Chapter 256: D-Don’t e-eat me… M-Mister.

Lucian didn’t say anything about their lack of manners or their almost animalistic way of eating.

He understood that they had been starving for a long time, so he simply gave them enough time to settle themselves.

But then... his gaze drifted towards a woman sitting in the corner.

Unlike the others, she hadn’t eaten the bread he had given her. Instead, she simply stared at it, her eyes fixed on the food with unmistakable hunger.

And yet, she didn’t touch it.

Seeing this, Lucian frowned in confusion before walking towards her.

Once he reached her, he knelt slightly and looked at her.

"What happened...?"

The woman’s body trembled as she finally came out of her daze.

Her gaze snapped towards him, and her eyes widened as she realised his face was right in front of her.

Crimson eyes and skin so pale that it almost looked white, along with sharp features.

"Why aren’t you eating? Are you not hungry...?" Lucian asked gently, noticing the faint flicker of fear in her eyes.

"..."

The woman didn’t give any answer.

Instead, she lowered her head, and at that very moment—

Rrrumble...

A low grumble escaped from her stomach.

Her face flushed instantly with embarrassment.

"I guess you are hungry."

Lucian tilted his head, confused by her reaction, and after a moment, he looked into her status window.

[STATUS WINDOW]

Name – Chloe Davis

Race – Human

Rank – Unawakened

Titles – None

Bloodline – Courage Bloodline

Affinity – Fear

Talent – A

[Attributes]

Strength: G-

Agility: G-

Endurance: G

Charisma: A+

[Evaluation — A woman who grew up without parents, finding shelter and companionship in a child centre that was eventually destroyed by the apocalypse. With nowhere else to go, she was taken in by an awakened group that promised to protect her, only to eventually bring her here, leaving her frightened and lost.]

[Affection: 1%(Afraid, Hungry)]

She had her body covered by a quilt Lucian had given them earlier, her clothes still mostly intact.

Her black eyes looked at him nervously, frightened—and unlike the other women... she looked a little younger.

Not only that, but she even had a far better complexion, aside from the bruise on her neck. Compared to the other women, she seemed to be in somewhat better condition.

By the looks of it, she had been brought here recently, perhaps just two or three days ago.

Lucian stared at the status window for a moment longer, his brows furrowing inwardly as he noticed her Affinity.

’Fear...?’

He had never encountered anyone with such an Affinity before.

More than an Affinity, it sounded like an emotion... something unusual, something that looked rare at first glance.

And this Chloe...

She had potential, an unknown Affinity, and even a Bloodline that seemed almost perfectly suited to it.

However, he decided to think about it later and turned his attention back towards her.

She was useful—perhaps someone he should recruit in the future, but right now... he wasn’t really interested in all that.

The condition these women were in was far too poor for them to survive for long.

So their survival was more important.

And seeing Chloe staring at the food without taking even a single bite, a sudden thought crossed his mind.

"You don’t think it’s poisoned, right...?"

He was just guessing, since that seemed like the most probable cause.

The moment those words escaped his lips, Chloe’s body shook violently.

Her eyes widened as she looked at him, almost as though she were wondering how he had managed to figure it out.

Lucian’s lips twitched.

"...So you did think that."

He wasn’t even surprised, since if he had been in a similar position, he might have had the same thought the moment some stranger offered him food.

After all, these women had been kept captive and mistreated for such a long time.

But...

Neither of the other women seemed to have considered something like that.

The moment they heard Lucian’s words, they abruptly stopped eating, some freezing with food still in their mouths, while the others stared down at what remained in their hands.

Unfortunately, though... they had already eaten their entire share.

A few swallowed nervously before turning towards Lucian with fearful expressions, as though they were wondering whether he had actually poisoned them.

"Sigh... I haven’t done anything like that."

Seeing the suspicion-filled expressions on their faces, Lucian turned towards them and narrowed his eyes.

"Do you all think you’ll be able to retaliate if I wanted to do something?"

"..."

"..."

Neither of them had anything to say.

After all, he was absolutely right.

Even if they all tried to attack him at the same time, they could barely do anything—not just because he was an Awakened, but also because of their malnourished bodies.

And yet, they were looking at him with suspicion, as though they were in a position to judge whether he was trustworthy.

