Chapter 12: Trial

The smell was coming from the dressing room next to the restroom. The bar had gone to great lengths, disguising it as a dressing room, but it was actually a place prepared for those unable to resist their desires—an intimate room, so to speak.

Emily forcefully kicked the door open and saw Charlotte and the young boy in disarray, their clothes disheveled but tension filling the air. Charlotte had a slap mark on her face, and the young boy's nails had scratched her skin, drawing a bit of blood.

Emily closed the door, preventing Benjamin from seeing a partially naked Charlotte.

"What's going on?" Emily's gaze was sharp as she looked at the young boy.

Initially captivated by her beauty, the young boy's heart trembled under Emily's piercing gaze, but he still defied her with a hint of defiance, "We're just having fun. Why pretend to be innocent?"

"He forgot to bring protection, so I told him to go get one, and then he hit me!" Charlotte angrily pointed at the young boy.

Emily knew that the young boy hadn't forgotten; he had just used up what he had. Looking at Charlotte, it was evident that her clothes had been forcibly removed.

"Put on your clothes and go outside. I'll handle this," Emily's voice was cold. Charlotte felt a bit worried. She was just as vulnerable as Emily, so how could she handle this situation?

Suddenly, Emily remembered Benjamin's method of hypnotizing the waiter. She wanted to give it a try herself. If it failed, she could always ask Benjamin to hypnotize the boy.

She stared into Charlotte's eyes and said, "Put on your clothes now and go back as if nothing happened. Forget that you ever saw me here!"

Charlotte looked at Emily with wide, watery eyes, clearly puzzled. "Why?"

Emily dejectedly lowered her head. It seemed that she didn't possess all the abilities of a vampire.

"Well, just put on your clothes for now!"

Charlotte realized that she was standing there naked in front of Benjamin and quickly dressed herself. As soon as she stepped outside, she saw Benjamin. He looked into her eyes and repeated Emily's words before letting her go. He then entered the dressing room and locked the door behind him.

The young boy felt that releasing Charlotte and gaining a more beautiful Emily was not a bad deal for him. However, when Benjamin entered, the chilling aura emanating from him made the young boy shudder in fear.

Emily slowly approached him, wearing a mischievous smile on her face. "Where did it hurt?"

The young boy clearly didn't understand.

Emily slapped him across the face, causing him to spin three times before finally stopping and falling to the ground. His head was spinning, and he had no idea what had happened. His face was numb, and after a moment, he regained his senses, only to feel a burning pain on his face.

"As a general rule, if someone shows me an inch of respect, I show them a foot of respect. Since you slapped Charlotte once, now you'll take ten slaps! Don't say that big sister bullies little kids!" Emily delivered another slap, sending the young boy rolling to the corner of the room, unable to get up.

Just as she was about to deliver a third slap, Benjamin grabbed her wrist. "Control yourself! He's just a human. If you keep hitting him like this, he won't survive ten slaps!"

Emily glanced at the young boy. He was already half-dead from her previous attacks, although he looked miserable, she had no sympathy for such individuals. She clapped her hands as if they were dirty. "Forget it, let's go back!"

Benjamin shook his head helplessly. The young boy was bleeding profusely from her blows. Even if the Lestenba Clan didn't need to hide from the world, they wouldn't engage in such blatant acts of violence. (Note: The explanation of the Lestenba Clan is provided at the bottom.)

Since they had already taken in more than they could handle, Benjamin asked, "Can I take him back as dinner?"

Emily glared at him. "Dream on!"

Benjamin pretended to look innocent and took out a small blood bag from his pocket. He bit it open and took a few sips, his expression resembling that of a bullied child, full of grievances.

Emily chuckled, finding it amusing that a 200-year-old monster was pretending to be pitiful...

Later in the evening, after everyone had had too much to drink, Benjamin and Emily escorted each of them back to their rooms. It was still early in the morning, and while Emily had extraordinary talents and physical abilities, Benjamin struggled with her will to survive. How could he train her when she was such an unpredictable entity?

Benjamin brought Emily back to the front of the building. He was about to hold her waist, but Emily jumped up on her own, imitating his actions. With the help of the external unit of an air conditioner, she managed to stand on the rooftop, although she almost lost her balance several times. In the end, she succeeded in staying on the roof.

Facing the wind, her hair fluttering like serpents, Emily looked down at Benjamin with a proud smile. But in the next second, a pair of lifeless hands pushed her off.

"Damn it!" Emily didn't scream like the first time she fell. She cursed silently and tried to gather her internal power to support herself. However, that power seemed elusive, and her body continued to sink downward.

"Ah!" Emily realized she was about to crash face-first into the ground. Unable to hold back, she screamed and desperately tried to flip her body, landing on her buttocks first. But due to the force of gravity, she still ended up crashing onto the ground, losing consciousness.

Benjamin caught a whiff of the smell of blood and realized he was in trouble. He quickly jumped down and saw Emily lying in a pool of blood. If she were an ordinary person, she would have turned into a puddle of flesh, stuck to the ground and impossible to lift. Despite her current state, Emily at least appeared to be intact, even if she resembled a corpse.

Approaching cautiously, Benjamin tested her breathing, which was extremely weak, as if she could take her last breath at any moment.

