Chapter 11: You Make Me Feel Disgusted

Aiwei had thought she would be humiliated on the journey, that she would break down, that she would wish for death.

But she realized she hadn’t.

Or rather, Aiwei suddenly noticed that she seemed to have lost the emotion called shame.

Her current state was quite strange, as if she were observing her every move from a third-person perspective.

She even wanted to critique her own actions, to correct the way she crawled.

The meeting room arrived quickly. Inside, under the astonished gazes of the Violet Empire Envoy delegation, and the various amused or curious looks from the Vampire Clan, Aiwei knelt beside Fuluoxi’s seat.

Aiwei could clearly see that, among the envoy group, some faces showed humiliation, others showed anger.

Aiwei didn’t know what their humiliation was for.

Was it because a princess like herself had ended up in such a state?

Perhaps. After all, people always said the princess was the face of the Empire, and her actions now were a blatant slap in the face of the Empire, so their humiliation was understandable.

Anger—was it directed at her, or at their own inability to resist the Vampire Clan?

Aiwei had no way of knowing.

She felt nothing toward the gazes of the people around her. It was as if she were an outsider, watching everything, listening as the envoy delegation bowed and scraped to sign a new agreement with the Vampire Clan in exchange for peace.

Aiwei swept her gaze across the assembled vampires and spotted Emilia, who had left earlier. Emilia was now lounging idly in a high seat.

Sensing Aiwei’s gaze, Emilia smiled slightly, then slowly spoke.

“Speaking of which, I’m really curious. Miss Aiwei, do you feel humiliated becoming Fuluoxi’s Blood Slave?”

“Fuluoxi, what do you think?” Emilia asked Fuluoxi with a smile.

Everyone knew Emilia was using Aiwei’s name to trip up Fuluoxi—though “trip up” might not even be the right term.

She simply wanted to disgust Fuluoxi.

Fuluoxi frowned slightly and said, “It’s none of your business.”

“Oh, don’t be so stingy. Then, Miss Aiwei, how do you feel?” Emilia shifted her question, looking at Aiwei.

Fuluoxi could refuse to answer, but Aiwei had to respond. As long as Aiwei showed even a hint of disgust, Emilia’s plan to disgust Fuluoxi would succeed.

For a moment, the whole room fell silent. Everyone turned to Aiwei, curious about her answer.

Aiwei gave a faint smile and spoke slowly:

“It is my honor to become Master Fuluoxi’s Blood Slave.”

The room was stunned.

Even Fuluoxi herself was surprised.

She had only wanted to bring Aiwei here, to watch her be stared at by former acquaintances, to let the Empire’s envoys see her in this humiliating state, to savor Aiwei’s collapse under pain.

Though Emilia had been provoking her, Fuluoxi herself had also been curious about how Aiwei would react when forced to answer this question.

But Aiwei’s words, her expression, and her actions now were all beyond Fuluoxi’s expectations.

Completely outside her predictions.

“You are a princess of the Empire, yet you say such vulgar, degrading things. Do you have any royal dignity left?!!” A member of the envoy delegation pointed at Aiwei and shouted angrily.

Aiwei looked over.

It was the Royal Tutor who had once taught her, an old man of about sixty.

She had just watched as her once-strict tutor put on a fawning smile to curry favor with the Vampire Clan.

Aiwei had rarely seen her tutor smile.

In her few memories, the only time she had seen the old man smile was when he was assigned by her father—or rather, the current Emperor—to teach her.

Listening to his words, Aiwei felt no guilt, no sadness, no anger, no grievance—nothing at all.

Her face was calm as she silently watched the old man, her tutor—or rather, her former tutor—and said slowly:

“What princess?”

The old man’s expression froze, the rest of his words stuck in his throat.

“Wasn’t I already sent by you all to become a Blood Slave for the Blood Clan Prince?”

“What are you all talking about?”

As she spoke, Aiwei still wore a smile, even tilting her head toward Fuluoxi as if seeking praise.

Fuluoxi looked at Aiwei and said nothing, just rubbed Aiwei’s head—perhaps to comfort her, or perhaps just absentmindedly.

But that didn’t matter.

The old man was left speechless by Aiwei’s words. Looking at the once-perfectly-mannered princess he had taught, now reduced to this state, he was furious.

He was angry that even as a Blood Slave, the princess should have maintained her royal bearing.

This old man had never felt guilty about sending Aiwei here. He cared only about himself.

He cared only that Aiwei had become the sole blemish in his teaching career.

But Aiwei had no way of knowing this.

And she didn’t care.

The meeting was mostly about reparations for offending the Vampire Clan. During the meeting, no one mentioned Aiwei again.

Emilia’s gaze toward Aiwei grew even more interested, but she said nothing further.

Provocation was best done only once—if she did it again, she feared Fuluoxi might tear her apart on the spot.

From time to time, some of the Empire’s envoy members would glance at Aiwei, their eyes lingering on her face, but they dared only let their gaze rest for a few seconds before looking away.

Because now they understood one thing: Aiwei’s master was the Blood Clan Prince Fuluoxi, the most powerful Prince in the Vampire Clan.

They were also afraid that Fuluoxi valued Aiwei highly, and worried that staring at Aiwei might offend Fuluoxi.

The meeting ended quickly. Fuluoxi took the lead, holding Aiwei as she left the meeting room, refusing any invitations from the vampires, and skipping the Vampire Clan’s banquet.

She took Aiwei straight back to her Vampire Castle.

Liya was waiting outside. Seeing Aiwei, a complex look flashed in her eyes, but this was Fuluoxi’s decision—she had no right to interfere.

Opening the door for Fuluoxi, Liya stood at the entrance, watching Aiwei. Aiwei didn’t look at Liya, simply crawled in silently.

The door closed again.

Suddenly, Aiwei felt a choking sensation around her neck.

Fuluoxi had lifted her up.

She yanked Aiwei up by the leather collar, using the rope attached.

The pressure on her throat made Aiwei want to retch. Only by grabbing the leather collar at her neck did she manage to gasp for breath.

But Fuluoxi wasn’t about to let her off so easily.

She grabbed Aiwei’s neck, lifting her, staring into Aiwei’s eyes.

“I know you’ve been pretending to be obedient all this time, but now, you’re making me feel disgusted.”

Fuluoxi enunciated each word, her eyes flashing red.

She hated things going beyond her expectations, and hated even more Aiwei’s attitude of not caring about anything.

Aiwei’s body struggled in midair, her face flushing red from lack of oxygen, but as time passed, her struggles grew weaker.

At that moment, the red light faded from Fuluoxi’s eyes, and she tossed Aiwei to the ground.

Aiwei clutched her neck, coughing violently, gasping for air. Only then did her flushed face slowly return to normal.

“My previous obedience was all an act, just so I could escape.”

Aiwei spoke with complete frankness.

“But now, I don’t want to run anymore.”