This cold wave was summoned by magic.
Derek looked at the continuous howling blizzard outside the gate, his voice somewhat tired.
“Yes, the two of us fought,” Vivian confessed.
“And her injuries…”
“I did it.”
Derek was silent for a while, his fingers unconsciously tracing the ice, then muttered in thought.
“Since it’s Talia’s magic, she must have a way to undo it.”
“That’s right,” Nolan interjected.
“Pastor Derek, you stay in the church and treat Talia as fast as possible. Let her wake up and retract the magic.”
“I’ll gather the city defense soldiers and do everything to rescue the citizens in distress, hold out until Talia wakes up.”
“This is the most reliable method.”
“Um… I…” Vivian strained her neck and forced a faint smile.
“Why aren’t you blaming me? I caused this disaster and harmed so many people in the city.”
She had already prepared herself mentally for a harsh scolding.
But instead of anger and blame in their eyes, they directly started discussing a plan of action.
This sparked a different feeling in her.
Even if they shot her a contemptuous look, it would give her guilt a place to land, rather than letting it run wild like now.
The bitterness in her heart had nowhere to settle, churning inside.
“Vivian, now is not the time to talk about this,” Nolan turned around and said, pressing her shoulder.
“Let’s get through this crisis first. We’ll settle the score later.”
“Yeah… you’re right, but please let me join you and do something. Maybe it will ease the guilt in my heart,”
Vivian said, lowering her head after a moment of silence.
Vivian suddenly began to examine her own actions.
First, ignoring Nolan’s wishes, she used despicable means to bind him to her side and take him as her own, all for the right to live peacefully in this country.
‘Selfish…’
‘I guess I’ve been that kind of person from the start.’
Vivian suddenly started to dislike herself.
This selfish self.
Just so she could drink a mouthful of warm blood whenever and wherever she wanted.
‘Isn’t this selfish behavior…’
‘Because Nolan cared so much for Talia, she burned with jealousy and beat her half to death…’
‘She didn’t even have the patience to verify.’
‘And now, after causing trouble, she childishly hoped for a scolding from others to make herself feel better, instead of knowing to find a remedy immediately.’
‘A person like me is simply selfish and ugly, really detestable…’
She stared at her clenched fists, a bitter choking sensation rising in her throat.
‘No, you can’t cry, Vivian.’
‘Crying is just to make others pay for your emotions.’
Vivian bit her lower lip hard.
‘Do you still want to be a selfish brat?’
‘You jerk!’
Vivian, her eyes red, sniffled hard, struggling to hold back her tears.
‘Don’t cause trouble for others, Vivian…’
The next second, her arm was pulled by a warm force, drawing her into a warm embrace.
“Cry, Vivian.”
Nolan’s voice came from above her head.
“Letting off some steam isn’t something shameful. After all, I’ve been through this too.”
He gently patted her back, letting her flushed face rest against his chest.
“After you’re done crying, remember to come with me to help with the disaster relief. If anyone blames us later, we’ll face it together.”
His tone was as light as a passing breeze brushing over clouds, drifting softly, trying to pull Vivian’s emotions back on track.
“Boo-hoo—why did you have to say that, making me show such an embarrassing expression?!”
Vivian’s tense nerves collapsed instantly under Nolan’s persuasion.
Tears burst like a breached river, soon mixing with snot into a mess on her small face.
Vivian suddenly jumped up, straddling Nolan’s neck, and tightly covered his eyes with both hands.
“Don’t look! You’re not allowed to see my face!!”
“No one can see my crying face!”
She still had a little bit of her own pride.
This pride stubbornly shouted in her heart:
‘I am the strongest, most resolute vampire warrior.’
‘How could I have such a fragile appearance?!’
But the tears just kept falling uncontrollably, streaming down.
“Okay, okay, I won’t look. Definitely not.”
Nolan quickly raised his hand and waved it in front of Vivian, indicating that he had closed his eyes.
Seeing this, Vivian let go, jumped off him, and roughly wiped her face with her sleeve, then sniffled hard the snot about to reach her mouth.
Then she suddenly turned her head and looked at Derek.
“I didn’t see anything. Really.”
Derek tactfully closed his eyes and raised his hand in a surrender gesture, indicating that he was just a passerby.
Vivian was suddenly amused by his comical look and laughed, but a trace of bitterness churned in her heart.
Everyone was accommodating her feelings, and she was like a stubborn, bratty kid…
Vivian took a deep breath, raised her hand, and summoned a blood orb in front of her.
With a smack, she slapped it onto her own face.
The icy sensation dispelled the heat in her eyes, sobering her up instantly.
The blood orb slowly dissipated, taking away the tears on her face, revealing a calm expression beneath.
Her tone returned to the usual calmness, as if the previous breakdown and tears were just an illusion.
“Tell me what I can do, you two.”
“I actually thought of a job suitable for you.”
Derek opened his eyes, looked Vivian up and down, then nodded and said.
“Wait a moment.”
Leaving these words, he dashed into a side room nearby.
After a short while, he came back holding a set of black clothes.
With a rustle, Derek raised the clothes high to show Vivian and Nolan.
It was a black nun’s habit.
“Vivian, you can act as the church’s novice nun, go to the orphanage to take care of the children, and help them get through this disaster,” Derek said.
“Me? But I’m a vampire. How can I be a nun?”
Vivian was stunned, then pointed at herself with an incredulous finger, saying uncertainly.
“That’s right, you.”
Derek spread his hands and said in a matter-of-fact tone.
“It’s the era of Ericson IV.”
“Responding to the king’s call to actively accept other races, I don’t think the Pope would say anything.”
“Really?”
“Absolutely no problem.”
Derek solemnly handed the clothes to Vivian, then pointed to the side, indicating the direction of the changing room.
Vivian blinked, took it half-believingly, and hesitantly walked in.
“Are you sure it’s fine… If His Holiness finds out about this, he’ll definitely send you to the stake.”
Nolan watched Vivian’s back, frowned, and said to Derek.
“Just don’t let the old man know, isn’t that enough?”
Derek asked back with a smile.
Nolan shook his head helplessly, then just laughed along with him and said nothing more.
Not long after.
The side door creaked open.
A small head cautiously poked out.
“Um… I’ve changed.”
Vivian’s cheeks were flushed, and she spoke with a hint of uncomfortable shyness and awkwardness.
A world away from the vampire princess who usually wanted to fly up and beat up the gods.