Chapter 83: It Doesn’t Feel Good
The gentle caress was fleeting. Jasmine’s hand moved to the back of Adele’s neck, and in the instant that Adele’s crimson eyes widened in surprise, Jasmine pulled her down. She didn’t use much force, but it was enough for Adele. The sudden movement made her stumble.
In that instant, Adele’s fangs grazed Jasmine’s neck.
They were less than a centimeter away from the delicate skin, Adele’s cold breath brushing against Jasmine’s warm neck. It tickled, like someone blowing air on her skin. With their positions reversed, Jasmine’s hand moved from Adele’s neck to the back of her head.
Jasmine looked up at the ceiling. The room was pitch black, the curtains drawn, even the moonlight shut out. But her eyes could see as clearly as in daylight. Blake Castle was ancient. Despite meticulous renovations and cleaning, traces of its history remained.
Even without cracks, the repairs were evident to Jasmine’s sharp eyes. She stared at the ceiling for a while, noticing that Adele was still frozen, seemingly dazed. She sighed, “Adele, drink. But this is the last time.” Jasmine thought, No matter what Adele says, even if she begs, I won’t let her drink my blood again.
Both this time and the last time, she had only allowed it because Adele was on the verge of death. Knowing Adele’s personality, she might actually starve herself to death rather than drink blood.
Jasmine’s voice was gentle and calm. She was offering this willingly. Of course, no vampire could force her to offer her blood if she didn’t want to. Jasmine found vampires’ preferences strange. Why were they so fixated on biting necks? The neck was a vulnerable spot, with major arteries. One wrong move, and a human could die. Drinking from the arm, leg, or finger seemed much safer.
Perhaps sucking blood from the neck, like a predator biting its prey’s jugular, gave vampires a sense of power and control.
Jasmine’s mind wandered as she felt Adele hesitate beneath her hand. Her blood-addled brain seemed to be struggling to process Jasmine’s words. After a moment, like a puppy, she nuzzled Jasmine’s neck, inhaling her scent.
She rubbed her head against Jasmine’s neck, then finally pressed her fangs against the skin.
The sensation of her fangs was strange, like… a sharp icicle suddenly pressed against her neck on a winter day. It was an odd comparison, but that was what came to Jasmine’s mind. But an icicle wouldn’t pierce her skin. Adele’s fangs gently, so gently, sank into her flesh, creating two tiny puncture wounds.
Honestly, being bitten wasn’t a pleasant experience. It was different from having her finger sucked. This time, being bitten on the neck, Jasmine finally understood what the maid had described when she had asked about being bitten by a vampire.
She remembered the maid’s grimace as she recalled the experience. “How to explain it… It’s a very unpleasant feeling. I heard that vampire saliva has numbing and hallucinatory effects. It hurts at first, then it becomes intensely itchy. Your whole body goes numb and weak, like you’re losing control. You see flashes of light… It’s a very uncomfortable feeling, like your body isn’t your own.”
Jasmine had felt the same way when Adele first started drinking. But her body was too strong. The sensation was quickly suppressed by her enhanced physiology. In the end, all she felt was a slight tingling and itching at the bite site.
Jasmine’s hand, holding Adele’s head, gently stroked her hair. Adele’s hair hadn’t been properly cared for in half a month. She probably hadn’t showered either. It was now tangled and rough, not as soft as before. The proud young lady she had raised, reduced to such a state…
Jasmine closed her eyes, feeling her blood flowing through Adele’s fangs, revitalizing her weakened body. But… Adele was greedy. All vampires were like this. Once consumed by the thirst for blood, they couldn’t help but crave more.
Especially Adele, whose body was parched. She had barely tasted blood in her life, only the small amount Jasmine had given her last year. Now, finally able to indulge, she was like a mindless beast, wanting to drain Jasmine dry.
That was the nature of beasts. They didn’t understand the concept of moderation.
Jasmine endured it for a while, then she tugged at Adele’s hair, “Adele, stop.” For a moment, Adele seemed to consider stopping. But she was too hungry. Even though the tug on her hair caused a slight pain, she didn’t stop.
