Chapter Volume 7, The Third Step Toward the End: Pure, the Purest Existence (1/2)
Volume 7, The Third Step Toward the End: Pure, the Purest Existence
Translator: Raylight (proofread by Trespasserby; C/E edited by Taffygirl13 and lucathia)
“Retreat!” Ezart roared loudly, “Everyone, go back!”
I had already expected that it would be a treacherous journey, so despite having to keep it confidential, I had still gathered twenty people for the exploration team. On top of that, they were equipped with heavy firepower, enough to attack a small city. However, it appeared that I was still too naive.
Originally, I had thought that even if this place were to still exist, any defenses that they had must have long since perished over the years. However, I’d forgotten that there must have been a major reason why this laboratory would have been destroyed in the first place.
Was it due to the night race in front of us?
Or perhaps, something even stronger?
I want to see—I want to see it all!
“Young Master!”
I quickly grabbed onto the young master, who looked as though he was truly about to murder the man standing before him. However, the instant I held onto him, I realized that this was not the case at all. The young master was barely able to stand. Rather than killing, it seemed that what he wanted to do more was to simply collapse onto the ground and start crying bitterly.
Shock was written all over the man’s face as he asked in bewilderment, “W-What are you saying? Killed me twice? This is the first time I’ve met you face to face!”
The young master momentarily froze, and then his crumbling expression faded considerably. After scrutinizing the man for a long while, he gently pushed me away and stood up straight on his own. He forcefully restrained all his emotions as he commanded, “Get in the car first. There are too many people around here.”
In reality, there were not many people around us, only about five or six people. However, they were already taking out their phones to film the scene. If the young master were to continue being so agitated, or the other person were to call him “son” a few more times, we could possibly end up appearing on the news again tomorrow.
“Who exactly are you?” questioned the young master, with no trace of politeness, in the very moment we sat in the car and the door was shut tight.
Hearing that, the other fervently patted his chest as he exclaimed, “I am Luo Ye, your father!”
This whole time, I had been paying attention to the young master’s expression. Once the name “Luo Ye” came up, he looked confused at first, as though he was not familiar with the name. Following that, he quickly reacted, and his expression changed to one of even greater shock than when he had first been called “son” earlier.
“Luo Ye…?”
The young master’s expression was too subtle for me to tell what he was feeling. Did that name bring out positive or negative feelings for him? Or perhaps, even the young master himself does not know?
The young master seemed like he wanted to say something, but hesitated in doing so several times. In the end, he just turned to Nitewalker and ordered, “Go to the press conference.”
“Understood.”
Originally, I should have been seated in the front passenger seat. However, the young master disliked sitting in the back seat alone and would always ask me to sit together with him. Nevertheless, the center back seat was not a place where I ought to sit, for that was the seat reserved for the master.
At the moment, I had the young master on my right, and the man named “Luo Ye” on my left. This was truly an extremely bizarre situation. However, before we had gotten in the car, the young master had distraughtly hinted to me that he did not wish to sit with the man shoulder to shoulder, so I could only take this extremely inappropriate seat.
Along the way, Luo Ye was talking non-stop, crying in one moment and smiling in the next. The whole time, his gaze never left the young master.
“All along, I thought that you were already dead. Never had I dared to hope in my wildest dreams that Ri Ji Yan would let you go. Who would have thought that I’d actually see in the news that the Sun Emperor had a little brother. At first, I couldn’t believe that it was you, but upon seeing your face, I just knew that you must be Xiang Ye. You look exactly like Wyn!”
The young master finally reacted. “Wyn?”
Luo Ye nodded his head with a smile. But when he saw the young master’s puzzled face, realization seemed to hit him. His expression abruptly changed, and he roared angrily, “Did Ji Yan not even tell you the name of your mother?”
Ji Yan? I had the impression that before the Sun Emperor took over, the Sun Alliance’s head was called “Ri Ji Yan,” who was also the Sun Emperor’s father. Theoretically, he should have also been the young master’s father, but from what the young master had inadvertently revealed several times, the truth was not as such. Moreover, what is going on with this person “Luo Ye” who is proclaiming himself as the father?
