1. I’m destined to die while donating blood.

Slam!3b6971a1b61b458b

The door burst open bfe7620d9f with a loud bang.434c589cc162e0e8

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Even without looking, I knew b080dba425 exactly who had stormed into e4969ae5db the drawing room.f7e86041fa73429f

Deon de d974d090e4 Larote Kirventia.5ec48a42ce61e996

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He was the current Emperor and the owner of c7d26c61e8 the old dukedom I had barely escaped from.0cb02b357726d14f

“Where did you 27749dedf2 hide her?”bd64cbc0bbbe8b58

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His ragged breathing echoed debcd29603 in my ears.9f7144c9a44ab5ba

“I don’t know 724697781e what you mean.”765bcd156d90f4f5

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“Really? Then you won’t mind if 105b24f2df I search the mansion.”5d3dc2f57c632bd6

Luckily, I was hiding in the 659058cb23 weapons room connected to the parlor. I held my breath 46aa344a3a and pressed my face 9632954201 close to the door.3c45c6e96fdfe4a7

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Once Deon leaves the drawing room, I’ll e02718c3c9 have to jump out the window.887ee144e051c532

But then, just as suddenly as he 5f0bb35f0b had stormed in, he went quiet. There were no 160677be8c signs or sounds d53143641e from outside anymore.026b628b1fc0227d

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I carefully peeked bbe708f097 through the gap.036c8c0e7770cf95

‘Did he leave?’677b4b19f3f966bc

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Suddenly, a knife stabbed through the cc22004e2d door, right above my head.1a001427c2567987

My whole d80598a7a1 body froze.0654cf547a0610ea

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Startled, I lost my 9a8cc23822 balance and leaned against 27b3f1a518 the door.117b839a49a362e4

It was already hard 3c4d2de84b to support myself against 944e4dcb48 the old, rotten wood. The door collapsed e8efbfea62 without resistance. The lock I had tried 3e98edbd82 so hard to latch swung 09f9636953 open with ease.1a2f43e80d9eb7fc

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I fell forward, f1220a8a99 tangled among spears, ebce862d68 arrows, and swords.2e6c9dc7ee5293f3

Silence.1042b4e140e1867a

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He stood there, sword 70ca53dd23 in hand, glaring at 22f9ef4193 me with burning eyes.3ad4375f02b47413

Once again, my d01d2dcbe0 game of hide-and-seek b96631e7dd had failed. A long life of running b82ea45c42 was coming to its end.910a931585cfae07

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My knees hurt from the fall, but 11e1ec45e5 more than pain, I was just… humiliated.6cee1d916fb8047f

I had nothing to say, b8151f33a4 so I rolled my eyes 86ee288c9c and greeted him.471170a1aa1a04c1

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“It’s been a 952da0bd25 while, Your Grace 87bb9c9fe1 the Duke.”33499bbfb99ffda9

He frowned.18b4d9be66ee098e

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‘Oh, is 8dd54cb398 it the e98a695717 title?’bf78c884be7dc76a

“Uh… Should I call 17992ae6bb you Your Majesty now?”b3a015d4661c8103

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His expression 244f11e92a got worse.16d2f40ff49eaf4d

A suffocating silence cc9b466948 hung between us. I couldn’t 8a3a73491a even swallow.844c350489c0841d

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Then he looked down at me 3686234c65 with those piercing blue eyes, leaned 50db7c0ec0 over, and brushed my cheek.475d72b17b3fd9f3

“Leonie, how long did you 9c6995832b think you could run? I told you—I’ll a6f4eeadf5 never let you 8d763f2792 go.”7fc82def5aa66086

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His cold tone clashed with 5f4919fdf6 his gentle touch, making the dc85e75115 narrow room feel icy.52c5bbaa1ba6a525

It was like the North’s harsh 75534a5f5d winter had descended all over again.cb4c8bdcf35dcdef

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My body 5c206be92d trembled uncontrollably806184ff93d0f4f8

* * *2478858f2a42d0d9

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I was reading 29a4a98545 the book during d9d509dd0f self-study.38b8ffbdb83c2725

Actually, all I 7e66979142 saw was the 89405db802 cover. The three girls sitting fd397fa814 behind me were secretly 96b36a042a reading it together.821e4b367035da88

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‘Is it a9014ddea4 really that 3b71107394 popular?’433e8aebf763fd65

Curious, I 45b4971297 borrowed it. But after just 4df722b147 the prologue, I 22b0540aea closed it.2cf1c25932a8acd9

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I didn’t want to watch the main characters find happiness 2d037d8215 while leaving behind all the extras they’d trampled on.4ceb95609cf999da

