Chapter 347 – Your Blood Is So Sweet – I Haven’t Treated You Poorly (13)
Edith accepted the mission with mixed emotions. On the surface, this assignment was a confrontation between the Church and the blood clan, but in reality it was a contest between Duke Adams of the blood clan and His Highness Prince Tang.
The Pope and Duke Adams had joined forces against that young boy—would he be able to survive this ordeal?!
Edith recalled Bai Tang’s pure eyes, and the way he sweetly called her “Edith.” She couldn’t help but worry for him.
After returning to the Church, she had quickly brushed up on the blood clan’s current situation. His Highness the Prince had only just awakened—he was like a blank sheet of paper, knowing nothing. He possessed great power but had no schemes or strategy. It wouldn’t be difficult to deal with him. And because he had just awakened, that must be why he helped her and Trey escape from Duke Adams’s castle. Unfortunately, she had turned back and was dragged down by an idiot, which led to the later exchange. If nothing unexpected happened, during that exchange, Duke Adams would definitely not let the chance pass to attack Bai Tang.
Thinking of Trey’s departure from the Church, it wasn’t hard to guess that it was thanks to Trey and Bai Tang that they were able to get away safely that night.
Now, Edith wasn’t too worried about them falling into a trap. Tomorrow, she would “follow orders” and head to the prince’s castle. According to the Pope’s plan, she was to infiltrate the enemy from within and bring them down from the inside.
The Church was no longer safe. Before leaving, Edith had the knights send all the children temporarily staying at the Church back to their homes one by one.
Going home still offered a sliver of hope for survival. Staying here would be no different from being sheep penned up for slaughter.
At dawn the next day, Edith disguised herself and had a knight escort her to the edge of the forest.
She took out a map showing the route from the forest to the prince’s castle.
Even without bringing it close, Edith could smell the blood on it. The Church would never use something with such a scent—this map had clearly been given to the Pope by Duke Adams, who then passed it on to her.
Edith walked deeper into the forest. The winding paths made the journey exceptionally difficult for someone as pampered as she was.
Sunset stained the western sky as flocks of birds scattered.
Edith wiped the sweat from her brow and looked up at the darkening sky.
She was going the right way, but she had no idea how much farther it would be.
Suddenly, she noticed thin smoke rising not far away. Someone must be cooking at this hour… meaning there had to be people nearby.
She headed toward the smoke, pushed through the trees, and a massive castle came into view.
She had finally reached her destination—the blood clan prince’s castle.
There were likely more vampires inside than just the young prince. Venturing into the blood clan’s stronghold made her feel more than a little afraid.
Knock, knock, knock— Edith tapped lightly on the door knocker.
“Is anyone there? Excuse me, is anyone inside?”
While Trey was in the kitchen, fully focused on cooking, he didn’t hear the shouting from outside. Instead, it woke Norman, the butler, who had been resting on the second floor.
Norman looked down from the upper floor and saw a delicate young girl knocking on the door. The scent coming from her was similar to Trey’s—the smell of holy water used by the Church.
Someone from the Church… was she here for Trey?
Butler Norman watched Edith coldly as she continued knocking, completely unmoved.
He was observing her—was she here specifically to find Trey, or had she wandered into the forest by accident and stumbled upon the castle?
Seeing that no one opened the door after a long time, Edith recalled the Pope and Duke Adams’s plan and called out, “Trey, it’s Edith. Are you inside?”
Hearing Trey’s name come out of the girl’s mouth, a sudden surge of anger rose in Norman’s chest.
That detestable commoner—deceiving the prince’s feelings, and now tangled up with another girl.
Norman was furious, yet he also knew this was the perfect opportunity for Bai Tang to see Trey’s true colors.
Suddenly, a gust of wind swept through the previously quiet forest. Leaves and dust were lifted from the ground, forcing Edith to shield her eyes with her hand.
When the wind finally died down and she lowered her hand, the dim surroundings made her squint.
After a long moment, once her eyes adjusted, she turned around—only to find a man with red lips and sharp fangs standing right behind her.
Edith was so startled that she staggered backward, stopping only when her back hit the wall.
“You…” she stammered, swallowing nervously.
Butler Norman merely let out a cold snort. “You’re here to see Trey Lewis.”
Edith nodded.
Norman turned around, his cloak swirling behind him in a stylish arc.
When he glanced back and saw that Edith was still frozen in place, he spoke impatiently. “Follow me.”
Edith quickly followed after the butler.
Down the stairs and around a corner, they arrived at the kitchen. Norman stepped aside, giving Edith a clear view inside.
“Trey!” Edith gasped.
Trey turned at the sound of her voice, seeing someone who absolutely shouldn’t be here—and Norman’s dark, stormy expression.
His heart tightened, and he asked, “Why are you here?”
“I came to find you…”
“Hmph!”
Butler Norman let out a cold snort and tossed out, “You two lovers can take your time talking,” before turning and heading upstairs. He needed to wake the prince—quickly—so the prince could see with his own eyes what an ugly sight that pretty-faced brat made when meeting his lover.
During the operation that night, Norman’s entire focus had been on Bai Tang. He hadn’t paid attention to who the hostage was or what they looked like. All he had cared about was protecting His Highness.
