Qin Chu then realized that he fully understood the process of this "blessing," but who knew if there were any strange rituals involved? Noah was prepared for this: "You just need to look the child straight in the eye and say the blessing."
Under the gratified and expectant gazes of the butler and Mrs. Alford, Qin Chu stood up and slowly walked to the child.
Given the child's height, even if he squatted down, he couldn't possibly look him in the eye. Qin Chu raised an eyebrow and began to examine the boy's body for any handholds.
Qin Chu kept his distance from both human and vampire children.
These creatures looked so soft and fragile that he always felt like he would break a bone if he touched them.
Noah, who was well aware of Qin Chu's destructive power, felt the same way and reminded him, "Sir, you must be gentle. Don't crush me like you did when you replaced my chip the first time."
Qin Chu seemed to have quickly found a solution, and confidently told Noah, "Don't worry."
No sooner had Noah finished speaking than he saw Qin Chu reach out and grab young master Alford by the back of his collar, lifting him up like a cat...
The living room fell silent instantly.
The child's biological mother was stunned when she saw this posture.
The steward was worried, thinking that the prince had probably sunburned his head during the day.
"Sir... I'm curious, what gives you the confidence to say 'rest assured'?"
Noah wailed weakly, "Even I, an artificial intelligence, know that you humans don't hold babies like that!"
Qin Chu, though confused, declared confidently, "He's a vampire."
Noah roared, "Even vampires don't hug like that!"
As a competent servant, the butler immediately came to his senses and patched up Qin Chu's wounds: "His Highness is testing the young master's physical abilities."
Mrs. Alford then managed a weak smile.
At this moment, Qin Chu's steely heart kicked in again. He had no intention of putting the child down and changing his position, but was prepared to finish the matter as it was.
But after staring at the little vampire in his hand for a long time with a cold face, Qin Chu couldn't utter a single word.
He'd made a mistake; Qin Chu had never done anything like this before. Once, on his adoptive father's birthday, he struggled to utter only the words, "Live well," a blessing that made everyone present turn green with embarrassment.
Right now, Qin Chu doesn't even have a single blessing in his mind.
He thought for a long time, and just as Mrs. Alford couldn't help but take the child down, he finally managed to squeeze out a single word, "May you...live a long and healthy life?"
The butler and Mrs. Alford, who had lived for hundreds of years, were completely taken aback when they heard this unusual blessing.
Noah: "...Is this really not a curse?"
They can easily live to be several hundred years old!
Chapter 31, Second Story (6)
The living room fell silent once again.
This time, the butler had no choice but to turn to Lady Alford, give her an awkward smile, and imply, "The Prince spent the whole day in the sun."
Noah covered his face and reminded Qin Chu, "Sir, your behavior has deviated significantly from your established persona."
Qin Chu realized that what he had just said might have been inappropriate, so he turned to Mrs. Alford and said, "Just kidding."
His words, coupled with his signature cold expression, made the temperature in the living room drop rapidly.
Young Master Alford, who had been lifted up by Qin Chu, belatedly realized that he had been offended.
Regardless of how his family viewed the prince, poor young master Alford felt a surge of crisis under Qin Chu's cold gaze, baring his newly grown baby teeth and breathing on Qin Chu.
This made Qin Chu take a second look at the kid.
Looking at the little vampire's bewildered and confused eyes, his previously nonsensical blessing finally began to have some meaning.
"control."
The little vampire was taken aback and looked at Qin Chu.
He heard the strange yet powerful vampire speak slowly in a cold yet reassuring voice: "I hope you understand the meaning of moderation and practice it for the rest of your life."
This is the first time someone has mentioned the word "moderation" in front of vampires, a race driven by desire.
Whether young master Alford listened or not, Qin Chu didn't know. But after he uttered that blessing, Qin Chu noticed that the mission's progress bar jumped forward by one step.
Although there's not much difference between negative 14% and 15%, it's still a kind of progress.
Seeing this, Genoa was so excited that tears welled up in his eyes: "Finally, I've found my direction!"
In any case, Mrs. Alford was finally seen off smoothly.
Noah envisioned the future in Qin Chu's mind: "Sir, look, granting a blessing to a newborn vampire advances the mission progress by one step. Although the vampire birth rate is extremely low and unstable, on average, one newborn is born every ten years. This way, you only need to wait 1240 years for the mission to be successfully completed!"
Upon hearing this age limit, Qin Chu's forehead twitched involuntarily. He poured cold water on Noah's enthusiasm: "When war breaks out, where will you find newborns to boost your score?"
Noah also felt deflated upon thinking about this.
Qin Chu was inspired by his trip during the day yesterday.
It's not appropriate for him to go out at night given his current identity, but daytime, when the vampires are all hiding in their coffins, is a good option.
Since arriving in this world, Qin Chu has always stayed in the castle and has never gone out.
In order to prevent a potential war, he had to go and see what was happening in human territory.
The plan was perfect, but just before dawn, Qin Chu, who was about to leave, heard a knock on his bedroom door.
