## Chapter 72 – Charlotte. I Swear
Back in his room, No. 25, having parted ways with Aselle, lay on his bed, endlessly gazing at the ring she had given him.
The scent of the coffee she had gifted him still lingered faintly in his mouth.
To be with her until the last moment of her life… was he truly worthy?
Was he allowed to remain by Aselle’s side until that moment arrived?
Just imagining a future with her filled his heart to the brim.
Suddenly, Charlotte’s face popped into No. 25’s view.
Her beautiful silver hair, cascading down, tickled his face.
He must have been so lost in the afterglow, replaying his conversation with Aselle, that he didn’t even hear the door open.
“Judging by your expression, it seems you had a good time?”
Before No. 25 could respond, Charlotte lowered her head and gave him a playful kiss, gently nipping his lips.
After the brief kiss, Charlotte didn’t do anything else. She simply lay down next to No. 25, facing him with a smile.
No. 25 was puzzled by Charlotte’s uncharacteristically docile behavior.
“You’re not going to do anything more?”
Normally, as soon as No. 25 returned to his room, she would roughly tear off his clothes, climb on top of him, and shake her hips like a beast in heat.
“I didn’t come here to do that today. Do you think I only know about sex?”
There were times when she did seem like that kind of woman, but he didn’t dare say it out loud. If he did, he would be milked dry all day. He needed a day off sometimes to keep his body going.
Charlotte pulled No. 25 into her arms and whispered in his ear.
“I’ve just been feeling lonely working alone…”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. You should be proud. Making me feel lonely is an achievement that even the previous Demon King couldn’t accomplish.”
Having heard about Charlotte from Aselle, he wanted to know more about her past.
It might be presumptuous, but he wanted to know everything about the person he liked and have more conversations with her.
No. 25 took a deep breath and cautiously asked.
“What was the previous Demon King like?”
Instead of answering No. 25’s question, Charlotte moved slightly away from him and took out a pocket watch from her bosom. Unlike the simple one Aselle carried, it had an antique design with engraved flowers.
“It’s faster to see it than to hear about it.”
With a clear click, the watch opened sideways, revealing a photograph inside.
It was so well-preserved that it wasn’t yellowed or torn in the slightest. It was a photo that had avoided all the fates that old photos usually suffered.
Charlotte took out the photo and showed it to No. 25, saying.
“What do you think? I was quite cute as a child, wasn’t I?”
No. 25 looked closely at the photo she held out.
Charlotte’s features in the photo weren’t much different from now, but her hair, which reached her calves, was much longer and messier.
Moreover, the maid outfit she was wearing looked quite clumsy compared to her current, perfectly neat appearance, and she seemed uncomfortable wearing it.
Another woman had her arm around Charlotte’s neck, pulling her close while Charlotte shyly avoided eye contact, messing up her hair.
Seeing Charlotte, who always stood above others with a relaxed demeanor, being controlled by someone else was a unique experience.
Seeing Charlotte in the past was fascinating, but what caught No. 25’s eye the most was the woman who looked almost exactly like Aselle, teasing Charlotte and smiling with her white teeth exposed.
If it weren’t for the large scar running straight across her left eye and the two sharp fangs that showed when she smiled, he would have mistaken her for Aselle.
Before No. 25 could ask, Charlotte opened her mouth as if she knew what he was thinking.
“They look very alike, right? But their personalities are completely opposite.”
“Then, this person is…?”
“Yes, she’s the previous Demon King and the current Demon King’s mother.”
It was the first time he had seen Aselle’s mother, whom he had only heard about.
She was an attractive and beautiful woman whose dignity could be felt directly, even though it was just a photo.
“Where is she now?”
“She passed away.”
Not a voice filled with sadness, nor a voice filled with the sense of loss from losing a loved one, but a single sentence thrown out in a tone that one might use in everyday life. No. 25 was speechless and stared blankly at her unchanging expression as she announced her death.
Emotions sometimes precede words. As No. 25 grasped the situation, his mouth blurted out the words he most often uttered, as if flowing naturally.
“I-I’m sorry.”
Charlotte smiled slightly, raising only the corners of her mouth, and replied.
“I told you because I wanted to, so why are you sorry?”
Charlotte, immediately ceasing her smile, fiddled with the photo with a stiff expression and said as if complaining.
“This is all that’s left of her in photos. She loved taking pictures when she was alive…”
Charlotte trailed off, put the watch back into her bosom, and took a long breath as she looked at the ceiling.
Her profile seemed to be steeped in melancholy, unlike her usual self.
“Charlotte-nim… why do you follow the Demon King?”
Charlotte answered No. 25’s question immediately, without a moment’s hesitation.
“Because I promised.”
“A promise?”
As if reminded of her moment of farewell with her, Charlotte pressed her fingers against her forehead and got up from her spot.
“Enough with the old stories. I’ve been uncharacteristically talkative. It’s probably not interesting for you to hear anyway.”
