Chapter 180 – “I don’t mind.”

Translator: ChuRen/ YuQiChen

Tang Qing looked at the man in disbelief and asked, “Your Highness?”

In such a large castle, couldn’t they find a proper room for a normal person to stay in?

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow and looked at Tang Qing. Under the candlelight, his features were especially sharp and clear, each line seeming perfectly carved by a master craftsman.

“What I mean is… this is His Highness’s personal bedchamber. I am just a servant; to sleep here would be an offence to you.”

“I don’t mind.”

You don’t mind, but I do!

Tang Qing almost wanted to punch that handsome face.

Then he noticed that the man’s eyes were no longer the blood-red he’d seen when they first met in the coffin. Instead, they had turned deep emerald green, mysterious and captivating like a deep forest.

He couldn’t help but stare into the man’s eyes a few more times.

He had already noticed that Sephiroth’s eyes were very similar to Julian’s. Now that the man’s eyes had turned green, they were almost identical.

The difference was that Julian’s gaze was cold and indifferent, seemingly untouched by anything in the world, only occasionally softening when looking at himself.

Sephiroth’s eyes, on the other hand, were full of confidence and control—looking down on everything with sharp danger. When he looked at Tang Qing, his icy, emotionless gaze felt as if he was studying a curious new prey.

“Really like my face? Staring in a daze?” The man teased, watching Tang Qing intently.

Tang Qing quickly withdrew his gaze, lowering his head. “I only admire Your Highness so much that I can’t help but look directly at your perfectly handsome and incomparable appearance.”

After saying this, he quickly laid out bedding on the floor and lay down.

His movements were so practised that it was heartbreaking. After all, during his many days at Castle Csejte, he had only ever slept in the worn-down rest room or on the hard floor; he hadn’t slept on a proper bed even once.

“Well, then, I shall sleep now. Good night, Your Highness.”

Sephiroth didn’t respond. Only after the boy had fallen asleep did he rise and stand beside him, looking down from above at the quietly sleeping boy on the ground.

After waking, Sephiroth did not return to his own domain but condescended to stay in Countess Bathory’s castle. As a result, Countess Bathory had to renovate the castle, temporarily making Castle Csejte Sephiroth’s residence, while she herself, was left with only a room less than a tenth the size of Sephiroth’s bedchamber.

Of course, Bathory had no objections to this. After all, this was the vampire prince—the most powerful leader of vampires. Sephiroth choosing to stay with her was a dream come true for countless followers of the prince.

However, the prince was extremely domineering, having opened up the entire floor. The places where she used to enjoy dating men were gone, so she had to meet them outside.

People privately wondered why Lord Sephiroth didn’t return to his vampire prince palace but stayed in the small Castle Csejte instead.

Could it be that Countess Bathory had some special means to captivate Lord Sephiroth?

In truth, Sephiroth himself didn’t know why he stayed here.

He just felt like he was waiting for something.

He couldn’t quite explain it.

Moonlight streamed into the room, illuminating the Eastern youth who was already sound asleep. The expression on his face was relaxed and peaceful. His long, black hair sprawled over the pillow, making his skin appear even paler.

Long, dense eyelashes cast tiny shadows under the silver moonlight, accentuating those delicate eyes. His lips were soft, the corners raised slightly, as if a faint smile still lingered.

Perhaps because he slept deeply, a gentle blush crept up Tang Qing’s cheeks, making them rosy, as if he was having a pleasant dream.

In fact, from the very first glance, Sephiroth recognised him.

This Eastern youth was the same maid he had seen when he awoke that day.

Though the hairstyle and clothes had changed, and he was well dressed now, making it hard to associate him with that maid at first sight,

Those round apricot-shaped eyes—black and clear—were pure and clean when they met Sephiroth’s gaze. Even when speaking flattering words, those eyes were like springs, clear and bright, lively and adorable.

Just quietly watching Tang Qing sleep, Sephiroth felt a strange, indescribable sensation in his heart.

As an ancient vampire thousands of years old, Sephiroth’s power had reached its peak. The life and death of mortals were insignificant to him, like ants, and the passage of time was as fleeting as a passing horse. This extraordinary power instead brought him a profound sense of loss.

He seemed unable to comprehend mortal joys and sorrows, nor to truly cherish anything. This complex feeling that he couldn’t understand gradually transformed into weariness and backlash against eternal life over the millennia.

Extreme conditions provoke opposites. In this world, Sephiroth had become so powerful that he had no enemies. Yet, on the thousandth Blood Moon night, he suffered a backlash from his own power and fell into a deep slumber.

