Anna, wrapped in tattered rags, fled the tower in panic, only to collide with Carmilla patrolling the corridor.

And me, lurking in the shadows.


"You!" Anna jabbed her finger at Carmilla, then at me, eyes wild with madness. "You're working together... you're the traitor!"

She grasped at her final delusion, face twisted with desperate rage.

"I'll tell the Countess!" Anna lunged toward the hallway. "She'll reward me! Once I'm a vampire, the prince will want me!"


Carmilla seized her wrist, eyes cold as winter. "Haven't you figured it out yet? You're just food."

"Shut up!" Anna shrieked. "I have the Countess's favor! I wear her ruby! I am the chosen one!"


"You're the chosen pig." I emerged from the shadows, pressing my gun barrel to her forehead. "Scream again and I'll make you a dead pig ahead of schedule."

Anna stared at the dark muzzle and finally fell silent, though hatred radiated from her like heat.

"Take her down," I nodded to Carmilla. "The banquet's starting. Can't have the main course missing."

While escorting Anna, the madwoman kept staring at Carmilla's face.

"I remember now..." Anna suddenly laughed, a high, nervous sound. "I've seen your face in the family portraits! You're that whore from a century ago! The Count's first love!"

She jabbed at Carmilla, eyes wild with revelation: "No wonder you've targeted me! You had surgery to look like her! You're impersonating the ancestor to gain power!"

Anna babbled as if discovering some profound truth: "If I transform to look like you... if I have your face, the prince will surely love me!"

Carmilla stopped walking and regarded her with pity, as one might look at a particularly slow child.

I shook my head and slammed my gun butt against Anna's skull, silencing her raving.

"Reasoning with fools insults one's own intelligence."

After dragging unconscious Anna to the dressing room, Carmilla produced a bottle of red liquid.

"What's that?" I asked.

"Powerful anesthetic with special spices." Carmilla pried open Anna's mouth and poured it in. "Countess's orders—the ingredient must be quiet and well-marinated before serving."

Anna coughed reflexively but swallowed the liquid.

She'd always believed she was drinking beauty potions to enhance her appeal.

Little did she know she was literally marinating herself.

This potion would make her blood emit a scent driving vampires wild, while amplifying her pain receptors tenfold—they claimed it made the meat more tender.

"All ready." Carmilla stood, straightening her collar.

Thunder crashed outside.

*DONG DONG DONG*

Midnight bells tolled. The feast began.

Anna, still dazed, was carried by two burly servants and placed on the dining table at the hall's center.

She wore her bright red wedding dress, garishly crimson under the Blood Crystals' glow.

She regained consciousness, gazing at the glowing red eyes surrounding her with a dreamy smile.

"Has the wedding... begun?" she asked weakly, attempting to rise and curtsy. "I am the bride... where is my prince?"

At the table's head, Countess Bathory elegantly tied a white napkin around her neck and lifted silver cutlery.

She regarded Anna with a maternal smile:

"Silly child. There is no wedding."

The Countess tapped her wine glass, the crystal sound silencing the hall.

"Tonight's main course: Miss Anna's heart sashimi, accompanied by brain custard pudding."

The vampires cheered, reaching for saws and cleavers.

Anna's smile froze.

She stared at the gleaming implements, finally comprehending her fate.

"No... I'm your daughter! I'm nobility!" she screamed hysterically, trying to retreat only to find her limbs bound to the table. "Mother! Save me! It's Anna!"

"Mother?" Countess Bathory laughed, fangs fully extended. "Who calls their dinner 'daughter' at mealtime?"