Chapter 478: Strategy or Instinct

Charlie was bathing outdoors. With Angie’s help, she had tied pieces of cloth between trees and wooden stakes, forming a makeshift enclosure so no one could see from a distance. Bathing was something she genuinely enjoyed. Almost a hobby. It made her feel alive.

She scooped water from a barrel with a bucket and poured it over herself, feeling it run across her skin. As a vampire, her sense of touch had returned. It was nothing like when she had been a skeleton, and that difference mattered to her. It mattered a lot. She also liked hot water, so she would dip her fist into the barrel with [Flame Fist] active, heating it until it steamed, then bathe like that.

Even eating had become a hobby.

As a vampire, she had learned how to activate and deactivate her internal organs at will. If she wanted, she could exist without ever eating, without her heart beating at all. But she chose not to. She kept them active because she wanted to feel normal. She liked breathing. Liked feeling air fill her lungs. Liked feeling alive.

Beside her, Angie was bathing as well, washing the gray stone of her body clean. Charlie still wasn’t sure how to feel when she was alone with her. Angie could be very closed off at times, though never out of malice. Still, she had become a kind of companion. Someone who helped Charlie learn how to act like a woman. About cleanliness, personal hygiene, things Charlie had never learned before.

“Artemis was upset she couldn’t come with us,” Charlie said casually.

“Yes,” Angie replied while scrubbing dirt from her arm. “Every time I go to bathe, she insists she needs to come along. Either to ensure my safety or to make sure I’m bathing properly.”

“She tried that trick on me a few times too.”

As she poured another bucket of water over herself, Charlie glanced at Angie’s bare stone body. “You don’t have a sense of touch, do you?”

“That’s correct. I don’t feel pain. I don’t feel hunger, thirst, or even the need to breathe,” Angie said, continuing to clean herself.

“That must be hard,” Charlie said softly. “Not being able to experience those things. I’m sorry. If you ever want to talk about it, you can talk to me.”

“About not being able to do those things?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t mind,” Angie answered flatly, still washing.

“You… don’t mind?”

“No. I don’t mind not being able to eat, breathe, or feel hunger. In fact, it’s more practical when serving my master. He doesn’t need to worry about me in those ways.”

Charlie paused mid-motion.

“But… you see Luke only as your master, right?” she asked carefully. “Nothing… more than that?”

“I see him as my savior. The only one to whom I owe my devotion. I will serve him until the end of my days, even if he does not wish it. That is how I feel.”

Her voice was steady, emotionless as always.

Charlie wasn’t sure how she felt about that.

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“But don’t worry,” Angie continued. “Even as a statue, I do possess emotions. I understand joy, happiness, and sadness. That allows me to make better decisions, especially in a world ruled by emotional people. All for Master Luke’s benefit.”

Charlie understood then. What Angie felt wasn’t romantic. It was admiration mixed with devotion. Nothing more.

“Even if you don’t care about those things,” Charlie said, smiling faintly, “I still think you’re very beautiful, Angie.”

“Thank you,” Angie replied, her tone unchanged.

“Artemis once said something about us,” Charlie went on. “That we’re ‘two super sexy monster girls.’ So even if you’re a stone statue, I hope someday you’ll get to feel how good a hot bath is. Or how nice it is to eat.”