hotmtlnovel Chapter 149: Before The Banquet
Chapter 149: Before The Banquet
Asura's confusion continued even after leaving the greeting room. He felt foggy, wondering what was real and fake.
'I don't understand, the information doesn't match my memories...'
"Are you alright, Asura?"
Lucia's voice echoed from the shadows. Although she could hear everything, she didn't know why he felt so strange. There was a sense of confusion towards Asura's anger and current state as her invisible hands hugged him.
"... I'm okay, just feeling a little confused," Asura said softly, his eyes closing as he tried to refresh his mind and let the other parts of his mind deal with it. "Thank you."
The corridor was beautiful, filled with large, vibrant bouquets across the walls adorned with stained glass windows as tall as the walls. He felt a sense of calm as he walked. Or perhaps it was Lucia's hug that made him feel at ease.
"Why does the scent of blood still linger in this place?"
He turned the corner and found a massive and beautiful garden terrace, which he was unprepared for. His eyes widened with surprise as his gaze turned to the pool of blood covering the floor and walls. The scarlet covered the ground, an abyssal glow beneath the surface.
The fragrance was so thick in the air that he could not breathe easily. "What!?"
However, it transformed into a beautiful garden the next moment, and only a charming pool of fresh water remained. "A hallucination..."
Asura slowly returned to his senses. He took a deep breath while he remembered the smell, a familiar one that he would never forget; the feeling of their mother biting his neck was still fresh in his mind.
"That damn old woman," Asura muttered as he closed his eyes, replaying the scene in his mind, but the instant he did, he saw Lucia's face in the pool's reflection, pouting. "Are you jealous?"
"Maybe..." Lucia's voice was soft and timid. "The old woman is dangerous, so keep your distance, or she might drink all your blood. Or force you into her bed!"
"You shouldn't worry. I won't let her succeed a second time. Otherwise, it would be embarrassing." Asura chuckled, his lips curling into a smile as his magic washed and burned away the blood from his neck. His eyes glowed slightly as he remembered the cute expression of Valerie as she endured his devouring."
"Really~?"
"Yes..." Asura opened his eyes and reached a hand to her, gently stroking her cheek as it phased through. "What made you follow me, anyway?" He felt regretful that he couldn't touch her body easily during the day when her clones were active.
"Mhmmm... I just wanted to see how you would react~" Lucia giggled before her presence vanished again.
Asura smiled faintly; he was slowly getting used to Lucia's antics. Still, he wished her adventurous side would stop leading him to a small slither of danger.
However, unknown to him, Lucia watched his figure closely, her mind reflecting on Asura's experience today. 'Verena...' She felt confused after seeing and hearing his reaction to that woman's name. Her only thoughts were that a woman who looked like Verana caused him to become so aggressive and crazed, wanting to know the reason.
****
Princess Vela finally reunited with Asura a few minutes after he left the garden and wandered. She then skipped to his side and escorted him to the assigned room near Valerie's meeting. "Asura... Tonight, there will be a banquet..." Her face seemed displeased at something that worried her. "It's for your engagement with that woman."
"Something bothers you?" Asura asked with a frown as he sensed her nervousness and irritation.
"Oh... Nothing... It's just that I am your Fiancée too; why should she steal you away?" She sulked cutely, making him laugh.
"Then let's celebrate our engagement tonight, okay?" Asura smiled faintly as Vela's mood suddenly improved. She stroked his arm before hearing him whisper. "We can sleep together if you want; my mother said it's okay."
"What?" Vela's ears twitched before her face blushed red; she nervously fiddled with her fingers and shyly glanced at Asura. "You don't have to force yourself if you don't want to..."
"Mother!?" Verana's voice echoed through the quiet resting room beside the greeting room. She entered, filled with concern as Asura vanished, and the faint scent of blood was inside the greeting room. She knew it was Asura's blood; there was no other blood that delicious in this universe.
