I’ll Give It a Taste

"Please, partake of me, Your Grace."

As she spoke, Rose slowly untied the ribbon around her chest. Her skin, hidden beneath the fabric, was fully revealed. Silence lingered between the two.

Clayton gazed into Rose's eyes, which looked up at him seductively. His gaze shifted from her red hair glinting under the moonlight to her softly smiling face, and then down to her exposed, pale neck.

Feeling Clayton's gaze, Rose became bolder. She was certain he would drink her blood. Brimming with confidence, she lifted her arms and placed them on his shoulders.

It had been a long time since Clayton last drank human blood. Due to the side effects, he had been consuming the blood of various animals instead.

This was why the Duke's estate had recently been overrun with the carcasses of animals, big and small.

'Poor man.'

The sight of the Duke, who had confined himself to the mansion, stirred her emotions deeply. Seeing the man who had always appeared perfect standing disheveled before her gave her a strange sense of satisfaction.

Now, it was done. Everything was falling into place.

With him drinking her blood today, all that was left was for her to fill the empty role of the Duchess.

'I am the only one who can save the Duke now.'

Rose pitied Clayton, who must have suffered while drinking the blood of lowly animals. She firmly believed she was the savior who could rescue the man struggling in pain.

In her mind, she envisioned a happy future with Clayton. Rose's eyes curved in delight.

'After today, the Duke will surely….'

...be mine.

She didn't like that Clayton was suffering so much because of Dahlia, but she could endure it.

After all, once he tasted her blood, he would inevitably fall for her.

The reason he loved Dahlia in the first place must have been because her blood suited his taste. As they mingled time after time, both in flesh and blood, he naturally fell for her.

If he had tasted her blood instead of Lloyd's from the beginning, Rose was certain she would have been the Duchess all along.

'So now, if the Duke just drinks my blood….'

Rose's smile deepened. As if responding to her anticipation, Clayton's hand touched her face. His fingers brushed against her flushed cheek.

Rose's eyes closed gently, as if preparing to welcome Clayton.

And so, Rose waited for Clayton's fangs to pierce her flesh. But.

"It seems you're under some kind of delusion."

Clayton shattered Rose's expectations. Instead of his fangs piercing her neck, a chilling voice greeted her.

"The blood of beasts and the blood flowing through you are no different to me."

The frost-like tone of his voice fRose Rose's body. Like a rusty iron door, she stiffly turned her neck to meet his gaze.

In his crimson, flickering eyes, there was neither lust nor affection—only anger.

The moment she glimpsed the man's anger, Rose instinctively realized something had gone terribly wrong.

"You should have kept hiding like you always do. How dare you crawl in here?"

"I-I only wanted to help you, Your Grace…."

Rose spoke with a trembling voice, but it was of no use.

He let out a dry laugh, as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"You weren't helping me—you were helping your sister Dahlia escape with your brother."

The hand that had been brushing her cheek suddenly gripped her neck. For the first time, Rose was confronted with raw hostility, and her body began to tremble violently.

"The only reason I tolerated you and your sibling until now was because of Dahlia."

A short scream followed as Rose's neck was forced back. Clayton had grabbed her by the hair.

"But now, Dahlia isn't here, is she?"

For the first time in her life, Rose felt true fear and terror, and tears began streaming down her face.

This wasn't what she wanted. All she had wished for was for the man to smile at her the way he had smiled at Dahlia.

Without even thinking to wipe away her tears, Rose began to beg him.

"I-I was wrong. P-please, forgive me… Ah!"

Clayton looked down at Rose as she begged and pleaded for her life, then flung her aside. The merciless gesture sent Rose sprawling to the floor.

It was the first time in her life Rose had been treated this way, and her body trembled like a leaf. Clayton took a step closer to the trembling Rose.

"You want to give me your blood?"

He then picked up a glass bottle that had been rolling on the floor and threw it in front of her.

"If you want it so badly, drain your blood into that and bring it to me nicely. Then I'll taste it."

His lips twisted into a sneer.

"As you know, I'm consuming whatever comes my way without regard for what I see."

* * *

She had practically fled from the Seiyer estate.

Returning to the Hertz estate, Rose collapsed as soon as she entered her room. Her body still trembled faintly, as though the shock had yet to wear off.

But soon, the shock turned into anger.

"Why… why on earth…!"

It was humiliating.

She hadn't expected to be treated like the woman he loved, but she never imagined she would be treated like a wild animal.

"What am I lacking?!"

From family status to appearance, she lacked nothing compared to Dahlia.

By rights, it should have been her blood, not Lloyd's, that was offered to the Duke. She had been rigorously managed since childhood, ensuring her blood was just as fine as Lloyd's. In fact, she believed her blood was even superior to Dahlia's.

She couldn't believe what had just happened with the Duke. Why had he rejected her? As she pondered, Rose's gaze drifted to the mirror reflecting her image.

There, she saw her own face, strikingly similar to Lloyd's.

"You weren't helping me—you were helping your sister Dahlia escape with your brother."

The Duke's words, murmured to her earlier, echoed in her mind.

"Could it be… because I'm Lloyd's sister…?"

Was he rejecting her because of his hatred for her brother, who had vanished with Dahlia?

Rose let out a sigh as the realization hit her.

Yes, it must be because she was Lloyd's sister. He was taking out his anger toward the absent Lloyd on her.

Finally understanding the reason for the Duke's cold treatment, Rose's shoulders slumped in despair.

"Then what should I do?"

No matter what she did, she couldn't change the fact that she and Lloyd shared the same blood. She examined her reflection in the mirror. Her resemblance to Lloyd must have fueled the Duke's anger.

As the thought struck her, Rose couldn't suppress her rising anger. She grabbed a glass and hurled it at the mirror. With a shattering crash, the reflection of her face broke into pieces.

"This is all because of Lloyd."

If Lloyd hadn't fallen in love with Dahlia, the Duke wouldn't have despised him so much, and she wouldn't have been treated this way.

Her anger suddenly turned toward Lloyd. She had long erased from her mind the fact that she had helped Dahlia escape.

"At the very least, I should have stopped Lloyd from going with her."

If only Dahlia had left alone and Lloyd had stayed behind, Clayton's anger would have been directed solely at Lloyd. It was a grave miscalculation to think that everything would fall into place with Dahlia gone.

For a moment, Rose regretted what she had done. Nervously, she bit her nails. How long had she been like this?

As if coming to a decision, Rose raised her head.

"I'll find Lloyd."

She hadn't heard from him since he left the capital, but he surely didn't intend to part from her forever. Once he settled somewhere, he would probably send her a letter.

She planned to convince Lloyd to return to the capital, no matter what it took.

"And as for Dahlia…"

Muttering Dahlia's name, Rose trailed off. Her gaze turned icy.