NOVEL NEXT After an unexpectedly intense psychological battle, the showdown between two prideful geniuses finally began.
The first to step up was Eleonora. As the veteran from the culinary world who had provided the most blood to Aria among all humans, she sat down on Aria’s lap without a moment’s hesitation and swept her hair aside with her left hand.
Lavina, who was tense from Eleonora’s fluid movements, swallowed hard. Why did every little gesture exude such proficiency?
Though Lavina believed her own blood offered enough competitive edge, she couldn’t deny that there was a distinct difference from the plating stage onwards.
Aria, with a sigh that seemed to signal acceptance, gently placed her hand on Eleonora’s shoulder.
In truth, Aria didn’t particularly like feeding in front of others. Being caught with her teeth sunk into someone else’s nape while feeling all those eyes on her was daunting and made it hard to focus on the taste.
Of course, there had been exceptions during wartime.
Since she became an emperor, opportunities to indulge had diminished compared to the past. However, there was that time when some human nobles conspired to revolt and got caught. Aria had swiftly dealt with them, devouring 300 rebels overnight, showcasing her past reputation as a notorious glutton.
But in that case, they were prey she could afford to kill without any emotional attachment, and it was a rather delicate task to drink blood without taking a life.
It wasn’t impossible to do so where others could see, but when it came to preferences, that was the reality.
“Do I just taste it and score?”
“Yes! But fairly! You have to judge with a hand on your heart!”
How could there be fairness when I’m the only one judging? There’s only one judge after all.
For reference, the reason there was only one judge was that Plona, who was snacking on popcorn nearby, voluntarily withdrew.
While Aria had stepped into a transcendent state, completely liberated from the constraints of instinct and bloodsucking urges, treating bloodsucking as just another meal, the other vampires were still bound by their instincts.
Of course, the minions who shared Aria’s blood had distanced themselves significantly from instinct, yet they were still far from perfect, so Plona chose to watch rather than risk anyone, especially Lavina or Eleonora, getting hurt.
In any case, Aria’s concerns about the legitimacy of the evaluation were quite valid, but she didn’t feel the need to voice them. She had learned from experience that it was quicker to just go along with it until Lavina simmered down instead of logically reasoning when the reins had slipped away.
Ignoring the intense gazes that felt like rays shooting from two pairs of eyes, Aria carefully sank her fangs into Eleonora’s nape.
Though she was slightly concerned about the attention, the intertwining of Aria and Eleonora felt entirely natural. Having performed this action thousands of times, even a lapse in concentration wouldn’t make it go awry.
With her eyes closed, Aria savored the violent sweetness flowing in with every breath.
One could compare it not to a cheap sugary taste that makes your nose wrinkle, but rather to the rich and clean aftertaste of natural premium honey.
Add to that the wild and violent flavor unique to dragonkin, and it resembled a high-grade steak marinated in honey for aging. This was merely an analogy borrowed to compare to human food; those without a vampire’s palate could never even imagine such a taste, no matter how much they tried.
“Wow…”
“Oh my.”
Plona covered her face as if she had glimpsed something she shouldn’t. Although it made little sense to cover her eyes when her shimmering eyes were flickering rapidly between her fingers, Lavina, who couldn’t hide her excitement, had a slight blush creeping onto her pale skin.
Aria had often drunk Eleonora’s blood. For that was exactly what Eleonora hoped for.
But as mentioned earlier, their meals typically took place where there were no prying eyes, so watching openly like this was effectively a first for Plona and Lavina.
The sight of Eleonora with eyes unfocused and a slack mouth, breathing heavily as if enduring something, felt… oddly scandalous.
Logically speaking, it wasn’t something she should be ashamed to show. If you just thought that she was knocked out by a nasty cold, it was a sight you could see, yet it somehow felt like it was something that shouldn’t be shown.
Considering that Eleonora, who had only recently been freed from slavery, still lacked emotional expression apart from her eyes and tail, perhaps that was why it felt wrong.
A seemingly long period of time passed swiftly.
As Aria, who had buried her face in Eleonora’s shoulder, slowly opened her eyes, she lightly licked the two holes where blood was seeping from, completely releasing her grip on Eleonora. Only then did Plona and Lavina exhale the breaths they had been holding.
