Lust System: Conquering the World Beauties

Liam swung himself onto the horse with considerably less grace than he had imagined in his head.

Yesterday had come and gone quietly. After everything that had happened in the town, he and Tatiana had spent the remainder of the day walking through the market, picking up the few necessities they would need for the journey ahead. Neither of them carried much. A couple of changes of clothes, some dried food, water skins, blankets, and a few other traveling supplies were enough.

He had expected Tatiana to fill an entire bag by herself.

Instead...

She had packed surprisingly light.

What caught him completely off guard, however, was when she proudly showed him a small cloth bundle before they slept.

The cookies.

She had kept every single one she baked for him.

Some of them had cracked from the journey and a few looked slightly flattened, but she protected them like priceless treasures. The sight had made Liam laugh, and despite himself, he found a smile creeping onto his face again as he remembered it.

She really did treasure the strangest things.

"Alright," Agatha said softly from the front of the group as she gently nudged her horse forward. "Let’s move."

The others followed one after another.

Liam looked down at the animal beneath him.

"Okay..."

He gave an awkward kick.

The horse immediately protested.

"Woah! Woah! Easy!"

The animal jerked its body, clearly dissatisfied with the inexperienced rider on its back. Liam almost slid sideways before grabbing onto the saddle properly.

"...Right."

"So this is how it is."

The horse snorted loudly, almost sounding offended.

Behind him, he could’ve sworn he heard Gregor trying not to laugh.

Liam ignored him.

After another few minutes of awkward adjustments, he slowly began finding a rhythm with the horse’s movements. It still complained every now and then, occasionally shaking its neck or refusing to follow his clumsy guidance immediately, but at least it wasn’t actively trying to throw him onto the road anymore.

Liam reached down and gently rubbed the horse’s neck.

"Bear with me, girl."

His voice softened.

"We’ll get used to each other."

The horse flicked an ear backward as though acknowledging him before continuing down the dirt road.

Soon the small town disappeared behind them.

Morning sunlight stretched across the rolling hills as thin layers of mist floated above patches of green grass. Birds occasionally darted between the trees while a cool breeze carried the scent of damp earth through the open countryside.

For the first time since arriving in this world...

Things felt peaceful.

⸻

Peaceful...

And unbelievably boring.

Hours had passed.

Nothing attacked them.

Nothing exploded.

Nobody tried to kill anybody.

It almost felt unnatural.

Tatiana rode near the front beside Irina. The two women had been talking almost nonstop since they left town. Liam couldn’t make out everything they were saying, but from the occasional gestures and serious expressions, it was probably something related to werewolves or their packs.

Every now and then Tatiana burst into laughter while Irina sighed the way only an older sister could.

Behind them, Agatha, Mary and Gregor formed another small group.

Gregor was enthusiastically telling another one of his stories while Agatha occasionally corrected him whenever he exaggerated too much. Mary mostly listened with an amused smile, adding a comment every so often that somehow made Gregor defend himself even harder.

It was strangely... normal.

That left only two people riding in silence.

Liam.

And Leonid.

The vampire rode with the same straight posture as always. His face remained expressionless, his eyes fixed on the road ahead. Even the way he held the reins looked disciplined.

Liam found himself glancing over every now and then.

Eventually...

Leonid noticed.

He slowly turned his head toward Liam.

Liam didn’t bother pretending he wasn’t looking.

The two simply stared at one another for several seconds.

Finally, Leonid broke the silence.

"...I have a question."

Liam immediately became interested.

"Oh?"

He adjusted himself on the saddle.

"Go ahead."

Leonid remained quiet for another moment, almost as though he were choosing his words carefully.

"It’s been bothering for a while now."

"The first time we met..."

He looked ahead again.

"You hated me."

"There wasn’t even an attempt to hide it."

"You wanted me dead."

His tone remained calm.

"There was genuine hatred in your eyes."

Liam didn’t deny it.

"There was."

Leonid continued.

"But now..."

"You don’t seem bothered by my presence anymore."

He looked back toward Liam.

"I don’t understand."

"What changed?"

"How did you come to accept the idea of letting me live?"

Liam let out a quiet chuckle.

"The first time you turned..."

His smile disappeared.

"...you remember how bad it got."

Leonid lowered his eyes.

He remembered.

Even if some details remained blurred, he remembered enough.

"I killed people."

His voice was almost a whisper.

