EnCoffin Me Chapter 123
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 123 Reversal (7)
Because they understood each other too well, their fight was over in an instant.
The vampire no longer maintained his disguised appearance. His platinum-blonde hair and sky-blue eyes made him look like a true saint, but the faint hint of fangs at the corner of his lips exposed his true identity.
Lucius did not want to destroy the small chapel, so he was determined not to open his domain. However, Alexio's domain was very practical, allowing him to control it like an extension of his own arm even in a confined space. He sealed the vampire's bat wings to prevent him from flying high. Just as he was about to press the advantage, his instincts sent a warning. He immediately retreated, abandoning an opening the opponent had exposed, which was later confirmed to be a bait.
“I thought you'd fall for it,” Lucius said with a smile. Shadow roses spread and twisted from the darkness, swaying and unfurling, concealing the risk of entanglement and immobility.
“May I ask how you recognized me?” Lucius asked. He believed his disguise had been excellent, otherwise, Alexio would have seen through it long ago. Yet that flawless disguise collapsed today, exposed suddenly alongside the lich.
“Blood,” Alexio said simply. “As long as you drink my blood, I can track you to the ends of the earth.“
Speaking of blood, that wonderful scent seemed to float again. Lucius licked his fangs.
He began to take things seriously.
Alexio's combat skills were widely praised. It was probably the only aspect he was commended for. But he still couldn't break free from the limits of being human. Of course, he was improving, and that feeling of slight progress after each brief exchange was wonderful. Lucius felt as if he were forging a precious sword. The domain caused some trouble, but in the end, Alexio was still pinned down on the pulpit.
He struggled twice, then stopped, like a sulking cat.jpg.
“Don't sulk,” he said, brushing aside the strands of hair at Alexio's neck. “Want to experience… bliss?”
He leaned in close, his eyes and mind focused entirely on the prey he had just caught. The rain had stopped, and the dim sunlight cast shadows of the nearby buildings onto them. The black-haired young man in the Holy Temple uniform was almost completely swallowed by the shadows. Perhaps feeling the position was humiliating, he began struggling again.
“Let go! If you've got the guts, let me pull out my scythe!”
“I'll let go after I bite.” Lucius coaxed him, his vampire fangs revealing, nearly touching the side of Alexio's neck.
Thud!
Lucius covered his mouth and retreated. Alexio regained his freedom, flexed the wrist that had just been restrained, and without hesitation, drew his scythe.
Lucius was still weakly covering his mouth. He had just taken a headbutt from Alexio that sent him reeling.
Alexio studied his expression.
“Bit your lip?”
“Mm…”
Bitten himself with his own fangs — just thinking about it was painful.
Alexio, not one to hold grudges and prone to feeling guilty, looked at his own wrist, hesitated for a moment, then made up his mind.
“Once you feel better, you can bite my wrist.”
Lucius instantly looked up, no longer covering his mouth. Wasn't a vampire's strong recovery ability meant for situations like this?!
“I'm feeling better.”
“……”
“No more biting?”
“No more,” Alexio said calmly. “You recovered too quickly. I feel like I'm being swindled.”
“……”
In the evening, just before the night rain began, Alexio sneaked back into the Holy Temple. The clear bite marks on his wrist were hidden beneath his sleeve. He skillfully avoided the night patrol and made his way to his room. Immediately, he used healing magic to erase the marks and sent his clothes for cleaning, erasing every trace before finally letting out a long breath.
It felt like returning from a secret affair.
Vampire fangs were truly terrifying. In those few brief breaths, his soul felt as if it were floating on clouds. If the vampire hadn't loosened his grip, it would have been very difficult to break free.
Alexio's thoughts were always a bit unusual. Right now, he was wondering if he could knock out that fang and sell it. It seemed quite potent, though he wasn't sure if it would grow back after being removed.
Lucius, danger!
