Two days later.
The smell of the sea was the first thing that filled her nose the moment she went out of the carriage. She squinted, her hand immediately covered her eyes from the sun before she ran towards the tree by the beach. Lucinia let out a sigh when the moment she felt the shade of the tree covered her from the sun. "Why do we have to come here during the noon?" she asked Mo Li who was leaning against the tree, unafraid that the wet bark would mark his all-white clothes.
She pressed her lips together, unamused at the fact that he was no longer there when she woke up. She had been so afraid. She immediately panicked when she didn't hear him answer. She honestly thought that he left her. Just when she was about to start crying, she saw a note that he left.
He wanted her to come to this part of the property.
"It's beautiful isn't it?" He turned walked towards her, hugging her waist before he leaned down and kissed her forehead. In response, Lucinia looked at the sparkling blue water.
"I am not very fond of the beach."
"Hmmm." He nodded and looked at the sea. The soft, warm breeze hugged them.
"We can't stay here for too long." The Sunlight is still their weakness.
"I just want to keep this as a memory. Paint it one day."
She frowned at that. "What's going to happen now?" Finally, Lucinia asked the question she had been dreading to ask him since Mo Li made Gavril the new King two days ago. Kuzma along with Zacharia was now dead, and according to the system, the female lead was still the female lead while the male lead would soon make his name known in other kingdoms.
Of course, this had nothing to do with her anymore. Her mission was done, and she already earned her coins.
Sadly, the system once again asked her if she wanted to exit the world now or ten years later. Left with no other choice, Lucinia chose to spend another ten years with him. It's not like it would change anything anyway. She knew she would forget him in the next world.
For now, Lucinia only wanted to be with him just a little longer.
"Are you going to protect Gavril too?" she asked when Mo Li turned silent.
"I am no longer a vampire. Or at least… I will slowly turn into a human being. A normal one."
"Hm?" Lucinia turned towards him. "What are you talking about?"
"Can't you smell me?"
She shook her head. To her, his scent had always been the same since she met him.
"You — Are you saying that you can't smell me like you can smell other vampires? Or humans?"
Confused, Lucinia looked at him. "Isn't that normal? You are an old vampire, right?"
Mo Li shook his head as he smiled. "It's fine. You're fine."
She gave him a suspicious look. "So… you will become old and die?"
"Probably… five or ten years."
Lucinia's eyes widened. Her curiosity was killing her. Was this because of his system? What is going on? "How did you become a human?"
"The potion that you used to heal me."
She widened her eyes. She remembered Mo Li told her that the potions have different effects on vampires as it was made for cultivators and humans. When she used the potions that made her fast and strong, she fainted after a few minutes. The second time that she used it, she fainted and slept for almost twenty-four hours.
"So the healing potion can…"
"It must have thought that vampirism is a disease." Mo Li shrugged.
"Wait… why are you telling me this, now?" For a few seconds, Lucinia panicked. Was he planning to leave her? Use this reason so she would leave him alone?
"How many years can you stay here?" Mo Li's question was a surprise. She didn't know that Mo Li was aware of this rule. Does this mean… he has the same system too? But Bee or Robot clearly said that he couldn't spot any system in Mo Li's body. He doesn't also see him as an anomaly, meaning he wasn't a transmigrator or a reincarnator.
"Ten years," Lucinia answered honestly.
��Why did you decided to stay?"
She cocked an eyebrow. "Why are you asking such questions when you already know the answer?" As expected, her words made him chuckle.
"You know that I love you, right?"
She met his gentle eyes and smiled.
"And you also know that I said it not because I want a response. It was a reminder."
"I know." Lucinia caught herself smiling like a teenager as she held his hand. Her mission was done, she would be able to live with him in the next ten years. Then she would leave. It was such a harsh truth— a sad truth. But it was something she could never change.
At least… not now.
"Will I be able to see you again?" she asked after a long stretch of silence.
"I will find you."
"And if I won't remember you?"
"Then… I will make new memories with you." He looked at the beach. "It's that simple."
"Simple and tiring, right?" she asked.
"But worth it." Mo Li uttered. Lucinia doesn't need to look at him to know that he was smiling.
"What if I will try to kill you the next time I see you?"
"Then… I will kiss you."
"What if we are enemies the next time we see each other?" She felt his hands tightened around her waist as she pulled her closer towards his body.
"Have you heard of the saying 'Keep your friends close; keep your enemies closer'?
Lucinia nodded before she laughed. She had a feeling that Mo Li would always have answers to her 'what if's'. "What are we going to do next?" she asked.
"Marry you and travel the world." He answered almost immediately, it made her wonder if this conversation already happened in the previous world too.
"Alright… then… let's do that." She beamed.
