The ve was dragged in front of Lucius and forced to kneel. The skin and flesh on his back split and gushed open, yet his back was still straight like a spruce. He looked older than Lucius, in his early thirties, with brte hair, sunkissed skin and mature, attractive lineaments. Unlike vampires, he had stubbles on his chin and hair on his thick, muscr chest, apletely different kind of crude, masculine charm than Dorian’s more sophisticated beauty.


    The ve fixed his eyes on his new master. Surprise flit across the brown irises. However, Lucius saw no reverence or excitement that believers usually had when seeing his face.


    Lucius asked, “what is your name?”


    Before the ve could answer, one of the guards said, “he is Buck.”


    “Buck, do you want toe with me?”


    Lilian chortled next to him, “oh my dear, you really need to get used to the concept of ‘ves.’ What they want doesn’t matter because they shouldn’t want anything.”


    Lucius sighed and turned to her, “can you please let someone treat his wound? I don’t want him to be dead in a few days.”


    “Of course. I will also get him cleaned up and prepared for your enjoyment. But are you sure you don’t want a more tamed one? This one can be dangerous. The moment you thought you’d broken him, he would surprise you with some rebellion..” Lilian licked her lips while ncing at Buck, “not that I don’t know about the charm of a dangerous prey, but I don’t want you to get injured.”


    “I will be careful.” Lucius insisted.


    After Buck was taken away, Lucius quickly found an excuse and left the orgy. Within a couple hours, someone knocked at his door.


    “Buck is ready for your service.” Said the guard.


    All the blood and dirt on the man had been washed off, revealing even more defined muscle lines hiding under a thinyer of fabric. His short hair was also cleaned, groomed, and styled, appearing rich and lustrous with some elegant waves. He looked almost like a knight from ssic literature if not for the ve brand visibly etched on his neck.


    “He has the newest Pulse5.3 chip imnted on his cerebral cortex.” The ve trainer, who was a short neophyte, said fawningly as he present a pamphlet to Lucius, “here is the manual including all the verbalmands that can trigger different functions of the imnt,pelling him to perform various duties. The mostmonly used ones are these.” He showed the punishment section to Lucius, which listed numerous types of punishment, including burning pain,ceration pain, shock, immobility, etc., each came with five intensity levels, all can be triggered by mere words.


    “However, the pleasure section cane in very handy if you want to train him to repeat certain behavior patterns more often. It’s basically like training a dog. They usually react even better with positive reinforcements.” He flipped the page and pointed at another list of “rewards,” including rxing, euphoria, climax, positive hallucination, etc. Lucius gaped at the manual. He heard rumors about the ve chips that vampires installed in human ves but had never imagined that it came with a manual, as if the ve was some sort of robot.


    This was bat shit crazy...to haveplete power over another being, dictating not only how they act but also how they feel and think...


    Buck fixed his eyes on the floor, but Lucius could see shame and anger tinged his face and his hands clenched into fists as if he wanted to punch someone.


    “Does your highness have any questions about how to use him?” The trainer inquired tteringly, “do you want me to show you how to get him to perform certain tasks?”


    Lucius shook his head, “no, it’s ok. I like to discover things by myself.”


    “Very well, enjoy.” The trainer left, and Lucius closed the door.


    Buck didn’t move even though they were alone in the suite, and physically he was much stronger than Lucius and could have easily overpowered him.


    Lucius looked back at him semi-nervously.


    “So...what’s your real name?”


    Buck answered mechanically, “Florian Edelstein.”


    “Nice name. I think I will call you Florian privately.”


    Buck, or Florian, raised his head and saw Lucius smiling. Such a tender and amiable smile reminded him of the ssic paintings in cathedrals, simple and bright, devoid of evil or ill-intentions.


    However, the man was not dazzled as easily as other human ves Lucius had met. He lowered his head again and said coldly with a hint of sarcasm, “yes, master.”


    “Where did youe from?” Lucius went to the bar table andid out two sses.


    Florian replied, “Utharia.”


    Utharia, one of the smaller human countries trampled by Eternia’s ruthless force in the past few years. Their prime minister and many government dignitaries were executed publicly, and their people were ughtered or sold as ves. Some luckier ones escaped into Anthor as refugees.


    “I’m sorry,” Lucius said as he passed a ss of scotch to Florian.


    Florian hesitated for a moment but took the ss.


    “Do you know who I am?” Lucius sat on the sofa, crossing his legs.


    Florian said nonchntly, “you were one of the High Priests of Anthor, Julian Rosenfield, the one who spoke to God. But now you are just another ything for the vamps, even though you are not branded.”


    “They are not lying when they say you are not tamed.” Lucius chuckled, “how long have you been here?”


    “Three years.”


    “And yet you are still not broken. I am impressed.”


    The man didn’t speak. He merely took a big gulp from the ss and then began unbuttoning his shirt, “how do you want me to serve you?”


    Lucius was unfazed. He leaned back on the couch and said, “I don’t need a sex ve.”


    Florian frowned, “then why did you ask for me?”


    “As you said, I’m not exactly in a higher position than you. Even though I am not branded as a ve, many vampires still see me as one. They just don’t dare to touch me when the crown prince still shows interest in me.” Lucius inhaled deeply, “I need someone I know won’t see me as prey, someone I may be able to trust, to protect me.”


    Florian looked at him with mild curiosity, “that woman Lilian put this imnt in my head. Anyone can disarm me with mere verbalmands. Besides, how do you know I am even capable of protecting you?”


