Chapter Eighteen #2
“You’re annoyingly self-sacrificial. You call yourself evil even though you have never done anything wrong.
When you were on the run, injured and cold, you gave your coat to a homeless child.
You saved a wolf pup whose mother was ambushed by predators in the forest. You went after bandits, returning the stolen belongings to their owners without ever taking credit for it.
I know everything you’ve done that you would never tell others, because you hate yourself too much to ever believe you could do good.
I’ve seen you at your worst and at your best hundreds of times.
” I felt a little dirty bringing up that much forbidden knowledge all at once, but I wanted to convince her that I knew what I was doing.
“How… do you know so much?”
“If I told you I’m from another world, would you believe me?”
“It is the only explanation that would make any sense…”
“But like you said, that was from another life. Maybe things are different now. And if they are, then I would be happy to get to know the Jeanne of this life as well.”
Jeanne took a deep breath before asking, “Do you truly mean to help me get my revenge?”
“I do,” I answered. “And to make sure you never feel alone again.”
“Perhaps… if this curse is responsible for the future you promise… I may start thinking of it as a blessing.”
“I think that’d be a nice way to look at it.”
Jeanne showed me a soft, subtle smile before taking a step back and flicking her hair to the side, showing off her own neck to me.
“I did not wake today thinking I would find one worthy of pledging myself to.” She reached up to the collar of her shirt and tugged it down to show more of her neck.
“A one-sided vow will not do. For centuries, I have hid from that man, afraid of leaving the shadows, clueless as to how I would ever avenge my mother. But with you… the fog has been lifted. The path before me, cleared. I have a reason to believe in the future. Should this prove to be a ruse, consider me fooled and yourself victorious, for I no longer wish to live if this is not true. I have waited for a sign for so long… that if this is not it, it will never come.”
I placed one hand on her waist, causing her to flinch, while bringing my lips to her neck.
“When—was the last time I was touched by another, I wonder,” she whispered. “Such an unfamiliar feeling… but… one I find comfort in.” A single tear rolled down her cheek. “To think I was so desperate for this that I would cry. How shameful of a woman am—”
I grabbed her chin and held her still as I pressed my lips against her own.
Her eyes widened in shock when she realized I was kissing her, but they closed after a few seconds. Being closed did not stop another tear from leaking out, though.
“There’s nothing shameful about you,” I said after gently bringing the kiss to an end. “I’ll remind you of that every day for the rest of our lives if I need to.”
“Is this real? How am I to be sure that I am not dreaming? Or that I have not gone mad?”
“Maybe this will help you realize the truth.” As originally intended, I returned my mouth to her neck and sunk my teeth into her flesh.
It wasn’t as hard nor as long as when I bit Lupa the other night, but it was enough to make Jeanne squirm and gasp.
“So, is it a dream, have you gone mad, or is it real?”
Jeanne didn’t bother holding back her tears at that point. “I refuse to accept a reality where it is anything but the last.” Then, as it was her turn, she wrapped her arms around me to gently hold me as she brought her fangs to my neck.
The bite Jeanne gave me was totally different from when Lupa did it.
With Lupa, it was more or less a dull pain the entire time.
With Jeanne, it started off far more painful as I felt like I had two knives stab into my neck…
but then it became incredibly pleasurable.
I found pleasure in Lupa’s bite, but this was on a whole different level.
No wonder being bitten by a vampire was an addictive feeling in the game’s lore. Those who had their blood drunk by a vampire could never live without it again from the sheer pleasure only experienced through it.
It was like sexual pleasure, but I felt it through every inch of my body—everywhere my blood flowed. Like my entire body turned into an erogenous zone. My blood carried burning pleasure through every vein.
It was strange. It felt better and more satisfying than an orgasm. I would have thought such intense pleasure would at least make me hard, but it didn’t.
Maybe because she was sucking out too much blood to spare for getting hard.
But also.
My health bar dropped to only 70% from just a few seconds of sucking.
Then 60%.
50%.
40%.