Norman reached Bai Tang’s room and woke him.
“Your Highness, Trey is currently meeting with a woman. You must come and see.”
Sleep vanished from Bai Tang’s mind instantly.
“What? Meeting a woman?” Bai Tang asked. “What kind of woman?”
“A beautiful one,” Norman added.
Stuck in the castle with nothing to do, Bai Tang listened every night as Trey told him all sorts of noble gossip.
The nobles lived indulgent lives—taking lovers was nothing unusual. But for the sake of marriage alliances and preserving their status, many nobles hid such affairs from their lawful wives while keeping mistresses outside.
So, Bai Tang’s imagination ran wild at Norman’s words. And to make things worse, Qiu’er chimed in, “That woman is downstairs right now.”
Oh. So he’d even brought her home to cheat?!
Bai Tang threw off his blanket, didn’t even bother putting on shoes, and ran downstairs on the verge of tears, searching for Trey on the first floor.
“Trey! Trey, where are you? I haven’t treated you badly, and yet you’re cheating—”
The little squirrel’s shout was abruptly cut off.
Hearing Bai Tang calling for him, Trey hurried out of the kitchen.
Bai Tang was just about to run outside when Edith also stepped out from the kitchen, standing right behind Trey.
“Tang Tang, what’s wrong? Did you have a nightmare?” Trey panicked when he saw the tears on Bai Tang’s cheeks.
He reached out to hug him, but Bai Tang dodged away.
“Wuwuwu… Butler Norman…” the boy cried as he ran toward Norman.
Norman stepped between Trey and Bai Tang. “Mr. Trey Lewis, I’ll give you one night. By tomorrow morning, please take your lover and leave.”
Leave? Trey couldn’t possibly just leave like that. He quickly explained, “Tang Tang, this is Edith. She’s not my lover. You’ve met her before.”
Edith had disguised herself heavily and was wearing a veil, so it wasn’t surprising Bai Tang hadn’t recognized her.
The little squirrel peeked out from behind Butler Norman, cautiously examining Edith’s face.
Butler Norman barked, “Don’t try to change the subject. Even if His Highness knows her, does that justify you inviting a woman into the house for a private tryst?”
Although Edith liked Trey, she was not someone who took advantage of others’ vulnerability.
She quickly explained, “I came here today because I have something important to tell you. Something very important. I hope you won’t misunderstand because of me. My heart belongs to the people—belongs to the Church.”
Fine. Since the girl herself had spoken, Norman couldn’t exactly force her to admit to something she denied.
The four of them sat down. Trey tried to sit next to Bai Tang, but Norman snatched the spot first, refusing to give him the chance before everything was cleared up.
Edith cleared her throat and calmly explained the entire situation from beginning to end.
“I discovered that the Pope has joined forces with Duke Adams. The Pope needs something called the Heart of Inheritance, and Duke Adams wants to become the supreme ruler of the blood clan. They…”
Edith laid everything out clearly and logically. Her explanation of the blood clan—especially Duke Adams’s current situation—was so precise that even Norman had no choice but to believe her.
After the previous rescue mission, Duke Adams had been severely injured by the ambush Norman had set. If not for his subordinates arriving in time, his body might have already turned to ash.
Before Bai Tang awakened, the blood clan had always been under Duke Adams’s leadership. Now that the prince had awakened, the power in his hands naturally had to be handed over. Someone as ambitious as Duke Adams would never accept that. To him, the prince was nothing more than an inexperienced brat.
However, his scheming had backfired, resulting in his own severe injuries. Not only did he fail to eliminate Bai Tang, but because he was hurt, Bai Tang had the perfect excuse to reclaim all the authority he held.
After Bai Tang took the power back, he issued only one command: no killing.
Not allowing vampires to kill for blood was nearly the same as taking their lives. Bai Tang didn’t forbid them from drinking blood, but there were rules. They couldn’t drain anyone completely—only up to 20% of someone’s blood, similar to the safe amount for modern blood donations. They also had to heal the person afterward. They couldn’t drink from the same person again for three months, and they were forbidden from targeting minors or pregnant women.
Because he was badly injured, Adams wanted to recover quickly and reclaim power from Bai Tang. Sleeping to heal would take far too long, so he would never choose that. That left only one option: drinking much more human blood to replenish his strength and accelerate healing. Preferably blood from a child born at midnight—the most potent and effective.
After the explanation, Bai Tang immediately realized he had misunderstood Trey. He felt guilty, but in front of Norman and Edith, he couldn’t lower the dignity of the blood clan prince and apologize outright.
So he quietly tugged on Trey’s sleeve. Trey looked up, pushed past Norman, and sat beside him.
“I’m sorry. I should have told you the moment Edith arrived,” Trey said. He never cared about saving face—what he feared most was Bai Tang ignoring him.
“Th-then I’ll forgive you this once… but don’t let it happen again.”
Bai Tang couldn’t help but smile at Trey’s coaxing, and just like that, the matter was settled.
Watching from the side, Edith felt that this version of Trey was both unbelievable and somehow completely natural.
As if being good to that boy was something he was born to do.