Vampire'S Secret Baby
|44|. No Neonatal Smiling Phenomenon

Parker had to return home because he forgot to bring his cell phone. Stopping his car in front of the courtyard, his forehead creased as he saw a man in a long, knee-length black coat standing right at the door of his service home.

It's not winter, isn't it too strange to see someone dressed that thick in the summer?

Parker unlocks his seatbelt and gets out of the car.

Beside that Egbert was still standing in front of the door in a hesitant position. Should he knock or sneak around quietly-he? He is confused between the two. Just as he was about to decide and his ready hand holding the doorknob was about to open it, however...

"Sorry, who are you?"

A voice from behind had restrained his movement.

Egbert pulled his hand from the doorknob and casually stuffed it into the pocket of his black coat. He calmly turned around and stared silently at a man standing right in front of him.

"I just moved into this house yesterday. If you can tell what you need to come here?" Tukas Parker's. He tried to smile kindly and brushed off his curiosities at a man who was dressed quite thickly in summer like this.

"It's nothing" After saying that, Egbert passed away from the residence which a moment ago managed to steal his attention because the familiar scent of blood just came knocking on his sense of smell.

The scent of blood that was ninety-nine percent like the blood of his little wife— Annette.

"It's weird" muttered Parker who saw Egbert's back gradually disappear from the courtyard of his official house.

He opened the door and found it unlocked. Walking into the living room, she saw Annette insert her index finger into her baby's mouth. The young mother looked so washed away looking at her tiny baby who looked so eagerly sucking on her index finger.

The baby boy was seen opening his eyes and looking straight at the face of the mother. There was absolutely no trace of a smile on that little face that was still that red. There was only his silence and his big eyes that seemed to blink a few times.

"I've never seen the neonatal phenomenon of smiling* in your baby boy" Parker recalled seeing Annette's baby slumbering in the incubator tube, the little creature had no smile at all in its sleep.

Babies generally have a smile reflex in their sleep in the early weeks of birth.

Parker's words have jolted Annette who was busy staring at her little baby. He raised his head towards Parker. Seeing the man smile at her.

"Isn't she too cold for a baby's size?"

Annette chuckled in response to Parker's words, "Yes. And I would love to see her smile" Annette said, her left hand stroking her delicate cheeks. Thanks to Parker's words, he realized that so far he had never seen the baby smile in his sleep.

Most only cry the alarm shape of his body when thirsty and fast asleep when satisfied sucking blood. When awake like this, the baby just stared at him blankly without any emotion appearing on his face.

"Why is my brother back? Is there something left?" Ask Annette and then Parker.

"Yes. I forgot my phone"

"Well.." Annette smiled, nodding and Parker walked to her room to pick up her phone, which was still on charge. Tapping on the screen, he saw the power of his phone was fully charged. He pulled out the charger and slipped the flat object into his pocket.

Walking out he also remembered about the strange man who had been standing right in front of the door of his residence.

"Eum. I don't think even a madman would do it" 'cause it's too sultry to be dressed in two layers of scorching summer.

"I asked him what he needed and he answered nothing and just kept going. What do you think the man's motive is?"

Annette knitted her pair of eyebrows together and thought, "Come away, but it feels very suspicious" Annette replied.

"I thought so too" Parker nodded his head in agreement with Annette, "Next don't forget to lock the door every time I go and don't open it for strangers. This house is a little far away from the villagers, I'm worried if something happens to you and your baby" Parker said.

Annette felt touched to find Parker's attitude that came so sincerely expressed his concerns to her.

"I understand" Nod Annette. Sufficiently obediently carry out Parker's advice.

......................

Egbert was already sitting in the car driven by Sean. At that time Sean put on a look of complaining all the way because he was forced to end his teaching session more just to go pick up Egbert.

"Can't you hire a special private driver to serve your commute?" Tukas Sean glanced at the front rearview mirror, looking at the reflection of the face of Egbert who was sitting in the back seat. The man looked indifferent and looked out the window.

"You have enough human money in your hands with innumerable nominal amounts. So why do you have to be this tight for your own needs?" Further again.

"I don't need a driver. I'm used to driving myself" said Egbert, who glanced at the front rearview mirror to see the reflection of Sean's face reflected there.

"But in times like these you need it. So why not hire someone for it? I don't think it's gonna drain the money you have"

"Not every day do I use your services, why are you so chatty?"

Egbert's reply left Sean unable to say anything more. He only let out a heavy sigh and clenched his mouth with a sour face.

"Have you found him?"

"Yet. I've deployed my men to look for your little wife's whereabouts, but there's still no news until now"

"I know you've read a lot of books in the national library of Merland. So I want to ask you something, is every scent of human blood different or are there any of them that look alike?"

Still focused on driving, Parker answered Egbert's question, "The book that deals with the scent of human blood has not been in the library since the era of the exile system"

Because after the exile system came into effect, information about human blood was already largely forgotten and rarely from the nation of those who did research for it because it remembered the chapters listed on the exile system.

......................

*Neonatal smiling: The condition in which the first few weeks after the baby is born, the baby smiles but not as a response to something or pleasure. Rather it is the smile reflex they have had since in the mother's womb that comes from stimulation of the subcortical part of the brain.