“Were you really too busy to hang out with me?”

“Huh…?”

“If that’s the case, why didn’t you tell me sooner? I thought you were tired of me and kept avoiding me. I was so annoyed, I was about to kidnap you!”

“What?!”

Even passersby heard his shout and gasped in shock.

“Please, don’t talk so loudly about planning a crime.”

Ignoring my plea, Iscallion lifted me up and spun me around in the middle of the bustling street.

In the end, it could be considered a somewhat happy ending.

The problem was that maintaining my relationship with Iscallion had strained my relationships with the other male leads. Thanks to the people who witnessed Iscallion and me that day, ridiculous rumors snowballed. The gossip-hungry social circles didn’t miss out on this juicy tidbit.

Rumors spread that the reason I had been quiet after breaking off my engagement with the Crown Prince was that I was deeply infatuated with a handsome foreign lover. Some said Iscallion was just a toy to make the Crown Prince jealous. These absurd stories became almost accepted as truth.

Moreover, since Iscallion was younger, the rumors painted me as a sexy, aloof older sister character brimming with mature charm. As someone who had just turned twenty, I was utterly flabbergasted. Besides, my appearance was nowhere near exuding mature charm.

At least my status had been upgraded from the Crown Prince’s pathetic ex-fiancée to a provocative femme fatale playing with two handsome men. That was some consolation.

For some reason, my family, feeling immensely proud, made such a fuss that even Shahar heard the rumors.

Though he had always been on my side, this time he couldn’t hide his sadness.

‘I guess I did go too far.’

I had even relied on his power when learning charm magic from Janet. No matter how shameless I was, I couldn’t help but feel guilty.

“Shahar, are you very angry?”

“My mate should do what my mate wants. Don’t worry about my feelings.”

‘He’s completely sulking!’

“How could I not care? Shahar, you’re my one and only precious stone.”

“……”

Shahar was surprisingly sensitive, so it was impossible to placate him as easily as Iscallion. I even banned Iscallion from entering the mansion for a while to appease him, but his mood didn’t improve at all.

But what really bothered me was that Gined had also heard the rumors.

The one who informed me, or rather the vampire, was Janet. As the quintessential sexy and aloof older sister character, she sat on my room’s table, swinging her white-slippered feet.

“Have you heard the rumors?”

Janet casually started, saying that even among the holy knights, my scandal was a hot topic.

“It’s a pity you couldn’t see Roengreen’s face. Even though he pretended to be calm, he was definitely shaken. I guarantee it as someone who has seduced a thousand holy knights.”

“Shut up. Do you think I’ll fall for your tricks again? And why do you keep coming here? Don’t tell me you still haven’t given up on Mount Acheron?”

“Of course not. I purely wanted to see you, Lady—”

“Stop with the nonsense and get out.”

Suddenly, Janet’s face contorted as if she was about to burst into tears.

“Master!”

Then she collapsed at my feet.

“What, what are you doing?”

“Please take me in…! If not, I’ll be killed by that ruthless holy knight! If you take me in, I’ll serve you for life!”

Her usual aloof and relaxed demeanor was nowhere to be seen. She showed me a large burn scar on her back, a mark left by holy power.

“He was already notorious for being vicious, but after hearing about your scandal, he’s been rampaging like a mad dog. And I’ve been so weak from only drinking monster blood… I can’t possibly defeat him.”

A mad dog? If it were Iscallion, maybe, but Gined being called a mad dog didn’t suit him at all.

‘Is she trying to gain my sympathy with extreme expressions?’

The burn scar looked severe. Since it was inflicted by holy power, even a vampire’s remarkable regenerative abilities would take a long time to heal.

“As you said, I’ve been enduring without harming any humans. Right? If I make a master-servant contract with you, it’ll be much easier to control my appetite. When a vampire has a human master, their urge to drink blood significantly decreases.”

Janet’s situation seemed desperate enough to cling to a human’s sympathy. The holy knights, who were strong and diligent, were closing in on her day and night. She probably judged that staying by my side was the safest option. No matter how powerful the Holy Knight Order was, they couldn’t recklessly search the Dronay mansion.

I asked indifferently,

“What benefit do I get from taking you in?”

“What?”

“You tried to kill me, remember? And you deceived me with that lousy special lesson.”

Janet’s face showed a moment of realization. Her crimson eyes wavered desperately.

“As you know, our race has a strict hierarchy between generations. Though not as much as the first generations born as vampires, I’m quite a high-ranking elder. If you take me in, you’ll be able to command vampires ranked below me.”

“What use do I have for half-dead creatures that can’t even move during the day? I don’t need them.”

I coldly rejected her. But Janet was more persistent than I thought. She visited every night, trying all sorts of ways to win me over. She even put on a show by transforming into a bat, abandoning her vampire pride.

“Did you enjoy it, lady? Your joy is my joy!”

The crimson bat spun in the air, shouting. Watching a 500-year-old vampire act cute was unsettling.

“…What should I do, Shahar?”

Surprisingly, Shahar gave her a favorable evaluation.

“She has considerable abilities. Taking her in wouldn’t be a bad idea.”

“Are you serious?”

I was a little surprised, expecting him to say to reject her.

“Hmm.”

I pondered while looking at the bat anxiously watching us. The decision didn’t take long.

“If I don’t take her in, I’ll have to see this every day.”

In the end, I leaned towards Shahar’s opinion. It wasn’t because I coveted Janet’s abilities, but because Shahar had never given me bad advice. Initially, I thought of him as just a troublesome stone, but I had come to rely on him significantly.

As soon as I finished speaking, the bat transformed back into a seductive beauty.

“I knew you would make a merciful decision! I, Janet, will prove that it was the right choice. Vampires never forget a favor.”

“Wait, I haven’t decided for sure yet.”

“Ha ha, it’s just a waste of time to think further.”

Janet smiled knowingly. She had noticed from her frequent visits that I was weak to beautiful women.

‘Well, it would be a global loss if such a beauty died.’

With Lina and Enril gone, the world’s average beauty had significantly dropped. And since Shahar and I had taken their places, the average had fallen even more. For the sake of the world, each beauty was precious.

“Then stay in the basement for now. I’ll have a top-quality coffin made for you by tomorrow. And you know you can’t harm humans, right?”

“I understand, Master.”

“Now, go.”

“Wait. Even if it’s a hasty contract, we need to follow some procedures.”

“…Procedures? What do you mean?”

Since I was young and hadn’t participated in family affairs, I was unfamiliar with contracts. Even in my past life, the only contracts I had signed were for part-time jobs.

“Isn’t it just a matter of preparing some paper?”

Janet’s eyes showed a hint of exasperation and self-deprecation. She sighed and began to explain step by step.

“When making a contract between different races, it’s customary to drop each other’s blood on something solid like a jewel or stone.”

I took out a garnet earring from the corner of my jewelry box and tossed it. It was the earring I had bought earlier. Janet swiftly caught it. Seeing the earring I had bought to gift a new friend become a token of a master-servant contract left a bitter taste.

“Also, if the contract isn’t fulfilled, there must be a penalty.”

“A penalty?”

“Yes. Usually, the penalty involves a part of the body.”

It seemed like a heavy price for a simple contract. I pondered how to minimize the damage.

‘Should I offer fingernails or body fat…?’

“No, fingernails or dead skin cells, and unnecessary fat are not allowed.”

As if reading my mind, Janet firmly added.

“Damn. Then how about hair?”

“Hair is acceptable.”

“Alright, I’ll offer my hair.”

“I’ll offer my left eye.”

Janet first bit her hand with her fangs, letting the blood drop onto the earring. I pricked my finger with a hairpin.