Starry Night Alliance (Part 2)

"Next king? Last night, your subordinate exaggerated your status," the baby-faced girl said with a pout, wearing the children's clothes meant for Tales. She sat down on the rug by the hearth, looking both ridiculous and adorable, and continued in her lisping voice: "But we found out that you're not even a prince yet."

Of course not. The number of people across the kingdom who know the king has a son probably wouldn't fill two hands—Tales thought to himself.

Do you think I'd tell you that Gilbert only said that because he was annoyed watching that golden-haired brat show off? Tales rolled his eyes inwardly.

"I thought," Tales said, taking a deep breath as he looked at the pair of crimson eyes before him, "that we already settled this back at Weed Manor: since my blood tastes good, as long as you forget about draining me dry in one go, I'll provide you with small amounts regularly. You serve me while enjoying my blood, and I guarantee you a safe haven in the Star Kingdom."

"But you don't have that kind of power," Serena said slowly but firmly, "to shelter us."

"Alright, fine, I'm just a bastard. So not me, but my father will guarantee your safety..."

Serena stared straight at him and suddenly cut him off: "But you are not your father. You are not the King."

"So?" Tales said helplessly. "Sorry about that, but you're already in Mindis Hall, and we know your secret. I doubt the Cavendish Family would welcome you back either..."

"Half a pint." The red-eyed little girl spoke flatly.

"What?"

"Your blood. I need half a pint every day." She looked seriously into Tales's eyes.

"Every day... half a pint?" Tales narrowed his eyes at the Archduchess of the East Continent. Just for my blood?

This boy's blood is different—Serena thought silently. It's that blood, full of life and power, that woke me from my chaotic slumber. Though waking up to find someone gnawing on my neck wasn't exactly pleasant—Serena pouted and touched her neck.

Tales, don't forget—yesterday this "little sister" was a dried-up corpse—Tales thought with a grimace on the other side—and she nearly took your life. Remembering how a mummy had latched onto his neck like a pump... Tales, his feelings complicated, also twisted his neck uncomfortably.

The two stared at each other in silence until one broke it.

"Are you kidding me! Half a pint every day? You might as well just drain me dry!" Tales stood on tiptoe and slammed the table (otherwise he was too short to reach it), meeting her gaze without backing down, though the memory of her corpse-like form still gave him the creeps.

"I wish I could drink every last drop of your blood," Serena replied with red eyes, her tone dead serious and chilling, "but having you supply me long-term is clearly more worthwhile."

"You sure know how to bargain!" Tales shot back sarcastically.

"A quarter pint every day. I need to recover quickly." Serena's gaze turned cold, her tone brooking no argument.

"Do you think I'm some cockroach that respawns with full health and mana every time I level up?" Tales gritted his teeth under her stare. "Donating blood to you every day—no way!"

"I don't understand what you're saying," the cold-faced little girl said bluntly, ignoring his slip into nonsense. "Once a week, two pints."

"Once every six months! One-tenth of a pint! That's as friendly as I'm willing to be." Tales said harshly.

"Once every two weeks, one and a half pints. Prove your friendliness with action."

"Once a month at most! I need time to make more blood after losing it, you know!"

Serena slowly rose from the floor.

Her crimson pupils fixed on Tales, making his scalp crawl:

"Kid, don't test my patience."

"You're still standing here breathing air because I'm interested in your blood."

Serena's eyes narrowed, and her expressionless face suddenly turned icy!

"If we were willing to pay the price to leave, you couldn't stop us. And besides—" Serena's eyes rolled mysteriously, but her pupils never left Tales's gaze, making his hair stand on end: "Here, hiding the Star Kingdom's secret heir—how do you think those great lords and nobles would feel about that?"

Tales felt his scalp go numb.

This damned—old hag, Tales cursed inwardly.

But his past fieldwork experience told him that as the other party in a negotiation, he couldn't show weakness.

"Fine," Tales forced a cheerful smile onto his face. "I'm sure your sister misses you too. Especially since you not only came to the Star Kingdom for a vacation but also turned into a cute little chubby girl."

"When that happens, I won't become the heir, and you won't go back to the Night Kingdom. Since we're such a good match—"

Tales's smile grew brighter: "You might as well just marry me."

The words fell.

Serena's expression didn't change. Her gaze didn't shift. Her body didn't move.

