Chapter 53: Chapter 26

We three stopped in front of an enormous castle in the heart of the city, dwarfing the neighbouring buildings.

The palace stood tall over the surrounding gardens, enclosed by a black metal fence fashioned into spiralling bars that were draped with dark green vines and purple blooms. An impressive number of windows glinted around the building as the afternoon sun reflected off the white marble walls. The four corners of the estate boasted towers that rose even higher than the main building, with golden-armoured guards stationed on top.

As I wondered at this likely former home of royalty, I was filled with overwhelming awe. Despite the hardships I had endured in the past two months, standing before this magnificent structure reminded me of the grandeur and beauty that exists in the world. Sometimes it felt like the system was trying to make my life as difficult as possible, but right now, there were some advantages to my misfortune.

If I had never left Draycott, there was no way I would’ve gotten to see something like this… or met Abble. I didn’t need to feel guilty about my departure, as my absence would not alter my family's daily routines. They may miss me, but it would not significantly impact their lives. If anything, they're better off without me.

“Does royalty stay here?” I asked as we approached the colossal archway leading in.

Abble glanced back at me with a smile before motioning towards the entrance. “Why are you walking so slowly?—mostly diplomats and nobles, according to my mother.”

I chuckled. “Sorry, I got distracted—so that's why you know about this place.”

Abble slowed her pace. "Yes, my mother often stayed here during her travels to Endeavor. She was right. It's quite easy to spot."

As I tried to cross the archway, my body was suddenly blocked, as if I had hit a wall. Jordan also found herself unable to move forward, letting out a groan of frustration. Abble stopped, looking back at me as I stood at the entrance.

I had forgotten that I couldn’t enter a building without permission.

“I need you to invite me and Jordan in.”

Abble walked up to me. “Wow, so that is true? I thought it was a myth since you entered the boat. I don’t need to be the owner?”

“No, you just need to gesture me at least in. I am unsure if it works for boats, but Wrecky did invite me on.”

“True,” Abble said, tossing her hand towards the palace's massive wooden double door that sat open. “You and Jordan may enter.”

I stumbled forward like I had been leaning on something solid. “Thanks.”

We stepped into a large lobby filled with sculptures of people, animals and a stunning wolf statue in the centre. The wolf appeared to be crafted from a translucent material, perhaps crystal, and commanded attention. Sunlight filtering through a turquoise stained glass window above cast a brilliant blue hue throughout the room, illuminating the majestic beast and adding to its mesmerising effect.

As we walked around the Wolf statue, I saw a woman standing at a marble counter talking to people dressed in light yellow robes with leather bags in hand—this city is like its pastel colours.

Abble and I approached the stone countertop when their conversation concluded, and the woman’s eyebrows raised. “Are you looking for your parents?” she asked as her gaze darted to Jordan. “is that… a wolf?”

No, it’s a puppy.

Abble pulled a pouch of coins out, dropping it on the corner with her head cocked. “Those are platinum coins, and this”—she put her hand out towards me—“is a Sterling. Would you like to rephrase that?”

A platinum coin? I didn’t even know that was a denomination. My father's bronze and silver were of the highest quality I had ever seen.

The woman glanced at me and then down at the coins before smiling at Abble. “How can I help the lovely couple?”

A guard dressed in clanking gold armour walked up. “Is everything okay?” He asked, peering at Jordan.

The woman behind the counter frowned at the guard, shooing him away. “Yes, go away. He a Sterling.”

They glared at each other before the guard grumbled and left with his spear weapon.

“We want a room,” Abble said, glancing around at the gold-trimmed walls. “Preferably the finest one.”

“The emperor and empress room is open for two nights. Four platinum coins, if that interests you.”

Abble took out five coins, sliding them to her. “It’s my boyfriend’s birthday. Lots of food and wine”—She takes one more out, holding it up—“this one is for you if you find a ship that leaves for Centrum in two days.”

Boyfriend?

The woman smiled, putting her hand out. “I have a contact that will get you there quickly. They have teleportation magic. There is no need for a boat.”

Abble set the coin in her palm slowly. “Even better.”

The woman put the coin into the pocket of her flowing beige dress, gesturing towards the corridor behind the counter. “Shall we?”

We followed her through the white marble castle as Abble tried to hold her smile in, but it escaped as she took in her surroundings.

I really loved when Abble smiled. Her enjoyment brought me a strange sense of satisfaction—I was getting too attached to this woman.

The hallway was just as stunning as the rest of the inn, with intricate sea-wave patterns etched into the marble walls and a floor made from shimming turquoise gems, similar to the orange ones used in Lockward's lanterns. Even the stairs that took us up multiple floors seemed to be crafted from crystal.

