13. The Girls Sink into a Sea of Happiness

Author: Kiki
Raw: https://novel18.syosetu.com/n2498fn/13/
Translator: Lilia v4
Editor: Yuriko AYA

I sat alone in the chapel, now completely dark with no light coming in from outside.
The preparations were already complete. All that remained was to wait for the guest of honor.
Then I heard the door open, and the room that should have been pitch-black filled with light.

“Mistress, might you at least turn on a light?”
“Nunnally … Where is Ellis?”
“She is spending time with the others. You said we were free to do as we pleased until Rellie arrived.”

Looking more closely, I saw that Nunnally was flushed and perspiring.
It seemed that she and Ellis had been helping prepare our new companions.

“How was she?”

When I asked, Nunnally answered with a dreamy expression.

“Miri is thirteen, is she not? At first I was understandably cautious, but I have accepted her as one of us.”
“I am glad you can accept her. I expect she will live here at the church with us, so please be kind to her.”
“Of course. But … we have no habits made for children. We shall have to order one.”

Nunnally began arranging the matter in her head, though I wondered whether it was truly necessary.
An oversized habit would do for now, since they frequently changed clothes during their private rituals.

“… Rellie may arrive soon. I shall return to the room.”
“Then, when the time is right …”
“Yes. I am to bring the two of them here.”

Once we had confirmed the plan, Nunnally returned to the rear of the church.
I was alone once more in the now-lit chapel.
I understood that Rellie could not leave immediately after her fiancé’s death.
But she had to be searching desperately for someone to save her.
I had expected her to shake off every restraining hand and force her way to the church. Had I not poured enough power into her?
Judging from everything that had happened before, so much prolonged contact should already have made her ready to surrender body and soul.
Perhaps compatibility differed from person to person.
Even so, she had entrusted herself to me once already. There could be no doubt that she was very close to falling completely.

I passed the time staring down at my feet as they swayed idly.
In a space so quiet that I could hear the insects outside, I closed my eyes and waited patiently for approaching footsteps.
Now and then, faint voices carried from the rooms beyond, which made waiting somewhat difficult.
As I smiled wryly, I finally heard someone outside strike the ground at a run.
It appeared our leading lady had arrived at last.
I rose from the pew, stepped onto the long red carpet across the chapel floor, and waited for Rellie to appear beyond the doors.

“Hah, hah, hah …”

She appeared in a red dress that she had presumably borrowed from Ai.
In stark contrast to its brilliant color, her face was deathly pale.
She must have run here just as she had the day before. Beads of sweat stood at her temples as she staggered toward me on unsteady feet.
I deliberately made no move to approach her.
I wanted Rellie to understand that this was her own choice.

“Chigu … sa …”

Rellie reached toward me for support and moved slowly, ever so slowly, one step at a time toward her end.
I smiled and waited. The instant her fingertips touched me, I seized her in a forceful, predatory embrace.

“Was there not a party today? Why have you come here?”
“Ugh … Chigusa, I … I …”
“My, something truly terrible must have happened.”

Because our embrace hid my expression, I allowed the corners of my mouth to rise as I spoke.
Knowing nothing of the one behind it all, she called my name again and again.
She said it as though I were the only other person left in her world.
That was most likely how Rellie truly felt.
At the height of her happiness, she had lost the person she loved and been dragged into tragedy. Now only the other person she loved—me—remained.

“Dick … right in front of me …!”

He died. Yes, I knew.
But I could not say it for her. It was Rellie’s part to tell me.

“What happened to Dick?”
“He died! A chandelier suddenly fell from above, and then … Dick was dead. He was crushed right in front of me, and his blood splattered across my face and body!”
“Oh, no—Dick? And you were covered in his blood? Poor Rellie. You were looking forward to marrying him so much.”
“I don’t understand … Why? Why did it happen? I thought … everything was finally going to work out …”
“I understand how much you are suffering. I doubt someone like me can heal such a wound entirely, but … is there even one thing I can do for the Rellie I love?”
“Chigusa …”

Rellie stared at me through bloodshot eyes swollen from crying.
I knew. I knew exactly what she wanted from me.
But I would not say it.
After all, everything had to be her choice.

