Chapter 10: A Mother’s Wish and a False Kinship

A diligent, brave, and kind bloodkin woman left her home after coming of age to venture out into the world alone.

Over the years, she amassed a considerable fortune. Yet, her mother back in the countryside remained perpetually melancholic.

The elderly woman’s greatest wish was to see her daughter marry and have children of her own before she passed away.

Due to her prolonged unhappiness, the old woman had recently fallen ill.

Doctors warned that if her wish remained unfulfilled, she might not survive.

For the mother who had toiled to raise her, Dracula was forced to fabricate a lie.

She told her mother:

“I’ve actually been married for a while now; I simply kept it from you. The next time we meet, I’ll bring your granddaughter to see you.”

Her mother believed the lie, and now the pressure rested squarely on Dracula’s shoulders.

“I was cornered, left with no choice but to beg you to play along with me!”

Though the story was poorly contrived, it didn’t prevent the little girl from being taken in.

‘So, even Big Sister has it tough…’

If Wang Yaofu’s emotional threshold were any lower, she would have burst into tears right then.

“If you pity me, please agree!”

The very next moment, Dracula’s face was awash with tears.

She was truly crying!

For a professional spy, shedding tears on command was a trivial matter.

Moved by Big Sister’s tears, Wang Yaofu fell for the outrageous tale and expressed her willingness to help.

However, she also presented her own condition:

“After this, you have to help me find my brother!”

“No problem!”

Dracula agreed without a trace of hesitation.

Whether she would actually fulfill the promise later was entirely up to her.

Wang Yaofu, too, had considered the possibility of the other party breaking her word.

‘[Even if Big Sister breaks her promise, I can still use her power to escape this dangerous, monster-infested place before then!]’

As long as she reached a safe location, she wouldn’t be at a disadvantage.

It was this realization that led the ten-year-old girl to choose to assist the bloodkin lady before her.

‘But even with my cooperation, Big Sister still hasn’t solved the husband problem.’

Dracula had not forgotten what Wang Yaofu was thinking.

She had an idea.

“I’ll just tell Mother that my husband is too busy with work to come, and I’ll bring our granddaughter first so her grandmother can meet her.”

In reality, since neither her mother nor father existed, this particular problem was entirely moot.

What Dracula hadn’t forgotten was the logical consistency of the lie she had fabricated.

Once the ‘child’ was chosen, it was time for them to get acquainted.

Specifically, they needed to know each other’s names.

“What’s your name?”

“My surname is Wang, and my given name is Yaofu.”

“A name with an Eastern continent flair. I am… just call me Dracula. My full name is a bit hard to remember.”

Dracula adopted a serious expression, then informed Wang Yaofu:

“Now, try to change your address. No more ‘Big Sister’; you’ll call me M-Mother.”

“…”

“Why the silence?”

“I feel like I’m selling my soul to a demon.”

“It’s just a title. I’m not asking you to swap mothers.”

“Uh.”

“Be serious. Call me M-Mother.”

“Moo-moo.”

Her heart filled with extreme resistance, Wang Yaofu’s words sounded nothing like calling a mother.

In fact, it sounded precisely like a cow’s lowing, as if the little girl had suddenly transformed into a calf.

“Mother!”

“Moo… Mom.”

“Why did you change one word?”

“This is my limit.”

The little girl had ‘Wang Xiaole-fied’ her address, as her older sister usually called their parents ‘Old Dad, Old Mom.’

The result didn’t entirely satisfy Dracula, but it was acceptable enough.

“Fine, just call me that from now on.”

“Yay!”

Wang Yaofu threw her hands up in a cheer; the other party’s compromise was her victory.

According to Dracula’s plan:

“I’ll take you to the castle where I live, and we’ll spend the rest of the day there.”

“Huh? Shouldn’t the most urgent thing right now be to hurry and visit your mother?”

“It’s fine! After learning I have a child, Mother’s condition improved significantly. There’s no longer such a pressing rush.”

Dracula was exceptionally adept at this trick of ‘conjuring a mother out of thin air.’

After dispelling Wang Yaofu’s doubts, she immediately squatted down, motioning for the little girl to climb onto her back so they could return to the castle sooner.

The moment she lifted Wang Yaofu onto her back, Dracula flapped her wings, ascending vertically until they reached a considerable height.

“Hold on tight.”

“I know.”

‘Knowing’ meant wrapping her arms around Dracula’s neck and squeezing tightly, using a posture that seemed intent on strangling her target to secure herself.

If the little girl’s strength were just a bit greater, the Big Sister carrying her would have struggled to breathe.

“Let’s go!”

Concentrating power in her wings, Dracula soared towards a defensive line, swiftly accelerating to her top speed.

After flying through the air with Wang Yaofu for some time, she arrived above her own territory.

This was entirely private land; no other bloodkin would intrude without cause, making it exceptionally tranquil.