Finally, after traversing a corridor leading to the palace's rear, we arrived at a room with a blue curtain draped over the entrance.

The woman gave us a polite bow, motioning towards the room. “Have a good night, and if you need anything, do not hesitate to ask.”

Abble and I parted the curtain, stepping into the high-ceilinged room. A sweeping open balcony stretched off the side of the castle, framed by massive dark blue drapes tethered to the sides of the archway. Those would need to be closed, or the morning sunlight would likely be too intense for me. I had difficulty staying asleep when it was directly hitting me.

I was excited to see the view of the area from the balcony. There was still some amazement to be had, and I was sure that it would provide it. Yuridia would be so jealous if she knew I was in the city. She yearned to see the world beyond Draycott.

Jordan hopped onto an oversized plush couch, its colour matching the curtains, and surveyed the room. Her blue eyes blinked back to their ruby-red colour as she settled down with her head on her paws. She kept her gaze fixed on me as I roamed around.

Abble explored the room, marvelling at the gleaming golden furnishings, including the massive golden bathtub in the centre.

She bounced over, putting her hands on the edge, and looked back at me. “Three people could fit in here.”

I wandered over, running my fingers over the smooth, shiny surface. “Yeah. Unfortunately, it’s in the centre of the room. They could have put it in the bathroom or something.”

“You think it’d be weird if we took a bath together?” Abble said, and my gaze slowly crept to her. “I was kidding.” She rolled her eyes.

I squinted at her. “Were you really joking? Every word has a grain of truth.”

Abble glanced away. “I mean, it would be just a one-time thing… not everyday you stay at an inn like this, and I think you would be… respectful.”

Wait, was she being serious right now?

I had to be extremely careful about addressing this, or it would make me seem eager, which could give the wrong impression. Also, I couldn't rule out the possibility that she was playing a joke on me. On the other hand, Abble had been less teasing lately, so maybe I was being unfair with my accusations.

Putting that all aside, I wasn’t sure I could get naked in front of her. That would embarrass me to death. Of course, we would probably turn the other way or close our eyes when we got in… I needed to leave my thoughts and return to this conversation before my pause was too long.

“I… we’d be naked…”

All that deep thinking and I replied, ‘we’d be naked.’

Slow clap for Kade… sigh.

Abble stared at me for a moment. “I am fine… with you seeing me. Just don’t get too… excited—or I’ll cut it off while you sleep.”

Did my heart just beat? Was that at the prospect of her mutilating me or that I would see Abble naked?... I wouldn’t… mind seeing her… there was nothing wrong with that idea. She was beautiful. It would be insulting if I…

God, Kade, please stop.

“I think that might blur the line… in our friendship.”

That was the correct answer. Perhaps not the one I really wanted, but the right one.

Abble nodded. “Yeah, that’s a bit overboard. The bed is already too much.” She rubbed her neck.

“Yeah—”

Abble coughed. “We should move on from this conversation.”

I nodded a few too many times. “Agreed,” I said, darting over to the bed and tossing my bag on the floor.

The bed was spacious enough to accommodate a small family. I might escape Abble’s crushing hugs tonight. Sleeping next to her was fine until she grabbed me like a pillow and squeezed. Abble was not a weak woman by any measure, that was for sure. To avoid waking up to her wrath, I'd have to ensure she was fully asleep before slipping away.

A light blue blanket covered the bed; after lifting the fabric, I noticed it was transparently thin. This made sense since it was pretty hot here. I would probably be sweating by now if I wasn’t undead.

The bed's canopy was designed like tree branches with matching curtains that looked like leaves. It was a stunning piece of art, and I loved the blue theme that ran throughout the room. After spending over a month on a boat with nothing but black and maroon, this change was refreshing.

Abble walked around the room, running her fingers over the glossy furniture. Everything was getting a tad tacky with all the gold. It was almost like they had too much of it and said screw it, let’s just put some on everything.

I stepped out onto the expansive balcony, taking in the breathtaking view of Endeavor's marble cityscape. There were a few couches with stone tables in front of them for lounging. Plants with thick, leafless stems covered in prickly spines decorated the platform in colourful vases.

We were pretty high up, and the sight of the pyramids in the distance, their outlines glowing in the warm light of the setting sun, was unbelievable. It was crazy to me that people lived like this. What a life of comfort and beauty.

Returning to the room, a woman had arrived with two tall bottles, placing them on the table near the bed. She wore minimalistic attire consisting of white fabric hanging over her breast, held up by a yellow rope tied around her neck like a collar. Her skirt wrapped tightly around her waist seemed to leave little room for bending over without exposing herself.

Abble smiled, picking up the bottle as she stared at its glass surface.

The woman walked over, putting her lips to my ear. “If you or your partner need any assistance, let me know. I am open to both genders,” she said before leaving the room.

