Chapter One

The night shift at St. Peter's Public Hospital was always quiet.

I leaned in the corner of the emergency room, and when no one was around, I pulled out a small bottle of holy water from my pocket.

This was one of the relics my adoptive father left me.

I tilted my head back and gulped down a mouthful. The burning sensation traveled from my throat all the way down to my stomach, like swallowing a red-hot branding iron.

But I had to do this.

As a high-ranking vampire, my royal bloodline brought with it a terrible power.

It constantly churned within me, like a beast trapped in a cage. Only holy water could suppress it and make me appear more like an ordinary person.

"Rand? You're secretly drinking that stuff again."

Elena walked over carrying two cups of hot coffee. She was a nurse at this hospital and also my girlfriend.

Her golden curls glowed softly under the night lights. She handed me one of the cups, looking at the holy water bottle in my hand with a complex expression:

"You always wait until no one's around. Rand, what exactly are you afraid of?"

Her tone was light, but it made my heart tighten.

I took the coffee and forced a smile:

"Old habit."

Elena was silent for a few seconds, but eventually sat down next to me, gently leaning on my shoulder:

"You're always so secretive. But it's okay..."

She paused, her voice dropping lower: "No matter what you are, I like you."

I froze.

Looking down at her, warmth and unease surged in my heart.

Before he died, my adoptive father told me: "Rand, remember, you're not a monster. Live like an ordinary person. Never expose yourself."

I had done it.

I got my medical degree, did my internship at this public hospital, even started dating.

I thought I could keep living like this forever.

"Bang!"

The hospital doors were kicked open.

A group of knights in silver-white armor rushed in, led by a burly man with a mean face, wearing a "Purification Knights" badge on his chest.

His name was Kyle, the captain stationed in this area by the Church.

I'd seen him a few times. Each time he came for "routine inspections."

Which really meant extortion and racketeering.

"Everyone, stand still!"

Kyle shouted, waving an old relic in his hand.

"The Church received a report that there's heretical activity in this area. We're conducting individual inspections!"

The patients and medical staff in the hospital were too frightened to move.

Kyle led his men as they walked randomly through the crowd.

I knew their routine.

These knights didn't care whether there were actual heretics. They just wanted to grab a few civilians who couldn't pay protection money to use as scapegoats and claim credit when they returned.

Kyle walked up to me, looked me up and down, and sneered:

"Intern doctor? Tsk, another pauper."

He was about to walk away when the relic in his hand suddenly lit up with a faint red glow.

Kyle froze for a moment, then his eyes widened with wild joy: "Ha! There really is a heretic!"

My heart tightened.

The effects of the holy water hadn't completely worn off, but my royal bloodline was too powerful. Even suppressed to the extreme, it still leaked a trace of aura.

"Nobody move!"

Kyle held up the relic, his face flushed with excitement.

"Whoever has the heretic's aura is the heretic!"

He began waving the relic through the crowd, the red glow growing brighter near me.

I saw Elena's face change.

Her gaze moved back and forth between me and the relic, a flash of worry in her eyes.

She had clearly suspected something all along.

"It's me."

Damn it!

Elena suddenly stepped forward, her voice calm but making me tremble all over.

Kyle turned his head, looking at her suspiciously: "You?"

"I bought forbidden herbs on the black market."

Elena raised her head, looking directly into Kyle's eyes.

"My mother is seriously ill. The hospital's medicine is too expensive. I could only try my luck on the black market. Those herbs were contaminated with heretical aura. I brought them into the hospital."

As she said this, her peripheral vision glanced at me.

She thought I was exposed.

She was taking the blame for me!

"Elena!"

I wanted to rush forward, but she stopped me with her eyes.

Kyle was stunned for a few seconds, then became furious.

He raised his hand and slapped Elena hard across the face.

The crisp sound echoed in the hall. Elena was knocked to the ground, blood seeping from the corner of her mouth.

"Colluding with heretics!"

Kyle roared. "Someone, bind her with thorn chains!"

Two knights rushed up and bound Elena's hands behind her back with barbed chains.

A flash of crimson appeared in my eyes.

In that instant, an invisible pressure overflowed from within me.

I wanted nothing more than to tear him apart.

But I couldn't...

Kyle's holy sword suddenly emitted a piercing hum, and a crack appeared on the blade out of nowhere.

His face turned deathly pale. He staggered backward, looking around in terror: "Who... who's there?!"

But he couldn't find the source.

I lowered my head, clenched my fists, and let my nails pierce into my palms.

Elena was dragged out of the hospital. She looked back at me, her lips moving silently:

"Don't worry about me. Live well."

Kyle stood at the door, shouting at everyone:

"Three days from now, at the Cathedral Plaza! I will publicly burn this scoundrel who colluded with heretics, as a warning to others!"