But somehow, Tales shuddered, feeling a bone-piercing chill in that instant!

They stared at each other for a full ten-plus seconds.

In the silence, Serena spoke slowly, drawing out each word:

"It seems you really do want to break with me."

As she spoke, Serena suddenly grinned, revealing small fangs!

Tales was startled.

His right hand, hidden behind his back, trembled—the JC Dagger was ready to strike at any moment!

"Fine then." Serena curled her lips mysteriously and licked her fangs.

At this angle and distance, I can hold out for ten-plus seconds.

Tales lowered his head, furrowed his brow, and swallowed hard.

As long as Chris doesn't show up, Yordel can get here, and the guards, Jinnie, and Gilbert are in the hallway too. But Istrone and Rolana—damn it!

But since he had gotten the worst possible result, Tales could only accept it.

He bent his legs slightly, spread his feet apart, prepared to raise his left arm, and gripped his dagger firmly in his right hand, on the verge of forming a standard "Iron Body Style."

Northern Military Swordsmanship—even if I only practiced it for two hours, I hope you'll be worth the investment, Tales laughed bitterly in his heart.

For the first time, Serena suddenly broke into a disconcerting smile.

A childish voice rang out, sounding especially terrifying in Tales's ears:

"Then I guess I'll have to compromise, like you said, once a month."

"How many pints, Tales, you decide."

Left arm as a shield, block her first attack—based on last night's experience with that dried corpse, I wonder if she'll— Huh?

Tales suddenly registered what Serena had said.

What?

Compromise?

Tales opened his mouth wide in shock, big enough to fit two of Serena's fists.

Here I was about to be "Yasashi," and the enemy just—surrendered?

Why aren't they following the script?

What happened next was even more frightening.

Two faint dimples appeared on Serena's cute little face.

The little girl smiled shyly. "Dear Tales, I've compromised, so shouldn't you show a little something too?"

Tales furrowed his brow and looked at her suspiciously.

Watching the emotionless girl suddenly transform into a sweetly smiling little lass, he couldn't keep up at all.

He could only respond in a dry, raspy voice:

"What... ahem... what... something?"

The Little Girl smiled even brighter.

In that moment, Tales suddenly felt that those eerie Crimson Eyes were actually quite pretty.

"The young and promising Your Highness Tales," she said with a friendly smile, "let's form an alliance."

"I'll help you get through your current difficulties... and successfully be crowned."

"You, in turn, support me," Serena's Crimson Eyes gleamed with an eerie light:

"to reclaim the throne."

Tales was stunned.

Reclaim... the throne?

The Eastern Continent's... Night Kingdom?

The cute girl blinked.

"Uh, that goal's a bit far off," Tales scratched his head—his dagger had long since been tucked back into his pocket—and said with some embarrassment and hesitation: "If I ever really become the King, well, depending on the situation..."

Before he could finish, the little girl fixed him with a sparkling gaze and slowly leaned in.

Tales stared dumbfounded as the strange girl reached out her hands and gently took hold of his right arm.

"I know, Tales needs me too!"

But before Tales could pull his hand back, he saw a pair of red pupils, now glistening with moisture, looking up at him.

Serena blinked her eerily enchanting eyes, pouted her lips, and gently shook his arm, like an ordinary little girl acting spoiled.

Looking into those eyes, Tales felt a jolt run through his body.

His mind grew a little dizzy.

"To avoid exposing your identity, you can't just let us go," Serena bit her lower lip, curving it into an endearing arc. "Because of my value and sensitive status, you can't easily dispose of me either..."

"So we have no choice but to form a win-win alliance," the girl said, rubbing the soft skin of her arm against the back of his hand, a strange and submissive light flickering in her eyes. "Compared to being forced by circumstances in the manor, isn't it only natural for allies to help each other?"

"That way, we'll both be more at ease..."

Tales pulled his arm back with a grim expression.

But the strange sensation on the back of his hand seemed to linger.

"If this can reduce the hostility between us..." Tales sighed. "We can cooperate temporarily, but for now, it's limited to me providing you with shelter..."

"You know, my situation is also awkward. Until my identity is recognized, I can't help you reclaim the throne."

"Okay, okay," Serena's expression suddenly turned cheerful, like an ordinary girl who had found a doll. Biting her lower lip, she nodded vigorously with a happy smile. "I understand, I understand!"

