“...Her Majesty, Ai Wei.”
As the last echoes of Fei Qi’s voice faded, the lights in the room dimmed, leaving behind only the lights at the front door and the ones lining the red carpet leading to the stage.
Under the multitude of doubtful, curious, and complicated gazes of those gathered, a dainty figure appeared at the front door.
She wore a complicated ceremonial gown and was followed by servants. When the spotlight shone on her, she appeared splendidly magnificent.
Ai Wei seemed to be a bit nervous, for she walked very slowly.Shi Sheng was standing closer to the front. Her simple black dress was exceptionally eye-catching amidst a sea of lavish gowns, so Ai Wei saw her immediately.
Perhaps not wanting to lose face in front of Shi Sheng, she puffed out her chest and walked to the stage under the spotlight.
As she walked past Shi Sheng, Ai Wei deliberately slowed down. ‘Just yesterday, I didn’t even know how to describe my feelings when I learnt that her status was so noble. But today, my status is higher than hers! This is like the old saying that the river will flow to the west after flowing east for thirty years[1]!’
Shi Sheng expressionlessly watched as Ai Wei walked past her, head held high.
‘Just knew it was her. FL-samas are an odd species that manage to have fortuitous encounters no matter where they go.
And what’s with the cockiness, aye? When I(lz) get cocky, I(lz) scare myself too!’
The other vampires burst into discussion. There were some who acknowledged her and some who opposed her.Hearing the raucous discussion, Ai Wei began to grow nervous. She’d never encountered such a situation of facing a large crowd before. Fortunately, because Fei Qi was there to assist her, she didn’t freeze up from her stage fright.
“Now that the new Queen has been appointed, as is customary, the authority held in the hands of the Princes should be handed to Her Majesty for her to redistribute as she sees fit.” Fei Qi’s gaze, intentionally or unintentionally, floated over to Ke Er’s direction.
Ke Er stared at him coldly. ‘Just how long has Fei Qi been planning this?
Because he’s the first to support and protect the new Queen, she will naturally listen to him in all matters due to her inexperience in ruling. Then, all the power would be in Fei Qi’s hands. The new Queen is but a puppet while Fei Qi controls the strings.’
Fei Qi’s words caused the Princes to turn agitated. They had held power for a century, yet now they were suddenly supposed to hand it over? How were they expected to accept this?
The smarter ones, though, had the same train of thought as Ke Er.
But now, the majority of vampires believed this new, young Queen of theirs would lead them to a new life and bring them hope. If the Princes rashly opposed her, they would face many enemies.
So the smarter ones remained silent.
Seeing that the crowd was about to break out into an argument, Ai Wei subconsciously looked at Fei Qi.
“Do not worry, Your Majesty. You are now the Vampire Queen. They would not dare disobey your orders.” Fei Qi comforted Ai Wei.
“Tell them that you will delegate the authority fairly, and that you still need their support.”
“Will they really listen?” As a normal person who was suddenly promoted to becoming the Vampire Queen, there was no way for her to avoid feeling nervous and apprehensive.
“They will.” Fei Qi nodded seriously.
As Ai Wei scanned the crowd below, her gaze somehow landed on Zuo Lie who was silently watching her. Her heart suddenly started throbbing.
She was the Vampire Queen now—she was on the same side as Zuo Lie. Did that mean...she could be together with him?
But...
Not long ago, Ai Wei had detested vampires greatly. Yet now, due to the machinations of fate, she became the Vampire Queen.
Since matters had already progressed to this step, she had no way to retreat. She could only bite the bullet and forge onward.
Ai Wei took a deep breath. “I...”
She couldn’t speak.
Ai Wei anxiously tugged at the hem of her dress. ‘What do I do? I can’t say anything!’
Fei Qi had probably noticed Ai Wei’s nervousness, for he spoke, “Silence! This noise is simply unbecoming!”
Due to the sway Fei Qi held, everyone immediately quietened down.
