Chapter I: The Fate of the Vampire Heir

[At the castle inside the Riparian Zone]

“Leon, my son.” A stern voice greeted Leon as soon as he stood before his so-called father, sitting in the swivel chair. The room was dark, and his father's face couldn't be seen. Only the blood-red eyes were visible, as if it was a monster lurking in the meadow.

Leon didn't respond. He had no will to do so, especially since he didn't consider the man in front of him his father. He can't accept the fact that his father is none other than the vicious man bearing the title of the “tyrant vampire king.”

Raellus Night Hale, the 99th king of Hale's vampire royalties. The tyrant who overthrew the previous king— with his power alone and his loyal subordinate. He is an egotistical power-crazed vampire king.

And Leon, being the tyrant's bastard son, makes him the castle's laughing stock for being the only half-blood vampire.

Leon Rai Hale, the first son of Raellus and the next heir to the throne. Since he's a half-blood, his physical appearance is not that of a vampire. He looks more human, with his heart still beating, warmth, and eyes that are not crimson red but clear blue eyes. His appearance as a human made him the black sheep in the castle—not that he cared about that. 

However, Leon's abilities as a vampire are just second to Raellus, which is why the tyrant king wanted Leon as his heir despite the opposition of the vampire elders who stood beside the previous kings. 

*tick tack *tick tack

Raellus tapped the table and harmonized with the sound of the clock. He's observing his son, who stands there staring at him without expression. He grinned at the thought of Leon resembling him in that aspect despite having the looks of his human mother.

“You've been here since you were five, right?” Raellus asked, reminiscing the day he brought Leon from the city. 

Leon's face grew dimmer. “That's right.”

It was the worst day of his life. It was the day they were dragged and forced to live in the Riparian zone instead of in Raikan city, where humans live.

“You're already twenty-four, and your siblings already have partners by the time they're eighteen, but you---”

“They're not my siblings.” Leon cut him off, disgust visible on his face after Raellus mentioned his siblings. He can't bear the thought that he has siblings who take after the viciousness of Raellus. The siblings made him suffer when he was nothing but a kid.

Raellus frowned, anger visible in his already darkened, blood-red eyes. But he calms himself. He knows that if he argues about it, there will be a bloodbath between them. He can't do that since he chose Leon himself. Unlike his other children, he wants him to be the next king with superior power. He's a prideful king who doesn't want to taint the throne with a weak ruler. 

He sighed, “Get married. You've had a fiance since you were twenty. You know that, right?”

Raellus massaged his temple. He doesn't understand why the only heir to the throne doesn't want a woman beside him, as they are vampires full of lust. ‘Is he different because he's half?’

“I already have a woman I'd like to marry.” Leon's protests made him grit his teeth in anger. ‘Woman he'd like to marry?’ Raellus thought, his brows raised.

He sneered, “Leon. There is no other woman for you than the one mentioned in your fate. Even if you have someone you'd like to marry, it won't be possible.”

The fate of the heir, the only woman he has to marry, is already decided as soon as Raellus chooses to make him the next king. The woman came from the clans that possess the "Sweet Blood." 

Leon's jaw moved, suppressing his anger. Of course, he knows that fate. Ever since he was declared the heir, all the vampires in the castle openly mocked him and said he's a lucky guy for having a woman as his wife who possesses the "Sweet Blood." 

‘Who cares about that?’

He doesn't care and will not care about that woman since he has only one woman he seeks. For him, the sweetest blood is the blood of ‘that’ woman, nothing else. 

“I'll repeat it: There's no other woman I will marry but the woman I like.” He remarks without even the slightest hesitation in his voice. Even in front of his father, a tyrant, he's willing to take him on just to marry the woman he likes and not the woman said to be his ‘fate.’

‘I'll make my fate that leads to her.’

*Blaaaaaag!

The table cracked, and the things that were on top of the table fell to the ground. 

“Leon! Just why are you being stubborn?!” Raellus roared like a madman. He can't believe that his heir is defying him. 

Leon's face hardened. “I accepted being your heir, but even choosing my wife, I'll have no right?”

Raellus' eyes widened not because of shock but amusement. “It's an order, Leon. This fate is what our ancestors have agreed upon, that the king and someone from the three clans will offer us one woman who will become the king's wife.”

“...”

“Aren't you at least relieved? That those humans who locked us here and made us prisoners in our very own land are sending someone of their own?! Isn't that great?!” Raellus continued hysterically. 

A feigned laugh escaped Leon's mouth. He couldn't believe what he had heard from Raellus. His obsession, rage, and madness of him are so devil-like. He can't believe that his viciousness knows no bounds. If he marries that woman in his fate who is a human, then it is sure that only suffering awaits her the moment they marry. 

‘A human living in this castle with thousands of vampires?’

Leon sneered at his thoughts, yet pity was still in his heart. Although he has vampire blood, he knows human emotions very well. He keeps denying his ‘fate’ because he doesn't want that woman to get dragged into the castle to marry someone like him and gets entrapped for a lifetime in the castle full of vicious vampires. It reminds him of his past.

‘That woman who possesses blood that is sweeter than anything else for vampires. The moment she steps foot here, she'll surely die from having her blood sucked dry by those bastards if I don't protect her. Tsk!’

He breathed in deeply, “No matter the reason. I'll never marry that woman. Fate or whatever it is, I'll decide on my own.”

Leon then gazed back at Raellus. His clear blue eyes flickered with his serious expression as if threatening his father.

