"Lord Charlotte, I... am afraid I cannot drink it and become your slave."
Shirley knelt on one knee, holding up the red blood bottle, and her pretty face, which had rarely changed expression, was filled with deep apology.
Charlotte was a little surprised. She didn't expect that the personal maid who had followed her for more than a year would eventually make such a choice.
She thought she knew Shirley well enough.
He is meticulous and dedicated in his work, and is also quite talented in magic and swordsmanship.
Even though she has been busy with the work of a maid for the past year, it has not hindered the improvement of her strength. With the support of Charlotte's resources, she has become the second young follower after Rand to step into the Starry Realm.
Although she was always silent and expressionless, Charlotte knew that she was not cold-hearted deep down.
Not only that, she is also a person who knows how to repay kindness. After Charlotte saved her entire family's lives on the night when the Inquisition attacked the Rose Society, Shirley completely surrendered to Charlotte, and could even be said to be completely devoted to her.
Although her presence around Charlotte was not as strong as Sebastian's over the past year, and even not as strong as that of Nice, the fat cat with the audacity to do what he wants, she had quietly integrated into Charlotte's life.
She was almost the one who took care of Charlotte's three meals and drinks, her daily living arrangements and her daily clothing choices, and she did a very good job and provided extremely thoughtful service.
Otherwise, Charlotte would not have taken her with her when she went to explore the Castel silver mine that day.
"I respect your choice, but... can you tell me the reason?"
Charlotte asked gently.
Shirley hesitated for a moment and asked:
"Lord Charlotte, if I drink your blood, does that mean I will also become a vampire?"
Charlotte was stunned for a moment, then nodded slightly:
"That's true for you."
Today, Charlotte has a deeper understanding of the abilities of her Blood Scroll.
The essence of the Blood Scroll is the power of blood. Becoming her Blood Scroll also means possessing the power of her blood, and possessing the power of blood naturally means transforming the body's blood.
That's what Sebastian is like.
When he releases the power of his bloodline, he will become almost exactly the same as a vampire. If he were not an elf, which is also a magical creature, and if he was not once a blazing sun, he would have completely become a vampire long ago.
Even so, every time Sebastian exerts the power of the Blood Scroll, his body will further transform into a vampire.
Even though he still retains his identity as an elf, as Charlotte's strength increases and as the blood of the elemental element in Sebastian's body becomes stronger, he will probably become a vampire sooner or later.
This was what Sebastian told Charlotte in person after a long period of observation of his own body, and it also overturned Charlotte's previous belief that the Blood Scroll could be non-vampires.
The blood power of the vampires is more domineering than Charlotte imagined, not to mention that it is hers.
As for Shirley...
She is just a human, not a magical creature, and her own power is not strong. If she obtains Charlotte's power of scroll, it is almost certain that she will become a vampire.
"Lady Charlotte..."
Shirley bowed deeply to Charlotte and said:
"I heard that after becoming a vampire, it is very difficult to further improve your strength by your own strength, and the path of magic will also be cut off, and you can't make any further progress..."
"I... don't want to give up my talent for magic."
Charlotte looked at her in surprise and said:
"That may be true, but at the same time, you will also gain new powers after becoming a vampire."
Shirley lowered her head:
"But that kind of power is the power you gave me, not the power I gained through my own efforts."
“I hope to be able to follow you and stand behind you through my own efforts, instead of having to rely on you to move forward…”
After hearing what Shirley said, Charlotte nodded slightly to show her understanding.
Indeed, even she felt sorry for not being able to become a magician, let alone Shirley who was already an advanced spellcaster.
Shirley has a great talent for magic, which has even been certified by Nice. For her, becoming a vampire and continuing to work hard on the path of magic are indeed a dilemma.
"But have you ever thought that once you become a vampire, you will say goodbye to aging and have an almost infinite lifespan and time?"
Charlotte asked again.
Shirley replied respectfully:
"I have certainly thought about this..."
"A long life is indeed attractive, but I am afraid I cannot accept having a long life and then watching my relatives and friends grow old as time goes by, until I am left alone..."
Charlotte was slightly stunned when she heard this answer.
Honestly speaking, she was quite happy after knowing that she was no longer constrained by her life span after becoming a vampire.
In the fairy tales of the past, the cultivators struggled for hundreds or thousands of years just to achieve immortality.
And she achieved it not long after she came here.
Although it was a flawed form of immortality, she, who possessed the Holy Book of Blood, always felt that the future was bright. She believed that as long as she gave herself enough time, it should not be a problem for her to become a god.
She never had such thoughts as Shirley.
However, looking at the girl in front of her, she quickly realized the difference between herself and the other person.
She is a time traveler, everything she has was left behind in her previous life, and she doesn't have many worries.
But Shirley is different.
Her family, her friends, are all here.
Charlotte looked thoughtful, while Shirley continued:
"Besides, I am your head maid and your personal maid."
"In my job, I spend most of my time dealing with ordinary people, walking in the sun..."
"Perhaps you haven't thought about this carefully. Becoming a vampire... also means that I will not be able to walk in the sun, which means that I will not be able to perform my job."
After hearing what Shirley said, Charlotte was stunned.
She had never really thought about the problem from this perspective.
She has always felt that it would be safer and more convenient if the maid serving her was a vampire, but as the one being served, she could not fully understand the maid's work and ignored this detail.
She is a vampire, but her identity as Count Castel means that she will inevitably need to deal with ordinary people. In this case, a pure vampire does not seem to be suitable to be the head maid beside her.
"Lord Charlotte, I feel guilty for not being able to meet your expectations..."
"But please believe in my loyalty to you. When you saved my parents and sister that night, my life...belonged to you."
Shirley knelt down respectfully and spoke sincerely.
This usually taciturn maid spoke more today than she had in the past two months combined.
Charlotte was silent.
"Have you thought about it? Life is too short. Even if you go a long way on the path of magic in the future, you will be nothing more than a handful of yellow earth after a hundred years."
Charlotte glanced at the girl and said.
Shirley nodded:
"I've thought about it."
"I see. I understand then."
Charlotte nodded gently, no longer forcing herself.
Shirley expressed her feelings and left.
Charlotte looked at the porcelain bottle that the other party returned to her and sighed.
Everyone has their own choices. She respects and understands Shirley's choice.
Of course, although she understood, she was still a little disappointed, even though she knew that Shirley was right and that a vampire was not currently suitable for the job of head maid.
In addition, Shirley's words also touched upon some other thoughts deep in her heart.
Yes, eternal life.
Charlotte has not been in this world for long, and she does not have as many relatives, friends, and deep ties as Shirley.
I have to say, after chatting with Shirley, she suddenly felt a little homesick.
"What are you thinking about? You haven't even established a firm foothold yet. There's no point in considering issues that are too far in the future. What you need to do now is to integrate your territory, build a safe backyard, and then develop your power and faith, and explore the path to becoming stronger and becoming a god!"
Charlotte shook her head and said to herself.
Taking a deep breath, Charlotte regained her spirits, opened the documents on her desk, and browsed the list of recommendations submitted by the city officials for the next mayor of North Port.
And at this moment, her heart suddenly moved and she heard a familiar call from afar.
The one who called her was none other than Sebastian, who had led the Castel guards to track down Count Lachlan's hiding place a few days ago.