"Boom—!"

  A clap of thunder resounded, and a blinding flash of lightning illuminated the entire kitchen in an instant. It lit up Kenley's frozen smile and Tia's blood-red eyes. This scene was a mirror of how Kenley felt at that very moment after hearing Tia's words.

  "Crash—!"

  The rain poured down in torrents, with bean-sized raindrops drumming against the cobblestones with a relentless patter. Though it was already early summer, there was still a chilling coldness lingering in the air.

  In the kitchen, two dark figures clung to each other. Under the stark lightning, their embrace seemed eerily ominous.

  "You must be joking."

  "No, Tia is not."

  "No, you must be!"

  "Master, why are you so sure?"

  "Because your eyes wouldn't lie to me."

  "But Tia has no eyes."

  "..."

  Kenley took a deep breath, momentarily confused by the layered meanings in Tia's words. Could it be that their little princess wasn't just pretending to be dark-hearted but was actually sinister?

  "But rather than drinking the master's blood, Tia prefers absorbing the master's essence." Tia suddenly shifted the topic.

  "Essence?" Kenley was stunned.

  For a moment, he couldn't quite process it. Blood was the essence of life, wasn't it? What else could essence refer to if not blood?

  Seeing Kenley's bewildered expression, Tia chuckled sweetly. Kenley never anticipated her next move.

  Huh?! What is she up to?

  "Master, what do you think?" Tia giggled.

  Feeling the touch from certain parts, Kenley realized that the"essence” she spoke of was…

  This sudden shift left him at a loss—he'd thought she was being serious, only to find she was hinting at something else entirely.

  Though Kenley wasn't inexperienced, why did this situation somehow feel… thrilling?

  He quickly realized Tia might have been teasing him all along. But such an intense contrast made his heart itch with unease.

  Could it be that Tia was a master of flirting, skilled at pleasing her master?

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  It seemed that making Tia his servant was the wisest decision he had ever made.

  "Alright, I surrender! Tia, you win!" Kenley quickly raised his hands in defeat.

  "Giggle, good! Since the master has lost, would you let Tia take charge this time? You go rest, and leave the cooking to Tia." Tia covered her mouth with a laugh, her eyes curving into crescent moons.

  "So all this time, Tia was just tricking me!" Kenley wailed dramatically.

  "Master, Tia wasn't joking with you." Tia suddenly said.

  "You're serious?"

  "Of course!"

  Kenley was stunned."Why?"

  "Not telling! Because it's Tia's secret!"

  "I order you to tell me!" Kenley, unwilling to concede, decided to invoke his masterly authority.

  "Because Tia wants to wear a wedding dress for you!" Tia suddenly raised her voice.

  …

  When the first light of dawn pierced through the night, Kenley awoke, holding Tia's soft, slender body in his arms.

  Turning his head, he gazed at Tia, whose lashes trembled lightly. Kenley was still savoring the madness of the previous night. He couldn't believe he had actually let Tia drink from his neck. To think he'd do something so reckless!

  Damn, she almost sucked him dry. His HP had dropped to a single point! But he had to admit, Tia was masterful in controlling the timing of her feeding. She stopped right when she needed to, without draining him completely.

  Fortunately, Kenley had prepared potions in advance. As soon as the blood was drawn, he downed them in large gulps. This was one of the few perks of being an alchemist, he supposed.

  Later, Kenley asked if vampires turned humans into vampires simply by feeding on them. Tia explained that merely drinking blood wouldn't cause the transformation. For that, a vampire had to reverse-feed their own blood through their fangs during the act.

  However, such transformed vampires would be the lowest-class thralls. Only those who underwent a proper transformation ritual could become high-ranking vampire retainers—just like how Tia was forcibly transformed by a vampire count.

  Suddenly, a thought crossed Kenley's mind.

  Since they had been so intimately entwined, in a dimly lit and somewhat secretive setting, he hadn't had the chance to closely observe a vampire.

  Now that he did, he had to take a good look.

  He lifted Tia's hands, examining them carefully. At first glance, her skin looked no different from that of a living person. But upon closer inspection, it was paler than usual.

  His fingers glided over her skin—soft and smooth without a hint of human roughness. Her skin felt like touching water at room temperature, an indescribable sensation. Too bad this world lacked thermometers, or he'd have made her measure her temperature for sure.

  Judging by the touch, Kenley suspected a vampire's body temperature might be seven to ten degrees lower than a human's—not too cold, but noticeably cooler.

  He gently lifted Tia's eyelids, opening her eyes. Her irises were a bright crimson, crystal-clear like flawless rubies. However, deep within her pupils was a vertical slit, much like a serpent's eye.

  Staring into them felt as if they could devour his very soul. In that instant, Kenley's vision blurred, as if he glimpsed a shadow lurking in the depths of her eyes.

  "What… is this?" A hint of unease stirred within Kenley, and he couldn't resist leaning in, trying to discern what lay within Tia's eyes.

  But suddenly, an inexplicable terror surged through him!

  "Huh?!" Kenley jerked back in alarm, nearly consumed by that dreadful sensation!

  What was that?!

  It was the first time Kenley had encountered something so bizarre. That feeling was like a monstrous beast slumbering within Tia's eyes, ready to devour his soul at any moment!

  At that very moment, Tia's eyes fluttered.

  "Master, what's wrong?" Tia sat up, clearly aware that Kenley had been peering at her eyes, though she chose not to expose him.

  However, seeing Kenley break into a cold sweat and recoil, even her innocence couldn't ignore that something was amiss.

  "N-Nothing." After a pause to steady himself, Kenley asked,"Tia, have you ever felt anything… unusual about your eyes?"

  "My eyes?"

  "Yes, I saw… someone else inside them."