The figure of the brown-haired young woman, the Wind Mage, leaving the manor was a sight to behold.

Every now and then, she stopped and paused in the uneven ground, as if wishing to return and perhaps attempt to slay me.

I had wounded her pride.

But she knew the stakes and ventured forth to acquire the necessities I have required from her. The thought of the Blackwell Manor being restored to its former glory, no, even far better than it once was, it was enough to make me smile and put me in a good mood.

It didn’t last long due to the princess suddenly opening her mouth.

"What if… what if she betrays you?" Eleanor suddenly asked as she tried to stand up by using the wall as leverage. She was no longer bound or trapped in the shadows like earlier, because I did not see her as any threat. Instead, it was actually too annoying to see her uncertain of her surroundings.

Fragile like glass.

I ventured over and helped her up to her feet. "Does she not wish to protect you?"

"...you did not put any fail-safes. And neither did you bind her with any contract or blood magic." Eleanor pointed out. "And here you are, helping me up to my feet. Have you… considered—”

“So you wish to misinterpret my actions?” I let go of her hand and turned away from her. I stared up at the two moons in the sky and smiled sardonically. “When you are at my level of power, you do not worry about such things. Fear is a great weapon, far better than wasting powers. I am positive that she will not harm me or risk it to endanger you.”

“Is that so?” she said doubtfully.

I glanced over my shoulder and looked back at her. At first, it was easy to be deceived and assume that you were in the presence of someone helpless, someone who feared for her own life and relied heavily on her servant… but it seemed that Eleanor was stronger mentally.

Even in the face of someone as great as me, she was calm and collected.

She must have truly believed that I was good.

How delusional.

“Tell me, if a person does good deeds but has ill intentions… Can you call him a good person?” I asked. “If I take care of you now, but with every intention to use you on a later date… can you actually presume that I am a good person?”

“You wish to say that the measure of one’s nature is through the intent and not the acts?” Princess Eleanor raised a brow.

“A farmer can take care of pigs and slaughter them.” I snorted. “I am merely saying that your attempt to place moral standards and explanations to whatever I do is trivial. My actions right now do not have any deeper meaning to them.”

She shook her head. “It is hard to discern sincerity and it is easy to be fooled, that much I can attest… but Lord Blackwell, right now, even unconsciously, you still pursue good.”

“It seems you have forgotten that I laid a hand on your dear servant, Rose.”

Eleanor bit on her lip. “She… she was too rash. But you are right that you could have killed us, but you showed us mercy.”

“Only because it is convenient.” I rolled my eyes. “It’s far easier to ask a person to do something for me than to break their legs and force them to do it. Diplomacy is nothing more but twisting each other’s arms and engaging in verbal warfare to get what you want.”

“I… I cannot speak for anyone else, but I am certain of what I saw,” she said. “It’s buried and dormant, but if you search for it, then you will remember—”

“Enough.” I raised my hand. Wincing, I resisted the sharp pang that erupted in my head and yet it didn’t stop. Like thousands of needles went out of their way to poke my brain and cause miniature grievances.

The way she spoke, triggered it.

As an ancient Vampire Lord, I was able to nullify a lot of damage caused by weapons, magic and other sorts of powers. Nigh invulnerable. But it did not mean that I was immune to pain. I felt it after such a long time… it was tearing through far more subtle channels than I expected.

“Are you alright?” Eleanor asked.

“No.” I gritted my teeth and closed my eyes. “Stay away from me and shut up.”

She stayed silent while I held my head, tried to speak in chants, awaken my blood powers and soothe myself—but it only exacerbated the situation.

Before I knew it, I was falling and sinking into the void, similar to the Eternal Sleep that I had craved and dwelled in for so long.

Ba-dump. Ba-dump.

Was I back in my coffin? It felt like I had landed among the softest of pillows. Silky and luxurious. It was almost as good as the nothingness that I felt when I slept.

Soft, pliant and warm, it touched me. Something lithe caressed me as I drifted off into a peaceful state between the fits of waking and sleeping.

The scent of flowers, no, of a relaxing fragrance soothed my nerves.

Once again, I saw that shadow of a boy.

A stupid boy in a street filled with those vehicles that run on strange components.

His life, in that magicless world, was so meaningless that when he died as a vehicle encroached… there was not even a sound. Or was I mistaken?

“Your Highness?!” A voice screamed and tore me out from my sleep and roused me from the state of peace.

Pale blue eyes, a small button-like nose were among the first things I saw along with soft pink lips—and made me realize that Princess Eleanor was looking down at me.

More importantly, my head rested on her lap which explained the luxuriousness I felt. I didn’t notice it earlier, but her fragrance was immaculate and—

“[Wind Scythe!]”

Ah, there we go again.