The Sovereign’s manor in the Cherryfall Dominion. The Sovereign’s bedroom.

This was the most luxurious room in the entire dominion. Naturally, the person living here held the highest status of all.

The Sovereign’s private chamber—a mysterious place that outsiders could only wonder about and yearn to see. At this moment, something unknown to the outside world was happening inside.

In other words, this was the sort of “secret scandal” people loved to whisper about.

The room’s owner—the Sovereign—was an extremely young girl. She usually appeared decisive, stern, and impossible to please. Few people dared meet her eyes, much less speak to her.

Now, sharp fangs unlike those of an ordinary human showed between her lips. They were as keen as a wolf’s or a vicious hound’s.

To ordinary people, she was the Sovereign of the dominion. She governed this untainted sanctuary beneath the earth’s veins and carried the hope of every citizen.

The people revered her.

They feared her, too.

The expression on her face was like a glacier that never melted, and she had never once shown them a smile.

“You’re here? Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for you? By the way… Didn’t Shion”—the maid’s name—“tell you to arrive on time? When the withdrawal hits, I might just snap your neck.”

The Sovereign—Alexia Fujiwara—was a woman who stood at the top of the food chain.

She looked down upon all living things beneath her.

Yet she alone was defeated by her thirst for blood.

Without a regular supply of fresh blood, her organs would slowly wither and age. In the end, she would die in unbearable agony.

Our protagonist, Kanata Himemiya, had been “fortunate” enough to be chosen as a living blood bank.

Or, more accurately, a Bloodbond Thrall.

At first, she hadn’t wanted Alexia to live.

But if Alexia didn’t live long enough, Kanata and Nozomi would be buried alongside her.

“Unfortunately, we’re technically life-sharing partners now. So you’d better pray that I remain healthy and live to a ripe old age. Otherwise, neither you nor your sister will have an easy life.”

Alexia made the declaration with her usual arrogance. Her attitude was infuriating.

Still, as long as Nozomi didn’t die, nothing else mattered.

For the record, Nozomi was Kanata’s twin sister.

Kanata was now an elder sister enduring an impossibly harsh life to keep her younger sister alive.

She had once wanted to become a strong, towering man who could protect his sister.

Then Alexia proposed an excessively cruel exchange.

*If you refuse to obey my will and become the person I want you to be, not a single hospital in the Cherryfall Dominion will accept your pitiful sister for treatment.*

*Think about it. If the last person in the world who depends on you leaves you too, what will you have left?*

A mountain of debt.

A life spent enduring people’s pointing fingers and scorn.

Every day, she would struggle in a swamp of despair, unable to breathe.

Kanata truly couldn’t bear the thought.

“I’m so sorry… I promise I’ll hurry over as soon as my shift ends. I’m begging you, please don’t make things difficult for my sister… You can deduct it from my wages if you want.”

Kanata knelt at Alexia’s feet, her face nearly touching them.

This was the most humiliating posture a former child of privilege could possibly take.

Anyone could tell that Alexia must be looking down on her with contempt.

Alexia stood high above her.

Kanata had been reduced to the dust beneath her feet.

*It doesn’t matter. As long as Nozomi can stay alive…*

And so, Kanata Himemiya became the property of Alexia Fujiwara.

She grew out her hair and, on the day of her sixteenth birthday, stepped through the doors of the Gender Assignment Bureau.

The bureau served exactly the purpose its name suggested. It was where children born without a gender were given one.

In this world, newborns had been born genderless since ancient times. Once they turned sixteen, they were free to choose whichever gender they preferred.

Kanata had wanted to become an older brother.

She had wanted to protect Nozomi from being bullied.

That was no longer possible.

“You submitted your application a long time ago, didn’t you? I remember you chose to become permanently male. Why do you suddenly want to change it today? It’s not impossible, though.”

The bureau’s employee was a lethargic, long-haired woman. Her loose white coat sagged from her shoulders, and she looked as if she had just woken up.

“It’s just… I thought this would make it easier to survive.”

The troubled young man forced a bitter smile.

The Sovereign had ordered him to do this.

If he resisted, he and his sister would be thrown beyond the city walls by the Imperial Guard. The infected monsters outside would tear them apart and devour them.

“This is the one precious opportunity you get in your entire life. Think it through carefully. Don’t come crying to me later. Our bureau isn’t responsible for any consequences caused by your ‘Gender Assignment.’”

The employee lit a cigarette, intending to give Kanata time to think.

If this was merely a moment of impulsiveness, the time it took to smoke one cigarette should be enough for him to calm down.

“I want to become a woman.”

Kanata’s answer was firm.

It was decisive, leaving no room for change.

The truth was, this was the only choice she could make.

She would become a beautiful girl and please the young Sovereign Alexia, who was attracted to women.

