Chapter 34

"No! I don't need Burris' inherited power!"
Without waiting for Burris to answer, I had loudly rejected Amanda.
Amanda looked over at me, her eyes changing little, "It seems our Princess Cheryl wants to go to hell?"
Burris turned his head and gave me an unpleasant look as he lifted his head slightly and said very petty, "Cheryl, you just told me to leave you alone, now please don't interfere with my decisions either."
"Burris ......" I frowned and looked at him helplessly, "Don't get angry with me, okay? I don't want you to make such a sacrifice for me and Cecil, this is my business and it has nothing to do with you."
Hearing my words, Burris' face became even more gloomy and even his eyes started to change color.
"Oh Burris, you're a big boy now, calm down." Amanda persuaded him.
Burris glared at me and looked to Amanda, "Amanda, just use my inherited power, I don't want this damn power for a long time!"
"Burris ......" I tried to persuade him again.
Who else would submit to a Prince who had lost his power?
"Amanda can you step outside for a moment?" Burris suddenly said to Amanda before looking at me again, "I want to talk to Cheryl."
"Of course, remain calm and graceful at all times, Prince Lord." Amanda said and left the living room.
"Burris what did you want to talk to me about?" I frowned at him.
"Cheryl, you can only be my royal consort so I can tell you the secrets of our family in advance and if you don't want to marry me I will have to kill you." Burris said to me seriously.
Was this a threat? A marriage proposal? Or what?
"Wait ......" I tried to stop him, "Burris, if that's the case, you better not tell me about your family's secrets, I don't always manage to keep my mouth shut."
"No, I have to tell you, and I can only tell you." Burris' gaze was firm.
"Fine." I lifted my hand and said helplessly to Burris, "If it makes you feel better to say it, then go ahead, though I don't know what the point of talking about it is right now."
"You sound like you're coaxing a little kid." Burris frowned at me.
"Of course not, I'm just being respectful, my Lord Prince." I smiled at him.
Burris grunts disdainfully, his eyes moving away from my face and resting on the heavy vivid red curtains across the room.
"It is a secret of our family, a secret that none of the elders know, and only the successive Princes and Princes Consort can know." Burris re-emphasized the importance of the secret.
To be honest, I didn't particularly want to know the secret, but to go along with Burris, I should say something.
"Is that so? And how was the secret passed down? I mean how did you know about it?" I asked with mock curiosity.
Burris' otherwise smooth brow suddenly furrowed at my words, and her naturally drooping palms clenched hard into fists.
"What's wrong with you Burris, I'm just asking casually, you can not answer me." I walked over and took Burris' arm, gazing at him worriedly.
"Nothing, I just remembered some bad memories." Burris took my hand in a firm grip and answered me, "The only time the next Prince will know is when the last one dies."
"Oh, I see." I echoed.
I hoped Burris would end the conversation soon, his hands were shaking and his whole body wasn't in good shape.
Instead Burris shook his head, "I mean, the only way the next Prince will know the secret is if he kills the last Prince."
"What?!" My eyes widened in horror, "Why?"
"It's how the power of inheritance is passed on, it's a Howard family rule that no one has ever been able to disobey." Burris said as he lowered his gaze.
"You mean you also killed your father to gain the power you have now?" I looked at Burris incredulously.
Burris didn't say anything, just nodded and gripped my hand even harder.
"What a fucking rule!" I cursed.
"You don't want to do that right Burris."
He stood in front of me with his head down like a little kid admitting his mistake and I couldn't help the pity I felt for him inside and rubbed Burris' short beautiful blonde hair.
I knew Burris wasn't someone who would do anything for power.
"I don't want to, I'm sick of the damn power, so let Amanda give it to the devil, power is the source of all evil." Burris said in a hushed voice.
I started to hesitate.
Burris was right, power is the source of all evil, but without it you lose your power.
"Cheryl, not having the power of inheritance is a relief to me, without that power, I am still the Prince." Burris continued to persuade me.
"Burris, you're telling me this because you don't want me to feel guilty are you?"
I finally understood what Burris was trying to do, but I didn't want to owe it to anyone.
So I continued, "Burris, if what you're saying is true and you're really willing to use the power of inheritance to save Cecil, then I agree to marry you and let you drain my blood to gain the power."
"Cheryl, you're saying you're willing to marry me?" Burris looked over at me in surprise, her two golden eyes seeming to glow.
I froze for a moment, then was a little bemused that Burris seemed to have missed the point.
Or maybe Burris just thought that being willing to marry him meant being willing to sacrifice her life for him.
Thinking that, I nodded and answered him, "Yes, I do, and I'd give my all for you."
Burris cracked a smile and excitedly came up and hugged me, "That's wonderful Cheryl, it was all worth it."
I was slightly surprised that Burris now looked like the average man with a successful marriage proposal.
"Looks like you guys talked it out." Amanda's voice came from the side of the stairs.
"Yes, we discussed it, just using the power of my heritage." Burris said happily to Amanda.
"Oh, I hope those three old guys from your family don't kill me." Amanda sighed.
"Of course they won't, those three useless losers exposed Cheryl to the Campbell family and are no longer in a position to care about me." Burris said dismissively.
"That's great, so let's get started now and get the poor kid out of there as soon as possible." Amanda said looking at Cecil.
"Amanda, Cecil is eighteen years old, I think he's older than you." I felt a little embarrassed.
"Haha, Cheryl you're too cute, witches live a long time, Amanda is two hundred years old." Burris explained to me with a smile.
"Oh yeah? Sorry, she looks so young."
Because of my misunderstanding about Amanda's age and Burris's teasing, I felt more embarrassed and developed a rare feeling of shyness.
Afterwards, Amanda prepared cups, rocks, candles, and her magic wand.
All three cups were filled halfway with liquid, and Amanda arranged them on Cecil's side, then surrounded Cecil with beautiful, crystal-like stones.
Then Amanda surrounded the outside of the stone with another candle.
Amanda made a strange gesture as she faced the three cups and sat down on her knees in the outermost circle. She picked up the middle cup, took a sip of the liquid inside, and squirted it over Cecil's body.
"Burris, come hold my wand." Amanda ordered Burris with her eyes closed.
Burris looked over at me, his gaze focused and gentle.
Suddenly, he leans down closer to me ......