Chapter 24

"‘You know what my wish would be.’ He gently caressed her lips, the tender force revealing his deep, unrestrained affection for her. ‘The old me might have really asked that red-eyed kid to dissolve the feud between me and your Derlin family, but now my thoughts have changed. I insist on continuing to be this half-human, half-demon monster, insisting on loving you with this body, and wanting you to fall in love with me as I am. I didn't choose to be born this way, so why should I bow to a world that discriminates against me?’

She gazed at his proud and stubborn face and sighed softly, ‘It seems you really like challenging difficult paths.’

He laughed, ‘Maybe. Besides, what price would he ask of me? I have nothing, not even the place I live in now is mine. What if he asks me to kill someone? Or even worse, to give you up, using you as a bargaining chip?’ He said firmly, ‘I'd rather die than give you up.’

His passionate and determined eyes felt like a sweet yet sorrowful warmth seeping into her heart, making her nose tingle.

‘Or to make it simpler, I could wish for you to abandon your Derlin family and love me wholeheartedly. But feelings achieved through external forces are ultimately fake. I want you to decide for yourself—me or your family.’

He held her hand, placing it on his chest, each word striking her heart, ‘I know how difficult this is for you. I will be with you, whether it means dying, going to hell, or being shattered into pieces never to reincarnate, I will never abandon you.’

‘What if I ultimately go back to my family?’ She bit her lip, trembling. Her heart, calm for twenty years, was now in turmoil for the first time, with waves she couldn't stop. She... had really fallen in love with this man. What should she do?

Before Emil could answer, Alexander had returned, ‘Emil, the people in the lab are waiting for you.’

‘Okay.’ Emil responded, gazing deeply at the girl whose heart was now in complete disarray. He embraced her, ‘No matter what you ultimately decide, I have no regrets.’

Because you can only choose me. He didn't say this, but a cunning and determined glint flashed in his lowered eyes. He knew this method was despicable, but if he didn't push her like this, she would only keep running away.

Noticing her slender arms wrapping around his neck, a rare initiative, he was even more satisfied with her cooperation, leading her into an inescapable trap, ‘Now, look to your left.’

Sarah looked to the left and saw, among the crowded fairies, a group of red figures gathered together. They were five women, all wearing the familiar red and white robes. When her gaze met the leading woman's, her face turned pale—it was her foster mother!

They saw everything? She was utterly shocked, and Emil added fuel to the fire by giving her a passionate kiss. She panicked and pushed him away before he let her go.

‘The fairy queen might not come tonight. You can go and chat with your foster mother and aunts. You haven't seen them for days; they must be worried about you.’ He maliciously curled his lips, ‘I have things to do. Spend more time with them, and don't miss me too much.’

He turned and disappeared into the crowd, with Qinglian following him.

Sarah trembled with anger. He did it on purpose! He had known her family was here and deliberately showed intimacy with her to let them see!

Fear outweighed her anger. She didn't have the courage to look at her foster mother and aunts again and moved to Alexander's side, hoping to avoid her family's gaze. In a quick glance earlier, she had vaguely seen her foster mother's serious expression and her aunts' angry faces. Why were they here?

Alexander noticed her confusion and explained, ‘Your Derlin family holds a higher status than the Nine Jade Guild, so you were naturally invited. Usually, the female envoy and several important figures from the family attend, but they don't come every year. When you become the female envoy, you will receive an invitation too.’

She didn't want to be the female envoy; she just wanted to disappear from the venue immediately! She suddenly remembered what Emil had said earlier, ‘He... Emil said that we had an agreement with the vampires to not attack each other. Why does my foster mother still want me to kill him?’

Alexander's face turned somewhat strange, ‘That agreement was signed a hundred years ago. The then-female envoy insisted on not letting him go, so others compromised, agreeing that as long as the Derlin family could catch him, his life and death would be at your discretion.’

He looked at the Derlin family members. The four women were arguing angrily, occasionally glancing their way, while Olsen looked serious but not as indignant as the others.

‘They seem to be planning to come over. Do you want to stay here?’

Sarah shook her head hurriedly.

‘Follow me.’ Alexander turned and walked along the wall for a distance, pushed open a hidden door, and slipped inside. She followed him in.

Inside was a maze of white corridors, with doors lining both sides, leading to countless rooms.

Alexander led the way, and Sarah followed, growing more uneasy, ‘But this agreement should also have the vampires' consent, right? Would they just stand by and watch him being hunted?’

‘That’s a peace treaty between "humans" and "vampires," and has nothing to do with him.’

Sarah was stunned, ‘Why has it nothing to do with him? He clearly—’

‘He has half of each bloodline, but relatively speaking, he is neither human nor vampire. You should know that hybrids of vampires and humans have no place in either world.’

She fell silent, ‘...But from another perspective, he is both human and vampire. If we can't truly accept him, any talk of peaceful coexistence is just empty words, isn't it?’

Alexander heard her doubts but only pressed his lips together without answering. He turned a corner and stopped in front of a door where Qinglian was standing. She looked surprised to see them but didn't ask questions and opened the door for them.

Inside was a small square room with a two-way mirror on one wall. Through the mirror, they could see a large room next door where several people in lab coats were busy. A door beside the mirror connected the two rooms.

‘They won’t follow you here.’ Alexander closed the door.

‘This is...’ Sarah stared at the two-way mirror in astonishment. Emil was in the room behind the mirror.

He had taken off his shirt and was sitting on a metal chair, surrounded by several people in lab coats who were attaching electrodes to his forehead and chest, with wires connecting to a huge machine nearby. Someone was injecting him with a drug, while others watched the machine's screen, observing the flashing lines and numbers, and discussing."