❦❦❦
THEY were in the carriage, headed home.
Ernest thought back on the sight of Yuuri treating Major Conquest’s bloody hand. Questions started to flood his mind.
Who knew she could handle treating wounds so easily?
From the first time Ernest had offered her his blood, to even the time when she had been sick, every time Yuuri caught sight of his fresh blood, her eyes flared with desire. It was as if she were intoxicated merely by the sight of his blood.
And yet, when she treated Major Conquest’s injuries, she acted perfectly normal, without a hint suggesting that she was fighting back such powerful bloodlust.
As he turned the image of her drinking his blood over and over in his mind, a thought occurred to him. Maybe his blood had a special effect on her.
I’m sorry, Yuuri. This is all because I have a bad case of being mischievous when it comes to you...
Overcome with guilt, he bit the inside of his cheek. A metallic taste filled his mouth. He gazed over at Yuuri, who was likely steeped in her own thoughts.
She stared back at Ernest for some time and her eyes began to glaze over. Without realizing it, she reached out for him, before coming back to her senses and trembling in shock. She yanked back her outstretched hand and balled it into a fist on her lap.
Clearly struggling to calm herself, Yuuri looked everywhere except towards Ernest, from the curtains to her balled fists.
“Lord Er...nest...could we please open a window?”
“Why? You’d catch a cold from this chilly night air, so I’m afraid not.”
He was being even more wicked than usual. He knew damn well why she wanted to open the window.
“Uhm...are you injured?”
“Hm? Oh, well, I just cut the inside of my cheek from all the shaking and swaying of the carriage. It’s all right, it’s not that big of a cut.”
It was impossible to imagine anyone cutting themselves from the gentle motion of the count’s carriage.
“Your cheek?”
“What’s wrong? You don’t look well.”
Ernest pretended to not know what was wrong and sat next to her, trying to get a better look. Her breathing was ragged, as if she had just been running. And her eyes were dilated. In a way, it made her adorably pitiful.
“It’s just...the blood...”
“Ah, I’m sorry Miss Yuuri, I didn’t realize your ability to smell the blood of others was so strong.”
He did realize it, but he decided to feign ignorance.
“I...have to get out! I can’t...take the smell of blood any longer!”
Yuuri shoved Ernest away. It was a weak shove, likely because all of her strength was tied up trying to resist her baser instincts.
“You can have a taste. Come here.”
Yuuri’s body quaked in surprise. She was reaching her limits. Her quivering hand gently brushed his lips. Ernest, in turn, took her chin in his hand, trying to bring her face closer.
They were so close that either could feel the other breathe. Then, Yuuri took Ernest’s hand in hers and—
“O-Ouch!” Ernest yelped.
Yuuri had bit the base of his thumb while he was distracted. Her will so eroded by the scent of blood, she made no attempt at being gentle.
“Yuuri...?”
Yuuri lapped up every drop of blood from his wound before it had a chance to spill. She glared up at him, tears welling in her eyes.
Had she figured out how he had tried to use her vampiric traits to bait her into a kiss?
Her angry eyes seemed to be saying, “this is all your fault!”
It was a painful lesson in not being so careless. But at least it reminded Ernest that being with Yuuri was never boring.
She gulped, clearing her throat, and her face became slack as she gazed lovingly up at Ernest.
He was food to Yuuri and he would do well not to forget it.
“Hey, how come you were okay looking at the Major’s blood earlier?” Ernest asked, stroking her head and knowing that he wouldn’t get an answer while she was feeding.
If something happens to me, then Yuuri will...
It was a realization that had been slowly creeping its way into his mind ever since the day he visited Yuuri’s grandparents’ graves. Yuuri’s grandmother had followed her grandfather in death. Clearly, it was because she had lost her food source.
Ernest had intended to be Yuuri’s prey, but somehow, it was the other way around. From the moment he allowed her to drink his blood, he took her life into his hands. He was her sole source of support.
“Oh, my little witch. This was all my foolishness. Please forgive me. I’ll make it up to you. With something greater than flowers on a cloudy day or the starry skies. Perhaps we can pick up where we left off then?”
Stealing a kiss from the girl drunk on his blood was no fun. And kissing in the carriage with Yuuri still dressed as his page made it even less romantic.
Ernest lamented that he had such pride in being a gentleman. Yuuri had fallen silent for the most part. He knew if he did or said something she didn’t like, she would let him know. But her silence gave him the freedom to reflect out loud.
“What do you think? Where shall we go?”
“Nowhere. I’m going to sleep. Good night.”
Ernest wasn’t sure at which point she had started paying attention to what he was saying, but her refusal was clear. She laid her head in Ernest’s lap and closed her eyes.
She rejected Ernest so readily and then acted so sweet toward him. It was times like this that made him wonder just who was toying with whom.
“...That’s too bad. Sweet dreams, Yuuri,” Ernest said, trying out her name without the pretext of a title.
Yuuri gave no response and, soon after, the carriage filled with the sound of her snoring.
✦ ✦ ✦
❦❦❦
YUURI showed up at breakfast the next morning wearing the summer dress Ernest had prepared for her.
It was a flowery dress with more frills than Yuuri was accustomed to. Ernest liked Yuuri in male attire, but in the end, he preferred to see her in something cute and girly. A silly grin stretched across his face as he internally applauded himself on his taste in clothes.
“Well, good morning there.”
“Good morning. Why didn’t you wake me up last night?”
“You seemed to be sleeping so peacefully. And you’re light, so it was no problem. Still, you sure can sleep in, Miss Yuuri. You really are like a cat.”
Yuuri had gone straight to bed the night before without supper and slept straight until morning. He had expected she would wake up hungry and so ordered his servants to make her a light snack, but Yuuri never touched her food.
“I was just tired from all of the excitement yesterday.”
Yuuri refused to look at Ernest as she took a seat across from him. As she had missed dinner the night before, a large breakfast of pancakes topped with honey and apples had been prepared for her. The sweet smell enticed her appetite.
She dove into the pancakes like her usual self, cutting off big bites and shoving them into her mouth. As she did, her expression softened. Ernest could tell just how much she enjoyed the meal by looking at her face.
“Lord Ernest, is it really all right for you to skip work two days in a row?”
Her question didn’t seem to be some thinly veiled jab or joke. She appeared genuinely concerned. So of course, Ernest was playful in his response.
“How rude, Miss Yuuri. Our toil yesterday was part of my job, as is my meeting today with Major Conquest.”
Despite all the fuss, Ernest was taking his time, enjoying spending the morning with Yuuri. Thus her observations weren’t completely unfounded.