Chapter 285: The Big Windmill Turns and Turns
Akanis felt refreshed, bouncing along the street. Several passersby stopped, pointing at his back and murmuring to each other, “How strange, this person.”
“Like a child who hasn’t grown up.”
“Could he be mentally challenged?”
Akanis ignored the comments, holding their wallets as he bought a few items along the way.
He dashed up to the second floor of the inn, not even using the key. Taking out a piece of wire, he poked it into the door, and it opened with a shout:
“Veline! Get up!”
The window was tightly shut, and under a thin quilt on a bed made of new straw, a petite figure lay curled up.
“Closed the window again, it’s stuffy,” Akanis complained, lifting his foot to kick the window open.
Morning sunlight streamed in immediately, and a gentle breeze brushed against his cheeks. Akanis spread his arms and said, “Hello, Grandpa Sun, I praise you.”
The petite figure on the bed remained unmoved.
Akanis suddenly turned, flinging aside the thin quilt, and shouted, “Get up! Veline!”
The delicate girl, as exquisite as a doll, sat crouched on the bed, covering her face with her hands. She wore a silky silk nightgown, and her slender legs were crossed beneath her, with a neat stack of white stockings piled at the head of the bed.
“Akanis.”
She lowered her hands, revealing green eyes. The sunlight hit her face, giving her features a glow. Her skin was very thin and pale; the fading black veins were slightly visible under the light. “What if you marry me?”
“What?”
Veline looked at Akanis indifferently. Her small face, no larger than a palm, had lips painted bright red that parted slightly as she said in an almost commanding tone, “Marry me.”
Akanis burst into laughter, holding his stomach. “You’re still a little kid. Although you’re pretty, forget it.”
“I will grow up.”
“That still doesn’t work.”
“Why not?” Veline asked, “Isn’t it good for us to start a family?”
“No need, I already have one,” Akanis said proudly. “Though it’s not long-lasting, it exists.”
Veline dropped her hands, facing the annoying sunlight, her profile hidden in shadow. “What if it’s gone? Don’t you consider me?”
“No.” Akanis shook his head. “I should talk to your relatives and let you meet some other boys, so you don’t keep casually proposing.”
“This isn’t a proposal,” Veline said. “I’m letting you know that when I grow up, we will be together.”
“That’s absolutely impossible.” Akanis patted Veline’s serious face. “Seeing you spend money so lavishly, you definitely haven’t been favored at home. This sudden love of yours is not love; it’s what they call… the吊死鬼效应.”
Veline corrected him, “It’s called the吊桥效应.”
“No, it’s the吊死鬼效应,” Akanis replied. “There was a young woman about to be hanged, and a man couldn’t bear to see it, so he cut the noose. That woman then wanted to marry that stranger with her life on the line.”
After saying that, Akanis placed Veline’s sun hat on her silver hair and said, “Alright, stop thinking so much. Quickly put on that pile of little dresses. We need to hurry; I’m on a time crunch.”
Veline remained silent, turned around, and began to peel off her nightgown, revealing her smooth, pale back.
“By the way, did you drink milk last night?”
“I did, everything was gone,” Veline said, trying hard to burp.
Akanis sniffed, “Why does it smell like blood?”
“Maybe my period started last night.”
“Oh, being a woman is indeed troublesome.”
Akanis walked to the windowsill, resting his elbow on it and propping his chin up while looking towards Du Nana’s house. There was a warm home there. Even if it was just bought with money. Despite his understanding of chickens, he feared she might be mocking him for being foolish with money behind his back or scolding himself for getting her dirty.
But so what? He didn’t care what others thought as long as she could still give him that feeling; he would handle anything.
A pair of cold arms wrapped around his neck from behind, and a gentle voice whispered in his ear, “Akanis.”
“Can you get off my back?”
“Am I heavy?”
Having carried street children on the verge of starvation in his youth, Akanis replied, “Light as a bag of skin and bones.”
“Then you carry me.”
“Not really keen on that,” Akanis said. “Get down first; I bought some things for you.”
A soft thud was heard from behind.
Akanis turned around to see Veline dressed in a beautifully designed black dress, lace and peculiar complex patterns covering every inch of fabric, even the white stockings on her slender legs adorned with golden designs.
He once wondered how Veline, a girl born in a poor town under a vampire lord’s rule, had so much money to buy such expensive, heavy clothes.
Veline said she purchased them with her dowry to make a good impression on her relatives.
For some reason, Akanis believed her.
Noticing Akanis staring at her, Veline smiled, “Are you looking at me because I’m pretty?”
“I’m curious,” Akanis candidly replied. “With so many clothes, how did you change so quickly today?”
Veline ran her bloodless fingers through her silver ponytail and said, “Because I finally arrived at the Ivy Territory and wanted to see my relatives sooner. Let’s get going quickly; by the way, what’s the gift you have for me?”
“It’s this.”
Akanis performed a little magic trick, producing a colorful little windmill from behind and blowing on it forcefully before handing it to Veline. “Hold on to this.”
Veline took a small breath. “Alright.”
“And this.” Akanis brought out a tambourine, saying, “The seller said it’s a little toy from Sayris. Shake it and you can hear sounds from distant eastern kingdoms.”
The muscles on Veline’s face twitched as she said, “How nice.”
“Then let’s hurry and set off.”
Akanis cheerfully called out, wrapping his arms around Veline’s slender waist and taking a running leap from the window, landing on the ground. He tossed Veline onto the carriage and sat in the driver’s seat, cracking the whip hard. The startled horse took off, pulling the carriage away and scaring several pedestrians.
Even Veline had to grab onto the window edge to avoid falling.
“Make way, make way!” Akanis shouted while wearing a witch hunter’s high-top leather hat, waving the whip under the angry stares of onlookers. “The witch hunters are out to burn heretics! Anyone with a good heart, come forward and surrender, anyone want to join?”
He pointed at a passerby giving him the finger, who immediately bolted.
Akanis laughed and whipped the startled horse again, creating chaos.
At that moment, a woman’s piercing scream echoed faintly, “There’s a dead person!!!”
Akanis barely heard it, glancing back towards the source of the sound, which was indeed in the direction of Du Nana’s house.
That place is truly dangerous, Akanis thought; once I complete this task, I’ll help her move.
He was entirely unaware that the look in Veline’s eyes directed at him was filled with possessiveness.
Once the carriage left the small town and the wheels sunk deeply into the ruts, the ride wasn’t as bumpy anymore.
Veline reached out her small hand, slightly pulling back the curtain. A beam of annoying sunlight fell into the dim carriage. She stretched the colorful windmill out the window, and the wind bent the wooden rod as the windmill began to spin wildly.
A rare smile appeared on Veline’s small face. She gripped the colorful windmill tightly, afraid it would be snatched away.
