127:
Sending the two women away, Shelley closed the door and turned to look at King Monroe lying on the ground. As if talking to himself, Shelley shook his head and sighed.
“Sigh…”
“Elena will definitely be sad.”
“After losing her mother, she personally killed her own brother…”
“These vampires are really damned.”
“And now she’s very likely to lose her father.”
He walked to Monroe’s side with a heavy heart, his expression filled with frustration and dejection.
“Although I’ve learned some things, I just can’t figure out…”
“How did a vampire family that had been dormant in Fente for only two hundred years manage to corrupt the royal family?”
Shelley was lost in thought as he fiddled with two bottles.
“Ugh…”
Suddenly, King Monroe’s breathing behind him grew a little louder. Immediately alert, Shelley ran to his side with the medicine in his hand. In his panic, the things in his hand scattered on the floor, and two bottles even shattered. But without a care, Shelley held the medicine and gently helped Monroe up.
His body was unexpectedly light, as if all the blood in his body had been drained. If it weren’t for the fact that he was a legendary warrior in his youth, he would have definitely not been able to hold on with such injuries.
His eyes were tightly closed, his lips were chapped, and he squeezed out a sound, trembling, “Water…”
“Your Majesty! The water is here!”
Shelley: Da Lang, it’s time to take your medicine.
Shelley handed the medicine over. Just then, Monroe in his arms shivered. The carefully prepared medicine fell to the ground before it even reached his mouth.
“Ah! It’s alright, Your Majesty!”
“I’ll go get you some other water.”
Just as he was about to leave, Shelley was grabbed by the corner of his clothes by Monroe.
“Little…”
Monroe’s eyes seemed to be about to open. He tried hard to speak.
“What? What do you want to say, Your Majesty?”
“Is there still danger here that we need to be aware of?”
Nodding almost imperceptibly, Monroe’s lips were still trembling.
“Be careful…”
If Shelley hadn’t pricked up his ears, he would have missed it. Helpless, he leaned in and pressed his ear close, trying to hear what King Monroe was saying.
“Your Majesty! What did you say? A little louder.”
Finally pressing his ear close, Monroe’s voice became clear.
He was saying, “Be careful.”
“What!?”
Monroe’s eyes shot open. They were blood-red, filled with savagery and cruelty. The fangs in his mouth were bared, and he bit at Shelley’s exposed neck.
Crack.
Monroe’s bite didn’t hit Shelley. Instead, his teeth slammed together, making a metallic sound.
!!?
The man before him instantly disappeared.
“I was wondering how long you could hold on.”
The mocking words echoed in the room.
Monroe got up, his movements incredibly fast, no longer a trace of weakness. Although things were out of his control, Monroe’s voice was steady, without a trace of panic.
“Who are you?”
“How did you see through it?”
Haha!
A clear laugh sounded from a corner of the room.
Monroe quickly pounced over but found no trace.
“Me? Let’s not talk about who I am for now.”
“As for how I found out…”
“Let’s talk about it after you survive.”
What!!?
A snap of his fingers.
Snap.
Among the scattered items on the ground, a torn scroll lit up, followed by a huge magical fluctuation.
“This? Sunburst!?”
“No! Aaaaaaaah!”
The sun had descended in this sealed room. Monroe had nowhere to hide. He frantically tried to escape, to rush out the door… but a hand reached out from the ground and grabbed him tightly.
“Come play, customer.”
“Don’t be shy.”
A huge light filled the room.
“Aaaaaaaah!”
“…Tsk.”
Until the very end, Shelley didn’t let go of Monroe’s foot.
By the time the alerted Elena and Lilith rushed in… Shelley was sitting calmly beside a carbonized corpse.
“Shelley!”
“Master!”
Shelley’s entire right arm and shoulder were as if they had been roasted by fire. Hearing their voices, Shelley looked up and smiled. He said apologetically to Elena, “I’m sorry… I lied to you.”
“Your father, King Monroe, he…”
“He was the mastermind.”
Looking at the charred corpse, then at Shelley’s arm, Elena pressed her lips together. Without a word, she picked up the few remaining bottles of holy water on the ground and opened one. As she poured it on Shelley’s unbendable, charcoal-like arm, she fought back her tears and said, “…Next time, don’t be so reckless.”
Feeling the sting of the holy water, Shelley’s expression almost contorted. He reached out his left hand and held Elena’s, saying softly, “Okay, next time for sure.”
This sentence, in the great country of China, meant: Definitely not next time.
Using Elena’s arm to stand up, Shelley turned to look at the charred corpse beside him.
“His Majesty, he’s still alive…”
“Take him away.”
“What makes a legendary warrior, a great king, fall…”
“Let’s go find someone and get to the bottom of this unsolved mystery.”
…
Knock, knock.
The old Duke Bell opened his eyes. He looked at his closed door. He didn’t feel anything in the air, but it was as if a suppressed, terrifying presence was outside the door. As if understanding something, he let out a long sigh.
Slowly getting up from the bed, he chose his favorite formal attire from the cabinet. Awkwardly putting on the clothes, Bruno was a little unhappy with the empty feeling of the clothes. He looked in the mirror for a long time and carefully combed his hair. Bruno looked at his greatly changed self and smiled and shook his head.
During this time, he didn’t speak, and the people outside didn’t rush him. It seemed there was a tacit understanding between them, giving him some time.
He walked to the door and opened it. Looking at Shelley and Princess Elena outside, a smile appeared on his withered face. Bowing his head respectfully, Bruno bowed to Elena.
“Princess Elena, you’ve grown up.”
Glancing at the human-shaped bag in Lilith’s hand, he slowly shook his head. He raised his hand to stop the about-to-speak Elena and said with a hoarse smile, “Let’s talk on the rooftop.”
With that, he turned and walked toward the rooftop.
Comforting Elena, Shelley took her hand and followed. Looking at his own mummy-like right arm, he shook his head helplessly.
“Lilith, it’s not that I don’t want to hold your hand…”
“It’s just that this hand really can’t.”
Arriving on the rooftop, Bruno chose a spot facing east and sat down. Watching the three of them take their seats one by one, a smile appeared on his aged face.
“Alright, what do you all want to know?”
Although he looked like a dried corpse, his bearing, his manner… under the starlight, the three of them seemed to see a true noble.
Elegant and confident.
