The Vampire's Runaway Bride

Chapter 2: After the Cold Shoulder

Lirad had settled me into this palace of red roses and then disappeared, not to be seen for ten days.

I seemed to harbor no resentment about this, perhaps because I didn't remember, so I forgot that I once loved Lirad, and even forgot that as a queen, I had the right to demand his presence.

Gently, I placed the ivory comb in my hand on the dressing table and stared blankly at my reflection in the mirror.

Compared to when I first awoke, my appearance had largely matched that in the portrait, except for... the eyes.

I raised my hand to touch my own red, enchanting eyes; there was no mistake, Vivian had said it was a symbol of the queen's status.

Vivian was the maid assigned to me by Lirad. She was sent over the day after I woke up, along with four other maids whose names I couldn't recall.

"Vivian..." I called out towards the door, but she did not appear.

I was puzzled; usually, she would come whenever I called.

I opened the door and saw Vivian lying on the ground, her face pale, her body dried up, with a stake driven into her heart.

Vivian was dead. I had known this day would come and that it was because she was too kind to me that she met such an end.

The day after Lirad left, I heard that woman's voice in my mind, warning me not to entertain any hopes of gaining Lirad's affections. To demonstrate my helplessness, she would destroy me and those who were kind to me.

A few days ago, Vivian told me that the woman in my mind was Countess Shaman.

Countess Shaman, the most favored woman by Lirad's side at present, a remarkable woman with both beauty and power, known for her ruthlessness and strong tactics.

I called for the maids and watched expressionlessly as they removed Vivian's body.

That day, I did not step out of my bedroom, sitting on the bed pondering why Lirad had brought me here, and why he left me here without care...

Sitting cross-legged on the duvet embroidered with red roses, I wanted to cry but couldn't, because vampires have no tears.

"Knock knock knock..." The knocking had been going on all afternoon, but I was in no mood to pay attention.

"Your Majesty... Are you in there?" The cold voice carried a hint of impatience; I thought those maids assigned to take care of me really didn't want to stay here.

"I want to see Lirad!" I rushed to the door, flung it open, and frowned at the maid standing outside, "Tell Lirad, I want to see him!"

The four maids stood in a line at the door. Seeing me come out, they concealed their impatience and disgust, took a step back, and lowered their heads, not daring to look at me.

"Did you hear me? I want to see Lirad!" I furiously swung the sleeve of my dress, the gold-threaded cuff cutting a long, vicious gash across the face of the girl closest to me.

The girl bit her teeth hard, touched the wound, looked up at me coldly, her eyes filled with more malice than disgust.

I expressionlessly watched the girl's face wound slowly heal, then raised my hand and slapped her hard again.

The ring on my hand once more cut through her pretty face, dark red blood flowing down her pointed chin, splashing into a pool of blood at her feet.

Watching her cradle her left cheek in pain, I sneered, raising my right hand to look at the rose ring on my index finger.

This ring was filled with some wood powder; her face would never heal again.

"I heard that my beloved queen wishes to see me..."

Lirad entered as I stood by the window, lost in thought, gazing at the red roses in the garden.

It had been many days since Vivian's departure that I had not stepped out of my room.

Lirad held a bottle of red wine in his right hand and two stemmed glasses in his left.

"Not eating or drinking for so many days, doesn't my queen know it would cause me heartache?" Lirad handed me a glass, the liquid inside red and thick—blood.

In truth, I wasn't sure if I needed to drink blood. I hadn't consumed anything these past few days, yet I felt no hunger, nor any fatigue.

"I just wanted to see you..." I reached for the glass Lirad offered, swirled the contents, but did not drink.

With a shrug, Lirad brought the glass to his lips, took a sip, then looked at me and pursed his lips, "Is there something my queen wishes to discuss?"

I walked over to the dressing table, set down the glass, and evaded Lirad's embrace.

"I want to leave." Since I don't know why he brought me back, at least let me know if he intends to imprison me.

"Impossible." Lirad's voice was cold, his response decisive.

So I understood, even though he claimed I was his beloved queen, it couldn't change his decision to imprison me.

Thus, what Vivian said about Lirad currently favoring Countess Shaman was true.

And that Lirad had no plans to make Shaman his queen was also true.

Originally, with me in slumber, there were no other women by Lirad's side who could threaten Shaman's position, so Shaman took no action, and her relationship with Lirad remained relatively peaceful.

Now that I have awakened, Shaman feels threatened, and she must eliminate me. Meanwhile, Lirad wants to use me as an excuse to continue rejecting Shaman. As long as Shaman hasn't killed me, Lirad can remain completely uninvolved.

At the same time, if I were to accidentally be killed by Shaman, Lirad would have an excuse to wage war against her and seize the power she holds.

"Then order no one to come near here, take the maids away too, I don't need anyone." Looking at Lirad, I think the smile on my lips must have been filled with sarcasm, "Including you..."

Lirad frowned, narrowed his eyes at me. My red eyes met his green ones, without a hint of fear,******, as if for a moment, I saw a flash of horror in his eyes. For some reason, I suddenly felt a pang of heartache for Lirad with such an emotion.

"Heatherlyn..." Lirad stood up, walked over to me, slowly pulled me into his arms, and his cold voice came from above, "Don't think nonsense, I love you, forever and always..."

How much of Lirad's declaration of love could I believe? I didn't ask him, because I knew I would never get the answer I wanted.

In the evening, Lirad stayed. Sleeping in his arms at night was comforting.

However, waking up to find the person gone was also painful.

Sitting on the bed, I tried to recall everything from last night, trying to convince myself that last night was not a dream, that Lirad really stayed, but I forgot, we are vampires, we have no temperature, no heartbeats, only a life so long it's wearisome. Such a short night may not leave any trace in our endless existence.