Chapter Fourteen: Liriel's Arrival

I awoke from a deep slumber, my body suffused with an overwhelming weakness. What had happened? I tried with all my might to recall what transpired before.

"Lilith, it's been so long." Just as Ang and I were about to return inside, a melodious female voice called out from behind us.

Startled, I turned to look. Standing behind us was a girl of about thirteen or fourteen, smiling sweetly in my direction.

She was dressed in a flaming red dress and held a matching parasol. Her long crimson hair was styled in twin tails, and even her eyes glowed a vivid scarlet. The whole of her seemed a living embodiment of fire.

"Liliel, what are you doing here?" My voice was cold as I addressed her. Indeed, this girl was my younger sister, the second princess of the Blood Clan, daughter of the Prince, Liliel de Dracula.

"Of course, I missed you, Sister. Really, you left without a word, abandoning me and running away from home. It made me so sad. And when I came looking for you, I found you happily mingling with a bunch of lowly humans. That truly broke my heart," Liliel said with a smile, her words betraying not a hint of real sorrow.

"So you were the one watching me during the day!" I accused.

"Don't say it like that. It wasn't surveillance—just a touching reunion between sisters. It's a pity some lowly humans got in the way," she replied, but her face showed no sign of regret.

"My affairs are none of your concern," I said icily. "And you, moving about in daylight—do you have a death wish?"

"Heh, don't worry. Unlike you, the half-breed, I can't withstand the sun, but a little sunlight is nothing I can't avoid," she said, using a word I found loathsome.

"Half-breed." Yes, that is what I am. I am not a pure-blooded vampire, nor am I a vampire made through the First Embrace. I am the product of my father's love for my human mother. My mother refused to become a vampire, and in the end, could not outlast the ravages of time and died of old age. After her death, my father poured all his love for her onto me, which is why I, with only half the blood of our clan, became the first princess of the Blood Clan. Liliel, however, is the offspring of my father's later union with one of the thirteen noble families, making her one of the rare pure-bloods among our kind. Yet, despite her excellence, she never received enough of our father's affection. Ever since Mother died, Father seemed to turn all his longing for her into doting care for me. Thus, in Liliel's eyes, I am an object of scorn, a stain upon the pride of the Blood Clan, an aberration that should not exist.

"Stop playing with your life. If anything happens to you," I turned to berate the figure behind Liliel, "Ashus, how will you answer to the Prince?"

"My deepest apologies, Princess Lilith. It was my negligence. I will beg His Highness's forgiveness upon our return," came the reply from Liliel's attendant, Ashus of the Shadow Demon Clan, a people skilled in concealment and assassination.

I snorted, accepting his apology. "Liliel, who permitted you to come to the mortal world?" The elders of the Blood Clan would never willingly allow a pure-blood like Liliel to risk herself here. She must have snuck out on her own again.

"If you can come, why can't I? My business is none of your concern," Liliel retorted coldly, her tone full of disdain. "Who would have thought the dignified First Princess of the Blood Clan would stoop to consorting with two lowly humans? You've utterly disgraced our clan's nobility and honor."

I could not refute her. Not only had I mingled with humans, I had fallen in love with one—and even forged a blood pact with him. I had indeed defiled our clan's honor.

"Princess Liliel, please mind your words." Ang, who had been silent behind me, spoke up sternly. As one who had served our family for over three centuries, Ang's status was second only to my father's. He was originally my father's attendant, but was assigned to protect me for my safety. He had watched Liliel grow up as well, making him one of the few with the right to rebuke her directly.

At Ang's reprimand, Liliel shot me an angry glare, huffed, and turned away.

"Princess Liliel, I will report your whereabouts to the Prince. Until his orders arrive, please remain here so we can ensure your safety," Ang continued respectfully.

"Fine. Until Father sends word, I'll stay with her," Liliel replied disdainfully, her tone full of displeasure.

"In that case, I'll prepare a room and supper for you. Since you were out during the day, I imagine you haven't dined yet?" Ang asked.

"Of course. To witness your fall from grace, I even sacrificed my meal," Liliel replied, still bitter about my actions. For someone who held the pride of our clan above all else, my behavior must have been unbearable.

At the table, Liliel sipped elegantly from her glass of blood, her graceful demeanor belying the dark, vanishing crimson within.

"What, you're not drinking? Is it not to your taste?" Liliel was surprised to see me abstain.

"The young mistress hasn't eaten in five days, save for sampling some human food," Ang answered respectfully.

"Are you insane?" Liliel's outburst startled me. "Who do you think you are? Out during the day, refusing to drink blood—what are you doing? You're a vampire, not a human! Have you spent so much time with humans your mind is rusted? Do you even know what you are anymore?" she shouted at me.

"It's nothing—I simply have no appetite. Unlike you, I can manage without drinking blood," I replied coolly, ignoring her fury. Her concern almost made me happy, but no, it was not concern—merely outrage at my fall from grace. I did not want her to know about Xingyu, for I could not predict what lengths she might go to in the name of our clan's pride.

"Different?" Liliel's brow arched. "Even if you have only half our blood, you still bear the noble Dracula lineage. Your every word and action represents our family's honor. If you don't feed, and keep exposing yourself to sunlight, how long do you think you can last? Are you trying to kill yourself?" She was incensed, her anger stripping away all pretense of elegance, her screams hysterical.

"Liliel, this is my choice. What you fear will not happen. I know my limits." I had made up my mind: I would stay by Xingyu's side until he found his happiness.

Watching Xingyu's smile on the Ferris wheel, I realized that as long as he could laugh happily, that was enough for me. I could only bring him endless darkness and solitude, so I would accompany him as he searched for his happiness, then quietly guard him from the shadows. Until then, let me linger a while longer in the sunlight.

"Why? I want to know the reason. I can't believe that you, proud Princess Lilith, the only one who ever surpassed me, would act this way without cause. So tell me the answer." Liliel gazed at me calmly, but in her eyes I saw a persistence I had never seen before.

I remained silent.

"Is it because of those two humans?" Liliel's intuition was still keen.

"As long as I'm here, you won't harm them. They're my friends," I warned her seriously.

"So, for the sake of those two lowly humans, you're tormenting yourself? For them, you've abandoned our clan's pride? For them, you don't even care about your own life?" Liliel glared at me, furious.

"They are my friends," I said again, my tone cold and severe. If she dared harm Xingyu, I would not hesitate to seal her away in the demon realm.

A resounding clang echoed as my massive black scythe appeared in my hand, intercepting Liliel's thrusting knight's sword. She stood before me, gripping her dark golden blade. "Let me see your strength, then—let's see how you will stop me from killing them," Liliel's voice was low and merciless.