Chapter 52: The Little Vampire in the Old Castle 25

The Vampire Prince's tone was calm and steady, utterly certain, as if that heavy door had indeed broken for no apparent reason.

Yu Deng was taken aback. He opened his eyes wide to look at the luxurious, intricately carved door, and let out a dazed "Oh." It wasn't until he was carried back to the deep recesses of the bedroom and placed upon the bed that he belatedly felt something was amiss.

The foolish little vampire raised a doubt: "That's not right. When they brought things over just now, the door was still completely fine."

The silver-haired vampire pondered with a semblance of seriousness: "Is that so? Then perhaps it simply broke just now. Enchanted creations inevitably develop minor faults after prolonged use."

Yu Deng: "?"

Yu Deng struggled to think for a few seconds, and under his guide's confident and solemn gaze, chose to believe this explanation.

System 01: [...] What a foolish host.

Only these men would resort to such tactics—consumed by raving jealousy, committing acts akin to imprisonment, yet still painstakingly coaxing him, not daring to speak out lest they anger him.

"Then hurry up and fix that door, I still need to go out." Sitting on the newly moved bed, Yu Deng looked at the darkening sky outside the window and suddenly had a flash of inspiration: "Wait, I have wings, wouldn't it be fine if I just flew out?"

With that, the tiny bat wings behind Yu Deng began to flutter.

"..." Ronald reached out and gently pressed the little vampire back down. "You can't go out through the window. There is a magic array around my room; going out through the window will hurt you."

"Oh..." Yu Deng hesitatingly sat back down.

Ronald picked up an object from the side and placed it right atop Yu Deng's head.

Huh? Yu Deng touched it in confusion, finding the texture somewhat familiar. When he took it off to look, he realized it was the crown the little bat had once brought him in its mouth when someone questioned his identity.

This tiny crown was exquisitely crafted. Its material was not silver, but some rare silver magic crystal, and the embedded gems shone with a crystalline brilliance.

"Why did you bring this crown over?" Yu Deng poked the gem embedded in the center.

The Vampire Prince placed the crown back on Yu Deng's head, carefully adjusting its position: "I saw it on your bedside table."

He had a very vague memory.

It seemed that before he awoke, a wisp of his consciousness had bestowed this crown upon the little vampire.

"Darling, do you know what this crown is?"

Of course Yu Deng didn't know, and he guessed wildly: "An ornament treasured by vampires?"

"It is indeed a treasure. This is the crown of the Prince's consort."

It was the crown that appeared alongside the power of inheritance when Ronald first became the Vampire Prince.

He had never had a partner, and so this crown had remained sealed away for centuries, to the point that he had almost forgotten it.

Yu Deng let out an "ah": "A consort...? Then I shouldn't wear it."

After all, the Prince was merely his guide.

The Vampire Prince halted Yu Deng's attempt to take off the crown, his gesture gentle yet leaving no room for refusal.

"Darling, even if not now... this crown is yours, and it will only ever be yours."

His wide, cold bat wings unfolded, almost enclosing Yu Deng in this corner by the bedside.

In truth, Yu Deng's entire body was still aching and sore. Having maintained a polite sitting posture for only a short while, he slumped against Ronald's embrace, using the mighty Vampire Prince as his backrest.

Consequently, he didn't bicker with the Prince over his various minor actions.

[Ding—Energy continues to fluctuate violently. Player Yu Deng, please take note: all four special quest targets in this instance have developed destructive desires. Please complete the tasks as soon as possible.]

Startled by the Main System's sudden appearance, Yu Deng muttered in his mind.

"Why did you suddenly pop out... And I didn't hear any commotion. Wnluo and the others seem quite well-behaved, didn't you detect it wrong?"

[?] The Main System said, [That is utterly impossible.]

The commotion today was almost enough to collapse the ancient castle into ruins, and this player actually didn't feel a thing?!

System 01 remained undisturbed: [Host, the Main System also issued warnings while you were resting. I blocked a total of 19 of them for you.]

***

I see. Yu Deng understood, and turning his head, he told the Main System: "I am very earnestly working on the quests. I've tried with every single quest target."

The Main System remained silent.

"But I'm just a very weak vampire. Look at my quest targets—they're all at the Prince level. It's useless for you to urge me."

[...]

The Main System's crackling current sounded somewhat like a deep breath, though Yu Deng deemed that unlikely—after all, it was a silicon-based lifeform, how could it possibly breathe?

[You may make reasonable use of the items you have acquired.]

[Allow me to remind you that if your special tasks remain uncompleted, it will be regarded as a clearance failure.]

A clearance failure meant being purged by the instance.

Yu Deng lowered his eyelashes and gave a wilted response: "I know, stop bothering me about the quests."

The Main System fell silent.

The Prince, quietly serving as a human cushion, grew somewhat dissatisfied. His fingertips lifted Yu Deng's cheek, and he pecked lightly at the corners of his lips.

"Darling, why were you zoning out?"

Yu Deng puckered his lips: "I was thinking of some annoying things."

"Then don't think about them."

Yu Deng didn't quite catch the Prince's meaning, but the very next second, he understood.

His soft, slightly swollen lips were captured, gently bruised and ground against. Their breathing intertwined, accompanied by the faint sound of friction.

Having learned his lesson from last time, the Prince's kiss was tender and lingering.

