The wind seemed to still.
Cyril knelt quietly on the forest floor, gazing at Elena, who sat curled against the roots of an ancient tree, her face pale, her chest rising and falling in frantic rhythm.
Her words still echoed in his ears.
"You're a... vampire."
Cyril closed his eyes, as if a blade had been driven straight through his heart. His voice, hoarse and low, broke the silence.
"Yes," he said. "I am."
Elena flinched, lifting her head to look at him.
He didn't deny it.He didn't offer excuses.He simply spoke, his voice almost pleading.
"I never wanted to hurt you. Do you believe me? That night… I—"He hesitated, his voice growing even rougher."I was going to… but then you smiled. You looked at me with those trusting eyes, handed me candy... and said I looked like a prince."
He moved closer, slowly, carefully, always keeping a respectful distance.
"I have lived for so long," he whispered, "so long that I forgot what it meant to truly live. For me, there was no difference between sleeping and waking — each night was just another round of hunger and decay."
His voice trembled. His golden-red eyes, once cold as ancient ruins, now gleamed with a startling clarity.
"Until I met you."
Elena remained silent, but tears welled up in her eyes.
"You made me feel..." Cyril smiled bitterly, "like a living human."
"Being with you, listening to your voice — it gave me peace. It made me happy.I craved those days, like a creature of the night craves the sun."
He lowered his head as if confessing a sin.
"I know you're afraid of me. I'm afraid too — afraid you'll never speak to me again.But if you'd let me... I'd like to stay by your side, as a friend."
His voice grew even softer, like ripples on a midnight lake.
"I won't hurt humans anymore.I swear it.I'll survive on rats, on bats — on the creatures you hate most.If that's what it takes to stay by your side, I'll change."
At those words, Elena's heart clenched.
Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined a proud, cold vampire would humble himself so completely — for her.
She bit her lip, her chest heaving with unspoken emotions.
He was nothing like the other vampires—In those blood-red eyes, she saw no cruelty, no wild hunger.Only sorrow.And loneliness.
She slowly lifted her hand, brushing away the tears from her cheeks.Tentatively, she forced a shaky little smile.
"Rats?" she asked in a trembling voice, her tone soft with disbelief and innocence."You'd really… survive on rats?"
Cyril blinked, then actually chuckled — a raw, fleeting sound.The bitter frost that had long encased him seemed to melt slightly.
"If you wished it," he said softly, "I'd even try eating grass."
Elena gave a watery giggle. Her fear lingered, but something warmer stirred within her.
"I'm still scared..." she whispered, "but I believe you won't hurt me."
At those words, it was as if someone had dragged Cyril out of the abyss.Light—faint, fragile—poured into the endless night of his existence.
He slowly rose to his feet, his golden-red eyes filled with a tenderness that could shatter stone.
He didn't reach for her, didn't dare.Instead, he simply took a step back and bowed his head.
"Thank you, Elena," he said.
"Don't thank me," she muttered, pouting a little. "You're still way better than that creep who tried to choke me."
She brushed off her dress and grinned at him as if nothing had happened."But don't get too cocky, Mr. Rat-Blood Vampire," she teased."I'm going to keep a close eye on you."
Cyril lowered his eyes, a rare, genuine smile curving his lips.
He had believed his heart was long dead.That it beat only for hunger and survival.Yet now—He could hear it, faint but unmistakable, like the first thawing drip of spring water beneath the snow.
He was alive.
——
Meanwhile, on the other side of the forest—
A figure knelt beneath a rocky cliff deep within the woods.
Lucien was on his knees, cold sweat dripping down his forehead.
"You don't understand... Cyril... he..."
Before he could finish, a booted foot slammed into his chest.
Lucien flew backward, crashing into the rocks with a sickening thud.
"Useless worm," a low, iron-hard voice snapped.
The man towering over him was massive, cloaked in shadows, his white hair framing a face as stern and merciless as carved stone.
Wilhelm Valen.A High Elder of the Night Tribunal.Lucien's uncle.One of the most feared vampires in existence.
"You couldn't even guard a single girl," Wilhelm spat."Did you think I wouldn't find out? If you hadn't been toying with your prey, Cyril would never have intervened."
Lucien gritted his teeth, seething with rage, but dared not protest.He struggled to his feet, clutching his bruised ribs.
"But... I discovered something important while dealing with that girl," he said hoarsely, inching closer.
He leaned in and whispered something into Wilhelm's ear.
Wilhelm froze. His eyes turned cold as steel.
"Are you certain?"
"I saw it with my own eyes," Lucien hissed."She wears a pendant engraved with the Lightborne sigil."
For a moment, Wilhelm said nothing.
Then, a slow, chilling smile spread across his face.His fists clenched tight, a barely contained storm brewing within him.
"Good," Wilhelm said, his voice dark as thunderclouds.
"If that's true... Cyril has broken more than just hunting rules.
He has violated a sacred law."
"And for that," Wilhelm murmured, "he will be punished."