1.6

"I want to learn," Michael said again.

Yunyu paused for a moment, but he still kept his vigilance up. He peered at this Prince and after some consideration, he finally nodded.

"But you're not allowed to preach to them, you'll be seen as a hypocrite," Yunyu advised. Michael was relieved that the Duke allowed him to accompany the Duke to the slum. He didn't know what they would do there, but if it was with the Duke, Michael had certain assurance that he would be in good hands.

Thus, Michael and Yunyu sat in the same carriage together.

The carriage was a bit cramped, because Yunyu didn't want to be too showy in the slum. Thus, he used a small carriage fit for only one person.

When Prince Michael barged in, their knees touched each other a few times. Yunyu felt uncomfortable, but Michael was on a whole other level, because he had never been this close to anyone. As if, the small carriage was their own small world.

Michael's face grew inevitably hot, he lowered his head in shame. Because he was actually nervous to be near the Duke right now.

[Why is his face so red?]

[Pupa: Maybe because he likes you? His Fatemeter is already 30%. It is the equivalent of a crush in the human world.]

[Oh? So 50% is in love?]

[Pupa: 50% is regular love, 70% is already deeply in love, hitting 80% is like an old married couple. While 100%... well, it's love greater than anything in this world. The one with such love will sacrifice everything for their loved one.]

[Hmm… that's interesting! Lucky I won't need to increase his Fatemeter though~ That'd be a pain in the ass.]

When they arrived at the slum, they left the carriage and Prince Michael wore his hood again. He followed the Duke to the same old lady who was selling apples. As usual, the Duke bought a bag of apples and shared it with the poor kids. He went and bought more food from the poor sellers in the slum and shared it with others.

Yunyu did it so naturally, that Michael's eyes were basically glued to the Duke now. Yunyu noticed Michael's eyes, he turned his back and their eyes met. Yunyu smiled at the Prince.

Michael held his breath, he was unsure how to respond. He just thought that… the Duke had a very gentle smile, it soothed his heart somehow.

Yunyu offered one apple to the Prince and said, "This apple is not dirty or poisonous."

"I know," Michael said and took the apple from the Duke's hand. He took a bit and chewed it slowly. Yunyu turned his attention back to help the slum again, while Michael's eyes grew hotter on Yunyu.

Somehow, the apple tasted ten times better than the one he ate at church.

When they entered the temporary house for the abandoned people, the people inside were already waiting for the Duke. They bowed their head in respect, and the Duke smiled and said, "I will feed all of you as usual, the renovation will be done in about three days."

"Thank you, sir," the people said. They saw someone behind the Duke's back, although his head was covered with hood, his handsome features did not leave their eyes.

"Sir, who is this gentleman behind you?" the woman in the wheelchair asked.

"Ah, this is my… friend. He is here to help me," Yunyu said. He pulled Michael in front. Michael was awkward when facing the questioning gazes of everyone in this place. He bowed his head slightly and greeted them.

The abandoned were naturally a very wary group. There were many people who tried to bully them because of their condition, and many more tried to kill them to harvest their still healthy organ to be sold.

However, they didn't seem to know who this handsome man was in front of them. Maybe because Michael was the most powerful prince after the Crown Prince, when he became the Saint or High Priest, he would be the most powerful in the country. A high noble like the Princes wouldn't step in this slum for whatever reason.

Yunyu chuckled. As usual, he brought many food and fed the abandoned one by one. Michael wanted to help, but when he wanted to take one bowl to help the people, Yunyu slapped his hand lightly, "You should just stand and watch. It is dirty work, the high priest will be angry at me if he knows that you're feeding them."

Michael's lips tightened. If it was the previous Michael, he wouldn't even think about feeding these people. They were simply too filthy for him to approach. But he felt ashamed right now, because the Duke fed them patiently. He even wiped the stain on their mouth.

Michael watched everything like a bystander, his heart grew even more guilty.

Time passed and it was already evening after Yunyu was done with his activities. After they left the house, Yunyu and Michael returned back to the carriage. Their knees touched each other again, and Michael blushed again.

The carriage rode in steady pace and they were passing through a small forest, because the Duke's mansion was outside the kingdom.

Michael's nervousness fell on Yunyu's eyes. Yunyu asked, "Your Highness, are you uncomfortable somewhere? Do you want me to order another carriage for you?"

Yunyu sighed "I know that you don't fit this. I still don't understand why you would suddenly want to follow me to the slum. Look at me now, I am very smelly because I stayed there for the whole day. Your shoes are also stained with the dirt. I know that the church took high importance to cleanliness."

"I… I don't mind…" Michael said, "I'm following you because I want to learn."

"Learn about what? About life in the slum?"

"No, I want to learn about…" Michael was silent again. He didn't know what to say. Should he say that he wanted to learn how a faithless could be kind hearted too? Or how horrible he truly was?

"Well, I won't force you. But please, don't follow me again next time," Yunyu said.

"Why?" Michael raised his head immediately. However, when he saw the ghastly appearance of the Duke, he was surprised. Because the Duke was now so pale, that he really looked like a ghost.

[Pupa, I'm so hungry right now. I can fit a cow in my belly.]

[Pupa: You can just drink cow blood.]

[I wonder what Michael's blood tastes like.]

Yunyu developed a thought of drinking human blood when he was so hungry. He imagined that everything was a grilled chicken in front of him. He even imagined Michael as a tasty grilled turkey.

[Pupa: You can't drink his blood. He has been marked as the future Saint. If you drink his blood, your body will get scalded and you'll die.]

[But he smells so good though, like a Christmas turkey…]

"Duke? Are you okay?" Michael asked anxiously. The Duke looked really pale and frail, as if a gust of wind could blow him anytime.

However, in Yunyu's head, he only saw a big Christmas turkey calling him to taste.

[Christmas turkey, Christmas turkey, Christmas turkey…]

Unknowingly, Yunyu's fangs started growing. Yunyu was already weak because he didn't eat for the whole week, and the Christmas turkey in front of him only made it worse. He had almost zero self-control now.

Michael saw the horrifying transformation happened with the Duke. The Duke's pupils turned blood red, and a signature pair of fangs started growing on his teeth.

"You—"

It was too late for Yunyu, when he realized what happened just now. He closed his mouth with his hands immediately. He saw that Prince Michael was stunned, unmoved, and probably scared to death right now.

Yunyu jumped from the moving carriage and rushed to the forest.

"Wait!" Michael snapped out of his daze and jumped from the carriage to chase the Duke.

Yunyu was panicked, he didn't expect that he would expose himself stupidly in front of the main character. Yunyu ran to the forest to calm himself down. Maybe he could also find something to eat here.

[Ahhh, what to do! Michael knows that I'm a vampire, he'll kill me!]

[Pupa: You might have to prepare your doom now. Prince Michael is currently chasing you relentlessly.]