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

Slam!1b343d722e95883f

The door burst open with 06c64819c3 a loud bang.0c1863e5f52f4cbf

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Even without looking, I knew 19f4b2046b exactly who had stormed into c6a271f4dc the drawing room.dd877f4581862f5a

Deon de Larote Kirventia.c1a64180fefc1609

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He was the current 73295fcde0 Emperor and the owner 356304fcee of the old dukedom 312913d116 I had barely escaped 7555ab188d from.6c8bb469b25d6af2

“Where did you hide her?”7b01bbd7e8c261b4

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His ragged breathing echoed in a5e2c44d2c my ears.f5402cac27a2ef73

“I don’t know what you mean.”19dfb2e6d89e8a9e

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“Really? Then you won’t mind if I search the mansion.”46a417fe69931d02

Luckily, I was f92cb05dee hiding in the d39d0e986f weapons room connected 86b38942a3 to the parlor. I held my breath and 5cc20706bc pressed my face close to 11483a6564 the door.fbff57dc1a18d335

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Once Deon leaves the drawing 5095cb5f66 room, I’ll have to jump 45037e8c8e out the window.a0f75a3c2c2f6b29

But then, just as suddenly 10d8338185 as he had stormed in, 596cfc986d he went quiet. There were no signs d013b7f380 or sounds from outside b261a7d079 anymore.3af0f6371ce66b7f

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I carefully peeked 1aa915677c through the gap.aaf088247cb14fca

‘Did he leave?’60df09ba184e527e

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Suddenly, a knife 1386056ee2 stabbed through the 792e853d15 door, right above 97f03a2f5f my head.c2e93dbd47fd8b22

My whole body froze.914c0a0891e2f002

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Startled, I lost my 55e96a47c1 balance and leaned against d5706723ed the door.20a6a1443e3f9c84

It was already hard to da91fea806 support myself against the old, 243b33cabd rotten wood. The door collapsed without resistance. The lock I had 129e7cd49b tried so hard to 92c4dacf8d latch swung open with 259cb7f6b6 ease.d1f7fb4ce6195c97

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I fell forward, 37a929f57e tangled among spears, 1e0992aa97 arrows, and swords.e93f8e2738b08b49

Silence.778b45c06a98114a

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He stood there, sword in c65c279dc3 hand, glaring at me with 124a778106 burning eyes.01bd9e4d8e9d510f

Once again, my game 87c113b3f7 of hide-and-seek had failed. A long life of running f580794d1b was coming to its end.b7ed84013296e254

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My knees hurt from dfecf61e80 the fall, but more da0c3b788f than pain, I was d1d301d45a just… humiliated.0ab8e4dc2f955603

I had nothing 8f161b7aae to say, so ba3f3a88e2 I rolled my d929fae0b0 eyes and greeted 93acf4a275 him.1763fe685594ac1a

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“It’s been a while, Your Grace the Duke.”edbde232bcbb4201

He frowned.6fa8a43dd689e8e3

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‘Oh, is it the title?’e837327b28b952e1

“Uh… Should I call you Your Majesty now?”63c597e42c8c3772

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His expression got worse.8de437ff2f0334ab

A suffocating silence cccb96a9a7 hung between us. I couldn’t even swallow.ade30a6e55b666d2

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Then he looked down at 27b265cc09 me with those piercing blue 67ea301cf3 eyes, leaned over, and brushed 7e1ae12994 my cheek.e8a04fc788a8f1b5

“Leonie, how long did you think you could run? I told you—I’ll never let you go.”18c331239d355c71

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His cold tone clashed b6978135b3 with his gentle touch, 16eee7093b making the narrow room 6930f6c62e feel icy.aee9e61545421ee8

It was like the North’s f4d3676116 harsh winter had descended all cdf6338a8a over again.659418fba4ca8de0

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My body trembled uncontrollablyb11b7f8eb2c28036

* * *2faae3296ea7ddd7

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I was reading the book f1d7180199 during self-study.34b7370a1b176c1d

Actually, all I saw 3a824d4f75 was the cover. The three girls sitting behind d81dd8deca me were secretly reading it f48b1bfede together.9abd83db446b4425

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‘Is it really that popular?’61fe39498a83642a

Curious, I borrowed it. But after just the prologue, 3e34bdfcea I closed it.10298bc7105579ad

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I didn’t want to watch the main characters find happiness while leaving behind all the extras they’d trampled on.2d2206a509955261

