Case 37: To a catfight of a national scale.

*****

''Hah...''

For the unknown time today, Rachael slumped onto the table.

It was already past noon, yet she had barely been able to finish any work. No matter what, she couldn't focus on the sea of documents in front of her at all. Rather, her eyes would often lose focus, leaving a blurry sheet of paper-colored blobs behind, and on that very sheet, certain images of a woman flashed constantly.

Even at this moment, she could vividly recall every curve, every bump, every creak; she could still feel the lingering warmth from that person, her sweet, sweet moans, and the mind-numbing, teeth-aching taste of her blood.

Rachael actually didn't remember much of yesterday aside from her partner's lovelinesses, just that she was drowned in the abyss of bliss and carnality with Cecilia until morning.

'That sly vixen...'

No, now that Rachael had really tried to remember it, Cecilia would indeed try to entice her whenever she had calmed down even a bit, and each time, without fail, the princess would fall for it again. It was absurd.

However, Rachael could never find an ounce of hatred toward Cecilia for that. After all, it just felt too good, and sucking her blood was too fulfilling at the same time—the woman was everything she wanted.

If anything, this rendezvous had just finalized Rachael's plan to engage with Cecilia regardless of opposition from anyone, even her mother, the empress.

'But... is she really a lost royal?'

This was another notable matter for the princess.

As a member of the imperial family and a candidate for the throne, Rachael de La Fayette was trained in combat since she was young. Often, she would participate in various expeditions to gain experience, and in one unfortunate incident, she had her blood sucked by a rampaging elder vampire.

The reason she was targeted, as she would find out, was the same one she developed the suspicion that Cecilia was of royal origin—the nobler the blood was, the better it tasted.

'No, maybe everyone's blood is like that.'

It wasn't that Rachael, a bottom-tier vampire, could make anyone else into her kind, but she still refrained from drinking human blood. Ordinary infected vampires might be unable to resist doing so, but Rachael was of the mighty imperial family–the noblest of nobles. With the blood of gold running through her veins, she could even say that the 'vampire' in her could only control half of herself.

Thanks to that, she was able to get by by only drinking humanoid beasts' blood, and she didn't need nearly as much as other vampires. Nonetheless, it seemed she was still a vampire at the end of the day, seeing that she convincingly lost her mind over Cecilia's blood.

Having tasted that divine nectar, she could never go back to consuming harpy's blood anymore.

In any case, if Cecilia was truly a royal, and if Rachael could confirm that fact, marriage wouldn't be a problem.

'I should have Kyrie look into other countries' royalties.'

Propping her chin up, the princess pondered.

All in all, this rendezvous was a net success. The princess had never felt so revitalized before. The only regret she had was the missed opportunity to impregnate Cecilia and tie her down with a child or two.

''...Tch.''

Thinking about this late morning when she and Cecilia woke up, a sharp click of the tongue naturally came out.

''Cecilia, marry me. I'll make sure to take care of both you and our children well.''

''Eh? What are you talking about?''

''...?''

''Yesterday was my safe day. Otherwise, I would have insisted on putting on a condom before doing... ah.''

''...You sly woman.''

''W-Wait! I just put on my clothes! My legs still hurt—''

Again, for the unknown time today, Rachael dry-washed her face. Her head was filled with Cecilia, and she was already missing the erotic presence of the seductress on her hip.

''Kuh...!''

Letting out a painful grumble, Rachael reached for her phone inside the table's drawer. In that unholy device, dozens upon dozens of sensual materials from last night were stored. She knew that watching them wouldn't help her productivity, yet her body was too honest.

So, for a good while, the princess's eyes were glued to the moving pixels on her phone's screen.

'Ah... what to do? I already want to visit her again.'

It was grueling.

Like a true teenager on her first day of dating, Rachael spent several minutes fidgeting around the place, sounding strange noises. Even Jin, her soul guardian, could only look at her worryingly.

''Ah, I know.''

She had felt as though there was something missing for a while, and it finally clicked as she held her phone—Penelope de Bourbon.

