Chapter 46: The Runaway Queen (Part II)

All my bets were placed on that silver ring, which had vanished along with Aurora. Was such a hope too meager?

Alastor, who had been sitting right next to me, suddenly stood up.

I looked up at him.

"Trust me, Your Majesty. Before the sun rises on the third day, I will surely recover that silver ring for you!" Leaning down with a grin, Alastor stole a sudden kiss before vanishing from my sight before I could fly into a rage.

I froze for a long while, but eventually, I couldn't help but start laughing.

"Fine, I'll wait for you," I said to the empty air.

Alastor did not appear again until the evening of the third day.

Solano likely felt the victory was already in his grasp, and being full of confidence, he didn't even bother to come find me. Solano! At the thought of that loathsome name, I gnashed my teeth in hatred. Today was already the third day; by tomorrow morning, he would likely drag me away from the Demon Realm to that dark kingdom beyond the three realms.

Sitting on the marble steps, I stared intently at the entrance of the castle.

A pale, slender hand reached out before me. In the center of the palm lay a silver ring; on its outer edge, the faint engraving of a "W" was visible.

My eyes widened. That was it! That was the silver ring!

"Alastor, you actually found it!" Joy was written all over my face, but when I turned my head, I froze.

The one standing beside me—who else could it be but the jade-like Albus?

"How... is it you?" I dithered for a moment, stood up, and walked around him, looking left and right. "Where is Alastor?"

Albus did not answer.

"How did you get this ring?" The thorn hidden in my heart began to sprout. At this moment, the answer to all my lingering doubts and suspicions was about to emerge. I took a step forward and looked up at him. "It was you, wasn't it?"

His gaze remained as cold as ever.

Just as I thought he wouldn't answer, he gave a nearly imperceptible nod.

It really was him! He was the vampire who bit me!

"Why?" I ground my teeth, wishing I could tear the jade-like man before me into pieces.

A small voice in my heart told me that even without him, another vampire would have come to bite me; my life had been decided long ago.

But I still couldn't accept it.

Why me?

By what right was it me?!

"I was injured at the time; you shouldn't have approached me." His clear voice sounded even more ethereal in the night air as Albus spoke flatly.

"Then why didn't you just kill me?" I snarled. "...You knew I would turn into a vampire!"

He looked away, no longer meeting my eyes, his voice indifferent. "Killing one's own progeny is a violation. According to the Traditions, I cannot kill a blood-kin who has already been formed."

"Is that so?" I pressed closer to him, laughing in pure fury. "Then, Lord Arbiter, tell me—what is the Third Tradition?"

Albus lowered his lashes and remained silent.

Alastor had once taught me that there are three realms: Heaven, the Demon Realm, and the Human Realm. The blood-kin of the Camarilla lineage live in the Demon Realm and are ruled by the Queen. When Her Majesty founded the Camarilla, she explicitly set down six Traditions that all descendants must strictly follow: The First Tradition: The Masquerade; The Second Tradition: The Domain; The Third Tradition: The Progeny; The Fourth Tradition: The Accounting; The Fifth Tradition: The Hospitality; The Sixth Tradition: The Destruction. If any of these six are violated, severe punishment follows.

Alastor had said that at the time, I was a Childe—a newly turned vampire who must be personally taught by their sire and must not leave their side until released. Furthermore, a vampire without a sire's protection would be ridiculed by other blood-kin, or even hunted down!

Albus didn't kill me, but he abandoned me. That is equally a violation. Is such an excuse perhaps too pathetic?

Looking at the silver ring in his palm, I actually grew calm. "It was all for Aurora, wasn't it? When you bit me, you sensed my power. You didn't kill me because I was a part of Aurora, right?"

"Then why didn't you just bring me back to the Demon Realm? Wouldn't it have been simpler to let Aurora devour me directly?" I was aggressive, for this was the part I couldn't understand. Aurora had gone to great lengths to find me, yet he knew of my existence and never told her. Instead, he left me the silver ring, which could suppress my power and protect me from being hunted by other vampires. Why did he do it?

"I'm sorry." He looked at me, his voice flat even in apology.

I was stunned. Such a proud man actually apologized?

"Don't hate her. Everything she did was because of me." He looked at me, yet it seemed he was looking through me for the presence of another woman.

Remembering how Aurora had thrown me into the hot spring where Albus was bathing, I suddenly understood why she had been so desperate to consume me. She... she knew that my creator was Albus, and knowing that Albus had hidden this from her, she made those strange moves and rushed to devour me.

"I thought... you would be happy. I... I became so small, I was so afraid you would get tired of me... Anyway, anyway, she and I were originally the same person. Even if... you really liked her... I wouldn't mind..."

"It's been four hundred years, me in this state that is neither human nor ghost! Even I loathe myself! I was so afraid you wouldn't want me... so afraid you would leave me..."

"You like her, don't you? You like her, right? Don't be sad. I'll eat her, and then we'll be the same person. The one you like is me, and she and I were originally the same person..."

Those glazed eyes flashed before me, and those sorrowful voices echoed in my mind.

I stared blankly at the lonely Albus before me. He stood alone in the cold moonlight, his face pale, even the last trace of warmth in his eyes gone due to Aurora’s passing.

Once, a man in white with silver hair held a tiny girl in his arms.

Aurora and Albus—a strange pair, yet with just a subtle gesture or an ordinary word, they could make anyone understand the meaning of "a lifetime of change."

But Aurora is gone.

The one left behind is me.

"You and I are one person. Isn't it good to return to how things were?"

"You are a part of me, like my hands and feet. Have you ever seen a hand or foot jump out and claim it is a person?"

Aurora's voice echoed in my ears like a curse. She and I are one person? So I cannot have my own consciousness, cannot defend my own feelings? Is my existence a mistake? Am I a person who doesn't exist at all?

Albus said, "I'm sorry"?

Albus said, "Don't hate her"?

What right do I have to hate her?

I stared at the solitude-drenched Albus, feeling like a despicable thief. I had ruthlessly stolen their happiness.

If I vanished, would anyone become lonely like Albus?

If I vanished, would anyone become as sorrowful as Albus?

No one?

No one?

If no one would be sorrowful or lonely because of my disappearance, then the one who vanishes...

The one who vanishes... might as well be me.

My vision blurred, and my spirit gradually began to scatter.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry... it was my fault. I'll give Aurora back to you... give her back..." My mind was a chaotic mess, and I was lost in a daze.

"You have nothing to apologize for. You were never a part of her. You are Lilith—the fallen angel, Lilith."

Albus's voice successfully pulled my consciousness back.

"What do you mean?"

"When Lilith fell from grace, Aurora devoured her to gain greater power. It wasn't until four hundred years ago, when the rebellion caused Aurora severe injury, that Lilith was finally able to separate from her body."

"You mean... I am the fallen angel Lilith? And to get my power, Aurora devoured me the moment I fell?"

Albus nodded.

I no longer knew what expression to wear in response to such explosive news.

Life, indeed, is full of surprises.