Lilian’s finger still lingered by Bell’s ear.
Bell didn't move.
He looked down at his suspended hands.
The Binding Shadow Vine rope shimmered darkly under the moonlight.
“Serve you?”
Bell's voice was soft.
So soft that Lilian could barely hear him.
“Do you think I'll agree?”
Lilian withdrew her hand and took a step back.
She tilted her head as if contemplating a very interesting question.
“You will.”
Her tone was uncomfortably certain.
“Because you need me.”
“Just as I once needed you.”
Bell looked up.
His deep eyes stared straight at her.
“You're wrong.”
His voice was cold as ice.
“I don't need you.”
“From the moment you jumped out that window and fled, I stopped needing you.”
Lilian's smile froze on her face.
Her fingers instinctively gripped the hem of her silk robe.
“I... I went back that day.”
For the first time, her voice trembled.
“I went back, Bell.”
“I was just... just too afraid.”
“But I went back.”
Bell said nothing.
He simply looked at her.
As if looking at a stranger.
“You went back,”
he repeated.
“And then?”
“Tia died.”
“Because you fled, I lost the only chance I had to protect her.”
“What use was it for you to go back?”
Lilian’s face instantly turned pale.
She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
“So, don't talk to me about atonement.”
Bell spoke each word deliberately.
“What you owe me can never be repaid in this lifetime.”
A deathly silence fell over the room.
Only the sound of the wind howling outside remained.
A long time passed.
Lilian took a deep breath.
She looked up, the guilt in her eyes replaced by a more complex emotion.
“You're right.”
Her voice regained its composure.
“I can't repay it.”
“That's why I must become the queen.”
“I will lead my people into the sunlight.”
“I want everyone to know that vampires aren't monsters.”
“I will prove that I, Lilian Carlisle, am not a coward who only knows how to run.”
She walked to the window, her back to Bell.
“As for you.”
Her voice turned indifferent.
“You can hate me, you can look down on me.”
“But I need your help.”
“Dissolve the contract, and lure Cecilia here.”
“Only you can do these two things.”
Bell was silent for a moment.
His mind was working at high speed.
Dissolving the contract would result in no loss for him.
In fact, it would remove a potential headache.
As for luring Cecilia...
A flicker of complexity flashed through Bell's eyes.
If he could trap that madwoman in Moon Phase City...
Then she wouldn't be able to restart this world.
“I can consider the second matter,”
Bell spoke.
Lilian spun around suddenly.
“Really?”
A flash of pleasant surprise appeared in her eyes.
“But there is a condition.”
Bell’s voice cut through her joy.
“You must tell me how you plan to deal with her.”
“Cecilia is not someone you can handle.”
“Even now that you’ve become a queen, it’s the same.”
Lilian’s smile resurfaced.
This time, there was a hint of madness in it.
“Do you think you can kill her?”
Lilian's gaze instantly turned ice-cold.
“I have the ten ancestors.”
“Ed alone could defeat her.”
“Furthermore, this is the Night Rose Palace.”
“This is my home turf.”
Bell looked up at her.
“Are you sure?”
For the first time, a hint of hesitation appeared in Lilian's eyes.
“Wh... what do you mean?”
Bell didn't answer.
He just watched her quietly.
After a long while.
Lilian turned around and walked to the window.
Her fingers tightly gripped the windowsill.
“I know she is strong.”
“But I cannot live in her shadow forever.”
“I want to prove it to everyone.”
“I, Lilian Carlisle, am not a coward.”
“We can cooperate.”
Bell didn't answer immediately.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
In his mind, the image of Cecilia’s final departure surfaced.
That madwoman said she would come back.
She would come to demand an answer from him again.
If he could be prepared before she returned...
“Fine.”
Bell opened his eyes.
“I agree.”
“But there is one premise.”
Lilian looked up.
“What?”
“You must first solve your own problems.”
Bell spoke one word at a time.
