Catherine suddenly burst in carrying a bow and arrow, the arrow designed with ultraviolet technology. I had heard from Rion that Catherine was a skilled archer. Once that arrow was shot, the energy from the light could annihilate hundreds of vampires in an instant.
"Margie, stop protecting your lover. Humans and vampires are not on the same path. You won't have a good ending!" She aimed the bow at me.
My body was pulled into a cold embrace, held me tightly. Lionel didn't care about Catherine's deadly arrow—I could even hear his inner voice. He would rather die holding me than let me go.
The atmosphere was tense as Catherine stepped closer. Finally, I broke down. "Dene, I'll leave. He won't harm you. Catherine, put down the bow!"
Amelia cursed under her breath, clutching her shoulder where I had hurt her, and stormed in. "Damn it, this bitch finally chose a vampire?!"
"Are you insane? Bevis will be heartbroken!" Catherine looked at me in disbelief. "Margie, you chose a vampire, not just some old man a few years older than you. He's a Vampire Baron, and..."
"Catherine, let her be!" Dene turned away dejectedly. "Margie, you can pack your things and leave. Don't let me see you again!" His voice was cold, but there was an indescribable pain in it. Perhaps he had started to love me.
Ironically, even though I had passed Rion's test, I still had to leave.
"Darling, go pack your things. I'll wait for you outside," a gentle voice whispered in my ear.
As I walked to the door, passing Catherine, I smiled. "If you care about Bevis, take care of him for me."
Her face flushed red. "Who... who said I care about him?!"
I returned to my room and packed a few clothes. The room had large floor-to-ceiling windows, and the setting sun poured in. I could feel that Lionel hadn't followed me in.
Bevis suddenly barged in, grabbing my shoulders. "Margie, I just got back, and you're already packing to leave? What's going on? Are Amelia and Catherine telling the truth? How could you be with that vampire?"
"It's true!" I shrugged, breaking free from his grip, and finished packing my suitcase. "Anyway, I still want to thank Dene for taking care of me these past few days."
"Margie, I'm your brother. How can you leave me like this?"
"I'm not leaving you. I'll come back to see you! Bevis, you'll get married and start a family eventually."
He suddenly hugged me, his broad, warm embrace like a fortress surrounding me, making my heart ache even more.
A sharp pain pierced my back, and I looked at him in shock. "Bevis, what did you do to me?"
His handsome face was tense, and the pain in my back lasted for five minutes before he finally let go.
At some point, he had pulled out a syringe, and the liquid inside was injected into me before I could even see it.
After cautiously looking around, he pulled me into the sunlight by the floor-to-ceiling window and whispered in my ear, his voice barely audible.
"Dene didn't mean to drive you away. This is your mission, and you must complete it well. I just injected you with an immune antibody. Even if a vampire bites you, you won't turn into one. But it only lasts for seven days. After that, you'll need to come back for another injection."
I looked at Bevis in confusion. If this was a mission, there must be something to accomplish. Was it just to stay by Lionel's side?
Bevis pulled out a phone from his pocket and handed it to me. A message was already typed out: "Six bodies have disappeared from the hospital morgue. They've all turned into vampires. Find out who bit them and kill them."
Those six bodies were the employees of the Saturday restaurant, our former friends. How could I "kill them"?
Seeing my hesitation, Bevis hugged me. "Margie, the culprit is someone I provoked. During my last few vampire hunts, I exposed my identity and was targeted by their regional elder... which led to this disaster."
"Enough, I understand!"
That regional elder was actually the Western European elder of the vampire clan. He had targeted Bevis, and the deputy elder had led the group to kill everyone around Bevis. He was supposed to kill me too, but Lionel Albert happened to catch him, and I ended up with a ring!
"Tell Dene I want that ring back."
Bevis chuckled and shook his head. "Margie, I really suspect you're only with that vampire for the money. Dene won't keep the 150 million francs for himself!" He took my hand and slipped the ring onto my thumb, examining it. "The ring's too big. It only fits here."
His words were clearly a warning not to even think about wearing it on my ring finger.
Being manipulated by a group of people was bad enough, but even my own cousin joined in mocking me. Falling in love with a vampire was truly the worst luck!
"By the way, Margie, I heard you don't like the Codename 'Alcohol'..." Bevis teased.
"I just thought of a new one!"
"What is it?"
"Princess! Not a single word less!"
"Princess?!" Bevis couldn't help but laugh. "Not bad! Even Dene will have to bow to you!"
A Codename, just to get a little payback.
As I walked out of the luxurious villa I had lived in for half a month, a silver Lamborghini pulled up in front of me. There was no one in the car, not even in the driver's seat, but it silently came to a stop right in front of me.
I carried my handbag to the back, intending to open the trunk to put my things in, when I heard Lionel's amused voice. "Darling, I'm in here. If you don't want to see me burned by ultraviolet light, you'd better put your things in the back seat."
Going out with my boyfriend in the future, he'll have to lie in the trunk to chat with me? How absurd.
But it must be hard for a Vampire Baron to curl up his tall frame in the trunk. In their vampire world, this would probably become a huge joke! He's so obsessed with his image, how could he do something like this?
Though it felt awkward, I was still touched.
But the first big problem was, "...If you're lying in there, who's going to drive?"
He replied matter-of-factly, "You, of course!"
"I'm really afraid I'll wreck your car!" If such a magnificent car were ruined by me, I'd regret it for the rest of my life!
"Don't worry. If you crash, you'll die, not me. I have other cars." His cold remark was so blunt. Indeed, he's a thousand-year-old monster. Even if the car exploded, he wouldn't be destroyed. But I, a mere mortal, am precious.
Perhaps he was hoping I'd get into an accident so he could bite me and turn me into a vampire.
Thinking resentfully, my tone turned harsh. "Well then, Baron, could you tell me which way to your vampire lair?"
"Darling, watch your language. It's 'our home'! The car has a navigation system. The route is already marked. You'll see it."
After starting the car, I drove awkwardly, accidentally hitting a trash can on the road. He quickly asked from the back, "What happened?"
"Nothing, just a trash can in the way!"
"Wasn't the trash can off the road? How could it be in the way?" He was clearly holding back laughter.
I rolled my eyes and continued driving, bumping a few more times. He complained from the back, "Margie, can you even drive?"
"Practice makes perfect. Since you have to lie in the trunk, just shut up!" I hadn't driven much while working at the restaurant, so my skills were rusty.
After turning a corner, I finally got used to it, and my mood lightened. Following the navigation, I drove west, turning on the car's stereo. Cheerful music filled the car.
I barely heard his sigh. "Margie, why can't you just be quiet?!"
I had expected vampires to live in some remote, ancient mansion in the mountains, but the Baron's residence was on the glamorous Champs-Élysées in Paris, in the bustling western section.
It was a hotel building, with a huge sign on top that read, "Baron Rose Hotel," and a magnificent crystal sculpture stood grandly at the entrance.