I tried to speak, but the moment I opened my mouth, I vomited the murky blood I’d just swallowed.

"Ugh!"

My stomach twisted in sharp, unrelenting pain. I could feel it clearly—my gut felt battered, writhing and churning like it had taken a brutal blow.

To make matters worse, that foul-tasting blood had stirred up my hunger. A wave of ravenous emptiness flooded my body, making the ache even more unbearable.

It felt like someone starving for days grabbing a handful of dirt, shoving it down, then vomiting it right back up.

"No way," An Li muttered, eyeing me skeptically. "This is blood—not holy water dyed with pigment."

But my expression didn’t look faked. My palm-sized face was etched with raw pain, the kind that made anyone’s heart ache just looking at it.

*She’s probably not faking.*

While the cold, ruthless top enforcer of the Holy See weighed whether I was pretending, the silver-haired vampire loli had already fainted from the pain.

*Thud.* Collapsed onto the floor.

"…Guess she really wasn’t faking this time."

But why?

…

I couldn’t recall much. Something inhuman must’ve happened before I blacked out—then my body went limp, and everything faded.

Pain works like that sometimes. When it’s too much, you faint. Sleep it off. Wake up fine.

Except—

"It hurts! I’m so hungry!"

The gnawing in my stomach hadn’t vanished. It growled loudly. Then it hit me: since my transformation, who knew how long had passed? At least a day and two nights. Dawn was already breaking outside.

Humans need food. Even vampires do. Especially this loli body of mine—clearly in a growing phase needing steady nutrition. I couldn’t skip one meal, let alone this long.

I winced, remembering why I’d passed out.

Yeah, I needed to eat. Problem was—I took one sip and threw it right back up.

What kind of vampire drinks holy water fine but faints from a single mouthful of blood?!

Clutching my stomach, I stumbled out of the bedroom. An Li sat at the living room’s only table, flipping intently through a book. Several others lay nearby, titles clear:

*Daily Care for Vampires*, *The Delicate Anatomy of High-Blood Vampire Nobles*, *A Detailed Guide to Common Vampire Ailments*, *Princess Syndrome in High-Blood Vampire Clans*, and *Are Vampires Edible?*…

…Did my eyes deceive me? Some titles felt *off*.

"You’re awake," An Li said, setting the book down. "After reading all this, I’ve figured out the cause."

"What cause?" I asked urgently.

This was about *food*.

"Multiple books explain it complexly," she said, glancing at *Princess Syndrome in High-Blood Vampire Clans*. "Simply put: your bloodline is too pure, too noble—but your current power is too low. Like a pampered greenhouse flower: your digestive system is too delicate. Blood bags? Not pure enough."

I scratched my head. "But holy water didn’t hurt me earlier!"

"Holy water harms dark creatures via sacred properties. Physically? Just clean water. Harmless." She flipped another page. "Human blood carries nutrients and oxygen—but also impurities. Cells age, die… it’s never perfectly pure. For you? Like spoiled food."

"Whoa, skip the biology lecture!" I pleaded. "My head hurts! And as a rare, nearly extinct creature, if I die, who’ll preserve this knowledge?!"

"Quiet. Blood *functions*—it transports life-sustaining elements. Purify it forcibly? Cells separate. It stops being blood." She licked her lips. "Aged blood = impurities. For vampires? Spoilage."

"No wonder my stomach revolted," I murmured. "So… I need fresh blood?"

An Li shook her head. "Freshness isn’t key. Blood stores fine—hence blood bags. It’s *whose* blood matters."

"Huh?"

"Hold on. The book also says: for delicate pureblood vampires, a mix of white sugar, glucose, carbs, and calcium can *trick* your body. Suppress hunger temporarily. Restore mobility. Short-term fix only."

She met my eyes. "I found some. We’ll use it now, then find a real solution."

"Okay!" I nodded fast. "So… what is it?"

An Li reached into her pouch—and pulled out a Zhen Weizi fruit lollipop.