Ophelia watched as the servants from the manor drew closer. She lowered her voice, hoarsely saying to Luo Wei:
"I want exclusivity! Go and kill the women beside you! Only then will I believe you!"
Luo Wei shook his head with a bitter smile. "This is the one thing I cannot promise you."
"No! That won't do! If that's the case, won't everything I've done be in vain?" Ophelia seemed to have spiraled into obsession once again.
Corrosive black mist erupted in an instant as she let out a roar of frustration. The sky grew darker.
Shattered debris floated into the air, and faint growls of ghouls echoed around them. The bizarre and surreal elements of the dreamscape began to invade reality once more.
"Kill them! You must kill them! You belong to me! Only to me!"
"Ophelia..." Luo Wei struggled to his feet.
Seeing her about to spread her wings and take flight, he threw himself at her without hesitation.
"Stop this! End it now!"
"No! I won't!"
Her corruption levels surged, and in an instant, she seemed to lose all reason, treating Luo Wei, who was deliberately trying to stop her, as an enemy.
With a sickening squelch, thick black blood dripped to the ground.
Luo Wei stared in shock at the sharp tail piercing through his chest, then looked at the frenzied black figure before him.
"Luo Wei!!" Ophelia snapped back to her senses, and the sharp black tail vanished instantly.
She frantically caught Luo Wei as he fell, pressing her hands helplessly against the gaping wound in his chest.
"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!!"
"I didn't mean to! I never wanted to hurt you!!"
But the blood kept flowing, unstoppable.
Ophelia burst into tears, "How could this happen? How could this happen! I didn't want this!!"
Luo Wei coughed violently, spitting out large amounts of black blood.
Ophelia anxiously supported Luo Wei's wavering body.
Ignoring the shards of glass on the ground, she knelt down, placing his head on her lap, her eyes fixed unblinkingly on his face.
The light in his eyes was fading fast, as if he were on the brink of death.
"Luo Wei! Don't die, I was wrong. Please open your eyes, okay?"
Buried deep in her subconscious, the thought that tormented her with guilt and regret resurfaced once again.
She had killed Luo Wei.
Once again, she had killed Luo Wei!!
She was a madwoman! A murderer! It was all her fault!!
"Don't die... Please open your eyes and look at me, okay?"
It was as if a string in her heart had snapped. She wailed, shaking Luo Wei's increasingly lifeless body like a madwoman.
"I promise you, I'll end this. I won't be so selfish anymore!!"
"I won't ask you to kill those women! I won't fight with you anymore! Just stay by my side! Just stay by my side..."
Tears streamed down her face, falling onto Luo Wei's cheeks.
Suddenly, his eyes slowly opened.
"You said it yourself."
Ophelia stared at him in disbelief, a mix of shock and joy flooding her expression.
"Luo Wei? Luo Wei!"
She thought she was dreaming, shaking his body with both hands. "You're not dead? You're not dead!!"
Luo Wei coughed violently, clutching his chest in exasperation.
"Even if I wasn't dead, you'd shake me to death..."
Ophelia immediately stopped. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"
She then glared around furiously. "Caroline! Jason! Susan!! Where are you all? Where's the doctor!! I'll kill you!!"
The head maid, Caroline, and the shadow guard leader, Jason, finally rushed over, arriving late.
"My apologies, Your Highness!" Jason bowed his head in guilt. "Your domain was too vast, and we had to retreat quite a distance earlier..."
"I'll deal with you later!" Ophelia shot him a cold glance, then turned to Caroline.
"The doctor, the doctor is here!"
The manor's doctor, surrounded by servants, ran over with a first aid kit.
"Your Highness, are you injured..." He stopped beside Ophelia, quickly rummaging through the kit.
"Not me! It's him!" Ophelia looked as if she could kill him on the spot.
"Oh! Right! Right! I'll examine Mr. Luo Wei immediately..." The doctor stumbled over to Luo Wei's side.
The doctor checked Luo Wei's wound, applying burn ointment.
Though his movements were gentle, they still made Luo Wei grimace in pain.
"I'm really fine... The best help you can give me is not touching me..."
Inside his body, the polluted, viscous blood was flowing rapidly, boiling like a hot spring, surging into the ruby-like Blood Core.
The Blood Core, unique to vampires, acted like a second heart, pumping with several times the force of his actual heart.
This was the reason for a vampire's incredible regenerative abilities. As long as the injury wasn't fatal—meaning the Blood Core wasn't destroyed—even severed limbs could regrow.
Before the doctor could finish bandaging him, Luo Wei was already able to move his body stiffly.
He waved his hand, dismissing the crowd, and with difficulty, met the gaze of those pale eyes that had already recovered.
[Ophelia]
[Corruption Level: 60]
"Do you still stand by what you said earlier?" Luo Wei asked with a playful smile.
"What did I say? What are you talking about..." Ophelia turned her face away, unwilling to meet his eyes.
But Luo Wei gritted his teeth and stood up, swaying unsteadily, positioning himself directly in front of Ophelia.
He placed his hands on her shoulders, forcing her to look at him.
Now, Ophelia couldn't avoid it.
She pouted, still defiant. "I've said a lot of things. Which one are you referring to?"
Luo Wei suddenly clutched his chest in pain.
"Luo Wei!!" Ophelia panicked, supporting him.
"I'm dying, I'm dying... I feel like I'm bleeding internally... It must be from what you did earlier..."
Luo Wei groaned incessantly, his pained expression making Ophelia increasingly anxious.
Despite her ability to read human micro-expressions with precision, honed from years of navigating the cold, calculating court life, she was too distraught to think clearly now.
"Why are you doing this? Can't you just lie down and rest? Stop pushing yourself..."
"I can't do that..." Luo Wei glanced at her, his voice faint. "It seems someone's heartfelt promises were just lies... Ah, I guess I'll die with regrets today..."
Seeing his shameless act, Ophelia couldn't help but laugh in exasperation.
Then, her expression softened.
Ignoring the onlookers, she stepped forward and gently cupped Luo Wei's face.
A passionate, fierce kiss silenced Luo Wei's incessant muttering.
The maids of the manor all looked down in shock.
Luo Wei's eyes widened in surprise.
Ophelia's kiss was inexperienced, clumsy, yet domineering.
From awkwardness to proficiency, their lips moved in a sweet, intoxicating dance. Both seemed lost in the enchanting, magical moment, forgetting the passage of time.
After what felt like an eternity, they finally parted, reluctantly.
Ophelia wrapped her arms around Luo Wei's neck, breathing heavily, her cheeks flushed.
Luo Wei looked at her helplessly, then glanced at Caroline, who was covering her mouth to stifle her laughter.
"Was that your way of answering me, or just changing the subject..."
Ophelia gazed at him with a teasing smile.
"I hate lying, so I always keep my word, you know~"
She leaned closer to Luo Wei's ear, whispering softly:
"But don't get too excited yet..."
"Huh?" Luo Wei looked puzzled.
Warm, intimate breath tickled Luo Wei's ear, sending a shiver down his spine.
Ophelia's voice, laced with amusement, reached his ears.
"I have a gift for you."
"What gift?"
Luo Wei was even more confused.
Ophelia flashed a bewitching smile, like a dangerous poppy flower.
"The gift is... myself~"
Luo Wei was so startled that he let go of her, his eyes wide as he met her light-colored gaze.
Ophelia giggled mischievously.
"I can't wait to see the look of fury on the faces of those women of yours when they find out I was the first to have you~"