Jasmine frowned. Her hand moved from Adele’s head to her neck. Then she raised her hand and, without hesitation, knocked Adele unconscious. Her movements were swift and decisive. In an instant, Adele went limp in her arms. Jasmine controlled the muscles in her neck, stopping the bleeding from the two puncture wounds.
She picked up Adele and carried her back to her room. Adele’s bedroom had changed drastically since Jasmine’s last visit two days ago. It had been tidy then, but now, with Adele losing her sanity, it was a mess, papers scattered everywhere.
Jasmine nudged the papers aside with her foot and laid Adele on the bed. She picked up a sheet from the floor, sat down on the edge of the bed, and looked at it. It was both expected and a bit embarrassing. The paper was filled with her name, written over and over again.
Jasmine imagined Adele struggling against the urge to feed, writing her name as if it were an anchor, a way to hold onto her sanity. Adele was unconscious now. Jasmine summoned threads from her wrist, letting them gather the scattered papers and hand them to her one by one.
As expected, every sheet was covered with her name.
—This is a bit embarrassing…
Jasmine placed the papers on a nearby table. After a moment’s thought, she changed Adele’s clothes, wiped her body clean, and combed her hair. She was used to doing these things. After all, she had been taking care of Adele for years. Even though she had acknowledged her feelings for Adele, it didn’t evoke any inappropriate thoughts.
As she cleaned Adele’s body and changed her nightgown, her mind was completely clear.
After taking care of Adele, Jasmine tidied up the room. It took her almost two hours. Then she went into the bathroom and looked at her neck in the mirror. Her hair was short, unable to cover the two bite marks.
The wounds weren’t large. Adele’s fangs weren’t that big. They were just small punctures that could be covered with a band-aid. But Adele didn’t have any band-aids in her room, and Jasmine couldn’t go back to her own room to get them. The moment she left, she would be apprehended by the Lady’s maids and taken to the Lady.
Jasmine didn’t want that. She didn’t want to face the Lady again. She had her own plans.
Of course, she could simply heal the wounds, but she didn’t know Adele’s thoughts yet. It wouldn’t be wise to do that now. Jasmine touched the wounds with her fingers. They stung a bit. After all, they were open wounds. And they itched. Vampire fangs weren’t simple things.
Jasmine frowned, then took a clean towel, undressed, showered, and changed back into her maid uniform. After finishing, she left the bathroom and saw Adele sleeping soundly on the bed. According to the rules and etiquette, Jasmine should report back to the Lady now, or at least wait in the drawing-room, lying on the sofa like a proper maid.
But Jasmine was human. She didn’t want to do either. She simply lay down beside Adele, fully clothed. She had slept a lot during the day and wasn’t sleepy now. Her enhanced physiology made her less susceptible to fatigue. So, she simply gazed at Adele, lost in thought.
After drinking her blood, Adele was no longer the beast she had been. Her condition was even better than when Jasmine had snuck in during the day. Her cheeks, which had been slightly sunken, were now full, her face glowing as if she had consumed some kind of tonic.
Jasmine couldn’t help but pinch Adele’s cheek. Hmm, smooth and elastic.
Adele, in her sleep, wrinkled her nose, looking adorable. Worried about waking her, Jasmine released her cheek. Adele slept soundly beside her. Jasmine couldn’t help but yawn. It seemed that sleepiness was contagious.
She drifted off to sleep, curled up beside Adele.
Before falling asleep, she thought hazily, These are the most injuries I’ve ever sustained in my life. She had sliced her own hand, even wrapping it with a bandage to stop the bleeding, and now her neck had two bite marks. She had done all this for Adele. Adele should be grateful.
Jasmine didn’t know if Adele was grateful or not, but she was awakened by a sharp gasp. She opened her eyes blearily and saw Adele sitting up in bed, her face flushed, her expression a mixture of shock and confusion. Jasmine gauged the time. It had probably been one night. It must be broad daylight outside now.
She yawned, sat up, and looked at Adele, “Miss, what’s wrong?”
“Y-you… I… I…” Adele was speechless, her flustered appearance resembling a young lady who had woken up after a drunken one-night stand, unsure of what had transpired.
Leave a Reply