Chapter 95 – First Date in the Principality [Filia the Blood] (1)
The memories of the church he spent with Ravela and Erden were unforgettable and flickered in front of his eyes countless times. A sticky and dense party the three of them spent in a large church.
‘It was amazing.’
It was a weekend that no other modifier came to mind. Ravela and Erden switched roles of pets and seduced Marey as if competing. Later, the two women took a leash at the same time and led them for a walk around the church, continuing their play that they couldn’t bear to tell others.
Even so, there was no regret left because of Erden’s request to visit her again on the weekend and because of Ravella’s fiercely competitive spirit towards her saintess. She was rather full of anticipation, and her nervousness filled her lungs and leaked out with a light breath. The blood rushes to his lower body just thinking about how the two of them will serve him next time.
What are you thinking outside? She quickly shook her head and brought her mouth to a disposable coffee cup to clear her color-filled head.
The sweet smell of caramel filled her nose. There is also a chocolate scent that overpowers the nutty milk smell. When I put the tip of my tongue to it, I could taste the bitter taste of hot coffee that would burn my delicate skin. Soon after, you can feel the unique savory taste of milk pressed into the sweet scent, and the light sweetness comes to the end before you even savor it, leaving a slightly salty feeling.
“Little guest, how are you?”
“Yes, the first taste is slightly bitter, but…”
Marey, who kept sipping coffee, was smiling at the mobile cafe manager.
“It’s because I’m a kid~. I’m glad you like it. Is this your first time in the principality?”
“Ah, yes… Is it obvious?”
“You know it when you keep looking at people passing by. If you’re interested in the locals, not your fellow tourists.”
The manager of the pojangmacha (?), Who left a message saying to be careful because there are people who don’t like it, shifted his attention to the new customers. She carefully lifted the full coffee cup. It was an unfamiliar landscape all around, but a sweet scent emanated from the excited atmosphere of the people.
The capital of the principality felt more exotic than Balter. In the middle of the street, people holding small performances could be seen sparsely, and people who could be said to be good men and women were passing by the streets. However, most of them felt a bit alien to their skin color as white as white jade.
“Are you from the Empire?”
“Ah yes.”
Of course, the store manager who was selling delicious coffee was also a middle-aged man with a dignified style with a foreign feel. Skin as white as jade. Pointy-looking fangs visible in laughter.
“If you watch the festival every year, you can see that the number of people is increasing. It’s something I couldn’t have imagined before, so it’s amazing. Strangely, it feels good.”
I couldn’t find words to answer. Of course, the manager didn’t seem to want an answer from Marey either.
“One more cup… No, three cups would be a little too much for a child. I’ll warm up some milk, would you like some? Oh, of course it’s free. I am not in the business to make money.”
“Then, please.”
She had no particular desire to drink, but she was vague about rejecting the manager’s kindness. She looked at the back of the store manager, who went back to the mobile cafe to wait a moment, and then looked around the street where people were passing by.
“Okay, bring some milk. Eat while warm. More and more people are coming to this city.”
Unlike Marey’s gaze, the store manager’s gaze was fixed on the passers-by. There was a sense of ease in the light smile, and it was a smile that made people feel comfortable.
“Hey… What is this ‘Blood’ written on?”
“Huh? Ah, what is that? It’s a menu made by locals. It must be a bit like that for people from the Empire to know, can you tell me?”
“No…”
She guessed what it was, but Marei shook her head, as it seemed that there would be no turning back if she gave a clear answer. Romania was a principality of vampires. Of course, when it comes to food that locals eat, only one comes to mind. The store manager, who seemed like a friendly uncle, felt distant for some reason.
The manager patted Marey on the back with a smile and let out a small sigh as he looked at the people waiting in line.
A lot of people were still passing by. I feel a little hazy at the sound of musical instruments resonating in the street. The bracelet Erden had given me radiated heat. Are you playing with your magic? Looking at the face of the performer from afar, I noticed the pointy ears. Is it an elf or a vampire? The stream of consciousness did not stop and began to flow freely.