“Whenever I remember Dick, my chest hurts. I feel sick, and I want to die. So …”
“So?”
“I think you’re the only one who can cover it up, Chigusa.”
“Then tell me what you want me to do.”

Was I being a little too cruel?
Even so, I wanted to hear the request from Rellie’s own mouth.

“Hold me … Please make me forget Dick—”

Before she could finish, I silenced her with a fierce kiss.
Until only days ago, this woman had cared for no one but a man. Now she was begging me to embrace her.
And not even a few hours had passed since that man’s death.
Nothing could have delighted me more. Of course I would hold her. Of course I would love her. How could I possibly restrain myself?

“Hah … Ah … I knew it. This is what I needed …”
“What did you know?”
“While you’re touching me … I can forget everything. I can think only about you …”
“Then I shall make it so you can think of nothing but me even when we are apart.”
“Please … do that. Make me yours alone.”

I tightened my arms around Rellie as she buried her face against my shoulder, whispering words of love over and over.
Now only the finishing touch remained.
Once that was done, every part of her would belong to me.

 

◇◇◇

 

Perhaps because the groundwork had already been laid, it took only two hours for the design to appear on Rellie’s body.
The Mark surfaced high on her inner thigh, in a place normally hidden by her clothes.
Those two hours were spent in private intimacy. By the end, she had surrendered herself to me completely.
In any case, Rellie was now wholly mine.
Just as I had promised, she could think of nothing but me whether or not we were touching.

“Chigusa … it’s incredible. When you touch me, I feel weightless and dizzy, as though my mind might drift away.”
“Did you ever feel this way when Dick held you?”
“No. Never. Only you, Chigusa. You’re the only one who can make me feel like this.”

Although I had promised to make her forget Dick, I occasionally mentioned him myself.
Rellie was so completely enthralled now that hearing his name no longer brought him back to her mind. Instead, she would belittle him for me.

“How strange. If people truly love one another, surely they long for closeness even before marriage. Their desire should grow too powerful to restrain.”
“Then … Dick didn’t love me?”
“That is right. Compared with me, Dick did not love you at all. And since you did not seek him either—”
“I didn’t love Dick, either …”
“Precisely. But you sought closeness with me, did you not? The truth was plain from the beginning.”
“The only person I ever loved … was you, Chigusa?”
“Hee hee. At last you understand. Yes. I alone have loved you, and I alone am the one you have loved.”
“I see … That’s how it was … Ha ha, I’m such a fool. Why couldn’t I see something so simple?”

Once the Mark emerged, its bearer would accept any chain of reasoning, however absurd.
That was what it meant to be enthralled.
Yet even in truth, if two people loved each other, surely some longing for closeness would remain no matter what rules opposed them.
I could say this with pride:
I loved Rellie far more than a filthy male like Dick ever had.

“Chigusa … I love you. Whatever you do, I know it is because you love me.”
“You are very lovely when you look at me that way. And what happens when I touch the Mark?”
“Ah!”

When I traced the design on her inner thigh, Rellie arched away with a startled cry.
The Mark had become acutely sensitive to vampiric power.

“Wh-what is this …? You only touched my thigh …!”

The unfamiliar sensation confused her, but she would soon grow used to it.
Everyone before her had.
She had discovered a great many unfamiliar sensations during those two hours.

Knock, knock.

At that moment, someone knocked on the door.
It had to be Nunnally, bringing the other two at the appointed time.

“You may come in, Nunnally.”
“Huh …?”

Rellie realized that I had invited someone into the room and abruptly froze.

“W-who is it? Why would you let someone in? Chigusa!”
“Why? Look closely. I believe you know them.”

Three figures in habits entered the room.
One was Nunnally.
The other two were—

“What …? Why are Miri and my sister-in-law here?”

—Rellie’s younger sister and Dick’s elder sister.
Both had already been transformed and subjected to intimate contact by Ellis and Nunnally before being brought here.

“Mistress brought me here!” Miri said.
“As did she with me. I was captivated by Mistress and granted this splendid new body.”
“What are you talking about …? And who is this ‘Mistress’?”

The two answered Rellie’s question by pointing.
Their fingers were directed, of course, at me.

