Rudy got out of the pool and wore his clothes.
"Uhh… can you do my hair, Niti?" Rudy asked.
"I can't. They are wet, and it will take time for me to braid—"
Rudy dried his hair by creating wind and heating it up around his hair.
"Now? Just do a simple hairstyle. She is going to see me after three months, and I want to look good," he muttered.
Niti braided a few of the hair strang and left the rest as they were, but they were getting in the way of the small braids, so he plucked a few of her hairs and used them as a thread to tie Rudy's hair.
"..." Rudy couldn't see it as he was facing his back to her, but Nyxia saw her and thought, 'She plucked her hair without any hesitation. There was no need to do that. She could have used something else, but…'
Nyxia lowered her gaze and wondered, 'Is this love? I wouldn't have plucked my hair; I would have used something else. Does that mean my love is inferior to Niti's love?
I was the first vampire to step foot in this world after the Lord made it. I spread knowledge and vampire culture. I am the one who made this world what it is today.
I have been alive since then and have seen numerous things.
Even after thousands of years, I couldn't find a purpose in my life, and I was bored of anything. This world belonged to me as I was its true founder, so I ought to rule it.
But after meeting him, my goal changed. He was a normal man, so I also wanted to be a normal girl in love, but…
He promised me he would come back, but I couldn't wait for him. I traveled the world to search for him, but to no avail. Now… I think I have found him…'
"Nyxia!"
Nyxia jolted in surprise as she came back to her senses.
"Yes…?"
"Are you not coming to see your lovely granddaughter?" Rudy asked calmly.
"Hmm? Oh… no…" Nyxia shook her head and said, "I will meet her later. Neither of us is going anywhere, so I can wait. You should be the first person she should spend time with."
"Alright, I will leave now. See you soon, Nyxia. I love you~"
"Wha—!" Nyxia's face suddenly flushed red. She was caught off guard and didn't get to hide her reaction.
"Love you too, Niti~"
After saying that, Rudy rushed out of the bathhouse. He could have teleported there directly, but he needed some time to prepare his heart.
Niti and Nyxia stared at each other for a few seconds until Nixia bowed down and uttered:
"Forgive my rudeness, and I apologize for asking such a thing, but do you truly love Master Rudy?"
"What type of question is that, and why should I answer you?"
"If you are only playing with him, then please stop. I beg of you. He has suffered so much in his past life as well as this one. You haven't seen his sad face, or you would understand. So if—"
"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Nyxia yelled while slashing water at Niti. "You know nothing! What about my sadness and suffering?! What am I supposed to do about them?! And you have no idea what you are even talking about! I am the one who deserves to love him the most!"
"I didn't mean to—"
"Enough! Leave me alone!"
Niti bit her lips and nodded before saying, "We all deserve to love him, Queen Nyxia."
After saying that, Niti bowed down to Nyxia and left the royal bathhouse.
Nyxia bit her lips and covered her face with her hands.
"Where are you… darling…."
Meanwhile, Rudy landed in front of the chamber of the valley and took a deep breath.
The door on the wall was already open, so Rudy entered the chamber and noticed a few people were already there.
Jane was there since she was sleeping beside Rias. Virgil, Vriti, Miu, and a few of the elders and nobles were present in the chamber, covering Rias bed and hindering Rudy's view.
'I wanted to be the first person she sees after waking up, but well, the mission failed. But wait, does Rias even know that I am here?' Rudy asked himself.
'Niti didn't mention anything about that. She simply said that Rias had woken up. What if Rias is unaware of it and Jane and Virgil haven't told her yet? Maybe they kept it a secret so I could surprise her?
Should I go in? If Rias truly doesn't know, then I would be ruining the surprise. I can wait for all of them to leave and quietly approach Rias to surprise her. Her reaction would be priceless since she always ends up showing her emotions on her face.'
'I never would have thought I would contemplate on something like this.' Rudy crushed rock under his feet and face palmed himself.
Ultimately, Rudy decided to stay outside and waited for the elders to leave. He couldn't risk ruining the chance to surprise Rias.
He thought he would have to wait for half an hour, but the elder decided to leave the next minute.
When they left, they noticed Rudy standing outside and turned their faces to the side as though they didn't even want to look at him.
'I should have seen that coming. I bet they only came here to taunt Rias.'
There was a chance that they would have told Rias everything regarding Jane's relationship with Rudy. Still, upon judging by the looks on their faces and hearing their conversation, it didn't seem like it.
'Virgil is a pretty thoughtful person. Perhaps, he had warned them to not mention anything about that.'
After a few minutes, Miu left too. But she was running out instead of walking and ended up bumping into Rudy. Miu lost her balance as she tripped, but Rudy grabbed her hand and saved her.
"...!" Miu's face flushed as she turned to him to thank him, but she ran away without saying a word.
Now, only Jane, Vriti, and Virgil were in the chamber with Rias. And Rudy knew that they weren't going to leave soon, so he decided to step in.
His heart beated loudly with every step he took closer to Rias.
They all turned to Rudy as he entered, and they stepped back so Rias could see him.
"Long time no see… Rudy." Rias uttered with a soft glare in her eyes.
