The Morning After and a New Name

Early the next morning.

“Shulk! I’m calling for you, Shulk!”

A furious roar jolted Avril from her slumber.

Having been up almost all night, she struggled to open her parched eyes, managing only a narrow slit.

“Where are you? Hurry and bring me my clothes! Quickly!”

Her head throbbed, still heavy with sleep, and Ailur’s shouting only intensified her irritation.

‘Doesn’t that foolish woman know Shulk has already left?’

She rolled over, sat up in bed, and habitually found herself staring blankly.

She remained seated for a good while.

‘Is something missing?’

Her body was waiting out of habit. After all, she usually sat on the bed for a while after waking, and then… then what?

Then Shulk would instinctively come to her room and help her change into her clothes for the day.

After that, he would bring her fragrant buttered bread, sometimes purchased from the downstairs restaurant, other times cooked by himself.

Avril sighed. It seemed she was no better than the yelling woman next door.

Without Shulk, their morning routine and assembly took nearly half an hour longer than usual.

Standing in the inn corridor, breakfast-less, they stared at each other, wide-eyed and helpless.

“What should we do?” Ailur was the first to voice the foolish question.

“What else can we do?” Avril retorted. “Let’s go eat downstairs.”

“It feels like… it’s been ten thousand years since I last ate downstairs.”

The trio descended to the restaurant and froze collectively before the counter girl.

“Hello there! May I take your order?”

The counter girl was quite enthusiastic, her face beaming with smiles as she looked at the three silent, grim-faced women.

Avril felt the gazes of the other two on her.

“Um, Avril, I’d like a slice of buttered bread, plus two portions of Thüringer sausages…”

“Order what you want yourselves!”

Avril grew impatient, not only with her two bewildered teammates behind her but also with herself.

Before, Shulk had always handled tasks like buying things.

Yet, with Shulk gone, when it was her turn to buy something, she found herself… strangely unable to?

“Hey, little lady, have you decided yet?”

Suddenly, a gruff voice came from behind her. Avril turned to see an entire queue of people had formed, all frowning and looking at the dawdling trio with clear distaste.

“Hurry up, we’re in a rush!”

“Alright, alright!” Avril was sweating profusely. “Um, ten buttered breads! Ten Thüringer sausages!”

“Hey! Avril, I don’t want Thüringer sausages!” Ailur protested.

“Just stop talking!” Avril’s irritation with Ailur intensified. This person was simply a loudmouth.

Amidst her annoyance, the figure of one particular person grew heavier in her mind, so heavy that it made her feel a faint sense of suffocation.

‘How could the three of them not even manage to buy breakfast without Shulk?’

‘Could it be… that without that person, everything would descend into chaos?’

****

Meanwhile, inside the Blood Manor.

“Ugh… what happened…?”

Shulk struggled to sit up, looking around to find herself lying naked on a massive red velvet bed.

Perhaps her senses were returning, for Shulk felt a pressure on her left hand. A warm, rhythmic rise and fall seemed to be pressing against it.

‘Could it be…?’

Shulk pulled back the covers, revealing the noble Blood Princess, equally naked, sleeping peacefully with her head resting on Shulk’s hand.

“Mmm…”

Perhaps stirred by the cold from the uncovered blanket, Iqiyah moved her delicate body, letting out a kitten-like whimper. This sent Shulk scrambling to pull the covers back up, turning away to face her own mounting panic.

Though she had been completely exposed to Iqiyah yesterday, the sheer intensity of the previous events meant that, despite having seen the ‘white jade body’ in its entirety, she hadn’t felt much instinctive emotion towards Iqiyah’s form.

Now, with everything settled, facing the sleeping Blood Princess before her, something that no longer belonged to her began to stir.

‘Is this what they call phantom limb pain?’

Shulk’s cheeks burned like boiling water. She turned her head, covered her face, and tried her best to suppress her desire to explore the beauty beside her.

Even so, her heart pounded wildly. Despite no exertion, she found herself breathless, unable to steady her breathing no matter how hard she tried—

Until she caught sight of a maid-clad figure with a chilling expression standing by the bed.

!!!

Shulk’s previously uncontrolled breathing instantly ceased. Staring at the pair of red eyes identical to Iqiyah’s, she desperately pressed her hand over her mouth to stifle a scream.

Witnessing Shulk’s undignified state, the maid’s frown deepened, her expression growing even sterner.

“Disgusting…”

She lifted her chin, looking down at Shulk as if she were a piece of refuse.

