Chapter 3 Don’t Become a Noble’s Toy
1877 Words
The thirst hit Theodore Karnstein harder by the second.
He wanted to grab her wrist.
Wanted to sink his fangs into her veins.
Wanted to see that look—fear… mixed with something softer. Something addicted.
The urge to hunt clawed at him. Barely contained.
Unlike half-bloods, who lived in constant hunger, Theodore’s family kept humans—livestock—on hand at all times.
Fresh blood. Unlimited supply.
As a Pureblood of noble lineage, he had already fed earlier tonight. More than enough.
Under normal circumstances, a full vampire wouldn’t lose control.
But the moment he smelled her blood—
Everything snapped.
…Too sweet.
Sweeter than anything he had ever tasted.
Her heart was racing.
He could hear it.
Feel it.
The faster it beat, the quicker her blood flowed—calling to him.
Inviting him.
Telling him to tear her throat open.
His gaze locked onto her neck.
That faint smear of blood—
He wanted to lick it clean.
But then—
He remembered.
That mark had been left by Adrian.
A half-blood.
Disgust flickered across Theodore’s face.
He lifted his chin slightly, voice cold and commanding.
“Your name.”
I blinked.
Honestly, the less trouble the better.
“Tessa Shaw,” I said. “And you are…?”
“Theodore Karnstein. Scepter House. Direct descendant of a Prince.”
…I didn’t ask for your résumé.
Then he said it.
Just like that.
“From now on, you follow me.”
Day one.
And I’d already confirmed it—
This school had just as many lunatics as it did good-looking people.
I gave him a polite smile.
“That’s… going to cost extra.”
He had sharp, clean features. When he spoke, his canines showed just slightly.
Not human.
His bangs fell low over his brows, a little messy. The back of his hair was longer—almost like a wolf’s tail.
Young.
Dangerous.
The kind of face that made you forgive anything.
My heartbeat stuttered again.
God. I really need to fix this habit of falling for every pretty face I see.
But honestly?
It’s hard.
Good looks are basically a free pass.
I pressed a hand to my chest. Took a slow breath.
No.
I didn’t come here for this.
I had a reason.
And I wasn’t about to lose my head over a face.
Theodore wasn’t used to being rejected.
His expression darkened instantly.
Those crimson eyes locked onto me—cold, heavy, suffocating.
He stared too long.
Something felt… off.
I took a small step back.
He moved to follow—
A sharp gust of force cut through the air.
Adrian was back on his feet.
He struck fast.
“Stay away from her,” he said, voice rough.
Theodore clicked his tongue.
“Since when do you get to speak, you filthy half-blood?”
…Great.
Perfect.
This is exactly the moment where someone should yell—
“Stop fighting!”
I didn’t.
Instead, I looked around.
Mapped out a route.
And the second I had an opening—
I ran.
By the time I made it back to the dorms, it was past four.
—
What the hell is this school life?
Does everyone go through this at Elaris?
Or does living without sunlight just mess with your brain?
At least the dorms lived up to the “noble academy” name.
Two people per room.
More like a luxury apartment than a dorm.
The moment I stepped inside, I saw my roommate sitting on her bed.
She looked… off.
I recognized her. Same class.
“Hey,” I said. “You okay?”
She kept her head down.
“…Hi.”
Quiet type.
But not unapproachable.
I sat down.
“What’s wrong? You don’t look great.”
Her lips pressed together. Her voice shook.
“How could I be?”
I blinked.
Yeah.
She definitely knew something.
“Oh—right. Earlier, in the bathroom, some girls were talking about Class III… I just transferred in this semester. What’s wrong with our class?”
She let out a hollow, almost hysterical laugh.
“You don’t know?”
“People assigned to Class III… never end well.”
Her face was pale.
“Last year, a few students disappeared during the first semester.”
“They say… the nobles played with them until they died.”
My stomach twisted.
Class III.
A Hybrid Class.
Some people here—
Did whatever they wanted.
Every year, something bad happened.
But no one held them accountable.
Money solved everything.
And the survivors?
Most of them ended up working for those families. High pay. Comfortable lives.
If they made it out.
But no one knew if they’d be one of the lucky ones.
I thought about Adrian.
And Theodore.
…Yeah. That tracks.
I hesitated.
“Is it always like this? I didn’t hear anything about it before I got in.”
She grabbed her hair, near breaking.
“Of course you didn’t! You think those families just sit around doing nothing with all that power?!”
“If you get eaten, no one cares! Calling the police won’t help!”
“Anything related to Elaris gets screened before it goes public—everything!”
…They had that much control?
I felt like I needed to rebuild my entire worldview.
“I mean—just look at their faces and that’s enough, okay? I don’t want to be in the same class as them!”
“…Fair,” I muttered. “But there aren’t that many, right? I only saw Adrian today.”
“The ones who didn’t show up today? Definitely all of them!”
