source was betrayal, then refusing Maria’s request for Ristia to disclose the situation was nothing short of betrayal, as well. While she couldn’t control her vampiric impulses of her own volition, she could certainly decide whether or not she should disclose the situation to Maria. Hence, Ristia made the judgment call to confess her sins.