Her amber eyes squinted as she comfortingly adjusted herself in his arms, but then they suddenly shot open and she panicked a little.
She found herself lying on top of another body, which smelled so good that it dazed her a little, but then she slowly raised her head.
"Good morning." Keith smiled as he looked down into Ingvild's eyes and watched the girl blush.
He was half lying on the couch with his head and shoulder against the side-rest, and as he looked down, he was very close to her face, which did alarm the girl a little.
"I..." She lowered her head and tried to get out of his arms, but he did not let her.
"It's the middle of the night." Keith stroked her back and told her, which prompted her to look at the window and the dark sky outside.
"Can I get up?"
"No." He refused, and it made her body feel weak.
His scent was really overwhelming her senses, and his taste still lingered in her mouth.
Ingvild was a little scared as she felt thirsty again, and soon Keith sensed tremors inside her body.
"If you want to feed more, you may." He gently whispered. "Your growth is quite stunted, which means that you haven't been feeding regularly."
The words made the girl feel a little self-conscious, but she did understand what he meant by his words.
For a twelve-year-old, her stature was just average, almost 4'7", and then she was on the thinner side.
"Sister Meng said I would gain a boost in height in another year." She lightly said, defending herself against the fact that she was rather short by his standards.
"Your sister Meng was right, but now you will be hitting puberty in a few weeks." He chuckled. "And if you want to grow faster, you can go ahead and drink some more of my blood."
She did not know how to react to his words and only felt her cheeks warming up at his words.
Though she was a little uncomfortable in her heart, the longer she stayed in his arms with her head resting on his chest, the more her body relaxed.
"You taste different." She admitted.
"I am not human, that's why." He playfully said. "How do you feel?" He asked, and it diverted her attention to the state of her body.
Ingvild could feel the raw strength pulsating in her veins. She had never before felt so physically strong, and even her senses were sharper than ever.
"Strong..." She admitted, and Keith nodded to her.
The young princess could hear his heartbeat, and it was so stable and yet so vibrant that she found herself losing to the beat of it.
"Ingrid... Does she miss me?" She meekly asked after she recalled what happened yesterday afternoon.
"She cries at night now and then, and does take your name in her sleep." He told her, and her little body trembled lightly.
"She never came to find me..." Her voice was breaking as her emotions suffocated her.
"She does not know that you are alive." Keith lightly said. "She believes that the man who killed your father killed you too, and that man had sent his men after her that night. It was only a miracle that she survived, and then she vowed to avenge her family."
He stopped and then looked into her eyes as she raised her head to look at him.
"You have no idea how much pain she suffered before I found her. And had I not found her when I did, she would have submitted herself to a man who would have raped her and made her insane. And she would have been okay with it, all in return for a promise that he would help her get her revenge. All for you."
He stayed quiet after those words and gave no words of comfort even when she started sobbing in fear and pain.
"I am curious about something, Ingvild." He suddenly said, and the girl looked at him again, meeting his gaze. "Do you know who killed your father and the rest of your family?"
"No..." She shook her head. "But Brother Feng saved me that night. So, he must have killed the person..." She stopped when she said those words as she recalled the words he had just told her.
Her sister was still out for revenge, which meant that she either did not know that the culprit was dead or that person was still alive.
"You never asked Hades who killed your father?"
The question made her feel a sinking feeling in her stomach, and no matter how hard she was trying to deny the thought that was coming to the front of her mind, every second ached her heart more and more as she realised who was responsible for all of it.
She was almost sure of it after she recalled what Valerie asked her yesterday.
'If you ever find it in your heart, do forgive Qin Feng for what he did.'
What did she mean by that?
Ingvild's body trembled as the answer came to her.
"He didn't... right?"
Keith smiled in his heart.
"Hades always knew that your sister was alive."
His words detonated in her head.
"He also sent Cerberus to buy her from the Auction where I found her four and half years ago."
Her body was trembling now, and it was not so subtle anymore.
"Brother Feng..."
"Your Brother Feng sent his men to kill your sister on the night he murdered your father, Princess," He told her the truth, and she started struggling in his embrace, but he only tightened his arms around her.