I only made it three pages in, but the illustration said everything: the Duke looking 541792343d coldly down at a woman, while the woman, head bowed, curly hair hiding her face, d77b101070 stood there drooping in a black dress, her frizzy red hair the only visible feature.f0b29653cbdedd16

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She didn’t b60cc06f22 even have d01948d7d0 a face.255db5ce45a9d470

An extra. Not even 09ae1c0338 worth drawing.c00bd34ef4e72689

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And now, that a6b4083fea woman was me.f3c37fbfdeb74eba

I’d only read the 221b516be0 prologue, but I knew bc13878785 exactly who I was.6e2499c2f0c4a9df

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Because I die—right there—in 2b07dee6dc the first paragraph.e6a61469cdd51ea9

One bite 8513b5a803 is enough.]9527f48b7b2af28f

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That was the 33b58d0fe2 first line in 2a698839c3 the prologue. The sentence ordering 335f6ad462 Leoni’s disposal.ef91b28fca1163be

My friends talked about the 3f6b89902a novel all the time.b6c7d0d4324e4868

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So even without reading it fully, I bd5e3ac8ad knew the gist of the plot.f2e4830acd901512

An empire without 89fef8a759 an official heir.f65ef408392caaa4

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The nobles of the Emperor’s bloodline fought viciously for 88dc5e43f0 the throne, and one of the contenders, Grand Duke e9dc3ba401 Deon, fought countless battles and emerged victorious.3568b68ba7120a89

He had f14383e3d5 many titles.67af4efc6c397c42

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The late f7e33f657a Empress’s son. A disgraced prince exiled 07aadfab0b to the North after a0f8b1df5c losing his castle.e3977a84f702d37c

Yet he became a war de3b98f0a1 hero, undefeated in battle.538f181d391d42d9

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But even the cc81b7c85c perfect man had 3c1a0d3da4 a secret.d9bdb944ef656a91

The late Empress’s fcb582a7fb bloodline carried the 5c4c9b5995 Asmodian curse.8b17a7e229b2d472

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Those who inherited that blood could 62edf1ac81 unleash monstrous power—if they drank the 483b03faec right kind of blood.dd22beca605e6693

The Duke’s war victories were 44c0b620b5 thanks to that power.797238d3bca94795

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And many hostages 9b06fb31e9 were offered up 56235844cd to supply it.cb999255d950d334

I was e3fc86fac0 one of 7513183b90 them. Destined to 5b4e18ad75 die for 607e0bc1ab his power.94e8096a78a33ef0

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The sacrifices went on until 18219b9d82 his “fated partner” appeared.f4ad49b9b97d2b70

The woman destined to be his wife 541e6e0259 was the aunt of the sixth victim.20d7508fdd28d78b

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The heroine, Isella Snowa, had come to save her 7620edc810 young niece, taken hostage at the Duke’s mansion.1ec443f9cbeb0bad

Deon fell for her at first 3684bd1f86 sight, claimed a legendary relic she 7b6e24e169 carried, and finally stopped.a4a5b2e42f97a276

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She broke 15dc8b2621 the curse f1e3780a43 of blood.c4622850f210670f

A romantic story 852cb0fa1c of salvation.f2dffcda81d5f854

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A fucking love 788fa33ec3 story that begins c5d688ddb0 once I’m dead.0ce7312774ffbd4d

What pissed me off the most was this: four e3b73e7a9d people had already died because they couldn’t endure it. And I was next, just to be 7fd16ed123 discarded when the “real one” came along.cdce792fec26c661

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There could only ever ea5577ae0f be one blood bag 388bbca196 for the Duke.64c00c9ca719d309

The previous victims were disposed 8ac1149e71 of so they wouldn’t fall f81add8e77 into enemy hands.b4d9ac5b96f9ca80

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Calling it a “punishment” 5f16f6926e was a joke—it was 92e93c4b72 a death sentence.5b9d5c00753cb8dd

Not that it c0f2c09303 made no sense.771618e55b06752b

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In the previous 84a854f11b generation, blood bags f3589d9d8f were frequently kidnapped. The more there were, e78470f0bc the harder it was 1def3e9bca to keep them secure.c035e36359a9f62b

They ended up paying huge 228ba29a79 ransoms every time, so eventually, 1f829dcf37 they kept only one.d079efa748c2d07d

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Also, in this world, the a61857d2ce more blood bags that existed, ba91783645 the weaker the blood became. If too many were kept alive, more blood had 7cad5333b9 to be consumed to get the same power.6e465f7ea78df0b6

