Chapter 41

"Of course, Cheryl can only be my bride." Burris says with a smile.
The night tinted Burris's silhouette with a soft light, and I looked a little mesmerized, as if I were in a charming dream.
Burris's smile was like ripples rippling on a lake, and before I knew it, I was on my tiptoes kissing the most beautiful line of ripples.
Burris's eyes widen slightly with surprise, before he closes them, eyebrows rising, quietly enjoying the kiss that I'm leading.
Eventually Burris couldn't resist responding to me, his large hands gripping my slender waist hard, his soft, cold lips tearing against mine in a tussle like a jousting event.
The kiss went from gentle and lingering to passionate and my brain felt like it was boiling, not holding anything else but gurgling, bubbling hot water.
It's amazing how it's just a kiss and I can use it to be completely sure of my feelings.
If it weren't for my love for Burris, I would have never felt such joy and excitement from this kiss, it felt like our souls had gone for a stroll in heaven.
When the kiss was over and my soul was back in the flesh, Burris dropped one last lingering kiss on my lips before I finally felt my own gravity again and lost the feeling of lightness.
But suddenly I was in a shy mood. I think if I tell Burris now that I'm in love with him, he might think I'm being frivolous, so I decide to keep that thought to myself for now and share it with Burris the next fine moment.
"Going back, Cheryl," Burris asks, looking at me with eyes that seem to hold a watery glow.
His eyes are gentle, his nose is gentle, and the corners of his mouth are gentle.
I knew Burris was in a good mood right now, and this good mood was infecting me, and probably me as well.
"Well, go back, it's almost dawn." I said, gathering the corners of my mouth, afraid it would accidentally grin into the sky.
Burris moved to take my hand naturally and we walked back to the cottage without using our teleportation abilities, hurrying before the last glimmer of night disappeared.
The vampires on the estate were resting in their bedrooms during the day, and I wondered how Burris was going to keep the sun out of every room with a window; despite the heavy curtains, there was still the possibility of sunlight leaking in when there was a breeze.
Until Burris told me that he wasn't afraid of the sun, but that was when he had the power of his heritage.
I gave a worried look as Burris showed me his coffin again, it was a black crystal coffin with no extra decorations, but beautiful.
I could tell by Burris' smug look that he was pleased with the coffin as well, and Burris invited me genuinely, "Cheryl, want to come inside with me and rest? There's plenty of room inside."
Before, I never thought I would one day be lying in a coffin with a vampire, that would be too obscure.
But now that I saw the coffin in front of me, I couldn't help but touch my hand to it, and the cool, smooth feel was pleasant. It was the temperature that vampires liked.
I was tempted by the suggestion, and after a brief hesitation, I said yes to Burris.
Lying in didn't feel like what I'd expected; I thought this enclosed space must be cramped, oppressive, and suffocating.
But I lay down next to Burris and was able to stretch my arms. Perhaps because vampires didn't need to breathe oxygen, and I didn't feel suffocated, I realized that there were still shimmering white dots in the black crystal above my head, dotting it like a cosmic starry sky.
"It's beautiful, Burris," I said excitedly, turning my head to Burris.
Burris had closed his eyes, and he didn't open them at my words, just pursed his lips and smiled before turning sideways and placing his hand on my waist.
"Go to sleep Cheryl, there are three old guys to waste your energy on at night." Burris said softly.
I listened to Burris and closed my eyes. Miraculously, when closing my eyes I immediately fell into a deep sleep and slept through the night. It was the best sleep I had ever had since I became a vampire.
Burris was right, the three elders arrived at the villa as soon as it was dark. They had come this time to ask me to level up as soon as possible and then marry Burris, who would then gain my power to reach a position of consolidation in the family.
They just don't know yet that their Prince Lord has fallen in love with their food and contributed the power of inheritance for it, I can't help but think gloatingly.
At this point, Burris and I were sitting on the couch in the living room. In order to create a tense atmosphere to force Burris and I, the three elders gave up their comfortable seats and chose to negotiate by standing in front of Burris and me.
