Frank felt cold even though he was shrouded in warm clothes. He cursed his Master's choice to live in the cold mountains in the Transylvania area when he could live anywhere in the world. Moreover, he was even more annoyed because it was impossible to drive directly to the castle.

He had to walk up the ragged mountain on foot, leaving his rental car in one of the inns at the foot. He stomped on the snow childishly since he could not kick stones. Everything was covered in a thick carpet of undisturbed snow.

He did not want to go up to the castle.

He wished he could have spent the evening at the inn instead of coming up the hill at the late hour. Even if he had to talk to one of those enthusiastic tourists about the Transylvanian lore of vampires, he would bear it. It was better than climbing the blasted hill in freezing temperatures.

He suppressed his dissatisfaction and walked through the towering gate of wrought iron. The gate was not locked. It never was. But no one trespassed into the property despite their curiosity about the eerie castle.

Frank walked to the entrance while giving the towering gargoyles a dubious glance. He walked up to the door, lifted the cobra knocker and tapped twice before stepping back. He rubbed his gloved hands together and tried not to shiver as he waited for the old witch to open the door.

After five minutes, the large door opened. The old woman in her long black dress looked at Frank with her cloudy but cold eyes. She stepped aside to allow Frank into the house.

"Master is dining. He welcomes you to dine with him." The woman croaked out.

Frank had a bad premonition. He served his Master wholeheartedly, but he was also deeply afraid of that man. Frank did not like being too close to the man for too long. Every time he was too close, he would feel death following in his wake like ghosts caressing his neck.

But he did not have the right to refuse to dine with the Master.

He stepped into the house and took off his thick coat and his snow-covered boots. He wore the shoes placed before him by the old woman before following her into the dining room. He tried not to betray his nervousness as he glanced at the elegant figure.

Frank tried to distract himself by looking at the space. The bland room was filled with priceless paintings reminiscent of old royal ages. There was a muted charm to it, but the portraits on the walls made Frank have the sensation of being watched.

"Please sit." The old woman indicated to the chair at the other end of the long dining table.

He found himself right across the inhuman man. Frank did not speak up first. He knew well that it might attract the ire of the irritable man. He watched as the woman served him a glass of wine and a beautiful piece of steak.

"How was your drive?" The regal man asked, like a king extending favour to his subject.

If there was anything Frank could not fault in his Master, it was his perfect appearance. If there were royal and ethereal vampires in the real world, his Master would be their leader. Mesmerizing like a beautiful flower but poisonous…

But his appearance was not for people to enjoy. Those who dared to look at the man for too long did not have the pleasure of seeing anything else ever again. But it was impossible not to be drawn to him while in his orbit.

The effect of the flawless elegant face coupled with white hair and the eerie red eyes was sublime. Moreover, the glass of wine in his hand further enhanced the formless charm.

"It was alright. There were a few blocked roads due to the snow, but I did not experience a lot of difficulties." Frank answered.

The man placed his glass of wine on the table and picked his fork and knife. He cut the piece of steak on his plate and savoured a piece before looking back to Frank.

"Do you blame me for instructing you to travel to the mountains in winter?" He asked.

Frank was chilled. "How could that be? It was nothing, Master. It was my pleasure to take the journey."

"You have learnt how to make meaningless flattery, Frank. Perhaps, you have been too idle in the past few months." The red eyes glowed in the dim yellow lights in the room, giving them a violet hue. It was disconcerting.

"I apologise, Master. I am a little nervous." Frank admitted his mistake.

The meal continued in silence. The steak was perfectly made, but Frank could not taste it. It might as well have been moist paper. And his current nervousness was not like his usual apprehension. He had an idea about the reason his Master called him. He had made a mistake, and he would probably pay.

A short while later, the old woman cleared the table after the meal was complete, leaving only a glass of fresh wine. However, Frank did not touch it. He was afraid that even one moment of inattentiveness would cost him his life.

After all, the nickname 'Demon King' was not an empty title.

"How do you like your new eye?" The regal man stared at Frank with those piercing eyes.

"It is great, Master. Thank you." Frank replied with some genuine pleasure.

His original and natural eye was pierced by Hu Lei using a letter opener on that ship, right before the International Health Alliance became a flaming mess. He thought he would be a one-eyed pirate for life, but his Master had organised for him to get a bionic eye.

Frank could not be more satisfied with the upgrade. He even felt a little thankful to Hu Lei. With the new advanced eye, he could zoom in on faraway objects, use night-vision features and even make records. It had made his work and life easier.

"I thought you were dissatisfied with your new eye. Else, why would you fail to follow simple orders and complete your tasks?" The tone changed from its casual elegance into a hypnotic one.

The enthralling voice was soft, but it seemed to pierce Frank's brain. He felt like his ears were ringing, or perhaps, his head was aching. He could not tell amid the confusion. He had never understood the methods and means of the man before him.

That was the other reason Frank dreaded coming to see his powerful Master. He could not fight back or defend himself when faced with things unexplained by the known rules. And even if he knew how to fight back, he did not have the right.

"I have never been disloyal to you. I have not disobeyed your orders." Frank spoke up quickly, fighting for clarity.

"I made it clear that the International Health Alliance board members should not be allowed to cause problems." The low voice was like a knife piercing his head. "Not only is William Springer engaging in meaningless murder, their leader has all but led Zhong Feng to me."

"I did not think-" Frank was shocked and tried to explain.

"You did not think. I value you, and I am even a little fond of you. But you are not indispensable to me." The words were like an ice bath to Frank.

"Master, I will rectify my mistake. Please give me a chance." He spoke up with a plea.

He did not want to die, but he was not willing to give up on his Master. To him, the inhuman Demon King was like a god. He feared him, but he was not willing to leave him, even at the cost of his life. It was more than loyalty. It was a surrender of the soul.

"Come." The elegant man beckoned to Frank.

Like a sailor under the control of a siren, Frank stood and walked to the man without question. When he stood at the other end of the table, his Master took another sip of the wine and stood. He raised his beautiful hand to Frank's face.

His hand hovered over the bionic eye for a moment before shifting to the other natural one. Without hesitation, he gouged out Frank's eyeball and plucked it right out of the socket. In a second, he was holding Frank's remaining natural eye.

Frank was too shocked to feel pain. And when the pain came, he did not dare to scream in pain. He tried to remind himself to breathe and not groan out in pain. Any noise around his Master would probably lead to more than the loss of one eye.

The man looked at the eyeball for a moment as if it was a marble. Then, the old woman appeared with a tray with a white towel imbued with disinfectant. The man placed the eye on the tray and picked the cloth. He wiped his hand carefully.

"Take care of it." He said without looking back at Frank.

Knowing what his Master meant, Frank left the castle.