Chapter 9: An Unconventional Proposal

‘Since it was a misunderstanding… then it was fine!’

The demonic beasts could eat if they wished; this lady would certainly not expend her limited sympathy on a mere human girl.

Considering their chance encounter, she had a message for Wang Yaofu:

“Don’t worry! Although I’ve never been eaten, my intuition tells me the pain will only last a moment!”

As if glimpsing the little girl for the very last time in this life, this lady cast a glance at her.

After that, she prepared to ascend into the sky, completely unburdened.

She had clearly underestimated Wang Yaofu, who, driven by a powerful will to survive, tightly embraced her waist.

“What… ”

Amidst her surprise, this lady made a discovery:

The demonic beasts, not far away, charged forward as one, spurred by their leader’s decision.

Their opponent was not a monster like Mi Yin, and these demonic beasts still dared to provoke this red-haired lady.

They believed there was strength in numbers; as long as they worked together, they would surely win!

The reason they targeted her as well, aside from her being too close to Wang Yaofu at that moment, was even more crucial: one more target meant more meat!

The demonic beasts were truly desperate for survival.

Even if she were to shake off Wang Yaofu now, the demonic beasts’ intention to attack her would remain entirely unchanged.

With the situation having escalated to this point, she had no choice but to fight.

She was fighting for herself!

Just as the demonic beasts were about to pounce on their target, a streak of blood-red light suddenly appeared.

This line was slender, captivating, and gleamed with a vivid crimson radiance.

Like a flexible sword, the blood-red line swept towards the leader of the demonic beasts—the one closest to her.

From fur to flesh, from tail to head, it was perfectly sliced in two; the blood-red line effortlessly bisected the leader.

Before the crimson contents of the beast’s carcass could spill onto the ground, the blood-red line bent and extended countless times in mid-air, dazzlingly shifting its form.

Within a section of space from the air to the ground, countless red threads were conspicuously weaving together, forming a vast, crimson net.

Any prey that touched the edges of this net was instantly throttled, then swiftly disintegrated into a rising mist of blood.

The blood-red line completed its slaughter, and the demonic beasts were annihilated in an instant!

One thing was certain: she was not as powerful as Mi Yin, but the demonic beasts only realized this in their dying moments: even if she was relatively weaker, she could dispatch them and their companions with effortless ease!

The battle concluded, leaving Wang Yaofu utterly stunned.

Unexpectedly, she wasn’t particularly repulsed by the scent of blood.

While the smell was unsettling, it didn’t make her vomit, nor was it unbearable.

She retracted the blood-red line, a unique magical weapon.

Then, she lowered her gaze to Wang Yaofu, her red eyes conveying a clear message: ‘Are you going to let go yourself, or shall I assist you?’

Since she had already been rescued, there was no need for drastic measures.

Wang Yaofu decisively released her grip. To prevent a repeat of the earlier incident, the vampire lady stepped back a few paces, putting distance between them.

“Considering your young age, I’ll let it slide this time. But if it happens again, I’ll truly be angry!”

Even so, the vampire lady was convinced that such an incident wouldn’t occur a second time.

Why? Because she believed: ‘It’s impossible that I’ll ever encounter this human little girl again!’

“Goodbye.”

She flapped her wings and ascended into the sky, leaving that last remark before parting ways with Wang Yaofu.

****

As she soared through the sky, she recalled her daily scheduled contact and retrieved a communication crystal from her spatial pouch.

This item, also known as a contact crystal, was a magical artifact used for long-distance communication, appearing as a spherical crystal ball.

Now, the crystal’s surface was shimmering with a faint glow, indicating that someone wished to speak with her.

She gripped the crystal, activating the communication device.

Initially, the crystal emitted a faint light, like a firefly in a summer night.

Afterwards, this light grew more pronounced, akin to the moonlight cast by a brilliant full moon.

A sputtering, crackling sound began, and a face gradually materialized on the crystal ball.

The person contacting her was her superior, Lucas Fernandez.

Like the people of the Western Continent, vampires placed their given name before their surname.

Her superior was a gentleman with a center-parted hairstyle.

He possessed deep, expressive eyes and a high-bridged nose, capable of leaving a profound impression on others with his striking appearance.

If one were to stand beside him, they would notice his white shirt, with its collar slightly unbuttoned.

The shirt cuffs were rolled up to his mid-forearm, revealing skin so pale it appeared unhealthy.

‘A sickly handsome man.’

These six words were the most fitting description for him.

“Mr. Lucas, do you have a new assignment for me?”

She spoke this way, reasoning that since Lucas wished to speak with her even before their scheduled contact, something important had undoubtedly occurred.

Based on past experience, she could surmise: ‘This gentleman has surely prepared a highly challenging mission and is simply waiting for our contact to reveal the details!’

Since his most capable spy, Miss Dracula Anhela, had already guessed, he decided to get straight to the point.

