Chapter 296: The Master

Lady, you're upset about this kind of thing from your husband… cough, never mind, you don't have a husband.

In short, if you don't want to be exposed, just clamp your teeth shut and stay quiet!

Herbert gave Elizabeth a meaningful glance, nodded, and continued pushing his hand forward.

Forward! Forward! Forward!

Elizabeth:???

"Wait… let me tell you to wait!"

Elizabeth gripped Herbert's wrist tightly, barely managing to halt his advance.

She stared at him in shock, forcing her voice low: "What on earth are you thinking!!?"

You you you… how could you do something like this?

Herbert smiled brightly and said calmly: "I'm fulfilling my duty, Lady. I'm simply doing what I'm supposed to do."

Though his wrist could move no further, his long fingers began to move skillfully.

???

"Wait, what exactly is your duty!!?"

Elizabeth felt danger drawing nearer, her cheeks flushing deeper—luckily, her veil hid it from others.

Herbert blinked, speaking seriously: "What? As your personal attendant, my duty is naturally to ensure your physical and mental comfort."

"Don't worry, I'm very skilled. Relax, it'll be over soon—I guarantee you'll come to love this feeling."

The more Herbert spoke, the more Elizabeth refused to let him continue.

She pushed against him, shaking her head rapidly in a motion invisible to others: "No no no, no thank you, but no no…"

Thank you!

But still no!

And Herbert… of course wouldn't yield to her wishes.

How could I possibly let you go?

Do you know how long I've waited for this perfect opportunity?

To give you the most exquisite experience, I deliberately chose this ideal location.

Perfect timing, favorable terrain, harmonious circumstances.

If not now, when?

Herbert continued reaching forward, coaxing: "Lady, stop your futile resistance. Surrender now."

"You've slept in your coffin too long—you're outdated. In our era, this is perfectly normal."

"Open your heart! Surrender and be leniently treated! Resist and be harshly punished!"

"Enough idle talk. Let's continue…"

Herbert kept whispering seductively while pressing harder; Elizabeth struggled desperately to hold him back.

"You, don't, come closer!"

"Let me, just, come closer!"

The two struggled in silence, Herbert's palm inching closer and closer… closer… to Elizabeth.

"Hss…"

Elizabeth grew increasingly desperate, helplessly watching his hand draw nearer.

Why can't I hold him back!?

Isn't he a Holy Knight?

How is his strength like a barbarian's!?

No—it's even more extreme than a barbarian of the same rank!

Elizabeth didn't know that although Herbert's apparent strength was only High Rank, his body had been enhanced multiple times, making it astonishingly formidable.

True, he currently lags slightly behind Valentina in hand-to-hand combat… but against lowly vampires, he can hold his own!

Creak… creak… creak…

As they struggled, the massive sofa beneath them emitted faint creaks—it was about to give way.

If it shattered, everyone's eyes would turn to them!

No good, no good, no good!

"Wait, don't… wait! I've got it!"

At the critical moment, Elizabeth suddenly had a flash of inspiration—a perfect escape plan!

She leaned close to Herbert, glaring at him with wide eyes, gritting her teeth: "Herbert, I command you as your master! Your hand—stop moving now."

After speaking, she exhaled in relief.

Yes!

I'm the caravan master now—you must obey me!

It's not that I'm unwilling to reveal my identity.

It's you who need to conceal yours!

If you don't want to be exposed now, you must obey me without question.

Indeed, as soon as she finished speaking, Elizabeth immediately felt Herbert's strength weaken.

Phew—finally, safe.

Elizabeth sighed, grumbling: "Hmph, why didn't you just obey earlier? In the end, you still had to listen… eh?"

But when Elizabeth raised her head after muttering, she didn't see defeat—she saw Herbert's faint, knowing smirk.

Elizabeth:!?

After meeting that deep gaze, like a hunter fixing on its prey, she—who was the "prey"—knew… oh no!

Though she still didn't know what had gone wrong, the vampire Young Lady, having been bullied many times before, already foresaw things were about to turn bad—

"Do you really think you're the master?"

Herbert smiled meaningfully, leaned close to Elizabeth's frozen ear, and whispered: "Elizabeth, can you truly not tell who is the master between us?"

!!!

That low voice flowed into her cochlea; the trembling air, carrying a sweet fragrance, made her body go numb, and she involuntarily shivered.

In Elizabeth's long life, she had never before been so close to a member of the opposite sex.

When she was still a mortal Princess of a small kingdom, she was kept locked away in the inner chambers, never encountering males her own age.

After her "father" transformed her into a vampire, she gained extraordinary power—and everyone feared her, seeing her as an untouchable monster.

In the end, Elizabeth truly became the "monster" they spoke of.

She hunted down and killed her own "father," and wiped clean all his bloodline descendants, absorbing every drop of their blood into herself.

For a very long time, she wandered alone in the night.

In the realm of night, no one dared speak to her, let alone touch her at such close range.

She was the Fallen Blooded, the Patricide, the Cursed Daughter of Calamity… any being connected to her ultimately met a tragic end.

Her parents and kin were all dead; her "father's" bloodline had been extinguished by her own hand.

She was no longer human; there was no place for her in the human world.

Yet she was no demon either—the vampires saw her as a monster that preyed upon men.

But now, this aberrant Holy Knight—he actually… wanted to defile her!?

No, that's not right.

Before this, he had already defiled her several times!

She stared blankly at Herbert, trying to read his true thoughts in his eyes.

Don't you fear me?

