NAPE - 112

Side Story 23

Bibi felt like she was alone in the universe. She had no one to consult about her predicament and Doyoon’s subtly changed attitude. Should she call Namwon? He was, after all, her familiar. Ah... but he probably wouldn’t be much help.

Deep in thought, Bibi realized she had somehow found herself at the outdoor swimming pool. The sight of humans happily playing in a fake beach filled with artificial palm trees caught her eye. It felt strange to see such a peaceful and leisurely scene while someone’s life was in danger. She couldn’t help but envy those with their carefree expressions.

The more she thought, the bleaker and more helpless she felt, wanting to submerge herself deep in the water. She wasn’t in the mood to splash around, but if she returned to her room like this, she felt she wouldn’t be able to bear the loneliness and would run to Doyoon. Bibi decided to at least dip her feet in the pool. She intended to distract herself. The weather was hot too.

“You must wear a swimsuit.”

Suddenly, an employee approached and sternly stopped her.

“Swimsuit? I don’t have one...”

“Then you cannot use the pool. There’s a store, so you can go and purchase one right away.”

Bibi blinked innocently. Hmm... She heard that in human society, money solved everything. She rummaged through her pocket and found Namwon’s wallet, which she had discreetly taken from the plane. Opening it, she saw it was filled with large denomination bills. He had been investing in some kind of themed stocks lately, so he must have made some money. She pulled out a couple of bills and offered them to the employee, who stumbled back, looking flustered.

“Not enough? I’ll give you more.”

“No, no. I, I don’t accept money. If you don’t know where the store is, I can escort you.”

The employee waved his hands, hastily retreating. His previously stern attitude had softened slightly at the sight of money. Escort... Should she accept?

“Just leave it.”

Someone’s heavy voice and scent interjected between them. Turning her head, she saw Doyoon, bare-chested, standing there with a crooked smile.

“Ah, my apologies.”

The employee quickly eyed Doyoon, then retreated with a servile, obedient demeanor. The commonly called “capitalist smile” was a bonus. Bibi put Namwon’s wallet back in her pocket.

“Hello.”

Doyoon greeted her casually. Bibi’s eyes slightly narrowed.

“Why are you here?”

“Thought I’d swim a bit.”

Wearing swimming trunks, he exposed an unbelievably aesthetic physique. Broad shoulders beneath sculpted forearms, ripped chest muscles, and thighs that rippled with every flex pulled her gaze intensely.

Above all, beneath his triangular iliac crests, his core, wrapped in thin fabric, boasted a firm outline.

Passing women, and even men, gave him blatant stares. Bibi suppressed her irritation. She knew there was a pool at his mansion in Hyde Park, why didn’t he swim there...? There were too many people watching.

She wanted to make Doyoon dress more modestly. She usually did, but the distance between them since yesterday made it impossible, which was lamentable.

“...Lau Yuan?”

“Don’t worry. Namwon has him.”

“You mustn’t kill him.”

Bibi urged anxiously.

“Why?”

“Because he’s mine. Doyoon, you mustn’t touch him.”

“Good idea. Vampires need a certain amount of followers.”

For once, he agreed.

“So I’m going to raise him myself.”

“Raise him yourself?”

A slight crack appeared on Doyoon’s face as he repeated the question. Bibi thought it was just her imagination.

“You still have no intention of helping Lord Schauer, do you?”

“No.”

“Then at least tell me where he’s being detained. I just want to talk to him.”

“That’s not happening.”

“Why?”

“You’re planning to infiltrate and kidnap him. Dream on.”

Doyoon said coldly. In truth, if her sole objective was to ‘save’ Lord Schauer, there were many ways: blackmailing the Elder Council, secretly extracting him, pressuring other families.

But there was no reason to go to such lengths. If they went to trouble just to save Lord Schauer, who was merely a common vampire and a subordinate of one family, it would surely draw attention to Bibi as an enforcer.

Not only would it incite rebellion from those who thought a young, inexperienced vampire was taking on such an important role, but it could also unearth her past as a hound. If the Elder Council knew Bibi was a former hound, they would surely make things troublesome and annoying.

To nip that in the bud, it was better to simply abandon him. Above all, Doyoon wanted to extract a promise from Bibi.

