CHAPTER 66: CAN YOU ANSWER A QUESTION FOR ME? (1/3)

"You despicable guy!"

"You don’t understand, only magic can combat magic, so only the most intelligent Paladins won’t be deceived by evil Vampires."

"But now it’s you deceiving me!!?"

"Oh? Is that so?"

Herbert looked at the expressive Eliza, finding this face-to-face interaction much more interesting.

At least she now has a face illustration, much better than that coffin-mimicking treasure box monster from before...

He raised an eyebrow, then shook his head and laughed: "Clearly, it’s you who came to suck my blood voluntarily, how could it be me harming you?"

"You wouldn’t say that I’m deliberately enticing you to suck my blood, would you?"

You are!

Eliza really wanted to shout this out to argue back, but she also knew she was indeed in the wrong.

She did suck his blood, and indeed sucked a little too much.

Now she was truly at a loss for words; there was no clarity to be found, especially since she didn’t have a rightful stance.

Ultimately, Eliza succumbed to the pressure from the crafty merchant and finally agreed to his harsh terms.

"Alright, I’ll agree to your terms this time, but I can only give you two more drops! Absolutely no more, or I’ll revert to my previous state!"

She also stated her conditions.

She firmly decided on only two drops; any more and she wouldn’t agree.

Although Herbert’s blood was deliciously sweet and provided her considerable strength, it was still way too little for a body depleted for hundreds of years.

At most, it merely filled up about one percent of the void, truly a drop in the bucket.

So even now, Eliza’s chest wound had not fully healed and remained in a state where "the heart bleeds."

While speaking, she occasionally lost a few drops of fresh blood from the wound, but before they hit the ground, she’d painfully suck them back.

Hmm, truly delightful.

"Only two drops, huh, you’re making this really difficult for me..."

Herbert feigned a troubled demeanor, shook his head, and after much difficulty, stamped his foot and waved his hand, saying:

"Ah, fine, fine! For the sake of how long we’ve known each other, let it be this way this time then."

The way he behaved appeared as if he had conceded a massive advantage.

Eliza: ?

"What are you talking about? We’ve known each other for a long time? We are very familiar..."

"Then it’s ten drops, no more discussions."

"Very familiar! Heh heh, very familiar indeed! We are old friends, old friends for sure!"

Eliza dryly laughed while constantly rolling her eyes at Herbert and gritting her teeth: "You really can’t take a joke! Laugh! At that!"

This despicable Paladin!

So treacherous!

Eliza hated inwardly and squeezed at her chest, cautiously extracting two drops of Essence Blood.

Herbert gladly accepted them, not bothering to ask where exactly she conjured the Essence Blood from...

Don’t ask.

It’s better not to meddle in the affairs of female Vampires.

In many cases, being a bit foolish can actually lead to a better life.

Knowledge is actually a curse.

For instance, when you don’t know those trivial bits of useless trivia like "breathing can actually be manual," "swallowing saliva as well," and "your eyes can always see your nose," you were very happy!

Don’t let your mind be tarnished by knowledge.

You must continue to be happy!!! (voice breaking)

After obtaining two drops of Essence Blood through "fair market trade means," Herbert recalled something that piqued his curiosity.

Initially, he didn’t plan to ask, intending to stay blissfully ignorant, but the events that unfolded later changed his mind.

"By the way, Miss Eliza, I have a question I’d like to ask you, is that alright?"

Eliza was momentarily stunned, then her eyes lit up, and she said sinisterly: "A question? Sure, but you’ll trade me blood for it!"

Finally, a chance for her to pounce!

Herbert promptly nodded: "Sure, as long as you can provide a satisfactory answer, how many drops of blood do you need?"

Hmm?

This overly agreeable reaction made Eliza a bit anxious; learning from previous mistakes, she this time assertively said: "You ask first, I’ll give you a price after you’ve asked!"

She was ready.

As soon as Herbert asked, she planned to quickly answer and then demand a price so high he couldn’t possibly accept it.

Heh heh.

You think only you can extort others?

I’m going to let you experience the pain I just felt!

While feeling smug over her ingenious plan, Eliza heard Herbert’s question—

"Excuse me, what is it like to kill one’s own father with your own hands?"

!!?

The smile instantly vanished from her pale face, and her crimson eyes trembled for a moment before locking onto the person in front of her.

She squinted her eyes, cast a dangerous gaze at Herbert, and slowly asked: "...You know about that?"

At that moment, Eliza exuded the aura Herbert had once seen in his memories.

Danger, sinister, and insanity.

Herbert nodded gently.

Indeed, this was the powerful Vampire from his memories— if you ignored the little detail of her currently crouched with legs crossed in a coffin.

"Where did you learn about this?"

Eliza asked in a low, hoarse voice: "Who told you!?"

Who told me?

If I said your dad told me... would you believe it?

Herbert didn’t respond this way; instead, he earnedestly gazed into her crimson eyes, softly asking: "What did it feel like?"

"When you took his life and severed all bonds between you, how did you feel?"

"Was it satisfaction? Or emptiness?"

"At that moment, what... exactly did you feel?"

Back then, what did you actually experience?

"You..."

Eliza furrowed her brows, squinting at Herbert for a long time. Once convinced that he wasn’t joking or deliberately trying to disgust her, she sighed somewhat reluctantly.

"You really are... offensive."

She wanted to scold this boundary-less guy.

Yet, Eliza couldn’t feel any malice from him.

Quite the contrary, she sensed a deeply hidden confusion within him.

He was confused, hesitating, and somewhat doubting his own thoughts.

...Just like she did before taking action back then.

After hesitating for a moment and letting out a deep sigh, Eliza finally began to slowly answer: "Let me clarify first, the person you know wasn’t my father."

"My parents perished at his hands; he was merely an old monster who turned me from a human into a creature."

"That thing was definitely not my father."