Chapter 9: Don’t hide your pain behind a smile! (The Vampire and Mana’s Date Part 3)

They both told me to go home, and I knew they were right. Lucy's ability to read situations never ceased to amaze me, and I couldn't argue with her or Lily. I didn't deserve to be by Lily's bedside, not after causing her such pain. I needed to hurry home; otherwise, everything I did would be in vain. As I watched the two of them run off with Lily, I started running home as fast as I could. But when I arrived, I found my mother in terrible shape.

"Am I too late? No! Maybe not if it hasn't been too long. That spell will still work!" I exclaimed, my mind racing as I tried to remember the chant.

"Oh, Dearest Goddess, bless the body with life and give it better health, Rejuvenation!" I recited.

But my mother still wasn't breathing. I refused to give up, repeating the chant again and again, even as I grew weaker and weaker. I didn't stop until I collapsed, barely able to speak.

Damn it, it was all my fault. My selfishness had put Lily's health at risk, and now my mother was dead because of me. I didn't deserve to be in this world anymore. I grabbed my knife and slit my wrists, ready to end my pain.

"I'm sorry, Goddess, forgive me. I'm sorry for hurting you, Lily. I truly fell in love with you, but it's too late. What I did was unforgivable. Goodbye, my Princess," I said, tears streaming down my face. But before I could take my last breath, Lily burst into the room.

"Mana! Nooo! It's not too late!" she cried out. "What you did can be forgiven. Please don't give up on life. I will be your reason to live in this world."

I couldn't believe it. Lily was here, and she still cared for me, despite everything.

"But for the love of the Goddess, don't say you love me after trying to kill yourself. Don't hide your pain with a smile," she said firmly.

"Lily! You shouldn't be up and running with your fever," I said, my voice hoarse.

"Damn it, Mana, if you were truly worried about me, you wouldn't have attempted to do this. Why do you think I'm here? My other self gave me a vision of you doing this while I was passed out, and I woke up. I noticed you weren't in the castle and rushed over here as fast as I could," she said, her voice shaking with emotion.

I felt a rush of relief wash over me. Maybe I didn't deserve forgiveness, but I was grateful for it nonetheless. And maybe, just maybe, there was still hope for us.

"Why would you go to such lengths when I was selfish and hurt you?" I asked, my voice shaking.

"Why? Why do you ask? It's because I love you, dummy! Everyone makes mistakes. Nobody is perfect, and if they say they are, they lie. Now answer me, do you want to die here? Is that really what your beloved mother would want?" Lily replied with concern in her voice.

"No, this is not what my beloved mother would want, and I don't want to die like this," I said, feeling a sense of relief wash over me.

"Then do you promise you will accept me as your new reason to live happily and healthily? Do you promise that you really love me like I love you and that you won't ever regret being by my side for all eternity?" Lily asked.

"I promise I will accept you, I love you more than anything, and I won't ever regret being by your side for all eternity," I replied, feeling my heart flutter with happiness.

"Good, this might sting a bit, but I promise you will feel better soon. Fair warning, you might get a very stern talking from my other self; she is quite pissed at you," Lily said, her voice becoming serious.

Before I could finish my question, I felt a momentary stinging sensation before a flood of warmth covered my whole body, and my self-inflicted wounds started healing. As I turned to ask Lily what happened, I noticed it was no longer the Lily I knew standing there; it was the Vampire Empress Lily that Yami told me about.

"Good to see you again, My Empress," Yami said with a deep bow.

"It's good to see you, though I wish it was under different circumstances, My Empress," Lucy added, bowing as well.

"wh..who..are…yo…"? I stuttered, my eyes wide in shock.

Smack!

Before I could finish my question, Empress Lily slapped me.

"Dammit! Why did you have to do that to yourself? Why did you show Lily that? Do you have any idea how much mental pain she's going through seeing you like this? When she wakes up, you need to take responsibility for your actions. There's something I need to tell you all, but promise not to tell Lily yet. Her memories will resurface on her 18th birthday, when she starts at the academy. She'll need training in order to control her powers. You three will personally train her, since she now has a third wife/blood servant. Her body will be stronger after a couple of weeks of bed rest. I will train her in magic and magic control. Yami will train her in basic vampire abilities after teaching her sword and martial combat arts. Lucy will train her in bow combat arts and academic knowledge that wasn't taught by me, such as economics, kingdom policies, and racial characteristics and history.

You girls need to be tough while training Lily; she only has three months to master these things. That's the minimum attendance required before students can graduate early. Something will happen that requires her to have control over her vampire powers, so she needs to strengthen her body and other powers first. Don't go easy on her during training, but spread it out correctly for the first few weeks. Even though her body has become stronger, she'll still be quite frail until she builds up her stamina and gains more control over her powers.

Lily's soul wasn't originally from this world; she died in her previous world after saving a young child. The Goddess of Creation, Aria, brought Lily's soul to this world to be reborn. Lily gave up her memories of her previous life before she was reborn because she wanted a fresh start. Those memories were quite traumatizing and terrible in their own right. Please don't call me empress; Lily is your girl's Princess, wife, and empress. The Goddess created me with a piece of her memories about Lily and her previous world's self to protect Lily and help control her vampire powers until the time came for her to control them herself.

To be honest, my race isn't even a vampire; you could call me a hybrid of a vampire and succubus. I don't feed on lust or blood, but rather dreams and fearful memories. I've fallen in love with Lily and want to protect her. Promise me you'll train Lily to master and control her powers within three months after her 18th birthday. That's when the next blood moon will appear; during that time, we may be able to ask the Goddess and work together to have a physical body made for me and transfer my consciousness to that body. If Lily doesn't have control, my consciousness will fade to nothingness, and Lily will go berserk, unable to control her powers."

"We promise to train Lily," Lucy, Yami, and I said.

"What should we call you next time we meet?" I asked.

"You can call me Rose from now on. Now it's time for me to go. Goodbye for now, girls," Rose replied before transforming back into fluffy princess Lily mode, resting in my arms. As we walked back to the castle, Lily mumbled in her sleep, "I love you, Mana. Don't hide your pain with a smile."

"I promise I won't ever hide my true feelings from you again. I love you too, my Princess," I replied.

Present Day

Hello, it's me, Mana. I hope you enjoyed hearing about Lily and my relationship origin story. If you have any questions about my relationships with Yami and Lucy or our punishment from Lily, I can share that story another time. But for now, Lily and I have just finished our meal, and we're heading back to the castle so that she can rest before her birthday ball tonight.

As we walked, Lily fell asleep in my arms, and I couldn't help but feel grateful for her presence in my life. She mumbled something in her sleep that made my heart swell with love and affection.

"Thank you for living for me; I love you, Mana," she said.

I held her closer, feeling the weight of her words, and responded, "Thank you for teaching me not to hide my pain with a smile. I love you too, Lily."