He suppressed his immense vampiric strength, finally awakening after a hundred years.

Unexpectedly, he awoke in the form of a boy with faint magic.

Sephiroth symbolised supreme power, while Julian represents the past he has long chosen to forget.

Before becoming the revered prince, he was named Julian, a small prince from a modestly wealthy country. After his birth, due to a prophecy by a church priest, his father locked him in a dark, underground chamber with no light.

He was born into darkness, never seeing the sunlight.

On the day before his eighteenth birthday, his ‘righteous and responsible’ father, fearing the prophecy would come true, set fire to the entire palace. Everyone escaped in time—except Julian, who was locked in the underground chamber.

That day, the boy Julian was burned alive.

The vampire prince Sephiroth was born.

Raindrops burst upon the ground, forming a spreading pool of blood-red. Heart-wrenching cries echoed through the night sky, signalling the true arrival of disaster.

Perhaps the priest was right—he was a monster from hell, a vampire who needed fresh blood to live, a reincarnation of the ultimate demon.

His birth heralded calamity, and his deeds throughout his life confirmed the prophecy.

He looked coldly at Tang Qing.

This boy’s strange behaviour—sneaking into Castle Csejte again—was probably for his Princess Lily once more.

That’s why he kept the boy under close watch, curious about what tricks he might try this time.

He was no longer Julian; he had long discarded unnecessary human emotions.

…

The next day, Tang Qing woke to find the room empty.

It reminded him of the times with Julian—just like this.

However, someone like Sephiroth—did he even need to sleep? Tang Qing knew most vampires needed to rest during the day, but a vampire as powerful as Sephiroth should be immune to sunlight, right?

When he stepped outside, only a few people moved about.

Their faces were pale, their expressions listless, movements stiff and slow, like puppets on strings.

These were not humans—they were vampires.

Due to their weak magical power, they could only appear briefly during daylight.

“Blood slave Tang Qing, where are you going?” a cold voice sounded.

It was Butler Liszt.

“I’m going to get the cleaning tools and tidy Lord Sephiroth’s room.”

Hearing that he was serving Sephiroth, Liszt showed a satisfied expression and said, “Good. You must remember your mission: to proactively serve Lord Sephiroth. It is your honour.”

Tang Qing suppressed the urge to roll his eyes, put on a worshipful expression, and asked, “May I ask where Lord Sephiroth stays during the day? I don’t see him in the bedchamber.”

Liszt immediately put on a stern face and said displeasedly, “That’s none of your concern. Just do what you’re supposed to and don’t ask things you shouldn’t.”

Liszt then went on a long lecture, repeating what a blood slave should do.

Tang Qing quickly nodded to show he understood, finally leaving the vampire prince’s number one fan.

He took the cleaning tools and returned to the bedchamber, putting on a show of tidying up.

Damn Sephiroth, why did he have to expand the bedchamber so much, with so many fancy decorations? Just cleaning the place took forever.

He never expected it to be worse than when he was a maid.

“99, do you think Julian is still alive?”

[The reason vampires are feared by humans is because they’re hard to kill. Unless drained of all fresh blood by a stronger vampire, or their heart is burned by sunlight or pierced by a holy artifact, no matter how badly injured, they can survive.] System 99 rummaged through the little world’s background settings and explained.

Tang Qing nodded.

So that meant it was very likely Julian was still alive.

Taking advantage of Liszt’s inattention, he sneakily went to the room where Julian had lived but found it empty.

Since the vampire guards were dozing during the day, he also searched the underground rest area and maid’s resting room—the places where he’d met the black cat or Julian before—but found no sign of him.

Tang Qing was a little disappointed, unsure where Julian could be.

He believed that if Julian were still in the castle, he would recognise him and come looking.

After searching around, he unknowingly reached the castle’s gate. Looking into the distance, the atmosphere was silent and still—no wind rustling branches, hardly any birdsong.

“99, where is this place?” Tang Qing hadn’t noticed this area before.

[This place is called the Eternal Grounds, where vampires are buried.]

Rows of tombs were neatly arranged, covered in cobwebs and moss. White flowers on the headstones symbolised purity—but that only added to a strange feeling.

If Julian was really… then his name should be here too, right? Tang Qing decided to check every name to see whether Julian’s was among them. Just knowing he wasn’t here would ease his heart.

He searched carefully through the newer-looking headstones.

He passed by a very special tomb—tall and ancient but well preserved, wrapped in vines that failed to hide its majesty.

Tang Qing was about to leave, but looked closer and was shocked to see Julian’s name boldly inscribed.

“What are you doing here?”

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