While I was concentrating on playing with my eyes closed, a strange commotion broke out on the other side. It wasn’t a big fuss, but it was a subtle hum that I could notice because the performance was over thanks to it. My curiosity did not stop, so I said goodbye to the store manager and cautiously moved to the center of the commotion.
“…That’s right!!”
“We…”
A clear voice came over the wall of people. The murmur of onlookers made it impossible to know what was going on over there. With a disposable glass full of milk in his hand, he couldn’t make his way through the crowd. I tried to check what was going on by lifting my toe, but I couldn’t confirm it because it was hidden by the people surrounding me.
“Uh… Uh…! Now, wait… Mi, don’t push…!
The crowd of people, like moths to a fire, began pushing Marey from behind to identify the center of the commotion. When the center of gravity on the tip of the toe lifted all the way was disturbed, it was also a moment to be sucked into the crowd.
The young boy’s affectionate dissuade melted into futility in the tumultuous crowd. Even though he was hit by people, he hugged him tightly so that the milk wouldn’t spill, and was pushed as if he was being thrown to the front before he knew it. The disposable cup I was holding spilled out and half-filled milk danced in the air.
“If you were thinking of bringing my mood down to hell today… I’ll give you a passing grade.”
A girl holding a red spear larger than a grown man growled lowly, crumpling her milk-stained hat in a bunch. The men around the girl, wearing a deep-brimmed bread hat, took a few steps back at the sound of a low voice reminiscent of the cry of an animal. Her red eyes sparkled dangerously, and a self-indulgent voice escaped from her trembling body.
“I’m sorry…”
When I hurriedly apologized for Marey’s appearance, the other person’s stern expression subtly relaxed. She was wearing a white jacket and jeans that seemed comfortable to work in. She was attire that would have been mistaken for a man, had it not been for her small breasts and the long brim of her hat.
“See you later.”
The girl, who pressed the crumpled hat all the way back to her hand, shifted her gaze. The white nape of her neck was visible beneath her shoulder-length silver bob hair. She held her spear with her index finger, the other fingers undulating her spear, and then released her again. She seemed to be doing nothing, but she did not move because her body was strangely stiff. It was accurate to say that her body did not move due to the murderous spirit contained in her red eyes.
A few years ago, I suddenly remembered meeting a wolf in the mountains. Even as a little girl barely touching her own lips, she reminds me of a beast in her features. And a red rose came to mind. It was beautiful, but it seemed like it would hurt if she touched it.
“She clearly warned me not to participate this morning,” She said. There’s no next, so if he wants me to attend that uncomfortable meeting, make it clear to him to sit next to her mother, not the whore.”
At the girl’s warning, the men who were crawling on the floor supported each other and disappeared. Like a rose blooming alone in her garden, like a white fence surrounding her garden, she was the only one standing in a space blocked by a wall of crowds.
“Hey, come to your senses.
The girl let out a small sigh and grabbed Marey, who couldn’t come to her senses, and raised her up. The front of her Marey’s clothes was covered in dirt. It was caused by one of the men whom the girl lightly flipped over with her spear and fell onto her Marais.
“If you stay here, it will be annoying. Why don’t we go somewhere else and talk? Follow me.”
“…Yes.”
As I made my way through the crowd of hers, I stared blankly at the back of the girl who hadn’t let go of her wrist and moved her steps as if being led.
“Okay, it will be fine now. Are you hurt anywhere?”
After forcing her way through the crowd and moving for a long time down her narrow alleyway, the girl spoke to her.
“Yes, except for the slightly dirty clothes… I’m sorry about the milk. I was pushed and fell…”
“Are you okay. When I couldn’t control my anger, I got milk and it was a bit rough. I’m more sorry I don’t get angry so easily.”
The girl roughly tossed her stained hat into her trash can. Then she sniffed the jacket and one more object was thrown into the trash.
“Is this your first time in the principality?”
