Chapter 23: The Vampire Queen

The castle’s interior was lavishly decorated. A golden chandelier and candles burning steadily on the walls lit the whole room.

The windows seemed to be made of a special crystal that absorbed moonlight, and they were painted with beautiful stained glass designs.

The floor was covered with red carpets woven with golden thread patterns, and pine chairs lined both sides for visitors to use.

“Let her in.”

The Vampire Queen’s voice was not imposing. It even carried a hint of laziness. Not because she was arrogant, but because there were simply too many vampires coming to pay respects.

“Yes.”

The guard went outside the castle and signaled Bai Lanlan to enter.

As the girl walked, she lowered her voice to discuss something with Lin Yu.

“By the way, are there a lot of vampires who come to see the Queen?”

“Probably quite a few, right? Every region has vampires participating in the coming-of-age ceremony. All the ones who survive and reach adulthood get a token to see the Queen.”

“Doesn’t the Queen get tired? Having to see so many vampires every year.”

“I heard that the rule about seeing the Queen after winning a duel was only established in the last year.”

Hearing that, Lin Yu roughly understood why the Vampire Queen set up the audience.

[The Vampire Queen’s lost child is about eighteen now. That’s why for the past year, all the vampires who win their duels have to come see her. The odds are slim, but it’s better than doing nothing.]

[To avoid stirring up resentment, the audience isn’t restricted by gender.]

Walking along the stone path in the front courtyard, they could see the bright moonlight spilling down from above. Everything around was quiet, not a single cicada to be heard, and the scent of flowers drifted from the garden.

After stepping into the great hall, Bai Lanlan’s eyes were immediately drawn to the decorations. How could a country vampire like her have ever seen such things? Her entire savings couldn’t buy a single carpet off the floor.

She slowly raised her gaze upward and saw the Vampire Queen sitting on the throne at the far end of the hall, resting her head on one hand, scrutinizing Bai Lanlan with sharp eyes.

Despite being only about a meter forty tall, she radiated an overwhelming presence. Compared to the lazy voice from before, she seemed like a completely different person.

“As Queen, you must look the part in front of your subjects.”

These were the words of the previous Vampire Queen, her mother, who had once taught her this.

“Greetings, Your Majesty!“

Seeing Bai Lanlan kneel on one knee, Bai Lingye’s eyebrows shot up. She rose from the throne and walked toward the girl, her long dress trailing behind her.

“Warrior, your name?”

“Reporting to Your Majesty, my, my name is Bai Lanlan.”

“Then, Bai Lanlan, please answer my next questions truthfully.”

“Yes! I will tell you everything I know.”

“Where do your parents live now?”

“I was raised by a human mother. I never met my birth parents. My adoptive mother lives in a small village now.”

“Do you carry anything on you? A jade pendant, for instance?”

“Your Majesty, how did you know?”

Bai Lanlan froze, instinctively reaching toward her chest. She pulled out a smooth white jade pendant with a character carved on it. It had been hanging around her neck for as long as she could remember.

“Wonderful!” Bai Lingye touched the pendant, her eyes filled with joy. Then she lifted her gaze to Bai Lanlan. “Come with me.”

“Ah, yes!“ Bai Lanlan was suddenly grabbed by the Vampire Queen. Even as she was shocked, a guess surfaced in her mind.

[Could my birth mother be the Queen?]

[Did Senior guess this already? Is that why she was asking earlier about whether the Queen had an heir?]

Bai Lanlan was half a head taller than Bai Lingye. With Bai Lingye walking in front of her, completely dropping all formalities, the nervousness of facing the Vampire Queen vanished in an instant.

Bai Lingye led Bai Lanlan upstairs. This seemed to be her private space, a large living room.

“About sixteen years ago.”

Bai Lingye explained to Bai Lanlan as they walked.

“The werewolf leader William and his trusted men broke into the Night Kingdom and shattered the peace between our two races.”

“At the time, I had a two-year-old daughter. During the fighting with William, I had no time to look after her.”

“Thankfully, the maid caring for her protected her with her life and fled into the forest. After things settled down, I found the maid, dead. My daughter was gone.”

“Bai Lanlan… you are my child.” Bai Lingye reached out and touched Bai Lanlan’s cheek, her eyes full of the joy of reunion after so long.

“Your, Your Majesty?”

Bai Lanlan was stunned. She had never imagined she could be the Vampire Queen’s child. She was a waste vampire who was constantly bullied and called trash. How could she possibly be a princess of the vampires?

“From now on, just call me Mother.” Bai Lingye led Bai Lanlan into a dressing room and pulled out a new outfit. “You’ve suffered all these years.”

Bai Lingye held up the delicate white dress with lace trim against Bai Lanlan and nodded in satisfaction.

“Put this on.”

Bai Lingye began dressing Bai Lanlan. By now, Bai Lanlan was completely dazed and offered no resistance, letting Bai Lingye undress her.

[Why doesn’t this app have an auto-censor?]

Lin Yu tried to look away, but the Possession App didn’t have that function. The viewpoint was fixed.

[Hmm…]

What he saw first was the girl’s thin collarbone, her shoulders pink and white. Looking further down, he could vaguely make out the shape of bones around her ribcage.

Her flawless jade body was dotted with a touch of pink, and a pair of long, well-proportioned legs pressed perfectly together, forming an alluring curve.

Only when the new Bai Lanlan appeared before him did Lin Yu snap out of the visual shock.

They say clothes make the man. Dressed in a new outfit, Bai Lanlan looked like a completely different person. She had always been beautiful, and with the gorgeous clothing, she was now truly worthy of the word “princess.”

“So beautiful. Just as expected of my daughter.”

“Mo, Mother.” Bai Lanlan tried calling out, shyly covering her mouth with her hand. Then she asked, puzzled, “Where is Father?”

“He… died together with William to save me.” Bai Lingye’s eyes were filled with loss. She shook her head, pushing the worries aside, and looked back at Bai Lanlan. “Let’s not talk about that. Today, mother and daughter are reunited. We must celebrate properly.”

For the rest of the time, Bai Lingye held Bai Lanlan close and talked about many things, pouring out her longing for her daughter, and promised to announce the princess’s return the very next day.

Since she was busy with official duties, Bai Lingye told Bai Lanlan to walk around the city on her own to get familiar with the environment, and that they would hold a banquet that evening.

After leaving the castle, Bai Lanlan still couldn’t quite believe it. She clutched her brand-new dress and twirled around.

“Does it feel like a whole different world?”

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