“My mother?” The young master seemed to be shocked, and turned at that. He appeared to be much more interested in things regarding his mother than his father.
I did my utmost to stick to the back of the seat, so as not to disturb his conversation with this Mr. Luo.
Luo Ye’s expression softened as he replied, “Your mother’s full name was Elowyn. I always called her Wyn.”
The young master murmured, “Elowyn? My mother’s name?”
“Ji Yan seriously never told you?” Luo Ye struggled to contain his rage as he exclaimed, “How could he be so cruel!”
According to the traces of information I have heard till now, that Mr. Ri Ji Yan’s treatment of the young master was most likely much more cruel than this.
Luo Ye pulled out a necklace from his chest. The flat pendent was in the shape of a red apple, and it did not seem like a style intended for men. Moreover, it was evidently able to store photos. He handed the necklace to the young master.
“Have you seen your mother before? This is Wyn’s necklace. Apples were her absolute favorite; she’d often spend the entire day eating only apples, though I frequently advised her against it. She was skinny to the point of being all skin and bones.”
With that, he opened the locket. As expected, there was a photograph inside. “I shoved the locket into the hollow of a tree in the streets as I passed by to prevent Ji Yan from finding it.”
The young master took it, and after a single glance, immediately seemed reluctant to part with it. He commented, “There are some photos of my mother at home, but there aren’t a lot, and none have her smiling so happily.”
The young master passed me the locket so that I could see it. The woman in the photo had a head of long and straight silver hair, glistening like strands of silk satin. She had a pair of large, black eyes, rose-like lips, and skin even more beautiful than snow. Her beauty did not seem to be of this earth. Because of her smile, her originally cold and distant disposition became breathtakingly stunning, as though roses had bloomed in a snowfield.
That kind of beauty was not at all foreign to me. The woman looked like a fairy in the snow, and the young master was called an angel. The two of them were practically identical in both appearance and refinement.
“You truly look very similar to your mother,” I remarked with heartfelt sincerity.
The young master seemed very joyous upon hearing so and held onto the photograph lovingly, as though he was unwilling to part with it. It appeared that he truly did love his mother a lot.
Luo Ye warmly said, “I was afraid that it would get destroyed, so I made many copies and hid them all over. Next time, I’ll bring a bigger picture for you, okay, Xiang Ye?”
Hearing that, the young master fell silent for a moment, before he answered, “I still have to go to a press conference in the afternoon, so stay in the car for a bit first. At night, we can have dinner together and continue talking then.”
“Nitewalker, can you help me take… him to a nearby place to sit?” The young master seemed to be at a loss as to how to address the man.
“Understood, Young Master.”
Not too long after, we arrived at the location of the press conference. I was originally a little worried that with such a large incident happening so abruptly, the young master might not be able to calmly attend the press conference.
However, it was evident that I had been overthinking it. After hearing the name “Luo Ye,” the young master’s mood was no longer as terrible as before. At most, the young master appeared to be at a loss on what to do, which was a lot better than his frenzied expression at the start.
“Young Master, please hold on for a moment.”
The young master turned to look at me in confusion. Just as I was about to remind him, I heard the door open as Nitewalker got out of the car and walked over to open the door for the young master.
This personal chauffeur eased into the swing of things faster than I expected. I made a decision that no matter what, I had to get Nitewalker to remain as the young master’s chauffeur.
As he stepped out of the car, the young master started smiling, and instantly, the camera lights began flashing non-stop. At this point, I too got out. Some of the cameras turned to me, but the flashes stopped after a while. It seemed like the reporters had remembered that I was a vampire, so taking photos of me would be futile. Only some of the video cameras filmed me for a short moment, for at least they would still be able to see me in the live broadcast.
“Is it true that today’s press conference will release details about the movie?”
“May I ask what kind of film it will be?”
“Are you intending to both sing and act in it?”
The reporters had many questions, but the young master merely looked at them with a blank smile. When he encountered a question he did not know how to answer, he occasionally replied, “I don’t know that either.”