Now that the attention was focused on her, Ai Wei felt even more nervous. She would’ve much preferred the clamour from before!
Fei Qi was rather impatient by now as he lowered his voice to remind her, “Your Majesty, say something.”
‘I can’t!’
But just as Ai Wei was so anxious she felt like crying, she suddenly caught sight of Shi Sheng’s mocking smile. Motivation in the form of unwillingness to lose and jealousy rose up.
Gritting her teeth, she spoke, “I know everyone’s doubtful of me, but I wasn’t willing for this to happen either. I’m just a normal university student that was caught up in all this without any preparation.”
Fei Qi’s expression changed. ‘What nonsense is this lass spouting?!’
Just as he was prepared to get her to shut up, her tone shifted. “But, since everything’s already set in stone, I won’t run from this. I’ll work hard to learn what I need to, so I’d like everyone to support me.”
Fei Qi heaved a sigh of relief. Although her speech wasn’t very good, it was sincere. And if she really had given an excellent speech, it would’ve sounded rehearsed and roused the suspicion of others.
Ai Wei’s down-to-earth attitude unwittingly won her plenty of supporters.
The Princes that were on Fei Qi’s side handed over their authority without much fuss.
Once there was a precedent, more soon followed.
Fei Qi’s authority surpassed that of the other Princes. Hence, Fei Qi’s support, added to the fact that the new Queen was appointed by the prophecy, pushed the remaining Princes to surrender their power—leaving behind only Ke Er in the end.
“Godfather, if you don’t want to, you don’t have to hand over any of your authority.” Shi Sheng looked at Ke Er with a mild smile, though her tone was anything but.
In the silent hall, it would be hard not to hear her.
“Mi Nai! What do you want? To rebel?!” This person was Fei Qi’s biggest worry. None of his men had returned last night. And when he’d gone to take a look, he found only the car wreckage and the dead vampires.
“If I wanted to rebel, you’d already be lying on the ground.” Shi Sheng laughed arrogantly.
“Forget it. I’m feeling tired after all these years, anyway.” Ke Er shook his head. ‘Since Fei Qi wants it, he can have it. I’ve long wanted to stop bothering about these petty affairs.’
When Fei Qi heard Ke Er’s words, he didn’t even pursue Shi Sheng’s treasonous words.
Fei Qi hadn’t expected everything to go quite as smoothly as it did, so he appeared very happy.
Now came the introductions between the various clans and the new Queen. The vampire hunters had sent a representative to give a simple congratulations as well.
They had only been invited to witness the birth of a new Queen, so they had no say in who actually took the throne.
The last step was for Ai Wei to receive the Vampiric Crown.
As she watched Fei Qi carry the crown to her, the nervousness in her gaze receded somewhat.
‘I’m the Vampire Queen now. From now on, that Mi Nai will have to greet me with respect!’
But just as Ai Wei was prepared to receive the Vampiric Crown, Xi Yin suddenly walked forward, catching Shi Sheng off guard.
“Xi Yin, what are you doing?” Shi Sheng hurriedly kept pace with him.
Her voice attracted everyone’s attention to the two.
Xi Yin ruffled her head. “Didn’t I say I was going to give you a present yesterday?”
Shi Sheng, “...” ‘Yes, you did, but I wasn’t expecting anything! ...You wouldn’t be planning on massacring all the vampires, would you? Come on, don’t be so violent on such an auspicious day! I’m still a baby!’
“Xi Yin...” Fei Qi froze upon recognising the person who had stepped forward. ‘Why is he here?!’
Yesterday, Xi Yin hadn’t revealed himself and stayed in a corner. Plus, since he kept his head down today, it wasn’t strange that Fei Qi hadn’t noticed him.
But now that Xi Yin stood out, if Fei Qi still couldn’t tell it was him, his life would have been lived in vain.
[1] This is something like “Oh how the tides of fate have changed” but it sounded really poetic and I wasn’t sure if it kept the original flavour of the text or not so...