Yu Deng truly had no spare energy to ponder the quests given by the Main System anymore. He was almost completely enveloped in the embrace, pressed against the man's firm muscles, and incidentally perceived certain reactions.

The Vampire Prince's breathing grew somewhat heavy, and the air turned increasingly scorching.

Yu Deng had a premonition of danger.

"Y-You aren't allowed to touch me..." Kissed until he felt dizzy, he stammered.

"Why can others, but not I?" Ronald's red pupils were chillingly cold, yet his tone remained soft, laced with a hint of grievance.

"Does darling like Agnes that much?" So much so that he was only allowed this?

Who was Agnes? Yu Deng took several seconds to react, finally remembering that this was the butler's surname.

"He's very obedient." Yu Deng said.

An obedient, well-behaved doggy could receive a tiny bit of affection, which was only natural.

The Prince's massive bat wings drooped, his sharp fangs half-visible: "I am also very obedient to darling right now. Can darling like me a little bit too?"

The Prince's tone strongly resembled a plea. Any vampire witnessing this would likely have their jaws drop in shock at the Prince's demeanor.

"I have never established an intimate relationship with anyone else. Only you."

Though he did not know how he had come to share such an intimate bond with Yu Deng.

Ronald lowered his head and spoke slowly: "They all fear me, treating me as the vampires' trump card and sharp weapon, never making me feel joy. Only darling is different."

Hearing the Prince play the pity card, Yu Deng blinked.

That sounded rather pitiful...

"Alright. But I'm so sore and tired right now..." Yu Deng pursed his lips. "What do you want me to do?"

The silver-haired vampire smiled, taking Yu Deng's fair hand in his own.

"Naturally, I wouldn't have the heart to make darling work hard. Then... simply help me a little, won't you?"

***

While Yu Deng was being coaxed into staying in the bedroom by the Prince and unable to leave, the players were not idle either.

After Qin Jun had a bout with the man who had secretly fed on the little vampire lord, he attempted to break through the barrier of the ancient castle's final boss, yielding no results for the moment. Hence, he simply reverted to his previous clearance style, wildly triggering quests and wreaking havoc in the instance.

As for the other players, the chubby wizard and the female player Xiao Gao were quite unlucky; they were caught by a brutal non-human and almost had their disguises blown. Fortunately, they didn't kill each other and instead cooperated, expending a great deal of effort to shake off that NPC.

How should one put it? The appearance of that Vampire Prince was not entirely a bad thing. At the very least, his existence suppressed the arrogance of these non-human entities.

Look at today—ever since the Prince and that butler finished fighting and remained absent, these non-humans had started growing restless again.

The chubby guy collapsed onto the ground and said to Xiao Gao, "Thanks for helping me just now, sis. You're my only sis."

Xiao Gao: "Alright, alright. Sigh, it seems it's almost time for the banquet."

No sooner had she spoken than the instance made its routine broadcast.

[Ding. Tonight is a special game mode. The game is about to begin.]

[Since players participated in the game yesterday, you may choose whether or not to participate today.]

The two looked at each other in dismay.

The instance had actually done something decent? Weren't they able to take a break today?

"Sis, what do you think?" the chubby guy asked.

"I feel something's off," Xiao Gao said. "If you trust my intuition, then let's continue participating tonight."

Once they confirmed their choice, the two were teleported into the game.

The moment Xiao Gao opened her eyes, she saw the legendary witch Edith sitting opposite her. The aged witch smiled at her.

"Child, I have a commission for you," the witch said meaningfully. "Please hand this item over to him. I know it—you're not an ordinary werewolf; you possess some peculiar abilities."

***

On the sixth night of entering the ancient castle, the banquet game began once more.

Yu Deng was still in the Prince's room. His hand was held by Ronald and guided downward.

"Eh? What are you doing?"

Very soon, Yu Deng learned just how he was supposed to help the Prince.

His soft palm was guided to cover the area beneath the fabric, with the Prince's large hand pressing over the back of his hand.

The little vampire's guide was teaching him how to attain pleasure.

His little wings were gently stroked by the Prince, tickling him and sending ripples of comfortable warmth.

"Thank you, darling." After guiding him for a moment, Ronald loosened his grip, handing the initiative over to Yu Deng.

Yu Deng continued, imitating the previous motion. Gradually, his hand grew rather sore, accompanied by a burning ache. Unwilling to move anymore, he grumbled softly: "You're so bad... You only care about your own pleasure, and this makes me so tired."

"It's my fault." The Prince immediately reflected on his actions, diligently serving his little vampire, making not only the little wings feel wonderful, but also making other places feel comfortable as well.

Consequently, Yu Deng lacked the energy to scold him further, and his movements on the hand grew intermittent—less of a friction, and more akin to a gentle caress.

Yet, this proved even more stimulating to the Prince.

Blurry-eyed from physiological tears, Yu Deng's vision caught sight of a thumb ring worn on the Prince's finger.

The glossy, cold jade rubbed against him in such a strange way.

[...]

When it was all over, Yu Deng's hand was aching terribly, and he simply didn't want to move a muscle.

He ordered the Prince: "So dirty... Go clean it up."

The powerful and noble Vampire Prince didn't mind doing such a task in the slightest, meticulously helping the little vampire wipe himself clean and fresh before turning to deal with his own clothes.