The grand celebration being held in the castle was bustling with noise, and even from the top floor, the sounds of the lively festivities could still be faintly heard.
However, at this moment, no one paid any attention to the commotion, and the room was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.
The newly transformed beautiful young vampire reached out his hand, his small face tilted up, and his voice dragged out in a soft, coquettish tone.
There was no doubt that he was asking the powerful adult vampires for a hug.
The two vampires in front of him stared at Yu Deng without blinking. Their hearts, which had long ceased to beat, suddenly felt a scorching, heart-thumping illusion.
The baby was really... too cute.
Although it was their first meeting, as soon as they saw Yu Deng, both vampires were overwhelmed with intense affection and desire. Not to mention that Yu Deng was acting so coquettishly... they simply couldn't resist such an attack.
On the throne, Yu Deng waited for a few seconds, but when he didn't receive the hug he wanted, he let his hand fall in disappointment, his voice turning pitiful.
Tears welled up in his eyes instantly: "Why won't you hug me..."
You, all of you?
It seemed that his request for a hug wasn't just for his guide?
The vampire prince, as his guide, stiffened for a moment. His mind, which had been completely overwhelmed by Yu Deng's cuteness, finally calmed down a bit.
He could no longer hold back and, before Wen Luo, reached out his hand and hugged the fragile, delicate little vampire in his arms after his transformation.
The soft little vampire nestled into his embrace, surrounded by a sweet, soft fragrance.
Yu Deng had already been turned into a vampire, yet he still smelled just as sweet, making him extremely attractive to vampires.
"Are you still feeling uncomfortable?" Ronald gently rubbed Yu Deng's fluffy black hair.
Yu Deng hadn't fully recovered from the intense sensations of his transformation, so he mumbled, "I don't really know how to say it, but... I feel uncomfortable."
Fortunately, after being embraced by his guide, the subtle discomfort faded considerably. He randomly nuzzled into the vampire prince's neck and murmured, "Ronald, I'm hungry."
The silver-haired vampire sighed inwardly.
... His baby really knows how to act spoiled.
Yu Deng's bat wings and sharp fangs hadn't emerged yet, so when he bit into the vampire prince's neck, it only left a faint mark, not even breaking the skin.
Ronald somehow knew that the little vampire was quite picky with food, so instead of letting the blood servants bring food, he directly sliced his fingertip, letting his finger enter Yu Deng's mouth.
"Mm." Yu Deng bit down on the vampire prince's fingertip, sucking the blood that flowed out. It was his first time tasting Ronald's blood, and he found it delicious. He quickly became immersed in the feeding.
Wen Luo, as the steward, stood by with his hands at his sides, finding the vampire prince, who was occupying the little vampire's attention, rather annoying.
Wen Luo calmly reminded him, "Young Master should eat in moderation for his first meal."
The vampire prince paused for a few seconds before slowly withdrawing his finger.
"Baby, are you tired? Do you want to sleep?"
After being transformed, newly turned vampires generally fall into a deep sleep to stabilize their power.
Yu Deng was barely staying awake now, relying entirely on his willpower. In reality, he was extremely tired.
But he worried that if he fell asleep, he might sleep for too long, missing the crucial moment of his mission or the opportunity to return to the future. So, he kept rubbing his eyes while sitting in the vampire prince's lap, his eyelids reddening.
Yu Deng was worried. "What if I fall asleep and end up sleeping for a really long time before I wake up?"
"In theory, newly transformed vampires by higher-level bloodsuckers usually sleep for anywhere from ten to a hundred years after their first embrace."
Yu Deng nearly fainted. "No way…"
If he really slept for a hundred years, how could he complete his mission?!
The vampire prince's eyes showed a hint of a smile. "However, if you've replenished enough energy, the sleep duration can be significantly reduced."
The steward seized the opportunity to make his presence known. "Young Master, if you wish to wake up tomorrow, I can make sure to wake you."
"That is exactly my duty."
Ronald: "…Tch."
"There's no need to go through that trouble," the vampire prince rejected the suggestion on behalf of his newly turned fledgling. "I'll stay by my baby's side."
…
Under the assurance of the two vampires, the sleepy little fledgling no longer forced himself to stay awake. As soon as he closed his eyes, he fell into a deep sleep.
