Lucinia blinked her big eyes at the man sitting elegantly across her. Then she blinked again at Zacharia who was sitting next to Prince Kuzma.
"So? Are you going to say anything?"
Lucinia focused her attention on the Prince. "Is this the part where I laugh?" she asked. She didn't miss the sinister glint in Prince Kuzma's eyes. It made her wonder if the man was crazy. Did he think she wouldn't hurt him simply because he was her brother?
"We were not joking," Zacharia chimed in.
"Did I gave you the permission to speak?" she lifted her eyebrow and lazily turned her attention towards the man.
"I am no longer your knight."
"Exactly," she said. "Meaning… you are now nothing but an ordinary knight. Do you think someone like you have the right to speak to me?"
"My… she did change," Prince Kuzma smiled. "What did you do this time, Zach?"
The latter only pursed his lips, his eyes still glued towards Lucinia's face.
"Nothing."
She sneered in response. Nothing? This man just watched as assassins were sent to kill her. Wait, those people weren't sent to kill her but to make her look like a clown. From the pitiful memories that she received, Lucinia could tell that someone sent the assassins to embarrass her and prove that her strength was indeed useless.
She remembered hearing people's laughter before she fainted.
She remembered seeing Zach just watched her coldly as someone stabbed their sword towards her body.
Of course, Zach wasn't worried. After all, she heals fast. However, it wasn't about not being worried. It was about doing his task in protecting her.
"Younger sister— "
"Please call me Princess Lucinia, your highness."
The latter lifted an eyebrow before he continued. "Alright, Princess Lucinia." He smiled as he eyed Madam Liliana walking towards them with a bottle of scarlet red liquid in his hand. The old woman poured a glass of blood towards the prince before curtsying and leaving without saying anything. "I wanted you to reconsider my offer. Let's not forget Zacharia came from a noble family of humans. Once you turn him into a vampire— "
"He is only twenty-five," Lucinia said, coldly. "While I am as old as his grandmother."
"Cough… cough…" Surprised at her words, Prince Kuzma let out a series of coughs. However, she wasn't done speaking. Lucinia met Zacharia's eyes.
"He is but a child." She smiled. "Don't you think so… your highness?" In this world, Vampires and Werewolves exist as well as knights. These knights have a special constitution that would make them faster and stronger than normal humans and even against newly turned vampires. Because of their strong physique, turning them into vampires or werewolves are easier compared to turning someone who doesn't have a knight's blood inside them.
In a world ruled by Vampires, witches, and werewolves, knights are considered the strongest type of humans that can fight equally against the other races in this world.
Zacharia frowned at her words. To a vampire, twenty-five was indeed considered very young. He looked at Lucinia's eyes and wondered what made her change her mind about him. Was it only because of that accident? Why the sudden change?
"If… you marry…"
"There is no if." Lucinia interrupted her older brother. "I won't marry him. Thank you very much."
"I can always tell our father about this." Prince Kuzma sneered. "I came here because I wanted to use peace to talk to you. But if you refuse to cooperate, let me remind you that I am still the second son of the vampire king. While you are the youngest of our— AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH."
Large veins appeared in Prince Kuzma's temples as he struggled to breathe. He glared at Lucinia and opened his mouth into a silent scream.
"Let me remind you that I can kill you anytime I want to." She smiled before shifting her gaze towards Zach. She looked at the latter's hand who was already on the hilt of his sword. Then she watched as Zacharia's face turned red, his hand tightened around his sword as he tried to fight the gravity that was urging him to kneel in front of Lucinia.
Unable to fight the force of Lucinia's ability, Zach fell on the floor, kneeling. He tried to meet Lucinia's eyes, but the force wasn't allowing him to raise his head.
"I call it a blood field." Her voice was soft. "It works on everyone." The stronger the opponent's blood, the stronger the gravity inside her field. It would force anyone to kneel in front of her. This was only one of Lucinia's ability— the ability that she had been hiding because she wanted to belong. She wanted to be seen as one of the vampires.
The thing is, even she knew that she wasn't one of them. "I only used a little, and that was the reason why Prince Kuzma was able to fight it. But you are only a child." A look of pity landed towards Zacharia. She was an eighty-year-old woman while he was a twenty-five-year-old man. Even if she liked this person, she would never marry someone that young.
She thought about Lucinia's emotions towards this young man. She could barely remember anything from this body, but she knew that Lucinia liked Zach. After all, he was that cold man that seemed too distant and emotionally unavailable to everyone.
He was not only good looking but also smart and strong. How could a woman like Lucinia fight the charm of a man like that?
"You dare… attack me?" Prince Kuzma spoke. He tried to maintain a cold face but the sweat trickling down his forehead was enough to show how much pain he was feeling inside.
"I would dare kill you, your highness." Lucinia slowly increased the pressure and watched as Zach paled while the Prince started trembling. "You are in my turf, and the king allowed me to use my abilities inside my castle. I could kill both of you, make your body explode, and send your blood to the ocean. What do you think, your highness? Are you going to beg for your life? Or disappear forever?"
