TuxedoTranslations

Chapter 24

Zeman did not respond to the other party’s trivial question.

He coldly observed the appearance of the young man in front of him. Black hair, purple eyes—just like the vampires from the legends.

Thinking about the strange situation in this village and the rumors circulating nearby, Zeman confirmed that this was indeed the village where humanoid monsters were said to appear.

But strangely enough, he couldn’t sense any trace of demonic energy from the boy.

Among humanoid monsters, the fox-like creature he had encountered earlier, with its faint magical aura, was already considered extremely weak, one that ordinary priests could never detect. However, this young man had not a hint of demonic energy about him.

If his perception was not mistaken, this situation usually only appeared in severely injured monsters.

But when Zeman looked at him, the boy showed no signs of injury.

“Are you a vampire?”

The black-haired boy gave a puzzled snort, his eyes blankly staring into the void, as though searching for his own memories.

After a moment, he seemed to recall something, speaking calmly: “Once, a bard who wanted me to revive his lover called me that. He thought I could make the corpse move, recreate the behavior from their life, so he called me a vampire.”

“I don’t care what you think of my identity. Vampire or human, or even if you call me a monster, it doesn’t matter to me. Do as you please.”

Was he trying to maintain his mystery?

Zeman narrowed his eyes, but the black-haired boy’s face showed no emotional fluctuations, nor was there any teasing smile. His eyes were indifferent. He clearly didn’t care about his race or how he was perceived.

“Why are you focused on Albin?”

“So that boy’s name is Albin… White as snow…” The black-haired boy murmured the name, his thoughts drifting. However, this time he quickly snapped back to reality.

“Because you two are father and son.” He rose from the coffin and took slow steps toward Zeman, locking eyes with him, his crimson pupils unwavering. “I want to know if there is any emotional bond between you.”

An unexpected answer.

Zeman raised an eyebrow.

“Someone once said that I don’t understand emotions. I don’t get why people laugh when they’re happy, or why they kill when they’re filled with hatred.” His voice was calm, tinged with a hint of confusion.

“I make the dead replicate their behaviors, to observe them, yet I still don’t understand these so-called emotions. What is love? What is family? Does simply laughing mean you’re happy?”

Zeman: “It seems like you really don’t understand anything.”

The black-haired boy did not think this was his problem. He tapped his chin thoughtfully, then offered another answer: “Perhaps it’s because they are dead, and so their emotions have vanished.”

He stopped in front of Zeman.

“So, I want to know, what does it feel like to be his father?”

“Happy? Angry? Disgusted?” He scrutinized Zeman’s every subtle expression, his tone carrying a faint chill. “You didn’t smile at him, which means you don’t like him, right?”

“But he smiled at you, which means he really likes you, doesn’t it?”

The deep purple eyes stared intensely at Zeman, and a crow perched in the ruins suddenly took flight, cawing loudly.

Amid the harsh caws, the black-haired boy suddenly said, “In that case, if I take your place and approach him, will I be able to feel his emotions for you?”

He wanted to take his place.

And he had already begun doing so.

—

Albin woke up groggily and opened his eyes, noticing that the sky outside had already brightened.

Strange, it felt like he hadn’t slept long, but he was still so tired.

He pulled the blanket over his head, peeking out from under it to pout at the white-haired man standing at the foot of the bed. “Papa… I want to sleep a little more…”

The air outside was so cold, and getting up in the winter was always such a struggle. There was no air conditioning here, and the fireplace couldn’t burn all night.

He reached out from under the blanket but quickly pulled his hand back.

Although he could use magic to warm himself, he just didn’t want to leave the cozy bed.

He never wanted to part from the blanket!

The man at the bedside didn’t immediately respond, as if considering something. After a long pause, he coldly answered, “No.”

Albin shuddered.

Papa’s tone was so harsh.

He immediately felt nervous, recalling the bad things he had done recently.

Shouldn’t be anything, right?

Was it because of the test of his magical abilities?

Albin, like a little turtle, peeked out from under the blanket, lying back to observe his father’s expression.

There was no sign of anger, no real emotion.

However, something still felt off, though he couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was.

Albin reached out and grabbed the man’s hand, gently shaking it. “Let me sleep a bit longer, please.”

The hand that had been exposed to the cold air felt freezing. Albin pulled it into the warm bed, pressing it against his cheek, sending a bit of magic to warm it up.

“Papa can sleep a little more too,” he said, shifting to the side to make room.

