Martial Emperor of Blue Star, Turned into a Blood Slave Girl by a Vampire Princess

Degrienne’s hand hovered over her chest, blood-hued lightning crackling at her fingertips—but it refused to move even an inch farther.
—She was afraid.

A suffocating terror of death had wrapped invisible shackles around her wrist, locking her in place.
Worse still… deep inside, a burning will to live surged forth from the pit of her soul—
She wanted to go home. She wanted to see her little sister again—even if it meant returning in this wretched, shameful form.

But just as the lightning flared, a familiar hunger radiated from her abdomen, spreading through her entire body.
In that moment of clarity, she realized with horror—every time she used her powers, the thirst for blood surged alongside it!
As if this body was warning her: You want power? Trade it for blood!

And worse than the craving was the change in her very self—
At some point, she had started to blush easily, grow embarrassed, cry over nothing.
The once-firm and resolute Chu Zhao had been hollowed out, leaving behind a fragile, weeping little girl.

If even her personality could be corroded by the bloodkin’s physiology… then one day—
Would she become a complete enemy of mankind?
The thought coiled around her heart like a venomous serpent.

And Degrienne, in despair, realized she no longer had an answer.
“…If that’s the case—”
The lightning flared violently!

Before reason could catch up, her fingers had already driven the energy straight into her heart—
BOOM!
As the scarlet thunder tore through her chest, she thought she saw her little sister’s smile.

At least, in the end… she had protected her homeland.
Dying like this—maybe that meant she wouldn’t harm another human being.
Maybe… this was her last shred of pride.
And yet, just as the lightning pierced her heart, a quieter, darker voice surfaced:

—Did I really choose death because I didn’t want to hurt anyone…
—Or because I feared that one day… I’d submit to Catherine’s torment?
 

****
At that same moment, in the corridor—
Veronica walked briskly, carrying a polished silver tray. On it sat a freshly prepared caramel pudding.

She had made it especially for Degrienne.
That stubborn little thing had been trapped in the barrier for two days—hungry, thirsty.
After the public duel and the brutal punishment their Mistress had given her… Veronica, rarely, felt a twinge of sympathy.

But Catherine’s orders were absolute. All she could do was offer this small, quiet gesture of comfort.
“…She must like sweets,” she murmured, her pace quickening without thinking.
But when she reached the door to Degrienne’s quarters, her gentle knocks were met with silence.

“Still sulking?” Veronica sighed softly, knocking a little harder. “Little Mistress, I brought you pudding—”
Still no answer.
An unease gripped her. Veronica didn’t hesitate any longer—she pushed the door open.

Clatter!
The tray fell. The pudding shattered on the floor.
Degrienne lay on the bed, still and silent. A charred, blackened hole pierced her chest.

Her silver hair fanned across the pillow, as if she were only sleeping.
But the fire in her crimson eyes—once filled with defiance—was gone.
Veronica’s fingers began to tremble uncontrollably.

The very next moment, she spun on her heel and bolted for Catherine’s bedchamber, ignoring all etiquette as she flung the doors open—
“Master! The little mistress, she—!”
Catherine had been reading an ancient tome. Upon seeing Veronica’s ashen face, she shot up instantly.

“What happened to her?”
“She… she committed suicide…”
Before the words had even left her lips, Catherine’s figure vanished.

The distance between the royal chamber and Degrienne’s quarters—she crossed it in a breath.
When she stood before the bed and saw Degrienne’s lifeless form, for the first time, a crack appeared in her eternally composed crimson gaze.
“You dare…” Her voice was low. Terrifying. “Without my permission… you died on your own?”

Her fingers clamped down on Degrienne’s cold chin. Her blood-red pupils narrowed into slits, gleaming with danger. “You want to leave me that badly?”
“You think death will sever our bond?”
She laughed—low and unhinged—as she pulled the corpse into her arms. Then sank her fangs into her own wrist.

A single droplet of golden blood, glowing faintly, fell into the gaping hole in Degrienne’s chest—like molten gold seeping into the ruins of her heart.
“I want you alive to suffer every moment of this.”
As the sacred blood left her body, Catherine’s face turned visibly pale. Even her silver hair dulled.

But she didn’t care. Her gaze was locked on the slowly mending wound—
From the scorched black crater, tender red flesh began to bloom anew. Veins curled like vines around the rebuilding heart.
When the first faint heartbeat echoed back, Catherine leaned down and licked the newborn scar.

“Remember this—”
She whispered into Degrienne’s ear, her lips brushing her earlobe. “Every second your heart beats… it belongs to me.”
Degrienne’s lashes fluttered. The light returning to her eyes reflected Catherine’s near-mad smile.

Veronica saw the girl’s chest rise with breath once more. A trace of relief flickered in her eyes. “Congratulations, Mistress. The little mistress is alive again.”
Catherine gave a small nod. “You may leave.”
Her gaze never left the girl in her arms. “I want to be alone with her.”

Veronica bowed, quietly cleaned up the shattered pudding on the floor, and slipped out on soft feet.
The door closed with a click. Silence fell, save for the mingled breaths of the two inside.
Degrienne whimpered faintly. Her blurred vision began to focus.

She felt herself wrapped in warmth, nose filled with a cool rose scent.
“…Is this… heaven?”
She murmured without thought, cheek rubbing against the soft warmth. “Big sister… are you an angel? Just a little cold…”

Catherine chuckled and nuzzled her forehead with her own. “There are no angels here…”
Her fingers brushed the spot where her heart had been remade. “Only your Mistress—and my little Degrienne.”
Degrienne’s eyes flew open. When she saw that seductive, terrifying face, her whole body jolted as she began to struggle—

“Let me go!”
“What a shame. Your suicide failed~”
Catherine easily pinned her down, her crimson eyes blazing with feverish obsession. “Remember—you are my First Embrace…”

“As long as I don’t permit it, even death is not yours to claim.”
Degrienne froze as if struck by lightning, then thrashed like mad, fists pounding against Catherine’s body. “Why! What gives you the right—?!”
“This.”

Catherine suddenly shoved her back onto the bed, looming over her with a dark gleam in her gaze. Two fingers waved dangerously in front of her eyes.
“I had wanted to tame you slowly…”
“But a disobedient child who tries to die…”

“…needs to be punished immediately.”
When Degrienne saw the [N O V E L I G H T] burning hunger in those red eyes, she finally understood what was about to happen.
She scrambled back in terror—but a hand seized her ankle and dragged her back down—

“No… Don’t—!”
Catherine had already sunk her fangs into her neck—not to feed.
This bite was something far more terrible.

And Degrienne understood, in that final flash of despair—
Even the escape of death… had been utterly stolen from her.