While Mavis and I, mostly Mavis, earn the hard glares of her three older siblings, she's blatantly ignoring them, simply pretending to enjoy her food; well, she probably wasn't pretending. "What was all the noise in there?" Staring intensely at me, Pontimon didn't bother touching the food.
Glancing at him, I lightly bowed. "I do not quite understand that question." I feigned innocence, which obviously didn't fool him, but I didn't need it to; this was all political games. I wasn't the best at political life, but I've been learning from Jasmine, so I was at least able to read the situation.
In situations like this, Pontimon is probably looking for a justifiable reason to give Mavis problems; obviously, I can't admit I beat the shit out of his entire kitchen staff so they'd leave me be. All I need to do is simply deny him and anyone who asks; I have no need to fear them, well, not that I ever did, but Mavis is basically my backer.
"He asked why the kitchen sounded like a battlefield?" Narrowing her eyes, Vivian glared at me, causing my mind to feel several times heavier, yet I brushed aside her little skill with [Heroes Will], using my will to protect my mind, causing her to briefly widen her eyes. "As some would say, the kitchen is a whole different kind of battlefield." 'I think there was a quote like that.'
Slightly bowing to Vivian, who looked like she wanted to kill me. 'No, she definitely does; I can sense her killing intent.' Seeing her glare at me, I pretended to ignore her. "Ho, your pet seems to be quite something, Mavis. Did he replace your previous assistant, Marston?" Yostella, faintly smiling, leaned forward, glancing at Mavis, who finally showed them interest.
"Fufu, you could say so; it really frees up Marston. He can now solve various problems that have been troubling me." Faintly smiling, Mavis looked at Yostella, whose expression twitched before he forced a grin. "Is that so? You should've asked me for help then, Mavis." "Forgive me, Yostella, I can't rely solely on my elder siblings; I, too, need to grow up one day."
As Mavis skillfully navigated that conversation, leaving Yostella annoyed, even if he didn't show it. However, just as she returned to her half-eaten meal, someone barged out of the kitchen door, causing us to look, only to see the head-chef, and he was giving me a furious glare.
"I-I'm sorry for the interruption, Masters and Mistress, but that human needs to die! When I tried to help him, as per Master Pontimon's orders, he attacked us all!" The head chef bowed to Yostella, Vivian, and Pontimon, causing the latter to slowly nod before they looked at me, glee hidden within their gazes.
"Is this true human?" At Pontimon's question, I briefly glanced at Mavis, who continued to eat before nodding under his intense gaze. "Yes." Instantly, he raised his hand, launching a blood-spear directly at me, clearly intending to kill me, though a hardened blood-shield erupted before me, protecting me.
"What is the meaning of this, Pontimon?" Frowning slightly, Mavis raised an eyebrow, glancing at Pontimon while dispelling the blood-shield. "As you've just heard, your pet attacked a servant of mine; as the Master, I need to avenge him. Disrespecting him is equivalent to disrespecting me… Don't try to protect him, Mavis."
Deeply frowning, Pontimon glared at Mavis while creating yet another blood spear, though Mavis just hummed. "I'm not; he is my pet, as his owner, I shall punish him… No one else is allowed to do so." She flashed a thin, dangerous smile at the three, clearly irritating them. "Even so, for a human to attack us, a vampire, that is requiring immediate punishment." Vivian added, her voice offering little room for negotiation.
"Hmm, that is true." While tapping her chin, Mavis suddenly created a blood-trident and stabbed my chest, causing me to collapse onto the ground. "Is that good enough? He's a good chef, so I'd like to keep him alive." "It suffices." From the tone of their voices, they weren't satisfied, but they also didn't feel like pushing it anymore.
'This hurts.' Shooting Mavis a glare, I stayed on the ground, listening to them casually chat as if I weren't on the ground with a trident in my chest. 'Being a slave sucks.' Sighing, I spent another hour on the ground, listening as Mavis finally revealed the vials of my blood, handing them to her elder siblings; their comments on my blood were all the same; they were shocked at its taste.