That cheeky and arrogant woman who brazenly declared war with a member of the imperial family... she needed to be put in her place.

''...''

So, after deeply contemplating it for a minute, Rachael opened Q-io, the only social media platform at the moment. Surprisingly, she and Penelope were friends here, but it was only for business.

She then opened the direct messaging tab.

In complete silence, the princess ticked a few pictures in her gallery and hovered her thumb over the [Send] button.

''Agh, fuck it.''

It was instant.

Three pictures were sent at once.

A snap of a woman with blue hair diligently licking a certain shaft—with her cheek pressed against it, no less—taken from the receiver's point of view.

A snap of a round, naked bottom that was pointed at the camera. On the damp skin, cloudy splashes of some unknown liquid could be seen.

And lastly, a snap of two women kissing, one with blond hair and one with sky-blue hair.

Gulp.

Somehow, Rachael's heart was racing, but her mind was sure of her victory.

Strangely, Penelope saw it right away—the little avatar sitting at the bottom of the chat proved that. It took thirty seconds for the three dots to appear, meaning the opponent was typing, but their arrivals were intermittently, and only after staring at the screen for a long, long time did Rachael receive a response.

[Nice.]

''...?''

'Nice'? What was that response?

Confused as she was, the dots were still there, so Rachael kept waiting for the next message.

[Man... she's as beautiful in bed as I've imagined. I can't wait to do her, too. Did she let you shoot it out inside her, Your Highness?]

''???''

'No, wait. Why is she like this??'

Wholeheartedly stunned, Rachael fumbled with her phone for a bit before finally sending a 'Yes' back to Penelope.

[That's amazing. I'll have to ask her on her safe day, too. I can't imagine using a condom.]

''Hahah... this bitch. Is she messing with me...?''

At this point, Rachael was sure that Penelope intentionally feigned composure. If that was the case, all the princess needed to do was assert her dominance even further. Her fingers moved swiftly and precisely, typing out words with unmatched speed—

[She let me embrace her until the sun came up. After all of those raw attempts, I'd say letting it out inside is the best feeling.]

One strike.

[I'd like you to experience it someday, too, Lady Bourbon, however... I reckon you have to find another woman. Cecilia was so mesmerized by me that she would hardly stop clinging to my hip.]

Two strikes.

[Until then, I'll make sure to send footage of our intimate moments to you as tokens of friendship, so don't worry much.]

Three strikes.

''Phew...''

'Hah, of course, you're silent now.'

A certain smugness descended on Rachael's otherwise cold face. She was proud of what she wrote, even if they were painfully emotional and perhaps childish taunts. Still, she thought she dealt a massive blow to her rival—maybe even fatal.

And she would be... right.

Before this moment, Penelope was also sitting in her office, fulfilling her duties as the heir to the conglomerate, when she received these shocking texts from the imperial princess.

Of course, she was furious, yet the mind of a businesswoman prevented her from saying anything rash. She decided to use this as a chance to poke at her rival, although she was clearly losing her ground.

'Just wait, you psychopath madwoman... I'll definitely make Cecilia mine...'

Grinding her teeth, Penelope continued to type in the room, which seemed to have frozen—frozen from the coldness of her eyes.

[Oh, no, no. It is thanks to Your Highness's grace that I will have a smoother time with Lady Cecilia. I'm sure she'll love it, too.]

[If you have the chance to be with her, that is.]

[Of course, I will. We have dates planned, Your Highness.]

[Sure. Mind telling me more about them?]

[The last time we kissed in the lounge of the imperial palace, she said she wanted to do a home date. Realistically, I could make anything she wants happen, too.]

[Mhm-hm. She does like home dates. While making out with me yesterday, she said she wanted to spend more nights with me, whispering love with her words and her hip.]

[That's—]

Penelope and Rachael were undoubtedly future leaders of the empire. In every sense, their catfight was something more than just two noble women's bout.

It was unprecedented, and it also marked the first time either of them missed a day's worth of work to combat online. Through these texts, one might get the impression that over a lone, delicate lady, the two were ready to fight each other physically.

It was a catfight on a national level.

*****