The First Vampire

The morning sunlight seeped through the curtains, illuminating Vera’s flawless jade-white face.

Turning to her side, she lazily snuggled herself into Colin’s arms, seeming to find security there.

Before she could settle back to sleep, the crying of a baby jolted her awake again.

“I’ll go.” Vera, restraining her husband who was about to get up, climbed down from the bed and draped on a silver nightgown. Fastening a thin belt around her waist, her fair delicate feet stepped on the sheepskin rug and slowly walked to the nursery next door.

The maid had the crying child in her arms, soothing it. Seeing Vera enter, she promptly curtsied.

Vera took Caesar from the maid, holding him in her arms. She unbuttoned her nightgown and fed her child.

...

The crying abruptly stopped, replaced by faint suckling sounds.

The aroma of pine amber burning filled the room with a quiet and peaceful ambience.

In a short while, the well-fed little one fell asleep again.

Vera placed Caesar back in his cradle, knelt by the side of the bed and stared intently at this rosy and tender being.

He had the same black hair as Colin, roly-poly cheeks and chubby hands. With closed eyes, he was sound asleep.

Gazing at him in a trance, Vera seemed to see a miracle, a treasure, a benefaction, unwilling even to blink.

The faint sound of footsteps echoed behind her, soon wrapped in a warm embrace.

Colin’s voice then echoed in her ear:

“Hungry? Let’s go have breakfast.”

“Okay.” Vera slowly stood up, took Colin’s arm, and walked out.

After breakfast, the couple strolled to Agate Lake.

After the funeral of Marquis Garcia, Colin brought his wife to Agate Manor, located in the suburbs of Winterfell City, to relieve her stress.

The scenery here was beautiful, a great place for taking a vacation.

The sun was perfect that day, its rays warm and comfortable on the body.

The gentle wind, sweeping across the surface of Agate Lake, caused ripples to form.

A Swallow skimmed the lake surface, caught a plump white-bellied crucian carp, drawing squawks and in-fighting from its peers.

Walking along the lakeside path, Colin, with his arm around his wife’s slender waist, relished this rare warmth and tranquility.

“Colin, you don’t need to keep accompanying me here, I’m fine now.”

At these words, Colin looked at his wife’s profile in surprise, then laughed and said:

“Why? I’ve only been back a few days. You want me to leave already?”

Vera stopped walking, turned and wrapped her arms around Colin. Leaning her head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat, she said:

“No, of course not. I hope you could always stay by my side, never leave. But… I know it’s impossible. Now, you are the Empire’s protector. You don’t just belong to me. You have your responsibilities.”

Colin’s eyes slightly flickered as he asked gravely, “Has someone said something to you?”

Vera shook her head saying:

“Not at all. But I’m not a fool. You brought the Blood Knight Army this time, I know it’s not just to visit me or escort my Father’s remains.

I have also heard about some of the changes in the Eastern Region. You’re preparing to go to White Dew City, aren’t you?”

Seeing Vera’s reaction, Colin could only nod and say:

“Indeed, some people in the Eastern Region are always up to no good. I suspect this recent incident has something to do with the mages…”

Upon saying this, Colin paused. When Vera lifted her head, he looked into her eyes and firmly said:

“I also plan to visit Yevir. The Mage Council should either become a vassal of the Empire or face destruction.”

A shadow of sadness flashed across Vera’s eyes, but she immediately agreed, nodding, and said:

“Yes, Yevir indeed poses a threat to the Empire. I support your decision. However, not all mages want to be enemies with the Empire. As far as I know, many mages advocate for reconciliation with the Empire and look for ways to coexist peacefully.”

“Don’t worry, I will give them a chance to choose. But as for that damned Mr. Ji, I have to kill him!”

“Mr. Ji does deserve to die!” Vera, of course, would not object to this. After thinking for a bit, she added, “By the way, when you go to Yevir, you can get Teacher to accompany you. He can serve as a bridge between you and the mages, helping to win over the friendly mages.”

Colin knew that Vera’s “teacher” referred to Mage Cusius.

At the time when Mr. Ji launched the “Eyes of Judgement”, sacrificing Fallen Eagle City to kill Cyrus St. Hilde, it was Cusius who guarded the city to prevent anyone from interrupting Mr. Ji’s spell-casting.

Later, Cusius came to Vera and claimed he didn’t know Mr. Ji’s target was the Northern Duke. Otherwise, he would have tried to stop Mr. Ji’s actions.

Moreover, Cusius provided some help during Vera’s retake of Winterfell City and gave Vera the scroll of “Eyes of Judgement”. This was the reason Vera chose to believe her teacher and allowed him to stay in Dragon City.

Of course, from the beginning to the end, Colin never trusted the guy, but spared him for Vera’s sake.

“Okay, I’ll bring Mage Cusius.”

In front of Vera, Colin naturally couldn’t refuse, so he agreed.

But on second thought, it seemed like a good opportunity for Colin to see what game Cusius was playing. Otherwise, Colin wouldn’t feel at ease leaving a ticking time bomb in Winterfell City.

Then, without further delay, Colin returned to the mansion, took one last look at Caesar, bid goodbye to his wife and child, and returned to Winterfell City.

Vera had told him that after swearing allegiance to the St. Hilde family, it seemed that Cusius indeed wanted to settle in the North Territory. He even married a lady from a collateral line of the St. Hilde family and had a son.

Some time ago, Cusius came to Vera seeking a baptism for his son. He wanted his son to become a knight, make achievements in the future, and have a title and territory of his own in the North Territory.

It seemed that Cusius was earnestly planning to bid farewell to his mage life and fully integrate into the Empire’s nobility.

Lost in thought, Colin arrived in front of a mansion in the western district of Winterfell City.

The butler naturally recognized the famous Duke St. Chapman and immediately led Colin to find Cusius.

Crossing the front hall, they entered the backyard. Before the butler had a chance to announce their arrival, he stopped abruptly on the spot.

Because, to their surprise, Cusius was crawling on all fours, hopping around with a two or three-year-old child on his back, excitedly shouting:

“Charge! Charge forward! Charge toward the enemy!”

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