Chapter 182

In the main room of the palace, a woman with green hair slept in a quite comfortable position while hugging a pillow.

Her lips and eyes had a green tint that looked like makeup but was actually magic; this was one of the first things Ophelia learned about magic.

She enjoyed maintaining her makeup, but to avoid staining the sheets, she simply used magic.

At that moment, a cute little girl with shoulder-length green hair peeked her small head through the door and looked inside.

Upon seeing the figure in the bed, she immediately ran before climbing onto the bed and looking at her mother.

"Mommy," Ivy said, gently shaking her mother.

Ophelia frowned for a moment before opening her eyes and looking at the one shaking her.

Ivy curiously looked into her mother's eyes, which were shining brightly.

Upon seeing Ivy, Ophelia's expression immediately softened into a beautiful smile as she extended her arms and pulled the little one into her chest.

"How are you, baby?" Ophelia asked, smiling.

"Good," Ivy said happily, hugging her mother and rubbing her head against her chest.

Ophelia gave a happy smile, kissing her daughter's head.

"Mommy, it's late, you missed breakfast," Ivy said, looking at Ophelia.

"Hm, for some reason, I feel very drowsy," Ophelia said.

"Are you sick?" Ivy asked, confused, as she had never seen anyone sick.

"Vampires don't get sick," Ophelia said, smiling, while gently tapping Ivy's nose with her finger.

"Should I call Daddy to check on you?" Ivy asked, looking at her mother.

"Alright, go find Daddy for me, tell him that Mommy doesn't have much time left," Ophelia said softly, closing her eyes and pretending to sleep.

Ivy looked at her mother with doubt, somehow knowing that everything was fine, so she just chuckled before running through the palace to find her father.

She finally found him at the top of the palace, talking on the phone while looking out over the city.

Ivy made no noise and approached her father, who felt her coming. He immediately bent down and took her in his arms while still talking on the phone.

Ivy seemed to forget about her mother and just hugged her father with a happy smile.

Damian also quickly ended the call, assuming his daughter was coming to find him for some reason.

"Daddy, Mommy is sick, come see her," Ivy said, seeing that her father had finished the call.

"Alright, let's cure your mother. Nurse Ivy, tell me the patient's symptoms," Damian said seriously as he walked towards the room.

"The patient is drowsy and tends to fall asleep while talking," Ivy said professionally.

"Hm, she'll probably die," Damian nodded, showing a concerned expression.

"Daddy!" Ivy laughed while complaining.

Damian entered the room and saw Ophelia, who had started pretending to be asleep. He couldn't help but smile before getting onto the bed with Ivy and approaching Ophelia.

Damian made a stethoscope appear while, with a serious expression on his face, he opened Ophelia's pajamas, almost exposing her big breasts.

He put the stethoscope to Ivy's ears before bringing the other end close to the large valley in Ophelia's chest.

"Do you hear his heart?" Damian asked seriously.

"Yes, but it's beating very fast," Ivy replied, looking at Damian with confusion.

"We should use a defibrillator," Ivy suggested, remembering from cartoons that they used it when there was a problem with the heart.

"Nurse Ivy is right," Damian said, conjuring a defibrillator and handing the paddles to Ivy while charging it.

"Hey hey, enough, are you trying to kill me?" Ophelia said, unable to bear it any longer, sitting on the bed before they electrocuted her.

She looked at her daughter and Damian with annoyance, not liking this doctor-and-patient game. She preferred a more adult type of play.

"Mummy recovered," Ivy said happily while putting away the paddles.

"Little one, you just wanted to play with your mother," Ophelia said, pinching Ivy's cheeks, knowing Ivy was just playing.

"But your body is indeed abnormal; you're hungry," Damian said, taking Ophelia's face in his hands and looking into her eyes.

Ophelia's cheeks blushed a bit from being so close to Damian. If Ivy weren't there, she would have already thrown herself at him.

"I feel strange. I'm hungry, but at the same time, it's like I don't want to eat," Ophelia said honestly.

"Hmm," Damian said, examining her body and touching it before starting to analyze it.

"I see, it's really a surprise," Damian said with a cheerful smile.

