76. A way home.
"Please, I am really sorry."
"Humf."
Nemi desperately apologized to a pouting girl. The girl ignored her and turned towards Julia. Giving her a polite smile.
"Your Highness, it seems there is an annoying fly buzzing around. Shall I kill it?"
"Could you rather make peace with it?"
Julia responded with a troubled smile while she gently caressed Lily’s hair. The girl's; Kolen’s smile twitched slightly.
"Is that an order?"
Asking with as calm and polite a voice as she could manage, she made sure to emphasize the order part. Julia awkwardly scratched her head before answering.
"It was more of a suggestion."
"In that case, I will politely refuse it then."
Kolen smiled and poured tea into a cup.
"Tea, your highness?"
Kolen offered the cup to Julia, who took it in and slowly drank it. All the while, Nemi looked like she was going to cry.
Julia felt bad for her, but there wasn’t much she could do. After all, the current situation was Nemi’s fault, to begin with.
While Nemi was spending her last few days with Julia. Kolen and all the others who were with Nemi when she was caught were sitting in jail, completely forgotten by Nemi. Most of them forgave her when they saw Julia; after all, to vampires, nothing was more important than the royal family.
However, Kolen saw it differently. As far as she could see, Nemi simply forgot about them entirely. If it would be like the others thought. That Nemi was too busy protecting the princess. Then it would be fine. But Kolen knew better; she knew how Nemi was. That was why she was angry; she knew that Nemi was just too busy having fun.
"Thank you."
Julia took the cup from her and took a sip. While desperately trying to not look at Nemi. Which proved to be difficult in the cramped carriage. Not having many other alternatives, Julia turned to the right and just looked out the window. That way, she didn’t have to see Nemi’s expression.
"mmm〜"
To further distract herself, Julia fed a cookie to Lily. Who happily wiggled on her lap.
"Chuckle. She adores you, your highness. It shows the bond between the two of you."
Julia was sure that Kolen addressed that to Nemi more than herself. or, at the very least, it sounded that way. The glance of Kolen’s eyes in Nemi’s direction also suggested that was truly the case.
"Sister, sometimes I have to admire your way of toying with a girl’s feelings."
Nika looked at them with what looked like a sad smile. Julia could hardly deduce what it meant in her case. As much as she tried to dig through her past life's memories, she couldn’t recall a single moment when she saw that smile on her face.
"I never did such a thing! …at least not intentionally."
Julia wanted to argue against Nika’s claim, but she quickly changed her mind. She wasn’t sure if she had ever done anything that could be considered toying with feelings. She only knew that she never did it on purpose.
If she had to give herself an evaluation, then she would not hesitate to mark herself as stupid in matters of love. When she actually thinks about it, she recalls that once a girl tried the kabedon on her, and her dumpy ass didn’t get it.
She just ended up making the girl embarrassed as well as making herself seem more difficult to approach. At the time, she wanted nothing more than a girlfriend.
"I know, sister, but you have to admit you broke the hearts of a lot of girls."
"I can’t argue with that…"
Julia looked away; it was one of those things she was happy to forget. Right after the memory of her parents, fuc- no no brain doesn’t go there, pleeease.
Julia desperately tried to send her thoughts in a different direction. So she started imagining puppies and kittens. As her face softened while she was lost in a fantasy land, Lily hugged her waist in her sleep. Thanks to this, Julia’s mind changed the puppies and kitties into dog-eared and cat-eared girls. Which was still better than remembering certain memories of her past lives parents.
"Sis, you’re drooling."
Nika sighed and wiped Julia’s mouth with a handkerchief. Bringing her back.
"What were you thinking about?"
Nika tilted her head to the side. Though she was sure what her sister was thinking about.
"Master… enjoy…"
Amid her sleep, Lily wiggled a bit, opening her eyes slowly as she revealed her delicate neck to Julia. Gulping a mouthful of saliva, Julia looked away. Lily looked way too erotic for Julia at the moment.
"Master?"
Lily looked at Julia cutely, wondering why Julia hadn’t bitten her yet. While Julia tried to not complicate her relationships more than they already were. which was harder than she thought, or at the very least it seemed that way to her as Lily’s tail wrapped around her leg.
"Your Highness, if you are hungry, May I offer you a few sandwiches I prepared?"
Kolen chimes in, as a savior angel in Julia’s eyes. Presenting her with a basket filled with sandwiches. Julia took one and thanked Kolen, then she took a bite. Letting the soft texture of the bread melt in her mouth.
Does the master not like my blood…"
Lily’s voice sounded sad. Which stabbed Julia in the heart. Quietly eating her sandwich, she had to witness how Lily looked depressed as she nibbled on her own sandwich.
As they ate, Julia began to feel increasingly bad. Though she didn’t think there was actually any reason for her to feel bad, Regardless, she rubbed Lily’s ears.
"Those sandwiches were delicious. Though I am a little thirsty now."
As Lily heard that, her face lightened up, and she quickly sat up. Her tail waving all the while. Julia lightly grabbed her shoulder, avoiding Lily’s expectant, blushing face.
Swallowing her saliva, Julia revealed her sharp fangs, and slowly, as gently as she could, she pressed them against Lily’s neck.
"hgmm〜"
Lily moaned as Julia’s fangs pierced her skin. Feeling her blood being drunk by her dear master made Lily happier than almost anything else in her life. Nika and Nemi, in the meantime, looked at each other in silent comradeship.
"Your Highness, we have arrived."
Kolen announced as she looked out the window. Julia let go of Lily, who looked extraordinarily happy. Licking the last drop of blood from Lily’s neck, Julia started to feel embarrassed.
"L-Lets go, okay?"
Julia gently lifts Lily off her lap and quickly gets out of the carriage. After a long time, she finally saw the capital again. Finally, back home A smile crept onto her face as she saw the palace wall.