“Teachers don’t control them! They’re the worst ones!”
“First day and they already skip class—I’m screwed!”
I patted her shoulder.
“Hey. Maybe they just had something come up.”
She laughed and cried at the same time.
“…Yeah. Hopefully.”
I handed her tissues and kept patting her back.
“You look kind of… naive,” she sniffed. “So I’ll warn you.”
“Trying to hook a rich guy? Doesn’t work.”
“I’ve seen girls try that back in middle division. Every single one of them disappeared.”
“They join different clubs—those represent family factions. It’s complicated.”
“So don’t get close to Adrian just because he’s handsome.”
I ignored the first half.
“…I see.”
So that’s how it worked.
No wonder Theodore kicked him like that earlier.
I like good-looking people.
Sure.
But that’s not why I’m here.
A year ago—
My missing twin brother, Ethan Shaw, sent me a location.
The coordinates pointed straight into Elaris Academy’s restricted forest.
Then—
He vanished.
The forest was in the southeast.
The only way in was through the academy.
And outsiders weren’t allowed in.
Otherwise, I would never have signed up for a school like this.
I hesitated.
“…Have you ever heard of someone named Ethan Shaw?”
She shook her head.
“No. But I’ve got old yearbooks. You can check.”
I shook mine.
We didn’t have much contact.
But I knew one thing—
Ethan had never studied here.
If he showed up, it’d probably be in some disciplinary report.
Like: “Unauthorized intruder caught on campus.”
I drifted off in thought.
My hand slowed, still holding the tissue box.
My roommate started crying again.
“Why me… I was in Class VI in middle division… why did they assign me to Class III…”
“I don’t want to be a noble’s toy…”
Her voice broke.
She buried her face and sobbed harder.
I poked her arm, tried to comfort her.
Didn’t work.
“You don’t understand how scary Class III is,” she kept saying.
…I mean, today alone was already terrifying, okay?
If it were someone else, they’d have called the police by now.
I just… adapt fast.
And maybe I’m a little too calm.
Still—
This felt like walking into a dead end.
By five, she was still crying under the blanket.
I couldn’t sleep.
The sun was about to rise.
I lay there for a bit, then sat up.
No curfew.
Might as well go check out the restricted area now.
I threw on a jacket and left.
—
The sky was just starting to lighten.
Almost no one was on campus.
A few students were heading back to the dorms.
Bats hung upside down from the branches, watching.
I shoved my hands into my pockets and walked slowly.
Ethan was my twin.
When we were five, our parents died.
He went with our grandparents.
I stayed with our grandmother.
We only met once or twice a year after that.
The rest was just occasional messages.
After we separated, he changed.
Colder.
More distant.
Still—
He was my brother.
When we were ten, someone called him a freak.
I beat the crap out of them.
All five of them.
No one believed I could do it.
But when the police saw the old injuries on Ethan—
Those kids got transferred.
After that, no one touched him again.
I was older.
By minutes.
Still counted.
I sighed.
He disappeared in that forest.
A whole year.
No news.
Maybe he was already dead.
But—
My messages always showed “read.”
No replies.
Just that one word.
Read.
Which meant—
Someone was still charging that phone.
Maybe…
Maybe it was him.
That tiny possibility brought me here.
Three years of high school.
If I could find him—
That would be enough.
—
By the time I reached the restricted area, the sun still hadn’t risen.
The southeast side of Elaris connected directly to a massive forest.
The other sides were sea or mountains.
This was the only accessible entry point.
It was close to the noble dorms.
Ten, maybe fifteen minutes away.
I looked around.
No people.
No animals.
Nothing.
No clear warning signs.
Just a broken fence.
Barely a boundary.
You could step over it without effort.
No real protection.
In the distance—
A white manor.
Old.
Abandoned.
I wasn’t planning to go in today.
Just scouting.
I followed the fence line toward the building.
Halfway there—
I heard something.
A sound.
Soft.
Uneven breathing.
In the silence of the night, it echoed.
Desperate.
Almost… pleading.
I turned instinctively.
And froze.
By one of the pillars outside the manor—
A pale hand hung in the air.
A woman’s.
Another hand—larger—gripped her wrist tightly, pinning her in place.
Their shadows on the ground—
Entangled.
Too close.
Too intimate.
…Some people really like doing it in risky places.
I immediately looked away.
Or tried to.
Too late.
One of them stepped back.
A boy.
Head lowered.
The corner of his lips curved slightly—stained red.
At first glance, it looked like lipstick.
He raised his hand and slowly wiped it away.
The movement was… indecently sensual.
His clothes were mostly intact. Just the collar slightly loose.
Nothing too explicit.
Still—
I turned to leave.
Then—
He looked up.
“…Hm?”
Honey-colored eyes.
Soft.
Bright.
Familiar.
—Wait.
Isn’t that the honey cake guy?!
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