Chapter 179: A night too comfortable to sleep

"C-c-c-commoner, what are you doing?" Seraphina exclaimed, squirming in his arms.

"You are barefoot again," Vlad replied casually as he turned around. "What will we do if our genius leader catches a cold?"

’Put me down. I’m a Four-Ring Pyro Mage. I-I can keep myself warm using mana,’ Seraphina murmured inwardly as she prepared herself to say the words aloud.

"Unh." She nodded with a crimson face, supporting herself against his arms by wrapping her arms around his neck.

’I’m only allowing him to carry me because I shouldn’t waste my mana,’ she assured herself, an S+ Rank vampire who could use mana to keep herself warm continuously for a whole month and still might not consume even half of it.

He moved out of the room and closed the door behind him with a gentle kick before reaching her room, where he gently placed her on the bed.

"Now that the window is closed, the temperature shouldn’t drop any further," Vlad said as he straightened his back. "Still, we cannot do anything about the cold that has already crept inside."

Even he, with a draconic heart and a physique far more robust than anyone his age, could feel the effect of the biting cold.

"It’s going to be a tough night," he sighed, his eyes shifting toward the armor placed at the corner of the room. "Should I wear my armor to sleep?" he wondered with a sigh.

"Ahem... and what about me?" Seraphina asked, already covered in a blanket up to her nose. "I’m also cold."

"Wear the clothes you were wearing during the day," Vlad mentioned the obvious as he took a step toward the armor in the corner.

’Why can’t this moron get any hint?’ Seraphina muttered inwardly, her fingers digging into the mattress. ’Do I have to just say it clearly?’

Before Vlad could take another step away, she tugged at his sweater from behind.

"Sleeping in that armor would be uncomfortable for you. Same goes for my mage uniform," she murmured, her cheeks burning with embarrassment, her eyes lowered. "It might affect our ability in the battle tomorrow."

"Hmm... your words do make sense." Vlad nodded in agreement. "What else can we do, then?" he wondered as he turned around, his eyes scanning the bed.

Two thick blankets... Seraphina sitting in the middle, tugging her crimson hair behind her ear.

’Did he finally get the hint?’ she exclaimed inwardly in excitement. ’Obviously, he couldn’t be this oblivious.’

"Should we ask the other team members to crash at their place—"

A pillow slammed squarely into his face, stopping him mid-sentence.

"Go if you want to, idiot!" Seraphina declared, her jaw tightened in suppressed fury as she caved deeper into the blanket.

’I was an idiot to expect anything,’ Seraphina muttered inwardly, digging her face into the pillow. ’Sometimes I feel he deliberately acts this way.’

While she was having these thoughts, she heard the rustling of the bedsheet beside her.

"Or we could sleep hugging each other." Vlad’s awkward tone came from dangerously close. "Don’t take any offense. This is the only other way I can think of—"

Before he could even finish his words, Seraphina shifted toward him, her back touching his chest as he lay facing her.

"W-we are only doing this to keep ourselves warm," Seraphina muttered in a low, almost inaudible voice. "If you blabber about it to anyone, I will kill you."

"I won’t," Vlad replied, one hand pressing firmly against her stomach as he pulled her closer. The movement elicited a low gasp from Seraphina’s lips. Her heart beat like crazy, her mind turning blank. The intimate closeness was proving a bit too much for her poor heart to bear.

Vlad wasn’t unscathed either. The rosy scent of her hair filled his nose as the back of her head rested against his chest. Even with the sweater covering her, he could feel the warmth of her soft skin beneath it.

"I’m still cold," Seraphina murmured as she looked back over her shoulder, her pink eyes looking greedily at Vlad. She wanted him to hold her tighter, but she was too embarrassed to say it.

"Turn around, then," Vlad told her, his tone low.

That wasn’t what she wanted. If she turned, he would see her flustered face. Moreover, if she were to see his enchanting face from so close, she might completely lose it.

However, her body hadn’t been in sync with her brain for a while now. She slowly turned toward him, their faces just inches apart. They could sense the nervousness on each other’s faces, their uneven breaths brushing against the other’s skin.

Vlad moved his hand to the back of her head and pressed her face against his upper chest, his chin resting gently on the top of her head. His other hand moved lower, to her lower back, where he held her so tightly that not even air could pass between them. Her chest pressed against his, which should have made her uncomfortable, but on the contrary, all she felt was the soft warmth she had never experienced before. It was as if every part of her was completely melting.

She slowly raised her arms and wrapped them around his neck. If she could, she would have stopped time right there, preserving that moment so it could last forever.

"Good night, my bloodbound," she said in a voice barely above a whisper.

The unusual choice of her words caught Vlad off guard, but he was in no condition to pry into it.

"Good night, Sera," he replied in a soft tone.

’I might be able to keep myself warm, but there is no way I could even get a wink of sleep like this,’ he sighed inwardly, taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm his heart, which was beating louder than necessary.

He remained stiff, acutely aware of even the slightest movement from Seraphina in his arms, who fell asleep only a few minutes later. In the end, he spent the entire night lying there with his eyes wide open like an owl, too afraid to move lest he disturb her sleep.