As she drew closer to me, I flexed my muscles, straining with everything I had to free myself, though it was to no avail; the blood tendrils holding me down were not only immensely strong, but were also sapping my mana.
"H-How about we talk about this? S-Surely that's possible." Forcing a smile at the woman while struggling to free myself, she ignored my words and waved her hand, causing the tendrils to shift me until I was hovering at her eye level.
"But we already did. Consider this, the farewell part." Beautifully smiling, she removed her hat and opened her mouth, revealing her two large fangs, before leaning towards my neck. Instantly, I felt two prickling sensations, followed by the blood in my body surging towards my neck as she consumed it; however, my blood regenerated quicker than she could drink.
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Mistress POV
Brushing aside Alexander's hair, revealing his delectable neck, I licked my lips, my stomach growling in hunger. 'Bon appétit.' Opening my mouth, I sank my fangs into his mouth, though the instant I felt his blood touch my fangs, my eyes snapped open.
'W-What is this blood!? I-It's so powerful! S-So delicious! S-So everything!' There were no words I could fathom to describe the blood I was consuming; it was everything I could ever dream up and then some.
Dropping my hat, I gently grabbed Alexander, deepening my fangs as I began drinking, eager to suck every ounce of blood out of his body; while doing so, I could physically feel my mana reserves growing.
Minutes passed, but I continued to drink, drink, and drink, my mind filled with nothing but the taste and power of his blood; however, after five minutes, I started realizing that I hadn't drained him dry.
'How does he still have blood?' I opened an eye, looking at him, expecting to see a mostly dried husk, but to my astonishment, that wasn't the case; he looked to be in perfect condition. Actually, if anything, he looked… Bored.
Frowning slightly, my pride having been pricked, I squeezed my jaws, digging deeper into his neck as I sucked even harder, draining him at a speed that would leave any normal human dry in seconds. Yet, as I watched, not only was he not transforming into a dried husk, he even yawned.
"Um, how much longer will this be?" Hearing the boredom within his voice struck directly at my pride. 'T-This human! H-How dare he!? I-I'm the Vampire Princess!' Narrowing my eyes, I went above and beyond, though to no avail; nothing I did worked, and Alexander remained alive.
Reaching my limit, having consumed too much blood that I actually felt satiated, I opened my mouth, releasing his neck before taking a few shaky steps back, glaring at him in confusion and fury.
However, after a few moments, I closed my eyes and took a few calming breaths, thinking more logically rather than acting on emotions.
'His blood is incredible, no, incredible is an understatement, it's an addictive drug no Vampire can resist.' Opening my eyes, I looked at Alexander, eager to continue drinking his blood again, though I reluctantly restrained myself.
As I looked at him, I stopped seeing him as just a pestering human, but an opportunity; with him by my side, I can further solidify my standing in the clan, grow my faction's strength, and become the undisputed heir.
'Yes, with him, such a thing is possible; no, more than possible.' Picking up my hat, I looked at Alexander while licking my lips; he would become my treasure.
Closing the distance, I grabbed his chin and stared into his purple, crystal-like eyes as I used [Hypnotic Gaze]; it hadn't worked before, but now, since I'd consumed his blood, its power will be enhanced. "Become Mine." "No." "Huh?" Freezing, I rapidly blinked, looking at Alexander's impassive expression in confusion.
"I-I said, Become Mine" Gripping him tighter, I leaned in closer, adding [Allure] atop my hypnosis, making me even more irresistible, yet… "No. I'm no simp." Alexander raised an eyebrow before shaking his head, causing my concentration to break, my spells vanishing as I faltered.
"W-Why aren't you falling under my control? Y-You should already be prostrating before me!" Although I didn't intend to, I ended up losing control and raising my voice, though I couldn't help it; Alexander was my goose laying the golden eggs. However, if I couldn't bring him under me, my plans would be pointless, and the battle for the heir might not become mine.
'If I can't get him, should I just kill him?' Highly unfortunate, but killing him would be the best; I couldn't risk him being found out by any of my competitors. Besides, I'd already gotten an unexpected benefit; I increased my mana reserves by nearly ten percent. Being too greedy isn't always a good thing.
With such thoughts, I raised my hands, intending to command the blood tendril to rip him to shreds, but just before I went through with it, I hesitated. 'N-No, I can't give up on him so quickly.' I bit my lip in frustration; I was probably being too greedy, and karma could come back to bite me, but this was definitely worth it. If I could somehow get him onto my side, I just know I could win over the others; I'd even be able to poach those from other factions.
'A pact.' It was something I'd rather not do; letting non-vampire, much less a human, drink my blood didn't sit right with me, but, in the long term, it was more than worth it.
Snapping my fingers, blood poured from my feet before enveloping into a dome, isolating Alexander and I from the others; waving my hand, causing the tendrils holding him to disperse, he fell to the ground before slowly standing up. "So we're talking now?" "Silence."
Shooting him an unamused look, I reached into my space pouch, grabbed two silver bowls, and tossed one to Alexander. "You have two options, Alexander: either make a pact with me and live, or refuse and die." "Oh wow, such a difficult choice… What do I have to do?" "Pour your blood into the bowl."
Cutting my own wrist, pouring my blood into the bowl, I watched Alexander do the same; he cut his wrist with a weapon he summoned from his body, though when I saw his blood, my eyes widened. 'Golden blood. Ichor. No wonder, it makes sense… Good thing I didn't kill him.'
Although Goddess Nihil watched over us, killing the child of a God or Dragon was foolish. 'Hmm, perhaps he doesn't know his heritage? Well, it matters not whether he knew his heritage or not; if I'd killed him, it wouldn't have changed anything.'
"Now swap." Using a blood tray, I floated my bowl to Alexander while he did the same with a guest of wind; holding his bowl of ichor, I licked my lips before focusing.
"Goddess Nihil, your servants ask for you to watch over and uphold this pact… In exchange for his life, the human, Alexander, shall become my subordinate." Looking upwards, I raised the bowl, speaking to Goddess Nihil before drinking the blood in one fell swoop, while Alexander did the same with my blood.
Once I finished, I looked over to Alexander, whose expression was one of immense focus, causing me to furrow my brows, only for him to suddenly collapse, worrying me. "What happened?" Approaching him, I pressed a hand on his head, my blood entering his body, checking for why he suddenly collapsed, yet I discovered nothing; he was in peak condition.
Retracting my blood, I softly sighed, hoping I hadn't just wasted my time and dispelled the blood dome. "Marston." "Yes, Mistress?" "Take Alexander, he is my new subordinate." Marston, a trusted aide who'd been with me for as long as I could remember, was slightly taken aback before nodding.
"Understood, Mistress." Bowing, he approached Alexander, picking him up while I headed to the teleportation array, prompting Marston and the soldiers lining the wall to follow.
Once everyone was standing on the teleportation array, I raised my finger, pushing a drop of blood from the tip, causing the array to release a blood-red light as the drop activated the teleportation.
After a few moments, we appeared in a clearing just outside the Juglar Mountain Range, the same exact spot as where we'd entered from.
Spotting our carriage, I approached and entered it while Marston put Alexander in the trunk before taking the driver's seat. "Where to, Mistress?" "Return home. I'll inform Mother that things have been taken care of." With a snap of his reins, the carriage began moving, causing me to remove my hat only to chuckle.
"Hehe, hahaha. Oh, Mother, you never would've thought that I would acquire such a heaven-sent opportunity." I wanted to laugh more, to indulge in my victory, but I regained my composure; I could enjoy the victory of getting Alexander to my side, but as for actually becoming the undisputed heir, that would take a bit of work.
'Nothing I can't manage, though.'