Abble poured two glasses full of a dark red liquid and walked over, handing me a drink. “Why do you have that look on your face?”

“That lady said if we needed assistance, to ask her. And something about she was keen to both genders.”

Abble burst out laughing, shaking her head. “She was asking if we wanted to fuck her.”

I paused. “What?”

“She’s a house girl.”

“But she doesn’t even know us.”

Abble took a sip of her drink. “Kade, do you know what a brothel is?”

“No…”

Abble rested her hand on her cheek. “God, you are so innocent. She has sex for coin.”

“Oh.”

I felt dumb after not making that connection, but at the same time, my mind rarely assumed things of that nature. That is likely why Abble’s and I’s friendship worked so well.

“Take a sip of the wine,” Abble nodded at my glass.

I sniffed the fruity-smelling drink before taking a small sip. The taste was extraordinarily dull and bitter, burning my tongue.

“What is this?”

“Wine. You like it?” Abble took another sip.

I stared down at the glass. “It’s tasteless to me.”

“Tasteless? Have you never had alcohol? Do you know what it is?”

My eyes returned to Abble. “I know what it is, but I’ve never had any.”

“Oh, we’re getting you intoxicated.”

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I paused for a second. “Does this burn your tongue?”

Abble shook her head. “No?”

“Huh. It feels… hot when I swallow.”

“Weird.” Abble shrugged.

Abble and I worked on the bottle of wine for an hour, lounging on the bed and watching as the sun disappeared into the horizon. The swirling gems in the floor added a soft blue light to the room, creating a relaxing ambience and making it easy to move around in the dark.

The wine had no effect on me besides making me feel a bit queasy and warm. Abble, on the other hand, was already quite drunk and tried to playfully tease me by poking my face. I let her have her fun, only occasionally swatting her hand away when my patience wore thin.

“How did you know it was my birthday?” I asked as Abble and I sat shoulder to shoulder with our backs against the bed's headboard.

Abble’s smile fell from her face. “Wait. It’s actually your birthday?”

I nodded. “Yeah. I’m seventeen.”

“Wow. I should've asked you the date”—Abble sighed, taking a sip of her drink—“I am a horrible friend. You said something about it at the beginning of the trip, I think.”

“It's okay, and you're not a horrible friend. I said something vague, like it’s in a month.”

She smirked. “Nothing to say about the boyfriend part at the front?”

I shrugged. “No.”

Abble’s lips pouted forward. “Why are you so mellow? It's no fun.”

I smiled. “Sorry, your attempts at making me uncomfortable are failing lately.”

What was that for?

Abble swished the wine around in her glass. “So, is there something you want for your birthday?”

“For us to get to Centrum with no more issues.”

She frowned at me. “I mean, like, what could I do?”

My head tilted. “Um—I don’t know.”

Abble leaned into me. “Think hard. I am feeling generous.”

“Spending time with you at this incredible inn is a pretty wonderful birthday. I need nothing else.”

There was a pause as Abble stared at me. “You enjoy my company that much?”

I nodded. “I do.”

The house girl appeared abruptly with a few men carrying silver trays of fruits and meats—there was no way we would finish all this. They set the food down on a long wooden table near the balcony, and the hostess came over, giving a slight bow to Abble and me as we lay in bed.

Abble lifted her glass. “This seems more bitter than normal.”

The woman nodded. “My apologies. The wine tastes bitter because we have been adding juniper berries into it as of late. This is because we were having an influx of demons in our city. Juniper is a convenient way to poison them as its effect remains in the blood for some time.”

Are you kidding me? So that is why the wine burned my mouth. I must have had some resistance to juniper, because I wasn’t feeling that bad. The one health point loss didn’t cause any concern. I didn’t even get a status icon under my health bar for it.

Abble snatched my glass from me. “I don’t like the taste. Find one without it.”

The woman bowed. “Yes, ma’am.”

All of them left the room, and Abble set the wine on the table.

Abble looked over at me worriedly. “Are you all right? ”

I sat up with my legs crossed. “I feel a little nauseous, and my health dropped one point, but that’s it.”

Abble rose to her knees and grabbed my face with both hands. “I am terrified right now. You're not going to die, right?”

I looked over at Jordan. “I just drank Juniper berries. Am I going to die?”

Jordan’s head tilted at me before she put it back down, closing her eyes.

I pointed my thumb at Jordan. “She seems unconcerned. Maybe being a Lycan makes it less potent?”

Abble wasn’t convinced. “She’s a wolf. How would she know about it?”

“I don’t know. She seems to understand other words. If it were going to be an issue, it probably would have been by now. I drank almost half of that bottle.”