Memories slowly flooded Shulk’s mind, and she recalled exactly what had transpired last night.

At the time, she had been [Initial Embraced] by Iqiyah, transforming into a blood race girl, and was embraced by Iqiyah.

Then, a knock echoed at the door—

“Mistress, I just noticed your return. Are you in your room?”

“Waaaah!”

Iqiyah was clearly startled by the knock, grabbing Shulk’s head and forcefully pressing it towards her lap.

“Mistress? Has something happened?”

“N-n-n-nothing! Levian! Don’t you dare come in!”

“Don’t worry, Mistress, I’m coming in to save you right away!”

With a resounding ‘clang,’ the massive door burst open.

Behind the door stood a maid, her leg raised in a side-kick, revealing milky, silky white stockings and black high heels.

Her brows furrowed as she looked at Iqiyah and Shulk in her embrace, her expression gradually shifting from a concerned frown to… a disgusted frown.

“Mistress… I know you have certain eccentricities, but I truly never imagined you would…”

“N-n-nothing at all, you didn’t see anything~”

As she spoke, Iqiyah’s hands suddenly became forceful, pressing Shulk’s face firmly into that triangular region.

“Mmph! Mmph! Mmph!”

Shulk’s nose was cruelly pressed by the soft jade before her, making it impossible to breathe.

Facing this predicament, which was both exhilarating and despair-inducing, Shulk recalled a certain parrot belonging to a certain Chinese monarch on Blue Star… it had apparently been smothered to death by its owner in a similar fashion.

“Mistress, haven’t I told you? All the maids in the manor are yours to command. You can dispose of them as you wish; there’s no need to seek out toys elsewhere.”

“Oh, you’re not my mother, so stop telling me what to do!”

“How can I not? As your subordinate, I am under the Master’s orders to attend to your every need…”

The two in the midst of their argument seemed to have forgotten the pitiful being held in Iqiyah’s hands. Shulk only felt the sounds in her ears growing more muffled, her head becoming increasingly stuffy…

And so, amidst a hazy darkness, Shulk fainted.

When she awoke again, it was to the present moment.

Similar characters, similar circumstances, even the expression on the maid Levian’s face was strikingly similar.

“Um… shall we introduce ourselves?”

“A mere human, who would want to get to know you?”

The maid’s face was filled with disdain at Shulk’s attempt at friendliness.

“Hmm~ Levian, she’s not human anymore~”

A soft voice echoed from behind Shulk; it was Iqiyah, who seemed to have been roused by the nearby commotion. She rubbed her sleepy eyes and climbed out of bed.

“She’s a toy I worked hard to find, so you two must get along well from now on~”

“…Yes, Mistress.”

Though clearly reluctant, Levian obediently lowered her head and performed a curtsy towards Shulk.

“I am Levian Mezent, the esteemed Head Maid of the Blood Manor, and a personal attendant to Lady Iqiyah.”

“May I ask your esteemed name?”

“My name is Shulk…”

“No, from today onward, your name is no longer Shulk.”

Hearing this, Shulk froze, then turned to look at Iqiyah behind her.

“As your Mistress, and the one who bestowed upon you the [Initial Embrace], I have the right to decide your name.”

Iqiyah’s face was filled with pride.

“From now on, your name shall be Seraphina Scarlett.”

She leaned over, propping herself up, and whispered into the ear of the beauty sharing her bed.

“Be proud, Scarlett—this is a name countless blood races will forever look up to.”

“What do you think their reaction would be if they knew a mere human like you usurped it?”

Iqiyah’s warm breath fanned Seraphina’s ear.

“Come now, formally express your submission to me.”

“Starting with your address… you’re clever, you know what to do.”

Seraphina’s arms, propping her up, felt somewhat weak.

Only now did she realize that all the variables up to this point were things she had never anticipated.

Initially, she had deluded herself into thinking she could survive by making herself useful to Iqiyah. However, given the current circumstances, her fate was now entirely in Iqiyah’s hands.

Though a stubborn part of Seraphina still resisted internally, reason told her that escape or retaliation were matters for the future.

What she needed to do now, what she absolutely had to do, her only path was one—

“Mi… Mistress.”

“Hmm~ So clever, truly the toy I chose.”

Iqiyah smiled wickedly, her face etched with avarice.

Indeed, no matter how playful or contradictory her facets, she was ultimately the Blood Princess, revered by thousands, and ultimately her mistress.

“Now, my dear Seraphina, starting today, fulfill the promise we made upon our encounter, and bring me joy~”