2.12 Raphael, My Servant

No matter from which angle Theodore saw it, the person in front of him couldn't be a human. His long, curly silver hair glittered like a waterfall of stars, his pale skin even whiter and those intense crimson eyes...they carried weight so heavy that it could easily crush someone's breath. Shivers ran down Theodore's spine. If it wasn't for Raphael's appearance being the same, he couldn't even recognize that man with him being totally different. He was beautiful—ethereal and eerie at the same time—as he stood there in the middle of the room in his truest form.

Theodore hated himself, not because he felt a sliver of fear which quickly disappeared as soon as he realized that man was none other than Raphael, but because the sentence he heard earlier kept reverberating in his mind. When his father asked Raphel whether he was interested in taking him as a life companion, thrill and glee coursed through Theodore's veins and he felt euphoric at the mere idea of it.

[Why don't you tell me that he's behind the door, you useless system?!]

[666: Uwaaah QAQ please forgive 666, Host! 666 was too engrossed in taking pictures of Host's vampire form so that 666 can post it in the forum and show off to the other systems!]

Lu Yizhou cursed under his breath and went to the system store to buy the temporary skill "Time Rewinder" which cost 250 points for each purchase. He still had around 1000 points so he had more than enough to buy two sets and rewinded the time to ten seconds earlier. A familiar chime of system notification rang in his mind however, the content was different from the previous ones.

[System Notification: Ding! You have exceeded the purchase limit for temporary skill "Time Rewinder"! Please go back to the main menu to choose another skill ^^]

Lu Yizhou was stunned. [Purchase limit…? There is even a fucking purchase limit in your store?!]

O-oh, Host had started to curse. 666's data trembled violently to the point where some of the 1s and 0s bounced off everywhere in fluster.

[666: H—Host, will you believe 666 if 666 says that it has no idea about this either...?]

[Shut it.] Lu Yizhou hissed.

"Theo…" Melissa covered her mouth, too shocked that she even forgot to change her eyes back. Callen instantly shielded his wife from Theodore's gaze and cleared his throat heavily but it was proven useless because Theodore didn't even give them a glance. Instead, all of his attention was sucked into Lu Yizhou.

He took an unstable step forward, his mouth gaping. "You...You are a vampire?"

[System notification: Ding! Your permanent skill "Devil's Whisper" is currently active! For the next five minutes, all of your words will be taken as the absolute truth. Cooldown time 5 hours 59 minutes 57 seconds.]

[System notification: Congratulations! Your permanent skill "Devil Whisper" has been upgraded to level 2. For more info, please check out the description box!]

Lu Yizhou disappeared abruptly from where he stood and reappeared in front of Theodore, taking the latter off guard that he almost stumbled back if not for Lu Yizhou holding his waist. He looked into Theodore's eyes, his already crimson eyes turned scorching, Theodore could almost feel the heat radiating from them. He stared, transfixed and heard Raphael's voice echoed in his mind, soft and hypnotic. "This is just a dream."

"A...dream?" He answered in daze.

"Yes. Aren't you sleepwalking right now? You should return to your room and have a good night's sleep." Lu Yizhou didn't only use the system's skill but he also injected Raphael's own power in his words. The lull in his voice didn't only affect Theodore but everyone else in the room as their eyes turned misty and blank.

"I am sleepwalking…" Theodore nodded and was ready to return to his room. But then he blinked and the haze abruptly vanished from his eyes. The spell was broken and everyone snapped out of their senses.

The clarity in his eyes returned in full force and along with it was roaring anger. He yanked Lu Yizhou's collar down and growled. "Are you kidding me?! Do you want to brush me off just with words that can't even fool a three years old child?!"

Once again, Lu Yizhou was stunned speechless. [What happened…?]

[666: AAAH IT DOESN'T WORK! THE SKILL DOESN'T WORK! How is this possible?! Is it because Theodore has the dhampir blood in him and that's why he is immune to Host's charm? No, no it isn't possible! Even a full pledged vampire can't escape, let alone a dhampir who hasn't awakened his bloodline yet!]

Seeing Lu Yizhou's blank face, Theodore turned angrier. "Say something, damn it! Do you dare to say it again in front of my face?!"

Lu Yizhou frowned and injected more power into his words to the point where he got dizzy. "This is merely a dream, Young Master."

"Stop it!" Theodore screamed furiously, the rims of his eyes reddened in anger and sadness. Even at a time like this, Raphael still wanted to deceive him?! "What did you take me as?! A fool?! You want me to treat everything as a dream—ah! W—What happened to you?!"

Lu Yizhou lost his footing and stumbled back, his fangs poking out of his mouth as he breathed heavily. He had used too much of Raphael's power and it had finally taken a toll on his body. Under Theodore's panicked gaze, he shook his head and distanced himself from the teenager, once again earning him a blank and disbelieving look. "No, I'm fine. My apologies, Young Master."

