"Oh! Ethan, you're being delusional again. The only thing I need from human boys like you isn't love - it's BLOOD, nothing but BLOOD."
Ruby suddenly glared at Ethan. The bloodthirsty look in her eyes, like that of a wild beast, sent a chill running through his entire body.
Fear seemed to completely paralyze his brain. It didn't want to think or calculate anything complicated - it only wanted to command him to do the simplest thing: run.
And yet, Ethan remained frozen in place - inside the VIP dressing room for female students, within the Grand Theater of Harmony High - and had to keep listening to Ruby talk, talk, and talk.
Ethan could confidently say that he had never met anyone as talkative as this Vampire with luscious red lips.
Even Andrew The Detective from Class 11B, who was also quite talkative, couldn't compare - Ethan would bet his chatter was not even a fraction of Ruby's.
And if Ruby were compared to Ethan himself…
…then the amount of words she had spoken today might even exceed the total number of words he spoke in an entire year.
"Of course, for me, not just anyone's BLOOD will do. Human BLOOD is at its best quality when it is willingly offered out of love. Having such refined taste is truly a burden. That's why I need to have many boyfriends, even though I don't enjoy it at all."
"A tall guy like you can only provide me with 350ml of BLOOD every three months. Meanwhile, I need to consume up to 500ml of BLOOD each month. Only then can I maintain this perfect appearance without having to bother with gym, skincare, or makeup."
"If I only had one boyfriend, it would be too dangerous. If a human dies from blood loss, it would cause extremely serious consequences for the Vampire Community. That's what my parents told me to scare me - I don't even know if it's true, haha."
"So, to ensure the safety and secrecy of this damn Vampire Community in Harmony Town, I need to have at least five boyfriends to rotate, so I can get drunk on BLOOD every month. And yet that patriarchal, controlling, jealous guy refuses to understand that I'm trying to protect his life!"
Listening to Ruby ramble on like this, Ethan suddenly became quite curious about that "patriarchal, controlling guy" she was so busy badmouthing.
It seemed that this guy was given the NUMBER ONE position in Ruby's harem that specialized in supplying her with fresh blood. But clearly, he wasn't happy about having to share his lover's heart with four other guys - of course not.
As a fellow male, Ethan felt quite sorry for the "horned" head of the guy who was considered Ruby's official boyfriend.
Could that guy be Kai - the leader of the Dancing Stars?
If not, then why were his small shoulders - only about as broad as Autumn's - trembling slightly, while his ears, peeking out from behind his curly hair, had turned red?
"Haizzz. So boring. I supposedly have five boyfriends, yet at the party at the end of September, there wasn't even a single drop of FRESH BLOOD to drink. All because of that guy's sulking and jealousy - he ruined the entire party. What a waste of all my preparations. Boys… it seems that once they've been dating for a while, they start thinking they own me and demand that I follow their wishes, don't they?"
"In the end, that day I had to drink bottled BLOOD that people gifted to my parents. Oh my god, they kept saying it was RARE BLOOD, very precious, very expensive. But the taste was absolutely disgusting - fishy, a bit spicy, hard to describe. After drinking it, I regretted it so much. Then I got completely drunk, didn't even know what was going on anymore - I think I even dared to bite my own sister, haha."
"Ruby! After that, did you…"
Ethan suddenly spoke up, but his voice grew quieter and quieter before he fell completely silent.
He really wanted to ask Ruby whether, after drinking that RARE BLOOD, she had run out into the streets to attack and drink the blood of her own kind.
If that were true, then could it be that she drank the blood of other Vampires simply because she had lost too much blood while using her own blood to turn Bloodslaves into Infected?
And did she do that because she had lost control under the influence of blood intoxication, or because she had some deeper purpose?
Why, when everything had been peaceful - when Vampires could always obtain BLOOD from willing donors - would Ruby choose to shatter that "peace" completely?
Ethan clenched his fists tightly, trying to control the surge of emotions rising within him.
After gaining access to information about the parties that Ruby often held on the last Friday of each month, Ethan had decided that he would not refuse if she invited him again. And more than that, he had to do better. He had to find a way to become The Chosen at the end of each of her parties. He had to turn himself into both evidence and witness.
But what a cruel twist of fate - Ethan hadn't expected that just a little more, just a few more questions, and he might have uncovered the truth. Yet right now, he had no recording or filming device on him. And he doubted Harmony High was bizarre enough to install cameras inside the girls' dressing room.
So if he kept asking, and Ruby confessed everything, and then he accidentally heard something he wasn't supposed to hear and got silenced…
…no one would be able to save Autumn.
That's right, it was best not to investigate Ruby at this moment. Let her save Autumn first.
Ethan frowned slightly. His eyes stung, but he still forced himself not to show even the slightest bit of weakness.
What boy had never dreamed of becoming a hero who saved the world?
And yet now, that very boy had placed his own interests above justice.
He had chosen the life of the few over the many.
And… he had even compromised with a demon.
But what else could Ethan do? His reason was completely powerless before the decision of his heart.
"You know, Ethan? This month, I haven't had a single drop of FRESH BLOOD yet. And lately, I've been very busy - directing the music program for the Vietnamese Women's Day event on October 20th, and choreographing for your Let's Dance group. I'm really exhausted, you know what I mean, right?"
As she said that, Ruby slowly stood up.
With a seductive smile, she swayed her hips gracefully as she walked toward Ethan.
A rich fragrance - an intoxicating blend of various floral scents, combining human perfume with the natural scent of a Vampire - rushed straight into Ethan's nose, clouding his mind.
"Uh…"
Ethan's face changed.
He awkwardly stepped backward, trying to distance himself from Ruby. He only stopped when his back felt a sudden chill as it hit the door behind him.
"No one in this world gives anything for free…"
Ruby whispered in a voice that was soft and alluring - irresistibly seductive, yet completely inappropriate for a high school girl. Not only that, she exhaled a moist, sweet breath right next to Ethan's ear, sending a shiver down his spine.
"…If you want me to save Autumn, then you'll have to pay a price worthy of it…"