The morning slowly transitioned into noon, and the sunlight outside grew increasingly dazzling.

With the passage of time, the higher bloodkin on the continent, Dracula included, had long overcome their inherent weakness; sunlight held no fear for them.

Before she could fully take in the forest below, a castle steeped in history appeared before her eyes.

The castle was quite different from what Wang Yaofu had imagined.

In many people’s minds, a bloodkin castle should stand atop a cliff, its ancient outer walls surrounding it, with rusty iron railings visible at a glance.

Inside, a dilapidated garden would feature withered flowers.

Flocks of black bats would circle above the castle, their faint screeches sending shivers down one’s spine.

The reality, however, was different.

Though Dracula’s castle was situated on a hilltop, its surroundings bore little resemblance to a ‘cliff.’

It was far from dilapidated; at most, from a distance, it exuded a sense of historical grandeur, imparting a profound visual impact.

There were no rusty iron railings or ruinous gardens. Instead, after traversing a vast lawn, one would arrive at an expansive, open garden.

The entire garden was built into the slope, with a central path dividing it into two perfectly symmetrical halves. Along both sides of the path, terraced levels ascended, following elegant lines.

These terraces were adorned with raised flowerbeds, multi-tiered ponds, fountains of varying sizes, and an array of statues.

Wang Yaofu hadn’t viewed them up close, yet she could still discern that these sculptures were entirely unlike the mass-produced pieces commonly found in plazas and pedestrian streets.

It had to be admitted:

Among all races, the bloodkin’s taste was the closest to human, and arguably the finest.

The two entered the castle one after another and settled opposite each other in the reception hall.

Once home, Dracula relaxed, curling languidly into the soft sofa.

“I’m a bit hungry. Child, do you want something to eat?”

Dracula had fully immersed herself in the role, while Wang Yaofu was deep in thought.

Mentioning bloodkin’s preferred foods often conjured images of humans preyed upon in the dead of night.

Wang Yaofu, however, didn’t think this way. From the knowledge Mi Yin had shared, she knew:

The bloodkin of this world sometimes consumed ordinary food.

Higher bloodkin, in particular, could live healthily without blood.

“I want beef!”

What Wang Yaofu had been pondering was actually what to order.

Upon hearing the little girl’s request, Dracula shook the bell on the table twice.

The reception hall door immediately opened, and a maid, who had been waiting outside, yawned as she entered.

After specifying the food she required, Dracula instructed the maid to tell the chef to prepare the dishes.

Many bloodkin slept during the day; those like Dracula, who could move freely twenty-four hours a day, were a minority.

Others, though capable of activity during the day, appeared listless and ready to fall asleep at any moment—the maid being a prime example.

After the necessary wait, the maid reappeared.

“Here’s your lunch and drinks, and for this young lady! If there’s nothing else, haaah… I’ll just go catch up on my beauty sleep.”

“Go get some good rest.”

The maid, at her mistress’s gesture, stumbled out of the reception hall and vanished into the darkened corridor.

“Enjoy your feast!”

The food placed before Wang Yaofu was identical to what was on Dracula’s plate: a steak cooked to what appeared to be medium-rare.

No plate of vegetables was in sight, a testament to Dracula’s picky eating habits and her dislike for such foods.

Beside the plates were two stemmed glasses. Dracula glanced at them and picked one up.

“Mmm~”

She gently swirled the wine in the glass before her, savoring the released aroma, then took a sip, a satisfied smile gracing her lips.

“Is that red wine?”

“That’s right, it’s a red wine I’m very fond of, purchased from another lord’s estate.”

Holding the stemmed glass in one hand, Dracula used her other index finger to point at Wang Yaofu’s cup, telling her:

“Yours is tomato juice. You’re clearly underage, so don’t even think about drinking alcohol.”

Taking another sip, Dracula’s slender fingers slid along the glass as her index finger shifted to point at a garden outside the window.

“That’s where all the vegetables and fruits tirelessly cultivated by the maids are grown.”

Dracula didn’t want her maids to make special trips to town just to buy groceries.

“There are also places outside the castle where cattle and sheep are raised. Under my arrangements, the bloodkin in this castle now live a self-sufficient life!”

“Chew, chew, chew, chew…”

Wang Yaofu wasn’t listening attentively; she was wholly focused on her battle with the steak.

In this fierce struggle, if she achieved ultimate victory, she could (literally) devour her opponent.

“You can eat as much as you like. As long as we remain a fake mother and daughter, you’ll enjoy princess-like treatment.”

Dracula rested her folded hands on the table, gazing at the distant countryside, allowing the red glow of the setting sun to tint her eyes.

It was a shrewd gaze, one that could only be achieved through careful calculation.

Wang Yaofu hadn’t been reunited with her sister, but on her very first day in this new world, she too was living a life free from want.

If not forever, then at least for the foreseeable future…