“Why Chigusa?”
“While I was asking Nunnally about you and investigating how best to make you fall, I learned about your sister and the sister-in-law who opposed your marriage. So I made use of them—”

Keeping Rellie close, I whispered into her ear.

“—to kill that troublesome man called Dick.”
“Kill … Dick?”

As Rellie’s eyes widened, Miri innocently delivered the next blow.

“Mistress shared some of her power with me. It was amazing! I bent the shadow, and the chandelier came crashing down. That man died!”
“Miri killed him?”
“Yes. I hated him.”

Miri’s voice turned abruptly cold, and Rellie looked profoundly shocked.

“You’re my sister, but he suddenly barged into our lives. I couldn’t understand why. Just knowing that smelly man touched you made me sick.”
“That can’t … Sister, are you truly all right with this? Your brother is dead!”

Rellie turned to Ai as though pleading for help.
But Ai merely smiled and answered without hesitation.

“I am glad he died. He was garbage.”

Rellie fell speechless and stared at Ai, her mouth hanging open.

“He was only an obstacle—to loving Mistress, and to cherishing dear little you, Rellie.”
“Ah …”

Ai approached Rellie and gently ran her fingertips from the neckline of her dress to her chin.
Rellie trembled and watched her fearfully.

“Big Sister Ai is right,” Miri said. “You should belong with us, not with that man.”
“S-stop … We’re sisters!”
“So what?”

Miri approached Rellie and subjected her to brief intimate contact.
Rellie knew that the contact was wrong and tried to resist, but the vampiric influence prevented her from refusing.
The moment passed without further description, leaving Rellie visibly shaken by what the corruption had made her accept.

“This is wrong … Miri …”
“It’s unfair for the two of you to leave me out,” Ai said.

Ai joined them, enclosing Rellie in the group’s embrace.
Rellie shuddered in response to the supernatural influence flowing through their contact.
Ah, what a beautiful scene.
This was far more “correct” than Rellie loving Dick. This was how things ought to be.

“Why …? Why does part of me welcome this when I know it’s wrong? Chigusa, what did you do to me?”

Even Rellie had finally noticed how unnatural the situation was.
It was already too late, but I decided to explain.

“I am a Demi-Vamp. And not only me—the church’s Sister, Miri, and Ai were all transformed into Demi-Vamps by my hand.”
“Vampires … You aren’t human …”
“Our white skin and red eyes are proof that we are as close as a family of blood. Vampires use magic to enthrall women and increase their number.”
“Why would you do something like that?”
“Is ‘so that we may love one another’ not answer enough? I told you I fell in love with you at first sight. The moment I saw you, I decided to make you mine.”
“Then … I fell in love with you, and I can’t reject what Miri and my sister-in-law are doing, because …”
“Because of my power to enthrall you.”

Having learned the whole truth, Rellie—

“Heh … heh heh … Ah ha ha ha …”

—laughed as though she had abandoned all hope.
Even after realizing that she had been trapped, she could no longer hate me.

“Chigusa …”
“Yes? What is it?”
“Will you … make me a vampire too? I don’t want to be the only one left out. I want to stop thinking and join all of you.”
“Of course. That is why I brought them here. But there is one condition—”
“A condition?”
“Miri, tell her.”
“Yes, Mistress!”

At my instruction, Miri answered with a bright, innocent smile.
She truly was straightforward and childlike.
That innocence made her corruption all the more useful to me.

“Big Sister, lend me your ear.”

Miri leaned close and happily whispered the condition to Rellie.
After hearing it, Rellie gave another hopeless little laugh.

“You’re cruel, Chigusa. You’ll make me go that far?”
“A pledge—an engagement—is a grave thing. Unless you renounce it properly, I cannot rest easily. Or would you rather stop?”
“No! Never! I can’t bear the thought of being separated from you, or of Miri and my sister-in-law leaving me behind. I love you so much, Chigusa!”
“Then show me how you feel, Rellie. You may remain on the bed; the floor is hard.”

Miri and Ai stepped back from Rellie.
Rellie adjusted her position, knelt on the bed, placed her hands before her, and pressed her forehead to the covers.
It was the posture known as dogeza.
Without lifting her head, she spoke in a muffled voice.

