Chapter 1

Six hundred years into our marriage, I found out my husband had a son.

I had ended my border patrol three days early, wanting to surprise Valerius.

Not far away, Valerius was channeling his exclusive magic, teaching a boy how to weave the darkness.

"Dad! I did it!" The boy looked up. His bright eyes were a near-perfect reflection of Valerius's.

My mind instantly went blank.

Dad?

A woman walked over.

She draped a small cloak over the boy's shoulders, her hand brushing against Valerius's chest with practiced familiarity. "Valeri, the wind is picking up. He'll catch a cold now that he's sweating."

Valerius naturally wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "My fault."

The image of them huddled together like a picture-perfect family was an ice-tipped needle driven straight into my eyes.

The sharp sting made my breath hitch in my throat.

The man who had sworn before the Senate to love me for all eternity—the man bound to me by a Soul Blood Pact—had already betrayed me!

A sudden, agonizing cramp seized my lower abdomen.

It was an old wound from six centuries ago.

When the Sunfire Curse nearly reduced Valerius to ashes, I had offered my high-born pure blood and my womb as a sacrifice to forcibly block the hex for him.

The price was permanent infertility, along with an excruciating backlash of pain I had to endure every single month.

Back then, Valerius had held me, his eyes red and tear-filled. "I don't want any children! I would rather lose my seat in the Senate than ever betray you!"

Yet the scene before me crushed those words into fine dust.

I stumbled backward, my chest feeling as though it had been ripped open by bare hands.

I was terrified I'd lose control and rush over to scream at him.

Worse yet, in the face of this cozy, happy family of three, I was afraid I'd look like a pathetic, unwanted outsider.

Suffocation gripped my throat. I turned and fled.

...

Diana saw me stumbling toward her.

Noting my paper-white face, she immediately lunged forward to steady me. "Sera, what happened? You look awful."

Diana was a Contract Lawyer for the Night Senate, and my partner of several centuries.

I opened my mouth, fighting with everything I had to keep a grip on myself.

"Look into a blood-slave for me. Name is Elara."

"Who?"

"Valerius... He has a son with her."

【My Queen, I still need a week to finish the border patrol. Miss me.】

I stared at the message Valerius had sent.

Tears, like pearls off a broken string, plummeted onto the investigation file spread across my desk.

For six hundred years, at this exact time every year, he would spend half a month "inspecting the overseas territories."

I had never once doubted him. Now, reality had delivered a vicious slap to my face, ruthlessly mocking my stupidity.

What border patrol? He was obviously out keeping his mistress and illegitimate son company!

Masochistically, I flipped through the candid photos over and over again—him at an amusement park with them, him sitting at a dining table, openly kissing that woman's forehead without a care in the world.

I should have seen this coming.

Vampire society operated on ruthless, archaic traditions.

A lord who couldn't produce an heir would lose their core voting rights in the Senate.

Why would his family ever tolerate a barren woman sharing the throne?

Then what role did Valerius play in this scheme?

The man who constantly preached his undying love for me, who had practically threatened his own mother with his life just to marry me?

All of it—our fabled romance—was nothing but a meticulously crafted scam.

Just then, my phone buzzed.

Numbly, I pressed answer.

His voice drifted through the speaker. "Sera, have you been drinking your blood tonics? Do you miss me?"

Usually, I would have melted into the sweetness of his affection, eager to respond.

But now... I clenched my jaw tight, terrified that if I spoke, a sob would rip from my throat.

"Sera? Did something happen? Don't panic, I'll send the guard to pick you up right away!" Valerius's voice instantly laced with concern.

But I didn't want to see him right now.

"I'm fine," I said, fighting to control myself. "There's some unrest at the borders, so I need to stay a few more days. Focus on your work, don't come here."

He suspected nothing, only smoothly insisting, "Rest early then. Call me anytime. Don't make me worry about you."

I gave a faint hum of agreement.

Just as I was about to end the call, a woman's voice—deliberately hushed but sickeningly intimate—filtered through the receiver.

"Valeri, the boy is sound asleep. We can..."

The line abruptly went dead.

My knuckles turned bone-white from how hard I was gripping the phone.

Uncontrollably, my fangs extended, piercing my lower lip. The thick, metallic taste of blood flooded my mouth.

I collapsed to the floor. My hands desperately clutched at the fabric over my chest as a wretched, dying whimper tore from my lips.

I had tried to lie to myself over and over—that he was forced into a corner by the Senate's demands and his family's pressure.

But that split-second sound of his heavy breathing brutally shredded the last of my delusions.

He wasn't some helpless victim in all this. He was actively enjoying it!

Hearing the commotion, Diana threw the door open and rushed in. But seeing the state I was in, she froze, too stunned to step closer.

Her eyes filled with heartbreak as she finally closed the distance, pulling me into a fierce embrace.

I closed my eyes, letting the tears fall.

I stayed awake the entire night.

My eyes were dry and stinging as I stared at the light breaking across the horizon.

For six hundred years, I had known what the purest form of love looked like. How could I ever stomach a heart that had long since rotted?

I was Seraphina, the woman who had deeply loved Valerius.

But more than that, I was the Archduchess who controlled half of this city's lifeblood.

I picked up the comm-link and dialed my father's private line.

"Father. I recall the family has been looking to expand into the underground markets of the Lycan Neutral Zone. Diana has a few strongholds in that borderless haven. In half a month, I want to take some people there and personally oversee the operations for a while."