When Yu Deng woke up again, he was disoriented, with no sense of time. He didn't know how long he had been asleep, but when he opened his eyes again, the sky outside was already bright.
Ronald was sitting next to him, reading a book, occasionally glancing at him. A small bat-shaped ball was hanging by the bed, curiously watching him.
"You're awake," Ronald said, pulling the drowsy Yu Deng up. "You've slept for twelve hours. I was about to wake you up."
Yu Deng was still groggy. "Oh…"
The little bat ball tilted its head and, after a long pause, kindly offered Yu Deng a fruit.
Yu Deng looked down at the bat ball, poked it with his hand, and was then taken by the prince to wash up.
Yu Deng was very dependent on the vampire prince who had embraced him, obediently allowing himself to be cared for, like a delicate, beautiful doll.
The vampire prince found a strange sense of satisfaction in this, staying close to his fledgling for half the day before finally leaving to discuss matters with the Alpha of the werewolves.
Wen Luo, who had been waiting for a long time, appeared immediately to accompany Yu Deng on a tour of the castle. He noticed Yu Deng's thoughts. "Young Master, do you wish to participate in the banquet activities?"
"Not really," Yu Deng replied, standing at the entrance to the banquet hall. "I'm just curious. Wen Luo, how long does this celebration last?"
"It lasts for three days."
Yu Deng nodded. Just then, a vampire passed by them, respectfully greeting Wen Luo, yet completely ignoring Yu Deng.
Yu Deng watched the vampire leave, suddenly realizing—he couldn't be seen by anyone else.
How was he supposed to explain this to the prince and the steward? They would definitely think he was strange…
Wen Luo noticed Yu Deng's nervous expression and understood that their slow-witted young master had just realized that his existence didn't make sense in this situation.
"Wen Luo," Yu Deng tried to explain his situation simply, "I actually…"
Hm? What was going on? He couldn't make any sound?
Yu Deng opened his mouth and tried a few times, but no sound came out. The little fledgling murmured in confusion, "This is strange."
Wen Luo sighed as he looked at Yu Deng. "This is Young Master's secret, isn't it?"
Yu Deng nodded.
"If it's a secret, then I'll pretend I don't know," Wen Luo paused for a moment, reluctantly speaking on behalf of the prince. "The prince must be thinking the same way."
It was better for him to comfort the little fledgling on the prince's behalf rather than having the fledgling approach the prince himself.
"You don't need to explain anything to us. No matter what, you're still the young master of the vampire family."
Yu Deng blinked, feeling very pleased with the steward's consideration. "That's great. By the way, Wen Luo, I'd like to walk around by myself later."
Wen Luo hesitated for a moment but still agreed. "Alright, I'll have the little bat follow you. Is that alright? If you run into any trouble, just have it notify me."
"Okay!"
…
Yu Deng wandered around the castle, taking advantage of the fact that he couldn't be seen by others.
The non-humans participating in the banquet seemed very enthusiastic, and the relationships between the different races could barely be called harmonious. Moreover, they didn't seem as violent as in the dungeon timeline...?
Yu Deng was full of questions, trying to observe any clues that might break the situation.
[The baby thinking hard is really cute. Don't frown; let Mommy give you a kiss.]
[Wife, this scenario probably could lead to a new ending.]
[Drama fan peeking. The plot of this dungeon is basically clear now, and it's quite interesting. The church massacred the non-humans, and the non-humans retaliated. Seems like a revenge core?]
[Not just that, isn't there still a plot gap? I'll wait for the baby to explore more.]
The bullet comments were lively, while Yu Deng continued searching for clues. Suddenly, his sharp eyes noticed two members of the knight squad quietly gathering. It was Jack, and the only female knight in their squad.
Yu Deng thought for a moment, followed them, and found a hidden corner to eavesdrop.
"Jack, listen to me, we need to leave immediately," the female knight spoke quickly. "We've been deceived! We're not avenging the civilians and the pope!"
Jack was confused. "Wait, what happened?"
The female knight lowered her voice. "You still don't understand after a whole day in the castle, Jack? We were never in the right."
"Those non-humans never intended to threaten us. It was the pope who kept the truth from us, sending us foolishly into battle... We even harmed those non-human offspring!"