"You think a mere apology can solve everything?!" Theodore scowled and swept his gaze over Lu Yizhou and his parents. "You'd better explain everything to me otherwise I won't move a step from this place!"

"Theo…" Callen held his forehead helplessly. "This is none of your business."

"Oh, is it?" Theodore sneered. "I thought I heard my name. You were just asking whether that vampire wanted to take me as his life companion and you said it is none of my business?"

Callen rebuked furiously. "Theodore Valmor, is that how I taught you to talk to your parents?!"

Lu Yizhou's fists clenched as he leaned himself on the wall. He knew that everything would go awry if Theodore knew his real identity. However, knowing was one thing and witnessing it happen was another thing. How could everything end up like this? In the end, Theodore wasn't even willing to utter his name anymore…?

[System notification: Warning! Host's condition is unstable! Host's hunger level has gone past the dangerous threshold. Please make sure to feed properly otherwise Host will lose his sanity and go berserk!]

[666: Host…]

[What?] Lu Yizhou snapped impatiently.

[666: 666 has just received an update on your time limit. The most probable scenario the stimulator has conjured is that if you keep on like this, you will turn deranged and carry out brutal massacres all over the continent. By then, you will die under the protagonist's holy sword. The time estimate until it happens is...six months.]

Six months? Lu Yizhou let out a light sigh and closed his eyes to calm his mental state.

In front of him, the father and son were locked in a heated argument, both were equally strong headed and hated to lose. Melissa held Callen's arm as she patted his back again and again, trying to mediate the fight to no avail.

Until one point of a time, Theodore suddenly sighed in defeat, his words rendered everyone speechless. "Actually, I have known since long ago that Mother is a dhampir. No need to hide it from me any longer, Father. I am not as stupid and innocent as you think I am."

Melissa's eyes flew open, her brown eyes covered in a layer of tears. "Y—You knew…?"

Theodore nodded, seemingly tired to continue the pointless quarrel. Words blurted out of his mouth with a deadpan face. "When I was five, I saw Mother sucked Father's blood and then you two had intercourse right in front of me. Maybe you thought I was asleep but in fact, I was not."

Callen choked on his saliva and exchanged bewildered glances with his wife, faint blush spreading across his cheeks. "That…"

"At first, I had no idea what Mother was doing and assumed that it was a normal thing. It wasn't until I received proper education from Ben that I knew the existence of vampires and dhampirs. I realized that Mother's identity is one that should be kept a secret." The corner of Theodore's lips curled into a bitter smile. "What I didn't expect was that you two would even hide it from me, your own son. I tried many ways to force you to tell me. I ordered Ben to put crosses all over the house but then, Father even went out of his way to build another separate building for me. Ever since that day, you two were seldom at home. I was angry, so I started rebelling."

"Theo…" Melissa covered her mouth in disbelief. "We have always thought that you abhorred vampires, that's why we didn't dare to tell you the truth, dear. Mother is sorry...it isn't our intention to neglect you like that. We just… We have no idea how to act in front of you…"

Callen showed a regretful expression and sighed. " It's fully our fault. You're a full pledged human just like me. It might be why we are hesitant to let you know the truth. Rather than receiving your disgust and contempt, we thought that it's better to distance ourselves from you. From now on, we won't hide anything from you again, Theodore."

Theodore snorted and turned his head away, barely satisfied. If he wasn't suspicious of Raphael's behavior and secretly followed him in the middle of the night, they wouldn't have told him anything, right? In the end, he found out everything through his own means. How could he feel satisfied with that? Moreover, he still hadn't had a proper talk with a certain person—no, a certain vampire—who thought that he wouldn't be noticed if he kept silent.

Turning to Lu Yizhou, he hooked his forefinger with a displeased look. "You, come here."

Melissa was aghast and instantly took a protective stance in front of Theodore. "No, Theo, you can't! Don't behave like this!" Facing Lu Yizhou, she put on a brave expression like she was ready to die. "M—My Lord, please forgive my son's presumptuousness. He doesn't mean that way—"

"Melissa!" Callen stood in front of his wife and protected her with his own body, his jaws tightening as he took on an offensive stance. "If you want to kill someone, then just kill me and leave my son and wife alive!"

"What are you two talking about?!" Theodore rebuked in anger as he brushed his parents aside. He pointed at Lu Yizhou, insisting stubbornly. "He is Raphael, my servant! He is not anyone's Lord!"

Lu Yizhou raised one brow as he watched the show that the family of three was giving. He hadn't even said anything, was there any need to be this excessive? Or did he look like someone who would kill as soon as someone slighted him? Well, it could also be possible…

A light sigh escaped his lips and Melissa almost lost her mind because of that. She was ready to prostrate herself when the vampire's sigh ended with a soft chuckle. He shook his head, his expression was anything but murderous. Straightening his back, he strode toward Theodore and took the teenager's hand in his as he went down on one knee. "Young Master is right." He smiled thinly. "I am Raphael, his personal servant and no one else."