thefictionvixens Page 15
Page 15
Clearly, for Ludwig, finding her origins was a "goal" she had abandoned decades ago.
When she gradually learned in her daily life that Ruo Keke was also a vampire without memories of her human past, Ludwig realized that this was the source of her inexplicable sense of kinship with Ruo Keke.
The absence of memories of their human past causes these vampires to behave differently from other vampires. For example, they may be indifferent to humans and extremely proud of their vampire identity... and so on.
Birds of a feather flock together, and Ludwig and Coco met and spent a fulfilling year as mistress and servant.
The two maintained a delicate master-servant relationship, but a year later, Ludwig will eventually have to face this fact.
"Coco, are you leaving me?"
Ludwig poured tea for both Rucoco and herself, picked up her teacup, and took a small sip.
"..."
Seeing the blonde girl staring intently at the teacup in front of her, Ludwig said:
"Drink up, cocoa. I made it myself, it's delicious."
After a moment of silence, Coco finally spoke.
"Young Miss, I...I don't know."
Ludwig tilted her head: "Don't know? The council made it very clear. The one-year grace period is over, and the next three months are the time limit for the council's entrustment. This entrustment has nothing to do with you, so you have no reason to stay by my side anymore."
...
Coco bit her lip, her fingers lightly twisting the hem of her clothes, her heart feeling as if something was gripping it, making it slightly difficult for her to breathe.
Without a doubt, she was a maid loyal to the Vampire Council. She didn't belong to human society, nor to Ludwig. Her interactions with this silver-haired girl were merely a task assigned to her by the Council.
The years of instruction she had received had made loyalty to the Vampire Council an inviolable commandment etched into her mind.
But her heart resisted her saying those words, saying—"Yes, I'm going back to the council, young lady."
She opened her mouth slightly, then closed it again.
She could have just said it; the young lady was asking her a question, so why didn't she just answer? Not answering the young lady would be a violation of maid etiquette.
—I don't want to leave Miss.
If Coco came to this conclusion.
Despite the many flaws of this troublesome young lady, Ruo Keke had already developed an inseparable bond with her over the past year, as if she were family. What she gave Ruo Keke was a kind of affection that even Teacher Torre, whom Ruo Keke regarded as her adoptive father, could not fully provide.
Spending time with her has also enabled Ruo Keke, who was originally emotionally detached and lacked humanity, to regain the ability to express joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, just as she does now.
To Ruo Keke, is the young lady merely a temporary master?
"Hoohoo."
Ludwig covered her face and smiled.
"Coco, I've already told Torre."
"He said that seeing you smile more than before, it's like you're a completely different person, which means you're living a fulfilling life. He's actually very happy for you."
"Then when I suggested that you continue to be my maid, he agreed without hesitation."
Coco was stunned. She couldn't believe that Teacher Torre, who was so strict and authoritative in the council, would be so easy to talk to.
“Look, this is his letter of entrustment. It also says, ‘I’m entrusting Coco to you, Princess Ludwig.’”
Ludwig handed Coco a vintage parchment, and as she looked at it, her face gradually filled with surprise.
The document, written in beautiful Gothic script, contained a long and complex passage stating, "Rococo is permitted to be Ludwig's personal maid until she ascends the throne as Queen."
Ludwig finished her cup of black tea and slowly moved closer to Coco.
"Coco, I made the decision for you without your permission. You're not angry, are you?"
Coco shook her head repeatedly: "How...how could that be!"
"You have to tell the truth. Judging from the way you looked just now, you weren't really trying to run away from me, were you?"
The girl's eyes were fixed on her, and she instinctively looked away.
She stammered, "Of course not, Miss, I just... I just..."
Her voice was barely audible.
"But...I don't want to leave the young lady..."
“But if the council summons me back and I say I want to stay by your side, I will be violating the maid’s code of loyalty.”
Upon hearing this, Ludwig put her hands on her hips:
"Hmm? I'm still your master now. You didn't speak when your master questioned you just now, didn't that also violate that rule?"
Coco felt a little dizzy, perhaps because she hadn't drunk any blood all day.
"Miss, please stop teasing me. I... I'm going to make you dinner now."
...
"Wait, you can't leave."
Ludwig suddenly grabbed her hand.
Immediately, she fell onto the sofa, and Ruo Keke, who had been pulled off balance, fell squarely onto Ludwig.
"Miss!"
If Coco realized that she was going to suck her blood again, she would struggle to get up.
Unexpectedly, Ludwig did not stop her this time.
The silver-haired girl unbuttoned her collar, gently parting her silver hair and the collar of her pajamas, revealing her fair collarbone clearly to Ruokeke.
"hiss..."
Ludwig's pupils turned crimson in an instant.