"Lord Prince, it cannot wait any longer. If you do not marry Chris soon, her power will belong to House Campbell." Hampton, the elder judge, said with a bow.
"Hampton is right, the magic orb predicts that Prince Dennis of the Campbell family is also interested in Chris' power. If you do not get this power, it will be snatched away by Dennis and at that point the Howard family will be devoured." Mopso the Prophecy Elder helped out in sincere fear.
"Isn't it because of your cowardice that you gave away Chris' identity?!" Burris questioned sternly, his eyes turning bloodshot as the glass around him suddenly shattered.
I was shaken for a moment by the power, Burris had no more inherited power, and rank-wise he should be a Duke now. But perhaps because his energy source was different, even as a Duke, his power was stronger than the Elders who were also Duke ranked.
Hampton and Mopso both took a step back resentfully, while Executive Elder Hadero didn't care.
Hadero snorted disdainfully, straightened his back, and squinted at Burris, "We are all thinking of the Howard family, and you as the Prince should be more anxious than us. But all these years you've only been concerned with having fun, and if Diana hadn't been injured, I'm afraid you would have forgotten who you are."
"What is a Prince like you going to do to convince your clan? To keep the family roots strong?" Hadero didn't sound like a question, more like a critique.
The aggressiveness made him more of a judgmental elder than Hampton.
I expected Burris to be more angry, but instead he laughed at Hadero's words.
"What the Executive Elder is saying is that it would be more appropriate for you to take this Prince's seat, right?" Burris looked at Hadero and asked in a cold voice.
Without waiting for Hadero to answer, the other two elders already had a look of horror on their faces as they hurriedly explained for Hadero.
The expression on Hadero's face, however, didn't change much, still looking grim.
"If you can bite my neck, you can have this Prince's seat." Burris ignored Hampton and Mopso's explanation, still looking at Hadero.
"Hadero, if you are rude to the Prince again, I will have no choice but to judge you." Hampton issued a warning to Hadero in a serious tone.
Hadero's wide nostrils fluttered, this time lowering his thick eyelids and bowing his body in respect, "I am the one who offended, Lord Prince please forgive us, we just want to know what your next plans are."
It was then that Burris' eyes moved away from Hadero.
He suddenly took my hand and stood up from the couch and said lightly to the three people in front of him, "My plan is for the wedding to go ahead as scheduled. No matter what rank of blood Chris is, I will take her as my consort because I'm already in love with her."
"There is no way I can get power from Chris, and none of you can force her, not even the Campbell family!"
All three elders instantly gasped and looked at me as if they were looking at a compulsive witch. Suddenly a little nervous, I shook Burris's hand harder.
Burris returned my grip and continued to them, "I expect the three elders to be serious about setting up the wedding for me, or you can leave House Howard if you no longer wish to serve me."
"Lord Prince, do you not care about Lady Diana as well? How are you going to wake up your poor sister without the power?" Mopso asked incredulously.
"You need not worry about that, I will find a better way to save Diana," Burris said faintly.
Hadero sighed heavily, gave me a hard stare, and left the place with a straight swipe of his white robe.
"Hadero!" shouted Hampton, but Hadero insisted on leaving anyway.
Burris grunted unconcernedly, "Any more to leave?"
"No! We will never betray the Howard family. I will go and persuade Hadero and we will be sure to prepare a perfect wedding for you." Hampton still looked respectful.
Hampton was a very calm elder, nothing like his daughter Vicki.
The negotiations ended there, and all three old men left the living room, and I breathed a complete sigh of relief.
"Don't be afraid, Cheryl, no one can hurt you." Burris said looking down at me.
Still a little worried, I frowned, "Burris, will they join forces with the Campbells against you?"
"I don't care about that, I'd feel more comfortable if they left instead. I've never trusted them before." Burris snorted lightly.
"If they do betray you, I will join you in dealing with them." I looked at Burris firmly.
"Well don't worry about it Cheryl, go check out the present I got for you." Burris said with a smile.