Legacy World 4.23 He Can't Possibly Like Her

The fog took a much longer time before it cleared up. Vanora inferred that the castle must be quite a distance away from the inn.

Once it cleared up, the first thing Vanora noticed was not how ridiculously large and spacious the room was, but how there were piles and piles of black paper scattered around the room. Some were even as tall as her. When she looked down, she found out that they were even standing on some important looking documents. The gold rim and letterings were the only thing that made it stand out against the black floor. 

"Bloody hell. Didn't Raven say that she took over my duties? How's it such a mess? I don't think two months worth of work is even this much." He frowned, perplexed by the situation of his study.

"She probably did a bad job for you in vengeance." Vanora explained offhandedly. It definitely sounded like something Raven would do based on what Raven said to Vlad earlier.

He looked at her with surprise. "You think so?" He seriously considered what she said, then agreed with her. "It must be so then. What a prick."

His hand slid away from her waist to hold onto her hand. He then led her to the corner of the room, where a velvety black curtain hung. She found the length of it odd for a window. Besides, there was a whole row of floor to ceiling windows on the other side of the room. This one was randomly placed beside equally tall drawers with countless compartments. When he lifted it up, she finally understood why. It was not a window but the entrance to a small room. There was a king sized bed, the same colour and pattern as the papers, except that the sheet glimmered a little more like fine high quality silk. The room was only illuminated by the blue glow of the fish tank that extended from one end of the room to the other. 

/This entire place is so dark. Black, black, black, gold. Brown furniture but it’s so dark too. The only colours are the walls and the tank. No wonder he feels more relaxed at that inn./ She finally could not help but comment on his room. 

[I don’t like it either…]

/Huh? I’m fine with it./

[Eh? Then what about what you said earlier…?]

/Just a comment. Isn’t my heart’s space in the same state? It’s worse off in fact. Vlad should just refurbish his home if he doesn’t like it, though? How strange…/

Meanwhile, Vlad had said, “You can sleep in here while I work. We'll leave when you wake up." Noticing that Vanora's attention was not on him but the fish tank, he boasted, "Nice, right? They only exist in the dimension between the living and the dead. So, they’re rare and hard to find."

/Nice?/ Big skeleton fishes were indeed unique and interesting at best, but she was not sure if she would use "nice" to describe them. "How are they not dead yet? You've been coming back to feed them? A servant?"

"They don't need to eat. It's like they're frozen in time. Don't they make the best pets?" He grinned wider.

"I guess they're the best if you intend to neglect them and only look at them when you're bored." She answered honestly.

"Mm.” Vlad found no issue with her remark. “What pet do YOU like?"

Vanora found herself stumped by his question. "Never thought about it." She realised how dismissive she sounded, but it was an equally honest answer. 

Not wanting the conversation to venture further into more personal territories, she tucked herself into the bed by herself, keeping her back to him. 

Vlad took the hint and left to clean up the mess in his study. It seemed like a lot of work, and it truly was, but the inhuman speed that Vlad could work at made it seem like it was not much to begin with. 

Thinking that three hours was a good compromise, Vanora asked BaoBao to wake her up once three hours were up. So, she was surprised to find such a tidy room when she stepped out after her nap. He had completed a lot more work than she had expected. Perhaps there was no need to worry about wasting time waiting for him to complete work every morning.

Vlad immediately noticed Vanora’s entrance. He stopped whatever he was doing, then went to her side in a flash. "Let's go?" He asked with a bright smile.

Vanora effortfully kept her eyes away from his exposed torso and nodded. She knew about his normal dressing from the description in the book. However, seeing it in person still packed a punch. His lightweight long sleeved black coat that reached his ankles and was tattered near the ends fluttered easily with his movements. His rock hard abs ended at a silver belt, which held up his pants that were tucked into combat boots. Besides the visual appeal of his abs, a shiny black and silver necklace around his neck added to the allure. In short, his attire was practically screaming at viewers to admire his body. 

While Vanora found it an annoyance, BaoBao wondered why she would let such a good chance to admire such perfectly sculpted muscles slip by. It was truly a sight for sore eyes.

Vlad instantly teleported them away from his residence. 

Without making a sound, they reappeared in front of and above the hell beings that he left earlier in the day. Not wanting any unnecessary attention and trouble just from being in his arms, Vanora tried to move a step back and hide behind him. However, Vlad kept a tight hold on her waist. 

It took the hell beings a while to realise that someone had appeared above them. While they remained oblivious, Vlad noted how they behaved like headless chickens without a leader. Every one of them did whatever they felt like doing. Some went ahead in search of more battle because their ego got inflated from their prior success. Some were knocked out. Some went hunting. Some tussled with others. 