She used No. 25 as an excuse, but she herself didn’t have the confidence to talk any further. She didn’t like being caught up in the past and wallowing in sadness.
No. 25 cautiously opened his mouth, sensing Charlotte’s obviously changed mood.
“I was glad to be able to hear Charlotte-nim’s story.”
“Is that so… then that’s a relief.”
Charlotte stretched her arms above her head and turned around, pointing at No. 25’s finger and asking.
“I’ve been wondering since earlier, what’s that?”
“This?”
No. 25, unlike a moment ago, wore a bright smile on his face and showed Charlotte the finger with the ring, answering.
“The Demon King gave it to me earlier.”
For a brief moment, a hint of regret flickered in Charlotte’s eyes.
“I was caught off guard and someone stole my thunder.”
“Stole your thunder?”
“If I had known, I would have given it to you this morning. I always wanted to be your first…”
Leaving behind meaningful words and a smile, Charlotte gently pushed No. 25’s shoulder, making him lie back on the bed, climbed on top of him, and kissed him.
She said she wouldn’t do it today, but there was no way she could suppress her lust. No. 25 entrusted himself to her and closed his eyes.
“Ugh…!?”
The moment he intertwined his tongue with hers as usual, No. 25’s eyes suddenly widened in surprise.
A slightly different sensation… something hard was touching Charlotte’s slippery tongue, and then something clinked against his teeth.
Saliva dripped from Charlotte’s mouth after the kiss, and she asked No. 25 with her signature smile.
“You can take it out now.”
No. 25 raised his upper body, put his hand in his mouth, and carefully took out the object Charlotte had passed to him.
A silver ring that contrasted sharply with the gold ring Aselle had given him.
The design, with the heads of two snakes biting a purple gemstone, was impressive.
“I made it myself.”
Charlotte took the ring that No. 25 was holding back into her own hand and held No. 25’s hand tightly.
“Do you remember exactly what I said when we first had relations?”
The first time was special to everyone. No. 25 had never forgotten that moment, not even for a single day. Of course, Charlotte’s words at that time remained vividly in his mind, without a single word or tone out of place.
“Surely Charlotte-nim’s first time is only for someone she will spend her whole life with…”
“Yes, we are each other’s first. I’ve given you everything, so you have a duty to keep those words as well, right?”
Charlotte carefully placed the ring on No. 25’s ring finger. The silver ring, which fit No. 25’s finger perfectly, was placed above Aselle’s ring. It hadn’t even been an hour since he received the ring from Aselle. He never imagined he would be wearing another ring in the meantime.
“This is also a contract and a bond. Don’t even think about leaving me. I’ll be by your side until the day you die.”
He had no intention of leaving her in the first place. Rather, Charlotte’s wish coincided with the wish that No. 25 held.
No. 25 smiled brightly, covering the ring Charlotte gave him with his right hand.
“Yes, please watch over my last moments.”
Charlotte, whose reason was gradually becoming paralyzed, kissed No. 25 for the third time and laid him down on the bed.
Charlotte was stroking his groin with her thighs, as if desiring No. 25’s body, but she didn’t move on to the next step because of what she had said earlier.
He felt a little frustrated, but this wasn’t bad either.
“I’ll just keep doing this today.”
Charlotte buried her face in No. 25’s neck, whom she was holding in her arms, and occasionally gently bit his neck without leaving marks, or licked his collarbone or neck with her tongue.
All of these actions were derived from her desire for blood.
He had known for a long time that she was a vampire, and he knew the obvious fact that their staple food was human blood.
No. 25 buried his face deeper into her ample bosom and whispered.
“If you want… you can drink it.”
“It’s okay.”
Blood is the soul and life. The act of drinking blood was not merely a low-level act to satisfy appetite or desire.
It was an act of assimilating with the other person’s soul, of becoming truly one. That was the hidden true meaning of bloodsucking.
Moreover, there was no way she, an Elder Vampire who was the foundation of all vampires, not just some cheap vampires that had sprung up like mushrooms, wouldn’t know what it meant to drink blood.
Charlotte brushed No. 25’s hair back with her hand and refused.
“If I drink your blood once, I don’t think I’ll be able to suppress myself after that.”
She thought she had cut off her thirst for blood hundreds of years ago, but everything about her had been shaken since No. 25 came to the castle.
If she let her guard down even for a moment, she would show such an ugly sight of baring her fangs at his neck.
No. 25 pulled down his clothes, revealing his neck clearly, and proposed to Charlotte again.
“I don’t know much, so I don’t really know what it means to drink blood. But I just want to be connected with Charlotte-nim.”
The reason that had been paralyzed was severed by his one word.
Charlotte instantly sank her fangs into his white neck and sucked his blood as if filling an eternity of emptiness.
The source of all life, flowing hotly through his throat, filled the cold, dead body with his warm soul.
Finally, his body and mind had become one with her.