"Innocent people."

Liam nodded.

"You did."

"I was furious."

"Honestly..."

"I wanted to kill you."

There wasn’t any hesitation in Liam’s confession.

"If Irina hadn’t stood between us that day..."

He looked toward the road stretching into the distance.

"...I probably would’ve tried."

Leonid gave a slow nod.

"I know."

"I could see it in your eyes."

Neither of them spoke for a while.

Only the steady rhythm of hooves filled the silence.

Eventually Leonid asked again.

"So..."

"What changed?"

Liam exhaled slowly before scratching the side of his cheek.

"Well..."

"Irina was kind of right."

He shrugged.

"When I actually stopped to think about it..."

"...you weren’t some monster that had been hunting humans for centuries."

"You were just..."

He searched for the right words.

"...a human."

"A forensic investigator."

"A guy who got dragged into something he never asked for."

"You were murdered by vampires."

"You died."

"And somehow..."

He looked directly at Leonid.

"...against every possible odd..."

"...you woke up as one of them."

Leonid’s expression didn’t change.

But his grip around the reins tightened ever so slightly.

Because Liam wasn’t describing a stranger.

He was describing the greatest nightmare of Leonid’s life.

A man who had spent his entire career hunting murderers...

Only to wake up as one himself.

Liam looked ahead at the winding road for a few seconds before speaking again, his voice carrying none of the anger it once held.

"You never asked for any of it."

The sentence came out quietly.

"You didn’t wake up one morning and decide you wanted to become a vampire."

Leonid remained silent.

"You were killed."

Liam continued without looking at him.

"You lost your life because you got involved in something bigger than yourself, and then you woke up as the very thing you spent your career investigating."

He sighed.

"So honestly..."

"I came to realize something."

He turned slightly toward Leonid.

"You’re just as much a victim as every innocent person you killed."

Those words lingered between them.

Neither of them spoke for a long while as their horses continued their steady pace along the dirt road. The rhythmic sound of hooves striking the earth almost became the conversation itself.

The morning breeze rolled across the open plains, carrying the scent of fresh grass while the distant mountains slowly became clearer the farther they traveled.

Eventually...

Leonid broke the silence.

"I want you to understand something."

His tone remained calm, but there was an unusual heaviness beneath it.

"I regret everything that happened during that period."

His fingers tightened around the reins.

"Every single person."

"I remember their faces."

"I remember waking up afterward."

"I remember the blood."

His voice lowered.

"And I remember not understanding why I couldn’t stop."

He swallowed once.

"I truly had no idea what I was doing."

"It wasn’t like making a decision."

"It was..."

He searched for the proper words.

"...pure instinct."

"I was hungry."

"So unbelievably hungry."

"It drowned everything else."

"I wasn’t thinking."

"I wasn’t planning."

"I was simply..."

"...reacting."

Liam quietly listened.

There wasn’t a trace of judgment on his face.

When Leonid finished, Liam smiled faintly.

"I had to understand that."

He shrugged.

"Once I finally accepted that you weren’t consciously making those choices..."

"...I couldn’t stay angry anymore."

Leonid glanced toward him.

"You forgave me."

Liam scratched the back of his head.

"I wouldn’t exactly call it forgiveness."

"I just realized my anger was aimed at the wrong person."

"My hatred belonged to whoever put you in that situation."

The vampire stared at him for a brief moment before facing forward again.

"...Thank you."

Liam waved the gratitude away.

"Don’t mention it."

A comfortable silence settled between them.

It was surprisingly natural.

Then Liam suddenly looked back at Leonid with curiosity.

"There is one thing I’ve always wondered though."

Leonid raised an eyebrow.

"Oh?"

Liam nodded.

"I’ve always found it interesting how quickly you adapted."

"You became a vampire..."

"...yet after those first chaotic days, you seemed to get your life together incredibly fast."

Leonid suddenly chuckled.

"You know..."

"A lot of people ask me that."

Liam laughed.

"Really?"

"They do."

"They always ask the exact same question."

"’How did you adapt so quickly?’"

Liam leaned slightly toward him.

"So..."

"What do you usually tell them?"

Leonid looked completely serious.

"A bunch of bullshit."

For a second Liam simply blinked.

Then he burst into laughter.

"Hahahaha!"

"You actually said that with a straight face."

Even Leonid couldn’t stop the corner of his mouth from lifting.