Only after getting into the sleek sports car did I learn that this Baron Albert's full name was Lionel·Nosa...Baron Albert, with a lengthy inherited surname from the vampire royalty. Such a complex name would probably take me days to remember, so I had to shorten it, and shorten it again, removing the middle part and keeping the ends, finally reducing it to—Baron Lionel·Albert.
"The ring on your hand originally belonged to me!"
"Last night, you killed that guitarist just to take the ring, not to save me!"
Finally, I realized my own worth—to this vampire, I was merely a blood bag, while the ring worth 150 million francs was the true prize. "Money makes the world go round" indeed, and he was truly a devil in name and deed!
"That guitarist last night was the vice-elder of the vampire clan in Western Europe. I've been tracking him for over seven hundred years!"
"Tracking him for over seven hundred years? Uh... what made you spend so much time looking for him?"
"Hmph... of course, it's a blood feud, but reclaiming this ring was the main goal."
"Seven hundred years, the hardships endured have long surpassed the significance of a mere ring. To me, this ring is nothing but a great irony; what I seek is simply a moment of vindication." He sighed deeply, "Hatred, this word can make a living person numb, disheartened, and silent as if dead, and it can also make a dead person's heart surge with passion, boiling with fervor, suddenly awakened."
For some reason, his sudden melancholy weighed heavily on me, and I sensed infinite sorrow in his last words.
If one has lived for hundreds of years, through vast changes, yet still cannot let go of hatred, indeed, the dead should boil with fervor and suddenly awaken!
The car suddenly fell into silence, "Uh... you must have had a hard time!"
"Pity me?" He raised an eyebrow, glancing at me sideways, "For a vampire who has lived for thousands of years, pity is an insult!"
"Uh... I'm sorry, I don't quite understand your 'etiquette'!" I pulled out the ring from my pocket, "You said this counts as a gift to me, right? Last night, you didn't kill me or my cousin, which was kind of you, so I'll accept it. This shouldn't count as irony, right? Just, in the future, could you not drink Bevis's blood?"
"Bevis's blood doesn't hold much appeal for me; it was just a small punishment for firing at me!
It would be best if you could forget about our altercation last night. I am not some rogue who preys upon women, otherwise, those elders who have lived for one or two thousand years wouldn't respect me as a baron!" He spoke lightly, raising an eyebrow and glancing at the ring on my hand, "If I hadn't said it was mine, would you still keep it?"
"I found it on the street corner; I'm not exactly the type to return lost items!"
He shook his head and laughed, tilting his head back proudly, sighing, "I know you're quite the rascal!"
"Likewise!" Only then did I realize that I could also chat calmly with a vampire.
As he drove silently, his sculpted face was illuminated by the flickering light of street lamps and car lights. His wild, dark blue eyes, like a deep sea, gazed thoughtfully ahead. His innate nobility and sharpness exuded a powerful attraction, drawing one in like falling into endless darkness, yet still revealing the sunlight shining deep within his soul.
After a long while, he suddenly spoke, "You can call me Lionel."
"Huh? Oh! Lionel..." I repeated the name, startled to find myself quietly captivated by the vampire's beauty. "Are you saying we can be friends?!"