Seeing them go silent, Lucian clicked his tongue.

"Then shove it."

He turned his gaze away from them and towards Chloe, who looked at him with clear fear in her eyes.

For a moment, Lucian couldn’t help but feel something strange radiating from her.

"...?"

He was confused, but didn’t linger on it.

"The food is not poisoned, so eat it," he said more firmly.

But...

"..."

Chloe didn’t eat, continuing to stare at him, her fingers loosely holding the bread.

Lucian let out a frustrated sigh.

He wasn’t here to babysit them.

He had already gone out of his way to find food and water, brought them back here, and even tried to make sure they had something they could actually eat.

Still...

"I’ll let that man eat it to see if it’s poisoned. Is that fine...?" he asked, pointing towards the bulky man kneeling at a distance.

Chloe’s eyes briefly shifted towards the Boss.

She looked at him for a moment before turning back to Lucian.

Then—

"...No."

She shook her head, muttering in a barely audible whisper.

Instead, she continued staring at him more intently, and even though she didn’t say anything... Lucian kind of understood.

"You want me to test it."

She nodded.

Lucian grumbled to himself, regretting ever coming inside this basement. If he hadn’t, he wouldn’t have had to take responsibility for these women in the first place.

He could’ve just left after killing those bastards who had dared to touch his mother, but nooo!

He just had to come here and try to save these damsels, whose demands were only increasing...!

After about a minute, Lucian finally spoke.

"Will you eat it if I do...?"

It seemed there was no other way than to comply with her request if he wanted her to eat.

Chloe hesitated for a moment, then gave him another nod.

’Hopefully, I don’t die from this.’

Lucian tore a small piece from the bread in her hand and slowly brought it towards his lips.

The other women felt a little relieved, seeing him do this... while Kanna, on the other hand, continued watching his actions. Inwardly... she was interested in knowing how he would eat something that was biologically poisonous to them.

After all, human food was not something vampires could consume, not even if they wanted to—though no one would want to eat something that simply felt disgusting to them.

And yet, a small part of her also felt worried for some reason, despite knowing it wouldn’t have a massive impact on noble vampires like them.

Lucian put the piece of bread in his mouth, and immediately... his lips twisted faintly as he experienced its disgusting, almost rotten taste.

He instantly cursed himself for even doing this, but now that he had started, he had to continue without throwing up.

’Did my taste buds rot after turning into a vampire or something...?!’

After a few chews, he immediately swallowed it, then turned towards Chloe, who was looking at him with slightly widened eyes.

"So... are you sure now...?"

He asked, hoping that would finally be enough to convince her.

But then—

"Mister," Chloe muttered quietly.

"Are... you a vampire...?"

[Affection: 1... 2% (Afraid, Hungry)]

The sudden question made the basement fall silent.

Lucian blinked.

"H... how did you find that out?"

Despite being amused by her sudden question, he was more invested in getting that revolting taste out of his mouth.

He didn’t even glance at the sudden pop-up screen before him, despite how strange it was.

’Akasha, I feel strange. I’m not dying from eating that, right...?’

[Well, human food is poisonous to you, so that was a rash move.]

’Wha—’

[Don’t worry, your physique and the Poison Resistance skill have already neutralised it.]

Lucian breathed a sigh of relief.

The other women, who had been watching their conversation, were caught off guard by the girl’s words.

A few of them looked at him in confusion, unable to understand the meaning behind her words, while the others’ eyes widened in disbelief... their expressions changing as they finally noticed those unnaturally blood-red eyes.

Something... they had only seen in movies, belonging to a race known for that very feature.

"Your eyes..." Chloe spoke, her voice barely a whisper, sounding even more nervous than before...

But despite the fear in her tone, Lucian could feel a faint excitement in her voice.

"And... how you reacted while eat... eating."

Lucian blankly stared at her, and after a moment of thought, he couldn’t help but think about what she had said.

"...So you were testing me, is that it...?"

His crimson eyes unconsciously glowed, the dimness of the basement making their colour appear even brighter.

And Chloe’s expression immediately changed.

"N-No..."

Her voice trembled, and she instinctively leaned back, clutching the bread in her hands.

Her face turned even more frightened.

"D-Don’t e-eat me... M-Mister."