"What?!" Jack was stunned, but after recalling the various conversations he had heard since coming to the castle, he knew that what his companion said was true.
"Also, this is the message my uncle just passed on to me," the female knight said, taking out a communication scroll. "The Holy Artifact was never able to seal the vampire prince; it can only transfer the prince's power to the Church, to revive the Pope!"
"It seems that the prophet who created the Holy Artifact made some small changes to it, but I'm not sure exactly what."
Hidden not far away, Yu Deng barely understood.
So, this Holy Artifact is a scam, meant only to revive that false Pope. As for its special function... Could it be to send him back in time?
Yu Deng tried to recall the memories from the past few days, comparing them with the content from Skeleton Jack's diary... Hmm, it matches up with the current storyline. What Jack meant by "false" was referring to this.
At that moment, Jack seemed to sense something and turned around. Upon seeing Yu Deng's figure, he forced a strained smile and disappeared from sight with the female knight.
Yu Deng couldn't stop the past, so he lowered his eyes, slowly going through the information now known.
Now, there was only one important question left: How did the blood-red banquet in the castle become a tradition, and why was this tradition referred to as a "trap"?
"Hey, is that the new vampire?" A voice came from behind, but it suddenly stopped when Yu Deng turned around.
The young Anders stood behind him, frozen, staring at Yu Deng without blinking, his heart pounding wildly.
At this point, Anders appeared to be around seventeen or eighteen years old—still very youthful—but because of his werewolf bloodline, he was much taller than Yu Deng.
"Ah, Anders," Yu Deng snapped back to reality and called out.
The tail behind the werewolf wagged like a propeller, and his earlobes turned red as he spoke in a vague tone, "You... know my name?"
And you called me that!
Yu Deng was puzzled: "?" Is it not okay to know?
"Ahem, do you have something on your mind?" the young wolf awkwardly tried to find a topic with the blood vampire he had fallen for. "Do you want to touch my ears? They feel really nice, maybe it'll help you relax."
This scene felt strangely familiar...
Yu Deng thought this and naturally raised his hand to rub the fluffy wolf ears several times.
Anders obediently lowered his head, letting Yu Deng touch his ears, more obedient than a domesticated dog.
At the end of the hallway.
Just as the werewolf leader had finished discussing business with the vampire prince, he stepped out and saw his son making an embarrassing and inexplicable move. It was almost too painful to watch.
What was this kid doing??
Ronald: "..."
The vampire prince paused for a moment, then quickly walked over, standing between Yu Deng and the reckless werewolf.
He didn't acknowledge Anders but gave a slight nod to the werewolf leader. "Now, please feel free."
Yu Deng looked at the suddenly forceful guide with confusion, waved at Anders, and was carried away.
Anders stared at Yu Deng being taken away by the vampire prince. In a daze, he took a few steps forward, then was grabbed by the collar of his shirt by the first werewolf leader.
"Father, what are you doing?"
The werewolf leader was confused. "What are you doing? Kid, that was the vampire prince. Why are you following him?"
The young wolf looked at the direction Yu Deng had left, his gaze burning with determination, saying firmly, "Who wants to follow that vampire prince? Didn't you see the adorable little vampire next to him? He's clearly my destined partner!"
The fierce and brutal werewolf leader: "…?"
Is he crazy, or is my son crazy? Where did this little vampire come from? Anders better not be seeing illusions.
...
Yu Deng had no idea that, in the eyes of the first werewolf leader, Anders had turned into a strange image of someone in love with thin air.
He was taken back to the bedroom on the top floor, feeling dizzy.
He was really tired. Coming into this special mode, enduring the weak debuff for so long, and still having to search for clues...
Yu Deng's gaze landed on the silver-haired vampire, and he suddenly realized something.
Wait, why does he need to figure this out on his own? He could just ask his guide or the butler to tell him!
"Ronald." Yu Deng called out.
The silver-haired vampire patiently responded, "What's wrong, baby?"
"Tell me about the castle," Yu Deng said, counting on his fingers. "I already know about the past between the non-humans and the church, but I want to know why everyone is so enthusiastic about the banquet, and I also want to know about you."
The silver-haired vampire gently stroked Yu Deng's back. "Why the sudden curiosity about all this?"
