Cursed Together With Mr.Vampire; I need to drink his blood!

23. Must Separate

Triana nodded. "Yes. By reading books, I can find out many things that I haven't done and experienced myself. By reading books, I know the different types of fish in the sea without having to sail. By reading books, I get to know various poisonous plants and animals without having to explore the wilderness. By reading books too, I can see through different perspectives,"

Continuing to stare at the girl's face, Vlador narrowed his eyes. Although a faint smile formed on her red lips, the eyes of this girl named Triana revealed sadness.

She wanted to see the world. She was a girl with high curiosity. Unfortunately, she had a great fear, or more precisely, grew up under the shadow of fear. That great desire, she vented by reading books. She was a prisoner locked up in a tower and could only see out of the window. The window was her books.

"You are pathetic," Vlador muttered.

Triana's brow furrowed. She looked up but couldn't find what she wanted to look at. "There's nothing pathetic about reading books,"

"You'll realize how pathetic you are when you feel yourself exploring the world on your own," Vlador replied.

Vlador's words made Triana speechless.  Then, her eyes widened and began to tear up. She seemed to blink her eyes multiple times as if to hold back tears.
'So pathetic. What a pathetic girl,' Vlador said inwardly.

***

The stabbing sensation made Triana want to clutch her chest. Mr. Vlador not only had sharp fangs, but also a sharp tongue that could tear her heart.  However, what made her hurt the most was not that, but the fact that was embedded in his words.

Triana felt grateful for all the protection her parents had been giving her all this time. They had looked after and cared for her so well that she sometimes felt bad for her sisters. However, all good things sometimes had a bit of a downside. In Triana's case, her parents' protection made her feel locked in a golden cage.

Mr. Vlador's words were a stamp that legalizes Triana's feelings for her life. She did feel lucky to have a beautiful appearance and a family that loved her very much. However, deep inside, she longed to breathe the free air, jump around, and run around the meadows.

The dim light woke Triana from her reverie. She glanced at the passage door, which was sliding open. When they reached the wardrobes room, Mr. Vlador slowly put her down.

"Thank you," Triana said softly as she tidied up her dress.

"Now you can at least see a little, can't you? Hold my arm. We're walking slowly outside," Vlador said before holding out his bent arm.

Nodding slowly, Triana slid her hand into the vampire's arm. It was not that she didn't notice the hard expression on Mr. Vlador's face. It seemed that he was irritated at having to carry her all the way down the passage to the point when he decided to put her down even though they had to walk without a lantern in the dark castle now.

"You're not wearing your cloak?" Vlador asked before actually taking a step.

"That… I don't think I need it anymore," Triana replied.

"Well," Vlador nodded once then started walking at a slow pace. "Watch your feet,"

"Yes," Triana replied with her face fixed on the floor because she had Mr. Vlador beside her guiding the way.

The darkness of the castle made Triana realize that outside, the sun must be setting. In a moment, they would start their journey to the residence of Mr. Winston, her former teacher.

What was the real content of the cloth letter? Was that really a way of lifting the curse that bound them? Would it not be long before they could break free and separate? They would not meet again and they would return to their respective lives.

In her entire life, Triana had never heard of a vampire being alive. Was it true that Mr. Vlador was the last vampire in Galvadea? If he was completely free of any curses, would he just wreak havoc? Would he slaughter many humans? However, the more time she spent with this man, the more she doubted his cruelty.

Then, if people found out that there was a vampire on the loose, they'd definitely hunt him down, won't they? They would kill Mr. Vlador.

Quickly, Triana raised her gaze to meet his face. Yes, Mr. Vlador did look scary because he was a vampire who had even killed her bodyguards. But the bit of kindness that Triana felt from him made it impossible for her to imagine him having his head chopped off and his body burned down like the tradition of killing vampires written in history books.

"Ah!" Suddenly, Triana's foot accidentally kicked something and she stumbled forward again.

However, she did not fall because Mr. Vlador swiftly held her arm and caught her by the waist like before.

"I already told you; watch your feet! Why in the hell are you staring at my face?" Vlador suppressed his tone as he fixed his gaze on Triana.

"I-I'm sorry," Triana said, looking down immediately because she felt a warm sensation on her cheeks.

Yes, it was so much embarrassing for her to be caught staring at him. And, yes, although Mr. Vlador was a vampire, he was still a man… and had a pretty face, to be honest. After all, Triana didn't think he realized that she was watching him because his eyes kept looking straight ahead.

"Just to make things clear… I wasn't paying attention to you… I mean, yes, I was watching you, but not to your face. I was unknowingly looking at you out of purpose because I was thinking of something," Triana explained in a hurry.

Vlador glanced at her with a cold gaze. "Did you think about me going to try to eat you again?"

Immediately shaking her head, Triana answered with an awkward chuckle. "Of course not. Why would I think about that?"

"Oh, I thought you did – because that's what I've been thinking of,"

"Wh-what do you mean?" Triana muttered as she pulled her hand out of the vampire's arm.

However, Vlador swiftly grabbed her arm so she still holding on to him. He clucked his tongue and stopped in his tracks.

"The light is getting dimmer. Do you wish to stumble again? Don't you know how much I hate to carry you in my arms?" Vlador hissed.

Triana's eyes widened. Her shoulders sank backwards and her heart thumped violently. She had several hisses and growls from Mr. Vlador, but this time, her fear was accompanied by a squeezing sensation in her heart.

"Stop acting up, gosling. You will only make yourself regret it and drag me along in it," Vlador hissed again before continuing his walk.

"I won't," Triana muttered. Maybe Mr. Vlador was temperamental, but she would try to understand why he hated her so much that carrying her was so sickening that it made them had to regret it.

This curse… it must be lifted immediately so they could separate as soon as possible, so that Triana didn't have to always be a bother and make Mr. Vlador fed up. She didn't care what would happen after the curse was gone from them. Most importantly, they must separate as soon as possible.