"Honey, why are you in such a rush?" A familiar and tranquil voice sounded as the beauty lay on a bed of luscious cloth and wool, her expensive feather quilt peeled back as she wore a simple black gown. Her face looked pleasant, while a strange scent filled the air.
"Mother, what happened? There is blood..." Verana asked. She was anxious, as she could not understand what was going on.
"Relax, child..." Valerie smiled faintly, her face relaxed as she watched her daughter and could only chuckle with an elegant laugh, but it made Verana even more confused... Her more hadn't laughed since she was a child and first learned to wield her bloodline powers.
"Mother... Tell me... What happened here? I smelt blood; your scent is so strong even..." Verana stepped closer, her crimson eyes hinting at anxiousness and hostility toward her mother. "Are you okay?"
"Fufu, are you jealous that I tasted your future husband... I must say, you were right. He is more of a man than meets the eye; I've never..." Her voice trailed off as she seemed to enter a dreamlike state, her eyes watery while biting her lips. "Mother is so jealous of you..."
Verana's eyes widened in shock and horror; her bloodline surged as a black fog surrounded her and formed blades. "Mother, you've done enough; how could you touch him? His blood is only mine!"
"Oh my, are you angry? I had to make sure he was worthy of you." Valerie smiled gently, but a crimson flame ignited in her pupils as it nullified Verona's rage, forcing the child to fall to her knees as though paralysed by a poisonous snake. "As long as you've woken up... That boy, you will not let him die, swear upon your name or I will take him for myself!"
Verana trembled while watching the appearance of the transformation from a beautiful woman to a demoness, a force beyond her reach. She gritted her teeth and bowed. "Mother, what have you done... Why are you so obsessive towards him!?"
"I am your mother. Did you think our tastes would be so different?" Valerie sighed softly, but the flames faded away as she returned to normal again, reaching over and pulling Verana close. "He is too precious to our bloodline to lose; the boy, no, the man himself, is also extremely valuable. Verana."
Valerie's soft voice soothed Verana's nerves, "I will tell you more later, but the boy is special. Even his blood is like a delicacy I have never tasted before... Me, a damned witch who lived thousands of years!"
Verana trembled as she heard her mother's voice... Her tone was more enthusiastic than ever before. When she spoke of Asura, the look in her eyes made Verana wonder who the real Valerie was. "But mother... he might hate me..."
"Hate you? Honey... Fufu..." Valerie sighed, rubbing Verana's head like when she was a child, "If he hates you... then change his heart. It's not like the world will end tomorrow. As long as there is time and you make the sincere effort."
"You know the past between us. Even I do not understand my emotions; he's another person from my memories..." Verana replied with a sad voice that her mother found cute and gentle.
"Is he the boy... that your sister?"
"Mmm..."
chapter-source-MvLeMpYr
"Understood, no wonder he almost killed her on the spot... But it seems he doesn't know the details... in the tower of death, tell him everything, that long journey with the two of you, make sure you tell everything about yourself." Valerie whispered in Verana's ears. "As long as there is hope, then nothing else matters."
"Do you believe he will forgive me? He has no reason to..." Verana asked.
"He doesn't seem to be a devil, but a kind man; he forgave me drinking his blood and didn't once denounce our bloodline as monsters." Valerie chuckled, recalling the images as she smiled and closed her eyes. "He is also handsome; his soul is the most delicious I have tasted."
"Mother..."
"Don't worry, I won't steal him... maybe a few bites here or there." Valerie laughed, "Go, child. Spend your time with him. I will handle things here."
Verana sighed; her expression became complicated, yet her mother was right. "Thank you, Mother, and forgive me for being stubborn..."
Valerie watched her daughter leave the room with a soft smile, speaking as the door closed.
"Oh, my child, I could never be mad after meeting him; no wonder he drove you and your sister mad. Maybe it's the fate of Drakkur women to attract such a man. To think it was the same man... Born again."
Even Asura could never know; Verana and her mother remembered their past life; it was a particular skill of the Drakkur family, only inherited by the first daughter.