“Count. Should I store it here?”

“Yeah.”

Helga placed the items received—no, extorted—from the Emperor yesterday into a crystal case. Next to it was another case containing the gloves awarded when the Emperor recognized her with the Seven Stars.

Luna, one of the Emperor’s two personalities, embodies the ideal image of an Emperor with her solemn and meticulous nature. However, even she has a flaw: a severe case of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Luna always wears gloves and loves bathing, habits stemming from her OCD. It was so severe that she even argued with Lucy, who shares her body.

Last time, Luna gave me gloves as a mockery. Knowing her OCD, I added a few words to provoke her shame.

This time, I asked for socks to effectively provoke her again.

Seeing Luna’s flushed face was truly satisfying.

Even if I’m called a pervert, it’s worth it to humble Luna’s arrogance.

But… thinking about it now, would any woman react the same, even without OCD?

No… some might even be desperate to give them.

“Don’t try to swap them again, Helga.”

“Eek…”

Helga, who was subtly trying to remove her stockings when I looked away, clicked her tongue.

She tried to swap Luna’s gloves last time and hasn’t given up yet.

“Do you have eyes on the back of your head, Count?”

“Your actions are predictable.”

“Ah. Isn’t that because my feelings for you are obvious?”

Helga is always direct, often catching me off guard.

“I’m disappointed, Count.”

She clung to my arm.

“Everywhere I look, mine are fresher. Why don’t you add mine to your collection? Do you prefer other women’s scents over mine?”

I almost asked what was fresh but held back.

Helga was deliberately speaking in a soft, seductive voice, even rubbing her chest against my arm.

As a man, it was hard not to notice.

“Let go, Helga.”

“No. I won’t let go until my scent is on you.”

Helga clung tighter.

She’s unusually persistent today. I wanted to play along with this teasing, but it felt like I’d be giving in to her whims.

“Or, Count, be honest. Are you still using the stockings I gave you?”

“I threw them away.”

“Ah! So you’ve already used them all?!”

No, I didn’t. I didn’t use them. I’m not into that.

Helga, misinterpreting my cold response, tried to remove her stockings again.

“What are you doing now?”

“Huh? Freshly delivered…”

“Don’t…”

Helga’s outlandish conversation gave me a headache.

“Gasp! Did I need to give you ones worn for over two days?! Sorry! I didn’t know and washed the ones I wore yesterday…”

“Enough… Just stop talking.”

Helga seemed jealous after seeing me store the Emperor’s gloves and socks, items with his scent.

It could easily be misunderstood. I’m storing them as precious gifts, but it might look like a pervert’s collection.

Helga always sees me through rose-tinted glasses, but others might not. Especially Bella, who’d be horrified and might never speak to me again.

To avoid such a disaster, I ordered Helga to keep the gifts out of sight.

While at it, I also organized the study.

I hadn’t managed the mansion’s study since I was mostly in the school office.

After finishing, Helga dusted her hands and asked,

“So, what should I do now? Didn’t you say you needed me for something?”

Ah, right.

I didn’t call her to clean.

“Yes. I need your help today.”

*

“Ni-ni-nice to meet you, ma’am!”

Rian stuttered as she bowed to Helga. Her pitiful demeanor made even stuttering Wendy seem composed.

“Ah… Yes…”

Helga, caught off guard by Rian’s greeting, looked at me as if asking if this was really Rian.

Sadly, it is.

Rian, the vampire who once saw humans as prey, has returned as the most timid girl.

Helga, who knew about Rian’s condition from my explanation, was visibly flustered seeing her in person.

“Uh… Rian?”

“Sorry!”

Rian immediately apologized, leaving Helga with a complicated expression.

“Why are you apologizing?”

“Y-you seem angry… Sorry.”

“I’m not angry.”

“Ah… Sorry. I didn’t know…”

“No, it’s fine, no need to apologize…”

“Sorry. I didn’t realize…”

“Sigh…”

Helga covered her face with her hand in frustration.

Even I, listening nearby, was exasperated.

While I was at the Imperial Palace, Muiry and Rika, who briefly looked after Rian, said her condition was quite severe.

Rian’s self-esteem had plummeted, and she constantly worried about others’ opinions, showing signs of emotional instability.

Helga scratched her head and spoke to Rian.

“I’m the one who should apologize.”

“Huh?”

“Uh… I might have been too harsh…”

While we did use extreme measures to suppress Rian’s hunger for humans, that wasn’t the cause.

