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

Time dragged on.
Degrienne’s toes began to tremble, her calf muscles twitching from being clenched for so long.
Sweat slid down her neck, soaking the back of her dress until it clung sticky and damp to her skin.

“Mm…”
She couldn’t help but shift her numb fingers slightly, trying to ease the tension—
“Little mistress, lift your wrists a little higher.”

Veronica’s voice was gentle as water—but her touch left no room for refusal.
Her fingertip pressed lightly against Degrienne’s wrist, forcing her to raise her hands to a more exact height.
“Just like that,” the head maid praised with a smile. “So elegant.”

Degrienne gritted her teeth, scarlet eyes burning with furious defiance.
But before she could protest, another maid gently cupped her chin and straightened her face.
“Head upright, little mistress~”

The maid beamed. “Lady Catherine loves perfect posture.”
Degrienne’s breath hitched—and the magical threads immediately tightened around her, wrenching a muffled grunt from her lips.
Her spine was forced into a perfect arch, her chest pushed forward.

She looked like a doll sculpted by masterful hands, not even allowed the luxury of a single flaw.
“Twenty minutes remaining,”
Veronica whispered from behind, her fingertip hovering lightly near Degrienne’s lower back. Then her tone softened. “Little mistress may take a brief rest.”

Degrienne clenched her jaw and turned away sharply. “Who… who needs to rest!”
Deliberately, she straightened her back even more, rising higher on trembling tiptoes.
The movement caused the etiquette book atop her head to sway dangerously—immediately, the threads tightened in warning.
“Don’t act so damn fake…”

Sweat dripped from her tense jawline, soaking into her skirt and blooming into a dark stain. “I… can keep going…”
Veronica sighed and withdrew her supportive hand.
The other maids exchanged uneasy glances—but none dared speak again.

Degrienne’s vision blurred. Black spots crept in at the edges. Her kneecaps began to cry out from the strain.
But every time she nearly collapsed, the pride of a Martial Emperor would rise from deep within her—
And she’d force her shaking body back upright.

“Nggh…”
A barely audible whimper slipped from her clenched lips.
Her fingers had gone bone-white, nails dug deep into her palms—yet she stubbornly held the perfect curtsey pose.

But even pride had its limits.
The moment her knees finally buckled—
“Mnnh…”

Her legs gave out, and she pitched forward.
The magical threads caught her just in time, preventing her from crashing to the floor—easing her gently into the «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» arms of the waiting maids.
“You did so well, little mistress~”

“Held out for so long, what a good girl~”
Hands supported her from every side—someone dabbed her sweat, someone gently massaged her trembling calves.
Degrienne bared her teeth in rage, but this only made the maids react more enthusiastically:

“Aww, she’s even cuter when she’s mad!”
“Like a fluffy kitten with all its fur puffed out~!”
Veronica supported her gently from behind, swaying her softly like soothing a baby.

“For a first time, you did beautifully. Mistress will be so pleased.”
Degrienne opened her mouth to snap back—only to have a sweet pastry stuffed into it.
The maids laughed around her, treating her completely like a sulky little child.

“Lady Catherine is here!”
Isabella’s voice rang out, and the maids immediately stepped aside to clear a path.
Those gathered around Degrienne quickly retreated to either side, lowering their heads in deference.

With their support gone, Degrienne barely caught herself with her hands on the floor.
Panting, she looked up—right into Catherine’s crimson eyes.
Catherine walked toward her, gaze cool and aloof as she looked down from above—

The silver-haired girl was disheveled, sweat-plastered bangs clinging to her flushed cheeks, breath shallow.
Her body was clearly spent.
Catherine knew full well Degrienne had truly been practicing.

But outwardly, she narrowed her eyes slightly and let her voice drop cold:
“Didn’t I tell you to keep watch over her? How is it she’s collapsed instead of training?”
“She was practicing, mistress!” one maid blurted out. “She only just collapsed from exhaustion—”

“Yeah, yeah, she held out really long!”
“Isabella can vouch for her!”
The maids chimed in one after another, rushing to defend Degrienne, afraid she’d be misunderstood.

Degrienne froze, caught off guard by the twinge in her chest.
That ache of having worked hard—yet not being recognized.
But she crushed the thought with a snarl of will.

Why should she care?
It wasn’t like she was really trying. She was just being stubborn. That’s all.
Catherine’s lips curled in the faintest hint of a smile. Then she knelt and scooped Degrienne into her arms, her fingers gliding through the girl’s sweat-damp silver hair.

“You worked so hard, my little Degrienne~”
Her voice softened, teasing now. “Trying so hard to learn etiquette... deep down, don’t you really want to be a good little girl?”
She lifted Degrienne’s chin, crimson eyes dancing with wicked amusement.

“I know, you know. You like being treated this way, don’t you?”
“Bullshit!”
Degrienne flared up, red-faced and furious. “You crazy old hag! Put me down!”

The air in the room froze.
All the maids gasped in unison—a few even covered their mouths.
Isabella sighed, and Veronica’s eyes widened.

Everyone knew.
Now the little mistress was going to suffer.
Catherine’s expression turned cold at a speed visible to the naked eye.

She still smiled, but the frost in her crimson gaze sent chills through the room.
Crack!
A long whip of thorns materialized out of thin air, its tip cracking the floor with a razor-thin line.

The maids instinctively stepped back.
“Isabella. Veronica.” Catherine’s voice was glacial. “Hold her down on the table.”
Veronica’s eyes flickered with pity—but she still bowed her head. “Yes, Mistress.”

Before Degrienne could react, the two maids seized her from either side and pinned her to the nearby long table.
Her waist and stomach were pressed flat to the surface. Her arms were pinned at her sides—completely immobilized.
“W-Wait! Catherine! You—”

CRACK!
The whip’s shrill screech through the air silenced her.
Degrienne flinched, biting her lip reflexively.

The maids stood back, silent and tense, watching.
Catherine slowly dragged the whip’s tip across Degrienne’s back, her voice low and deceptively soft:
“Anything else you’d like to say?”

Degrienne’s fingers clawed at the tabletop, a sharp prickle of regret finally rising in her chest—
Should’ve kept my damn mouth shut…
—Punishment in progress—

Catherine eventually withdrew the whip, gazing down at Degrienne slumped across the table, sobbing quietly.
A twisted smile curled her lips.
She pulled the silver-haired girl into her arms again, brushing away the tears from the corners of her eyes with a delicate finger.

“There, there. No more tears~”
Catherine’s lazy, familiar tone returned as she carried her toward the bath. “Let’s go get you all clean and sweet.”
Degrienne buried her face in Catherine’s shoulder, sniffling and refusing to lift her head.

Warm steam drifted from the half-open bath chamber doors, with rose petals floating faintly on the surface of the water.
The maids exchanged a smile—then quietly began preparing towels and fragrance.