The Vampire Queen - How I Became The Worlds Last Boss: Chapter 4

Celestia

The headmaster looks at me with a bewildered face, and that only made my body tense up even more. I wonder if anyone has ever shattered the crystal orb before, or am I the first? She’s most likely going to be keeping an eye on me with such talent or suspicion.

“Umm, headmaster, did that test count?” I wonder if she would need to bring in another crystal.

“Yes, there are no problems. With what you just did to the crystal, we're pretty confident in your overall strength. By the way, were you reincarnated?” Morgana asks with a solemn face, “Are you perhaps a descendant of Slasorth?”

“I’m not really sure how to answer that because my mom died when I was only six months old and my father doesn’t give me any attention. Could I go now?” There was no reason for me to give this woman my life story when it could possibly be used against me in the future.

“Sure, you may go.” Morgana said this while keeping a stern eye on me as I exited the stage.

As I looked at my surroundings, everyone in the whole building was staring, and it became extremely awkward. I looked towards the exit and saw Rhea leaving in a hurry. Hmm, I wonder what that’s all about. Since this place is too uncomfortable, let’s go follow her.

After about five minutes of following Rhea to a location, she met with some older guy who had a very similar look to her own. Could he be her brother? One of the great advantages of being a vampire is that all my senses have risen to a high degree, making it very easy to listen in on their conversation from far away.

"Rhea, you must think of your family.”

“But...but… I just started school; how could you ask me to do this?”

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t make him happy and secure the funds; our family will become a fallen noble house. Do you want to be the reason we lose our nobility and become nothing more than commoners?” He looks at her as if he were scolding a problem child.

“But he’s so much older than me." Rhea starts to cry, and it hurts my heart to see her like that.

“Fool! You’re a useless child, and they're offering you a great opportunity to live rich.” He grabs both her shoulders, forcing her to look him in the eyes. “You must do this, or we will disown you!”

How stupid! Can you even disown someone after your family has already fallen? How does that even make sense? Do they take Rhea for such an idiot or a complete pushover? That brother is a piece of garbage, not looking out for his cute little sister. Also, what the hell are they talking about having to do? When, she’s only a young girl.

“Okay, brother, I will do as you say." Rhea put her head down as she continued to sob uncontrollably.

The brother just looks at her with disdain in his eyes, like she is nothing more than a bug. I’m pretty confident he would have hit her right now if she had denied his request. But I’m going to make sure whatever is happening right now will be interrupted.

“Good, just make sure to show him a good time, and it’s in the bag. Do whatever he says! This isn’t just my order, but from your whole family, our lives are in your hands.” That’s when the trash brother left in a huff. I also made a mental note to possibly kill that guy in the future.

That’s when I hear it: “I hate my family. Why can’t I die for good? Repeating this horrible life over and over is just too much.” She continued to sob uncontrollably as she went into the fetal position, leaning against a tree. My heart couldn’t help but break for her. She’s too perfect for what I want, and I don’t have any guilt whatsoever about what I’m about to offer her. Also, what in the world did she mean by dying over and over? Has she regressed?

As Rhea was tucking her legs against her chest and leaning into a tree, I sat down next to her and pulled her into a hug. I wrapped my arms around Rhea; her whole body went as stiff as a board. She turns, looking straight into my eyes, and I just give her a warm smile.

“It’s ok… You can cry; I will keep holding on till you're calm.” Rhea looks at me with a stunned expression. “Looking at you, I just felt like you really needed a hug.” While I look at her, figuring out her current situation, she buries her face into my chest and lets out an even louder cry than before. Well, that’s great news; she seems to accept my actions rather quickly.

We sat there for about twenty minutes before Rhea fell asleep in my arms, most likely feeling tired after letting out all her emotions. I laid her head down on my lap and started rubbing her head gently. She’s way too cute to not just let her make herself at home on my lap. There was also this really weird attraction I was feeling for her. It was as if she was calming me down and making it more comfortable.

Even after around two hours, my body was no worse for the wear, and Rhea was still snoozing away. I rather enjoy having such a strong body. Being in an uncomfortable position for a long time is not an issue at all. As I was staring down at Rhea on my lap, I felt her body shift as her eyes snapped open.