I only made it three 8b095fbce0 pages in, but the illustration ba66269375 said everything: the Duke looking a332b18fde coldly down at a woman, 19dc88e279 while the woman, head bowed, b6328e5121 curly hair hiding her face, e5d4ea9c57 stood there drooping in a 962f2fa716 black dress, her frizzy red 0ab07d5716 hair the only visible feature.0fcc5658fa0af696

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She didn’t even dae7e6084d have a face.0c1b6d815c5f76f7

An extra. Not even worth drawing.fdea7cb657e2868a

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And now, that woman 7b8a5b4020 was me.580c36941bf2df7b

I’d only read the 4e1df97830 prologue, but I knew 5606a4eb2f exactly who I was.d3b6477615c89d14

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Because I die—right there—in 7cc19035cd the first paragraph.f8009506d625fba8

One bite is enough.]8064a2f4a9cd0937

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That was the first cc453600da line in the prologue. The sentence ordering Leoni’s disposal.15d83a25b9a2a9ce

My friends talked 30d2ab6288 about the novel 70203b1913 all the time.df18c388aa055072

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So even without reading 7e10a7a46d it fully, I knew ef822efdb8 the gist of the 270bcd12e3 plot.0c54514fdf78f0d4

An empire without 0e461b4a9e an official heir.f471e3ad2f5f410d

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The nobles of the Emperor’s bloodline fought viciously for the throne, and one of the contenders, Grand Duke Deon, fought countless battles and emerged victorious.b403482379e57109

He had many titles.406023572737ade1

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The late Empress’s son. A disgraced prince exiled ca0dda0cff to the North after cc7a4ce873 losing his castle.ed12b57ca45023b1

Yet he became a 0607917220 war hero, undefeated in b9d862ca16 battle.f54c4a058b99f95d

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But even the perfect 3770b09664 man had a secret.fe47e97fc7d21e74

The late Empress’s bloodline carried the Asmodian curse.ba3c73d539a68c93

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Those who inherited that 263da3e7ab blood could unleash monstrous 6689542f32 power—if they drank the 860064c4c0 right kind of blood.fd2f713b4b0f05fe

The Duke’s war victories were c0923f75b0 thanks to that power.144bd1d835ea906f

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And many hostages were 30fbabb1eb offered up to supply cf79624a22 it.68acbed268a49f27

I was one of them. Destined to die 55435886b2 for his power.de06706d16089d09

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The sacrifices went on until his “fated partner” appeared.2ac430b2f23382f5

The woman destined to 118a71f110 be his wife was 2b0abc34a4 the aunt of the 4c372a8296 sixth victim.5618c154e87e160f

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The heroine, Isella Snowa, had ec0ca896d5 come to save her young 2154a65691 niece, taken hostage at the 35095be343 Duke’s mansion.ca198579b429515d

Deon fell for her at 9d0731d050 first sight, claimed a legendary db95b8f6da relic she carried, and finally 778843bbd4 stopped.600f8dbf17c70b2e

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She broke the curse e8d59523ee of blood.f437be98a683ebaf

A romantic story of salvation.02c6a7a331a745e7

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A fucking love story that begins once I’m dead.a0e3fe378169e70b

What pissed me off d7ff921da9 the most was this: f1bb580df5 four people had already fe26a178f3 died because they couldn’t cffa9e3325 endure it. And I was 1a20debbdf next, just to 4f862caefd be discarded when 8614c39fd7 the “real one” fcbfd563d1 came along.35fb17c171cdd076

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There could only ever be 9aab536bd4 one blood bag for the 220ec1def5 Duke.82fda998f22f196a

The previous victims were bd678e881a disposed of so they 0c92c47acc wouldn’t fall into enemy f103d72d9f hands.8e8f6be5eb446a8c

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Calling it a fbf68d260c “punishment” was a 967718d869 joke—it was a d0718e13f1 death sentence.215aa16f9051da76

Not that it a0116a1659 made no sense.c80f469e27963334

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In the previous bc2e252957 generation, blood bags ac20b82a9f were frequently kidnapped. The more there a10683e6b0 were, the harder 2437e3fbf1 it was to 309fe01e82 keep them secure.219d58574dd1f720

They ended up paying 8cc1b81b5d huge ransoms every time, 0ce995b4db so eventually, they kept df24a579af only one.3f62f44e6a58fd64

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Also, in this world, 73be9db655 the more blood bags cb4293a0aa that existed, the weaker e940d0d7ad the blood became. If too many 7939c36e59 were kept alive, 08ffe3bb96 more blood had f23c5f5db3 to be consumed ce94d25db3 to get the c55d760ea7 same power.b626dcde046fd8d0