The man seemed unsure how to respond, his body stiff. He hesitated, and then, to Albin’s surprise, he was actually guided to sit on the bed.

Albin wasted no time and quickly wrapped the two of them in the warm blanket, trapping the man in place before curling up beside him with his eyes closed, preparing to fall back to sleep.

The man lowered his head, studying the child who was now nestled against him, radiating warmth.

His snow-white hair was tousled, his body cocooned in the blanket, leaving only his face visible. His nose was slightly red from the cold, but his rhythmic breathing, which felt almost hypnotic, created a warm atmosphere in the otherwise cold bed.

Because of the man’s sitting position, the blanket slid down a bit. Despite not feeling cold, the proximity to the heat source made Albin distinctly aware of the contrasting temperatures on his body.

The warmth felt so soothing, almost like the warmth of the sun, which made him feel sleepy.

He pondered.

How much time had passed? He focused on the rhythmic breathing, and it seemed as though time itself had slowed.

He stretched out his other hand, now warmed by the blanket, and, almost instinctively, pinched the edge of the man’s nose.

His voice remained deliberately cold and hard, as though imitating someone.

“Wake up.”

Albin was pulled out of his half-sleep. Still groggy, he turned in the bed, twisting and wriggling.

“I don’t want to go to school…” he grumbled, hugging the blanket tightly. Winter mornings were just too hard to deal with. He was back to the days of his past life.

He knew school was important, but getting up in the cold was always difficult.

Every morning, it was his older brother who woke him up, and the first time he tried to sleep in, his brother would stay with him. The second time, he would pinch his nose.

But his older brother would never use such a cold tone to wake him up. His voice was always gentle, like a spring breeze.

Brother…

Albin suddenly remembered—he had saved his brother during the car accident, and now, he had reincarnated in this world, a world without his brother.

At that moment, all the sleepiness vanished. He opened his eyes, and the face of his father came into view.

He froze for a moment, feeling confused.

Although his father was cold by nature, he had never woken him up in this way before.

Why was Papa like this today?

Albin hesitated, then used magic to warm up the room.

He slowly sat up in bed, dressed, washed up, yawned, and wiped his eyes as he asked, “Good morning, Papa. Are we leaving soon? Why is it so early? Has Uncle gotten up?”

This small village wasn’t meant to be a long-term stay. The book merchant had already arranged to leave by noon.

“…Good morning,” the man in front of him paused, then spoke slowly. “No, he had to leave early for something. We won’t leave today.”

Albin was stunned.

“Then why did Papa wake me up so early?” he pouted, climbing back onto the bed and leaning against his father’s back, pressing all his weight onto him.

The thick clothes were already on, and Albin wasn’t planning on going back to sleep.

“Papa, carry me out~”

The man froze, seemingly at a loss. He was like a malfunctioning machine, unsure whether to carry him or not, as though facing a question with no solution.

Albin couldn’t see his father’s expression. He simply wrapped his arms around his neck and said, “Let’s go~ time for breakfast!”

The man hesitated but eventually carried him out to the tavern.

The tavern was almost empty this morning. Albin greeted the owner, but the man still didn’t respond.

However, this time, they didn’t make any requests, and the owner actually brought them breakfast directly.

Albin was puzzled. Yesterday, he felt like the people in this village were strange. But thinking it over, maybe it was just the way the villagers were, or perhaps there were rules they followed.

The breakfast was decent: goat milk, boiled eggs, cheese, and brown bread.

“Papa, let’s go play with the sheep later! This village must have sheep!” Albin swung his legs, taking a sip of the goat milk. Before he could wipe his mouth, the man beside him, with a handkerchief, carefully wiped his mouth, just like last night.

Albin felt a bit strange. He hadn’t finished drinking the goat milk yet.

He dipped some bread into the milk and raised his head to study his father, noticing that the man in front of him was struggling to peel a boiled egg. The egg was full of dents, and he frowned, giving up and eating it himself before trying another one, only to fail again.

Finally, after much effort, he managed to peel a perfect egg, which he cut into four pieces and handed to Albin.

Albin froze.

The way he peeled the egg was not like his father’s at all.

His father usually used a spoon to gently tap the top of the egg and peel it smoothly.

This person wasn’t his father.

In fact, the way he peeled the egg, his mannerisms, and his high failure rate, were all eerily similar to his older brother.

Albin’s gaze flickered.

Was it a coincidence?

Why did this imposter who looked like his father remind him so much of his brother?

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