What crushed her was human hostility and ostracism. Even Rian, who would later rise to be the Demon Lord’s subordinate, was broken by the cruelty of group exclusion.

Originally, I planned to take Rian on the northern expedition.

The current members are Helga, the Annihilation Maid, and Rian.

Wylie, the Aslan commander, will stay in the capital, while Helga, as deputy commander, will lead Aslan. I thought of having Rian assist Helga.

But now, that’s impossible.

“By the way… Count.”

“…?”

Helga hesitated before asking me.

“Why is Rian like this…?”

As Helga pointed out, Rian’s appearance was unusual.

She wore a steel muzzle fit for a fierce dog, with her arms bound by chains and leather belts.

She looked like a dangerous criminal restrained.

No one said anything, but Rian bowed her head.

“Probably because I’m useless…”

“No. It was necessary.”

I restrained her because I planned to feed her blood, as Wylie suggested in his letter.

Bringing Helga was also a precaution.

I calmly asked Rian,

“Rian. Would you like to drink my blood?”

“Huh?”

I offered my blood to confirm Wylie’s words and to see if she might change.

Rian was originally human but is now a vampire.

While we’ve changed her perception of humans as prey, she’s still a vampire. And vampires need blood to survive.

Rian’s confusion stems from her identity. Forcing a vampire to live as a human in human society is unnatural.

Just as a tiger can’t become a cat by living among cats.

I want Rian to accept her vampire nature but not see humans as prey.

Thus, I thought if she drank blood and entered a state of awakening, her low self-esteem might recover.

If the previous education was about taming the human Rian without blood, this is about taming the vampire Rian.

I took out a small glass vial.

Pointing to the crimson liquid inside, I said,

“It’s my blood.”

“?!”

Rian’s pupils shook.

“I-I can’t drink something like the Count’s blood…”

“Don’t call yourself ‘something.’”

I chided her in a stern but gentle tone.

“Humility, when excessive, becomes self-loathing.”

“But…”

“Rian. Didn’t I tell you? You’re now a member of the Ruelberta Family. Disparaging yourself tarnishes my and the family’s name.”

“Sorry…”

“If you’re sorry, drink my blood. It’s time to release your suppressed desires.”

I opened the vial.

Rian, smelling the blood, turned her head sharply. The scent was too tempting for her.

“I-I’m scared.”

“Scared?”

“Yes… What if I can’t control myself and hurt someone again…”

Human hostility towards demons often stems from harm caused by demons.

Having felt that hostility in training, Rian, despite suppressing her hunger, still felt uneasy.

I calmly persuaded her.

If I ordered, she’d drink, but I hoped she’d do so willingly.

Soon, Rian nodded.

“Okay… I’ll try to be brave and drink…”

She slowly opened her mouth.

I fed her the blood from the vial.

Then…

“?!”

Rian’s body began to tremble.

It looked like the blood had some narcotic effect.

She knelt, her legs giving out, and started laughing insanely.

“Ah…ha…”

Feeling something was off, Helga stepped forward.

“Rian. Are you okay?”

“Delicious…”

“Huh?”

“The Count’s blood… delicious.”

Rian licked her lips with a crimson tongue.

The atmosphere changed drastically after she drank the blood.

What is this eerie feeling…?

It wasn’t just my imagination.

The air around Rian shifted.

It felt suffocating, like…

“Count… Rian is…”

At Helga’s trembling voice, I looked back at Rian. She was muttering something.

Getting closer, I understood what she was saying.

“Deliciousdeliciousdeliciousdeliciousdeliciousdeliciousdeliciousdeliciousdeliciousdeliciousdeliciousdeliciousdelicious.”

Her eerie voice sent shivers down my spine.

“Ah.”

Rian, who had lifted her head at some point, was staring at me.

“Count. More blood.”

The timid Rian was gone, replaced by a madwoman.

Then, I realized.

The feeling I had after she drank the blood.

“Huh? Rian. I’ll do anything. More blood. Hurry.”

It was fear.

Primordial fear of being devoured.

If not for ‘Pride,’ I might have fled.

But…

“Oh my… What do we do?”

Helga, beside me, spoke to Rian.

“The Count’s blood isn’t refillable. If you’re really desperate…”

Her soft voice carried a stern warning.

“My fists are infinitely refillable. Want some?”

Helga’s eyes flashed.