My vision began to fade, but the pleasure never did. For as long as her fangs were buried in my neck, it was impossible to feel anything but the most intense pleasure possible.
30%.
Jeanne pulled her teeth out from my neck. That addictive pleasure lingered, but I felt it rapidly fading.
As for Jeanne, she looked at me with a satisfied smile and flushed cheeks, blood trickling from her lips down off her chin.
While I felt like I just had the equivalent of a full-body orgasm stronger than I could ever imagine was possible, Jeanne looked like a woman who was only just getting started. “That—that was… delicious,” she whispered between panting breaths. “I did not know blood could taste so divine.”
“Glad… I’m glad you enjoyed it,” I said.
“But… I don’t think I’ll be awake much longer.
Trust… my friends, alright?” I reached around her to beckon toward the end of the alley where Rosie and Lupa were.
They both started rushing my way as soon as I gave them the signal. “They’re… your friends now, too.”
“Friends,” Jeanne repeated. “I thought I would never—are you alright? Did—did I drink too much?” It must have finally sunk in just how much of my blood she drank.
The last thing I saw before passing out was just how worried she looked.
Her worried expression was pretty cute.
I felt a soothing, warm hand stroke through my hair.
There was something incredibly nice about that.
I could tell I was tucked in on a bed with a pillow below my head while someone petted me. Probably Rosie going by how small the hand was.
“Morning,” I grumbled before letting out a long yawn.
“Glad to see you’re awake,” said the owner of the hand petting me, “son.”
I opened my eyes.
I thought I was going to see Rosie sitting next to the bed. Instead, it was the short man with a mustache otherwise known as Frolin.
“Oh,” I said.
“Disappointed?” Frolin asked. “Sorry, but my wife sent the girls out to buy groceries.”
I sat up and let out another yawn. “I see. Thanks for keeping me company.”
“It’s no problem. My mom used to comfort me the same way whenever I was sick or hurt, so I thought you might appreciate it. Hope you don’t mind having an old man pamper you.”
“Must have been nice. Sorry, not trying to sound jealous or anything, just… really, it must have been nice.”
“Your parents never did this sort of thing for ya, huh?”
“The nicest thing they ever did for me was… hm…”
“Son, it shouldn’t take ya long to think about it.”
“Right? Uh… I guess there was this one time I was in the hospital, I remember my dad screaming at the nurse because she brought me the wrong food, so he got pissed at her shouting, ‘What the fuck am I wasting my money here for if you can’t even get something this simple right?’”
“How in the world is that being nice to you?”
“Well, I thought the pudding was gross at the hospital, and she brought me pudding. So, I didn’t have to eat something I hated.”
Frolin reached up to place his hand on top of my head again. “Maybe it’s better if you forget all your memories of them.”
“I’d be happy to do that. Then again… by remembering them, I can see just how incredible everyone else is by comparison.”
“You know, son, men here—in this world, us men have it pretty easy. I’ve seen guys surrounded by women who acted like it was no big deal.
Guys who didn’t appreciate just how fortunate they were.
It was normal to them. Point is, when you talk like this, and when I see how you treat those girls, it’s no surprise that you’ve already got a third girl following you.
I’d wager most men here don’t deserve all the lovers they’ve got, but I wouldn’t bet against you. ”
“I don’t even know what I’m saying most of the time.
” I looked down at my hands. Just like with my reflexes, I felt…
unnaturally confident with my personality.
But that didn’t come as a gift from Seth, I didn’t think.
“I think… all that time I spent stuck in bed—I guess, I’m so determined not to waste this chance I’ve got now that I’m almost on autopilot.
I spent most of my life wishing things were different and fantasizing about what I would do if I could do…
well, anything. So, now that I’m not a worthless parasite who can only exist thanks to everyone else taking care of me, I guess you could say…
I almost want to say that I don’t give a fuck, but that’s not really true.
I do care, just… I’m afraid of ever having more regrets or wishing that I did things differently, so it’s like I’m acting with more confidence than I actually have. Does that make sense?”