novelraw Chapter 95 : Never Happened
Chapter 95 : Never Happened
Elaphia died three times.Chapter
The first was when her bodily functions ceased; the second was when her body was transported to the grave; the third was when her name was no longer mentioned after becoming a thrall. The warm, familiar person known to friends and family was completely gone.Chapter
The one responsible for all this now sat alone in the main hall of the underground blood palace.Chapter
Within the ventilation ducts of the underground palace complex, Elaphia ceased breathing, concealing her presence as she strained to peer downward.Chapter
In the crimson-adorned room stood twelve high-backed leather chairs, nearly all occupied by pale, handsome young men. Vlad Dreka sat in the master's luxurious seat, his face flickering indistinctly in the hazy candlelight.Chapter
"Another one dead." The vampire overlord casually reached out to pour himself a glass of red wine, his gaze fixed on the sole vacant seat. "Who else wants to test the hero's capabilities?"Chapter
Hero?Chapter
Elaphia's eyebrows shot up instantly.Chapter
She hadn't expected Loranhir to actually come after all. In such a short time, the Princess must still be by her side.Chapter
She had clearly said she could handle things here—just take the Princess to the safety of the royal city.Chapter
Why did she have to come stir up trouble?Chapter
Elaphia was clearly angered. She took a deep breath, suppressing her irritation, and vanished back into hiding.Chapter
"You are the worst generation of vampire knights I have ever seen." Vlad rapped on the long table.Chapter
The room fell into dead silence, broken only by the ticking of the wall clock.Chapter
The elite vampire knights all came from distinguished vampire families—the cream of this generation's crop, representatives of their great houses. Their hearing, vision, and physical prowess far surpassed those of humans, which formed the foundation of their self-proclaimed nobility.Chapter
"Isn't it just some hero? Bunch of cowards. I'll go take her out." A young man stood up and shouted.Chapter
"See? Impatient again." Vlad scanned the well-dressed young men. "Too young, too naive."Chapter
"Apologies, Grand Duke. I'm just too eager to prove myself."Chapter
"I've made it clear—we just need to wait patiently." Vlad looked down, toying with his wine glass as pale golden ripples shimmered in the liquid.Chapter
"After all, the ritual method obtained from the infernal transaction will soon be complete. The livestock we've raised for so long is finally ready for harvesting. Once the prepared ritual is fully realized, why worry about some little girl who's nothing without her holy sword? If the Layang Empire sent a few squads of the Judgment Knight Order, then I might actually be concerned."Chapter
"Don't forget the commission His Majesty gave you, Vlad." A hidden red door in the wall slid open, and a figure emerged soundlessly. Dressed in pure white robes embroidered with golden patterns, her sacred appearance complemented the hair cascading down to her waist perfectly.Chapter
Behind her followed a knight in full plate armor, his footsteps ringing with powerful, rhythmic precision.Chapter
The vampire knights unanimously turned their attention to the newcomers.Chapter
The leading young woman took a seat in the vacant chair without greeting anyone, entering this gathering place of vampire elites as if it were empty space.ChapterChapter"Your esteemed presence brings me great joy, but could you perhaps knock before appearing before me next time?" Vlad lifted his eyes to glance at her.Chapter
"Are you telling me what to do?"Chapter
"Of course not. I am deeply grateful for the gift His Majesty bestowed. I naturally remember what he mentioned—I will personally handle this Princess."Chapter
"Please be patient, Lady Celia." Vlad's tone sounded exceedingly respectful.Chapter
An attendant retrieved a glass of red wine from an ice bucket and handed it to the other party.Chapter
"I hope you can give His Majesty a satisfactory answer," Celia raised her glass in a toast, her movements stiff and mechanical. Her entire demeanor was expressionless, her eyes devoid of any liveliness, instead gathering a numbness reminiscent of a marionette.Chapter
"Need you even ask?"Chapter
"By the way, your house is infested with rats." Celia glanced at the ceiling, toward Elaphia's position.Chapter
The vampire knights exchanged glances, somewhat surprised, as they hadn't immediately detected the rats Celia mentioned.Chapter
"I know." Vlad simply smiled. "Occasionally, I enjoy catching rats for fun."Chapter
"Don't play too recklessly." Celia stood up, preparing to leave.Chapter
Elaphia was instantly startled—it seemed her slight emotional fluctuation moments ago had alerted Vlad. He had merely been waiting with keen interest for her to make a move.Chapter
"Give my regards to old King Arant." Vlad raised his glass high. "I will take care of the matter he entrusted to me."Chapter
"May your promotion go smoothly as well." Celia didn't look back.Chapter
Vlad drained his wine and looked up impatiently.Chapter
"How much longer are you going to hide like a rat, Elaphia? Don't you miss home? Old William in the rat hole misses you dearly."Chapter
"..."Chapter
Elaphia clenched her fists, offering no response. She was already prepared to fight him to the death.Chapter