It was then that Raellus became upset at how Leon behaved. Even though he favors him, there is still a line that cannot be crossed. 

“Guards!” Raellus yelled, gritting his teeth in anger. It didn't take seconds when the guards entered the dark room. Two guards with blood-red eyes stood beside the door, greeting the tyrant king with so much loyalty.

“We've arrived, sire.” They both said it in sync with nothing but a cold voice. One of the traits of being a vampire is there is no emotion in their voice as they don't feel emotions.

“Lock him in his room. Don't bring him food  for months until the day of his wedding.” Raellus ordered without any sense of guilt. Normal vampires can't pass a month without drinking blood. But Leon, who is half, can eat human food as well as human blood. The only problem would be him not drinking human blood. He only drinks animal blood once in a while but his main diet is human food. Although the effect of human food and animal blood is just enough to suffice his hunger, he still sticks with it. 

And now that his father ordered such a thing, it would be much harder for Leon to maintain his strength if he didn't eat for months.

But despite it, Leon smirked and let the two guards drag him away. Before he exited Raellus' room, he left a questionable remark that even his father could not understand.

“Thanks for your consideration.”

[After two weeks: outside the castle]

‘It's time to escape and look for her.’

Leon looked back at the huge old castle before he began his entrance into the forest that surrounded it. The forest is full of giant dead-like trees, hanging vines, and a cold atmosphere that can send you a shiver down your spine—it’s always been dark in this forest where the sun doesn’t shine. The Riparian Zone, the abandoned place where the race feeds on the blood of human lives and the vampire prison—is said to be the "perfect lair" for the vicious hiding vampires.

Leon had decided to leave the castle today, which had become his prison and hell for the last 19 years, taking nothing with him other than his clothing.

It had been exactly six years since the last time Leon had tasted human blood, which made him lose his mind. He can’t forget how it made him feel and what it made him today. He swore he’d find that blood, even if he had to go against the world. To him, who has nothing left, that woman became his everything.

The blood of humans satisfies the vampires’ thirst, but because of the battle five years ago, vampires have turned away from human blood and accepted the blood of animals. That battle became the reason for the human and vampire ordinance to exist, the law that said no vampires would leave the Riparian zone to hunt for human blood.

However, as vampires are used to drinking human blood, choosing animal blood is not enough because, instead of quenching their thirst, it only intensifies their desire to taste human blood again. And after a few years of imprisonment and restraint, they still fall prey to the intense desire for their blood. 

Their instinct and urge tell them that human blood is only for vampires.

Leon quickly leaped onto the tree branches. From there, he could see the vast field and even notice the dark, stuffy surroundings, even though the moon was still active—a sign of heavy rain.

He spent an entire day just getting out of the forest and away from the castle. 

“Damn it,” he cursed in his thought. He couldn’t accept that it took him a day just to get far from the castle completely. Even the hair of a human getting lost in the forest will not reach the castle; that’s how secluded it is.

He jumped off the tree branch and walked closer to the high wire blocking him from getting out of this place. It is just the last thing he must do to get out of the Riparian zone.

He looked at the wire and discovered it was the so-called “Eliad wire” that could block any of their vampire abilities. The wire itself is colored black, and it emits a strange liquid that seems to be poisonous. It also has a flickering color of blue and white, which reminds him of electricity.

And once he gets out of here, surely his abilities will return to him, and he’ll be able to track that blood easily. Her blood—the blood of the woman he had tasted before.

Leon exhaled as he gathered his strength and positioned his feet to jump on this high wire. He repeatedly said that with even the slightest touch of his body to the wire, those in the castle would immediately know of his escape. So as much as possible, he needs to jump higher than this wire. 

Through the years of living under the established ordinance, it is impossible to count how many vampires have dared to get out of this zone. However, no one has succeeded so far except—

*swooosh!

When he finally jumped, it created a rumbling sound and a slight shaking in the ground. A strong gust of the wind touched Leon’s face, and a triumphant smile formed on his face when he realized that he had crossed out of the Riparian zone without touching the wire. And when he landed, it made a massive crack in the ground. ‘Phew.’

'‘The first one to succeed is me….’

*badump!

As soon as he stepped out of the zone, his eyes widened, and a rush of heat surged through his body. The surroundings become brighter, even at night. He can vividly see even the insects hundreds of kilometers away and his evident sharp fangs—that is, in desire for one taste and smell, the blood he desperately desires.

“Finally,” Leon smiled as he gazed in one direction where the smell of sweet-scented blood was coming from; he whispered longingly. “the blood that I’ve been longing for.”

He gazed at the enclosed fortress, Raikan city.

[At the castle]

Raellus, with his hand clenched, gritted his teeth when he entered the spacious room of his son, Leon. His sharp fangs were visible, and his blood-red eyes sparked in anger.

“How the hell did he escape?” He asked in his cold voice to the attendant standing at the door.

“It looks like the prince used his ability; although weak, he managed to get through the vampires' minds guarding him.”

The attendant flinched when Raeullus laughed. “Until the very end, he still amuses me! That's right! For this time, I'll let you be, my dear son.”

A devilish smile formed in his mouth. Although the Eliad wire restricted their abilities, it seems like Leon, his adored son, isn't a hundred affected by it, which he finds amusing. 

‘As expected of the one I chose.’

Raeullus thought as he exited the room with his attendant following him. “Send a letter to that ‘clan’ that the marriage shall happen in four months!” He said enthusiastically.

‘I'm excited to meet you, a human with sweet blood.’