Feeling something odd but unable to confirm the cause due to the angle, Aria tilted her head only momentarily, but it wasn’t unusual for these two to be weird, so she shrugged it off.
“Checking. Next.”
“Wha? Yes!!”
Lavina’s voice shot up like a cat hit with a water balloon. She had clearly initiated the action, yet she hesitated to fill the vacant spot after Eleonora stood up, feeling unexpectedly embarrassed after seeing just now.
If Aria had the ability to read the minds of others, she surely would have doubted her own eyes and performed a backflip at this moment. The fact that Lavina still harbored such embarrassment was a discovery worthy of the century.
“Relax. If you move unnecessarily, you’ll bruise.”
Aria wasn’t particularly worried about Lavina getting bruised, but she decided to give a professional warning, nonetheless.
As a peculiar sensation sank into her skin, Lavina shivered.
The hot and ticklish stimulation made her heart race. The sensation of her blood being drawn felt thrilling, akin to staring down from the edge of a cliff, while simultaneously making the world feel distant as if she were diving underwater.
Having never been drained by another vampire, she wasn’t sure if this was typical, but Lavina found Aria’s bloodsucking surprisingly gentle and delicate, and quite pleasant.
Not for an instant did she worry that her life might be in danger. It had been this way up to now, and it would continue to be so. The time they had spent together had instilled a trust of that level.
Once the lips that had been pressed gently against her shoulder withdrew, and a moist, soft tongue brushed lightly across her skin, Lavina bobbed back up to the surface.
“Done. 9 out of 10.”
“Oo….”
Lavina adjusted her clothes while marveling at Aria’s swift scoring. It was a more generous score than she had anticipated.
Since she was the one who had entrusted the judgment to Aria, it felt a little awkward saying this, but she had indeed braced herself to be nitpicked without reason.
“There’s a clean and crisp flavor. No off-taste when swallowed.”
A flavor like fresh salad with a nutty taste like traditional artisan tofu. Coupled with a refreshing sweetness reminiscent of pressed fruits, it could definitely be called a delicacy of a different nature compared to dragonkin.
Lavina was swelling with quiet anticipation. A score of 9 out of 10 meant she could dare to dream of victory.
By the way, what score did Eleonora get? Hadn’t it been announced yet?
“What about Eleonora?”
“11 points.”
“N-no, but you said 10 points out of 10!!”
Caught off guard by the sneaky attack, Lavina pouted. She had prepared herself to some extent, but it felt unfair given the blatant bias.
“Evaluation criteria: 10 points out of 10. Freshness bonus: 1 point.”
Lavina was left speechless. A freshness bonus! It meant she should hurry up and grow up.
Naturally, Lavina could never fill the gap of 200 years with any tricks. The excuse that an elf’s physical age translates to them being still quite young when compared to humans wouldn’t apply to dragonkin.
An elf’s average lifespan is about double that of a dragonkin’s, so such a complaint could only arise once Eleonora turned at least 100. Whether there was a significant difference in taste was secondary; with an age gap over two centuries, there were no arguments left.
“Here, just feel good. I give you a 9.5. Sorry, Eleonora, but I’m taking off that bonus. Is that okay?”
Aria waved her hand as if in kindness. The meaning was clear: don’t refuse and just take it.
Even with that generous adjustment, Eleonora nodded energetically. With her hands on her hips, emanating a winner’s aura, she looked confident.
Even with a score of 9.5 to 10, the outcome remained unchanged.
How strange. Even though she had half-expected this shift, why did it still feel like defeat?
Suddenly feeling dizzy, Lavina clutched her forehead and stumbled. Seemingly impressed, Eleonora reached out her hand.
The moment Lavina took that hand, Eleonora opened her mouth.
“The age difference.”
In her triumphant stance, Lavina lost consciousness.
Eleonora Drake, the whirlwind of her twenties. She doesn’t initiate trouble but finishes things neatly once she starts.
It seemed she had taken some serious damage from this incident, as Lavina’s outbursts didn’t resurface for the next three months.