“Recently, the Holy Empire has shown suspicious activity. I need you to go there and ascertain the Holy Emperor’s true intentions.”

Gathering intelligence was not new to her; Dracula was confident she could complete this mission.

Her superior could also discern a confident expression on his subordinate’s face.

“Today is your last day off. Starting tomorrow, you will depart for the Southern Continent!”

Dracula didn’t care if the mission was dangerous; having lived to this day, she pursued only one thing: “What’s the remuneration?”

“Three times your usual compensation.”

‘[Hooray!]’

Dracula cheered inwardly.

With his subordinate’s enthusiasm now stirred, it was the superior’s turn.

He began to make an unreasonable demand: “This mission has an additional requirement: you must enter the Holy Empire as a married woman, accompanied by your husband…”

“Pah!”

A fresh glob of spit splattered onto the crystal ball.

Lucas silently thanked the inventor of this magical artifact in his heart, for otherwise, his face would have just been defiled.

“Don’t get agitated. We’re so far apart; in the end, you’re only dirtying your own item.”

He was right. After calming down slightly, Dracula took out a handkerchief and wiped the innocently defiled communication crystal.

“Now, let me explain…”

“There’s nothing to explain. In all my time in this line of work, I’ve never heard of a mission having any connection to marriage.”

“The situation is different now…”

“Spies without families have no attachments, making them less prone to mistakes during prolonged missions. Isn’t that how it is?”

“It was indeed better not to marry in the past, but reality has changed.”

“How has it changed?”

“Throughout their long history of counter-espionage, various nations have summarized a rule…”

Notably, this rule was also discovered by the parties sending out spies.

“A male (or female) individual who is not a local and remains single has a certain probability of being a spy!”

As Lucas stated: “The reality in recent years is that single individuals are more easily suspected than those who are married.”

By this point, Dracula understood, yet she still couldn’t accept the additional requirement: “I don’t even have a lover, and it’s impossible for me to wait until I’m married to carry out this mission.”

“How about you try a flash marriage? That means a lightning-fast wedding. I hear some humans do that!”

“You want me to get flash-married in less than 24 hours?”

“Just challenge yourself a bit. The fastest record among humans, it seems, is six hours.”

“Impossible!”

Lucas was willing to negotiate: “If you feel you don’t have enough time, I can give you the entire day tomorrow as well.”

“Thank you for your care over the years. I officially resign, effective immediately…”

“Wait, wait! Let’s discuss this further.”

‘Joking aside, how could Lucas let her go?’

These days, an ace spy whose loyalty could be guaranteed simply by offering enough money was incredibly hard to find.

“How about this? You take a child with you to the Holy Empire; that way, you won’t be easily suspected.”

“Goodbye. If you hear of any good jobs, remember to introduce them to me…”

“Wait a moment! I’m not asking you to give birth to a child right now.”

Lucas knew full well that one couldn’t violate natural laws, so what he actually meant to say was: “Adopting a child works too. I can provide a forged birth certificate, and you can simply claim it’s your child.”

“This method…”

While Dracula was pondering the feasibility of the plan, her superior began to add another requirement: “It must be a human child! A true vampire child might not be able to conceal the fact that they aren’t human.”

‘After all, you can’t expect a child to meet the standards of a spy.’

If it were a human child, the advantage was that they wouldn’t have to lie. As for the mother’s vampire identity, Dracula could choose not to tell them the truth from the moment of adoption.

“After your holiday, you’ll infiltrate a human nation and adopt a suitable child.”

By this point, Dracula had completely calmed down.

She thought adoption was a good idea; the key now was how much time she had left.

“How much time will I have to acquire a child?”

“The sooner, the better!”

“I despise that kind of talk. You think it’s as simple as buying an item… Wait!”

Dracula had an idea.

There was no need to go through the trouble of an orphanage at all.

‘Speaking of human offspring… isn’t there one readily available?’

“I accept the mission. I’ll go find that little girl right away.”

With this statement, Dracula ended her communication with Lucas.

Afterwards, she spent some time locating Wang Yaofu, who was wandering aimlessly.

“I’m going to be your mother!”

Hearing these words upon their second encounter deeply startled the young girl.

“I have a real mother.”

After being rejected, Dracula rephrased: “I’m going to be your second mother!”

Wang Yaofu grew even more frightened.

She tried to escape, but the other party hugged her waist, making it impossible to leave.

‘Truly, the tables have turned, and fate spares no one.’

“Just agree!”

She was now relentlessly pestered by the brazen vampire lady.

However, Wang Yaofu’s will was firm; even with her movements restricted, she needed a reasonable explanation to be convinced.

“Big sister, what use would you have for a child like me?”

“If you won’t agree, what’s the point of me giving you a reason?”

“How does big sister know I won’t agree? Why don’t you tell me first?”

Even when facing the little girl, Dracula couldn’t reveal her identity as a spy.

But Wang Yaofu’s persistence forced her hand; left with no choice, she had to fabricate a story on the spot.