Ophelia and Ivy looked at Damian with doubt since he doesn't usually give that kind of smile for just anything.

"It's really interesting when something unexpected happens."

"It seems vampires can improve if they drink enough of my blood. Your body is in a kind of transition to an Ancient Vampire," Damian said, looking at Ophelia.

"Well, that's good," Ophelia said, nodding.

"Yes, I was thinking about how to fix it, but I guess I don't have to do anything now," Damian said, smiling as he kissed Ophelia's cheek.

"So, Mom got stronger?" Ivy innocently asked.

"Soon, but for now, you have to drink a lot of blood. Just stop when you're satisfied," Damian said, unbuttoning his shirt and embracing Ophelia.

Ophelia didn't hold back and bit Damian's neck before getting comfortable and drinking at a pleasant pace.

Ivy looked at her parents with curiosity; it wasn't the first time she saw one of her mothers drinking blood.

"Daddy, when can I drink your blood too?" Ivy asked, looking at her father.

"Sweetheart, you drink my blood every day," Damian laughed lightly, stroking her hair.

"Yes, but not like Mommy," Ivy complained.

"Sweetie, these kinds of things are only done by spouses," Damian sighed.

"Will I be able to drink your blood too when I marry Daddy?" Ivy innocently asked.

"Ivy, parents don't marry their daughters," Damian said, trying to maintain a calm and friendly expression to explain.

"Why?" Ivy asked, confused, thinking that if she married her father, she could always be with him, just like her mothers.

Damian rubbed his forehead with his eyes closed, not liking these kinds of questions.

"Because it's not morally correct," Damian said.

"And who decides what is morally correct?" Ivy asked, nodding at Damian's answer but questioning him again.

Ophelia simply continued drinking and pretended to be dead, not wanting to get involved in such conversations.

"Darling, it's just not right, okay?" Damian said, trying to explain.

"But I want to be with Daddy forever. Wouldn't it be right for Daddy to marry me?" Ivy said, looking at her father, confused.

"No, sweetheart, Daddy can't marry you," Damian said firmly, extending his hand to stroke her head.

But to Damian's surprise, Ivy had a sad pout on her face with tears in her eyes before running out of the room.

Damian froze and just looked in the direction Ivy had run, his expression turning really bad.

The originally sunny day outside the palace visibly darkened, occasional thunder sounded in the sky, and an oppressive atmosphere seemed to cover the palace.

Damian just stood there, holding Ophelia while his eyes glowed dangerously red, clearly in a bad mood.

Ophelia, in his embrace, slowed down her blood-drinking, feeling conflicted.

This problem came sooner than she thought. She had read books on psychology and parenting; it was normal for children to want to marry their parents, but such thoughts usually faded as they grew older.

The problem was that they were vampires, and handling emotions was different, and their minds were not as scattered as humans.

It's possible that this feeling will persist, and that's where things will really get complicated.

Despite being the progenitor of vampires, Damian actually had a fairly human morality, something that Ophelia didn't entirely dislike.

"You could have just told her you'd consider it when she's older; she'd probably forget over time," Ophelia said, pausing her blood-drinking for a moment.

"You know a vampire's memory isn't like a human's. She'll remember it, and she'll grow up with that expectation. I can't say yes, even if it's just a game," Damian said, in a bad mood.

"Fine, I'll talk to her. Now, focus," Ophelia said before continuing to drink.

Damian just looked wordlessly at Ophelia before stroking her hair, closing his eyes, and calming himself.

About an hour passed before Ophelia stopped drinking and fell asleep in Damian's arms.

Damian carefully held her head, separated his fangs from her neck, laid her on the bed, and checked her condition.

Her whole body seemed to be changing completely, and he could also sense faint dimensional traces. He supposed she was connecting with new familiars, making it clear that she was now an Ancient Vampire.

Damian turned his head, his gaze piercing through all the walls to reach his daughter.

He saw her pouting on her mother's legs, and couldn't help but smile faintly at her adorable face despite the situation.

Sophia seemed to be talking to her, trying to cheer her up and find out what was going on.

Still, Ivy didn't seem inclined to talk and avoided the subject.

Damian could only sigh and look at Ophelia; she was the best option to solve this problem.