“I can’t lose you. Okay?”—Abble’s thumb ran over my cheek—“I know I'm tipsy and being dramatic, but it's true.”

“You are more than tipsy.” I tittered.

“Yeah. I should’ve paced myself,” she said, wrapping her arms around my neck and putting her forehead on mine. “I didn’t want to get sloppy.”

I could feel Abble’s breath on my lips, and her heartbeat echoed in my ears. At some point, I was going to need to consume blood. Being close to Abble made me anxious, and I didn't want every moment we spent together to be tinged with discomfort. I had already fed on her once, and it was not something I wanted to repeat.

A source of sustenance had to be found soon.

“Kade… can I ask you a question?” she whispered, with our foreheads still together.

“Yeah.”

“Are you upset with me? Earlier, I snapped at you about getting into my business, and I shouldn’t have.”

I shook my head slightly. “No. I’m not upset. You had every right to be mad. I shouldn’t delve into matters that don’t concern me.”

Abble pulled away but kept her arms around my neck. “I needed to talk to him. I planned to leave that boat and never speak to that man again. You were right to push it.” She was making firm eye contact right now.

“You’ve done nothing wrong, friend.”

Abble smiled. “Good,” she said as she leaned in and kissed my cheek, returning to my eyes quickly. “Thank you for being here with me. I enjoy your company as well.”

I smiled. “Thanks for tolerating me.”

Abble shook her head. “It’s more than just tolerating.”

There was a tone in Abble’s voice that I didn’t understand.

“Is that a positive thing or a not-so-good thing?” I grinned.

Abble glanced down at my lips. “depends.”

Where was this going? I need to get up. This made me uneasy, and perhaps I was misreading it, but part of me thought Abble wanted to… kiss me? The eye contact and the glancing at my lips…

There was such a tightness in my chest right now.

Why would she want to? There was no way she liked me. Abble made so much fun of me. How could she be attracted to someone so pitiful? Wrecky had planted that idea, and now I was over-analysing everything. Maybe he wanted me to make a move and ruin our friendship. Wrecky didn’t seem like that type of person, but I didn’t know him.

Abble was drunk. That was the end of it. Even though I am sure she didn’t want to kiss me, I need to remove myself from this situation. The wine had done nothing for me, and I had to be the responsible one right now.

I pulled away and slid over to the edge of the bed. “You’re really drunk right now, and I think eating would help.” I looked back at her.

Abble stared at the bed’s blue blanket for a moment before glancing at me with a smile. “Yeah, I should eat.”

“Huh?”

Abble crawled over to the edge of the bed. “What’s the matter?”

I hesitated. “I don’t know. The system has started a countdown.”

“Countdown for what?” she asked, wrapping her arms around my neck from behind.

“It doesn’t say.”

“How long?”

“About nineteen hours,” I said, looking down at my fingertips, which were… turning black.

My fist closed to hide it from Abble. She would want me to feed on her, which wasn’t happening, especially while drunk—this could wait. I had a feeling the countdown wasn’t for the desiccation.

“Perhaps you are dying from the juniper”—Abble leaned around my side with a smirk—“You wanna see tits before you croak.”

Of course, that caught me off guard. “Um… what?”

Abble jumped up from the bed with her hand over her mouth. “Oh w-wow, you do.” She stumbled a few steps, catching herself.

She was playing games with me now. So, that’s what was happening before. I am so damn gullible. Abble was just luring me into a situation for her entertainment. Why does Abble always gotta mess with me? 

I tossed my hand up. “Yeah, show them.” 

Abble pulled the bottom of her shirt past her navel. “I’ll do it.”

“Okay? I am waiting. Show me.”

She dropped the bottom of her shirt. “You know calling my bluffs is not c-cute.”

After getting up, I put my arm around her lower back, guiding her towards the food. “Yes. Yes. I know you like flustered, Kade.”

Abble frowned. “I am so disappointed you couldn’t get drunk.”

I took Abble over to the table, and she devoured a bird leg that was the size of my arm. Watching her gnawing into the meat, holding it by the thigh bone, was amusing. She was so elated, and it was adorable. It was nice to see her having fun and relaxing.

Tomorrow I will bring up the desiccation. I definitely wasn’t ruining this night for her.

There was an abundance of meat to choose from, and I savoured the unique flavours of the unfamiliar animals. My fondness for meat remained even after becoming a demon, and I hoped that consuming the delicious foods would help stave off my degradation. I avoided the fruits and bread on the table. The slice of apple I put in my mouth was so bland that swallowing it was difficult.

Abble and I must’ve eaten enough food for a dozen people before we collapsed onto the bed. We stared at the ceiling for some time before Abble crawled over to my chest, lying on it. I put my hand on her head, petting her.

What is that countdown for?

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