“Right now, you aren't even truly a queen.”
“You haven't even held a coronation ceremony.”
“How do you expect to fight Cecilia?”
Lilian's face instantly turned unsightly.
She bit her lip and remained silent for a long time.
“How did you know...”
“I'm not blind.”
Bell interrupted her.
“You captured me, yet you didn't dare let anyone see the contract mark on my hand.”
“You live in the queen's bedchamber, yet there are no traces of any ceremony.”
“What are you afraid of?”
Lilian's hands tightly gripped her skirt.
Her knuckles turned white from the force.
“Yes.”
“I haven't been crowned yet.”
“Because I cannot obtain the inheritance of the Blood Dance Tattoo.”
For the first time, a hint of resentment appeared in her voice.
“Every generation of vampire kings leaves the Blood Dance Tattoo on their corpse after death.”
“The next king must pass it on through a ritual.”
“But every time I try, I fail.”
Bell's gaze shifted.
“Why?”
Lilian bit her lip.
Her finger instinctively touched her left shoulder.
That was where Cecilia's wind blade had once pierced through.
“Because of fear.”
Her voice was very soft.
“Every time I enter the inheritance ritual, I see her.”
“I see her smile.”
“I see the moment she snapped my fangs.”
“Then, I get kicked out.”
Bell fell silent.
He looked at the Lilian before him.
He saw a girl who appeared powerful on the surface, but was still ruled by fear in her heart.
“So, you want me to help you overcome your fear?”
Lilian looked up sharply.
“No.”
A fire ignited in her eyes.
“I want you to help me lure her here.”
“I want to kill her with my own hands.”
“Only then can I truly escape this fear.”
Bell watched her.
He saw the madness in her eyes.
Suddenly, he laughed.
A very soft laugh.
“You really are just like her.”
Lilian was stunned.
“What?”
Bell’s voice carried a hint of mockery.
“Ready to do whatever it takes for a goal.”
“Even if it means paying with your life.”
Lilian’s expression became complex.
She didn't argue.
Because she knew Bell was right.
“Then what about you?”
she suddenly asked.
“What are you?”
Bell didn't answer.
He simply looked out the window.
At the two purple moons.
“I'm just someone who wants to live.”
His voice was very soft.
So soft that Lilian could barely hear him.
“That's all.”
Silence fell over the room once more.
After a long while.
Lilian walked up to Bell.
She reached out and gently untied the Binding Shadow Vine rope.
Bell's feet returned to the floor.
He flexed his wrists.
“I'll find a way regarding the contract.”
His voice regained its calm.
“But before that, you have to solve your own problem.”
“Without the Blood Dance Tattoo, you aren't a true queen.”
“Without the authority of a queen, how will you stand against Cecilia?”
Lilian bit her lip.
“I know.”
“That's why I need time.”
“And...”
She looked up at Bell.
“I need your blood.”
Bell frowned.
“My blood?”
“Yes.”
A flash of desire appeared in Lilian's eyes.
“Your blood can make me stronger.”
“Strong enough to endure the inheritance of the Blood Dance Tattoo.”
Bell was silent for a moment.
“Fine.”
“But not now.”
He turned and walked toward the door.
“On the day you truly become the queen.”
“I will personally hand the blood to you.”
Lilian was stunned.
She watched Bell’s back.
She watched him push open the door and walk out of the room.
“Bell.”
she suddenly called out.
Bell stopped.
He didn't look back.
“Thank you.”
Lilian's voice carried a slight tremor.
“Thank you for being willing to believe in me.”
Bell didn't say a word.
He simply raised his hand and gave a slight wave.
Then, he vanished at the end of the corridor.
Lilian stood where she was.
Staring at the open door.
“I'll prove it to you.”
Her voice was very soft.
“I'm not a coward.”
“I am the queen.”
She turned and walked to the window.
Outside, the lights of Moon Phase City were as brilliant as the stars.
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