When one of them stared into the sky with his mouth agape, it caught another's attention who would end up doing the same. This became a chain reaction that quickly spread throughout the crowd. Those that were asleep were nudged or hit awake by the ones awake. As if on cue, they knelt down in unison and shouted his name in greeting. "LORD VLAD!"

Their sound echoed throughout the forest. Vlad and Vanora could hear those hunting in the vicinity come running back. However, he did not bother waiting for them to begin addressing the mass. 

Finding that Vanora was still resisting him, he gave in. He gently reminded her that she would fall since his power of elevation was not transferable, then let her go. She landed without a hitch and quickly knelt down on one knee with her head down to not stand out. Vlad immediately resumed his briefing. Although he did not give an explanation for his long and sudden absence, no one questioned him. They did not seem to have an issue and listened to him with rapt attention.

After the conclusion, everyone moved into their positions, except one. A seductive beauty made her way towards Vlad like a predator with its eyes in its prey. While everything about her voluptuous body and long dark purple waves looked adult, her small heart shaped face looked a little childish, especially her ocean green eyes. Her long tail dancing elegantly in the air and small wings at her back betrayed her identity.

“It’s so great to see you back, Lord Vlad. I missed you terribly.”

Rod coupled her personal welcome with a bat of her lush lashes ad a slight pout. She also angled her body to emphasise her cleavage. However, Vlad simply nodded, then walked past her to get to Vanora. He barely gave her a glance. The hell beings that witnessed her failed attempt snickered. 

Vanora had moved to the front line to join the other descendants of the sin of wrath. This was her chance to build her connections with the other hell beings and distance herself from the second male lead. He used to be the only one she could depend on and learn from, but now it was not the case. Through the entire time she spent with him, she never forgot that staying with high profile people like the leads of the story would only spell trouble. It was a high risk high reward situation. She did not believe in her odds of surviving the risks, so it was safer to not play with fire. Moreover, BaoBao had informed her of the presence of a character matching Rosa’s description.

The other hell beings that saw Vanora walking towards them recognised her from the day before. They warmly welcomed her into their group, glad that someone strong was going to be among them. They were not so observant to notice that it was thanks to Vlad's perfect assistance that she had the chance to battle with so many angels.

Before they could strike up a conversation with her, they saw her get pulled back by Lord Vlad.

"You have a different station. You don't belong with them." Vlad looked disgruntled. 

She frowned while the others looked defeated. "Where do I go then?"

"To my side." 

"As your meat shield?"

"You got our relationship the wrong way round." 

Not wanting his answer to give others the impression that there was something more between them, she tried to change the meaning of his words. "I see you're still working on your sense of humour, Lord Vlad. I'm happy to serve as your meat shield." Before he could say another word, she headed to the back of the army. 

Vanora now understood why Vlad said that he would be at the back of the army instead of the front. Given his personality, she had guessed that he would like to be where it was most happening, and that was with the front liners. He was definitely strong enough to have fun charging headlong into an army of angels anyway. Thinking that she was a burden, it gave her a greater reason to pull away from him.

Vanora's guess was not wrong. However, Vlad did not share the same view. He preferred getting to choose her opponents for her. Although he was less carefree or reckless, this gave him more satisfaction than fighting on the frontlines.

While Vanora stood at the back of the army with Vlad, BaoBao informed her that the girl they suspected to be Rosa was glaring at her with hostility. Vanora sighed inwardly, while she started to think of ways to draw a line between Vlad and her. However, considering how stubbornly clingy he has been with her, she had little hope of success. /Should I just talk to him about this?/

Rosa felt a bittersweet feeling about Vlad's cold and aloof treatment towards her. Even though it was what she liked about him, she wanted to be his special one and to be treated exclusively special. Being the top ranked succubus, she was the most attractive woman in hell. This was why she dared to believe that she stood a fair chance of attracting Vlad and that it could only be a matter of time before Vlad would seek her out.

Ever since she laid eyes on the demon beside Vlad during his address, she had only been slightly disturbed. That demon seemed to be of low threat to her relationship with Vlad. Her looks were mediocre at best and her combat strength was on par with hers. So, she still viewed Raven as her biggest rival.

With all these beliefs and assumptions in her mind, it was jarring for her to witness Vlad seeking that plain demon out. It then alarmed her to see how he behaved more intimately with her than with Raven. She became even more unsettled when his aura took on a clear pastel pink colour whenever he interacted with her. /It can't be. I must be wrong. How can he like someone like her?/ 

Rosa thus took it upon herself to find out what exactly their relationship was.