—How could such a monster exist?

Mirena stared at the golden-haired girl drawing nearer.

Sweat traced her temple.

Nym called out to Mirena with concern.

“Your Highness…”

“I’ve already paid. So you’re my property. Whatever else happens, I won’t let you escape…”

Her words were ice-cold, devoid of even a trace of emotion.

Hearing her speak, one could truly link her to the ruthless Vampire race.

Mirena never expected this girl—who seemed her age—to open with such a possessive declaration.

Conversely—

Was this girl the very “master” who’d paid three hundred million gold coins for her?

Up close, she was undeniably adorable.

Crimson eyes gleamed with intensity. Her nose was small and finely sculpted.

Especially those cherry lips, parting and closing—they outshone even noble Vampires in charm.

*I’d love to be bitten by her—*

*No, no, no! What am I thinking?*

She’s a Vampire. My enemy.

How could she entertain such thoughts?

Yet Mirena froze, unsure how to handle this situation.

“Hold it! How dare a mere commodity kidnap a slave? I’ll never forgive you if I catch you!”

Guards swarmed up from adjacent rooftops below.

Unlike Mirena’s bug-like physical abilities, they could only climb walls to give chase.

No time to deal with this icy-faced golden-haired girl.

—Escaping was her top priority now.

“I apologize for the trouble regarding your purchase. Though those three hundred million gold coins are regrettable… please find another Blood Slave…”

Mirena bowed slightly, politely.

Then she leaped between connected rooftops, hopping steadily toward the distant horizon.

The golden-haired girl stood frozen, silently watching Mirena fade away.

*Daring to apologize to me—the master who would exploit her—and thinking she could escape my grasp?*

*What an interesting child.*

That body’s ability meant she possessed a certain “Trait” that intrigued Hestia deeply.

For some reason, her frozen heart began beating again.

She’d thought nothing could ever interest her.

Yet the unexpected happened.

For the first time, she felt drawn to another girl—Mirena Barlit.

Her heart pounded wildly.

*Is this what desire feels like?*

Having forgotten this sensation for so long, she couldn’t even be sure.

—Anyway, catching that child would settle it.

“You… you’re the noble lady who bought a Blood Slave? We deeply apologize—the auction item fleeing is unprecedented!”

“No need…”

“Eh?”

“No apologies. I’ll capture her myself. Since I’ve paid, she’s already mine…”

The golden-haired girl pushed off the roof with both feet.

Cracks spiderwebbed across the tiles beneath her.

Crimson light flared in her pupils.

Proof a Vampire was serious.

—Proof she’d unleashed the blood-source power hidden within her body.

Mid-flight, Mirena noticed the guards weren’t pursuing.

She glanced back instinctively.

Her sapphire eyes widened.

“No way!”

In her azure pupils, the golden-haired girl soared over five or six rooftops in a single bound.

She charged straight toward Mirena.

Mirena never imagined a Vampire could match her speed.

Truth was, she hadn’t suddenly gained this ability.

—She’d tampered with her stats.

She’d rewritten her “Agility” data to maximum.

That’s how she moved like this.

Original plan: dash straight home. Now, plans changed.

A Vampire chased her relentlessly. She could only lead her in circles for now.

But this endurance battle drained Mirena.

Tampering with stats was her privilege—

Yet it had time limits.

This boost would last only five minutes.

It also devoured stamina.

After just a short sprint, Mirena’s strength faltered.

Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to leap onward.

Until she reached the boundary between inner and outer city walls.

Only she, Nym, and the golden-haired girl remained on the rooftop.

Mirena finally collapsed onto the tiles.

“Hah… hah… How long… will you chase me… hah…”

With only one pursuer left, she decided to ask.

“Heh. Until you surrender, of course. Tired already?”

The golden-haired girl loomed over Mirena, smiling coldly.

“Yes… I can’t go on. Please stop chasing me…”

“Your Highness! Noble lady, spare the princess! I’ll accept punishment as the runaway commodity! But Princess Mirena—”

“This doesn’t concern you. Who are you to interfere? I want *her*—”

Crimson eyes gazed down at Mirena sprawled on the roof.

