A flame rose from the darkness and illuminated the surrounding rock walls.

Kay opened her eyes weakly. She saw Prince Ashu Rufat sitting beside her, so she struggled to remember.

"Wait a minute." Ashu Rufate stopped her with one hand. "You are injured... although it is not serious, it is best not to move."

What happened? She looked at the prince in the fire, but Ashu Rufate staggered his eyes and refused to look at her head. There was only the "crackling" sound of flames licking the dry wood around.

"Where is this?" Kay finally spoke out and broke the silence.

"I don't know where I am. If you have to say, this is an unknown cave on a nameless hill." Ash Rufate replied. "I originally wanted to go further... but your temperature was a little low, so I stopped to make a fire to keep warm." He paused. "You are not seriously injured, but you may be hit on your head, and you may be dizzy for several days."

"Your Highness the Prince..."

"Don't call me 'Prince'. Well, you actually understand... Why did the Emerald Queen lend me her bodyguard? This is not a miracle, but just a precaution."

"Preventive measures..." Kay's voice was filled with bitterness. "So no matter how much he did, it was meaningless?"

Asu Ruffat was a little surprised. He originally thought that Kay must have asked him about something, but he did not expect that Kay didn't seem to care about it.

"It seems like this, and I overestimated myself," Ash Rufate replied. "I thought it would be fine to do this... I have achieved so many records. Even if Gales is not convinced by my decision, at least he would not take such a dangerous action...but it seems that I am too confident."

He threw a piece of firewood into the fire. "Do you want some water? I brought water and food." He had checked Kay's injuries. Kay was hit on the side of the Phoenix Blade on his head. However, this was deliberately avoiding the blow of the blade, so it did not cause serious damage. According to Carrie's instructions, even if this damage is not treated, it will only make people dizzy for a few days. However, because Ashu Rufate has embraced the wind of life, Kay's injuries will definitely heal within a day and a night.

"Why take me away?" Kay asked suddenly.

"I'm worried they'll kill you," Ash Rufate replied. "It seems... Garles is also very clear about your origin."

"Isn't it better to let me die?" There was a scent of self-deprecation in Kay's voice. "A type like me..."

"At least the White Lion Warriors will accept you. Your father is the best proof." Ash Rufate replied.

"Master, you should comfort her now, not say such stupid words." Carrie reminded in her mind. "She has suffered a great mental blow and is very painful. You should not speak in this state with an onlooker attitude that is not about your own. Well, your attitude will only make her even more sad and will not be at all comfortable."

"They...most of them don't know my true bloodline...they're just a few of the few, like my father's type."

"Then at least, I don't want you to die." Ashu Rufate turned his head and looked at Kay. Under the flames, the black blood on Kay's hair was particularly eye-catching. "Although I have no position to say such things, I am neither Yasu nor Duruchi."

"What the hell are you?"

"According to humans or your language, I am a 'vampire'. You can literally understand that the reason I am called a vampire is because I need to drink the blood of living creatures. But I don't like to do this... Not to mention this, in my opinion, there is actually no difference between Yasuol and Duruchi. There are also some of Yasuol who secretly serve Duruchi, and vice versa. So I really don't understand why they are so wary of you, and you have proved yourself with practical actions."

"My bloodline is the greatest original sin." Kay opened his eyes wide and looked at the rock wall above his head. The bonfire was already burning quite vigorously at this time, so he illuminated the not-so-big cave.

"There is no original sin in this world, it is just unfairness. Everyone has to face unfairness, more or less."

"Unfair? What do you know?! In a sense, I... just like the Shadow Warriors, I will always be looked at by others with suspicion! No, at least there are some princes, or at least the Phoenix King itself does not discriminate against Shadow Warriors. And I, no matter how many battles I have fought, is useless. Just because someone knows my bloodline, can be thrown into prison! I do not belong to Truji or Yasuul, and I don't know what I am! Where should I go..." Her voice stopped, because Ashu Rufate approached her, pressed her shoulder with both hands, and looked at her eyes.

"Of course I understand your loneliness." Ash Rufate said. "Because I am the last vampire in this world!"

"The last one..."

"Since I woke up as a vampire, I have never seen a person of my kind. All my kind have been killed by humans, and I am the only one who survived. During that time, I even planned to forget the fact that I was a vampire and survived in this world as a human. But that was an escape... In fact, it was like that. No matter what I did, as long as I was a vampire, I could not change the hostility and fear of others... Not only humans, but also the rest. After the Emerald Queen recognized my identity, her first reaction was to kill me."