Elizabeth's lips trembled slightly as she asked: "Do you… really not fear me?"

Herbert frowned slightly, did not answer, but looked at her with confusion.

Sister, what strange words are you saying?

What, are you also non-mainstream?

So, if we translate that last sentence, does it mean—"I wɑn't yǒu kào jìn wǒ, huì biàn de bú yù"?

Elizabeth saw the confusion in Herbert's eyes, shook her head gently, and whispered: "No—if you touch me, you'll become unfortunate… hmm~"

A soft, uncontrolled sultry moan slipped from her lips, blending into the noisy, lewd atmosphere of the tavern.

H-he-he!!?

Just now, Herbert did not answer Elizabeth's question—he simply leaned in and bit down on her slightly pointed ear tip!

His fangs pressed hard, tugging gently on the ear tip.

!!!

To outsiders, Herbert, the servant, had merely leaned close to his master to whisper secretly, avoiding eavesdroppers.

And after releasing her ear tip, he indeed whispered softly: "Don't worry—I won't leave you."

He had said similar words to many different individuals before; he was already quite practiced.

These peculiar monster girls—all of them, without exception—are lonely children who crave attention.

They are both favored and tormented by fate.

To enter their hearts, one must inevitably bear the challenge fate has bestowed.

"I will never abandon you. I will never leave you alone."

Elizabeth bit her lips fiercely; her sharp canines pierced the corner of her mouth, staining her lips with crimson blood.

She gazed at Herbert, grabbed his collar, and asked hoarsely, trembling with unease, even anger: "Why? Why can you be so certain!?"

Everyone else left me—they all left.

You… on what basis?

Why can you be so sure!?

Tell me!

In response to her accusations, Herbert lowered his head, leaned close to her, lifted the black veil with his left hand, and calmly gazed into her eyes, faintly glowing with blood-red light.

Do vampires' tears also run red?

He smiled, gently wiped away the blood-tears about to fall with his finger, and said calmly yet firmly: "Because I am your master."

"I won't let you lie alone again in that cold coffin."

"If you demand a reason, there is no other reason."

"I will— and I must— become your master."

Herbert's gaze lowered, taking in Elizabeth's bewildered, uneasy expression.

"You…" the vampire Young Lady's lips moved, but she remained silent for a long while.

Herbert did not wait for her to understand—he pressed on while she was lost: "Elizabeth, I am the dominator you've longed for these many years."

At the same time, as Elizabeth was dazed, Herbert's hand slipped further.

But instead of moving downward to tease her further, he shifted slightly upward, pressing against… her slender waist.

Then he gently pulled her into his arms, letting their chests lightly press together.

Thump. Thump.

He transmitted his strong, powerful heartbeat to that body that had been cold for so many years.

Eliza instinctively wanted to push him away, but the moment she raised her hand, she lowered it again, quietly savoring that warmth.

That long-absent heartbeat.

"……"

Herbert gazed at her, slowly lowering his head.

When he raised his head again, a trace of crimson stained the corner of his mouth.

He naturally licked the fresh blood from the corner of his mouth, swallowed it, and swept his gaze around.

Although his earlier action had been discreet, anyone who had been watching this spot should have noticed something was off.

Herbert had originally planned to chat with the other slave merchants and casually pry out a bit of intelligence.

Instead, he unexpectedly discovered a chance to push forward his progress with Eliza.

Weighing the two, Herbert of course made his decision—push the progress with all his might, not caring at all about the eyes of others.

"Next, someone should come to provoke me, right?" Herbert swept his gaze around, thinking to himself.

Eliza's beauty had been revealed for an instant, and that excessive charm would draw some overconfident Bai Chi.

And he had already made his plans—let those fellows regret having such thoughts, even regret being born into this world.

But just before Herbert's expected scenario unfolded, another super-twist drew everyone's attention away.

It was a wail—mournful, drifting from afar.

It was a blood-weeping lament rising from where the slaves were gathered—"Justice, ahhhh!"

Like a grievance, like a longing; like weeping, like a plea.

That one wail, enough to silence men and bring tears to women, made the entire raucous tavern go quiet.

Everyone inside the tavern froze, staring blankly at one another.

"What was that sound?"

"Huh!? Whose slave is screaming that miserably?"

"Screaming that loud—must be in pretty good shape, hahaha…"

Not to mention others—even Herbert was caught off guard by it; his ears twitched slightly as he listened carefully for a moment.

And Herbert had also figured out just who it was howling.

"What the hell kind of justice is this… Cyril, what are you doing? Can't even hold it together?"

Cyril, why is it you again!

"Are you really this fragile, already unable to hold back?"

Herbert shook his head, clicked his tongue with feeling: "Looks like the young man's stress resistance still isn't up to par."

Although he very much wanted to "praise" him a few more times, listening to that overly wretched wail, Herbert couldn't help but… burst out laughing.

Pfft, hahaha!

"Cough cough… forget it, we're colleagues after all, no need to bully him too much."

Since something's happening on his end… then that's actually perfect.

Herbert turned his head and smiled at Eliza, who was still hanging her head in a daze: "Eliza, do you want to stretch your body a bit?"

"If you're confused right now, better not think too much—why not let it all out freely?"

He swept his gaze over everyone in the tavern and said softly: "Want to cut loose for a bit?"

"No."

Herbert smiled, shifted his tone, and commanded softly: "Now, follow my words—let it all out."

Not letting his "slave" stay confused—that was his duty as her master.

"Pour out the confusion, the unease, the pent-up grievances of the past… everything."

(End of chapter)