“Good morning,” I reply as I lock eyes with hers. She jumps up and pushes herself away. “That’s too bad. I was quite enjoying our time together.” I say this to her as she creates a little distance between us.

“I'm so sorry I forced you to do that for me.” Rhea had a deer in headlights expression.

“It’s quite alright; honestly, I wouldn’t mind it if you used my lap more often.” I gave her a grin and said, “I’m sorry, but I was listening in on your conversation earlier.”

“Oh.” Rhea said as she looked down.

“I also heard what you said after the man left. Is what you said really true?” I ask quizzically.

“Umm… What?” She tilts her head.

“You hate your life, and you've also died more than once. Is this not your first life?” I study her expression of surprise, as she didn’t realize I had heard that much. “I have incredibly good hearing, so sorry if you didn’t want anyone else to know. I'm sorry.”

“Oh no... Do you think I’m pathetic for thinking that?" Rhea asks timidly.

“Of course not; I hate my parents with a passion as well. Listen to this: My stepmother killed my mother when I was six months old, and my father did nothing about it. My two brothers and sister treat me like trash because they say my mother was nothing but a commoner.” I said with a sigh as I looked up in the sky at how bullshit noble families are with their children.

“I'm sorry to hear that.”

“It’s fine; I don’t plan on ever going back to them anyway.” Looking at Rhea, who had a very conflicted expression on her face, I reached out and grasped her hands in mine. “Don’t you want to feel accepted?”

“U-umm, of course I do.” She said sheepishly

“Where do you think your stutter originated from? I don’t mean to be rude, but I’m curious as to why you think you’re that way.”

"Well, I was always told I was too stupid and a useless child.”

“That’s bullshit Rhea It has nothing to do with that. I’m sure your family and most people around you talk over you all the time. How many times do you start talking and immediately get interrupted?”

“Umm... Most of the time, I get interrupted.”

“In my opinion, if you want to hear it,” I glance at Rhea, who nods her head. “It’s probably because you’re always interrupted and just got so used to having to repeat your words constantly that it gave you a bad habit. You’re already expecting not to get out the words, so you instinctively say something more than once. But that’s just my own personal theory.” It is a complete bullshit theory, but at the same time, it makes sense to me.

“Yeah, that does make a lot of sense.” At that moment, I could swear her eyes flashed as if she just had some kind of realization.

“I will be honest with you, Rhea; ever since I saw you go up on stage to get your magic tested, I’ve had this overwhelming feeling of wanting to protect you. Does that make you feel weird?” I said it with downcast eyes, as my ears also felt a little hot at the embarrassing thing I just said. Ever since both my memories merge together, it’s created a very straight-forward personality within me.

“Not Really.” Rhea put both her hands on her face as she peeked through her fingers in embarrassment.

“You see, this is what I’m saying: you have such a cute factor with the stuff you do. It’s hard to resist wanting to hug you. Have you ever been shown any warmth from your family?” I ask with concern about her mental state.

“The only time they were excited about me even being alive was when they realized I could be used to stop the family from falling.” Rhea gave a heavy sigh.

“Can you come back and lay in my arms?” She gave me a weird look as if trying to figure out what my goal was, but she’s too sweet of a girl to just deny someone’s wishes.

She slowly moves over to my side and leans against me as I wrap her in my embrace. This time, she didn’t have a tense reaction and just kind of melted into my arms. I’m glad she can accept the situation so easily. I need to get to the bottom of what she said earlier because I’m very curious if what I think is true.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course...” Rhea nods her head up and down.

“What did you mean by dying multiple times? You don’t have to worry about me thinking you’re crazy because I believe something like that is possible.” I have to reassure her, so she’s willing to spill it.

“Umm… How can you believe something like that?”

“Because something similar has also happened to me, so I can relate to you.”

Rhea's head shifts quickly to look up at my face with wide, open eyes. “But, how is that possible?”

“Are you familiar with reincarnation, Rhea?” I ask while watching her facial expression.

“I’ve read about it in a story but never really believed it was true. At least that’s what I thought before everything started.” Rhea Commented.