He looked at Kay. "Don't give up. At that time, I was probably the same as you now. I wanted to protect myself, hide everything about myself, and try to avoid having sex with this world. But I was lucky enough to meet someone who was willing to accept my vampire identity. Although she is not a human, she made me believe that there are still people in this world who are willing to accept me with love."

Kay looked at Ash Rufate's eyes, which were a pair of calm eyes. She let out a cold snort, but did not refute again.

"Why did you take me away?" Kay finally said after a long time.

"I don't know why," Ash Rufate replied. "It's probably because your eyes are as attractive as gems. And your lips are sweet and soft when kissed..."

Kay suddenly blushed and turned her head away with force.

"Do you want to know what happened? Actually, it's very simple. I reached an agreement with the Emerald Queen. She came forward and found a way to organize an expeditionary force for me to hand it over to me to command... In return, I will lead the expeditionary force to severely damage the Trujis, or at least ensure that the expeditionary force can return safely. Of course, our Queen did not really believe me, so she sent Gales as the 'monarchist' to monitor my specific actions. Of course, Gales alone was not enough, so she added the Phoenix Guards. In this way, even if I did something extraordinary, she could be sure that everything could be corrected." Ashu Rufat laughed. "Now you understand why you were released and served as my subordinate?"

"A stand-in?" Kay was not a fool, she immediately understood the logic behind it.

"That's right... a substitute. If Garce is the only one, no matter how stupid I am, I can see through him as a 'monitor' at first sight. It is possible to kill him with some legitimate and unfair methods. But with you... and Arrathet... I can't figure out which one is a 'monitor', or at least a very difficult thing. I can't make a reckless attempt, because it is impossible to get rid of three at once. If you get the wrong object, it is equivalent to making the 'monitor' more vigilant... In short, in this way, I can't take action against Garce. I think this is the real task that the Emerald Queen intends to take on you."

"So that's it..." Kay let out a burst of tears. "Then... when you understand, it's too late? Why did you make such an agreement with the Emerald Queen? This is a war between us and Truqi. What benefits can you get when you join in?"

"I'm going to come to Nagaros, I have one thing that I have to come here, I need an army to protect me along the way," Ashrufate replied. "But it was an accident that I became a prince."

"What kind of accident?"

"Irebe's Prince Berland was unexpectedly killed by Truqi, so the nobles in the city recommended that I, who had unknown origin, temporarily ruled Irebe as a prince, as a prince, when I was worried about internal and external troubles. I guess it was probably because I seemed to be a prince. Since the opportunity came, I did not refuse, so I took advantage of the situation and called myself a prince."

"It's really not like what my conservative fellows would do."

"Your compatriots are actually far more realistic than you think. In fact, this shouldn't be surprising... In the end, didn't the Queen agree to my request and openly forged her identity and bloodline for me?"

"Can I ask you what it's like to come to Nagaros? Could it be...you have a relative who needs some herb produced here to save?"

"Although not, it's almost done."

"It sounds like the plot of a third-rate adventure poem, and it is the oldest. In this era, even the lame poets would not write such plots."

"A relative of mine." Ashu Rufat closed his eyes, and Mimilu's smile seemed to appear before him again. "To me, it's a relative."

"Another vampire?"

"No. My kind of people have died long ago, I am the last one. I said that after I woke up as a vampire, I have never seen any other vampires. Her name is Mimilu, but it is not a human... In human language, she is a 'Sem' or a 'half beast', but I don't know what to call this race in the language of elves."

"You came to Nagaros for her?"

"Yes. She was seriously injured.

"Then how can you give up the army? Even for yourself, you..."

"I already know where the things I'm looking for are," Ashrufat replied softly. "There are no Duruchi's army guards there. I think even if there is no army, I can easily find what I'm looking for."

"Have you never considered other people at all? You said that it was a trap. If Garce led the army forward, it would be like he got into the trap himself! Those soldiers... they believed you and then followed you. Are you watching them die? For you, we are all just objects that are worthy of use..."

"I have no choice." After a long time, Ashu Rufat whispered. "I have no choice... Garles has the support of the Phoenix Guard, and may also have a secret letter from the Queen, or have evidence to prove my true identity... At least in this regard, I cannot fight him. I really hate myself like this," Ashu Rufat let out a self-deprecating smile. "I can't give up helplessly and can't do anything."
Chapter completed!