Chapter 4 : I’m here to find my daughter

Knock, knock!

“Who is it?”

The old blacksmith, Lin Cheng, slowly opened the wooden door, only to find a woman he had never seen before.

Who else could it be but Claire?

“If you’re here to order ironwork, come with me,” Lin Cheng said, eyes narrowing slightly, though he tried to maintain his composure.

So this is the woman who turned that good-for-nothing son of his into a phoenix rising from the ashes.

“I’m here for my daughter,” Claire said calmly, her gaze sweeping over the modest surroundings where her daughter currently lived.

Old and run-down, yes—but still filled with a certain warmth.

The furniture was all wooden, and a kerosene lamp hung from the iron beam above.

“She’s in that room,” Lin Cheng said, stepping aside and pointing toward a door.

“Thank you,” Claire replied with a gentle smile, then walked slowly toward the indicated room.

Watching her go, Lin Cheng shook his head and chuckled.

What kind of absurd situation is this…?

Then came the scene from earlier.

“Ah!”

“What are you doing in my house?!”

The petite figure on the bed instinctively scooted back into the corner, her voice trembling.

“I came to see my daughter. Sounds reasonable enough, right?”

Claire leaned casually against the doorframe, arms crossed, her eyes glinting with amusement.

“There’s no daughter of yours here! Get out of my house!”

Lin Luo snarled, glaring daggers at her.

Claire’s eyes turned icy cold.

“So, you won’t take the wine I offer but want the punishment instead?”

She began walking toward Lin Luo, step by step.

“What are you trying to do?! Old man, why aren’t you throwing her out already?!”

Lin Luo cried out, eyes lighting up as Lin Cheng appeared at the doorway.

But to her horror, Lin Cheng quietly closed the door—and cast a soundproofing spell.

“Old man Lin, you better pray I don’t get out of this!”

Before she could finish her threats, Claire had already pounced.

“Get off me, you crazy woman!”

“Huff… huff… huff…”

Lin Luo lay on the bed like a corpse, face-down and defeated, Claire’s hand firmly holding her in place, leaving her completely immobilized.

An overwhelming pressure radiated from Claire, telling Lin Luo everything she needed to know.

The vile woman in front of her… was now her mother.

“Calm down yet?”

Claire asked with leisurely indifference.

“Y-yeah…”

Lin Luo grit her teeth and squeezed out the words.

“You like using vampire magic, don’t you? Well, now you can use it without any limits. Happy now?”

Claire teased, her tone mischievous as she rubbed Lin Luo’s head.

Lin Luo buried her face in the pillow and didn’t respond.

Her heart was filled with frustration.

How does someone run into royalty from the vampire clan in a backwater town like this?

Fine, becoming a girl was one thing—but somehow, she’d also ended up with a mom…

If she could go back and do it all again, she’d never have touched that woman’s blood.

“Get up. Time to go,” Claire said, rising to her feet.

When Lin Luo didn’t move, she simply reached down and lifted her up with one hand.

“Wha—?!”

Due to her shrunken form, Lin Luo’s pants slipped right off the moment she was picked up—and her shirt followed soon after.

“!!!”

She bolted straight under the covers, her face flaming red.

Claire’s lips curled into a sly smile. “Not bad at all…”

With a flicker of light, a gothic-style lolita dress and a pair of white thigh-high stockings appeared in Claire’s hand.

She tossed them onto the bed.

Lin Luo stared dumbfounded at the clothes, her eyes flickering with barely suppressed rage.

“You want me to wear a dress? Do you even know—”

“Do you still have ‘that’ down there?”

Claire interrupted smoothly.

“I…”

Lin Luo went silent.

“It’s because of you!”

“And did I tell you to use my blood?”

“Well, if you hadn’t just let me—!”

“You stabbed me twice, and I haven’t even brought that up yet.”

Claire gave her a cold smile.

“Hurry and put them on—or I’ll dress you myself.”

Speechless, Lin Luo turned to glare at the frilly dress and stockings on the bed.

She never imagined she’d live to see the day she had to wear those things.

“Screw it.”

Claire picked up the dress again.

“My daughter is just too cute… I’ll dress you myself!”

“Noooo!”

Lin Luo stood awkwardly in front of the full-length mirror Claire had conjured, staring at her reflection in a daze.

The girl in the mirror had crimson eyes and long silver hair tied up in twin tails.

The gothic lolita dress hugged her petite frame, making her look unbearably adorable.

Her long, slender legs were wrapped in white stockings, her pale feet tinged with a healthy pink—practically edible.

Most disturbing of all, her face looked nearly identical to the woman standing beside her…

“What’s your name?”

Lin Luo asked. In her past life, she’d had some dealings with vampires—perhaps she’d heard of Claire’s clan before.

Smack!

Claire gave her a firm slap on the head.

Lin Luo glared at her with clear dissatisfaction.

“No manners… Call me ‘Honored Mother,’ or just ‘Mom.’”

Lin Luo rolled her eyes but didn’t argue further.

No matter how much she resisted, the fact remained—this woman was now her mother.

“I’m Claire Lin, of the Vampire Royal Clan. The rest… you’ll learn once we arrive in the Blood Domain.”

Lin Luo’s eyes widened. That surname—Lin—was all too familiar!

“What’s your relationship with Phyllis Lin?!”

At that name, Claire’s heart skipped a beat.

So, this daughter of hers knew quite a bit, huh?

All the more reason to make her a proper daughter.

Vampire secrets should be kept within the vampire lineage.

What’s that?

You’re not a vampire?

Simple—we’ll turn you into one.

“She’s the current Queen of the Vampires. And my younger sister. Once we’re in the Blood Domain, she’ll be the one to teach you.”

Lin Luo felt a chill run through her.

She knew Phyllis Lin very well.

They even had a decent relationship.

Which is precisely why she didn’t want to go near her—because showing up like this would get her laughed at for eternity.

“No, no, no!”

She shook her little head violently to show her refusal.

“I don’t need anyone to teach me!”

Claire raised an eyebrow in surprise.

So there was some history between her daughter and her sister, hmm?

Well, that just made things more entertaining.

Besides, she had more important things to deal with.

Raising a kid?

That could be her dear sister’s job now.