Year 1804...The sound of drums and trumpets echoed across the grounds of the White Vampires' Palace. After nearly a year, everyone would finally witness the return of Prince Zaitan—the prince who had now gained full mastery over his extraordinary abilities.In unison, General Suvan and Kawban, the Supreme’s right hand, marched at the front alongside the royal soldiers of the Kingdom of Sadan. Supreme Dalleon sat proudly on his throne with Queen Lovera by his side. The citizens gathered in joyous celebration to welcome back the youngest son of the Supreme and Queen—Prince Zaitan, the one foretold by the oracle to ascend the throne after his father."Honor His Majesty’s return!" Kawban declared. He dropped to his knees first, followed by General Suvan and the soldiers.A single beat of the drum and trumpet signaled Prince Zaitan’s sudden appearance—he materialized from thin air before the crowd. Misan couldn't take her eyes off him. His transformation was undeniable—his physique now sc
Year 1803...(Play Nobita’s “Unang Sayaw” while reading this chapter. Thank you!)The moment Misan heard the young man’s voice, an unexplainable sensation swelled in her chest. Rycon’s eyes were fixed on her, and for the first time, his expression had changed—gone was the cold, blank stare. She didn’t respond to what he said. Instead, she quickly averted her gaze to the river in front of her. She could feel Rycon drawing closer, followed by his gentle sigh.“I just wanted to help,” he began.Misan remained silent, but her heart was pounding furiously, echoing the flood of questions rushing through her mind.Why did Princess Amira kiss him?What was going on between the two of them?“I only want to help because I know how exhausted you are from work,” Rycon added.Still, Misan did not respond. Deep down, she knew those were the words she wanted to hear. But her heart craved a different explanation—though she couldn’t understand why she so desperately wanted the truth.Why?Rycon took a
Year 1803...Misan’s heart was restless and breaking when she learned that Prince Zaitan would temporarily leave to train and learn how to control his extraordinary abilities. He badly needed that training, as the past months had shown how unstable his powers were. Every time he tried to use them, he would lose consciousness from energy depletion. Over the years, Prince Zaitan had slowly begun to discover his unique abilities.The prince had the power to enchant weapons with magic, making them poisonous and instantly deadly to anyone they struck. His second ability was invisibility—he could make himself unseen to anyone, for as long as he desired. But his most astonishing power was telekinesis—the ability to manipulate and control objects around him with his mind.Over the years, Misan had grown fond of the prince through the kindness and attention he constantly showed her. She could still vividly recall his heartfelt confession on her nineteenth birthday. Misan couldn’t help but cry
Year 1800...Prince Zaitan awoke from a terrible dream. Sweat trickled down his face as he recalled each unsettling detail—ones he wished to forget. His nightmare was about Rycon. In it, Rycon had learned how to teleport and bore the mark of Prince Zumir on his neck.In the dream, Zaitan witnessed his death—his life ended by a vampire he did not recognize. Beside the vampire stood a young woman with long, curly hair, but her face was hidden in shadows.He remembered Rycon's unusual skill with weapons. Though an ordinary vampire with no noble blood, Rycon wielded weapons with precision, yet supposedly lacked any magical abilities. It seemed unlikely that someone like him could learn teleportation, a power usually reserved for blue-blooded vampires born with energy flowing naturally in their veins.Still, Prince Zaitan was disturbed. Why Rycon? Why was he the one in the dream, out of all the vampires in his life?In his dream, Zaitan had offered Rycon the role of his right hand. But jus
Current Year...Rycon had no idea why Prince Zaitan had brought him up the hill. After their training session, the Prince invited him to come along. He didn’t complain and simply agreed—he had nothing else to do anyway."How many years did you train to be that precise, Rycon?" Prince Zaitan asked as they climbed.Rycon turned to the Prince, who was walking beside him. The slope wasn’t very steep, and from where they were, their kingdom was visible just about fifty meters away."Ever since I could remember, Your Highness, I’ve never had the chance to train. It’s always been just me and my parents. Today was my first time holding a bow," Rycon replied in a calm voice.When they reached a large tree with wide leaves and thick branches, they settled under its shade to rest for a while."Your way of holding the bow makes it seem like you’ve mastered it already. Did you know that only I, Suvan, and my father’s right-hand man can hit those apples without wasting a single arrow?" said Prince
Current Year...The weather was bright and pleasant—much like how Princess Amira felt the moment she saw Rycon, who was busy carrying two buckets filled with cow's milk. He was shirtless, and the Princess couldn’t help but notice the well-defined shape of his body. She didn’t care about the age gap between them, even if Rycon was the same age as her youngest brother, Prince Zaitan. She adjusted her long hair and opened her lavender fan. Holding the hem of her lavender dress, she walked toward Rycon."Good morning to you, Rycon," the Princess greeted.Rycon stopped and turned toward the Princess. He set the buckets down and bowed in return."Good morning, Your Highness," Rycon replied.The Princess smiled sweetly. Her admiration for him deepened the closer she looked. His eye color stood out, his nose was sharp, and his lips were a soft red. Rycon’s skin was smooth and pale, almost like that of a blue-blooded vampire."Do you have anything to do tonight?" the Princess asked, still smil