“I’ve arrived.”
At Aria’s murmuring, Plona’s trembling hands tightened their grip.
In the distance, the creaking sound of wheels accompanied by dim flickering lights drew closer, swaying slightly.
It was a procession of carts led by peddlers. There might be differing opinions on whether three carts could be called a procession, but regardless, this was certainly not an insignificant scale for individual peddlers.
As evidence of this, there were hired mercenaries, assumed to be hired guards, moving on horseback around the three carts lined up in a row.
Looking at the mercenaries’ eyes, which moved constantly as if indifferent, one could think it’s unfortunate or fortunate that they did not seem to intend to slack off.
‘There’s no turning back now. Truly.’
Plona gently stroked her neck with her trembling hands. Yet, the unquenchable thirst laughed at Plona’s actions, burning fiercely like a flame as it gnawed at her.
I want to eat. I can’t.
I want to kill. I can’t.
She wanted to dash out immediately and tear into the necks of the delicious-smelling humans, quenching her thirst with the warm streams of blood that arose. …But, is that really not okay?
The battle between desire and restraint, instinct and reason dominated Plona’s mind.
‘How did my sister endure?’
Aria had said she survived on beast’s blood until she was captured by the Luminous Kingdom’s Palace. Of course, Plona had tried that method as well, but it was still insufficient to quell the burning thirst.
What kind of feelings did her sister endure this thirst with?
As Plona thought about how her sister, who had been a vampire from birth, had claimed coexisting with humans and how much despair Aria had faced to become like this, she felt a pang in her stomach.
When she was human, although Plona was somewhat frugal, she was still a Knight.
She had tasted plenty of food, rumored to be delicious throughout the continent.
Typically, before returning to the Luminous Kingdom after a dispatch mission, someone from the local nobility or the high-ranking officials she worked with would generously treat her to a local delicacy at least once.
However, the thought that the most mouth-watering and enticing scent was emanating from humans just a few weeks ago, whom she had to protect with her sword, was hard for Plona to accept.
She knew mentally. She was now a vampire, and it was not strange for a vampire to feel hunger towards humans.
In addition, the Luminous Church, to which Plona had dedicated her life, had excommunicated her. Thus, even if she had not become a vampire, Plona had no obligation to protect humans anymore.
Wasn’t it the reality that humans kill and rob each other too?
Though Plona was recognized as an adult at her age and had not faced many dark aspects of humanity, she was not naïve enough to think that every human was filled with beautiful and peaceful thoughts.
The only reason she hadn’t faced unreasonable violence among humans was that she was strong. It’s often the case that humans kill and rob each other.
Exploitation by lords leads to people starving to death.
Robbers are a headache in every country, every region.
Though the conflict with the Ain had recently become somewhat less frequent due to rising countermeasures, just a decade ago, corpses of those in different uniforms lay scattered near national borders.
Perhaps it was a tower of blood-stained history, built on fratricide, even greater than the humans that were killed by vampires for sustenance.
Even records remain that there was internal conflict within groups during the age of tribal wars when everyone lived quietly.
At this point, perhaps it is the essence of the race called humans—no, perhaps the essence of all humanity, including Ain—that is inherently like this.
Uncontrollable barbarity is shackled in the name of law and order, and only those with the power to transcend that order can deceive the rules, mock the justice of the weak, and satisfy their own savagery. Perhaps that act is the most human-like thing of all.
Vampires are also of the human race, so that doesn’t mean they are not barbaric. However, at least in terms of killing for sustenance, perhaps there is no need to feel excessive guilt.
After all, in order to survive, one must obey nature’s providence, which is surely better than fratricide to satisfy personal desires.
‘I know this.’
However, even though she understood it with knowledge and reason, the value system engraved in her subconscious was terrifying.
The elephant tied to a stake since childhood cannot escape even as an adult.
The small stake, which could easily be pulled out with just a bit of strength, is an absolute symbol of bondage in the elephant’s world.
Because the memory of helplessly struggling against the stake, tearing skin and injuring her legs, was engraved in her mind, the elephant, even after gaining enough strength to escape, dares not even attempt it.
Plona was not much different.
Having grown up in the Luminous Kingdom’s Orphanage, and from a young age, she had lived with a sword in her hand and listened to the teachings of the scriptures from knights and priests, the church’s teachings were an unbreakable bondage for her.
Protect humans.
Ain’s very existence is a sin.
Believe in the words of Lord Luminous.
Believe, follow, and do not doubt.
For the sake of that sword, and its divinity.
Those words, repeatedly hammered deep into her mind, took residence in the realm of instinct and deceived Plona’s will.
The only difference from the elephant tied to the stake was that at least Plona understood that the church was not unconditionally right.
Because of this, she resisted the shackles with her own will and was able to wield her sword for Aria, but even that had her hesitating to wield her sword against hostile humans, leading her to offer up her own life.
Plona had no regrets for sacrificing her life to save Aria. After all, her sister had shown her the warmth of family amidst her monotonous life of merely wielding her sword.
The sin of not helping her sister before the situation became irreversible.
And the sin of doubting her sister, who had changed.
The fact that the last thing she would hear before dying was Aria’s confession, devoid of heart, broke her heart into pieces, yet if that was a sin she had to bear, then she would have to accept it.
It was painful to leave behind her sister, who was in shock, but Plona had no regrets about throwing her own life away.
Even if she could turn back time, she would have drawn her sword the same way to save Aria.
‘Sister…’
She was prepared to give her life. But this did not mean she was equally prepared to live a second life as a vampire.
Among the two most common causes of death for those who have just become vampires, one of them is suicide.
Even humans with average emotions fear their body, which has transformed overnight, and cannot accept the hidden vampire impulses engraved in their instincts.
Their eyes have changed to red, yet the world reflected in those eyes is 180 degrees different from yesterday.
Someone who had been a friend and family just until the day before turns into tempting food, and the sun that heralded the start of the day has fallen into a symbol of death, causing the vampire to take their own life as they cannot accept this reality.
If those with average emotions face such a fate, how about a Knight whose mind has been indoctrinated with a near-brainwashing value system that they must protect humans all their life?
Plona’s continued existence is purely due to Aria’s will, which saved her as she was dying, and it is also because the vampire blood flowing through her veins belongs to Aria.
‘Sister. My sister, whose blood flows with mine. Oh, sister. Beloved Aria sister. Sister, sister, sister, sister, sister, sister, sister, sister, sister—’
The sweet resonance of being true family, sharing the same blood, and the overflowing affection that Aria sends after awakening as a vampire kept Plona anchored to life.
The affection Aria had shown during their time in the orphanage was like an oasis in a desert for Plona, but now that they had truly become blood sisters, the affection Aria provided felt palpable and heavy.
This is what real family is. I grew up without knowing such wonderful happiness.
It was only after putting an end to her life as a human that Plona realized how much she had lost throughout her life.
Every time she looked at her sister’s smile, her complicated feelings melted away, and hearing a warm word filled her chest with a warm, tingling sensation.
The time spent with her sister petting her head passed by so quickly, as if someone had captured and spun her clock hands, and when she buried her face in her sister’s soft chest, she could even forget the intense thirst for just the sound of her heartbeat.
Just like a baby feels reassured listening to the heartbeat it heard while in the womb as it’s held by its mother, this must be what familial affection is.
Having discovered this intoxicating sweetness, Plona could not bring herself to give up on life.
She had found a reason to keep living.
‘Now there are things I must do as well.’
If her sister wished for her to live, then Plona must stay alive.
To atone for the past and to protect her sister, who must change to survive, Plona could not put down her sword just yet.
And to survive, she must feed.
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