Claimed (Bloodline, #2)

Chapter 6

06 : Unrest in the Kingdom

The past few weeks had been hectic and tiring.

I knew for a fact that exhaustion should have been minimal after being awakened, but training with my retainers, who were clearly stronger and more experienced than me combat-wise, was taking a toll on my body to the point that I had to sleep every single day and drink blood to recuperate.

To be honest, consuming blood was still not up my alley, but I had to. One time, Moria accidentally severed my right arm using her magic, and I panicked upon realizing what happened. Also, contrary to what I had expected, the pain was tolerable. She said it would heal on its own, but Sigrid insisted that I should drink blood to hasten the process.

Oh, and apparently, royals could only drink blood of high purity.

"High purity?" tanong ko kay Sigrid nang sabihin niya iyon. "Like maiden blood?"

I remembered Kei talking about it before, but I didn't pay enough attention because I was in a dire state that time. I did recall feeding a human's life force that time since they said I couldn't drink the ones we had.

Sigrid walked toward my closet and carefully pulled a bottle that looked like a luxury perfume. One look at the crimson liquid inside it was enough to make me feel parched.

"This," she gestured at the bottle, "is a high purity blood, lady. It is extracted from people who are genuinely happy."

I arched my eyebrow at the idea. Genuine happiness? May mga tao pa palang nakakaranas ng ganoon?

"You mean the humans in this country?"

Moria who was standing beside me smiled and lightly nodded. "Indeed, lady. We cater their needs and desires because we want them to experience true merriment. The happier they are, the sweeter the blood tastes."

"What's the difference between that blood and the ones that the four of you drink?"

"In a sense, the level of purity, lady," Moria answered. "Our source of blood are mainly children and young women because they tend to be happier and more innocent than the adults, hence the sweet taste of their blood. Men, on the other hand . . ." she grimaced, and I could tell how repulsed she felt through her expression.

Bigla tuloy akong na-curious. Shedid tell me before that men's blood was the worst. "Do their blood taste bad?"

Sigrid scowled at my question. "Oh please, you wouldn't want them near your mouth, lady. Although there are rare male individuals who possess blood sweeter than children and females. Anyway," she huffed as she shifted back to our previous topic, "for royals, they are fastidious to its purity. Most find even a bit of contaminant unsavory and can make them nauseous."

Napanganga na lang ako sa narinig ko. Getting sick because the blood wasn't pure or sweet enough? Wow. I didn't know our kind would be such a picky eater—or drinker, or whatever.

"Wait but wouldn't that be difficult to collect?" tanong ko.

Kei, who was quiet for a while now, sighed. "Indeed, it is, lady," he said. "Humans are easily tempted by vices and are more reactive to negative emotions, hence, there are only a handful of sources where we can get blood of high purity for the royals and nobles."

I see. So, that was why they were very protective of me during the journey. If I had suffered grave injuries that time, I would have perished since the blood I needed was something they could not get easily. Fortunately, consuming a mortal's life force could be a quick relief for thirst and extreme exhaustion.