“Thank you for killing Dick.”
“Are those your true feelings?”
“Yes … He was in the way. I want to join you and become a vampire. Dick was only an obstacle!”

I felt like praising Rellie for saying it so clearly.
She had once sworn to marry him, yet for the sake of her love for us she had gone this far.

“Hee hee. Well done. Now raise your head.”
“Chigusa … Please, hurry.”

Rellie sat up and exposed her neck. I sank my fangs into it at once.

“Ah … It’s happening …”

Rellie sounded happy.
Hearing her delight made me happy as well.
She was overjoyed to become the same kind of being as me.

“It hurts … and I’m losing something precious … but I want this …”
“You’re becoming one of us, Big Sister,” Miri said.
“Watching Rellie reminds me of my own transformation,” Ai added.

Miri and Ai each offered their thoughts, but I scarcely heard them.
I was absorbed in drinking Rellie’s hot, sweet blood.
The vampire’s soul invaded her.
Human dignity was violated and stripped away.

“Ah … ah …”

Rellie’s body trembled as her human life slowly faded.
Her warmth drained away, replaced by inhuman essence.
Holding her close, I could feel every change.
Her body grew slightly fuller as it was remade by vampiric power.
Her presence too became stronger, carrying the same unnatural allure as the rest of us.

“Ah …”

Her voice weakened, and her head drooped without strength.
Still, I did not stop drinking.
Only a little more. In a moment, she would be reborn.
When the process was complete, I lifted my mouth from her neck and savored the thick iron taste filling it before letting out a satisfied breath.

“Mm …”

As I lingered over the taste of blood, Rellie—her skin now completely changed—fluttered her eyelids.
When her eyes opened, clear irises like red glass marbles stared back at me.
They were the sign of my dominion.
Proof that she had become family, beloved, and companion.

“Good morning, Rellie.”
“Good morning, Mistress.”

Understanding that she had become my thrall, Rellie called me Mistress as naturally as if she had always done so.
Miri and Ai used the same title. There was no reason to correct her.

“Ah … Hee hee. Now that I’m a vampire, it seems foolish that I ever hesitated or suffered.”
“Everyone says that.”
“If people knew how wonderful it was to have their hearts filled with nothing but warmth for others, they would all beg to be transformed at once.”

That feeling was what we called love.
Rellie and I naturally exchanged a restrained gesture of affection.
It was no more than the gentle contact lovers might share during quiet conversation.
Even that was enough to fill us with contentment and warmth.

“Congratulations, Big Sister.”
“Miri … I’m sorry I resisted at all.”
“It’s all right. You understand now.”
“Yes … We’re family now.”

At last reconciled, the sisters held one another tightly.
Their embrace expressed the strength of their new, magically compelled bond.
When they drew apart, Ai approached Rellie next.

“Ah … Big Sister Ai.”
“My, will you call me that as well?”
“Yes. We’re as close as blood relatives now. Let the three of us live as loving sisters.”
“That makes me very happy, Rellie.”

Ai and Rellie likewise embraced as members of their new family.
Their closeness carried the unmistakable influence of the enthrallment binding them.
They would soon retreat into further private intimacy.
Even so, these simple expressions of affection mattered greatly among companions who believed they loved one another so deeply.

“I can feel both of you with me …”
“Then may I join you next?”
“Yes, Mistress. Come here.”

Rellie opened her arms to welcome me.
I pressed her back onto the bed and showered her with gentle affection, pouring out everything that filled my heart.
What followed hardly needs to be stated.
Rellie, Ai, and Miri had become sisters, and I had become their family. Nunnally and Ellis soon joined them, and the group engaged in intimate contact behind closed doors.

Surrounded by the others, I reflected on what had happened.
I had once had no friends. My family had shown no interest in me, and even my teacher had abandoned me. In this world, I had gained an irreplaceable family whose members I called daughters, sisters, and dearest friends.
I had never known a feeling like this when I was human.
That, then, was why I had come here.
I had arrived in this world to claim this happiness.
And at the same time, I believed I had been summoned so that I might spread it throughout the world.
At last I had found my own reason to live. Enveloped in an even greater sense of happiness, I surrendered myself to the love of my new family.