What Bibi had inherited, and what she would enjoy in the future. These were values and weapons that had to be protected, even at the cost of sacrificing others. Bibi would increase her familiars in the future, and she needed to be able to protect the whole by sacrificing one. Sometimes, she had to learn to be ruthless and cold-hearted.

“Hmph.”

Without knowing Doyoon’s true thoughts, Bibi abruptly turned away.

Indeed... I’ll have to find out the place of detention and save Lord Schauer by myself.

For four days, Bibi ran around frantically, trying to dig up any helpful information. She re-checked the USB, wondering if Lord Schauer had left any clues, threatened Namwon to persuade Doyoon, and even called Isabella to ask about the detention location.

All methods failed, so she finally went to the Ratanakiri Botanical Garden. Again, there was not a single piece of useful information or clue.

“Don’t you think Senior has a plan? Why don’t you wait a bit. Lord Schauer will probably have a chance to plead his case at the Court of Interrogation. Perhaps something can be done then. He only told you to execute him personally if it really can’t be helped.”

Namwon, who had gone to the botanical garden with her, said as he dropped off the gloomy Bibi at the hotel.

“If Lord Schauer defends himself, is there a chance he’ll live?”

“He can’t use evidence that he was threatened by the trainer in the past... so it would be difficult.”

“...Why didn’t Lord Schauer say anything... when we went to find him? If he was kidnapped a year ago, that was quite a long time ago. And why did he go back to Thailand?”

Bibi wanted to meet Lord Schauer. She felt like she would die from frustration. But she was told that meeting a confined prisoner beforehand was absolutely impossible.

“I don’t know. More importantly, the critical issue here is that if you make even one wrong move, you could easily get implicated. It’s not just about them doubting your qualifications for not being able to control one of your familiars. Biologically, the trainer is your uncle... If you’re unlucky, they might suspect you of colluding with humans to overthrow vampire society.”

“Me colluding with the trainer to... overthrow vampire society?”

“Ah, I shouldn’t have mentioned this part. Don’t tell Kwon Doyoon I told you, okay?”

“I didn’t know anything back then. I was a hound.”

Bibi trembled at the hotel entrance. The mere thought of being suspected of such a thing made her feel so wronged she could faint. Namwon regretted his loose tongue and glanced around nervously.

“I know, I know. We all know... but vampire society doesn’t know your circumstances, does it? It means it’s dangerous for you to reveal everything to defend Lord Schauer. To stop such nonsense, dealing with him in front of everyone... is actually cleaner. I agree with that part. After all, you are our priority.”

“......”

“That doesn’t mean I don’t understand how you feel. That person knows a lot about your parents and is emotionally supportive. I’d feel awkward too. But they say the enforcer must be even stricter. If you show any weakness at the Court of Interrogation...”

Namwon sighed, implying that she already knew without him having to say it. In the end, Bibi returned to the hotel without any progress.

When she went to the pool, for some reason, there were no guests at all. Not even staff were visible. Had it closed? She hadn’t received any such notice.

Bibi, looking around blankly, spotted a man swimming like a seal in the pool. It was Doyoon. Just finishing his swim, he emerged from the water with skilled and controlled movements and walked towards the sun lounger where Bibi was standing.

Doyoon, noticing Bibi standing there blankly, raised an eyebrow. In the empty pool, the two were intensely aware of each other, exchanging glances. When Bibi didn’t speak, he passed by her and lay down on the sun lounger.

Bibi was quite curious what was going on in Doyoon’s nonchalant mind. Come to think of it, he was truly an unpredictable person. Sometimes he was gentle, sometimes alluring, and sometimes incredibly languid yet cold.

“Go play somewhere else. You’re bothering me.”

Sometimes, when he was concentrating on something, he would get annoyed if Bibi and Namwon were noisy beside him. So... in summary, he was a person who acted on his whims.

Looking at how he ate, he was also very capricious. If in the past such changeable elements felt like Doyoon’s charm, now they acted as a source of anxiety. Bibi was still inexperienced at understanding people and leading relationships.

She felt anxious. The Court of Interrogation was just around the corner. She only had two days left. If she failed to save him... would she resent Doyoon, or would she continue as if nothing had happened?