She took Ruo Keke's wrist, and in that instant, Ruo Keke realized that she had activated the magic in her body, causing the blood of the vampire to begin to activate.
In this state, her blood would undoubtedly be corrosive enough to merge with the blood of others upon contact.
Without the ritual of Embrace, humans who drink the blood of living vampires will die from bleeding from all seven orifices because they cannot suppress this power.
If a vampire drinks such active blood, the blood of the two will deeply merge, and the drinker will establish a bloodline link with the blood provider, becoming inseparable forever.
That is, to enter into a contract called "eternity".
"cocoa."
Ludwig reached out her hand, her eyes brimming with longing.
"I'll only believe you if you make a contract with me."
The silver-haired girl's undisguised vampire aura eroded Ruo Keke's reason, causing her throat to twitch slightly.
"...This is my order. You're not even listening to me?"
Ludwig suddenly puffed out her cheeks.
"Coco, you really did...you really did..."
If Coco pushed her away:
“Young Miss, I’m not ready yet. It’s too early to draw up a contract.”
Ludwig paled: "Is that so..."
If Coco says, "I can only promise you verbally that I want to stay by your side."
Ludwig's bright red pupils slowly faded back to a dark red as she deactivated her blood.
She stretched out her hands, once again gesturing to Ruo Keke without leaving her any way out, showing no sign of giving her an out.
"Really? If you want to stay by my side, verbal promises aren't enough. You'll have to show your commitment with actions, okay?"
If Coco stammered and couldn't answer, avoiding her gaze:
"Young Miss, you really are—"
"..."
"what?"
Coco sniffed and suddenly smelled something.
She then realized that Ludwig was releasing her vampire aura to mask the scent of something.
She picked up the cup of black tea on the table that she hadn't drunk and smelled it; a strong smell of alcohol hit her nose.
Coco put the teacup back with trembling hands and stared stiffly at Ludwig.
"So your face wasn't so red because you were shy."
Ludwig tried to play dumb: "Huh? Coco, what are you saying? I don't understand."
She grabbed Ludwig's wrist and brought her face close.
"It seems that I must punish you."
Coco gently parted her lips.
"Hey, Coco, Coco, what are you doing?"
"This is the order you just gave. As your maid, I have no choice but to obey."
Ludwig felt a chill on her neck.
"what--"
"Hehe... Coco... be gentle... it tickles..."
"Alas--!"
...
Half an hour later, the maid successfully taught the young lady a lesson for trying to cause trouble and drank her fill, while the young lady was thrown back onto the bed by the maid with a satisfied look on her face.
Clearly, there were no losers tonight.
Health tip: Minors who are vampires should not drink alcohol.
Chapter 17: Who would understand what you're saying?
A certain vampire heiress has always been two-faced, but her actions always tell a different story.
This afternoon, she pretended to be angry and wouldn't let Ruo Keke into the room. However, after seeing the complicated clothes in the closet, she, who knows nothing about dressing up, rushed out of the room and hugged Ruo Keke tightly, refusing to let her run away.
"The young lady clearly has an enviable figure and appearance, but how come her inner soul is such a dim-witted idiot?"
This is how Ruoke evaluates her.
"Static beauty"—this adjective couldn't be more fitting to describe Ludwig. This young lady is only a 200% beautiful girl when she closes her mouth and doesn't move at all.
If Coco often asks her, "Didn't she know how to dress up before Coco served her?"
Ludwig replied confidently, "Of course."
However, she had been a homebody for over a decade, and before becoming a mediator, she had no need to go out at all, so her skills in grooming and dressing up had all fallen into disuse.
He even showed Ruoke many of his own collection of gorgeous vampire costumes.
"You're not going to try it on at all?" Ruo Keke said expressionlessly.
"That's right, I'm lazy. Why should I wear clothes I bought with my own money?"
The silver-haired girl spoke these words with a very confident tone, as if she were saying something she was very proud of.
...
"Hmm, where is today's request?"
Ludwig looked at herself in the mirror with considerable satisfaction, asking Ruoke, who was tidying her clothes behind her, for her questions.
“Miss, the client requests that you meet him at a warehouse on the outskirts of the city this evening to discuss the details of the engagement. He says his phone is being tapped by the Spire Group.”
“Speyer Group?” Ludwig frowned.
"Why is it this group again? Aren't they seen as peace ambassadors promoting peaceful coexistence between vampires and humans in the public eye?"
“That’s just appearances, Miss. Historically, oligarchic companies like this haven’t always had clean hands,” Ruo Keke said.
Ludwig sighed softly. Although she still felt at a loss as to how to find the vampire queen, she had a vague feeling that she was getting closer to the vortex of some kind of conspiracy.