“Ah yes…”
The girl let out a small laugh. She bought a hat and clothes from the stalls and put them on, and slowly moved her steps. Her Marey also walked after her as if possessed. It had a subtle milky smell, but it didn’t smell like milk. Instead, a soft scent, like her milk-scented cosmetics, drifted and lingered around her nose.
“Where are you from? Capital? Change?”
“I’m from Valter.”
The girl’s steps suddenly stopped. She turned around and patted her Marey’s body lightly.
“Walter? Hmm…”
And she alone nodded her head lightly. One half-closed eye of hers flashes dangerously, like a cat finding a toy. Realizing that the corner of the girl’s red lips slightly raised her gaze, he turned her attention away.
“This is my first time in the duchy, and I came from Balter… Then you don’t know much about the duchy’s specialties, right?”
“Yeah, what…”
“Then, as a member of the honorable vampires, it would be polite to introduce this city to strangers.”
The girl covered her mouth and let out a giggly laugh. When I first met her, she reminded me of the beast and her only blooming rose.
“Do you have enough money? It’s a bit cheaper than Balter, but it’s a famous tourist destination, so it’s quite expensive?”
“I, in moderation…”
Recalling her own thick wallet, she nodded. Thanks to the money Erden gave her at the end of the weekend to buy something delicious, and Illien who gave her pocket money without Ravela’s knowledge right before leaving for the duchy, her wallet was quite plentiful.
Of course, it wasn’t a very large amount because both of them gave common sense pocket money. Unless it’s a fancy restaurant or a famous restaurant. The amount of money left over to buy a lot of street food was asleep.
Still, it felt like a lot of money to Marey, who lived in her country, so I was startled when I saw the bills in her wallet. Lavella’s card, which she had kept in her inner pocket to write to her in case anything happened, felt strangely heavy.
“Then what should I eat first…”
The girl’s words stopped abruptly, and the shouts of the people hit her ears. Marey and the girl’s gaze moved to the center of the shout, and in the distance a delegation with a flag symbolizing the empire was slowly passing by.
“The emperor came again this year…”
At the girl’s murmur, Marey’s gaze shifted to the center of the delegation. Emperor. It was her term for the Empress of her empire, but most of her people just called her her Emperor. A person I had only seen on TV or in the newspaper was waving lightly to people in the center of the procession. The Empress was wearing a white silk dress embroidered with dragon patterns in gold thread.
Her hardened face, an expression that seemed cold even when looking at it from a distance. She was waving her hand to her people, but she just kept a blank face. Her blonde hair, shining like the sun, reflected the sunlight as she moved her hands. Should I say it’s like a piece? I felt sorry for Erden, who Marey thought was the most beautiful woman he had ever met, but the beauty of her female emperor was so beautiful that her envoys gazed at her blankly until they passed by and saw her outline.
She had a stiff expression like a doll, but how beautiful would it be if she smiled like a human? That thought dragged on for a long time. It was the words of the girl next to her that caught the flowing thoughts as if they were swimming on water.
“How nice it would be if the personality followed even half of the face.”
“Uh, do you know the Emperor?”
“Little.”
I looked back at her girlish figure. Marey was still short enough to be called a boy, but the girl in front of her was so small that she could barely touch Marei’s lips. Even so, the reason I thought it was difficult was because of her appearance, which reminded me of being beautiful rather than cute or pretty.
“Who are you?”
“A very strong man. Steel that doesn’t seem to bleed even when stabbed. She’s the kind of person who makes me think she’s cool even when she’s the same woman. Come on, let’s move. The delegation will go to the castle in the center anyway, so even if we follow them, we won’t be able to see them for long, so let’s continue sightseeing.”
Seeing that she knew the emperor so well, she suddenly became curious about the identity of this girl. Come to think of it, she didn’t even know her name. When she realizes again that she is a strange girl whom she has only met for less than an hour, she feels distant for some reason.
“Follow me… Huh? Are you looking for something?”
“Ah, I want to see the Princess too.”
For some reason, the girl let out a deep sigh at Marey’s words. A slimy feeling came from her deep breath clinging thickly to her floor.