The young master glanced around, not knowing which direction to walk, so I decided to go in front to lead the way. Although I too did not know where we were supposed to go, regardless, it would be better to bring the young master to somewhere less crowded first. At this time, we heard a familiar voice calling out to us, “Young Master, this way!”
The young master and I both turned to look, and the young master blurted out, “Melody, weren’t you at home sleeping?”
Melody walked over, her red lips pursed. She complained, “That Secretary Bai told me to come over and handle this personally. He even scolded me for sleeping at home for such an important matter, and that he would fire me!”
Once she said that, the reporters grew even wilder.
“May I ask if Secretary Bai is referring to the Sun Emperor’s left hand?
“Have you really been fired?”
Melody just gave them a glare. Rumor had it that in the eyes of the reporters, she was a shrew. However, even a shrewish vampire was unable to stop the barrage of questions from the reporters.
She coquettishly teased, “It’s unfortunate, dear reporters, but I haven’t been fired yet! You all still have to continue to face me, a fierce vampire whom you can’t take any photos of.”
That’s still better than facing the Sun Emperor’s left hand.
A small, almost inaudible voice spoke from somewhere. The scene fell into dead silence for a moment, but people soon started firing questions again.
The Sun Emperor’s left hand was nowhere as famous as his right hand, Secretary Kyle, but he seemed to be more feared by others. However, given that my knowledge of the business world was outdated by about sixty years, I was not as up-to-date as the reporters in front of me.
Even though I had heard a long time ago that Secretary Bai was responsible for work under the table, I did not know just how “under the table” his work extended to. Moreover, his looks were extremely refined, so he did not look like someone who would strike fear in the hearts of people.
“Hmph!” It seemed that Melody dared not give any comments on that statement, an extremely rare occasion. She coyly said, “All right! Everyone, there’s no need to rush. You can all ask your fill during the press conference, okay?”
After saying that, she turned around and said, “Young Master, follow me!”
We followed her onto the elevator, and Melody pressed the button to the highest floor. She briefed, “Young Master, later on, there will be reporters on the rooftop. A werewolf will capture you, and show itself at the water tower. All you need to do is act frightened; the werewolf will handle the rest of the act. The reporters will be filming for roughly three minutes, and then you can rest afterwards.”
The young master inquired, full of curiosity, “Is it a real werewolf?”
“It’s a real one.” Melody nodded as she continued, “Actually, they wanted to find a vampire for this, so that it would fit the movie theme. However, a vampire would only be seen in the live broadcast, and wouldn’t be visible in other media like the newspaper. The publicity time would simply be too short. That’s why they compromised and got a werewolf.”
The young master scratched his face, asking, “It can’t possibly be the one that I caught and handed over to Bàba last time, right? I feel a little sorry for that werewolf. Though he did kill at least three people, still…”
Melody had a complicated expression as she shot down, “Not that one.”
The young master’s expression fell as he muttered, “I thought so. He couldn’t possibly still be alive, right? I mean, if he already entered Bàba’s laboratory, how would he be able to leave?”
Hearing that statement just made it sound like “being sent into Mr. An Te Qi’s laboratory” was a one-way trip. However, that was a reasoning that I could fully understand. During the short time span that I had been taking care of Mr. An Te Qi previously, even though I was not an experimental subject, I frequently felt as though I might explode into smithereens any second.
Melody sized up the young master, and concluded with satisfaction, “Young Master, the clothes you are wearing today are really not bad at all. I don’t think you need to change; just wear these! Oh, but the wind is going to be strong on the rooftop, so it might be cold if you are wearing just a vest…” She seemed to waver.
The young master chuckled and whispered, “Dark Sun’s clothes aren’t any warmer than this current outfit!”
Melody asked, uncertain, “Young Master, are you not afraid of the cold?”
That was a question that I too wanted to know the answer to, for that would be extremely beneficial to coordinating the young master’s clothes.