“Before this life, I was living a completely different life as someone completely different. I only recently got my memories back of the life I once lived. To make it even stranger, my other life wasn’t even from this world. So you don’t have to be nervous about telling me anything outrageous because I’m someone who will definitely believe you.”

If she has seriously regressed, there must be some significance to her life that isn’t allowing her to leave this world. I wonder what it could be and if it possibly has something to do with me. There was this strong feeling urging me to make this person mine when she appeared on stage. Rhea could even be older than I am, if you add up all her lifetimes.

“This is my fifth time through this life, and I’ve been murdered four times up until now. Two times I’ve been sacrificed to summon heroes, and twice by my soon-to-be husband. I’m so sick of this life, and I just want it all to end.”

Wow, that’s a lot to take in, and at the same time, I felt water droplets start to land on my arm that was currently embracing Rhea. This pretty much confirms my first theory about how she’s meant to do something. Just what is the goal of the person reviving her? My instincts are telling me this girl is very good for me, and she feels like another piece of a puzzle that I’ve been missing.

It was the same feeling as when both the memories of this life and my past came together. Whoever brought me here is also doing this to Rhea, is my only guess. But what could they want with the both of us? Also, why do I feel so much better being around Rhea compared to anyone else? It’s like a heavy burden is lifting off my chest just by being this close to her. There has to be some significance to that.

“I’m very sorry to hear that, Rhea.” I start rubbing her back as she was once again letting it all out with what I can only assume to be pure torture having to die so many times. “You don’t have to worry about that anymore because I plan on protecting you from now on.” There’s probably no chance she’s stable enough to go into detail about any of this, so it’s better to just comfort her and find out more information later.

“But... why would you go this far for someone like me? I’ve lived this many lives, and not once has anyone tried to protect me. They just willingly throw me to my fate without remorse. How do I know I can even trust you?”

“Well, how do you feel right now, Rhea?”

“I feel warm, and at the same time, I still can’t understand your intentions.” Rhea said it in a low voice.

“Rhea, do you believe in fate?” She nods her head slowly. “There's just something about you that draws me in—some kind of powerful pull. This has to be love, right? I know the first thing you're thinking is that both of us are girls, right? But why the hell does that matter? Who is society to dictate who we can and can’t love? Also, why the hell do our parents get the right to marry us off when we're older and we have no right to choose? I call bullshit on that, and something I never plan on following.” I look down at Rhea, who remains quiet. “Think about this, Rhea. Ever since I told you about what I thought caused your stuttering, you've yet to repeat a word.”

“Hmm…” Rhea looks up and says, "That’s true; why am I now able to speak more clearly?” Her beautiful eyes look up at me with her cute face, which makes me melt every time.

“It’s because you opened your heart to me—something you’re unable to do with your family. They have looked down on you and treated you badly for so long that your mental walls are thick. Even with the limited amount of time we have sat here together, I feel like you subconsciously already trust me a great deal.” I said it with a smile. “If there’s anyone in this world who you should put your faith in, it’s going to be me.”

I honestly think my race is having a huge effect on her overall emotions right now. But, like I said earlier, I don’t feel any guilt. Her current situation stinks, and I mean her no harm. So why should I feel bad? I will treat her the way she deserves to be treated.

“Are you really going to go get married to some loser who is three times your age just to satisfy your greedy family by using their daughter for their own gain? I could never imagine treating someone I love with such despicable means. Don’t ever let people use you for malicious reasons; learn to stand up for yourself.”

“You’re right, I don’t want to marry that guy, and I do hate my family. I’ve always thought everyone would be better off without me. I spent a lot of days in my room just lying down in bed staring at the ceiling, wondering why in the world this was happening to me. Experiencing death so many times has really worn me out. Just why can’t I be happy?” Rhea tightens her grip on my shirt.

“Look into my eyes, Rhea.” I put one of my hands under her chin and brought her up to eye level. “Think about what it would be like to hold hands, cuddle together, express our feelings to one another, and hug each other when the other is feeling down. How does that make you feel? Also, how would you feel if someone else was getting this kind of affection I was giving you right now?” With the look in her eyes, I can already tell she’s hooked and just hoping to be reeled in.