Only then would her sister have a chance to live.

On that day, Kanata Himemiya, who had once intended to become a man, became a fragile young woman for reasons beyond her control.

…

Nine-thirty that night. The Fujiwara Clan estate.

Two sets of footsteps echoed through the long corridor.

A maid in a black-and-white Western-style uniform led the way. Her polished black shoes clicked against the floor.

A girl followed behind her with her head lowered and a gloomy expression on her face.

She was thin and looked utterly exhausted. The night breeze lifted her long black hair, making it ripple smoothly like a dark waterfall pouring down.

Her clothes didn’t match her slender figure at all.

She wore a loose men’s shirt. Its low collar revealed her delicate collarbones, pale skin, and the faint outline of her breasts. Her oil-stained overalls looked especially oversized on her.

Her slippers didn’t fit properly, so she couldn’t walk as quickly as the maid.

After the maid impatiently urged her onward, the girl finally slipped off the wide-strapped slippers and carried them in her hand.

At the end of the corridor stood an enormous, luxurious room.

The princess of the estate lived inside.

“Lady Alexia, I’ve brought her as ordered.”

The maid gently knocked on the door. Only after receiving permission from the “princess” did she dare open it.

She didn’t really understand her mistress’s intentions. There was still plenty of time. The outsider could have taken a proper bath and changed her clothes first.

Seeing the girl step inside with her filthy body made the maid deeply uncomfortable.

“You may leave. I’ll handle the rest myself. No one is to disturb me. Any matters requiring my attention can wait until next week.”

The room’s owner, Alexia Fujiwara, yawned and set down her coffee cup.

She had waited for this moment for a very long time.

At last, tonight, she could possess something she had long desired.

“Kanata, come here.”

The gloomy girl was the same Kanata from before.

Now, she was a true woman.

There was no turning back.

“…”

Kanata didn’t answer Alexia. She silently walked over, her head still lowered.

This should have been their third meeting.

The first had been at the tribunal deciding her father’s fate.

The second had been when her father was executed.

The third was now.

Their meetings were always accompanied by painful events.

And Kanata was always the one who suffered.

“Lift your head and look at me.”

Alexia’s voice was cool, yet beautiful. Its pressure left no room for disobedience.

Kanata moved her head mechanically and met the beautiful woman’s eyes.

Alexia’s breathtaking features entered her vision, beautiful enough to make anyone’s heart tremble.

As a mixed-blood, Alexia looked different from the ordinary residents of the dominion.

Her skin was paler, and she was much taller. She had a high, straight nose, long hair of deep purple so dark it was almost black, and alluring, thin lips.

Her blood-red eyes were deep as whirlpools, impossible to see through.

“From now on, no matter what I say to you, you’re not allowed to remain silent. You must answer me, even if it’s only one word. Understood?”

A beautiful hand with long, slender fingers touched Kanata’s cheek.

Then, in the next instant, it suddenly tightened.

“Smack!”

A slap struck her face.

Kanata’s left cheek began to sting. Half her face felt numb, as if an electric current were running through it.

The blow had been viciously hard.

Blood even appeared at the corner of her mouth.

“Don’t forget your place. You’re my plaything now. My property. My word is fate, and I am your god.”

Alexia smiled.

The smile was wildly arrogant, like a gorgeous and bewitching mandala flower.

“Yes… Lady Sovereign. Whatever you say is naturally the truth. I’m only a lowly sinner, and I’ll obey your every arrangement without question.”

Kanata took a deep breath and lowered her attitude and temper as far as they could go.

Nozomi was waiting for her at home.

Her sister needed money and medicine for treatment.

Because of that, these humiliations had value.

“That’s better. Someone like you must understand her place.”

Alexia tilted Kanata’s chin upward.

“If you can be a good, obedient child, I promise I can give you everything you want.”

Their relationship was one of bitter enemies who could never coexist under the same sky.

It was also the relationship between a contracted master and her subordinate property.

*If… one day I no longer need this contract, I swear I’ll kill the woman standing before me.*

*I’ll kill this cold-blooded, sanctimonious hypocrite.*

“So don’t forget your task tonight. You give me blood, and I give you money. It’s that simple.”

Alexia didn’t want to waste too many words.

She had been waiting a long time for this “dinner.”

Before enjoying the sweet blood of a young girl, she had a few nasty little games in mind.

For example, spreading fine butter and jam over the places where she was about to bite—her shoulder and neck.

The dinner knife, along with those chilled, gelatinous substances, glided across Kanata’s skin.

She shuddered.

“Bear with it. It’ll be over soon.”

Alexia’s mocking voice whispered beside her ear.

Then—

A sharp object pierced through flesh.

A hand clamped around her shoulder.

Her body fell into someone’s embrace.

The world spun.