But first, she had to drive out the Princess who, as an ordinary person unaware of the danger, had gotten herself involved.Chapter
○Chapter
"It's the meaning of this word, have you learned it now?"Chapter
Shatina pushed up her glasses, her rigorous and intellectual demeanor a stark contrast to before. One could only say her attitude was different after inserting a coin.Chapter
Is this creature some kind of fully automatic bionic alchemical machine?Chapter
"Yes, I understand."Chapter
Patunasankus nodded, unconsciously staring at Shatina's face while tapping her fingers on the long table, deep in thought.Chapter
Shatina's supplementary explanations had actually helped her complete the interpretation of Tiana's leftover scroll. If not for her appearance...Chapter
This was a contract transaction provided by a devil—trading the souls of everyone in Taurant city for a promotion ceremony bestowed by an Archdevil.Chapter
The one who signed this contract was naturally Vlad Dreka.Chapter
How interesting.Chapter
Although whatever contract this guy signed had nothing to do with Patunasankus, the fact remained that he wanted to kill Latifa, which greatly displeased the evil dragon.Chapter
"Are you there? Are you there?" Shatina waved her hand vigorously in front of Patunasankus, a slender strand of smooth bangs swaying before a pair of curious eyes.Chapter
"What are you doing?" Patunasankus snapped back to reality, withdrew her gaze, and turned to look elsewhere.ChapterChapter"...So you were just spacing out," Shatina covered her face, "I thought you finally had an epiphany because of my beauty, you block of wood. Hey, hey, do you even understand what it means to stare at a girl's face like that?"Chapter
"The meaning is... there's something dirty on her face?"Chapter
Patunasankus tilted her head to one side.Chapter
"Hopeless, you're absolutely hopeless," Shatina looked exasperated. "Such a pretty face, but not much going on upstairs. I guess heaven really does have its own fairness mechanism."Chapter
"...Seems like the type who could be easily tricked and taken away," Shatina muttered under her breath.Chapter
"Taken away where?" Patunasankus frowned.Chapter
Her muttering had reached Patunasankus's ears, making Shatina break out in a cold sweat.Chapter
"That's not the point. It's late at night now—this is the time for girls to share secrets with each other." Shatina ignored the awkwardness and ruthlessly changed the subject.Chapter
"Share secrets? What secrets?" Patunasankus asked, confused.Chapter
At that time, the evil dragon still didn't understand one of women's inescapable bad habits - the enthusiasm for digging into anyone's private emotions around them, lending an ear to hear all their secrets, and eventually making them public.Chapter
"Just some interesting secrets, like things we like, people we dislike." Shatina shrugged.Chapter
"Of course, the most interesting has to be..." Shatina lowered her voice mysteriously.Chapter
"Has to be what?"Chapter
"Has to be a young girl's crush." Shatina leaned close to Patunasankus's ear and whispered.Chapter
Her words made Patunasankus's cold face twitch slightly.Chapter
This was definitely not inner turmoil, but fear.Chapter
There was a time when Evelyn had asked her the same question, then started getting handsy, immediately making Patunasankus break out in a sweat.Chapter
"I'm curious who someone as excellent as you would like, young mistress?" Shatina rubbed her hands together excitedly.Chapter
"Could it be her?" The gossip-hungry Shatina pointed enthusiastically at the sleeping Loranhir.Chapter
"I saw your face twitch." Shatina lowered her voice.Chapter
"Hehe, they say a young girl's budding affection is often an unconscious process. They often say they've fallen for someone but don't know how it happened, or know how it happened but can't pinpoint the exact moment when quantity turned into quality."Chapter
"Have you ever felt your heart flutter for someone?" Shatina asked with a dark, coaxing expression. "That kind of ambiguous probing where you're deeply involved, with a bit of self-deceiving warmth."Chapter
Patunasankus maintained her stiff expression.Chapter
Right now, watching Shatina's chattering mouth, she only thought about what she could use to shut this girl up.Chapter
"It's getting late, you should sleep." Patunasankus got up and slipped under the covers.Chapter
"I'm a night owl," Shatina said unapologetically.Chapter
"Go to sleep."Chapter
"Wow, the young mistress is so imposing," Shatina leaned her head against Patunasankus's bedside. "Now I'm even less likely to fall asleep."Chapter
"Good night."ChapterChapterPatunasankus turned over, completely ignoring her, curling up in the blankets like a kitten. Her long eyelashes drooped, thick as curtains.Chapter
She refused to discuss anything related to her own emotions.Chapter
Having feelings for someone, wishing to connect with their life—there was no explanation for it. It was unexplainable, undiscussable, and absolutely unwilling to be spoken aloud.Chapter
Some people's deaths, Patunasankus always treated as if they had never happened—denied them.Chapter
Even if she would remember.Chapter
But she was someone who didn't know how to seek comfort; she didn't need others to offer her words.Chapter
Her heart was cold.Chapter
Yet, strangely, she still needed some warmth of life.