    “The special agent who killed more than ten apostle vampires before getting caught surely wouldn’t mind protecting a helpless priest.” Lucius smiled smugly, “it isn’t hard to do some online research and find out that after the fall of Utharia, the famous Lady Durchville went into a bidding war for one of the most deadly vampire hunters, which is you, Special Agent Edelstein.”


    “Then why did you even ask my name?”


    “Thought I’d let you introduce yourself.” Lucius shrugged and continued, “as for the imnt, we can think of something when we return to Emberton. As for now, you can just be my servant in front of others. What do you say?”


    Florian scoffed, “anything is better than being that crazy campdy’s bitch.”


    “Fabulous.“Lucius yarned and stood up, “I’m going to bed. You can take this couch or the daybed. It’s up to you. If you are hungry, there are pastries and fruits on the kitchen counter. Good night.” He then went into the bedroom, feeling Florian’s gaze stuck to his back.


    Lucius wasn’t very concerned that Florian would attack him after he fell asleep, as it would do him no good. Lucius was the only reason he was still alive and his only ticket to leave here.


    And to Lucius, it felt less lonely knowing another human was right outside of his room. It was like finding arade in the middle of a battlefield.


    More importantly, Florian had been here for three years. He probably knew more about the Sleeping Ones. The ves were everywhere and often ignored when conversations ensued, and they would definitely talk among themselves.


    Lucius only hoped Dorian wouldn’t be against it.


    “How was your night?” Lady Durchville grinned at Lucius as he and Florian entered the dining room for breakfast.


    “Quite nice. I had some interesting conversations with Buck. Oh, if it’s not too much trouble, could you please find some servant garment for him? I don’t have anything that fits his size, and I think his current attire is a bit too flimsy for servant duties.”


    Lilian rose her brows, “you are going to make him a servant?”Material ? N?velDrama.Org.


    “Yes. And thank you for your generosity, mydy. It’s nice to have a humanpanion.” Lucius smiled politely.


    Lilian signed with regret, “what a waste. Well, he is yours now. It’s your call.”


    For the next two days, Lucius emerged from his suite more often and took Florian everywhere. The man was not very good at serving people, though. He was rather too rough when helping Lucius dress in the morning and horrible at mixing drinks. Even the coffee he made was as nd as water.


    “How did you survive without coffee before you were caught and sold?” Lucius looked at the man incredulously as he scrunched his face from the bad taste.


    “I don’t make them like this.” Florian shrugged, “I usually just make some instant coffee or buy them from coffee shops.”


    Lucius signed and gave him detailed instructions on using the coffee machine, how much ground coffee was needed for one cup, and how much milk he liked. Luckily, Florian was a quick learner, so the next cup of coffee was perfect to his liking.


    It was much earlier than the vampires’ usual wake-up time, and Lucius only slept four hours and woke up at around 11 am. He rubbed his eyes and tried to blink away the sleepiness.


    “Why do you get up so early ?“Florian asked.


    “I want to walk outside when there are not many vampires around.” Lucius stood up and peeked outside of the window, observing the quietude in the garden, “let’s leave now.”


    They glided across the silent corridors and passed the still garden. The sun was high in the sky, and it was bright and warm. The smell of summer began to rise from beneath the earth and emit from the new leaves. Butterflies and bees danced over the flowers.


    It had been a while since Florian had any chance to bask in the real morning light. The only thing close to sunlight he got in the past two years was when Lilian kept him in a tanning bed every few days to maintain his darker skin tone. He wasn’t used to the brightness at first but soon was mesmerized by the beauty of the world under the sun.


    Lucius noticed the genuine smile lingered on the man’s lip corners, and he returned the same kind of delightfulness, “it’s nice, isn’t it?”


    “Indeed.”


    They strolled into the forest, seemingly having a leisurely walk with little direction. Lucius stole one or two nces at Florian from time to time and waited for thetter to rx before asking, “do you still have any families, Florian?”


    “My father passed away about seven years ago. My mother died in the war.”


    “I’m sorry to hear that.”


    “No. It’s better that way. At least she wasn’t sold as a ve or meat.”


    Lucius sighed sympathetically, “she is in a better ce now, I’m sure.”


    Florian let out a scoff at thatment. Lucius turned to look at him, “you don’t think so?”


    “I don’t.”


    “Why?”


    “I don’t want to offend you.”


    “You won’t.”


    Florian seemed slightly annoyed by his series of questions, “first of all, I doubt there is anything after death, even the ghosts are merely echoes of something no longer exists. And even if your God exists, he surely has no interest in having a sinner whomitted suicide.” Florian paused briefly, “she took her own life before those bastards had a chance to touch her. And if that means she should go to hell, then I think hell must be a better ce.”


    Lucius suddenly liked this guy better.


    They came to the waterfall, and Lucius stood on a rock extending into the pond. He noticed the man’s continence was clouded with concern and hesitation.


    Lucius beckoned Florian toe near him and asked, “have you heard about ‘the Sleeping Ones?’”


    Florian nced at him with some misgiving, “I did. The ves have all kinds of horror stories about the Sleeping Chamber. They say the Sleeping Ones sometimes sleepwalk in the deepest darkness. And anyone who entered that door has never emerged again.”


    “So people entered it before?”


    “Yes.” Florian said solemnly, “I saw the vamps push five ves into it when I was brought here. They do that every three years in May like some sort of ritual. They would leave that door open for five days, but those ves never came back.”


    “Every three years...then this ritual should happen soon. How did they open those doors?”


    “Some magic or witchcraft. Otherwise, it is fully sealed.“Florian frowned rmingly, “why do you want to know about the Sleeping Chamber?”


    Lucius regarded the forbidding door pensively and said, “because I may need to get in there.”