"He wouldn't..." She cried, but she no longer believed her own words.
Time passed, seconds turned into minutes, and minutes eventually reached an hour's mark. But she did not stop crying.
"Ingrid saw it with her own eyes. She witnessed the moment he killed your father." He spoke again when she calmed down a little, and her body started shaking once again and her cries got louder.
"Why... why... why?!" The anger finally kicked in, and now she only needed one answer.
"People do vile things for power, silly girl. He's no different than others." He smiled. "After all, he only kept you alive so that you could help him control the Vampires under Purgatory Island, help him assimilate more Vampire families in his forces and consolidate them."
His words ached her heart terribly as she recalled the past two years when he made use of her powers to subdue the Vampires.
Was she only a tool for him?
Ingvild felt dizzy now, and her rage kept bubbling up.
Keith sensed it too and smiled in his heart as he pulled her up and buried her face in his neck, finally comforting her back.
He was keeping a very close eye on the changes in her body, and the moment he planted a kiss on her head, her Primal Instincts overwhelmed her.
She had already tasted him after he had tricked her into feeding on him yesterday. And it was all for this moment.
"You are safe. And you will stay with your sister from now on." He told her. "Feed..." And he did not even get to finish his words as she had sunk her fangs into his neck.
Ingvild was greedier this time, gluttonous, and the pleasure and power pulsating inside her veins was unlike anything she had thought possible.
Keith felt her blood submit to his, and when she pulled back, she instinctively licked the two puncture marks, helping them heal. And then she hugged him tightly as she lost consciousness due to the flood of sensations in her mind that overwhelmed her.
[Ding! The Heroine of Destiny, Ingvild Carmilla has subconsciously marked Host as her mate! Rewards: 250 Fate Points.]
[Ding! The Child of Destiny, Qin Feng, has suffered a serious backlash. Rewards: 750 Fate Points.]
[Ding! Congratulations Host for completing the Main Quest 8.2! Ingvild Carmilla, the Heroine of Destiny has been successfully conquered. Rewards: 5000 System Points. 2000 Fate Points. 1000 System Exp. Aura Soul Potion (Spirit Grade). Blood Purifying Potion (Spirit Grade). Battle Art: The Nine Discs of Demise (Hell Grade). Skill Upgrade Card (Gold). A Bracelet with the purest Red Diamonds.]
Keith was stunned when he looked at the Rewards he received from finishing the Quest he had not yet unlocked.
Aura Soul Potion and Blood Purifying Potion were of no use to him, but the Golden Skill Upgrade Card was priceless, and a Battle Art was something he was not expecting at all.
They were currently unavailable in the System Shop, and now that he had already stepped beyond the Primal Desolation, he could use his Devil Sutra, but the Manual was a Divine Manual, and he could not fully take advantage of it.
However, a Hell Grade Battle Art, one which complemented him, was more than what he could have asked for.
"Show me the information of Qin Feng."
[Subject: Qin Feng]
[Child of Destiny; Grade S]
[Age: 28]
[Race: Human (Auror)]
[Status: False Inheritor of Hades. The Lord of Purgatory Island. The Son of Ancient Qin Family.]
[Cultivation Rank: Martial Knight]
[Special Physique: The Divine Nirvana Physique]
[Special Treasure: God Stone of Hades]
[Cultivation Talent: Golden]
[Strength: 20]
[Constitution: 25]
[Speed & Reflexes: 20]
(10 is the average Limit for Martial Knights)
[Charm: 88]
[Fate: 7275 (Fluctuating)]
Keith sighed in his heart when he saw Qin Feng's Fate Value. It was just too high and he could not deal with him without bringing it down.
However, there was no rush, and the loss of a Main Heroine was not something that could be replaced. He might gain a boost in strength as a result of what he just did, but the Fate Value that Qin Feng would have received with Ingvild by his side was gone forever.
Keith looked again at Qin Feng's Cultivation Realm, and he had to admire how talented he was to have made such progress in this world. Then again, possessing a Golden Talent meant that you were an anomaly. Unfortunately, this genius would one day have to die at his hands.
It was just that the day was still years away.