No—from the moment she began chasing them, her pupils had reflected only Mirena.

She wanted only Mirena Barlit, the Elf.

Everything else was irrelevant.

“You may vanish. She stays. She’s mine.”

Her cold declaration sealed Mirena’s fate.

“Don’t… don’t joke! I’ll never become your Blood Slave!”

Rage flared in Mirena’s chest—for Vampires, for the ones who killed her family.

How could she be caught here?

*Absolutely not—*

*Never, never—*

Her mother’s fallen figure flashed in her mind.

She clenched her fists, straining to rise, fighting to stand.

Yet her body collapsed again, utterly spent.

“Damn it—”

—She couldn’t move a finger.

This was the backlash of tampering with stats.

The five-minute limit had passed.

Her stats reverted to normal.

The side effect: total paralysis for three to four hours.

*No… I can’t lose my dignity as Elven Princess.*

*I must escape this cursed Vampire’s grasp.*

“Nym…”

“Your Highness? What’s wrong?”

Nym shook Mirena’s limp body, worried.

Mirena had brought her here—Nym felt lost.

She selfishly hoped Mirena would take her along.

But Mirena thought:

*If Nym gets captured too, the loss doubles.*

“Nym, since things turned out this way… escape alone. Before more pursuers arrive—run!”

“How can I abandon you, Your Highness?”

Tears spilled from Nym’s eyes.

—She’d always been timid.

Fear gripped her now more than ever.

Mirena believed *one escapee was better than two captives*.

“Run! If you stay, we’ll both suffer!”

“I agree. I only want her. You’re in the way. Disappear.”

The golden-haired Vampire’s voice cut like ice.

Unexpectedly, she shared Mirena’s wish—to let Nym go.

“Listen to her! Escape alone, Nym!”

Mirena’s tone turned sharp, shooing her away.

Nym’s tear-filled eyes darted between them—then hardened with resolve.

She threw her arms wide, shielding Mirena from the golden-haired girl.

“Your Highness! I’m not that cowardly! You risked danger to save me—how could I leave you?”

“Nym… you fool…”

Mirena glared from the ground at the trembling barrier before her.

“!!!”

The next instant, Nym shuddered violently under the Vampire’s killing intent. Her legs trembled uncontrollably.

“Block my path again, and I’ll kill you. A lowly Elf like you dares defy me? She’s mine now. Nothing to do with you. In this Vampire city… is there anything I cannot claim?”

Crimson pupils glowed terrifyingly in the night.

Nym had been raised among Vampires since childhood.

That ingrained *fear* magnified tenfold before this golden-haired predator.

The petite girl shot Nym one icy glare—

Then stepped around her.

She walked slowly to Mirena’s side and lifted her like treasure, cradling her in a princess carry.

“Now, come home quietly. You’re mine, my lovely Elven Princess.”

“You can take me… but don’t hurt Nym…”

“Heh… of course. But do you really think you’re in a position to bargain?”

Mirena lay utterly powerless.

—She had no leverage.

Yet true to her word, the golden-haired girl didn’t touch Nym again.

She merely locked eyes with the sobbing Elf on the ground—then vanished into the night.

Her gaze settled on Mirena, savoring her prey’s defiant yet helpless expression.

Moreover… this girl carried a familiar scent.

“Don’t think I’ll submit to you. I *will* escape.”

Mirena fixed the blonde loli with a defiant stare.

However, a faint smile curled at the corner of the loli’s lips.

She simply hugged Mirena and whispered words that sent a chill of utter terror through her.

"Just wait," she murmured. "I’ll mold you into someone who can never leave me."

Name: Mirena Barlit

Gender: Female

Age: 15

Race: Elvenfolk

Level: LV0

HP: 100/100

MP: 50/50

Strength: 10

Agility: 20→9999 (Temporary Boost)

Endurance: 20

Intelligence: 400

Physical Attack: 2

Accuracy: 10

Evasion: 20%

Critical Hit Rate: 0%