“Looks like your little pet overheard that arrogant speech of yours,” Yare chuckled lightly, her tone laced with teasing.
Yalbera was just about to stand but paused midway and sat back down.
Her gaze flickered slightly, as if she were thinking something over.
“What’s wrong? Not going after her? Your blood slave just found out you’re planning to use her as a sacrifice in a ritual. Aren’t you afraid she’ll run?”
“Run? A lowly slave should consider it an honor to die for my goal. She ought to thank me, I granted her a second life. Everything she has belongs to me. She doesn’t have the right to leave me!”
Bai already knew her plan, so what?
There was no way Bai would choose to leave.
Everything she had already belonged to Yalbera.
It was she who had given Bai a reason to exist.
Serving her was the highest reward a human could ever receive.
Maybe Bai would be angry over the deception, but so what?
Hmph, at worst, she could let her rest for a few days.
There was no way Bai would leave her.
Absolutely impossible!
She was Bai’s master, Bai’s owner, the one who gave Bai a second life and allowed her to serve someone as noble as herself.
“Yes, I own Bai. Bai can only be mine, my personal property. Her life, her body, her choices, even her very being, all belong to me. So there’s no way Bai could leave me. That is an unchangeable fact,” Yalbera thought to herself.
Yare propped her chin on one hand and extended a finger, lightly pressing it against a floating white rose petal in her cup.
The surrounding blood swirled downward.
She let go, and as the petal floated back to the surface, it had already turned a vivid red.
Yes… foolish Yalbera. She’ll come back.
But when she does, she may no longer be your blood slave.
Yare could tell, Yalbera held something too strong, too personal for that girl named Bai.
Which is exactly why she wanted to see it, wanted to see the look on Yalbera’s face when Bai stood at her side instead.
Her lips curved upward until the angle nearly matched the crescent moon outside the window.
Her pupils glinted, taking on a deeper crimson hue, just like the petal in her cup… brilliantly vivid.
***
Knock knock knock.
In Aiersha’s bedroom, the wooden door was gently knocked.
At this moment, Yalbera was still chatting with Yare, so there could only be one person at the door.
“Come in.”
The door slowly creaked open.
Bai stood silently in the doorway, completely still, like a statue.
Her long gray hair fell to both sides, hiding her expression.
For some reason, her slender calves were splattered with blood.
“Xiao Bai? What brings you here? Don’t tell me… you’ve finally seen the light? Realized how wonderful your big sis is?”
Aiersha joked as she walked forward, arms open, ready to “pounce” on her.
But Bai’s next words made her freeze.
“Lady Aiersha, Bai wants… to leave.”
Her voice was soft, but resolute.
Aiersha’s heart skipped a beat, though she kept smiling.
“You want to see the roses in the courtyard? Of course, big sis will go with you.”
“Bai wants to go, to the outside world. To the human realm,” Bai said, enunciating each word clearly.
The smile on Aiersha’s face vanished, replaced by a serious expression.
“No! Humans are a greedy, filthy race. If Xiao Bai goes there, you’ll only end up tainting yourself. Big sis won’t allow it!”
“But… Bai is human too. Bai doesn’t belong here. Bai doesn’t belong to the blood clan. Bai is just a lowly, ordinary human. Bai doesn’t want to stay here any longer.”
Bai’s voice trembled, a faint sob choking her words.
“Lady Yalbera won’t agree to this. Xiao Bai, calm down first. If you’re feeling tired, you can always come to big sis. As long as you’re willing to…”
Aiersha stepped forward, arms reaching to embrace her.
But Bai took a step back to avoid it.
Bai had never refused her before.
“Master has never cared about Bai. Bai is just a meaningless tool, a disposable sacrifice that can be used anytime. Lady Yalbera never saved Bai. She only chose Bai in order to kill her. What makes her any different from those slavers who kidnapped Bai years ago?”
Her voice cracked with grief.
“Bai doesn’t want to be a blood slave anymore… please, Lady Aiersha, you’re the only one Bai can rely on now. Bai doesn’t want to die… please, save Bai.”
Tears slid silently down her pale cheeks, one after another like a broken string of pearls.
Her eyes were hollow, drained of all light, only endless darkness remained.
Her shoulders trembled with every sob.
She looked so fragile, as if a single gust of wind could blow her away.
Aiersha stood frozen.
It was the first time she had ever seen Xiao Bai cry like this, so desperate, so powerless.
In five years, Bai had never once begged her.
She had always silently endured, never uttering a word of resentment.
Aiersha’s hand trembled.
She wanted to help Bai, but… she couldn’t accept letting Bai be tainted by humans.
Even more, she couldn’t accept Bai leaving her.
“I’m sorry… I can’t let you go. The human world will only break you even more. I’m doing this for your own good,” Aiersha said, her voice filled with pain.