With a lingering sense of comfort, he fell asleep quickly that night. In his drowsy state, he suddenly heard the cathedral bells tolling. He jolted upright and listened carefully.
It was the funeral bell. Someone had died.
He pushed the door open. In the night, many hunters and priests gathered and headed toward the cathedral. The priest who usually accompanied him was there too. Seeing Alexio, he gave a slight nod.
“One of the hunters from your batch has returned to God's embrace,” he informed Alexio with a mournful tone. “He was a hunter targeting the second-generation vampire, but the second-generation vampire was cruel enough to kill him.”
Alexio looked coldly at the priest.
“I recall that the Holy Temple keeps some records of every vampire of the fourth-generation and above,” he said coldly. The priest instinctively avoided his gaze, forcing himself to appear calm as he nodded. He already sensed Alexio must have seen through everything, seen through their… attempts to test the waters at the cost of human lives.
Second-generation vampires were inherently cruel and cunning, difficult to communicate with or deceive, and therefore should not have dedicated hunters trained for them.
Alexio studied the priest's expression but didn't continue. There was no need.
The Holy Temple had never been a benevolent organization, and not every vampire was like Lucius.
His destined one was even good-natured enough to help him with his homework.
Lucius was working on geometry problems, with piles of astronomy and math assignments nearby. His recent hard work had finally paid off. He could handle Alexio's coursework completely, even preparing small cookies for him in advance. He was truly excelling both academically and domestically, capable in exams and in the kitchen. But since Alexio's original grades were quite poor, Lucius had to put in extra effort to incorrectly modify a large portion of the answers.
Alexio held a test paper related to Lucius himself, asking questions as he worked.
What could be more effective than asking the person directly?
“Flavor?”
“Sweet. I like sweet things.”
Alexio tossed a small cookie into his mouth and marked a big check on one of the options on the paper.
“Age? Just a rough estimate. I see these options… one thousand years, two thousand years, three thousand years…”
“Two thousand years, rounding up to three thousand.”
Alexio asked another question, ticked the answer, asked again, ticked again, happily finishing the assignment. He completed all the other homework as well. He only needed to listen to Lucius explain a few key problems before ending today's study session.
It couldn't be more comfortable! If it weren't for the risk of being discovered, he'd genuinely want to do his homework here every day!
Alexio daydreamed for a while before reluctantly returning to reality. He packed up the homework he had done and left the chapel, glancing back repeatedly. This time, he had to head to the Holy Temple to continue his studies without any help.
It was tough.
After Alexio left, Lucius specifically called Cravenson over to reward the teachers at the noble finishing school and prepare a few meals for the Holy Temple carrots in the basement. The bridal training courses truly had their purpose. Lucius had already used them to build a good relationship with Alexio and for that, he needed to be grateful. Of course, he also needed to continue his studies.
Facing the prince who was completely obsessed with bridal training courses, Cravenson's psychological trauma was — this — BIG.
All the homework Alexio excitedly took back passed, except for the last course he felt most confident about: Destined Vampire Habits. That one went badly wrong. When Alexio was called into the priest's office, he was still a bit confused. Only when the priest placed the test paper in front of him and patiently explained did he start to come to terms with it.
“Alexio, you did very well on all your other assignments,” the priest said kindly but with inner excitement. “Only this one subject has too many errors.”
“……”
This couldn't be! It wasn't supposed to be!
“Look at this question, what is the taste preference of the third-generation Prince Lucius? Why did you choose ‘sweet’?”
“No… I…”
“And the age, you should have picked ‘two thousand years,’ since he's a bit over that.”
“…Rounded up, it's three thousand years.”
“Child, that's not how rounding works.”
“……”
“And for this preferred human type, why choose black hair? Most vampires have dark hair, so it's reasonable to assume he's grown aesthetically fatigued by it. You should have chosen blonde hair.”
“……”
“Listen carefully, Alexio. What your teacher tells you are the correct answers.”
“……”
Correct, my ass! I asked the person himself!