[T/N: “Blood sac” is like a blood-filled blister. In this story, it refers to
people used for blood donation.]10e95c7e04939c97

It was a 828b064762 cruel world for 503f0f4b2f extras. Kill everyone except one.
Even the Duke preferred 04065e5182 young, strong men with long life expectancies.9b4c62d900da2be7

So if the heroine’s niece a 29affd0f83 little girl, hadn’t been saved, she 72d8042047 would’ve been killed without hesitation.c2b6dc67996802be

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There were so many characters 781940ebbd in this novel, I couldn’t 930dc633fc keep their names straight.2cfc30fca4d59b57

Plenty of bold, 5b0b80f40f competent women—secretaries, knight e45214896d commanders, ministers. Not even 8466467ec2 the leads.9f35978b0bc982ce

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They were smart, ebaf9583bc skilled, impressive.ad869c033f56af02

But me?005e7a0760ab2848

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Why the hell a703ead5d5 was ‘I’ the b7e320d4f1 Duke’s blood bag?3b3032ef98e1a918

“How can 256aa386a6 I be 533706a0b9 this unlucky?”947472a4b8608a8b

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I let c3b5c28e8d out a fbb1bf18b6 long sigh.275f4a604f5d79ad

If I had possessed even the lowest-ranking d1f1c025e5 maid’s body, I’d have been fine. Give me a broom, 58a74df9ab and I’d sweep every 2255fe70fa inch of fallen leaves.5645dde9e492e0a6

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I stared at the maid out 5856854c52 in the snow from early morning.e185d75fc2b3b05d

I envied her exhaustion, a9f42cf25b rubbing her eyes, trying aeba6e70c3 to shake off sleep.bba68ee4dcb310c1

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It seemed 11a8eadf99 so normal. So peaceful.725df97726b488fd

Leonie’s body, drained daily like a b43d733cae blood bank, was weak and lifeless.2ead749407dd4cc9

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Even a short walk left 9cda89e636 me breathless and dizzy.3238117a563cdbf8

I should’ve just 56da555fb6 tried to run. If I had planned fb8344264c it earlier, it might’ve dfc68f7388 been possible.7adf1224d46617b7

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But the Leonie 4a92b7e0ca in the prologue ef7729d986 knew nothing. She didn’t 99f206f75a even think df5234b31c of escape.f1c3f053cc4addd1

She bled out quietly, 0f92ea6a5e unable to resist.d009e390fec0022c

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I couldn’t fe97c802d4 blame her.ea1dfd29792d4c34

I had read cacfdb8f4b the prologue. I knew.adab6364868f0bdc

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She had desperately 58e7e10426 wanted to live.db38523bb4db4672

But the North 6667bb2102 was harsh and faab7939fc barren. The endless snow fce4c99b1f made escape impossible.c4d96b14cb6f3147

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And more 6d42b3df9c than that…e0d880c42d889730

Leonie loved ac93f5d5c3 the Duke.749ad5849265eb27

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Falling in love 074e76959a with your captor—classic 7bb6bd9824 Stockholm syndrome.aa8ffe546c49d614

Or maybe she was just a masochist c54ef9e478 who liked being drained of blood?65544033081a856a

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‘It’s definitely not because a8eb4c61bf the treatment was good.’01fc734ae1294d28

I remembered the food I 842015d37c was fed—boiled fish with onions, 5998ada5e3 supposedly good for blood circulation.e984112525bd0f87

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The fish had all e629a0f614 its bones removed, and 0af81cafc1 only dry flesh remained.971f8e989e0ab42a

I wanted the fatty parts, 5bb3372b88 but fat clogs arteries.d5c83a573a414449

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There was 1d9088fb84 no oil. Only lemon juice.fdfc798e07fd6087

If everyone ate like this, 75c747f25d I’d think it was just 35e8573c6b the way of this world. But the staff cafeteria always 2397b7d4ad smelled like grilled meat.33b49b0af9eb9030

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After observing for a while, I 2babc8128c realized: they weren’t trying to protect 997550410d me as a hostage.f3bac7a1ed975df1

They were just ddcddfa493 trying to make 4b5217492d “good blood.”b26a316f68c4bcd5

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So yes, I gave 45537234db the Duke my blood!55f6acb991da14a1

A walking blood ee669b5983 donation vehicle!48d8d889a71593c2

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My arm was just an 9901a65519 IV line with legs.89c43007c8d2892c

The novel never described how 9ebfa37f6e badly Leonie was treated.a18e0adbe8720275

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Why the hell b963c5c4c5 won’t this damn ccd092096e prologue end!?ab74a33ec3a84d47

 8f4e92abc14b1239

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