Chapter 25: Chapter 25

“You... tend to use your body too carelessly.”

Elysia couldn’t find anything to refute because it was true. She believed in vampires’ resilience and their bodies to be superior to humans.

Cassian approached her and leaned down slowly. His nose was within her reach. He stopped approaching from the distance where they could feel each other’s breath.

Elysia crept back from him with a deep smile.

‘Don’t get too close to me now.’

However, the bed inside the barrack was so narrow, allowing Cassian to approach her even though she tried to step back. There were a lot of things he wanted to ask her. Does the divine power work, or what the hell is it even? He straightened up and sat on the chair in front of the bed.

He was planning to sit down until Elysia grabbed the hem of his shirt. As she cleared her breath, she opened her mouth hesitantly.

“You’re worried... aren’t you?”

When asked if he was worried, the breath he had held back burst.

“Why else would I say that, then?”

“I’m sorry. I made you worry, and now...”

She couldn’t keep up with her words. Cassian moved a little closer to her. She was not in good shape, so his smell seemed to be sweeter than usual.

Elysia felt apologetic for asking him to give her blood once more since he had already given it to her earlier. Still, the situation made her instinctively hold onto him as he slipped away.

“That’s... I’m really sorry. I don’t think I can stand it right now.”

He understood the meaning of the words attached to her saying sorry.

Even if Elysia didn’t say that, Cassian already knew that she was at her limit since she was staring at him as if she was going to devour him. That gaze was enough to provoke him.

Elysia had not fully recovered yet.

The heat formed in her purple eyes.

“Just a little bit...”

Her eyes, looking up at him, went wider than usual. Her slender fingers were barely grasping his hem as Elysia quietly spoke in a nagging tone. Cassian finally decided to go over to her, though the problem right now is...

‘Is it okay to give her my neck?’

If Elysia knew what he was thinking, she would have grabbed her belly and laughed, saying that he’s cute.

She tried to read the permission from Cassian’s expression in silence. Elysia gave a little more strength to her hand that was holding his hem. He was gently dragged and faced her directly.

Her lips, which he thought would go straight to the nape of his neck, touched his lips.

Elysia’s lips bite his lower lip. The scent of his blood spread throughout his mouth.

“...Hoo.”

She took a deep breath, and she slowly sucked his lips. Soon, both lips intertwined passionately. His hands tightly wrapped around Elysia’s waist. His fingers, gently rubbing her waist, didn’t move anywhere else and kept reminding himself that she was still unwell.

Even though her lips fell and time had passed, Elysia didn’t let go of his hem. The red eyes were staring at him with an intense gaze, but Cassian did not avoid her gaze. However, the breathtaking atmosphere was shattered by Elysia’s words.

“What happened after I collapsed?”

“The knights and wizards were chased and got injured.”

Cassian added that one of the knights was all right and the rest of the injured crew were not seriously disrupted.

Lumiere also mentioned that she suffered some injuries, but it was a very minor wound. She was confused about whether it was fortunate or not. ‘I guess because she’s the female protagonist, so luck would naturally be on her side.’

“Have you figured out who it was?”

“No. I’ll have to find it out myself.”

Elysia understood what Cassian was talking about. There was only one way to find a magician who used magic.

“If you want to use the tracking magic, then you have to go right now.”

As time passed, the traces of the remaining magic faded, so they had to hurry. Although it hurt as though her whole body was beaten, the urgency somehow gave her the strength.

Cassian raised his eyebrows.

‘Does she have any idea what kind of state she is in?’

“Can you use magic now?”

Elysia’s magic recovery and resilience were fast. Nevertheless, he hasn’t seen any signs of recovery yet.

“I have a spirit stone, so use it.” He sighed.

“What, you have it? That’s good, though. Give it to me.”

Elysia asked for it promptly, reaching out her hands and glancing at him. He held his hand and opened his mouth.

“I’m going with you. I have things I need to do.”

Before she knew it, they had become bundled up together everywhere they went. Elysia knew he wouldn’t deny it if she said it openly. So far, there has not been a single time he denied helping her.

When she got up from her seat with a short reply, Cassian took his robe and put it over her.

She pointed at his back with her finger. “Isn’t my robe over there, though?”

“I haven’t thought about letting them know that you are awake.”

After putting on a hood attached to the robe, Cassian satisfactorily raised the tail of his mouth.

She nodded roughly and raised her body, gazing at his lips. His lips were cracked, causing a wound in the middle of the thick lower lip because she bit him.

‘It’s more stimulating when I see it like that.’

When she looked at his lips, she seemed to be tempted by the beautifully decorated food.

As expected, her taste became a little strange.