Minutes passed, and Ophelia's eyes trembled before she opened them, looking around confused.

"Yawn...how long has it been?" Ophelia asked, sitting up.

"10 years. Are you okay? We were worried you'd never wake up," Damian said, putting his hand on her shoulder with concern.

"Yeah, right," Ophelia scoffed, slapping his hand away.

"I'll go talk to my little one; it'll be a tough conversation," Ophelia said, sighing. She would have to choose her words carefully. Usually, Damian would handle these things, but since he was involved, it wasn't the best idea.

Anyway, it's just a whim of Ivy's; they just have to handle it well so that it doesn't become a bigger issue over time.

"I leave it to you," Damian said, also sighing.

Ophelia kissed Damian on the cheek as she tousled his hair and fled with a smile toward Ivy.

"Well, I guess it's time for me to get to work too," Damian muttered before disappearing and reappearing in the most central and secluded part of the garden.

He wanted to improve his magic circle but had promised his daughters he wouldn't leave for such a long time again.

Damian first called his third familiar, a small dragon about a meter long, which circled around him before approaching.

Damian caressed its scales and horns before mentally ordering it.

The dragon made small grunts before lying down next to him, resting its head on his leg.

Around Damian, a semi-transparent dome formed, isolating him completely from the rest of the world.

His eyes closed slowly as his mind focused on his magic rings.

His four magic circles seemed to rotate lazily, even the occasional bursts of magic were no longer visible, demonstrating the total control he had gained over the four circles.

Damian already knew the routine and began creating his fifth magic circle. According to the system he had designed, only two circles remained, not counting the one he was about to create.

His blood and magic merged before tens of thousands of runes began to be written under Damian's guidance.

This time, he really didn't know how long he would be out here.

He also didn't dare to say goodbye to his daughters; who knows how long he would be postponing it.

He just hoped that seeing him through the barrier would give them some comfort.

....

Ophelia descended from her room and found Ivy playing with her sisters. She seemed to be happy again, but Ophelia would talk to her to clear any doubts.

"Ivy, darling, do you want to come with Mommy for a moment?" Ophelia said, smiling.

Ivy looked at her sisters before nodding and going to Ophelia.

Alice and Emma didn't find it strange and continued doing their things.

With Ivy in her arms, Ophelia climbed the stairs before entering Ivy's room.

Ophelia approached the rocking chair before sitting down with Ivy on her lap.

"When you were a baby, I used to rock myself in this chair while holding you," Ophelia said, smiling slightly.

Ivy just smiled and hugged her mother.

"Sweetheart, I want to talk to you about what happened with Daddy," Ophelia said, immediately seeing Ivy's mood turn sour.

"You see, dear, in our society, it's very frowned upon for relatives to marry. When close relatives marry and have babies, the babies are very likely to be born sick."

"Your father, despite being a vampire, is very tied to human morality, so things like marrying you are impossible for him," Ophelia explained patiently.

Ivy nodded, indicating that she understood a bit why her father refused.

''So it's not just not asking for babies?" said Ivy, looking at her mother in confusion.

"Girl, you don't even know how babies are made," Ophelia said, pinching her nose.

"Of course I do, you ask the stork, and she puts them in mommy's stomach," Ivy said, touching Ophelia's abdomen.

"I just wanted to be with Daddy forever," Ivy said, looking at Ophelia.

Ophelia smiled lightly and stroked his head, already expecting it to be such an innocent reason.

"Daddy will surely be with you forever. Maybe he's more concerned that you'll leave. Look at your sister Monica; she's home now, but do you remember she used to always be outside and only came back occasionally?" Ophelia said, smiling.

Ivy nodded thoughtfully, promising in her mind to always be at home with Daddy.

''Then don't think about it, Daddy will be with you whenever you want him to be," Ophelia said, leaving a kiss on Ivy's cheek.

"Now, don't go telling your sisters about these things, or you'll cause chaos in the house, understood, little one?" Ophelia said, pinching her cheeks.

"I already told them," Ivy said, avoiding Ophelia's gaze.

"Well....that's Carol and Ana's problem," Ophelia said, falling silent for a moment before shrugging.

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