"I just want to know," Yu Deng's tone softened, "you're so amazing, you must know everything, so just tell me, okay?"
The vampire's defenses were immediately shattered.
As he hesitated with his words, Yu Deng followed up with another remark that made his heart flutter.
"If you can't tell me about the others, then just tell me about yourself. I want to know more about you."
He really didn't want to keep guessing and overthinking anymore—his brain was exhausted.
Yu Deng didn't realize the immense power his casual words held.
Ronald's sharp fangs brushed against the skin on Yu Deng's neck, though he refrained from applying any force.
After a brief moment of contemplation, he spoke, "Baby already knows, the despicable Pope launched a massacre against us."
His tone was calm, "In fact, that disaster nearly wiped us out. All the factions needed a long time to recover. A turning point came six months later when a mysterious crystal core appeared in the castle."
This mysterious crystal core held immense power, and it fused with the Prince's coffin. Since then, the castle seemed to come alive.
Under the influence of the castle's power, the non-human factions began to recover rapidly. The castle exuded an irresistible and strange allure for both humans and non-humans. On one occasion, an angry werewolf killed a human spy who had infiltrated the castle and found that his powers had greatly increased.
"Many non-humans called it a divine miracle."
Such a powerful and sudden mysterious existence, such an overwhelming force, could only be explained as a divine miracle.
Yu Deng said, "I... want to see this thing."
Ronald gently shifted Yu Deng's position. "It's right here."
It was the coffin that the Prince had used while in slumber. Now, this coffin was entirely black, with a red crystal-like object embedded in its surface.
Yu Deng looked at the crystal core embedded in the center of the coffin. Its surface shimmered with radiant red light, dazzling and magnificent, yet Yu Deng felt an inexplicable chill.
Yu Deng couldn't understand where it had come from, but he felt certain that this crystal core was no good.
If this was the source of all the strange mysteries, destroying it—would that break the cycle?
He turned to his guide and slowly spoke, "Ronald, I don't like this thing. I want to destroy it..."
The words sounded rather willful.
However, the vampire prince merely hesitated for a brief moment before nodding decisively.
"Huh?" He didn't even consider it seriously?
"Having absolute power is not necessarily a good thing." The silver-haired vampire lightly tapped the surface of the coffin. "From the very beginning, I thought about destroying it, but I couldn't break this thing."
Was it a restriction? Yu Deng crouched beside the coffin, reaching out to pinch the crystal core and squeezing his fist tightly.
The crystal core wobbled slightly.
"I see." The vampire prince murmured in surprise, "I understand now. It must be done with baby's help."
Yu Deng was confused.
Ronald didn't offer further explanation but instead placed his hand over Yu Deng's hand and guided him to apply force.
A strong burning sensation spread through their palms. In the next moment, it turned icy cold.
Crack.
The crystal-like object cracked open, splitting apart into dust within seconds, slowly falling to the ground.
Yu Deng heard a buzzing sound of static in his mind, and the castle shook for a brief moment before quickly returning to silence.
The vampire butler sensed something was wrong and hurried over, followed by the young Anders.
Yu Deng didn't notice them, his gaze fixed on the empty surface of the coffin as he let out a long sigh.
Alright, there shouldn't be any more issues now... So, the current problem is, how does he get back?
Perhaps his expression was too obvious, and suddenly Wen Luo spoke.
"Young master, are you leaving?"
The silver-haired vampire snapped back to attention and pulled Yu Deng into a tight embrace. "Is what Agnes said true, baby?"
Had they really spent such a short time together?
Yu Deng looked up at the others and nonchalantly answered, "Someone's waiting for me."
"?!"
Anders froze for a few seconds, quickly realizing his greatest advantage, and suddenly transformed into a young wolf cub.
The wolf cub, with instinctual affection, pounced over to Yu Deng, wagging its tail and nudging its head against his waist.
"Are those people so good to baby too?" Ronald pushed the wolf cub away, holding Yu Deng tightly. He felt a bit bitter as he spoke, "Baby, be careful of those with ulterior motives."
The little wolf cub unusually agreed with the vampire's words, wagging its tail wildly. "Awoo! Awoo!"
Yes, yes! Where did this wild man come from who wants baby to wait? Definitely no good!