Shinji Matou at Your Service

Mouth to mouth.

What does it mean when lips cover lips? If you asked a thousand people, everyone would likely say it's a kiss—a form of contact reserved only for those who are extremely close. In the relatively conservative East, this act is generally confined to lovers; even parents and children rarely use such a method.

Shinji is a typical Eastern person, who holds these beliefs.

So, when Arcueid's lips blocked his, his mind went blank. Only one thought echoed: Did I get… forcefully kissed? By Arcueid?

Honestly, upon realizing this, Shinji's first reaction was satisfaction, and the second was a secret thrill.

In his previous life, she was a symbol of dreams and feelings. In this life, as he spent more time with her, he gradually grew fond of this pure and innocent princess. If he hadn't felt this way, he wouldn't have stayed by her side for five whole years, nor would he have tried every possible way to find a method to suppress her bloodlust when it overwhelmed her.

Combining the nostalgia from his past life with their interactions in this one, Arcueid had become irreplaceable in his heart. When alone, he sometimes thought it wouldn't be so bad if she could be his lover.

He knew that thinking this way was unfair to Justeaze, but he simply couldn't control his feelings. Moreover, Justeaze's indifferent attitude toward the romantic chaos at home suggested she didn't hold traditional one-spouse beliefs.

However, due to Arcueid's innocence and the increasingly apparent feelings of the girls around him, he hadn't taken any initiative. He feared that if he handled it poorly, those he cherished might all leave him.

So when Arcueid kissed him, he was genuinely delighted, momentarily forgetting all his injuries.

But before he could take the initiative to enjoy the kiss, he felt something flowing into his mouth.

It seemed like some kind of liquid, with a hint of a metallic and bitter taste—isn't this the taste of blood?

Why is Arcueid feeding me blood? Doesn't she hate blood the most?

Wait, the blood flowing in is being absorbed by my body!

Oh no, this woman intends to—

Realizing the princess's intention, Shinji snapped out of his euphoric state and summoned all his remaining strength to push her away.

Fortunately, Arcueid was mindful of Shinji's injuries and didn't exert much force, giving him a chance to break free.

The moment he escaped, Shinji started clutching his throat, desperately trying to vomit.

But no matter how hard he tried, all that came out were his saliva, gastric juices, and blood.

The culprit behind all this remained oblivious, still looking at him with concern.

"Did your injuries get worse?"

"Yeah," Shinji retorted.

"Because of me? What did I do?"

The princess looked innocent.

"You—"

Looking at Arcueid's lips, still bearing the faint marks of teeth, Shinji laughed bitterly.

"Let me ask you, did you just put blood in my mouth?"

"Yes. Your injuries are severe for a human, but they would heal in a minute for me. If you drink my blood, you'll recover quickly—heh, I'm pretty clever, right?"

Arcueid tilted her head proudly, as if saying, Go ahead, praise me.

"You can indeed recover quickly, only to turn into one of your Dead Apostles. Didn't I tell you before that I don't want to become a vampire, you idiot!"

"Hmph, you're the idiot. I also said that I hate blood-sucking and won't suck your blood. I only gave you my blood to drink; you won't become my servant."

"Don't change the subject! I'm talking about Dead Apostles, not servants. The fact that you didn't suck my blood only means you can't control me through True Ancestor methods, but my body will still turn into a Dead Apostle because of your blood—I can already feel the changes!"

The transformation from human to vampire essentially involves the destruction and replacement of human genetic material with that of the vampire. With the blood of the True Ancestor Princess, even a tiny amount would destroy a human body, transforming it into a Dead Apostle of the Twenty-Seven Ancestors' rank in a short time.

Shinji could feel his body's metabolism accelerating to an abnormal rate, with his severe injuries healing at a visible speed—an impossible feat for a human body.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. This was the first time since meeting Arcueid that he had been this furious.

"I went out of my way to get the Crimson Fruit to suppress your bloodlust, and you turn around and pull this on me."

Seeing Shinji like this, the fearless princess felt a bit intimidated. Shinji was always indulgent with his loved ones, to the point of spoiling them. No matter how they misbehaved, he would watch with a smile, at most grumbling a little, and rarely getting mad. So when he truly got angry, everyone would steer clear of him.

"Don't be mad. I only gave you a few drops of blood; you won't turn into a Dead Apostle so quickly. Plus, I didn't suck your blood, so your body is still yours. You can completely resist my assimilation. With your immense mental power, it should be easy."

"Really?"

Shinji's eyes flickered, his mood lifting slightly.

"Really."

Arcueid nodded vigorously.

"…"

Shinji closed his eyes, focusing his mind to resist the assimilation of the origin blood. Though his body was damaged, his soul remained intact, and his vast mental power swept through his body repeatedly, washing away the foreign will within the blood.

Soon, the strange sensation in his body gradually subsided, but—

"Why is my injury still healing at the same rate?"

The severe burns on his body had already begun to peel, and his damaged internal organs were regenerating.

"That shouldn't be possible," Arcueid muttered, puzzled.

"You rejected the assimilation, so you're still human. You shouldn't have such a fast recovery rate—let me check."

Her red eyes turned golden as she scanned Shinji's body.

"I got it! Besides my blood, there's another force within you. It's similar to mine but older, and it's merging with my blood… It seems golden, like an apple—"

"Stop!"

Shinji immediately covered Arcueid's mouth to prevent her from continuing.

When she mentioned something similar to her but older, he had a hunch. When she said it was golden, he was sure he was right.

That force was indeed older than Arcueid, no—older than the True Ancestors themselves. It was a divine artifact that once drove the goddesses of ancient Greece to madness.

It was also one of the treasures collected by Gilgamesh, later acquired by Scáthach in a trade to improve her disciple's constitution.

Its name is—the Golden Apple, the fruit of the divine tree planted by Gaia, the Earth Goddess.