I Tamed the Slave Male Lead Chapter 31

The moment Ririen’s fangs pierced through the skin on the back of my hand, I could clearly see, as though in slow motion, her pupils dilating as she caught the scent of my blood.

Within those pitch-black circles, raw madness that existed beyond human reason writhed ferociously.

Just as I was overcome by the terrifying realization that I was going to have my blood sucked dry,—

“Enough.”

Yusiliph grabbed Ririen by the back of the neck and mercilessly pulled her away from me.

“Your blood has a share of mine mixed into it, too. So I’d rather you didn’t recklessly lay claim to it.”

“Haaah! Kyaak!”

Having tasted my blood, Ririen struggled to break free from his grasp. But Yusiliph exerted enough force to make the veins on his forearm bulge as he restrained her, and after resisting several times, she eventually backed down.

Yusiliph had already picked up the flask Ririen had thrown aside, and he was now forcing it into her mouth and pouring the contents down her throat.

Apparently, what vampires preferred most was human blood.

Having tasted even a little of mine, she frowned and rejected the animal blood.

But once the blood began pouring into her body, fortunately, she lost interest in me and started greedily drinking the blood in the flask.

“Are you all right?”

Yusiliph kept an eye on Ririen while glancing over at me to check my condition.

“I’m fine… Ugh. It’s just a little cut. She didn’t actually suck any blood out of me.”

“Let me see.”

Yusiliph tried to examine my wound, but I quickly wrapped the handkerchief around the back of my hand and stopped the bleeding myself.

“Don’t worry. It’s fine as long as I keep it wrapped like this. Right now, making sure Ririen’s situation ends safely is more important, so keep a close eye on her.”

Gulp, gulp, gulp.

As we watched Ririen frantically drink the blood while clutching the flask with both hands, Yusiliph and I exchanged tense glances.

 

***

 

“The Master of the Magic Tower’s only daughter is a vampire. Is there anyone besides you who knows about this?”

Yusiliph asked as he stared at Ririen, who had suddenly curled up and become completely motionless after gulping down every last drop of blood in the flask.

I was resting in a chair he had brought over for me and answered in a lowered voice.

“Probably almost no one. It would turn the whole world upside down.”

The only daughter of Duke Ameshika, the Master of the Magic Tower who had actively supported the Imperial Family’s policy of excluding other races, was a vampire—a monster.

If this fact became known, even the very existence of the Magic Tower could be put at risk, so the Duke had desperately hidden the truth until now.

But he couldn’t keep his grown daughter locked away inside the Magic Tower forever.

Ririen had graduated early from the six-year Academy program, but instead of returning to the Magic Tower, she wanted to build a career as a researcher at the biology research institute.

“…Of course, Father was against it. It was only natural. Just look at me.”

Ririen slowly sat up and murmured sadly.

As soon as she drank the blood and regained her composure, her fangs and claws disappeared, and she returned to being a gloomy-looking teenage girl.

Unlike her nervous and aggressive demeanor from earlier, she now spoke shyly and timidly. Apparently, this was her true personality.

“Just like Father said, I should have quietly stayed at the Magic Tower after graduating from the Academy… But I stubbornly insisted on becoming a researcher, and now you’ve seen me like this.”

She murmured in a small voice and lowered her head.

I went over and picked up the glasses that had flown off and rolled some distance away.

“I understand.”

At my sudden words, Ririen accepted the glasses I held out and stared at me.

“I was the same. Even though I knew my body couldn’t handle it because of my incurable disease, I still wanted to prove to everyone that I could do something. That I wasn’t just a burden, but a useful person. That I had enough reason to stay alive.”

“……”

At the mention of an incurable disease, Ririen looked startled. She stopped halfway through putting on her glasses and opened her eyes wide.

“But in the end, I lost. I was defeated by my illness. But you managed to graduate. That’s truly amazing.”

“It’s not really that amazing….”

“No. It is.”

I straightened her crooked glasses and met her eyes.

“You fought against yourself every single day and pushed yourself to the limit to accomplish it. So it’s really, really amazing. And you should be proud of yourself.”

“……”

Tears filled Ririen’s large, round black eyes before streaming down her cheeks.

I quietly took her hand as she bit her lip to keep herself from crying.

Ririen had lost her mother the moment she was born, and her only family, Duke Ameshika, was always so busy that it was difficult for her to even see his face.

So she naturally grew up surrounded by the Magic Tower’s countless spellbooks, experimental equipment, and laboratory creatures.

Those creatures became her only companions, and the one she cherished most among them was Maro, a vampiric monster.

She was the one who first gave the bat-like creature the name “Maro,” and she was also the only person capable of calming the ferocious Maro down.

She was the first to discover that Maro enjoyed playing in water, and she also discovered that if she gave it treats made by mixing white cactus juice with apricots and egg yolks, it could go quite a long time without drinking blood.

But several months ago, Maro suddenly began wasting away. It refused even blood, rejecting it and slowly starving to death.

In an attempt to save Maro, Ririen took the risk of entering its cage to care for it, only to end up being bitten.

At first, nothing seemed wrong, but as time passed, the symptoms of her transformation into a vampire gradually grew worse.

“At first, it was just that I felt terribly thirsty whenever I saw a living warm-blooded animal. I could endure it by eating the substitute food I used to give Maro. But it gradually got worse… until eventually, I reached the point where I couldn’t stand it without drinking blood.”

Ririen continued speaking in a trembling voice, seemingly ashamed of herself.

“I even came close to biting Father. After that incident, Father kept opposing my application to become a researcher… But I just couldn’t give up. I can’t spend my entire life locked away in the Magic Tower, living like a criminal. Even if I’ve become a vampire, it’s not as though I chose to become one….”

“Then do you think the other races you keep locked up in the Magic Tower were born that way because they wanted to be?”

“Uh… what?”

Yusiliph, who had been listening silently, suddenly cut in with a sharp tone, and Ririen stammered in confusion.

His reaction clearly reminded me of Alin.

I immediately realized my mistake and hurriedly stepped between the two of them before the situation could become even more awkward.

“Yusiliph. You should watch your words when speaking to the Duke’s daughter.”

“……”

“Everyone has secrets that are difficult to reveal. And honestly admitting to one is never easy. Miss Ameshika is doing something very difficult right now. Is this really the time to point out what she did wrong instead of encouraging her?”

I pretended to scold Yusiliph in a deliberately stern tone while signaling with my eyes for him to let it go just this once.

Yusiliph had looked as though he was about to unleash a torrent of harsh words, but fortunately, he saw my signal and kept his mouth shut for the time being.

I apologized on his behalf to Ririen, who had shrunk back and was nervously watching us.

“I apologize on his behalf, Lady Ameshika. My bodyguard has his reasons for acting that way.”

“Oh, no. He wasn’t wrong, either… I was the one who said something foolish. My emotions tend to become heightened whenever I transform into a vampire….”

Ririen waved her hands and blushed.

“He was right. When I think about the other races and monsters imprisoned in the Magic Tower, I have no right to say something like that. If my father weren’t the Master of the Magic Tower, I would have been the one imprisoned there.”

She murmured with a gloomy expression before suddenly raising her head.

“But… how did you know that I had become a vampire, Miss? And you even brought blood with you, as though you already knew I would have an episode….”

So it had finally come.

I put on the trustworthy smile I usually used with Yusiliph and faced her.