Thanks to his vampire abilities, Qin Chu could tell from behind the door that it was his butler knocking.
Ever since seeing Mrs. Alford off late at night, the butler's expression remained indescribable. His gaze towards Qin Chu held a mixture of unfamiliarity and a kind of pitying affection, as if he were looking at a fool.
Faced with such an offensive gaze, Qin Chu finally began to reflect on whether his behavior was too abnormal. What if he really attracted the attention of the main computer through the butler's eyes?
Noah was a little nervous: "Sir, you must hold on this time. I don't expect you to follow the character 100%, but you can't go astray."
Qin Chu was also speechless.
Unlike those spies in the spy department who treat acting as a daily routine, he's not suited for acting; it's just too much for him.
Despite his reluctance, Qin Chu still went over and opened the door for the sake of the mission.
To Qin Chu's surprise, the steward came to deliver something.
He was carrying a wooden tray with a glass jar, a white object resembling a spoon or a knife, and a pair of clean gloves on it. Through the transparent glass jar, one could see that it contained some brownish-green paste.
"What are you doing?" Qin Chu glanced at the tray.
The butler remained respectful, but he was clearly puzzled by Qin Chu's question. He looked up and reminded him, "Your Highness, you were in the sun during the day today."
Qin Chu didn't understand, but fearing that asking too many questions would only make things stranger, he simply stepped aside to let the butler in.
The butler skillfully placed the tray on a small table to the side, put on gloves, and then turned to look at Qin Chu, who was still standing to the side.
Qin Chu could only follow the butler's gaze and tentatively sit down in the chair next to the small table.
The butler then revealed a satisfied smile. He opened the lid of the glass jar with one hand, picked up the spoon-like object with the other, scooped out a piece of ointment from the jar, and was about to shove it onto Qin Chu's face.
Qin Chu reacted quickly and immediately stepped back.
Looking at the unidentified object on the spoon, the tough and ruthless General Qin understood the butler's intention and stopped him, saying, "You're not injured, there's no need to apply medicine."
As soon as he finished speaking, Qin Chu saw the butler give him a strange look: "Your Highness, of course I know that sunlight cannot harm you. But this is a face mask prepared for you..."
Qin Chu and Noah were both stunned. What the hell was this?!
In Qin Chu's eyes, face masks were something that existed only in legends.
In short, in either case, Qin Chu never imagined that such a thing could be related to him.
Stunned by the name, and seeing the lump of something about to be shoved into his face, Qin Chu thought he was hallucinating and couldn't help but ask, "What's this?"
“A face mask.” The butler nodded with absolute certainty. “Your Highness, rest assured, this is a formula improved according to your request. Sunlight will age you, but as long as you apply this face mask, you will be guaranteed to stay young forever!”
Qin Chu then realized that he had greatly underestimated the prince's level of refinement.
He glanced at the things in the butler's hands again, then turned to run away: "I have something urgent to attend to."
The butler reached out and pressed him down, his tone strange: "Your Highness, don't you often say that there is nothing more important than your appearance?"
Qin Chu: "..."
Noah also gave a timely reminder: "Sir, you can't stray from your persona any further."
Qin Chu: "..."
When that blob of green stuff was smeared on Qin Chu's face, the most humiliating experience Qin Chu could remember was reborn. The sensation of the ointment on his face made the hairs on his forehead stand on end.
His face was completely expressionless; his expression was so clear that he didn't need a face mask to maintain his youthful appearance.
"Sir, you should broaden your horizons from time to time. This is just a face mask; who knows, you might need to wear makeup in the next world..."
Upon hearing this comforting remark, Qin Chu's face turned green.
Noah clicked his tongue in disapproval: "You're wrong. Please abandon your preconceived notions. Men can take care of their skin too. Please don't discriminate based on gender."
"I...don't...need." Qin Chu gritted his teeth.
"Yes, yes, you just take advantage of your good looks to do whatever you want."
This prince must have been very concerned about his appearance, because the butler took this task exceptionally seriously. Even when a servant came to draw the curtains and the sky outside gradually turned white, the butler didn't rush through it, but persisted until sunrise.
With his face covered in a greenish mess, Qin Chu threatened Noah in his mind: "Turn off your recording."
"If a second person knew about this..."
Before Qin Chu could finish his threatening words, a soft sound came from the bedroom balcony, followed by the curtains being drawn back, and a smug face peeking in...
K was taken aback when he looked up and was met with a green-faced monster.
He looked Qin Chu up and down, then touched his chest and sighed without any fear, "You scared me to death."
Qin Chu's fists clenched so tightly they cracked: "You can just go die now."
The butler, who had already packed his things, saw K approaching and his face turned stern: "You lowly vampire, being released by His Highness is already a great honor, yet you dare to barge into His Highness's bedroom!"
"Ignore him." Qin Chu sneered. "He's here to kill me."
Seeing Qin Chu open his mouth, the usually respectful steward immediately interrupted, "Your Highness, please don't speak now, or you'll get wrinkles."
Qin Chu, his prestige completely shattered: "..."