As the months passed, the man used me for his depraved deeds, making me bait to lure more girls and forcing me to kill those who resisted. The collar around my neck kept me from disobeying him. Today was the day he would go after the Princess, and I couldn't stop him.

"Dragon-brat, you stay here and watch these other brats while I go to the castle to get our little vampire. Don't even think about trying to escape. Otherwise, you and this whole group are dead," the man warned me before leaving.

I responded with a submissive "Yes, Master."

He locked us inside a large cage before he left.

"He's gone. Can't we try to escape now?" one of the girls asked.

"What with his little guard dog in the cage with us," another girl said, looking back at me.

Sensing their hostility, I chanted a medium-level protection wind spell, creating a protective space around me. I wouldn't harm them, but they'd hit an air wall instead of me.

After some time passed, the girls grew tired, and their hostility eased. The master returned with a beautiful, cute girl with a fluffy and pure aura struggling in his arms. This girl must be the Princess.

"We need to hurry; I'm sure they already have scouts tailing us!" the master yelled. He soon dropped the Princess, and she ran towards us and stood in front of our cage.

"I won't let you take these girls anywhere else!" the Princess declared.

"You little bitch! Do what I tell you and get out of my way!" the master spat, pulling out a silver knife.

The Princess is a vampire; it will hurt her a lot worse than a normal knife. I wished there was something I could do, but I was trapped inside the cage with the collar on my neck.

"Get the hell away from her!" a voice screamed before a black-haired girl ran in front of the master and the Princess.

"Gahh, it burns!" the girl grunted in pain.

"Yami! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, it's all my fault. I'm so pathetic; I'm always putting the people I love in danger due to being so weak," the Princess cried.

Suddenly, two arrows flew out of nowhere and took out the men who were with the master, followed by an arrow that hit the master's leg.

“Who the hell?” The master screamed.

A figure emerged from the shadows, revealing an elf with unique white and green eyes and a bow at her waist. Although my attention was on the princess, I couldn't help but notice how different she looked now. She exuded an aura of power and dependability, transforming into an empress before my eyes. Normally, my contract would force me to find a way to protect my master, but it felt as though this collar was bending to the empress's will. For once, I was free to make my own choice. I decided then and there that I would protect the princess so she wouldn't have to rely on this form. The dragon within me told me she was my destiny, but with the blood on my hands, it may never come to fruition.

“Who are you, bitch? Where did that little Princess go? I still need to cut her!” The master bellowed.

“Who are you calling a bitch, you disgusting piece of garbage? How dare you try to harm my other self and her loved ones. You need to experience excruciating pain,” The Vampire Empress retorted, visibly enraged.

She then turned to us and said, “I will need you girls to close your eyes and cover your ears. You shouldn't see what is about to happen.”

Most of the girls obeyed, but I kept my eyes open. I wanted to witness the man who killed my family suffer.

A dark black haze began to encircle us, and thousands of crimson red eyes in the air and on the ground began to shine in the black smoke.

“Now that these girls can't know what's going to happen to you, piece of trash, it's time for your punishment. Tear his fingers, toes, limbs, and flesh to pieces, my pets.” the Empress declared.

“No... nooo! Have mercy, please! It hurts! Aaaaggghhhh!” the man screamed.

After what felt like an endless loop, the man's screams finally stopped. I was finally free of the hell I had lived in for the past three months. The one who saved me from that was the Princess. “I promise I will pay you back in some way, my Princess,” I said to myself as Yami and the other girl carried the princess back home.

The castle guards soon arrived to release us and take us to a shelter near the castle. They asked us about the kidnappers and what had happened. It wasn't long before all the girls revealed what I had done to the guards, and I was summoned to meet with the queens for my judgment.

“Given your situation and the fact you were under a slave collar, we will not execute you, and from what I hear you don’t have any family to go back to either. I will give you two choices, first, I know about your vow to protect our daughter, so you can join a private guard group, that I am creating to protect her at all times, however you will not be able to be in contact with her until we say so. Or the second choice is we will give you enough money to live for a couple of months, and you can go your own way as an adventurer. Queen Charlotte states.

“I choose the first option, my Queen, I vow to protect the princess with everything I have and be her shield.” I state in a serious and dignified manner while kneeling.

“Good, then let's start training right away, you will be training with our daughter’s brides Lucy and Yami.” Queen Charlotte states.

“Yes, my Queen.” I answer.

I trained under the queen for 6 months and then, we went after the remaining members of my former master's group and silenty got rid of each one. We also returned the girls back to their homes that they were taken from. After things settled down, I started guarding the princess from the shadows for the next 2 years until I finally met her face to face as a maid when she was about to leave for her adventure.

Back to the Present

“That’s my full journey on how I got to you, my dear. I have so much blood on my hands. Is it truly okay for me to feel this happiness of having you and Freya and getting to be the family I always wanted?” I cried out.

“Of course, it’s okay. Am I going to say to forget the ones that died, no, because that is when someone truly becomes unforgivable. Your mother's death, Emilia’s death, are not your fault, no matter what that bastard said. They're not. I will bear this guilt with you; that is my burden to bear as your wife. I will be here for you through it all, so please don’t say you don’t deserve to be happy. Because Freya and I love you so much, we would be lost without you,” Lily states to me, while hugging me and crying.

“Thank you, I love you too, my dear.” I state.

“Are you ready to head back to our darling daughter and the rest of our big family?” Lily asks.

“Of course, I would love to, my Soulmate.” I state.