***

Because everyone was asleep, the only sound heard in the camp was the burning firewood. Cassian hugged Elysia and grabbed the reins of his horse. One of the knights saw him, asked.

“Captain, where are you going?”

“Don’t worry. There’s a place I have to check out. Tell others I’m going out.”

“Sir!”

The expressions of the knights who looked at Cassian’s were strange.

“Why are his lips...?”

“There was a wound...?”

It didn’t seem right no matter who looked at it since there was no person here that could make Cassian’s lips crack.

Then, they got their answer.

“Hmm... Did Lady Lowell wake up?”

The other knight nodded agreeingly.

So, wasn’t she the unknown lady that Cassian was holding?

***

Elysia covered her nose with her handkerchief at the scent of the thick blood filling her surroundings.

The air was still poisonous because there were one or two dead monsters. So, she felt a little nauseous.

“Are you all right?”

Cassian pulled the spirit stone out of his arms and handed it to her. It was an incredibly sized runestone. ‘All the things you have are incredibly terrifying.’ Though it shouldn’t be surprising, coming from a person who put a gemstone as a robe button.

She put a thin robe on Cassian and herself, then jumped off the horse.

His hand paused from reaching out, attempting to support her. ‘Did that small amount of blood just a moment ago recover her?’ She had amazing resilience every time, even when she went through something.

Cassian moved his steps through the areas where the corpses of the monster were. Elysia followed him closely. The horrible scene that she saw in her previous life’s films was different in scale and realism, so she didn’t want to be left alone.

Upon arriving at the place where her magic circle had been drawn, he stopped his steps.

“Cassian, who do you expect it to be?”

As Elysia waited for his answer, leading the magic in the spirit stone, she saw the green magic sucked into a small glass bottle she had prepared in advance.

The tracking magic of the tower was a method of using magic and extracting the remaining traces, but it was not possible to figure out who was behind it at the moment. Since the magic sample must be gathered in one area and it must be completed in order to recognize the owner of the extracted trace.

So, by putting the sample and contrasting it was the completion of the tracking magic. She transferred it to a bottle just in case. The target of the investigation would be all wizards in the subjugation team.

Elysia turned her head and glanced at him, who hadn’t answered her yet.

‘Why is his face so red?’

Come to think of it. It seemed that he had been in that state ever since they left the barracks. Elysia didn’t know how much blood Cassian gave her when she was unconscious. He wouldn’t have known how much he had to offer, too, so he might have overdone it.

She raised her hand to his face and touched it gently.

“Are you sick? It looks like you have a fever.”

His face was hot. Elysia looked worried and put her hand on his forehead. He then grabbed her hand, which was on his forehead.

Is it an illusion that it felt as though Cassian was avoiding her gaze?

“Let’s go back.”

“...Are you okay?”

Cassian nodded his head and headed for the place where his horse was bound. She glared at the back of his head with a sulky expression.

‘Why are you being like this suddenly?’

She rode on the horse, handed one glass bottle to Cassian, and put the other in her own bag. Even though she took the Spirit Stone from his hand, there was no reaction from him.

“I’ll return a similar one later.”

“Okay.”

She had no magic, so it was somewhat frustrating since she had a habit of operating magic unconsciously, so now there were limitations.

‘Did I overdo it?’

Cassian was stiff a while ago when Elysia called his name. When she called his name, normally it was often deliberate, like when she called his name in front of the prince.

Though he realized he overly reacted, it felt unfamiliar to hear his name uttered from her lips so naturally.

Elysia comfortably leaned on him.

‘I feel much more comfortable after drinking Cassian’s blood.’

If it gets too hard for him to bear in the future, she wondered if she can drink his blood little by little instead.

She could see the bright red blood spilling from the bandage that wrapped around his hand.

“Oh, I guess the wound is open. Are you okay?”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll get treatment when we get back.”

He remembered how his doctor brought up about his monstrous resilience. However, meeting Elysia improved the standard of his resilience completely.

“Still...”

Once again, Elysia nodded her head sulkily at his voice, reassuring her not to be concerned.

‘I have to be nice.’

Peering at the darker surroundings since they were far away from the camp, she started to feel her body wearing out.

Her magic has yet to be recovered, and her physical condition was also in poor condition, so it was difficult to even just encounter monsters. Of course, it wouldn’t be a big deal regardless because Cassian would be beside her.

Whether it was because Elysia was worried about her physical condition or because it was in the middle of the night, the hoofs felt slow.

‘When we return to the Empire, I’ll have to give a gift to Cassian.’

While contemplating what to give him, she saw the destination in the distance.

“We have arrived.”

Contrary to her worries, there were no monsters that appeared until they reached the vacant lot.