Chapter 20: The Price of Love

The surroundings were desolate, with nothing but wild grass swaying in the wind...

Leaning feebly in Alastor's arms, I stared at the broken stone gate before me, which was covered in moss. This was the entrance to the Demon Realm that Alastor claimed was "perpetually spring" and "filled with beauties"?

"Long time no see, Rosalie." Alastor suddenly blinked his deep blue eyes with watery affection, casting an electric gaze into the thin air.

"Lord Archon..." Just as I was wondering what was happening, a delicate, soft, and syrupy voice rang out abruptly. "I’ve been waiting for a long time."

At some point, a lady in a black cloak had appeared, sitting atop the broken stone gate. Her golden curls spilled out from the black hood, carrying an air of demonic charm.

"Lord Archon, I thought you were enjoying yourself so much in the mortal world that you had forgotten to come back." Pouting her full lips slightly, the lady blinked coquettishly. Her long eyelashes were like two dense little fans, making her autumn-water eyes even more soul-stirring.

Alastor walked forward with a grin. The lady jumped down, stood on her tiptoes, and offered her crimson lips.

Because my body was weak, Alastor was carrying me horizontally in his arms. I looked up, dumbfounded, watching Alastor and the blonde lady locked in a passionate, lingering kiss...

This old monster whose lecherous heart never dies, regardless of time or place!

"Eh? Who is this little thing?" Wanting to take a step closer, the blonde lady finally noticed the obstacle between them—my existence!

Little thing...

Once again, I twitched.

"Ah! Is she the Aurora you mentioned in your letter, the one who almost died at that guy's hands? Oh, poor little thing, she's quite badly hurt." With a face full of pity, Rosalie stroked my head as if soothing a wounded little animal...

However, where she touched me felt indescribably comfortable. I noticed with surprise that a faint golden glow emanated from her long, fair fingertips.

"Aren't you going to thank Rosalie?" Alastor looked down and pinched my nose. "Rosalie is an expert in healing arts."

I wrinkled my nose, feeling quite dissatisfied.

"This is only the preliminary treatment," Rosalie said with a smile, pinching my nose in turn before looking at Alastor. "But don't worry. Leave this little one to me. Within a month, I guarantee I'll return a lively, healthy Aurora to you."

"Really?" Alastor looked delighted. "You can truly cure her?"

"If the Lord Archon is willing to part with her." Rosalie smiled as gently as water.

"Nothing would please me more." Alastor nodded with a grin, then actually stuffed me into Rosalie's arms. "Be good. If Rosalie says she can cure you, you'll definitely be fine. Rosalie will bring you to see me in a month." With that, taking advantage of my lack of strength to argue, he strode directly into the demonic domain.

This... this... I stared at that exceptionally dashing silhouette, wishing I could stare two holes into his back.

This guy... what right does he have to take it upon himself to bring me to the Demon Realm, and then take it upon himself to dump me on this woman!

Preposterous!

"Oh, how cute." Rosalie pinched my puffed-out cheeks, smiling with immense charm. "Let’s go. Welcome to the Capital of Darkness."

Mama mia!

Why do I feel like I’ve boarded a pirate ship!

Wrapped up like a mummy from head to toe, I had been lying in bed for half a month, unable to move...

I had to endure Rosalie's "devastation" every day. It was truly a calamity.

"Little one, time to eat." Rosalie walked in with a smile, carrying a cup of terrifying green liquid.

Witch! This woman is definitely a witch! Albeit a beautiful one.

"Gulp, gulp." I was forced to down a whole cup of the unidentified substance, wanting to cry but having no tears.

"Are you a progeny transformed by Alastor?" Rosalie asked curiously, sitting on the edge of the bed while changing my bandages.

I ignored her resentfully.

"Alastor swore four hundred years ago that he would never create another bloodline."

I shot her a confused look. These words sounded familiar; it seemed Malachi had said the same thing when Alastor first took me to see him at "Night Charm."

"Why?" My curiosity finally won out, and I spoke.

"Eh?... Oh! You finally spoke!" Rosalie burst into laughter.

My forehead was covered in black lines. It turned out she was just teasing me to get me to talk...

"Alastor once loved a woman," Rosalie said with a smile.

"Him? There are plenty of women he loves." I sneered. He's just a fickle playboy.

"That noblewoman longed for a grand, passionate love. She ran away from her own wedding and begged Alastor to transform her. Alastor agreed. In the end, that woman couldn't bear the eternal darkness or the diet of fresh blood. That naive woman thought she could return to her family, to her parents and brothers. Later..."

"What happened later?"

"Later... that woman was burned to death by her own father and fiancé," Rosalie laughed. "By the time Alastor went to save her, it was too late. He only saw a pile of ashes."

I blinked, not understanding why Rosalie was telling me this story, but Alastor’s nonsensical rambling that day at "Night Charm" unexpectedly came to mind.

"Please don't hate me. I know you long for the light, but I love you, I love you... Please forgive me for dragging you into eternal darkness with me, because... I couldn't bear to watch you grow old day by day. I couldn't endure the thought that one day you would leave me. I didn't want to suffer that boundless loneliness alone again. I... love you. So, even if you hate me, I will keep you by my side, forever..."

Could that fickle playboy who put on such a dramatic performance for me actually be a hopeless romantic?

"It seems Alastor really loves you to death; he actually endured his inner torment to transform you." Rosalie pinched my nose. "What about you, little thing? Do you love him?"

My head was a muddle, so I just turned over and went to sleep.

I couldn't exactly tell Rosalie that I wasn't bitten by Alastor at all...

The real culprit was someone else entirely.

After more than half a month together, I finally realized that Rosalie wasn't a vampire at all, and the Demon Realm wasn't entirely the domain of vampires. Rosalie said the Demon Realm had every kind of monster imaginable, it just happened to be ruled by the Vampire Queen.

After being "poisoned" for over half a month, I could finally shed my mummy outfit, get out of bed to walk around, and finally stop drinking that terrifying, green, unidentified liquid...