Benjamin examined Emily's injuries and found that the back of her skull was fractured, her limbs were in a gruesome state, and her back had no patches of intact skin.

Benjamin carried Emily back to the castle, where Boris shook his head and reprimanded, "This is too reckless! You nearly cost her life!"

Benjamin was also puzzled. The last time, she had managed to support herself on the ground, although the posture was not graceful, she remained unharmed. But this time, the injuries were severe.

While the wounds on her body healed quickly, the head injury took much longer to heal. It took two whole days for Emily to regain consciousness. When she woke up and saw Boris and Benjamin with gentle expressions, she felt like everyone in this place was a devil.

She sat up abruptly, glaring at Benjamin. Benjamin's face was filled with guilt, along with a pleading smile.

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to train your survival instincts..."

"You're sick!" Emily interrupted Benjamin's apology with a loud shout. "What if I had died? What if I actually died?"

Emily stood up and pointed at Benjamin's chest, fiercely saying, "If I'm dead, you won't need to train me anymore! It would be better to end it all! Since Charlotte deals with you monsters and perverts, her head is like a loose bolt on her neck, never knowing when she'll die. Instead of living in constant fear, you might as well give me a clean break!..."

Emily's finger-jabbing forced Benjamin to step back. Since he was already in the wrong, he had no intention of arguing and simply let her vent.

However, as Emily observed his silent response, her anger grew even more. Even if he argued back or had a fight with her, it would be a way to release her frustration. Yet, the fact that he remained silent, as if she were singing a solo performance, made it even more boring.

Emily pushed him away in frustration, and Benjamin was pushed into the wall, leaving a big dent. He clutched his chest in pain.

Emily looked at her own hands, feeling the return of that power. But why couldn't she grasp it last time? Otherwise, she wouldn't have ended up half-dead from the fall.

"Little princess, haven't you vented enough anger? If you keep going like this, you might destroy my room." Boris's voice, like the calming sea, had a sedative effect, easing Emily's anger.

She surveyed her surroundings. It was indeed Boris's room, but the window was sealed tightly, preventing any light from entering. It seemed to be daytime outside, as the blood roses on the window had transformed into budding bones, as if awaiting the arrival of nightfall.

"Do you want something to eat? You've been unconscious for two days, and we didn't have any human food prepared here." Boris asked with consideration.

As soon as he mentioned food, Emily's stomach responded right on cue, rumbling loudly and embarrassingly, even making her, with her thick skin, feel a little ashamed.

However, right after throwing a tantrum and creating a big dent in the wall, it was quite shameless of her to ask for food. Emily stood there motionless, neither nodding nor shaking her head.

Boris smiled gently as he looked at her. He snapped his fingers, and someone came in with food. Although vampires didn't need tables or such for dining, Boris's room had an elegant dining table, making it difficult to guess his intentions.

The dishes consisted of light vegetables that looked delicious and appetizing. Especially for someone who had been hungry for two days, even if it was leftover scraps, it would taste heavenly.

Emily sat at the table and began eating without caring about her image. She completely abandoned her earlier reserve, displaying a boldness that would remind people of a man eating and drinking heartily.

Boris and Benjamin watched from the side until she swept the food off her plate, leaving nothing behind. Then, she patted her stomach, looking satisfied.

"Now that you're full, go take a bath and rest. We'll be in the living room, so if you need anything, just call us," Boris said, his emerald eyes filled with a smile. However, Emily didn't catch the underlying strangeness in his expression. Afterward, he and Benjamin left together.

The bathroom had been prepared while she was eating. The water temperature in the bathtub was pleasant, with a thick layer of flower petals scattered on top, and steam filled the air.

Emily undressed and stepped into the tub. Her body felt light, and she relaxed entirely. However, the fact that this was Boris's bathroom made her blush involuntarily because the scent of blood roses lingered throughout the entire room.

She rested her head against the edge of the tub, closing her eyes. But she soon realized that her consciousness was becoming fuzzy, and her body started to feel an inexplicable heat. She thought it was because the water temperature was too high, so she stood up and turned on the cold shower. Yet, even under the cool water, her body remained unbearably hot, and her consciousness inexplicably blurred.

Could it be that her previous injuries hadn't fully healed yet? But upon further thought, that wasn't possible, and this sensation felt eerie.

The air was filled with a strong floral fragrance. Emily sniffed carefully, trying to distinguish if there was anything else besides the floral scent. However, her eyelids grew heavy, her consciousness increasingly scattered, and her body became hotter. The intense heat in her lower body brought forth a sense of unwarranted shame.

Medicine!

Emily suddenly realized what had happened. She had been drugged, and it was not an ordinary drug. Otherwise, she would have noticed something since waking up. Or perhaps, she had trusted them too much and let her guard down!

She quickly grabbed a towel and wrapped her naked body. Just as she covered herself, a group of men rushed into the bathroom, their eyes filled with lust...

(Explanation: "explanation " is one of the six major precepts of the Secret Society. "explanation " means to avoid the human world, not allowing them to know about the existence of vampires. However, this precept is only followed by the Secret Society, while the Demon Party and the Neutral Party do not adhere to it.)