"I knew Tales would be good to me!" The girl's eyes narrowed into crescent moons as she latched onto Tales's arm again.

Tales raised an eyebrow, not used to her like this, and instinctively tried to pull his arm back, but the girl held on tight.

Serena's expression shifted again, from a smile to one of grievance and hesitation.

"But..." The girl pouted aggrievedly, poking Tales's arm.

"But what?" Tales furrowed his brows again, feeling utterly unable to cope.

"It's just a little..." Serena shook Tales's arm, looking pitiful. "One-tenth of a pint per month is way too little—I'll starve to death..."

Tales's face darkened. "Why don't you go suck someone else's blood!"

"'Cause I think Tales is the most special one," the girl said, her expression on the verge of tears as she blinked. "We're good allies, right..."

Tales frowned, his head throbbing.

In the end, the blood supply agreement was set at one-eighth of a pint per month. Tales did the math on his fingers—it wasn't much.

But he still felt he'd been shortchanged.

"In exchange, you get the help of two Transcendent Rank and one Extreme Realm expert," Serena suddenly reverted to her expressionless loli demeanor, but her eyes were sharp. "Your path to becoming the heir will be much smoother."

Yeah—Tales thought gloomily—if I'd gotten the support of a Western Continent powerhouse, your path to reclaiming the throne would be smoother too.

"And for Tales's promise, I'll work hard to help you become the heir and take the throne!"

Promise—Tales's face twitched.

I didn't actually agree to that just now, did I?

Why is she assuming it?

But hey, what's with that sudden cold face?

Watching the little loli wobble out, Tales suddenly realized he was drenched in cold sweat.

Something felt off.

"Oh, one question," the little loli turned back as she left, using her usual deadpan expression. "What's the secret in your blood?"

"Just a little bit, and it woke me up?"

"That wasn't 'a little bit' of blood last night!" the frustrated boy complained. "For that question, please flip through books, check references, search documents, or just ask my parents!"

To his surprise, Serena nodded seriously. "If I get the chance, I will," she said, lifting her eyes. "Your blood and my power, your throne and my throne—our cooperation is a good deal."

The next moment, Tales watched in astonishment as Serena wobbled her small frame and stepped back.

"For that, I apologize for my and my subordinates' rudeness, and I beg for your magnanimity and tolerance."

Serena bowed again, her chubby little hands pinching at an imaginary skirt hem, her childish voice soft. "Future Your Highness Tales Starcrest."

Tales froze.

Tales Starcrest.

That was the first time someone had called him that.

Just like Serena had said before: after all, right now, he wasn't even a prince.

From beggar to Your Highness—yeah, I'm still not used to it, Tales thought bitterly.

This witch—Tales, drenched in cold sweat, kept reminding himself of that. Don't be fooled by her earlier poker face—wasn't she once an Archduchess?

Thinking this, Tales let out a deep sigh, feeling a bit defeated by today's negotiation.

He reached out seriously and helped the little loli up. Though the sight of two kids doing this was ridiculous, both of them were dead serious.

"Your Highness Serena Corleone, I accept your friendship."

Tales extended his right hand in front of the little loli Serena, his eyes earnest. "Now, we are allies."

Serena glanced at him, her Crimson Eyes flickering.

A moment later, she too reached out her chubby little hand and placed it on his palm. "Of course, Star and Night. Pleasure working together."

Their small hands clasped gently.

"And from now on, keep your people away from my guards—they've got a blood feud that can't be undone!"

Tales looked down at the girl a head shorter than him, his tone meaningful. "Next time, you might as well tell me about how you plan to reclaim your throne—no need to go to all that trouble testing my stance. Istrone's acting was terrible."

"On this point, we need to be open and trust each other."

"Trust?" Serena's crimson pupils contracted slightly, and she nodded. "Sure, future Your Highness Tales. If you inherit the throne and we form the Starry Night Alliance, then our relationship won't be ordinary..."

Serena flashed a eerie smile. "For the future of both our nations, maybe we'll even seal a marriage pact!"

"Of course we'll trust each other!"

Frustrated, Tales's face twitched.

He was so choked he wanted to throw up—someone take this lisping brat away!

Did this chapter's cheesy tropes disgust anyone?

If so, and someone even dropped the book, heh, then I win.

If you can still handle a soft, delicate old loli's cutesy antics, then later... guess what's coming later? (Continues grinning eerily)