"That… That was Autumn's first time drinking human blood?"
Ethan asked Ruby in shock.
He couldn't believe what he had just heard. The information she had given him was completely new to him.
"What? She didn't tell you?"
"No way. I heard you guys even practiced a lot to get a Blood - Drinking Certification Exam, right?"
"It's kind of embarrassing to say, but we practice on mannequins first. Only in the final exam are we allowed to practice on living beings - specifically, our own kind. No teacher would dare bring a human in front of the fangs of teenagers who haven't learned to control their instincts yet."
Ruby looked at Ethan with a gaze that was both curious and mocking. After a few seconds of consideration, she continued.
"Ha ha! Your Autumn even planned to wait until she was 118 years old before 'opening business' with her fangs. Actually, all of us planned to wait together. We even swore an oath to each other. Sounds romantic, doesn't it? But… snap! Everything changed when we hit puberty and our first fangs came in. So I and the twins couldn't keep that childish promise. Honestly, I should thank you - thanks to you forcing Autumn to drink your blood, she finally became like us."
"At that time, I just thought she was going to die so…"
"So you forced her to break her oath, didn't you? And on top of that, she didn't even get the chance to freely choose the first human she would drink from. Who knows if you were even her type. Poor thing!"
"I didn't know…"
"I also heard that the setting of her 'first time drinking human blood' wasn't romantic at all. Not a single flower, no candlelight, no music, no confession, nothing at all… Just ruins, mud, and the thick smell of blood. You're really terrible, Ethan!"
Under Ruby's relentless accusations, Ethan's face gradually turned red as the memory of that night - when he had accidentally become a Bloodbound - rose vividly in his mind.
That's right.
Even though it had rained that night, the setting in that dark alley was anything but romantic - human and Vampire blood had been scattered all over the ground.
And at that moment, Ethan hadn't cared that his clothes were soaked in blood and covered in mud. He simply lifted Autumn up, almost holding her in his arms. And when he brought her small lips close to his neck…
…she had shaken her head in refusal.
Oh my God!
Not only that, Autumn had even struggled and resisted. It was just that she had lost too much blood and was far too weak, so in the end, she couldn't overcome a Vampire's instinct.
Later on, Autumn herself had shyly told Ethan that he had been very wrong to use that method to save her.
And yet, he hadn't known anything!
He had even casually insisted that if time were reversed, he would still choose to act the same way.
Wait a second!
Even though guilt toward Autumn was surging within him, Ethan still found a few things in Ruby's words rather suspicious.
It seemed that she knew very clearly that he had offered his blood to heal Autumn. The way she described the scene didn't sound like something she had merely heard from others. It felt as if she had been there in person at that very moment.
But…
Clearly, the Blood Giver - the mysterious Vampire whom Ethan suspected to be Ruby - had fled into the pitch-black night after biting and drinking Autumn's blood. That blood had not only caused the Blood Giver intense pain, as if she had swallowed a deadly poison, but had also forced her out of her Awakened state.
If that was the case…
…then how could the Blood Giver have remained at the scene to witness the aftermath of her own actions?
But who knew!
Could it be that she had returned afterward?
Then again, would a Vampire who had consumed that "Cursed Blood" even be lucid enough to observe everything clearly?
This was so confusing!
Ethan felt everything becoming a tangled mess. But he didn't want to doubt his original hypothesis.
"Ruby, there's something I want to ask you clearly…"
"Shh! You talk too much, Ethan! Are you trying to stall for time until our dear brothers and sisters arrive? Do you know that if you don't give me BLOOD today, you'll have to pay compensation according to the contract?"
"Uh…"
"Say one more word and I'll seal your mouth with a kiss right now!"
Ruby placed a finger on Ethan's lips before he could respond. And he fell completely silent under her dangerously seductive threat.
"Hmph! This spot is really inconvenient. Come over here with me!"
Ruby ordered.
Seeing that he was still lost in his own thoughts, she simply grabbed him and pulled him all the way from the doorway to the far end of the room, where the sofa set and tea table were placed.
Ethan obediently followed Ruby, even though he felt anything but willing. But the contract had already been signed - he had no reason left to refuse her.
Seeing that, the twin sisters Anya and Yara stood up and gave up the soft armchair they had been sitting on, complete with its cute back cushions, to Ethan and Ruby. Then they moved over to the small stools beside the sofa where Autumn lay. Still, their curious eyes continued to follow Ethan's every movement.
"Place your hand here."
Ruby instructed him, guiding him to rest his upturned wrist on the armrest of the chair.
Ethan hesitated slightly.
In just a few minutes, right here on this very chair, he would have to offer his blood to Ruby.
Would she really be able to control herself and calculate the exact amount she needed without harming him?
Was placing his trust in a Vampire like Ruby too reckless?
Ethan suddenly frowned as a strange tingling sensation crept over his wrist.
And he knew very well - he didn't like this feeling…
Not at all. Not even a little.
His wrist was being gently brushed by Ruby's soft lips… and her sharp fangs.
Ethan silently cursed under his breath. He just wished she would hurry up and get it over with.
At moments like this, he found Vampires utterly ridiculous. Humans would never treat their food or drinks this way. He had never seen anyone caress a bottle of wine, beer, or soda before drinking it. People simply opened it and drank. That was it.
Fortunately, Ethan didn't have to endure that discomfort for long.
Looking through the large mirror at the end of the room, he saw Ruby pull her luscious lips away from his pale wrist. Then she opened her mouth wide, revealing fangs that had grown twice as long as usual.
And just as Ruby was about to sink those fangs into Ethan's wrist…
Bang!
A sharp sound rang out.
It came from the forceful strike of Kai's fingers against the piano keys.
"Ruby! Stop! Please!"
Kai shot to his feet.
His entire face and the exposed skin of his body were flushed red, like someone burning with fever.
"Don't drink blood from that scrawny guy. Here! Take mine - however much you want, I'll give you all of it!"
To Ethan's surprise, Kai quickly loosened his tie and unbuttoned several buttons of his school shirt. Then the boy - delicate and pretty like a girl - tilted his neck to the side, exposing his carotid artery as an invitation to the bloodthirsty Vampire.