When he hears that, he doesn"t know how to react. Did this idiot girl forget that he"s a vampire? Then, he notices Se-Yong"s scornful eyes. Oh! She has nine demon brothers. Her mother is a demonic G.o.ddess. It"s not strange that she"s not afraid of him.
Hmm! She"s immortal. He can"t kill her for being daring. He needs her until Fu Mian"s curse is lifted.
A flurry of thoughts rushes thoughts his mind before he lets out a sigh and makes some distance between the daring girl who isn"t hiding the admiration in her eyes and himself who certainly has no interest in a little girl.
The circle is gone. Se-Yong grabs his sister"s arm and pulls her away from the vampire king. "NMi, did you hear what you promised him?"
"What?" NMi frowns at him. "I said what we agreed upon."
"Didn"t father tell you to use your words wisely?" Se-Yong feels like pulling his hair out. "NMi, why do you forget to use common sense when you see beautiful men? You have us. Your eyes and brain should be immune by now."
NMi can"t get what he"s trying to imply. "Oppa, what did I say? I only promised to help Fu Mian with my full capability."
"You will do everything in your power to lift Fu Mian"s curse." Se-Yong flicks her forehead. "Why did you say "lift"? Why didn"t you say "help"? You should have said that you would do your best to help her, you idiot. You are heavenly blessed immortal. You have to do everything in your power to "lift" that curse. If you had said help, we could have tried masking later."
Aiken smiles. Did they think that they could fool the king? The king knows how to play with words better than anyone.
"..." Sung NMi is crestfallen when she realizes her mistake. Though she wants to help Fu Mian, she doesn"t intend to endanger her mother"s peace. Just imagining the converts following his mother everywhere to drink her blood gives her s.h.i.+vers. But now, she has to convince her mother anyway because she doesn"t know any other way to lift the curse. Why did she say lift? She turns her head toward Fu Sheng. "Did you compel me?"
"Did I?" Fu Sheng smiles at her. His smile doesn"t meet his eyes. "Can I compel a heavenly blessed immortal? I have never seen an immortal forget to use her brain because she can"t stop finding my eyes beautiful."
"..." What a sly man! He knows that he has that effect. Why did his mate reject him though? Never mind. She will pick up this man after saving the world. Saving the world is a priority.
It seems like his sister won"t stop having stupid thoughts. He needs to open up the gates as fast as possible. When his family is here, this disaster can be prevented. He and his brothers will never approve of a vampire for their only sister who goes starry eyes whenever she sees something pretty.
He"s a hundred percent sure that his father won"t approve of the king either.
"We have been standing here for too long." NMi doesn"t dwell on her situation. If she said it, then she will do it. Besides, her mother has her father who will scare away any vampire or demon who comes for her blood. "Aren"t you going to invite us to your castle? We came from another country. You are rude, your majesty. We are still your guests."
There"s no way that she will throw away any chance to see the castle from within.
"You can come." Fu Sheng doesn"t give her any other glance. Her intentions are clear in the tone of her voice. He doesn"t stick around and flies back to the castle. Suddenly, he has the urge to see his daughter and mate.
"This b.a.s.t.a.r.d!" Se-Yong shakes his head. "NMi, don"t like that man. Don"t let your heart waver. He still has a mate even if she rejected him. You heard from Father. They are meant for each other. You are--"
"Oppa." NMi chuckles. "Don"t worry. I won"t make a move until the world is saved. Before everything else, I will have a talk with his mate. I am a fair woman. You can try your best to scare him away. I don"t think that your old tactics will work."
"That"s not what I want." Se-Yong hisses. "Can"t you find a normal man after the world goes back to the way it was?"
"The world will never go back to the way it was." Sung NMi points out. "My nine brothers scare away the normal men. I always wanted to date someone who doesn"t feel fear even after hearing about my family and job."
Inferior complexity is a real thing. She"s the council president and a heavenly blessed immortal. Usually, average men can"t accept powerful girls.
"NMi, he"s a vampire. He is someone who follows the dark path." Se-Yong folds his arms in disapproval. "He"s too broody."
"You don"t like him because he didn"t play with you," NMi smirks at him. "My brothers are demons. My mother is a demonic G.o.ddess. If I have a vampire boyfriend, it"s not abnormal."
"No, absolutely not!" This is a crisis. The more he tries to stop her, the more adamant she is. The broody king has a mate. As much as he knows, the true bond cannot be broken. They will always have a connection and he will always feel something toward his mate even after the rejection. How can he accept someone like that? "It"s the true bond, NMi. Don"t get your hopes up."
"No bond carries any value if there"s no love." NMi shrugs. "You are worrying too much. I know what is important right now."
Se-Yong lets out a breath of relief. There"s some time.
"However, why can"t I flirt a little? It lightens the mood," She adds with a sly smile. "I promise, Oppa. I won"t fall for him before he falls for me."
Se-Yong grabs his hair. His little sister is at it again.
Aiken has been hearing her talk for the whole time. He scans her from the head to the toe. The girl is an immortal. She"s young, but she is beautiful and smart. She"s the opposite of Huang Qiuyan. He didn"t dislike Huang Qiuyan initially, but can he like someone who hurt his king now? Sung NMi knows how special his king is. He wonders if she can make his king fall for her.
Then, his king is stubborn.
"Miss. Sung." Aiken intercepts the siblings" banter. "If you are ready, may I take you to the castle?"
"Hold it!" Se-Yong raises his hand. "She"s not going alone. I am also coming."
"I never said that you can"t come, Mr. Sung." Aiken"s plastic smile irks the Se-Yong more. This vampire with gla.s.ses doesn"t make an effort to hide his dislike for him. What did he do? Is it his fault that he wants to pick a fight with the broody king? He"s a demon. Give him a break! The vampires will drink blood. The demons will wreak havoc. Also, his major sin is heresy.
The barrier opens up for them. Sung NMi and her brother walk to the middle of the lake. Aiken ascends toward the castle first. Sung NMi follows him with excitement in her eyes. Her brother is obviously not feeling the same excitement. Grumpy, he makes his way to the castle. He can hear the sound of the heartbeats. There are ten people inside the castle -- eight n.o.ble vampires, a human who can"t be someone else other than Fu Mian, and a strange thing that is neither a vampire or a human or the dead. Is that the king"s mate? He frowns. What is that thing? It"s not strange for men and women from different species to have a true bond. But, he has never inhaled a scent like that.
He"s curious to see the vampire king"s mate who is not completely a vampire or dead human.