[T/N: “Blood sac” is like a blood-filled blister. In this story, it refers to
people used for blood donation.]564cd0241c09e52e

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It was a cruel f29dc097e7 world for extras. Kill everyone except one.
Even the Duke preferred young, 942beb883c strong men with long life da6cedcc34 expectancies.730dac98f77919bd

So if the heroine’s niece a little girl, hadn’t been saved, she would’ve been killed without hesitation.04e9a80f640229c9

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There were so many characters 0e44f26737 in this novel, I couldn’t 642ffac18d keep their names straight.d3c4f458239200e3

Plenty of bold, competent women—secretaries, f349f4f2b1 knight commanders, ministers. Not even the leads.7a74e475937004b1

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They were smart, skilled, impressive.6043eabd94f27f46

But me?c5e91635707c920c

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Why the hell was ‘I’ the Duke’s blood bag?5506592f45e3ae9f

“How can I be this unlucky?”2061220ef6630b66

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I let out 72a1fb7013 a long sigh.d6cd9aecad9b102c

If I had ae5703c00c possessed even the 74b7e43397 lowest-ranking maid’s body, 056c5c4c5c I’d have been 60049ff08d fine. Give me a 952144dff4 broom, and I’d 40677c80f0 sweep every inch 9d40217eea of fallen leaves.6ca0d7ebca60ccc8

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I stared at the maid 77b756500f out in the snow from 0069fc86b1 early morning.b38436f3cabb31aa

I envied her exhaustion, 99291c70a1 rubbing her eyes, trying 0b6a21fd05 to shake off sleep.2f7e295478a32d39

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It seemed so normal. So peaceful.3479238074b4a2a6

Leonie’s body, drained 76e118a4fc daily like a e33a8e7920 blood bank, was 60289ec209 weak and lifeless.51555810bef66845

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Even a short 6c20f0e934 walk left me 68f4aded44 breathless and dizzy.6fa18fe440d0e64b

I should’ve just tried to 544e688fb3 run. If I had 4fb45313dc planned it earlier, 525e427838 it might’ve been 9cd66c9e60 possible.76f4c5e33347d4a5

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But the Leonie in 66d478c086 the prologue knew nothing. She didn’t even 31a2c67b35 think of escape.f65ea393eff799bd

She bled out quietly, unable 784d374735 to resist.7237600959f40c35

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I couldn’t blame her.f69c3175c963cf59

I had read the prologue. I knew.bac0819e1b62a344

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She had desperately wanted 57c29f14cc to live.7623b175245fa0f5

But the North was 5e17e373d7 harsh and barren. The endless snow 945977ced6 made escape impossible.611bba4b2d53842f

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And more than that…c901f85c99f542bf

Leonie loved the Duke.489ae2eb08f00bf5

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Falling in love with your 750db3be79 captor—classic Stockholm syndrome.b18cf5795fa0c829

Or maybe she was just 936e2c93a2 a masochist who liked being e7db8afb45 drained of blood?7836bff2b7623cc7

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‘It’s definitely not because the treatment was good.’b91f94106e81a024

I remembered the 617e8cbe2f food I was 679d6ede35 fed—boiled fish with c072ca1e2f onions, supposedly good 3cc8384757 for blood circulation.dbe90c1181983138

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The fish had e523fc0b56 all its bones dee4ae4551 removed, and only fbf576bc7e dry flesh remained.62994a33928e474e

I wanted the fatty parts, bc1d62f864 but fat clogs arteries.4d87893722811f36

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There was no oil. Only lemon juice.765594c2375362b6

If everyone ate eababf4265 like this, I’d a11f960043 think it was 27f887c7ca just the way 5406c27d9f of this world. But the staff cafeteria always f54b06f3d4 smelled like grilled meat.85598c37ac270798

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After observing for a while, 9916f54d19 I realized: they weren’t trying 1bdf268414 to protect me as a dcc05b047c hostage.453f3926c7031613

They were just trying 0d8b3ca74f to make “good blood.”7361ef821b211f7c

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So yes, I gave 86d1f36a8a the Duke my blood!a647f7ab41ffb431

A walking blood donation vehicle!7d06aa78c49fdbcd

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My arm was just 373f141f29 an IV line with 21019f2f7f legs.ff38312f07f352bf

The novel never described 04e041a348 how badly Leonie was 84c60b8f4f treated.d91b600f013b7389

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Why the hell won’t d46f35aab3 this damn prologue end!?5c18cd9b33b9ab8d

 27b15379a34e6fe1

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