Chapter 28: Chapter 28

After leaving the hospital, Selene and Luna made their way through the crowded streets of New York.

The nighttime bustle enveloped the city: car horns, scattered conversations, the constant murmur of a city that never slept.

The skyscrapers, imposing and majestic, while the neon signs filled the air with vibrant colors that reflected in their eyes.

As she passed by, all eyes were on her. Men and women, fascinated by her supernatural elegance, looked away too late, captivated by a beauty that seemed out of this world.

"I didn’t expect Lord Lucien’s mother to be so... unique," Luna commented, keeping her expression neutral.

Selene nodded. "And you haven’t seen her when she annoys my darling," she said with a smile.

Luna thought for a moment and couldn’t help imagining the scene, but then she flashed a mischievous smile: "But, my Lady, you are very good at lying; I didn’t know Lord Lucien had gone to Madagascar."

"Shut up! That was the first thing that came to mind; I can’t tell him that Scarlet took him to Romania." Selene fixed her hair with a cold expression.

"Although, my Lady, I doubt she believed everything you said; it seems she simply went along with you," Luna remembered Carmila’s gaze; it was not that of someone who believed such a lie.

"You’re right..." Selene looked at the advertisements on the buildings. "But, darling, I’ll tell her everything once I know how to cure her."

The two continued walking down the busy New York street, and their figures disappeared into the crowd.

In the skies above the country, a black Gulfstream G650 aircraft, with a bat emblem engraved on its fuselage, was flying through the clouds at an altitude of over forty-five thousand feet.

"Lady Scarlet, we have entered Romanian territory," the pilot informed the woman with a sensual smile on her lips.

"Hmm~ The trip was quite short," she replied, stretching languidly. The movement made her blouse seem to give way under the pressure of her chest.

But even with that tempting sight, the pilot showed no reaction and did not look at the woman’s breasts.

Scarlet smiled with satisfaction. After fifteen hundred years of existence, she appreciated the few men who still knew how to behave. And now that she was married, she had no intention of allowing lustful glances toward her person.

The pilot’s attitude toward her was a good thing; she didn’t want to change pilots.

Scarlet crossed her legs sensually. "Land on the private runway," she ordered elegantly and rested her head on her hand.

"Yes, Lady Scarlet," he accepted the order.

’Umu, what a good pilot you have,’ Lucien nodded with satisfaction, having watched the interaction from the beginning.

If the pilot had looked at his wife, Scarlet, with lust, he would have killed him on the spot. For him, it is a big "No" for people to look at his wife with lust. Looking is fine, as it is inevitable, but one thing is different from the other.

What if that meant being left without a pilot mid-flight? Honestly, he doesn’t care; he trusts his vampiric regeneration to survive the fall.

In the end, I would be alive, which is the most important thing.

He pushed his thoughts aside and fixed his gaze on the window.

The landscape below them was a blanket of green and mountains, so different from the noise and lights of the city.

It was a refreshing change... and, for the first time in his life, he felt truly far from home.

The roar of the engines died down, and a serene silence filled the private runway.

Lucien was the first to descend from the plane, breathing deeply of the cold dawn air.

"Such clean air..." he murmured, closing his eyes. The scent of damp earth, forest, and a slight metallic touch was almost intoxicating.

Without thinking, he took a step forward, allowing the sun’s rays to fall on his pale skin.

But as soon as he did, a hand pulled him back forcefully.

"What do you think you’re doing?" Scarlet’s voice sounded cold behind him. Her crimson eyes pierced through him. "Do you want to turn into ashes?"

Lucien looked at her, amused, with a calm smile that only increased her annoyance. ’She doesn’t seem to know that I’m immune to the sun,’ he thought with a certain pride.

He took her hand gently and looked her straight in the eyes. "Darling, you didn’t know... I’m immune to the sun."

"What...?" Scarlet blinked in surprise. For a moment, all seriousness disappeared from her face. Then she burst out laughing so spontaneously that even the air seemed to vibrate.

"HAHAHAHA! Now that’s a surprise." She put a hand to her chest, still laughing. "How long has it been since something happened to me... three hundred years? Five hundred?" She shrugged. "Bah, whatever."

When she stopped laughing, she looked at him with a predatory smile. Her fangs showed slightly, glinting in the light. "You’re an interesting specimen, my dear Lucien." Her tone was a mixture of mockery and fascination. "Perhaps it was worth bringing you here after all."

Lucien smiled slyly. "Just ’maybe’? And I thought I’d already won you over."

Scarlet raised an eyebrow, moving close enough for him to smell the faint scent of black roses that enveloped her.

For a moment, they both remained silent. The wind blew through the trees of the nearby forest, stirring Scarlet’s red hair like a living flame.

The moment was broken when hurried footsteps were heard. Five vampires, all dressed in dark suits and with tense expressions, approached respectfully. One of them stepped forward, bowing his head.

"Welcome back, Lady Scarlet," he said in a controlled voice, though sweat was running down his forehead. "Your room has been prepared."

Scarlet barely nodded, crossing her arms elegantly. "Lead the way."

"As you wish, Lady Scarlet." The vampire bowed once more and turned around, gesturing for them to follow him.

As they walked along the stone path leading to the castle, Lucien gazed at the landscape in awe. On both sides, the Romanian forests stretched out like a dark green ocean.

The distant mountains were covered in a silvery mist, and the air felt pure, almost wild.

"It’s a beautiful place," he said quietly.

And as the black stone castle rose before them, shrouded in the morning mist, Lucien felt that a new Chapter in his life was just beginning.