Afterwards, when they finished their meeting, Mavis proceeded to drag me by a blood-tendril, as we left the mansion, only then did I bother to stop faking it. "Would it be too much for you two remove the trident? It hurts like hell, Mistress." Grunting, I pushed myself onto my feet while glancing at Mavis, who waved her hand, causing the trident to be ripped from my chest before entering her body, which convulsed.
"Ahh, such delicious blood." Stopping, Mavis leaned forward slightly, and while I couldn't see her face, I imagined she was sporting a perverted expression. "Did you just orgasm, Mistress?" Instantly, she swung her hand, a deadly-sharp blood-tendril slicing through the air, cutting my left arm at the shoulder, causing me to clutch my shoulder.
'F-Fuck!' "Silence." Shooting me a cold glare, Mavis turned around, walking to the carriage, while I gritted my teeth and grabbed my arm from the ground, pressing it against my shoulder, letting it reattach itself.
Opening the carriage door for her, I hopped onto the front seat, using my right arm to snap the reins and guide the carriage out of the estate while cursing under my breath. 'Tch, she definitely orgasmed; what a freaky species.'
___
___
Months Later
Following the meeting with Yostella, Vivian, and Pontimon, Mavis and I visited every single one of her competitors, offering them a vial of my blood, slowly turning them into loyal followers—drug addicts— within only a month.
Surprisingly, there weren't any close calls; there wasn't a time when someone refused my blood. Sure, a few would at first, but when she uncorked the vial, and they inhaled the scent, any hesitance was promptly erased. To Vampires, my blood was simply that inviting, that delicious to them; it was something they, biologically, couldn't refuse.
During the months, Marston was rarely present, leaving me mostly alone with Mavis, and, if I weren't her pet, I might've enjoyed it. She wasn't cruel, sadistic, but not necessarily cruel; funnily enough, despite my almost casual way of speaking with her, I wasn't punished all that much for it.
You could say, in some weird way, we've become friends… Definitely not. I'm merely acting, and Mavis sees me as nothing more than a useful tool and amusing pet.
"I-I've done everything ordered by Mavis." Standing giddy before me, Pontimon forced a smile, staring at me while I nodded. "I understand, but as per my Mistress's orders, I need to overlook your report; lest you wish to skip your weekl–" "NO! No, j-just be quick. Please." Pontimon lunged forward, tightly clutching my shoulders, his expression twitching as he slowly smoothed out my suit before stepping back.
Gone was the proud vampire Pontimon; all that remained was a loyal slave addicted to my blood; if I told him to prostrate himself before me, he'd do it. It wasn't just him, either; every single person was like this; it was both terrifying and an eye-opener.
The only person who wasn't affected was Mavis, but unlike the others, she had a steady supply of my blood; she drank from me whenever she wanted. 'Maybe she'd also turn into him if enough time passed.' I briefly glanced at Pontimon, who was fidgeting, before shaking my head. 'Even if she does, I'd need to escape from her first.'
"Everything is in order." Setting the report down, I handed him a vial from my pocket, causing him swallow it whole, vial and all. Slowly, his anxiousness receded, replaced by the calm, proud vampire I first met, though underneath it was nothing but a drug addict waiting to resurface.
"Tell Mavis, I'll continue working hard." Confidently smiling, Pontimon turned and left, causing me to sigh as I looked up at the ceiling.
With everything Mavis has achieved, there was no better time than now to follow through with my plan; however, I couldn't. Something I realized was that, if I could think of that plan, why couldn't Mavis think of it? I'm her most important asset; she treats me like a servant mostly, but I'm her most valued treasure.
I'm free like this because I've not once attempted to escape, though I don't doubt it would take little for Mavis to lock me up in an inescapable cell. She probably has numerous contingencies in place for whatever plan I could ever come up with.
"Haa, I'm smart enough to realize my enemy is smarter, but too dumb to outwit her… Irritating."