Bai froze in place.
Even her shallow breathing seemed to stop, like a lifeless corpse.
Despair clung to her like a shroud.
Aiersha’s heart ached unbearably.
She reached out again, wanting to pull that frail body into her arms.
But Bai slapped her hand away, using every ounce of strength to scream….
“Don’t touch Bai!”
The hand she slapped hung in mid-air.
Aiersha stared at Bai in disbelief.
Bai held her own body tightly, trembling all over.
Her gray eyes looked up at Aiersha, filled only with despair and confusion.
Lady Yalbera is like this.
Now Lady Aiersha is the same.
In this castle, there’s no one left willing to stand by Bai… or protect her.
Bai turned and walked away.
Her thin arms wrapped tighter around herself.
Her lonely figure stretched longer and longer under the moonlight.
Aiersha’s heart shattered.
She wanted so badly to reach out to that child on the verge of breaking…
But she didn’t know how to comfort her.
All she could do was watch as Bai’s frail form was swallowed completely by the darkness at the end of the corridor.
***
“Let’s end it here for today, Yalbera.”
After an hour of conversation, Yare stood up and picked up the black parasol beside her.
“What a shame. I was looking forward to that blood slave of yours bringing out another cup of her blood. Looks like the little one was hurt pretty badly by you,” she said, wearing a face of mock pity as she glanced at the now stone-cold cup of blood.
There was even a hint of regret in her expression, one that even Yalbera couldn’t tell was real or an act.
“If you want to drink more, come back next time. It’s not like Bai can run away,” Yalbera said casually, brushing her curls aside.
“No thanks. Your castle is far too… ‘disgusting.’ I don’t like it. If there’s nothing urgent, I don’t think I’ll be stepping foot in here again for at least the next hundred years.”
Yare’s voice carried a clear note of disdain.
“And soon, I’ll be able to enjoy it freely in my own castle,” Yare murmured, unable to stop the grin spreading across her lips again.
Just thinking about that maddeningly delicious blood made her entire body tremble and moisten with excitement.
“Oh, and just a little heads-up, You’re not the only one eyeing the Archduke’s throne. Selena and Evelyn have moved far faster than you. And of course… that includes me,” Yare added, a warning laced in her voice.
Yalbera’s expression darkened.
She knew the Archduke was nearing death, and the other five True Ancestors were bound to make their moves.
She just hadn’t expected them to act so soon.
She had started preparing the components for the Blood Curse Reversal five years in advance.
Yet one final ingredient still eluded her.
She had to complete the ritual before the others did, or all that awaited her was death.
So she had no choice but to go all in, no matter the cost.
“I will be the one standing in the Sacred Hall at the end. Whoever dares stand in my way, I will kill them, no matter who they are,” Yalbera said coldly, her voice steeped in killing intent.
Yare still wore that same composed, elegant smile, as if no threat could touch her.
Her confidence came from absolute trust in her own strength.
“Then I wish you luck, Yalbera. Let’s see who laughs last,” she said with a soft chuckle, flicking her silver hair.
Her body dissolved into a swarm of crimson bats that scattered into the air.
But it wasn’t time for her to leave just yet.
She hadn’t gotten what she wanted.
All she needed now was to wait for the right moment.
***
Knock knock knock.
Not long after Yare left, the door was knocked again.
Yalbera assumed it was Bai, coming to apologize after realizing her mistake, but it was Aiersha’s voice that came from the other side.
“Lady Yalbera, it’s me.”
“Come in.”
Aiersha pushed open the door and walked in with a furrowed brow and a serious expression.
“Is something wrong?” Yalbera asked coldly.
“Yes. Just now, Xiao Bai came to my room. Her mood… wasn’t right. Did something happen?” Aiersha asked with clear concern.
“Don’t worry about her. She’ll get over it in a few days.”
Yalbera’s tone was indifferent.
Aiersha shook her head and said, “I’m sorry, Lady Yalbera, but I can’t agree with that. It was the first time I’ve ever seen Bai like that… For five years, I’ve only seen disappointment and sadness in her eyes, but this time, it was different. It was despair. Helplessness. Pain. Please, Lady Yalbera, tell me what happened to her!”
Aiersha spoke urgently, unaware of the fist Yalbera was now clenching tightly.
Then Yalbera suddenly snapped.
“That’s enough, Aiersha! You’re blood clan, a noble pureblood vampire! And Bai is nothing more than a lowly slave! A filthy human! Her existence means nothing to you, not even worth mentioning! You don’t need to waste a shred of emotion on her. Now get rid of that pointless pity, return to your proper place, and stop letting these insignificant distractions interfere with me!”
Aiersha fell silent for a long time.
And then she said quietly, with a calm voice: “She’s my Xiao Bai.”