Chapter 12
Chapter 12. Learning
“However, to prevent your corpse from being damaged, it’s better to switch it out first.”
With a lift of Kyle’s hand, darkness surged from the coffin like viscous liquid, covering Adrian’s entire body and completely swallowing it. When the darkness receded, Adrian’s corpse still appeared to be lying there quietly—but what remained was merely a counterfeit.
Kyle turned to glance at the wall outside the secret chamber and smiled faintly. “It’s getting late. Let’s leave as well.”
As his voice fell, dense darkness swept in, engulfing both Kyle and Adrian’s remnant soul.
When the darkness dissipated, the chamber returned to deathly silence. Only cold air and frost crystals remained, as if nothing had ever happened.
“Rumble… rumble… rumble…”
In the next moment, the heavy stone door slowly opened amid the grinding of gears.
President Mario, mentally and physically exhausted, stepped into the chamber. He moved step by step to the stone coffin, his clouded gaze falling upon his friend’s pale face. A bellyful of hardship and unwillingness weighed on him, things he wished to tell his old friend.
“O-old… old friend…”
Within the chamber, only the old man’s suppressed sobs echoed through the chill.
————
It was already noon. The aromas of delicacies from various races filled the wealthy commercial district.
Inside a massive bamboo building woven from green bamboo, Caitlin and Dean stared wide-eyed at a panda chef over two meters tall, who stir-fried dishes as though painting a masterpiece.
His broad panda paw held a massive iron ladle that could easily smash Dean’s skull, yet with a twist of his wrist, it moved as nimbly as a conductor’s baton.
His other paw rhythmically flipped the iron wok, tossing the ingredients into the air like a rainbow. Flames leapt up in response, drawing waves of applause.
At last, with a carving knife, he lightly rotated a snow-white radish, and a crystalline lotus blossomed before everyone’s eyes. A few drops of honeydew adorned its heart, so beautiful it defied description.
“Emerald Bamboo Honeyed Snow Lotus. Please enjoy, you two.”
Seated on delicate and comfortable bamboo chairs, the two stared at the ‘artwork’ before them, unsure how to begin eating it.
“E-eat… If it sits too long, the texture won’t be good…” Caitlin said so, yet her utensils hovered uncertainly.
Dean awkwardly tried to imitate the use of the two wooden sticks in his hands, his clumsy movements drawing muffled laughter from two girls at the neighboring table.
One of them, a gentle young lady with deep brown curls and a sunny smile, rose gracefully and lifted her skirt in a perfect curtsy.
“Good afternoon. I am Wenna·Frode. It seems this is your first time tasting Bearfolk cuisine? Perhaps I could offer a little help?” Her friendly gaze fell on Dean and the unruly chopsticks in his hands.
Dean immediately flushed with embarrassment and could only look to his sister Caitlin for help.
“Good afternoon, Miss Wenna. I am Caitlin Aiven, and this is my younger brother Dean. Thank you for your generous assistance.” Caitlin rose calmly, returning a flawless curtsy, while signaling Dean with her eyes to stand.
“A pleasure to meet you, Miss Aiven, Mr. Dean.”
Wenna’s smile remained radiant, not minding Dean’s still-awkward return gesture. She naturally picked up her own chopsticks, slowing her movements to clearly demonstrate the grip and application of force.
As a Viscount-level Blood race, Caitlin’s bodily coordination far surpassed that of ordinary people. Following Wenna’s gestures, she lightly pinched the bamboo chopsticks. After only a few attempts, she mastered their use. Within three to five practices, her movements flowed as smoothly as drifting clouds and running water—more composed even than Wenna, who regularly enjoyed Eastern cuisine.
“You learn so quickly!”
Wenna’s eyes sparkled with admiration. She did not think the other party was concealing anything. In this city of hidden dragons and crouching tigers, she was long accustomed to encountering concealed experts. Merely learning to use chopsticks was trivial for such people.
Beside them, Dean—still an ordinary person—continued practicing with fingers stiff as chicken claws. Fortunately, he could now tremble as he managed to pick up food.
After sincerely thanking Wenna once more, the two finally focused on the one-gold-coin specialty dishes before them.
When Dean first saw the prices marked beside the dishes, he had nearly jumped in shock. After working hard for an entire year, he could at most save a few dozen silver coins. A handful of dishes here could wipe out his savings entirely.
If Caitlin had not dragged him here, he truly would not have wanted to stay at all.
Even now, though the food tasted exquisite upon entering his mouth, Dean found it flavorless as wax. He preferred the meat soup his sister cooked for him—warm in both body and heart. It was a taste he would never forget in his lifetime.
Caitlin, however, was quite satisfied with the dishes. Although the Blood race could not gain nourishment from human food, savoring delicacies was still a pleasant experience.
With a wave of her slender hand, she said to the tall panda attendant standing nearby, “Bring one serving of every specialty on your menu.” She paused, then turned her gaze to Wenna’s table and smiled. “Also send a serving of ‘Jade Bamboo Grove’ and ‘Searching for Plum Blossoms in Snow’ to the friendly Miss Wenna and her companion.”
Her lavish gesture quickly drew numerous gazes—curious, probing, envious, and even ill-intentioned.
However, when those gazes noticed the wide-brimmed hat casually placed by Caitlin’s side—its surface embedded densely with moonstones that shimmered with pure moonlight under the bright illumination—almost all the unusual looks swiftly withdrew. One who could wear, and dared to wear, so many moonstones as decoration must either be formidable herself or backed by formidable forces.
“Sis, isn’t being this high-profile a bit inappropriate? And isn’t this too wasteful?”
Dean looked at the rapidly filling table, now piled with a dazzling array of dishes that made his head spin. His face was full of discomfort and heartache.
He truly could not understand why his usually thrifty and low-key sister had suddenly become so extravagant.
“Eat your food! With so much in front of you, can’t you keep your mouth shut?”
Caitlin shot him an annoyed look, though another meaning flickered in her eyes. Having long shared tacit understanding, Dean did not know what exactly his sister intended, but he was certain she had her reasons. He suppressed his unease and tried to maintain outward composure.
Such a drastic change in Caitlin was, naturally, at Kyle’s instruction.
Since Dean wished to walk the path of a Holy Knight, he had to learn to interact with people of different social classes and understand all kinds of crowds. Innocence, purity, and ignorance could not make a Holy Knight.
Having lived in the countryside all his life, Dean’s understanding of the world’s cruelty and the darkness of human hearts remained at the level of bards’ tales. Through this high-profile method, he needed to quickly experience the rules and pressures of the powerful class—stepping from fantasy into reality.
Dean could only grit his teeth, slowly chewing these ‘delicacies’ that made him deeply uncomfortable under the gaze of the crowd.
Meanwhile, Caitlin occasionally corrected his dining etiquette. When nobles and wealthy merchants approached to strike up conversations and expand their networks, she handled them with effortless ease.
Born of pureblood Blood race lineage, such conduct was almost instinct engraved in her blood. Within a few short exchanges, she could discern the other party’s intentions and respond with elegant appropriateness.
At times she lightly covered her lips with a folding fan while speaking softly; at others she raised her glass with a faint smile in response, striking the perfect balance between aristocratic aloofness and affability.
Dean watched in stunned silence.
Was this still his gentle and virtuous sister? It felt as though she had become an entirely different person! No—different vampire…
“Don’t just stare. Learn properly!”
Caitlin’s voice suddenly sounded by his ear, yet it seemed only he could hear it. He secretly glanced over and found that she was still exchanging pleasantries with others, not even looking his way.
“Don’t look at me. Look at these people! Learning to discern the malice in human hearts is your first lesson!”