The young master pondered for a while. Then, he replied, “I am able to feel cold, but not as strongly as an ordinary human. It would have to be roughly fifteen degrees Celsius and below for me to feel cold at all. However, if the temperature is really too cold, I have my ways to maintain my body at the temperature of when I’m exercising.”
The young master can wear summer wear as long as it is fifteen degrees and above. I silently committed it to memory.
Once we exited the elevator, we found out that the wind on the rooftop was indeed very strong. However, the young master’s expression was no different from usual. Sure enough, he was not particularly affected by the cold.
The rooftop had been arranged to look like ruins. Even the central area where the press conference was to be held was formed by old and broken wooden tables and chairs, and there were still some staff members frantically bringing things over.
A middle-aged man was brought over to us by one of the staff, and he looked a little nervous.
Melody seemed not to mind as she introduced, “This is the beast that is going to kidnap you later.”
Calling a werewolf a “beast” did seem a little derogatory, but the werewolves themselves did not think so. Most of them took pride in their feral side, and did not feel shamed when addressed as such.
Werewolves were indeed qualified to pride themselves in their strength, or at least, they were “in the past.” As of now, they were in the same situation as vampires, or rather, about the same as all the rest of the non-humans. Sightings of truly strong werewolves were becoming increasingly uncommon. Most of them had chosen to live in seclusion, avoiding this world that was changing too quickly to keep up with.
“Young Master, please go to the water tower in a bit and stay on standby. Your only job is to get ‘captured’ by the werewolf, and show an expression that will make others’ hearts ache for you.” Seeing the young master nod, Melody then shot me a glance, and she pretended to casually bring up, “Butler, you will be following the young master, correct?”
I understood what she was trying to ask from me. Werewolves were, after all, difficult creatures to control. If he were to go out of control, fending off the werewolf would be much more appropriate for me as a vampire than the young master as a human. However, if the young master were to know about this, he would definitely not allow me to follow him.
Therefore, Melody could only inquire discreetly whether I would participate in the battle like a “bodyguard” if the werewolf were to go insane.
“Certainly,” was my answer without batting an eyelid. “The duty of a butler is to follow their master.”
At this point, even if combat was the only way to assist the young master, I would not hesitate to do so.
Melody gave a “Mhm” in acknowledgment. It seemed that our conversation had not aroused suspicion from the young master.
Melody immediately followed up with, “Then, you can also go to the water tower. Just don’t stand in an obvious location. The werewolf will bring you two there. As for me, I’ll wait below for the reporters to come in.”
“Understood.”
The werewolf’s voice was stiff as he said, “The two of you, please, follow me.”
On the way over, the young master asked curiously, “Are you working at my gēge’s side?”
This werewolf looked a little nervous, as he hurriedly answered, “No, no, how could I possibly know the Sun Emperor! I was merely working at a certain trading company, without knowing that it had ties to the Sun Alliance. Afterwards, my identity as a werewolf was discovered, and I was then brought to work in the Alliance. However, I have never seen the Sun Emperor. N-Nor even the secretary!”
“How did your identity get discovered?” The young master seemed even more intrigued as he exclaimed, “I can’t tell that you are a werewolf at all!”
“I bit a supervisor who kept making things difficult for me to death, and was found out afterwards…”
The young master gave an “Oh” as he continued, “Then, what are you helping my gēge with? Killing people?”
The werewolf seemed rather uneasy when he heard the young master’s question. However, I could completely understand his feelings. Hearing an angelic-looking boy casually ask about killing others was too great of a contrast to accept without difficulty.
“Mostly, yes, but recently I’ve been undergoing experiments at a laboratory.”
It cannot possibly be the laboratory that one can never escape from upon entering? Evidently, the young master was thinking the same thing, for he fell silent and did not ask any more questions. Moreover, he even lowered his head, as though he was trying to hide the pity that he could not help but show on his face.
The werewolf abruptly turned around and picked up the young master in a swoop. I was shocked by the action, but the werewolf did not transform, and the young master was not uncomfortable judging from his expression either. The werewolf bent both knees and jumped a full story high toward the water tower right above us.