“Do you think that’s funny?” Rose choked out.

“Perhaps,” he said with what almost appeared to be a smile.

Rose let out a tired exhale and eyed the man across her crossly.

He was trying to act in a lighthearted manner, but it was not going to fool her.

Nor would she be tempted by his beguiling appearance.

All she needed to do was look into those deep red eyes and she comprehended things, several that shook her core—a promised eternity that was just beyond her grasp, an insatiable hunger and bloodlust that lingered right below the surface, but would sweep over the world if allowed to run free.

That was what it meant to be a Vampire.

It was only waiting to let her guard down and she’d take in the sweet taste of the fall.

Her stomach churned and she felt queasy.

Her eyes focused on the shadows behind Lord Blackwell.

And what she beheld was something not of a man, it screamed a magnitude of power that made her blood run cold and for her legs to grow weak.

Things were not as they seem on the surface.

Her heart pounded.

Ever since she and Princess Eleanor arrived in this place, every single inch of her body, every fiber of her being seemed to tell her to flee from this place and avoid him.

He was terrible news.

Beyond what he was, it was also what he did that made her fear him.

There was no sense of hesitation or whatsoever in his actions.

He did as he pleased and that frightened her so.

If she hadn’t been able to cast [Wind Armor] to take the brunt of damage, the moment where she was thrown and crashed against numerous walls would have truly knocked her out for good.

It would have also injured her several times over which was bad since they lacked healing potions. Of course, she survived… but now her friend, the princess, was under the belief that they could trust him.

That all they needed to do was to serve this one and they’d survive.

Did her friend not think of her as a capable one?

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Of course, Rose was defeated by this monster… so Eleanor must have done it for her sake.

“I guess you have nothing to say,” Lord Cassius Blackwell simply said. He walked down the corridor then paused, he took one last look at her, his gaze penetrating her very being. “I’d offer for you to rest and say there’s nothing to fear—at least tonight, but that would make you hesitate furthermore, wouldn’t it?”

“Y-you drink blood don’t you?” Rose finally managed to say. “Vampire… that is what you are. You’re not human, far from it.”

His expression flickered in what may have been amusement, but it vanished quickly as he nodded in confirmation.

“Ah yes, that’s right. It’s good that at least you’ve actually listened when I spoke earlier. Frankly, I was curious if you actually used that head of yours or whether you were just a body filled with an exorbitant amount of mana,” he remarked.

Her cheeks flushed and she glared at him.

He ignored that look and simply continued, unbothered.

“In terms of not being human, well, suffice to say, we could take on many forms. But do take note that there are a number humans who have become Vampire, they’re actually the most common to be desirous of this nature. But there are also Vampires from the depths, a Vampire Dragon and such…”

“...”

“...I probably shouldn’t have mentioned that,” he said, more to himself than her.

As if he was actually speaking what was on his mind and didn’t understand how frightening of a revelation that was to leave his lips so carelessly.

But if he wanted to have that effect, it was very effective.

His words left her dizzy, breathless and even more afraid.

Who could even imagine Dragons… much less have such a powerful creature be someone like him? A Vampire’s nature seemed wrong and was an affront to the living.

Rose knew of the myth and legend of Elves, but their wild and chaotic nature did not even hurt her as much as Lord Blackwell, and they were guardians and elders of primordial origins.

Vampires seemed to have been as ancient as them, if Rose were to base it on the man’s aura and nature alone…

But if they subsisted on blood and could also turn others to become like them—and she had read books about old monsters—it seemed like a scourge more than anything.

Some sort of disease, curse of something beyond the unknowable?

Maybe her perception was wrong though.

Humans also killed and ate animals without much remorse and she didn’t consider herself as a monster. Rose gave the chance she was wrong a fleeting thought only because Eleanor said that this Vampire had a heart—and she knew more than many that it was not right to judge a person based on rumors and it was far better to listen and communicate…disregarding her couple of attacks on said Vampire.

Rose sighed inwardly.

Maybe this was all nothing but hypocrisy on her part.

Granted, she had acted on instinct and believed he was a monster in the shape of a man.

That was how long-lost history portrayed Vampires.

And yet she only knew of one thing.

Whatever happened and the circumstances they were in, Rose was going to protect Eleanor.

So she stood up and balled her fists together. There was a lurch in her throat that she swallowed down as she looked at him directly in the eye.

Something wormed its way into her stomach.

It told Rose to not speak, to have this Being of Nightmare to walk away and head off into his destination, and yet she spoke.

“Thank you for the explanation. I… I now understand the situation, and what you are. What it entails for you to have that amount of power, so, if you are in need… to have your fill.” Rose chewed on the bottom of her lip. “You—you can have me instead.”